Lion's Head Revisited

by Jeffrey Round

  “Oh, I exist all right. I understand you’ve been trying hard to get in touch. I’ve been out of town. What is it I can do for you?”

  He sounded unusually pleasant for a man who kept his home surrounded with security cameras and a voiceless guard dog in a hut in his backyard.

  “I’m a private investigator. I was hired by one of your former business partners, a man named Eli Gestner. I understand there was a disagreement when you parted company last year.”

  “Oh, that. No, there’s no problem. Me and Eli are on quite good terms.”

  Dan snorted in disbelief. “I’m surprised to hear that. I understood that he owed you a lot of money.”

  “You’re out of touch, Mr. Sharp. That’s all been taken care of. Ask Eli.”

  “I will do that.”

  “Please, by all means ask him.”

  “And so the death threats you made to him at the time were just what — a little joke?”

  “Nothing to get concerned about. It was all a misunderstanding.”

  “Glad to hear.”

  “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “Not at the moment. Thank you.”

  NINETEEN

  Beautiful Boys

  IT WAS JUST PAST NOON when Dan reached the city. He was headed down the parkway when Janice called, excited, to say that Jeremy had been safely delivered to his grandmother’s condo around the time the box was picked up at the cottage.

  “Great! When did you hear?”

  “Just now.”

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  Dan waited outside the condo until she arrived. He watched as she stepped out of her car and hurried over to him.

  “Where are the others?” he asked.

  “I dropped them at home. I need to do this myself.”

  Dan wasn’t sure how Ashley felt, but he suspected it must have been hard for Eli to be told to wait.

  “They found Jeremy wandering on the grounds with a letter addressed to my mother.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It just said, ‘Hello, Grandmother. My name is Jeremy.’”

  Dan pondered this. Perhaps it was Clarice Bentham who had been targeted after all. She had provided the ransom money. Was that why the boy had been sent to her?

  “They left him outside to avoid security cameras. Maybe there’s something on the grounds that will show them arriving. Chances are there will at least be footage of a vehicle.”

  “All I care is that he’s back and safe. Thank you. A million times, thank you. If we hadn’t had your help, things might not have gone this way.”

  “Of course. It’s what you hired me to do.”

  They took the elevator to the penthouse. The maid opened the door.

  “Oh, Miss Janice —! He’s here. Your son is here!” She was nearly in tears.

  “Thank you, Eunice. I’ll see myself in.”

  They went into the windowed room overlooking the harbour. A small boy sat on the floor. Still, silent. His eyes were focused intently on the sky outside the glass. He seemed to be listening to something no one else could hear.

  His skin was pale, his features delicate. A beautiful child trapped in his own private world.

  Janice ran over and knelt. He made a keening sound when she hugged him. It might have been pleasure, it might have been sorrow.

  “Hello, Jeremy! Hello, Jeremy!” She was ecstatic. “I’m so glad you’re back, Jeremy!”

  Clarice Bentham stood at the window, watching them. She was immaculate, her hair done and wardrobe perfectly coordinated. Her slip-on bangles made a clinking sound as she wrapped her arms around her chest.

  “He seems to like it here,” she said. “At first I was worried when they brought him up. He didn’t speak, but you warned me he wouldn’t.”

  “Not in words, no.”

  “He’s a beautiful boy. And he does communicate — in his own way.”

  “Of course he does,” Janice said, without lifting her eyes to her mother. “He knows exactly what he likes and what he doesn’t. He lets you know in his own way. Don’t you, my baby?”

  “He let me hug him. Just once, briefly. I never knew,” Clarice said, shaking her head. “I couldn’t imagine —!”

  Her eyes glistened. Dan sensed an underlying fragility, as if the proof of her grandson’s existence had exposed something vulnerable in her.

  “You never knew because you never met him,” Janice said, still cuddling her son. “He’s the most beautiful boy in the world.”

  She looked up, tears streaming down her face.

  Clarice stood watching them. “I understand now what you meant when you said you couldn’t help loving him. In an odd way, I’m glad all this has happened. It makes me understand something I would never have known if I hadn’t seen him with my own eyes.”

  “Yes, I knew you would.” Janice looked at her mother. “Have the police been here?”

  “No. I waited till you arrived. As you asked. I thought you would want to handle that in your own way.”

  “Yes — that’s probably for the best.” She stood and held out her hand. “Come, Jeremy. We need to go home.”

  Dan watched as the boy took hold of her hand and got unsteadily to his feet.

  Janice turned to her mother. “Thank you for providing the money for his release.”

  Clarice shook her head and smiled at her daughter. “It’s you I care about, Janice. The money doesn’t matter in the least.”

  “You’re right. It doesn’t matter at all. It never did. Not to me, anyway.”

  Clarice’s smile faltered. “I did it to bring you back to me. And now this delightful grandchild.”

  Dan watched the two of them. Something was happening here he didn’t yet understand. But he felt it. Something intricate and bitter.

  Janice’s expression had turned cold. “Well, don’t get used to it, mother. You won’t see either of us again.”

  Though the words were addressed to Clarice Bentham, Dan felt as though he’d been slapped.

