Bone Snow

by David Haynes

  He saw the little torch on Kim’s phone first. Three people were standing next to the door to his apartment. One of them turned around. It was Kenta. He had the same stupid grin he always wore, plastered across his face. His earrings glittered in the light.

  “What’s going on?” Leo asked.

  “He was on the stairs,” Michelle said. “He made me jump.” She had her arms folded across her chest. It was even colder than it was up at the front. The temperature was falling quicker back here.

  “The stairs?” Leo asked. “What were you doing on the stairs?”

  “Looking for the bathroom,” Kenta replied.

  “I told you, it’s over there.” He pointed into the opposite corner where the bag was hanging.

  “Must have got lost.” He disappeared into the gloomy bathroom. A second later the toilet flushed. There hadn’t been enough time for anyone to do anything. He walked out, shaking his hands.

  “Can’t do it with everyone standing outside listening.” He winked at Michelle. Leo didn’t like that gesture at all.

  Kenta peered down into the basement and then turned to Kim. “That’s where he keeps his little girlfriend, you know?” He pretended to whisper, like it was a secret.

  “Leave her alone,” Leo said. “She doesn’t need you disturbing her.”

  He cupped his hands around his mouth and called down as he took the first step. “Hey, honey? What’s your name? Want to come out and play?”

  “I said, leave her alone.” He grabbed Kenta’s arm, preventing him from descending any farther.

  Kenta turned slowly, looking at Leo’s hand. “You want to take your hand off me?”

  “I will. Just as soon as you get out of my storeroom.”

  Kenta lifted his head, fixing Leo with his hardest stare. It meant nothing to him. He’d stood nose to nose with men who tried to intimidate him before the bell had even rung. He wasn’t about to let some punk get one over him in his own storeroom.

  Kenta tried to pull his arm away but Leo just squeezed harder, pinching the skin on his forearm. His jacket was thick and padded but beneath it he was no bigger than Sam.

  Kenta dropped his left hand down to his waistband. Leo saw it and yanked him forward, throwing him off balance. Whatever he was reaching for down there, he wasn’t going to get it.

  “Kenta!” Ookami’s voice boomed in the space. It echoed.

  Both Kenta and Leo looked up. Ookami shook his head.

  Kenta laughed, allowing the tension to fall from his body. Leo kept his hand on his forearm.

  “You finished in the bathroom?” Ookami asked.

  Kenta nodded and turned to Leo. He winked.

  “So why don’t you come and finish the rest of your candy, huh?”

  Leo released his arm. “I don’t want you back here,” he said. “Got that?”

  Kenta shrugged. “It’s a fucking shithole anyway.”

  Leo fought with the impulse to crack the jerk across the face; to wipe that smile from his lips and replace it with blood. He clenched his fist.

  “Leo, can I talk to you?” It was Kim’s voice. She grabbed his wrist.

  He turned slowly, the anger still close to the surface.

  She leaned in close. “It’s Michael. I think you should come and take a look.”

  Kenta followed Ookami through the aisles back into the main body of the store.

  “I don’t like him,” he said. “If I beat the shit out of him before we get out of here, are you going to lock me up?”

  She smiled. “I might help you.” She shivered, wrapping her arms about her and rubbing them. “It’s getting cold.” She turned to Michelle. “You okay?”

  Michelle nodded.

  “Why don’t you go and help the boys with those beds?”

  Michelle frowned. “Can’t I stay with you?”

  “I’ll only be a couple of minutes, and when I come back you can tell me about that boy in your English class.”

  Michelle glanced up at Leo. He couldn’t see her redden but he guessed she must have.

  “Shout if you need us,” Leo said. He didn’t really like leaving the two kids with Ookami and his merry band, but Chris was there and despite appearances he seemed to have his senses about him. They watched Michelle walk away.

  “You want me talk to her?” Kim nodded at the basement steps.

  “Let’s go and see Michael first.”

  He let Kim lead the way with her torch. Alison was lying on the bed next to her husband. She had the covers pulled up to his chest to try and keep him warm. It was no warmer up here than it was in the shop. The radiators were all powered by a boiler that ran off electricity.

