by Carver Pike
When Ivory called from the shop, I knew the severity of the situation. Ivory didn’t get it at first. Sure, he was pissed off about the state of the shop and the words written on the wall, but he had no idea that the message had real meaning behind it. We all fall down. All of us. It was a message meant for Ivory. Meant for us both really. Apparently a news team had already shown up on site and was standing outside filming. He’d rushed at the reporter and Chunk had backed him up. Yet, he still believed it was only a random act of vandalism.
When I finally made my way to The Motor Quill, my brother was in the process of sweeping up the glass. Chunk had gone out to buy some boards to fill the gaping hole temporarily until we could get someone out to fix the window.
“B…b…brother,” I said.
“It’s Davey and his fucking goons,” Ivory spat. “Or…if they’re too fucked up from that beating you gave ‘em, then it’s some of their other friends. Fucking wannabe gangsters.”
He’d had plenty of time to think about it and it made sense considering everything he’d gone through recently, but I knew better. Davey was in the hospital and so were all his pals. This had nothing to do with that guy. No, this was much deeper. It was much more personal.
“N…n…no,” I warned him. “It’s n…not.”
“What do you mean it’s not?” he said. “Who the fuck else would do this?”
“N…N…Neal,” I said.
“Neal? Neal who? Who the fuck is Neal?”
“Neal,” I repeated, this time without botching the word. “Fr…fr…from Mrs. R…Rebecca’s house.”
“Little Neal?” he said. “Kev, why the fuck would Neal have anything to do with this? We haven’t seen that twerp since we were kids.”
“Th…th…the cops thought I w…wa…was the k…killer,” I told him. “B…b…but who do you th…think would m…m…make them think th…th…that?”
“I’m not following,” he said.
I went on to explain to Ivory how we’d ruined the kid’s life and how he’d always hated me for my relationship with Mrs. Rebecca. Then, I did something I thought I’d never do. I was honest with him about my sneaking off to see Mrs. Rebecca and about the relationship we’d had. He was pissed but he didn’t say anything. He listened to me. I think mostly because he knew how hard it was for me to explain myself. Making me do it more than once would be cruel. So he quietly listened. Even as I explained that I thought it was possible that Neal was the one who’d caught me in bed with Mrs. Rebecca and that I thought he might have done something to her. That he might have even killed her.
“You went back to her,” he said.
After all I’d told him, that’s what he was dwelling on.
“I…Ivory,” I said.
“You went back to that sick bitch who terrorized you as a kid.”
“She l…loved me,” I said, defending her.
Ivory didn’t understand. He never would.
“This is all crazy,” Ivory said. “You know I’ve never doubted you, man. You know I stick up for you in all that you do. But why? It doesn’t make any sense. Why would you go back to her? And why would Neal have anything to do with this. What would he get out of this?”
“Ra…ra….retribution,” I said. “Wha…wha…what did he always w…w…want?”
Ivory was quiet for a second and then his face tightened and his cheek muscles flexed as he bit down hard. He’d caught on.
“Nikki,” Ivory said. “Fuck!”
Ivory drove me to her apartment. Keeping up with him was hell as he bolted up the stairs and crashed into her apartment. I stumbled in behind him, out of breath, and found him standing with his hands gripping his hair.
“Oh God, no,” he said. “Oh God. God, no, please.”
I went into Nikki’s room and was practically knocked over from the smell. A dead animal lay on the floor. It looked to be a raccoon or a large cat. Its fur was ripped open and its insides had spilled out all over the place. Written on the cream colored carpet next to it were the words: We All Fall Down!
To hear your younger brother sobbing the way mine was, especially such a tough son of a bitch like Ivory, made everything seem almost dreamlike. It didn’t feel real. It was like we’d stepped into a horror movie.
How is this possible?
It was possible because we’d made it possible. We’d created the monster. We’d stolen his life and now he wanted to rip ours out from under us.
