Tales of the Scarlet Knight Collection: The Call

by P. T. Dilloway

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well go check. It’s really important.”

  “Who is this?”

  “His girlfriend, Becky. I need to talk to him.”

  “Keep your panties on,” the roommate growled. Becky drummed her fingers on the desk as she waited for the roommate to return. After what seemed like an eternity, the roommate said, “He’s not here. You want to leave a message or something?”

  “No. Thanks.”

  Becky hung up the phone and sighed. They must have taken him in that van. The logical thing then would be to call the cops. As she started to dial, she thought of what to say. They would never believe Marie had hypnotized her into reliving memories from fourteen years ago. Maybe she could say Marie had drugged her.

  But what if Marie and her friend had a police radio? If they found out Becky had gone to the police, they might kill Steve. She shook her head and then stabbed the button to turn off the phone. She turned it on a few seconds later; this time she pressed zero for the operator. “Yes, I need a taxi service.”

  While she waited for the cab, Becky finally indulged her stomach and ate some of the restaurant owner’s leftover ribs. It at least gave her something else to think about other than Steve in the clutches of that crazy bitch and whoever had been with her. “This is really good,” Becky said as she polished off a rib.

  “We aim to please,” he said. “What sort of trouble is your boyfriend in?”

  “I don’t really know. Someone kidnapped him.”

  “He rich or something?”

  “No, he’s not rich at all.”

  “Crazy people in this damned city. I should have stayed in Memphis. Just soon as I can, I’m going back there and put all this craziness behind. Can’t stand it no more.”

  “Me either.”

  The cab pulled up to the front of the restaurant. Becky wiped the barbecue sauce off as best she could. “Thank you for your help.”

  “I hope your boyfriend be all right.”

  “So do I.”

  She instructed the cab driver to take her back home, where she climbed up the stairs to the apartment. She paused at each landing to listen for any sound of someone waiting for her. It was entirely possible Marie and her friend might have followed her or just waited here to finish her off.

  No one accosted her on the way to the apartment. She opened the front door, but didn’t turn on the light. She tried to peer into the darkness in case they waited for her in here. She couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of her own heavy breathing from the climb up the stairs.

  A search of the apartment turned up nothing. She was alone. With a sigh she collapsed on Emma’s bed to wait for her friend to show up. She only hoped Emma didn’t stay out the whole night again or else she would have to go to the police and take her chances.

  She had begun to doze when she heard a heavy thump. Becky let out a loud gasp as she rolled into a sitting position. “Becky?” Emma said. “What are you doing in here?”

  Becky threw herself against Emma, the armor so cold that it made Becky think of a corpse. “They took Steve.”

  “Who?”

  “Marie! And some guy. I didn’t see his face. I went over to Steve’s place and we were watching TV and stuff and then Marie showed up at the door. She tried to lure him away by saying I was in trouble. When she realized that wasn’t going to work, she knocked me out, but they left me in an alley behind some barbecue joint, where this nice man let me use the phone. I tried Steve’s place but he’s not there. I thought of calling the cops, but they might find out and kill him, you know?” Becky said. She needed to stop then to breathe. “I knew you could help. You have to find him. Please?”

  Emma helped Becky over to the bed and sat her down. “All right, slow down. Did they say what they wanted Steve for?”

  “No. Marie just said she needed his help. The next thing I knew I was in that alley by myself. Do you think they killed him?”

  “I don’t know. It’s possible.”

  “Possible? This isn’t a goddamned science experiment, Emma. This is Steve we’re talking about. I love him!”

  “I’m sorry,” Emma said, “but you need to calm down and try to think. Do you have any idea what direction they went?”

  “No. Marie used that eye of hers on me. It was terrible. I was eight again and Mama had locked me in the furnace closet. I couldn’t breathe—”

  Emma pulled Becky close and hugged her. With the armor on, Emma’s hug prompted Becky to wince. “Sorry,” Emma said. She relaxed her grip. “I’ll do everything I can to find him. I promise.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll go down to the sewers. The Sewer Rat might know something.”