  “I found some candles in the kitchen,” said Kim.

  She had already placed one on each nightstand, on a small plate. They gave the illusion of warmth but light was the only benefit. Leo didn’t need to get too close to see the swelling on Michael’s head. It was twice the size it had been.

  “A fracture?” he whispered.

  “That’s what I was thinking,” she replied.

  “Hey Alison, you okay?” he asked.

  She nodded. “He’s been talking,” she said. “Maybe he’s dreaming. That’s got to be good, right?”

  Leo had no idea if that was a good thing or not, but you didn’t need to be a doctor to know a fractured skull was bad news. He needed to get to the hospital and quick.

  “You need anything?”

  She shook her head. “Just Michael.”

  Kim sighed. “It’s not the only reason I brought you up here.”

  “No? To stop me beating Kenta to death?”

  “There is that, but no.” Her expression said this wasn’t going to be good news.

  “What is it?”

  “I recognize Kenta and Sota.”

  “I thought you might,” he replied. “Gang bangers?”

  She nodded. “Low-level, dealers, pimps, extortionists, the works.”

  “Nice guys then.”

  “We don’t know who they’re working for yet but they’re putting the squeeze on everyone in these two blocks.”

  “I take it you don’t want them knowing who you are?”

  She grimaced. “Definitely not.”

  “And the other guy? Ookami?”

  “Don’t know him, must be new.”

  “Looks like he’s in charge,” said Leo.

  “Possibly.”

  “Might explain what Chris said earlier.”

  “What was that?”

  “That he thought they were checking the place out, asking about cameras and security.”

  “Could be,” she replied. “We need to watch them.”

  “You don’t think…” Leo started. “You don’t think they’re anything to do with what happened? The robbery here.”

  Kim didn’t reply immediately. She was looking back at the bed, thinking. “I don’t think so. Kenta and Sota are just two street creatures…I doubt they’ve got the brains or the ingenuity to do anything without being given specific instructions. And even then, they’d need supervision.”

  “Which is where Ookami comes in.”

  She turned her hands palms-up. “One thing for sure. We don’t do anything stupid. These guys are hotheads and I can’t afford to put anyone here in danger. And definitely not the kids.”

  “Agreed.” He turned back to Alison. “Shout if you need anything. There are more blankets in the cupboard, just help yourself. Come and get us when he wakes up. Okay?”

  Alison nodded.

  “If,” Kim whispered. “If he wakes up.”

  5

  In the storeroom, their breath could clearly be seen. The frigid air stung Leo’s lungs.

  “You want me to talk to her now?” Kim asked.

  “Even if you only get a name, it’s a start.”

  Kim took the stairs slowly, her little flashlight focused on her feet. “Jesus, it’s cold down here,” she whispered.

  Had the temperature dropped? Possibly.

&nb
sp; “Over there,” he said, pointing to the left.

  Kim shone the flashlight into the corner, walking toward the blanket bundle. She crouched down beside the woman.

  “Hey, I’m Kim, a friend of Leo’s.” She glanced over her shoulder. “He owns this place.”

  Nothing.

  “What’s your name, honey?”

  Nothing.

  “It’s cold back here, why don’t you come up front with the rest of us? We can keep each other warm.” She reached out. “We can find something warm and dry for you and the baby, this blanket’s wet and…”

  Kim jerked her hand away, almost toppling backward. For a moment Leo thought she might have been pushed, or even stabbed. “You okay?” he asked.

  Kim looked up at him, standing slowly, using the shelving as leverage. She looked confused, shocked even. Her breath was a constant gray plume in the narrow beam of the flashlight. Ice crystals seemed to sparkle in the air.

  She walked back toward him. “It’s freezing,” she said. “Her body is freezing. It’s like a block of ice. I swear it’s ten degrees colder than it is upstairs.”

  “If she won’t come out, best I can do is get her another blanket. Make sure she doesn’t freeze to death.”

