by Lee Quail
“And he loves that.”
Edwards’s lips trembled. “What if he doesn’t pull through, Angie? He’s my hero.”
Angie stepped back and glared at Edward as though he had asked the dumbest question. “You carry on, darling. You look inside you. You carry on his legacy. The gym is doing fine. Do something special for him. But whatever you do, never forget how much you love each other, besides, he’s strong. He’ll make it. Oh, I’m moving in here with my knitting needles for a few days. Hope you don’t mind.”
“You’re more than welcome,” Edward said. “Oh, and Angie…”
“Yes, darling.”
“Thank you.”
23
Detective Shane Devin stood a head shorter than the door. His face, bright and lively, displayed a short smile through full lips and his soft grey eyes penetrated with a swift gaze about Edward’s living room. Edward noticed his eyebrows, pitch black, met across the bridge of his nose like two waves washing into each other. “Please, take a seat, detective,” Edward said.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Please, the name’s Edward. This is my friend, Angelica.”
Shane dived right into the matter at hand. “We’ve been following up on a few leads collected at the crime scene and wondered if you could answer some questions. The quicker we close this case, the better it’ll be for everyone concerned. Hit and run cases tend to drag on relentlessly if not solved within 48 hours.”
“Whoever did this to our lives has a lot to answer for,” Edward said, “he’s destroyed us. What are the chances you’ll find the person responsible, detective?”
“If we act quickly, and if the leads all pan out right, we could have this wrapped up in no time. It depends on many criteria. It could have been a family member. It could have been a total stranger, and it could have been a hate crime by someone Raw knew well.”
Angie placed her knitting on the floor beside her. She smiled at Shane. “Rawson had recently come out as a gay man to everyone around him. Both his parents accepted him unconditionally.”
Shane turned to Edward. “I guess you were his lover?”
Edward smiled and nodded. “I was hoping to be his husband, soon.”
“I’m sorry,” Shane said. “This must be so difficult for you. Rawson works for his father, I understand. Do you know if any person at Curisco’s gym had any reason to dislike him? Maybe homophobic, or jealous?”
Edward shrugged. “Not that I know of. Not at the gym. There is one person who might have had a motive, though. His name is Caine Smit.”
“Caine Smit. How does he fit into all of this?”
“Caine and Raw were childhood friends, both went into boxing. They remained friends. Sometimes they were more than friends.”
“Friends with benefits,” Shane suggested.
“You could say that. Caine is gay. When Raw met me he was jealous.”
“Do you know where I can get hold of Caine? Do you have a cell number?”
“He used to work for the boxing league. I don’t have his cell number,” Edward shrugged.
Angie took her cell phone from her bag. “I have his number, detective.”
“You also knew Caine?”
“We had been friends for years. He was like family. The trouble all began when he put in an option to buy Raw’s father out. The gym was in the red. Little did any of us know that he was going to change the gym into a disco. When Raw found out, he confronted Caine.”
“You have his cell number, do you know where he lives?”
“Indeed, I do.”
“That helps,” Shane said. He turned to Edward. “You were both running on the night of this accident, did you see the car?”
“It was blue, that’s all I could make out.”
“Number plate?”
“I didn’t think about that at the time, sorry.”
“That’s fine. I think I have enough information to work with for now,” Shane said, smiling. “If you remember any small detail, no matter how small, please contact me. Here’s my card.” He handed his card to Edward who placed it in his wallet.
“Thank you, detective. I will.”
***
Shane’s preliminary visit to Caine proved fruitful. Caine looked smug, his soul didn’t seem wary. He co-operated fully and answered all the questions Shane put to him.
“One more thing, may I see the vehicle you drive?”
Caine’s attitude changed suddenly. His face turned pale. “You think I had something to do with Raw’s accident?”
“It’s merely procedure, sir.”
“It’s not here. It’s in for repairs.”
“I’ll need the address and phone number of the mechanic. One more question, if you don’t mind.”
“Be quick. I have an urgent meeting.”
“What colour is the vehicle?”
“Blue. Light blue.”
“Thank you, sir. In the meantime, I should caution you not to leave town, there may be more questions. If you think of anything, or you need to tell us anything, please contact me on this number. Oh, I nearly forgot. I’ll need the details of your mechanic.”
Shane immediately contacted Caine’s mechanic and within the hour he was inspecting the vehicle.
“Why is the vehicle here?” Shane asked.
The podgy man, with greasy hands and dirty coverall, showed him the front fender. “The owner said he had hit an animal late at night at high speed.”
The fender had been removed. “Do you have the fender here?”
“Sure, it’s over here.” The mechanic pointed to a deeply dented car part on the floor against the wall.
“You haven’t cleaned it, have you?”
“Nope. It’s not worth saving. I’ve ordered a new one to replace it.”
Shane examined the fender and found what looked like red stains on the cracked paintwork.
“Do you mind if I take this in for forensic analysis.”
“I don’t need it, sure. It’s all yours.”
“One last thing, I see you’re preparing the vehicle for a respray.”
“The owner wants a different colour. Black.”