  “The Sewer Rat? You think that creep is going to help?”

  “He’s helped me before. He has ‘friends’ all over the city.”

  “Yeah, great, let’s wait around for a bunch of rats to find him.”

  “Marlin can help too. That will help us cover a lot more ground.”

  Becky knew that wouldn’t be enough, not in a city of eight million people. If only she’d managed to see something that might give them a clue about where they had taken Steve. Instead she’d let Marie put her into a trance while she did God only knew what to Steve. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” Becky said.

  “It’s all right. We’ll find him.”

  “In how many pieces?”

  “Marie won’t kill him.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “She’s not a murderer.”

  “Yeah, she’s a real sweetheart.”

  “Marie has some problems, but she’s not that cold-blooded.”

  “Just cold-blooded enough to kidnap him.”

  “You’re sure Marie didn’t say anything about what she wanted?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “And you don’t have any idea who this man with her was?”

  “No. I couldn’t see his face.” Becky’s face turned warm. “That’s not very helpful is it?”

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Emma stood up. “Are you going to be all right here by yourself? I could ask Mrs. Chiostro to come over—”

  “I’ll be fine. Just find him.”

  Emma was halfway through the window when the phone rang. Becky ran to the kitchen faster than she ever had run before. She managed to get it on the third ring. “Hello?”

  “Becky?” Steve said.

  “Steve! Are you all right? Did they hurt you?”

  “Not too bad. I…I need you to come get me.”

  “Where are you?”

  “In the park.”

  “Robinson Park?”

  “Yes.”

  “Where?”

  “I’m not sure. There’s a playground nearby.”

  That wasn’t all that helpful, not in a park as large as Robinson Park was. “We’ll find you. Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “OK. You just sit tight and we’ll be there soon, all right?”

  “All right.”

  “And Steve…I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Becky hung up the phone. She almost plowed into Emma in the living room. “He’s alive! They let him go in the park. He said he’s near a playground. We have to go get him.”

  Emma put a hand on Becky’s shoulder. “I’ll get him. You stay here and rest.”

  “What? I’m not going to sit around here.”

  “I can’t fit three of us on my bike and a cab would be too slow.”

  Becky’s face turned warm again as she realized her friend was right. “I’m sorry.”

  “We’ll be back soon. I promise.”

  Emma bolted out the front door. Becky could only collapse onto the couch and bury her face in her hands. She prayed Steve would be all right. She couldn’t lose him now, not after she had finally told him how she felt.

  “I love you, Steve,” she whi
spered into the darkness.

  ***

  Emma left the Scarlet Knight’s armor in a trash can in the park. It would find its way back to its case beneath the Plaine Museum. Even if it didn’t right away, anyone who tried to put on the armor would be in for a big shock. Then, armed with only a flashlight, Emma set out to find Steve.

  There were a half-dozen playgrounds in Robinson Park. They were scattered in a roughly circular pattern around the park, each playground accompanied by a cluster of picnic tables and pavilions. But from what she knew of the park, only two of those playgrounds had a bathroom nearby with a payphone attached to the building. Steve had to have called from one of those payphones.

  She decided to start with the southernmost of the two possibilities. She swept the flashlight over the playground equipment, but she didn’t see Steve. Next she tried the men’s room, a nervous flutter in her stomach even though there shouldn’t be anyone in there at this time of night. She checked each stall, but Steve wasn’t there. A search of the ladies room didn’t turn up anything either.

  She wished she’d kept the armor on as she galloped across the park. Her body was in good shape, but the armor would have helped her run even faster and without fatigue. The problem was she couldn’t let Steve see her in the armor and how could she explain the Scarlet Knight’s presence?