  Kim wrapped her arms about her body and exhaled. “Who the hell is she?”

  “Wish I knew,” he replied.

  *

  An hour passed. Leo and Chris stood behind the counter while Kim, Sam and Michelle huddled together on one mattress. Kenta, Sota and Ookami took the other one, talking in Japanese, gesturing toward Leo and laughing. Chris continued to work on the computer, but the battery was slowly dying and all he could do was keep repeating the same reset function. He knew it wouldn’t work but he kept at it anyway. It was his way of keeping busy.

  “It’s my fault,” he said. “We’re trapped in here because of me.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Leo replied. “We’ve got the power company to thank for this. Them and the weather, and I’m not sure who to blame for that.”

  “I should have built more battery backup systems into it. They wouldn’t have to last long, just enough to…”

  “Mr. Newman! Leo!” a woman’s voice shouted, almost screamed.

  He started running to the storeroom. It was Alison’s voice. He heard footsteps behind him. He hoped they belonged to Kim and not one of the stooges. By the time he got to the door, Alison had already gone. He heard her steps on the stairs and then running across the floor above. He took the stairs two at a time.

  “He’s awake!” Alison shouted. She climbed onto the bed beside her husband. “He’s awake and talking!”

  Leo smiled. It was the first bit of good news he’d had in a while.

  “That’s great!” Kim was right behind him.

  He walked over to the bed, perching on the bottom end. Alison had her head on his chest. As the candles flickered it was reminiscent of an old movie. Michael’s eyes were open but his lids were heavy. The swelling distorted his face, giving him a grotesque lopsided expression. He uttered something, something Leo couldn’t discern.

  “Not too much, baby,” Alison said. “Try to rest.” She looked up at Leo. “I think he’s going to be alright now,” she said, smiling.

  Michael stared straight ahead, his lips moving but only the faintest of sounds were audible; certainly, no words that Leo recognized.

  “I know it’s a stupid question, but how’re you feeling, Michael?” he asked.

  Michael blinked but continued staring straight ahead, toward the lounge and the kitchen. Alison must have propped him up. He said something else, louder this time.

  “It’s Japanese,” Alison said. “I don’t know why, but at least he’s talking.”

  “What’s he saying?” Kim asked.

  Alison shrugged. “Same thing over and over again.”

  “And that is?”

  “No idea. I can just about ask for a coffee, say good morning, and exchange small talk, and that’s only if they speak very slowly. Anything else and Michael takes care of it.”

  Michael continued saying the same sentence; sometimes whispering it, sometimes talking loudly, but all the time he just stared straight ahead. He didn’t seem aware that anyone was with him, least of all his wife.

  “Think he’s trying to tell us what’s hurting?” Kim asked.

  Leo looked at the man. His shoulder was hanging down about six inches lower than the other side. He should be squirming with pain, but he was either oblivious to it or in shock.

  “We could ask one of the three stooges to come and translate? It might help?”

  “What three stooges?” Alison asked.

  “Three guys turned up when the power went out. They’re downstairs.”

  “Japanese?”

  “Yes,” Leo replied. “They seem to know Michael, or at least your store.”

  Alison opened her mouth but Michael became agitated, rocking backward and forward. His skin was coated in a waxy sweat that looked greasy under the candlelight.

  “I’ll go ask,” Leo said.

  He walked quickly downstairs. From the storeroom he saw Michelle and Sam on the mattress. It took his attention away from the woman huddled between the shelves.

  They had a guest with them. Kenta was sitting beside Michelle. He was offering her some gum. She shook her head, looking extremely uncomfortable.

  “No? How about one of these then?” He tapped a cigarette out the carton and pushed it toward her.

  “Why don’t you just leave her alone?” Sam said. “She isn’t interested.”

  Kenta leaned forward. “What are you? Her boyfriend?”

  “Just a friend,” he replied.

  Michelle stood up and walked behind the counter. Sam followed suit. Kenta shrugged and lay back.

  “More room for me, I guess!”

