The Lucky Elephant Restaurant

Chapter 7

LANE WIPED A towel across his face. He inhaled the scents of soap, shampoo, and death. The light on the phone blinked red, indicating a message was waiting. He pressed the button on the left side and heard Lisa’s voice. She had two voices. He’d known both of them for more than a decade. One was a friendly, happy-golucky voice she always used around her partner, Loraine. The other was a controlled, police voice she used right now. “I’ve got preliminary information and some anomalies. Call me at home.”

Lane hung up. In the quiet, he heard the washing machine shift into spin cycle. His clothes had gone into the wash before he stepped into the shower. I’ll have to throw them away if the smell doesn’t come out, he thought. He remembered that after leaving Bobbie, he’d removed his jacket. There had been no moisture mixed in with the makeup residue on the shoulder of his jacket. Lane dialed Lisa’s number.

She answered after the third ring. “Lane?”

“How are you?” he asked.

“Not one of my better days.” She took a breath.

“There are some inconsistencies.”

“Go on,” Lane said.

“There are no fingerprints on the duct tape used to seal the cab of the truck.”

“Why would he go to the trouble of leaving no prints, if he was about to commit suicide?” Lane asked.

“Exactly. There are more contradictions. We’ll have to wait for the autopsy, but I don’t think the father died of carbon monoxide poisoning,” Lisa said.

“What about the child?”

“The cause of death will have to wait for the autopsy,” Lisa said. “But, I did find a torn piece of plastic in the waistband of her pants. It looks like it came from a garbage bag.”

“She was wrapped in it?” Lane had a flashback of finding Candy in the garbage bag.

“It looks like her head and torso were wrapped up. Then the bag was tucked into her waistband.”

Lane remembered Kaylie’s shoes. “Did you see the soles of her shoes?”

“Too clean for a kid on a camping trip?”

“Yes,” Lane said.

“That’s about all I have right now. Just thought you’d want to be kept up to speed. You didn’t stick around for very long.”

“No.”

Lisa waited for an explanation that wasn’t coming, then said, “Say hello to Arthur for us.”

“You bet. And pass on our regards to Loraine.” Lane hung up. This could get really messy, he thought.

Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang.

“Lane?” There was an anxious excitement in Arthur’s voice.

“What’s the matter?” Lane asked.

“I’m signing Matt up for hockey.”

“Oh. That’s nice.”

“The team is run by volunteers,” Arthur said.

“And?” Lane became anxious with where this conversation was headed.

“They’ve already got a coach and a manager.”

“That’s good.” Lane was relieved but still uneasy.

“The team needs a referee.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” Lane said.

“You can skate,” Arthur said.

“Figure skate.”

“Exactly. They need a person who can skate.”

“I don’t know the rules,” Lane said.

“They have a course.”

Lane heard the voices of parents talking over each other. “No way.”

“You’ll be going to Matt’s games anyway. This way you can get some exercise at the same time. Get your mind off work. Besides…”

“Besides?”

Arthur said, “I already signed you up. And, they gave us free tickets. We’re going to a hockey game tonight.”

“CKKY, KY Radio, regrets to announce that Bobbie will not be on the air today. She’s taking time off due to the death of her daughter. Bobbie sends her appreciation for the kind wishes and prayers of her listeners. We’ll be playing The Best of Bobbie until she returns.”

Jay surveyed the kiosks on either side of Mac Hall. The lineup at The Noodle House was at least fifteen minutes long. Other lineups formed at burger, coffee, and taco shops. I beat the rush, he thought, while using chopsticks to maneuver noodles, beef, and mushrooms into his mouth. For five bucks he could eat and watch the people go by.

“Hey cracker, you’re pretty good with chopsticks,” Tony said. He sat down next to Jay and leaned his back against the table. Tony set his backpack on the floor.

“You’re late.” Jay slurped an especially long noodle.

“This guy in the front row kept asking questions.” Tony used his fingers to grab the last piece of beef from Jay’s plate.

“Hey!” Jay tried to stab Tony with the chopsticks.

“Too slow. We still on for Rex’s game tonight? I’ve got the masks,” Tony said.

“You ever gonna let that guy off the hook?”

“No. Not after he got my cousin pregnant, and the way he treated Uncle Tran.”

“How’s your cousin doin’?” Jay wiped his chin with a paper napkin.

“Okay. The baby’s getting big. Uncle Tran got them a place. He’s helpin’ out with school and daycare,”

Tony said.

“Uncle Tran’s restaurant must be doin’ well. He got you and your mom a house and helps you with school,” Jay said.

Tony laughed, “His money’s in elephants.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The lucky elephant in the restaurant,” Tony said.

“Yeah, I saw it. Uncle Tran said he picked it up in Saigon and carried it onto a plane.”

“That’s right. And, on the long ride over here he found out the elephant was hollow,” Tony said.

“So?” Jay asked.

“The plane landed at night. Uncle Tran slipped away. He disappeared with the elephant.”

“What are you sayin’?” Jay asked.

“Uncle Tran lost everything and everyone in Vietnam. He picked up a lucky elephant and started a new life,” Tony said.

“How can he be your uncle if he lost everyone?”