  What seemed like hours later, the playground finally came in sight. Her heart beat faster when she saw Steve sprawled on the base of the slide. “Oh no,” she whispered. She was too late!

  She grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him over. His skin still felt warm, though it was terribly pale. The reason for this was a large gash on his left hand. He had wrapped his shirt around it, but that hadn’t stemmed the blood.

  Emma slapped his cheek gently. “Steve? Can you hear me? It’s Becky’s friend, Emma. She asked me to find you. Come on, wake up. Please?”

  She had to slap him for a good minute before he finally groaned. His eyes fluttered open. “Becky?”

  “She’s not here. I’m her friend, Emma.”

  “Is she…is she all right?”

  “She’s fine, but we need to get you to the hospital. Can you walk?”

  “I think so.”

  She helped him get to his feet. He leaned against her and managed a couple of unsteady steps. She knew then they couldn’t take her motorcycle to the hospital. He would never be able to stay on the bike, especially not at high speed.

  They made it over to the payphone, where she set him down on the ground while she tried to think of who to call. An ambulance would take at least half an hour; how much more blood would Steve have lost by then? She decided instead to punch in the number for Mrs. Chiostro. The old witch didn’t have a car, but she had a much faster means of travel.

  “Hello, dear. Are you in some trouble?” Mrs. Chiostro asked, her voice as chipper as if she had been awake for hours, not roused from her sleep at three in the morning.

  “It’s Steve—Becky’s friend. We’re in Robinson Park and he’s losing a lot of blood. He needs a hospital—fast.” Emma described her location to Mrs. Chiostro, who promised to be there shortly.

  After Emma hung up, she squatted down beside Steve. “It’s going to be all right,” she said to him. “We’ll get you to a hospital and they’ll stitch you up.”

  “Becky?”

  “She’ll meet us there. Don’t worry.”

  “Becky—” Steve’s eyes fluttered again. His body had probably already gone into shock. How much blood had he lost? From the look of his skin and the amount of blood on the shirt around his hand, she knew it was a lot.

  A hand shook Emma’s shoulder. “Hello, dear,” Mrs. Chiostro said. “Oh my, he is in bad shape, isn’t he?”

  “Can you cure him?”

  “I could take him home and give him a restoration potion, but I’m not sure things are that dire yet. I’d hate to use magic if we don’t have to.”

  The witch gave Emma a knowing look. Emma’s face warmed as she remembered the night she had used one of Mrs. Chiostro’s potions on Dan Dreyfus. Emma had learned the hard way how painful it could be to fool around with magic.

  “Can you get him to the hospital?”

  “I think I can manage that, dear. If you could help me get the poor boy to his feet.”

  Emma hooked an arm around Steve’s armpit and then lifted him up. Mrs. Chiostro put her arm around Steve. There was a flash of white light—

  Emma heard a siren. She blinked some green and purple blobs out of her vision. When she could see clearly again, she realized they stood behind St. Joseph’s, beside some dumpsters. “Would you like me to accompany you two?” Mrs. Chiostro asked.

  “No, but I’m sure Becky would appreciate it if you gave her a lift.”

  “No problem at all, dear. Good luck.”

  Steve mumbled Becky’s name a few times as Emma walked him up to the emergency room doors. “It’s all right,” she whispered into his ear. “We’re here now. The doctors are going to fix you up good as new.”

  He only sagged against her in response. She dragged him the last few feet to the front desk. “My friend needs help,” she said to the nurse. “His hand is cut really bad. He’s lost a lot of blood.”

  An orderly came around the desk to help get Steve onto a gurney. They wheeled him away; Emma stayed behind to give information to the nurse. After that, she could only sag onto a seat in the waiting room.

  She didn’t realize she’d dozed off until she felt Becky shake her. “Where is he? What did they do to him?”

  “They took him back there,” Emma said.

  “Is he all right?”

  “I think so. Marie cut his hand and he lost some blood, but it shouldn’t be too bad now.”

