Lion

by Jessie Cooke

“Hmm…does it work?”

  Lion chuckled. “I keep it more for sentimental reasons than that I believe in it. It was my grandmother’s thing.”

  Kyle nodded. “I can understand that, actually. My grandmother was Irish, straight over on the boat. You could never hand her a pair of scissors. You had to set them on the table and let her pick them up. If she took them out of your hand, it would ‘cut’ the relationship, she said.” He laughed and said, “She had this sister-in-law she hated, and she tried to hand her a pair of scissors or a knife every time she walked in the front door.” Lion laughed too. It was the first time anyone had ever shared with him that maybe their families were as strange as his was. Kyle might not be so bad after all. He watched as the detective looked at each one of the jars. “Did you wash these off, the jars?”

  “No. I just cleaned up the broken one and the glass from the crystals they broke.” Kyle looked up at the ceiling where dozens of crystals still dangled on strings by silver hooks Lion had screwed into the ceiling tiles. “They ward off negativity,” Lion said. Kyle was polite enough not to smile, but Lion was sure he saw the irony.

  “What’s behind the curtain?” Lion made a face. He’d never shown anyone his drawings, not even his Me Maw. It was what he did to relax and he wasn’t concerned with whether they were good or if the lines were right. “My desk,” he said. He felt a little sick as he walked over and pulled the curtain back. He’d picked up the drawings that hadn’t been ruined and put them in a stack on the desk. He still missed the ones of Madison that he liked to look at when he missed her beautiful face. Kyle walked over and took a look around the small space. Before he touched the drawings he said, “May I?” Lion nodded and Kyle picked them up. Still wearing his latex gloves he shuffled through them. When he finished he said, “You drew these?” Lion nodded again. “Pretty fucking impressive. Dax said they took some of them.”

  “Yeah…the ones I did of Madison, Hawk’s daughter.”

  Kyle’s green eyes showed concern when he looked at Lion. “Just those?”

  Lion nodded. “Yeah. There were maybe six or eight of them. They knocked the rest of them on the ground and stepped on some of them.”

  “You still got any of the footprints?”

  Lion shook his head. “Not those…but I made a mold of the ones out front where the bikes were parked.” Kyle looked impressed again and said:

  “Tires too?” Lion nodded. “Great. I’d like to see those, and if you don’t mind, even though you’ve cleaned in here, I’ll dust for prints. You never know when a partial might turn up.”

  “Does all that run through the police department?” Lion knew Dax had carved out an “arrangement” with his brothers-in-law, two of whom were cops. Angel came from a long line of cops and the fact that she and Dax seemed to be made for each other, despite that, gave him hope for his and Madison’s different lifestyles somehow melding.

  “Not directly,” Kyle said. “My brother runs the lab and he can get some things through on the DL for me.” That was good to know. Lion didn’t want the police involved…just in case. He was willing to be patient for now, but if Kyle could prove this was Luger, he didn’t want the cops to come looking for him when Luger went missing…and he would.

  While Kyle got his things out of the car to set up his fingerprinting, Lion sent a text to Madison. “You doing okay? Do you need anything?”

  A few minutes passed and he got one back that said, “I’m good, thank you. Dad’s asleep again. I might walk down the street and get some coffee, just for the fresh air and exercise.”

  “Okay. Call me if you need anything.”

  “Will do. Thank you, Lion.”

  Luger fingered the clear crystal in his pocket. He’d picked one of the unbroken ones up off the floor in Jungle Boy’s kitchen that night and he’d been carrying it around. Belief in such nonsense was what had led to the demise of his family. He didn’t carry it around because he believed it had any power…he carried it to remind himself of his mission. He’d waited half his life to wrap up the loose ends of the mess Lion’s grandmother the witch had created, and it would soon all come to an end at last. As he felt the smooth lines of the crystal he thought back to the day he’d found out what she’d done. He was fifteen and he’d come home from school just in time for one of his parents’ loud, volatile arguments. That was nothing new, but while he stood outside and considered just getting his bike and taking off for a while, he heard something that he would come to realize later, would change all of their lives forever.

