Lion's Head Revisited

by Jeffrey Round

  Her eyes flashed with concern. “Can you guarantee that Janice and Jeremy will be safe?”

  “I can guarantee I will do my utmost to protect them.”

  “Even if it means risking your own life?”

  Dan wondered if her concern was for the money or the safety of all involved. Perhaps both, if he were to be charitable.

  “Yes.”

  “Mom, please! We need to do this now.”

  Clarice Bentham sighed. Emotion flitted across her face.

  “Just be careful.”

  “I will.”

  Dan picked up the box and tucked it under his arm. The maid reappeared and held out a hand indicating the hallway they’d entered by. Janice turned back to look at her mother.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Take it — it will all be yours one day. All that and more.”

  Janice nodded. “I’ll call to let you know what happens.”

  In the elevator on the way down Janice slumped against the wall. She breathed with relief.

  “You handled her perfectly. How did you know what to say?”

  “Practice,” Dan said.

  SIXTEEN

  Ransom

  THE HAT BOX SAT ON THE KITCHEN TABLE, two full cups of coffee beside it and a third cup nearly empty. The tablecloth was a colourful Mexican weave, long streamers of red and purple flung outward from its centre. Like fireworks or artillery flares. Explosive. Dangerous.

  “I’ve never seen a million dollars all in one place before,” Eli said excitedly. “It’s actually quite impressive looking.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it,” Janice snapped. “It won’t be around long.”

  He screwed up his face. “All right — relax! I won’t.” He waited a while then asked, “How’s your mother, by the way?”

  “Still a cunt. By the way.”

  They all sat around trying to ignore the telephone that adamantly refused to ring. Ashley’s eyes went back and forth between the other two. Her taciturn demeanour was overshadowed by the constant bickering between Janice and Eli. It made them seem more like fractious siblings than friends.

  Eli pulled out a joint and turned to Dan. “Do you mind?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Cool.” He lit the joint and held it out to Ashley. “Ash?”

  She shook her head. “Not me.”

  “I’ll have some,” Janice said.

  He passed it to Janice, who toked then handed it back without a word.

  Dan watched him closely. “You never said what your business deal was with Elroy.”

  Eli looked over. “Do you have to ask?”

  “I don’t. I just wondered why you never told me.”

  Eli shrugged. “It’s not something I’m proud of.”

  The smoke rose in loopy, blue-grey strands around his head.

  “What went wrong?”

  “They caught the stuff at the border. It never got here. I set it up. Elroy pitched in half. I lost my money and his. It was one of those stupid things you agree to in the moment then regret later.”

  Eli took a final toke then stabbed out the joint. He stood and wandered restlessly around, looking in cupboards and corners.

  Janice glared. “Eli!”

  He whirled as though he’d been struck. “What?”

  “Sit down and be patient.”

  He looked warily at the chair he’d just abandoned. “Why?”

  “Because you’re making us all nervous.”

  “I don’t care! This is making me crazy.”

  He sat anyway then popped up again after five seconds and turned on the TV, muting it as the images streamed into the room. News, weather, sports. Nobody spoke. Their nervousness was palpable.

  Silence invaded the room. The three of them were glued to their phones, tapping and scrolling incessantly. It was catching. Dan checked his own phone before sending off a note to Ked saying he’d be home late and not to wait up. His son responded immediately: Got it, Dad. I won’t wait! Have fun whatever you’re doing.

  They had been sitting around for nearly half an hour when Eli lifted his head and looked at Dan. “Is it all right if we order a pizza?”

  Dan gave him a curious look. “Sure. Go ahead.”

  “Any preferences?”

  “I’m fine, thanks,” Dan said.

  He’d heard of the self-absorption of millennials, but he couldn’t for the life of him imagine what it would be like to be the autistic child of such parents.

  Eli turned to his phone and dialed. There was a bit of inadvertent comedy as he kept getting put on hold. Finally, after a good deal of pot-addled confusion, he placed his order. They sat back and waited.

  After another minute, Eli cast a baleful eye at the others. “What do we do if he doesn’t call?” he asked no one in particular.