  “Can I have a word, Ookami?” Leo said, walking toward him. It smelled of smoke and a thin mist swirled around him. He’d been smoking, but right now wasn’t the time to call him on it.

  “Sure.”

  “You speak Japanese, right?”

  He nodded. “Like a native.”

  “Could you do some translating for me?”

  He shifted his position, stopped leaning on the shelf, and as he did so the sleeve of his jacket rode up revealing a thick band of decorative ink. Leo didn’t have time to examine it properly, but there were strange symbols embedded in the tattoo.

  “I don’t get it,” Ookami said.

  “Just before you guys got here someone got hurt out on the street, a hit and run.”

  He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. Leo saw Kenta sit up. He was listening, as was Sota.

  “He’s in a bad way and we can’t get him to the hospital, at least not yet. He’s talking, but we don’t understand him.”

  “You know this guy?”

  He found it hard to read Ookami. His concern seemed genuine enough, his surprise at hearing about the hit and run didn’t appear faked. So why did he feel like he was being toyed with, that this was an act?

  “It’s Michael Abe.”

  “The guy who runs the store?”

  Leo nodded.

  “That’s too bad.” He paused. “You say he’s in a bad way? He’s going to make it though, right?”

  Leo ignored the question. He didn’t know the answer anyway. “Will you help?”

  “Of course,” he replied. “Mind if Kenta and Sota come too? I’m a little bit rusty.”

  He hadn’t sounded rusty a little while ago while they were all talking together. And Leo didn’t want them in his apartment, but it didn’t seem there was a choice in the matter.

  He looked over at Sam and Michelle. They had their cell phones out and had headphones plugged in. Chris nodded back at him, looking pleased he didn’t have to watch the three men for a while.

  Leo led them through the storeroom and up the stairs.

  6

  Sota followed Kenta and Ookami into the storeroom, carrying the lamp. He g
lanced over his shoulder and slipped into the corner, behind the punch bag. Kenta had told him about the woman down in the basement. He wanted to take a look for himself.

  Tonight had been a bust. He had places to be, people to see, and one of the new girls to fool around with. That was part of his employment benefits. He got to road-test all the new girls and see if they were up to scratch. He wanted to get there first so Kenta wouldn’t take the best-looking one for himself. After he’d played around with her, he was going to do a few lines of coke and party. That’s if they got out of here. And if that took a while longer than expected, he was going to try and take advantage of the facilities here.

  He took the stairs quickly. “Hey,” he whispered. “You okay down there? You want some company?”

  It was cold back here, really cold. He could see his breath misting the air. Was that ice on the floor? He rubbed his foot across the smooth concrete. It slid. There was ice inside the store. Holy shit! He hated the cold too. Last week, Aki went out for a smoke and never came back. They found him frozen to death, backed up against a dumpster in the alley behind the bar. The snow had piled up around him, making it look like he was sitting on a throne. But the look on his face was terrible, like he knew he was freezing to death. He was a stupid bastard anyway, drunk most of the time and always trying to put his nose up Ookami’s ass.

  Same thing had happened to Satoshi too. Blue lips, blue face and black hands, all frozen. Even his eyeballs had been turned to ice. They should have picked a better place to move to, to start a new business. Nobody likes the cold.

  “Well, you’re a quiet one,” he said, edging forward into the gloom. He turned full circle lifting the lamp, casting grim shadows over the crates and boxes.

  “There you are.” She was huddled between the boxes. “There room for me under that blanket?”

  He walked toward her and crouched down. He touched her shoulder, pulling back immediately, hissing an icy cloud of vapor into the air. He wasn’t sure if he’d been burned at first.

  “You’re freezing,” he said. “Let me warm you up.”

  Sota was used to getting his own way with the girls. They hardly ever resisted and if they did, he just slapped them around a bit until they loosened up. He wasn’t stupid enough to think it was his looks, or even his brains, that had put him in this privileged position. It was the side of him that didn’t ask too many questions, that just got on with the task. He was the man who could work magic with just a length of cord and his knife. He had no compunction about using it. On anybody.