  “She’s a nice lady, Denise. She makes me feel…special.”

  “She’s a freak! She’s a witch, and God, Norman, she’s twenty years older than you! That’s disgusting.”

  Luger always hated how docile his father was. He’d grown up listening to his mother belittle him and watching her slap and scratch at him when she was angry. Luger didn’t fault his mother for it, though…it was his weak father that he hated. The man had no backbone, and never once stood up to her. No matter how loud she screamed at him, or how insulting she got, the spineless little man would keep his voice soft and do his best to try to reason with her. It made Luger sick. He was even sicker then, as he realized what they were talking about.

  “She’s not a witch. She just believes differently about things than we do…and I’m not sleeping with her, Denise, don’t be crass, please.”

  “Of course you’re sleeping with her! Your dick sure hasn’t been hard around here lately.”

  Luger’s father had sighed, loudly. Luger sat down on the back steps and leaned against the door so he could hear what his father was saying. His mother was so loud that the entire neighborhood could hear her. “It’s what she was helping me with…”

  “Oh my God! You fucking idiot! You worthless excuse for a man! You went to another woman, a witch, and you told her that you couldn’t get an erection? Dear God, what did I ever see in you?”

  “I did it for us…”

  Luger heard something break and he knew things were about to get ugly, so he’d left. He spent the rest of the day running around town with Walt, and thinking about what he’d heard. His father couldn’t get it up…and he’d gone to the biggest freak in town for help with that? Luger had all kinds of disgusting images in his head about how she might be “helping” him, and by the time he got home that night for dinner and saw the black eye the old man was sporting, he couldn’t help but smile. At least his mother had a spine…and that was what had prompted Luger to stand up and be the man she needed in her life.

  Luger was so lost in his thoughts of the past that he almost missed her…Madison Benning had walked out of the hospital entrance and was now walking down the busy sidewalk toward the end of the street. Luger left his bike where it was parked and followed her…maybe today would be the day they spent some time together after all.

  26

  Lion wasn’t worried when he got to the hospital. He’d been trying to reach Madison, but he just assumed she hadn’t texted him back because she was inside with Hawk. It wasn’t until he got to the tenth floor and pushed open the double doors that he suddenly felt sick. As soon as he walked in, he could hear Hawk, yelling. His voice was still weak and raspy, but it was raised enough that Lion could hear it all the way down the hall.

  “I want the fuck out of here! Now!” Lion heard a crash and then the woman at the desk say into the phone:

  “Yes, please page her overhead and call security.” She put the phone down and Lion said:

  “What’s going on?”

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” she said, much happier to see him then than she had been earlier that morning.

  “Why? What’s happening?”

  “He’s out of control. We’ve had to restrain him. He’s pulled out all of his IV lines and…”

  “Where’s Madison?”

  She shook her head and said, “She left hours ago and hasn’t come back. Can you talk to him, please…”

  Lion was out the doors before she fin
ished talking. They could deal with Hawk; he had to find out where Madison was. There was no way she’d have left him alone for hours, not until visiting hours were over and they kicked her out. He bypassed the elevator and took the stairs down the ten flights to the lobby. He was jogging by the time he hit the door. Once he got outside he stood at the edge of the parking lot, trying to remember which way the coffee shop was that Madison told him she was going to earlier. Finally picking the left, unsure if that was the right way or not, he began to run again. He jogged for two blocks, practically knocking people out of the way, before coming to a little shop on the corner called “Brew Time.”

  The place was packed and Lion pushed his way in and to the front of the counter. A few people made comments about how rude he was but he ignored them. He was looking around the small place as the girl at the counter said, “I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to wait in line…”

  “I just need to know if you’ve seen a woman. She’s about your height, slim, with shoulder-length brown hair and really big, brown eyes.”