Crying wasn’t going to fix anything and Ivory needed to snap out of it. We’d find Nikki. I had faith that somehow we’d get her back. We just needed to think. We needed to be level headed. When I made it back out to the living room, Ivory had his hands on his thighs and was trying to control his breathing.
“S…s…stop it,” I told him. “G…get ahold of y…yourself.”
“She’s gone, Kev,” he said. “Neal took her. He’s doing it to punish me for telling the cops about his fucked up mother.”
“Th…th…this isn’t h…helping,” I said.
“But she’s gone,” he said. “Nikki’s gone.”
BAM. I slapped him hard. It’s the only time I’ve ever laid a hand on my brother, and it stunned the hell out of him. He shut up and he fixed his gaze on me. I touched my forehead to his and lightly slapped his cheek again.
“L…l…listen,” I said. “F…f…fix this. Fix it l…like you fix everything.”
“Fix it,” he repeated. “I need to fix it. How do I fix it? I make phone calls. I track people down. I fix it.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket and called Chunk.
“Chunk,” he said into the phone. “I need your help. Nikki’s gone. Simple Simon took her. He’s the one who tore up the shop. Just trust me. I know what the fuck I’m talking about. It’s a long story but I know who Simon is. But I need eyes and ears on the street. Can you get the MC out there looking for her? Thanks man. I owe you one. Make sure they keep her safe if they find her.”
He hung up and immediately dialed another number.
“Reid,” he said this time.
There was a long pause while Ivory listened. I could hear the sound of an angry voice on the other end.
“My brother?” Ivory said. “What are you talking about?”
Silence.
“Reid, my brother is here with me right now. That’s what I’m calling you about. The killer took Nikki. I’m putting you on speaker so Kevin can hear you too.”
“No, don’t…fucking shit, bro,” Reid’s voice came over the phone. “I don’t like talking like this. Who else is around?”
“Nobody,” Ivory said. “I promise. Listen, Reid, Simple Simon took Nikki. He vandalized my shop and took my girl.”
“Your fucking brother took Nikki,” Reid yelled. “And I don’t care if he’s listening. He put his fucking hands on my daughter too…”
“Y…y…your daughter?” I said at a higher volume than him. “B…b…but I didn’t…”
“What do you mean Kevin touched your daughter?” I asked.
“It’s a long story,” Reid said at a much lower volume.
“If Simple Simon was near your daughter,” Ivory said. “I can promise you he’s not Kevin. Kevin’s the one who warned me about Neal. Our foster brother. He’s the one who told me to check on Nikki and now…”
“Who’s Nikki?” he asked.
“She’s an old friend and she’s…she’s my woman. She’s everything, man. I need your help.”
“And what’s this about a foster brother?” he asked.
“Neal. We grew up with this kid and we think he’s the killer,” Ivory explained.
“Have you heard from Valerie?” Reid asked.
“What do you mean have I heard from Valerie? No, she bounced. She left town. She gave me a fucking letter and left. This isn’t about her, dammit! Reid, Simple Simon has my fucking girlfriend.”
“If you’re sure about this,” Reid started. “I need to get a hold of Mac. He’s out there lookin’ for your brother and if he
finds you guys before I get a hold of him, it’s not gonna be good.”
“Who the hell is Mac?” Ivory asked.
It took me a moment to remember Mac. The name was familiar. Then I remembered he was the big, tough cop who’d questioned me the night of my arrest. If he was on the street looking for us, we needed to be careful. He looked like the kind of guy who wouldn’t give a shit about protocol.
“He’s a friend of mine,” Reid said. “And he’s a badass cop who is on a serious mission to find the man who had the fucking balls to come anywhere near my family. I need to call him right now. You need to think of anywhere this fucked up brother of yours might have taken your girlfriend.”
“I have no clue, man,” I said.
“Well, it seems he went through a lot of shit to imitate Kevin,” Reid said. “He whistles like him, stutters like him, and even wears a fedora like him. And you said he vandalized your shop? And he took your girlfriend?”
“Who was also in the foster home with us,” Ivory said, trailing off at the end as if in deep thought.