  With a weary sigh, Becky dropped onto the seat next to Emma. Her friend began to sob. “It’s all right. He’ll be fine.”

  “I know. It’s just…it was so close.” Becky leaned against Emma and cried into Emma’s blouse. “Why would anyone hurt Steve? He’s a good person. He’d never hurt anyone.”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll find out. I promise.”

  Chapter 6

  They kept Steve in the hospital overnight to recover. The doctor who had stitched Steve’s hand promised there would be no permanent damage except a scar from the wound. They did have to give him a transfusion to replace the blood he’d lost. Once he was stable they would let him go home with his parents to recover.

  Becky was still with them as well, but Emma had other things to do. She needed to locate Marie Marsh and find out why she had kidnapped and cut Steve. So after she knew Steve was in the clear, Emma called for a cab to take her back to the park.

  Her motorcycle had not been touched in her absence. She considered donning the Scarlet Knight’s armor, but it was six in the morning, much too early for that. Instead Emma headed to Parkdale. She figured the place to start her search for Marie would be the Park Glen Rest Home. Emma doubted Marie would show up for her shift today, but maybe she’d let something slip.

  “It’s not visiting hours yet,” the woman at the reception desk said.

  “I know I’m a little early. A friend of mine works here, Marie Marsh. I just wanted to give her a message.”

  “I don’t think she’s here yet.”

  “Oh, really? What time does she usually get in?”

  “I’m not exactly sure, but let me check.” The receptionist left Emma to wait by the desk.

  As she did, a familiar face hobbled up to her. “Well, fancy that. I was just thinking about you,” Mr. Graves said.

  “Hi, Mr. Graves.”

  “Don’t suppose you came to visit me, did you?”

  “Um, well—”

  “It’s all right, love. I didn’t expect you to what with so much excitement.” He winked at her. “When you get a chance, I think you and me ought to have a chat.”

  “Oh, sure.”

  Before she could wonder about what he wanted to talk about, the receptionist returned. “I’m af
raid Marie called in sick today.”

  “That’s too bad. Do you have her phone number?”

  “We’re not allowed to give out that kind of information.”

  “I see. Thanks anyway.”

  The receptionist turned to Mr. Graves. “You shouldn’t be out here, sir. Breakfast is being served in the dining room.”

  “I already had my breakfast. Thought I’d take a little walk to get some air. That quack of a cardiologist said it’d do me good.” He patted Emma’s back. “At least it gave me a chance to run into this pretty lass.”

  Emma’s face turned red even though she knew Mr. Graves meant it in jest. “I think I should be going.”

  “I’ll walk you to your car, young lady. I don’t suppose you’ve seen much of the grounds, have you?”

  “Um, no, I haven’t.”

  “They’re quite a sight, let me tell you.” Mr. Graves hooked an arm through Emma’s elbow. He kept his other hand on his cane as he hobbled along with her out of the rest home. He led her over to a bench beneath an elm tree. “So how are you holding up?”

  “I’m fine,” Emma said. She looked up to watch a sparrow hop along one of the tree’s branches. “I wish people would stop asking that.”

  “I heard an interesting piece of news last night from that old gossip Marlin. He said something about you looking for the men who killed your parents.”

  “Yes. Lieutenant Donovan asked for my help. She heard something from a prison snitch she wanted me to check out.”

  “I see. You make any progress yet?”

  “No.” She told him about her visits to their relatives and then her interrogation of Niccione. Before she went home last night, Emma had tried the places on Niccione’s list, at least those still open. She shook down the proprietors of those establishments, but had come away with nothing. No one had seen French or Estima since Don Vendetta had put her bounty on them. In a way that made sense since there was no honor among thieves, especially not with a half-million dollars at stake. “They’re probably already gone. Either they left town or someone killed them for the bounty.”

  “Not to sound like one of them pansy shrinks, but how does that make you feel?”

  “Frustrated.”