  Clarice put a hand to her mouth. “What? No!”

  “You had your chance. Thank you for the money, but it was my money after all. So don’t think I’m going to be grateful for it.”

  Clarice’s face crumpled. “Janice —!”

  “You’ve manipulated me for the last time. I can’t hear you anymore.”

  “Janice, please! What are you saying?”

  Janice took Jeremy by the hand and headed down the hall. She brushed past the maid, who stood watching with a muted expression.

  “Good day, Eunice.”

  “Good day, Miss Janice.”

  At the door Janice stopped and pressed a hand against the brocaded wall.

  “Goodbye, home. You won’t see me again.”

  Clarice’s voice reached them from down the hall. “Janice! Please!”

  It was all Dan could do not to turn around and apologize for her daughter’s behaviour.

  In the elevator, Janice turned to look at Dan. “I suppose you think I’m being cruel. That I’ve been lying to my mother.”

  “There’s always a reason when people punish one another.”

  The boy stood by her side, focused on the lights of the elevator panel. He made the keening noise again. She leaned down and put her cheek to his.

  “That was only the second time I’ve seen my mother in three years,” Janice said, looking up to watch the numbers as they descended. “The last time was the other day when we came to pick up the money. It’s all for appearances. She doesn’t really care about me.”

  Dan thought otherwise. “You said she disapproved of Jeremy’s complicated parentage.”

  “You can say that again.” She let out an exasperated sigh. “Look — there’s a lot more to it than that, okay? My father died when I was eleven. He was no great loss. He was an emotionally frigid monster. All he cared about was business. My mother remarried a year later. He was a creep. He used to come into my bedroom at night. He would tell me, ‘Pret
end you’re a tree, silent and strong. Just don’t make a sound.’ In my mind I pretended I was inside the walls and that they were protecting me. I went someplace else where he couldn’t touch me.”

  She stopped talking for a moment. Dan said nothing, waiting as the elevator hurtled downward.

  “My mother knew, but she refused to believe it. She didn’t want to know. I endured him till I was old enough to leave. By then, of course, I knew what he was doing was wrong.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dan said at last.

  “Not as sorry as I was.”

  The elevator came to rest. The doors opened and they headed through the lobby to the parking lot.

  Outside, she stopped and gave him a sad smile. “I’m free of her forever. The money she gave me the other day was going to be legally mine once she died. I just asked for it a little early. And now, as far as I’m concerned, she can go ahead and die.”

  She stood beside her car, fidgeting with the keys, holding tightly to her son. Still, Dan waited.

  “Once when we were out camping — Ashley, Jeremy, and me — Jeremy was behind our tent when I heard a crashing sound in the bush. I ran out and found myself staring at a bear. It was huge. Jeremy just sat there, oblivious. I picked up a branch and swung it with all my might. The bear took off before I could take a second swing. That’s the kind of mother I am, Dan. My mother was never like that with me.”

  She left him standing in the parking lot.

  He headed east, over the Don bridge. The cityscape was reflected back at him, as though it led a double life, one on the surface and the other below. With all the excitement, he hadn’t called Eli to confirm Elroy’s claims about his debt. He called now, but it went straight to voice mail.

  “Eli, it’s Dan Sharp. I’ve just come from Clarice Bentham’s. I’m sure you’re revelling in the good news. I’m very glad it turned out well. Sorry for bothering you, but I had a call from your ex–business partner on the way home. He seems to feel you no longer owe him anything. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.”

  Ked was in the living room watching television with a beer in his hand. He waved when Dan entered. Ralph shook himself upright and looked at Dan, then decided to stand his ground rather than come to him. Dan went over to his son and hugged him so hard he was afraid he might hurt them both.

  “Whatever stupid things I may have done in the past, I apologize for. Whatever stupid things I may do in the future, I apologize for those too.”

  Ked pulled back and looked at him with surprise.

  “Okay.”

  “It’s not easy being a parent,” Dan told him. “But I try. I think at some point all parents try.”

  “Dad, you’re kind of scaring me right now.”

  Dan was surprised to feel tears forming in his eyes.

  “I just want you to know that, no matter what, I will always love you and be there for you.”

  Ralph whimpered.

  “You too, Ralph.”

  Ked gave a little choked cry then hugged his father back. “I don’t know what this is about, but I will always love you too.”

  “Good,” Dan told him. “We’re all good then.”

  He left Ked there shaking his head in bewilderment.

  Ted stood over them, clasping a couple of menus to his chest. His grandmother had been transferred to the ICU at Toronto East. Her prognosis was good. He looked ecstatic.

  “That’s great news,” Dan said.

  “Very good,” Nick chimed in. “We’re happy for you.”

  “She’s the only family I have left. She has to pull through.” He seemed to take stock of his surroundings and held out the menus. “What can I get you guys?”

  “Anything you care to recommend.”

  “In that case,” he said, tucking the menus under his arm, “I recommend the pasta special. It’s a spinach and cheese gnocchi. I had it for lunch. It’s devastating. And maybe a couple of Caesar salads.”

  Nick nodded. “Sounds great.”

  “Me too,” Dan said.