“She was a foster sibling of yours too?” Reid asked. “Jesus…”
“He’s coming after us all,” Ivory said. “But why?”
“You think on that,” Reid said, “While I save both of your asses. If Mac finds you first…just let me call him dammit.”
Ivory hung up and looked at me.
“Chunk’s sending the MC out looking for her. And Reid will get back to me.”
“So wha…wha…what do we do n…now, I…Ivory?” I asked.
“What do all of us have in common?” he asked.
“M…Mrs. Rebecca,” I said.
“Exactly,” he said. “I think he wants us to come home.
***
Mrs. Rebecca’s house loomed ahead. We’d parked the car a few blocks away and hoofed it the rest of the way. Ivory was sure Nikki would be there but I had my doubts. Neal could have taken her to a thousand places in San Francisco. Why would he choose a spot that could get him caught? How would he know that we’d come without the police?
As we approached the house, I saw that the streetlights failed to shine from a couple of houses before our destination to a couple of houses after it. No porch light welcomed us and no illumination came from inside either. A car was parked in the driveway. Yes, Simple Simon was definitely in Mrs. Rebecca’s house. He’d been smart enough to smash out the street lamps and keep the place shrouded in darkness for our arrival. He had the home field advantage.
“He’s definitely in there,” Ivory said as we squatted down behind an old banana colored Buick with cinderblocks in place of its wheels, the same way it had been since we were kids.
We were only a house away, so close to the madman, and even though I’d known him in my youth, something about the situation frightened me. The wind seemed to pick up suddenly and it howled through the trees surrounding the neighborhood, chastising us, and daring us to keep going.
“I…I…think s…so too,” I agreed.
“Kev,” Ivory began. “This is how this needs to play out. I’m gonna go right in the front door with the gun. If he’s in there with her, I might be able to talk to him. I want you at the back door in case he tries to run out with her that way.”
I tapped the lead pipe in my right hand against the open palm of my left.
“Be careful,” Ivory said. “And if he runs out the door, you hit that motherfucker like you’re trying to knock his head into the fucking nosebleed stadium seats. You got that?”
“Y…y…yeah,” I said.
I got it. If Neal ran out the back door, I was gonna light that motherfucker up.
“But don’t hit Nikki,” Ivory said. “You never know if he’s gonna use her as a shield or something. Trust me. If there’s any way I can stop him on my end, I will, but I figure there’s a good chance he might try to escape out the back.”
“I…g…g…got it,” I said.
We crouched down low and made our way quietly toward the house. Ivory waited as I wrapped around to the back of the house before he moved in closer to the front. There, in the backyard I knew so well, I hunkered down a few feet from the door and waited with my lead pipe resting on my shoulder.
All was silent except the breeze swishing through the trees. I waited for a gunshot. Or Nikki’s scream. Or Neal’s cry of agony. None of those came. What did come was much too normal. Just a simple calling.
“Kev,” Ivory said from somewhere within the house. “Come on in.”
Chapter 21 – Simple Simon
Taking Nikki had been easier than I’d expected. Once she was knocked out, I simply walked out of her apartment with her over my shoulder. An old woman saw me in the hallway but I put on an Oscar winning performance.
“Stop wiggling you damn drunk,” I said. “And you better not pee on me. I’ll have you in the car in a minute.”
The old woman mumbled something under her breath that sounded something like, “Damn reckless youngsters.”
I’d struggled with Nikki a bit once I got her to Mrs. Rebecca’s house, but it was nothing some rope and the threat of driving a knife through her heart couldn’t fix. Once she understood the dire circumstances, she became much less quarrelsome. The demons, however, were another matter. It seemed they grew more rambunctious the closer we came to our conclusion.
It had taken me a long time to understand what they truly desired, and now that I knew and had made arrangements to see it through, they were more eager than I was, and I was quite excited myself, especially with Nikki’s naked body stretched out on the carpet in front of me.