Tony appeared to be staring at the spiral staircase leading to The Aboriginal Friendship Centre. “He’s not my real uncle. My mom and I are refugees. Just the two of us. My cousin with the baby, she’s not my real cousin. She and her mother were in the same situation. Uncle Tran adopted us, and we adopted him. Now, we’re a family and help each other out.”

“So, how does the elephant fit in?” Jay asked.

“It’s Uncle Tran’s story to tell.” Tony stood up.

“Come on. We’ve got some planning to do.”

“Want some popcorn?” Arthur asked Matt as they entered Father David Bower Arena.

“And a hot dog?” Matt wore a new blue T-shirt, red jacket, and black running shoes.

Lane watched the boy closely. There was a slight hitch in the way he walked. He hardly talks when he

walks because he’s so busy concentrating on not falling, Lane thought. Arthur has been waiting a long time to spoil a nephew or niece. I wonder what will change between them when Matt finds out his mother has cancer? Lane watched Arthur, and his nephew, and felt a mixture of joy and foreboding.

“You want something?” Arthur asked.

“No, thanks,” Lane stepped close to a cinder-brick wall. The arena brought back memories of early mornings and figure skating. Jibes from boisterous hockey players jogged his memory. One particularly vicious experience surfaced. A dark-haired, teenaged hockey player once used the blade of his stick to jab a twelve-yearold Lane just below the ribs. Lane remembered gasping for air and dropping to his knees. The player then said, “Just another fag in tights.”

Lane looked up. He saw tonight’s fans arriving in dribs and drabs. They bought food and drinks at the concession before wandering through the heavy metal doors to the stands.

By the time Arthur found a place to sit near centreice, Matt had finished the hot dog and was half-way through an industrial-size popcorn.

Players warmed up on the ice. The red and white uniforms of the Dinos circled one half of the rink, while Edmonton’s green and gold university team shot pucks at their goalie at the other end.

“Hey, look at that.” Matt pointed across the rink. His right arm came up a little too quickly. He spilled some popcorn.

The Dinos’ mascot, a red-and-white dinosaur named Rex, stood behind the crowd and did a series of cartwheels. The antics were made all the more amazing because of Rex’s tail. It was at least as long as he was tall.

Lane watched Arthur beaming and enjoying Matt’s company. Matt pointed again. Lane’s eyes followed.

Two men in masks ran along the aisle behind Rex. Both wore latex masks-presidential caricatures, Lane realized-running shoes, and Speedos. The crowd was momentarily silent. One president looped a necklace the size of a Hula-Hoop around Rex’s neck. Lane stared at what was attached to the front of the necklace.

“It’s a dildo!” a fan said.

When he spotted the pair of presidents, Rex turned to the right. The dildo swung a millisecond later.

“Rex’s got a dick around his neck!” another fan said.

Hearing his name called, Rex swung to the left. The dildo stopped at the top of its arc, then flopped back around. The crowd roared with laughter.

A camera flashed.

Lane headed for the door followed by Matt and Arthur. The presidential impersonators will be headed for the parking lot, he thought.

Outside, Lane watched a vintage Lincoln race out of the parking lot.

“That them?” Matt asked.

Lane looked at Matt.

Arthur looked worried as he stood behind the boy.

“Did you get the plate?” Arthur asked.

“Nope.” Lane looked at Matt. “Did you?”

Matt said, “Too far away. How’d you know to look out here?”

“Think like the guys in the Speedos. They had to have planned an escape. So, just think ahead a bit.”

Matt smiled, “Cool.”

Lane looked at Arthur. A frown darkened Arthur’s face.

“How about we go get something to eat?” Lane asked.

“I’m starved,” Matt said.

“Good idea,” Arthur said.

Matt’s growing on me, Lane thought. This could get complicated.

Matt was asleep on the couch. Arthur had covered the boy with his mother’s quilt then promptly fallen asleep on the recliner.

Lane watched the TV. Text ran across the bottom of the screen. CNN was describing the latest US military adventure. A reporter wearing a kevlar helmet stood in front of a tank.

The phone rang.

Lane picked it up right away, hoping it wouldn’t wake the sleepers. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Harper said.

Arthur snored.

“What’s that?” Harper asked.

“Arthur’s asleep.” Lane kept his voice low so as not to wake him.

Harper laughed. “Hope you two have separate bedrooms. Sounds like a freight train. Look, I just got a couple of interesting calls. Thought you’d want to know.”

“Go.”

“I called Bobbie’s church. The minister called me back about an hour ago. He went on for fifteen minutes about how Bobbie was his idol. Kept calling her a saint. Ever since Bobbie’s name went up on the sign outside of the church, it’s been packed on Sundays. Did I mention that he said she was a saint?”

Lane said, “Go on.”

Harper said, “Here’s where it gets interesting.

About twenty minutes after that, I got a call from a woman. She must have been calling from a pay phone, because there was the sound of traffic in the background. She told me to check into a resort in Jamaica. Said it might help me to find out the truth about Bobbie. She wouldn’t leave a name and hung up when I asked for one.”

Lane watched the muzzle flash of a tank on the television. “Won’t hurt to check the resort out.”

Arthur snored. Matt made it a duet.

“I wonder who it was who called from the pay phone?” Harper asked.

“My bet would be the minister’s wife,” Lane said.