Shane picked up the broken fender and headed to the exit. “Thank you, you’ve been a great help.”
In time, those who are guilty always rendezvous with justice. It didn’t need a rocket scientist to establish that Caine had rammed into Raw out of pure jealousy. The worst kind of revenge.
Shane discussed the case with his superior officer, Roland Mashinini, a bold, large Zulu with red-brown eyes and a traditional tribal cut below his left eye. A middle-aged all procedure cop. He couldn’t arrest Caine immediately. He needed a full forensic report on the blood before an arrest could be made.
Shane stood before him, shoulders slumped. “You can’t be serious, boss.”
“Dead serious. If we arrest this guy now, without concrete evidence, it won’t stand in court. We’ll lose the case. Do things right the first time and we come out tops.”
“I understand. But this guy is guilty, boss. Give me back up to bring him in, please.”
Mashinini had always been in awe of Shane’s detective work, but Shane had so much more to learn. “Can’t do that, son. Not today.”
“But this could take months. By then Caine will probably be out of the country.”
“I’ll organize with the right department to bring him in and surrender his passport.”
“Thank you, boss. I could hug you right now.”
Shane stepped forward. Mashinini stepped back. “Whoa! No need for huggies today or ever. Now get back to your desk and be patient.”
24
Edward could easily have moved his life to the hospital. He spent hours in the corridor of the Intensive Care Unit where Raw lay. He wanted to be there when Raw opened his eyes to hold him and laugh and cry with joy. During visiting hours he’d check the machines linked to his body and ask the nursing staff questions about blood pressure, sugar levels and water retention. He
’d eat in the hospital coffee shop, take walks in the hospital garden, and talk to strangers to pass the time away. On the fourth day Edward came up to the ward after taking a walk in the garden just as visiting hours began. He strolled into Raw’s room and as usual, pecked him on the cheek and greeted him. First thing he did was check the machines. Al seemed in order. He sat on the chair beside the bed and took Raw’s hand and told him about Detective Shane Devin, who has taken up the case. He went on to say that Curisco seemed to be working day and night, not resting once through anxiety.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, the heart machine began beeping irregularly. The graph displayed erratic movements and the alarm sounded. By the time a nurse rushed in, the monitor had flat-lined.
Flat-lined.
Edward panicked. He had only seen this kind of thing in movies. In seconds the room filled with medical staff. One of them ushered him out of the room. A doctor rushed in and immediately began preparing the defibrillator. Edward watched from outside. He heard everything going on in there.
“Stand clear!” The doctor applied the defibrillator and waited a few seconds. No response. He increased the voltage. “Stand clear!”
Still nothing. The doctor applied the machine a third time and waited a few seconds. Slowly, magically, the monitor picked up a heartbeat. It got stronger with each passing second and Edward, staring anxiously at Raw, turned his head and broke into tears.
Whoever had done this to his man had broken both of them.
The doctor approached him and smiled. “Your man is as strong as an ox. We’ll monitor him every twenty minutes. I’m putting him on heart alert and changed his medication. At the moment he’s fine.”
Edward couldn’t find the words to thank the man.
Life is an extraordinary thing. It allows moments like this to occur to make us realise it is precious, and short. It tests our vulnerability in ways that are, at times, unspeakable. Edward felt that pull. Watching Raw recover gave him the strength of positive thought and the power of prayer, even though he wasn’t religious.
He’d take Raw to Canton’s Cottage once this episode of their lives played out.
Six days into the induced coma.
Edward sat at Raw’s bedside, holding his hand, kissing it every now and then. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but I want you know that I’ll never stop loving you. I’ll never give up on us. I know how much you love Canton’s Cottage and Joshua and Julia are preparing the place for us. After this, it’s going to be just you and me up there in the mountain. I know you’ll love that.”
Raw’s finger moved.
Edward’s eyes opened wide. “Baby. Can you hear me?”
Raw’s finger moved again.
“Oh my god! Oh my God! Nurse! Nurse!” He leaned over and pressed the alarm button. His heart sang with joy as the hospital staff congregated around Raw, each doing their own thing and within minutes, the surgeon who had operated on him came in and sized up all the machine readings. He approached Edward outside the room and took him one side.
“Is he awake, doc?”
“Let me just say firstly, not all movement is directed by the brain; some are reflex-type movements controlled by the spinal cord. I’m afraid this was only a reflex.”
“But he moved his finger twice?”
“Pure reflex. We use sedatives to calm the brain's activity, and these medications decrease brain swelling. The sedatives will be reduced as soon as they are not needed. He can’t come out of the coma without that reduction.”
“When will that be?”
“I just started the reduction a few minutes ago. It should be within the next two days.”
***
Detective Shane Devin smiled broadly when Caine Smit entered Roland Mashinini’s office. Caine had no smile to offer. The tension in his face pulled every muscle into anxious dread.
“Please, take a seat,” Mashinini gestured.
Caine sat down in the seat beside Shane and immediately began wringing his hands.
“We’ve called you in to ask you to surrender your passport.”
“What? Why? I’ve done nothing.”