  “Okay! Two house specials coming up.”

  Nick toyed with the candle on the table. It was set in a short, red cup. The flame flickered as Nick turned the glass. This was the first time they’d seen each other face to face since the previous morning.

  “All good?” Dan asked.

  Nick looked up from the flame. “Time will tell. They’re still checking out the boy. He seems to have been well treated. Of course, he can’t tell them anything about where he was or who was with him.”

  “I meant with us,” Dan said.

  Nick’s face darkened. “Well, since you’re asking, I think you’re too much of a daredevil. If one of those guys in the boat had seen you, you could have been killed. They could have had a watch set up long before you arrived.” He shrugged: duty done. “There, I said it.”

  “Okay. For the record, I never intended to be reckless. I considered the possibility that someone might have been watching and probably armed. I took every precaution. In any case, my clients made it clear they wanted to deliver the money and get their son back with minimal police involvement. That was my job and I did it to the best of my abilities.”

  “Yes, you did.”

  Dan studied Nick’s face. “I’m not going to apologize.”

  “I don’t expect you to.”

  “Then what?”

  Nick scratched his head. “I don’t know. It just seems like we’re on opposing teams on this.”

  Dan thought of Donny’s distrust of Nick. It’s like you’re dating the enemy, he’d said.

  “There are no sides, Nick. We both have jobs to do. You’ve done yours and I’ve done mine. Things might have turned out very differently had the police been there.”

  Nick nodded brusquely. “My point exactly. We could have had boats in the harbour waiting to pick up the trail.”

  “And the boy might not have been returned if there had been any interference,” Dan said, his eyes searching Nick’s face.

  Before he could say more, Ted was back with a covered basket. Steam rose as he pulled the napkin aside and placed it on the table.

  Nick reached for a piece of bread, pulling it apart and wafting it beneath his nose. “Now that’s heaven.”

  “Not enough of that going around these days.” Ted gave them a devastating smile then left them alone again.

  Nick reached for the butter, his eyes on Dan. “You’re right — it could have gone either way. I guess there’s no telling, is there? We might have saved the money but lost the boy. So it’s all worked out for the best then.”

  “Seems so, doesn’t it?”

  Nick’s hand paused. “Am I missing something here?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  Nick laid the knife aside. “What then?”

  “I watched a woman whose kidnapped son had been returned to her tear her mother to shreds for the abuse she suffered from a stepfather when she was a teenager. I thought tragedies were supposed to bring families closer, but in this case it just ripped one apart.”

  Nick shrugged. “Not your fault.”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” Dan shook his head. “It’s just a feeling I have that there’s more to come. And somewhere out there is someone with a million dollars that doesn’t belong to them.”

  “Maybe there will be fingerprints on the notes. Thanks for handing them over, by the way.”

  “I won’t hold my breath waiting on the fingerprints, but you’re welcome.”

  “Anything else I should know?”

  “I had a call from Elroy James on my way back. When I asked about the money Eli Gestner owed him, he said it was taken care of. As for the death threats, he says it was all a misunderstanding. Poof — no problem! Everything’s fine. Please forget the nasty words I uttered.”

  “Meaning what? You think Elroy just collected his earnings?”

  “Something like that.”

  Nick sat back. “That’s for us to worry about now. But I can tell you this: unless he has a twin, t
he Montreal hotel CCTV puts him there at the time of the kidnapping.”

  “All that says is he didn’t do it himself. I’d make sure I was far away too when the time came if I was involved.”

  “Sure. Whatever. But it’s behind you. You’re the man of the hour again. Why not enjoy it? You always want to question everything just a little beyond what’s decent.”

  “It’s my nature.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Nick agreed. “But even cops let go of a case once it’s solved.”

  “So do I.”

  Nick watched him. “So when will you let this one go?”

  “As you said. Once it’s solved.”

  TWENTY

  A Separate Deity

  IN DAN’S EXPERIENCE, most drug addicts stayed awake all night and slept all day. Like vampires. But Sarah Nealon was already dressed when he showed up on her doorstep early the following morning. He put his foot in the door when she opened it, just to make sure she let him in. She looked surprised, but then again she looked surprised by nearly everything.

  The sun-catcher whirled overhead as Dan sat at the table watching Sarah move around the kitchen. Light splintered in all directions, catching the hidden corners of the room. A crystalline world of beautiful, shiny pieces. He waited patiently as she served him tea with the same exaggerated graces as previously.

  “You were here before,” she said, seating herself across from him.

  “Yes, I came to ask about Jeremy Bentham.”

  “Oh, yes — I remember now.”

  “I thought you’d want to know someone found him and brought him home yesterday,” Dan told her.

  She clasped her hands. Her face was filled with glee. “That’s such good news!”

  “Do you know where Jeremy was staying while he was missing?”

  “While he was —? Oh, no!” Panic flooded her features. “I would never —”

  “It’s all right.” Dan smiled. “I just thought you might have known. The last time we spoke you said you were worried about a boy who got hurt.”

  “I …” Her hands made fluttering motions around the pillow she had strapped to her belly. “Every child is precious. Did you know there is a separate deity for every single thing in existence?”