  “Then we don’t do anything,” Janice explained, like a harassed mother to a difficult child. “We can’t do anything until he phones.” She rolled her eyes at Dan as though to say, You see what I put up with?

  “I meant, what do we do with the money? We can’t just keep it here all night.”

  “We’ll worry about that when it happens,” Janice snapped.

  Silence took over the room again as the three turned back to their screens. It seemed only a few minutes later when the doorbell rang. There was a moment of panic before they realized it was the pizza delivery.

  “I’ve got it,” Janice said, and headed to the door brandishing a credit card.

  A minute later the smell of warm pizza flooded the room. Janice pushed the money aside and placed the Domino’s box on the table, lifting the cover. Dan was struck by how casual they were. As if there weren’t a million dollars sitting in the house. As if a child’s life wasn’t at stake.

  “Pepperoni and mushrooms.” Janice looked around at the others. “Who wants a slice?”

  “I think everyone does,” Eli responded, with a look to Dan.

  “I’m good,” Dan said.

  Janice brought out plates, passing the box around. They ate in silence, barely looking at one another.

  A phone pinged. Licking her fingers, Janice picked up her cell. Her expression turned from curiosity to terror.

  “Oh, shit!” She dropped the phone.

  Dan reached across the table and grabbed it. A text message lit up the screen. We’re playing with the lions. Come and join us. Bring presents. The screen went dark.

  “They’re at Lion’s Head,” Dan said.

  The others crowded around.

  “What number is it from?” Eli asked.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’ll be untraceable. Prepaid phone, prepaid minutes. You won’t catch them that way. The signal will be traceable only when it’s on, which is going to be minimal. Once they text you, they’ll turn it off again. After they use it a few times they’ll throw it away and buy a new phone.”

  Dan called Nick, who phoned back a minute later to confirm that the number was untraceable. All eyes were on Dan.

  “It’s to be expected,” he said. “They’ll do everything they can to get you to deliver the money while evading any sort of trace. It only makes sense. They didn’t come this far only to invite capture.”

  Eli shot Dan a baleful look. “Why do you keep saying ‘they’?”

  “This is a coordinated effort and that generally means there’s more than one person behind it.” He nodded to the box of money. “For now, let’s just make sure Jeremy gets home safely.”

  “Yes, that’s all that matters,” Janice said.

  “What you do next is of the utmost importance.” Dan eyed the others. “From now on you need to do everything they ask. No surprises, just submission to their demands. That means heading up to the Bruce Peninsula tonight. Who’s coming and who’s staying here?”

  “We’re all coming,” Janice said without hesitation.

  The others nodded.

  “All right. Grab whatever you need. We’ll take two cars. It might be too late to find a motel, so
we may have to sleep in them.”

  “We can stay at the cottage,” Janice said. “Screw Dennis. I still have a key.”

  “We should still take two cars,” Dan said. “In case we need to split up at any point.”

  “Why don’t you and Eli go in your car? Ashley and I will go in ours.” Janice looked at her. “Are you okay to drive?”

  “Of course,” said Ashley.

  Janice gave Dan the address. “So do we try to drive side by side or just meet you up there?”

  “I may be a little fast,” Dan said. “Let’s meet up there.”

  Eli looked as though he was trying to clear his head. “Let’s do it,” he said.

  Dan picked up the hat box by the handles. “I’ll take the ransom.”

  He texted Nick as he was leaving: I’m off again for another day at least. Sorry to abandon you. His phone rang a few seconds later. He turned off the ringer. Nick would have to forgive him.

  Ten minutes later they were on the highway, heading north.

  SEVENTEEN

  Things That Go Bump in the Night

  DAN KEPT SIGHT of Janice’s car in his rear-view mirror until they reached the 401. After that, he lost them. Eli was silent till they were out of the city. His buzz seemed to be wearing off. His words came slowly, ruminatively.

  “You have a kid, right?” he asked, looking over at Dan.

  “Yes,” Dan said. “A teenage son. He’s in university now.”

  “Did you ever think he wouldn’t get there? Or maybe that you wouldn’t live long enough to see it?”

  “Sure,” Dan said. “That sort of thing passes through every parent’s mind, I think. It’s not rational, but you stop and consider it once in a while. Then you move on and trust that it will happen.”