With her arms and legs opened up and each limb tied to a stake driven down into the floor, she was like a beautiful snow angel, waiting impatiently in the darkness. I sat cross-legged on the carpet with her head practically in my lap. Candle light illuminated her long blonde hair and shined off the tears streaming down her face.
“She’s lovely,” Hag whispered.
“Beautiful,” Rotten said, his voice sounding full of phlegm.
Putrid chomped his teeth no farther than an inch from Nikki’s face and said, “I could eat her pussy right now, in front of you all.”
“FUCK HER IN THE ASS!” Samuel yelled into my ear.
“Why are you doing this?” Nikki asked so suddenly that I wondered for a moment if she were able to hear the demons.
I looked back at them gathered around me. Had she really heard them? After all these years, had someone else finally heard them? The way she tilted her head back and looked directly at me told me she hadn’t. If she had, she’d be freaking out, the way I had the first time I’d seen them. The first time I heard them. I think hearing them was even worse than seeing them. Their taunts and foul odorous breath terrorized me then and still do to this day.
“She’ll be yours soon,” I promised the demons, Hag specifically. “And so will the others.”
“What?” Nikki asked. “Who will be mine?”
“Shh,” I told her. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
Her eyes grew wide and I knew I’d scared her. That was good. It wasn’t time to talk. She was good at playing the sweet thing. She always had been, and I knew if I let her talk too much, she might wiggle worm her way out of this. Knowing Nikki, she may even offer to be my girlfriend. I’d spent the entire day antsy about this evening, and with the sun finally down, I knew it was close to coming to an end. The demons would finally leave me the fuck alone. At least the three would. Samuel might stick around but I could handle that rotten little bastard if it were only him.
When the front door clicked, my heart thundered in my chest with nervous anticipation. It was finally about to happen.
Can’t wait to see you, brothers. I’ve missed you.
It was James who walked in first. He tried to enter all smooth the way the cops always do on TV. He wasn’t a cop. He wasn’t smooth. The knob turned and he entered half hunched over with his gun out in front of him, but I didn’t leave him any room to search. Nikki and I were
right there on the living room floor.
“Oh fuck,” James said. “Nikki!”
“Calm down, brother,” I said.
I wasn’t wearing my mask. At this point there was no reason for it. James wouldn’t have come to the house if he hadn’t figured out it was me. I knew it was actually Kevin who’d figured it out. He may have known for some time but had chosen not to believe it. He must have known it was me in the house the night he was fucking my mom. Then mom disappeared. That had to have at least made him curious. Yes, I do believe it was Kevin who’d figured it out first. James had always been known as the more intelligent of the two, but I think Kevin might have quite possibly been the smarter one.
“You’re right,” James said. “I am your brother. And she’s…”
“She’s what?” I asked. “You’re not really going to say our sister are you? Not after I watched you fuck her in the ass.”
Nikki looked up at me again and I winked at her.
“Yes, babe,” I said. “I saw you.”
“You’re sick,” she replied.
“You have no idea,” I said.
“I don’t know what you saw,” James said, “But we are all family…in some twisted way.”
Twisted. You’ve got that right.
“Speaking of family,” I said. “Where’s Kevin?”
James didn’t answer. Did he really think that I’d believe he came alone? He needed Kevin. Kevin was the tough one, the crazy one.
“Close the door,” I told him. “Close it and come sit here next to Nikki’s left foot.”
James didn’t move so I pushed my knife blade against her neck.
“On second thought,” I said. “Toss that gun out into the front yard and then close the door. You won’t be needing it. Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt any of you. After all, as you said, we’re family.”
“James,” Nikki said when I pressed the blade down harder.
He threw the gun out into the yard and closed the door. He kept his eyes on Nikki as he sat down at her foot like I’d ordered. I wondered if he was as awestruck with her naked body as I was. She truly was splendid. Her body was magnificent. Then again, he’d seen every inch of it. He’d kissed it all. He’d made love to her. I’d always wanted her to be mine and somehow I knew once Hag had taken her, I would have my chance to fuck her. Hag was always horny. Yes, once the night was done, I would fuck Nikki.