  The girl was shaking her head. “Maybe, I’m sorry…we’ve been really busy today and I’ve seen a lot of people.” That was when he heard one of the baristas call out a name. He moved over to the counter where they were brewing the coffee and said:

  “Has someone named Madison been in here today?” When the man working the espresso machine ignored him, Lion reached over the counter and tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey!” The man looked up with a pair of wide hazel eyes. Lion could see the woman behind the counter picking up the phone. He was sure they were calling the police, but that was fucking fine…more people to look for her. “Madison! Have you heard that name today?”

  “Um…yeah, I think so…”

  “You think, or you know?”

  “Yeah, a lady with brown hair, pretty…”

  “How long ago was she here?”

  “Maybe two…no, three hours. I’m sorry. We’ve been really busy.”

  “Was she alone?”

  “Man, I’m not…” Lion glared at him and he swallowed a lump in his throat and said, “Yeah, I think so.” Fuck. That didn’t fucking help him at all. He wanted to break something and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. Pushing people out of his path again, he made his way to the door. He was almost there when a young girl with blonde hair appeared at his side. She was wearing a brown apron like the other staff.

  “Sir, that lady you’re looking for, I think I saw her when I was coming back from my break.”

  “You saw her in here?”

  The girl shook her head. “No, she was outside. The only reason I noticed her was because some guy was trying to talk to her and she seemed uncomfortable. He had his hand on her arm and she looked like she was trying to shake it off. I was assaulted once, and no one helped me…so I asked her if she needed help.”

  Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! “What did she say?”

  “As soon as I asked, the guy let go of her and she smiled at me and thanked me and I watched her walk away, toward Washington Street.”

  “And the guy?” She shook her head.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t see where he went. When I turned back to look, he was gone.”

  “What did he look like?”

  “Kind of average, I guess. He had short blondish-brown hair and blue eyes…white guy…”

  “Short, tall?”

  “Not real tall for a man, shorter than you, but taller than me. He was kind of stocky, like squarish.”

  “Was he wearing a motorcycle club vest?”

  She frowned. “No. I’m sure I would remember that. He had on a black t-shirt and jeans. I guess his boots were like motorcycle boots…but no, I’m sure he didn’t have on a vest or jacket of any kind.”

  “Thanks.” Lion left the coffee shop and jogged back toward his bike. It sounded like Luger, even without the vest. He took out his phone and called Dax as he ran. “Dax, do you know where Luger is?”

  “No, man, sorry. Today is his day off. Why?”

  Lion was out of breath by the time he got back to his bike, both from running and telling Dax what was going on as he did. When he finished telling him what the young girl said he asked, “What about Walt? Have you seen him?”

  “No, man, but I’m sending someone out to look for them both now. Stay calm, okay? We’ll find her.” Lion ended the call knowing that Dax couldn’t possibly know that. What Lion did know was that, promise to Dax or not, all bets were off if he found out Luger had done something to Madison. He climbed onto his bike and was about to start it up when his phone rang. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her.

  “Madison? Where are you?”

  “I’m in the ER. I’m so sorry. I just realized you’ve been texting me…”

  “In the ER? What the fuck happened? Did he hurt you? I’ll kill the motherfucker…”

  “Who? No, no one hurt me. Well, I hurt myself. I was crossing Washington Street and not looking where I was going. I walked right out in front of a bicycle. I felt so stupid. They carried me down here and I’ve been sitting in a little room ever since. I’ve asked them a dozen times to call upstairs and let them know where I was, and then all of a sudden I hear my name being paged and I’m being told that Dad’s acting out…anyways, I’m sorry I worried you. Why did you think someone hurt me?”

  “I’m on my way in.” Lion put the phone back in his pocket and jogged across the street. It took another ten minutes to get the girl at the desk to let him go back and see Madison. By the time he got back to her, he was losing his patience with everyone and everything. The sight of her sitting on the edge of a hospital bed with her ankle in a cast was the most welcome sight he’d ever seen. He grabbed her in a hug and just held her for a long time before he said anything. Finally he let go of her and said, “I’m so fucking glad you’re okay.”