“We have a situation on our hands, Mr. Smit. We have reasonable grounds for believing that you have committed an offence. In my capacity as a commissioned officer I have the right to rescind your passport.”
“On what grounds?”
“We believe you attempted to murder Rawson Curisco. We have strong evidence that will stand up in a court of law.”
“And what If I refuse?”
“If you refuse to surrender your passport we will arrest you and bring you before a Magistrate. If you are unable to show good reasons for not surrendering your passport, the Magistrate can put you in jail until you comply.”
“You can’t prove any of this.”
“We will, Mr. Smit. You own a blue vehicle, the fender of which has been sent to our forensic lab to test for the bloodstains we found on it. We can’t have you running away, now can we? Do you want to be arrested now, today?”
“I hit something, a cat or a dog I don’t know.”
“That’s feeble, Mr. Smit.” Mashinini turned to Shane. “Arrest this man, detective.”
Caine leapt up and backed away from Shane. “Wait. Okay. I’ll surrender it. I’ll have to get it, it’s in my house.”
“Good. Shane will take you to fetch it. I’ll have all the documents prepared for you to sign when you return.”
***
Angie moved in with her knitting needles, and a few other things to make her life comfortable. She made sure Edward woke up at 4.30 in the mornings to take a short run and followed him in the old Anglia. This morning they returned from the run and Edward went straight to shower while she prepared his breakfast.
“Darling, would you mind at all if I come with you today to see Raw?” She shouted from the kitchen.
Edward heard her as he stepped out of the shower. “I’d love that. You don’t have to stay the whole day though.”
“I might just do that. I miss him.”
“I miss him more…”
Edward’s cell phone rang and he answered the call at once.
“Mr. Canton?”
“Yes, speaking.”
“It’s Doctor Rembrandt. Raw’s condition has taken a turn. It’s best you get here as soon as possible.”
“Jesus! Is it bad?”
“We’ll discuss it when you get here.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Edward grabbed his jeans and hopped into them on his way to the kitchen. “Angie, that was the hospital. Raw’s condition has taken a turn. The doctor sounded serious. He wants us there like now.”
Within five minutes they were in Edward’s SUV racing towards the hospital flashing emergency lights. They parked and ran up the steps, not bothering to take the elevator to the third floor intensive care unit.
The doctor met them outside Raw’s unit.
“That was quick,” he said.
“Please tell me he’s okay.” Edward said, breathlessly.
“See for yourself.” The doctor opened the door and allowed them in.
Raw’s smile melted Edward’s heart. “Hi,” he whispered.
“Oh my god,” Edward exclaimed.
Edward’s soul took flight. He cupped his face into the palms of his hands and choked with emotion as delight spread throughout his entire being. Angie stood beside him and dug into her knitting bag for a tissue to wipe her eyes.
Edward approached the bed and hugged Raw with all the love he could give.
“Why are you crying?”
“I missed you. I missed you so fucking much. I’m so happy.” Edward kissed him all over his face and hands and beckoned Angie over to join him.
“Angie’s here,” Edward said.
“Hi, Angie.” Raw whispered slowly, smiling as the dawn broke outside.
“Darling, you had us all worked up. I’m so happy you’re with us again.” She turned to the doctor and said, “Why is he whis
pering?”
“We just removed the oxygen pipe from his throat, he’ll find his voice soon.”
“I have so much to tell you,” Edward said, touching Raw’s face. “But that can wait.”
The doctor touched Edward’s shoulder to draw his attention to another matter. “We’ll be operating on his legs in the next few days.”
Raw smiled and nodded his approval.
Edward lifted his gaze to the ceiling and whispered, “Thank you, God.”
Curisco arrived ten minutes later. He stood in the doorway and true to his faith, made the sign of the cross.
Edward embraced him and wiped the tears from his eyes. He took his hand and led him to the bed.
“Dad,” Raw whispered, holding back his tears. “Sorry. So sorry.”
Curisco shook his head and embraced Raw as though he’d been gone for years. Overcome with emotion, he stood to one side, not leaving his son’s hand.
“How’s the gym doing, Dad?”
Curisco smiled, stuck his thumb out and nodded.
“I’m glad.”
25
Three weeks later Curisco arrived at the gym early on a Monday morning. To his surprise, Edward and Raw sat in his office. As Curisco entered, Edward waved an envelope at him.
“What’s this?” Curisco asked.
“It’s a contract. A twelve rounder with Pete “The Dog” Cascina of Italy. The big one. And guess who the promoter is?”
“You can fuck me if I know,” Curisco said, laughing.
“Boxing Ring Promotions. They want this to go international. TV and radio rights, advertising rights, everything Padre. It’s worth millions. The winner is rumoured to get 35 million. The loser gets 12 million.”
“When did this happen?” Curisco asked.
“I walked in and Anita handed me this envelope. It’s a proposal only. But it’s a damned good one.” Raw said, smiling from ear to ear.
“Who is the contender?”
Raw lifted his gaze toward Edward.
Curisco made the sign of the cross. “Grazie Dio. Grazie.”
“We don’t have to worry ever again about money, padre.” Edward smiled at Curisco lovingly and said, “Come here you. My old man.”