  She smiled at him, but her eyes looked worried. “Lion, what’s got you so upset? Who did you think would hurt me…Luger?”

  “It was him, at the coffee shop?”

  Still looking confused she said, “Yeah, he was outside when I came out. He was being friendly, but in that creepy, overly friendly way. He asked about Dad and then offered me a ride back to the hospital. When I said no, he got this pissed-off look on his face and I turned to leave. All of a sudden his hand was on my arm and before I could shake it off, this little girl that worked at the shop was asking if I needed help. He let go of me and I walked up to the corner…and out in front of a bicycle, like an idiot.” She frowned then and said, “Why did you think Luger hurt me? Is he dangerous? Is this about Dad?”

  “No. It’s not about your dad, it’s about me.” His phone buzzed and he looked at it. It was Kyle. “Give me just a second, okay?” She nodded and he put the phone to his ear. “Hey, Kyle, I found her…”

  “Good. I was calling to let you know Luger was at home. He’s admitting he ‘ran into her’ earlier, but denied knowing where she was now. Is she okay?” Lion told him about Madison’s ankle and finding her in the ER. Kyle said he’d let Dax know and once Lion hung up, he turned to Madison and said:

  “I need you to keep your distance from Luger, okay? And call me if he shows up anywhere you are again?”

  “Gladly,” she said. “But I still want to know what’s going on.” The nurse walked in then with a wheelchair and Madison’s discharge papers. Madison took care of that and then Lion took over, pushing her to the elevator so they could get back to Hawk. On the way up he said:

  “My place was vandalized last week. I have reason to believe it was Luger and his sidekick…and worse yet, I think maybe they were responsible for the fire that killed my grandma.”

  “Oh my God! Did you tell the police?” Lion smiled at her as he pushed her off the elevator. Stopping in front of the double doors, where they immediately heard Hawk’s yelling, he said, “Baby, I think you’ve been around us long enough to know that’s not something we routinely do.”

  She smiled, sadly
. “I know, but if he’s that dangerous…”

  “Trust me, baby. We’re handling it.” He looked at the doors and back down at her and said, “You sure you want to go in and handle that? I could take you home and you could put that foot up and veg out on some pain meds.”

  She laughed, and then cringed when she heard more yelling. “I’d love that…but I suppose I should go rescue them.”

  He pushed her inside and the relieved look when the woman at the desk saw her was almost comical. He bent down and kissed her cheek and said, “Keep your head low and don’t take any shit off the old fucker.”

  Madison laughed. “Pray for me.”

  “I will, and I’ll be in the waiting room when you’re ready.” He left her with the nurse and almost three hours later, he was loading both her and the old fucker into the van Dax had sent to pick them up. Miraculously, after Hawk terrorized them all afternoon…he was ready for discharge.

  27

  Two days after Hawk was discharged, Lion was already missing Madison like crazy. Luckily, she texted or called him often and told him that the old ladies were taking good care of them both. He wasn’t sure if Hawk’s coming home meant he wasn’t dying any longer, but he didn’t want to ask. She seemed happy with having whatever time they had left together, so for the time being that was good enough for him.

  He at least had Kyle and his investigation of Luger and Walt to keep him busy. The day after Kyle took fingerprints in his house, he called him with news, Lion’s prints and a set of unknown prints were all that he’d found. Since he’d dusted the living room and bedroom, Lion figured the “unknowns” were Madison’s. He knew for sure that Luger’s and Walt’s fingerprints were both on file since they’d both done time in county jail over the years. But Kyle did have some interesting news, and Lion met him at a restaurant in town for lunch to hear it.

  “So, it’s hard to track down the movements of two teenagers twenty-two years ago. I doubt I’ll ever be able to find out for sure if those two have an alibi for the night of the fire…but did you know that your grandmother and Luger’s father had a…relationship?”