  “I think about it all the time.”

  “You’ll get there,” Dan said. “And you’ll get Jeremy back.”

  “He still won’t go to university. His prognosis isn’t good.” He trailed off and looked out the window. “It’s expensive to treat autism. The government programs are useless. We had to put him in a special school. It costs. A lot.”

  “It can’t be easy,” Dan said.

  “You know what I think?”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s just …” His voice trailed off. After a while he said, “This ransom. We have to do it, right? You’re helpless when a kid needs you. It’s the ultimate love. I was completely selfish before Jeremy, but now it’s as if nothing else matters. Is that how you feel about your son? I mean, still?”

  “Still,” Dan said. “No matter what else is happening in my life, I always think of Kedrick.”

  “Jeremy’s a beautiful boy. Smart and funny. Once you get to know him, you see that. He responds to you. He really does. And your heart goes out to him. I’d do anything for him.” He paused. “I think sometimes I love him more for his troubles. It breaks my heart to think he’ll never have a normal life.”

  “I can understand that.”

  “You just want so much for them. You want everything for them.” He took a deep breath. “And Janice too. I sometimes think it’s my fault Jeremy has ASD. Genes, you know? They say there are between two hundred and four hundred genes responsible for the disorder.”

  “Chances are only half of them are yours. Does Janice blame you?”

  “No, thank god. It’s just my way to take the blame for things. Not smart, I know.” He laughed lightly. “Even back when we were kids, Janice was always a hell-raiser. I used to take the blame for her. She got me in far more trouble than I can remember.”

  Silence took over, broken only by the humming of the car.

  “What are you going to do about Elroy?” Dan finally asked. “To pay him off?”

  Eli sighed. “Jesus — he threatened me with a knife. He said he would cut off my balls and I’d never have another kid. Not that I want to. One’s enough. But I’ve got a plan.” He trailed off again.

  Dan looked over to see him slumped against the side of the car, eyes closed. He preferred him asleep, so he kept the car steady so as not to wake him. After twenty minutes, he turned his phone back on. Nick’s message was waiting: What the fuck, Dan! I hate it when you vanish like that. I want to know what’s happening. Dan smiled. He’d said he wanted to feel possessed by Nick and that’s what he was getting.

  There was nothing but empty highway for the next two hours. Darkness followed darkness, with a burst of light now and then as a town slid past. Farther north, his hometown would be one of those ghostly glows in the distance. He’d never go back, apart from the odd visit. Leave it in the past, he always said. Like an old love. If you drag it into the present it will destroy what good there is and sour what’s still to come. Did anyone outrun their demons?

  Behind him, flashes of lightning lit up the sky like a fire-breathing dragon, then vanished again. Nothing more than a conjuring effect, a magic trick. Sleight-of-hand. An autistic child gets up in the middle of the night and vanishes in a dark wood. Where does he go?

  The rain started when they were half an hour south of Owen Sound, coming down in sheets. He was going too fast, hydroplaning all the way. With each flash of lightning he saw how nature tortured itself, fire cauterizing the rocks and trees, wipers slashing at the rain.

  Half an hour to go.

  The Bruce was a very different place by night, distinctly different from the city. Instead of cars and buses flanked by the facades of condos and office towers, here there was dense forest, a fog-bound coastline, the rush and claw of the water and its impenetrable depths.

  The giant arms of the turbines rose and fell in the darkness, flailing endlessly just before he turned onto Cemetery Road. Dan checked his watch. Once again he’d made it in under three hours. Not bad driving considering.

  Passing the McLean farm, he saw lights at the far end of the driveway. It looked as though Horace kept late hours, but then he was more of a hobby farmer, Dan reminded himself. Strawberries and daisies.

  Dennis’s place lay just up ahead. He found the sign on the mailbox and turned into the drive. Eli slept on.

  The cottage was set back from the road, surrounded by pines and elms. Lion’s Head crested in the distance, its bulk a long dark outline against the sky. He heard the water close by.

  The other car showed up ten minutes later, its headlights flashing up the drive behind him. Ashley was a good driver too, it turned out. Dan woke Eli, who seemed surprised to find himself there already.

  Janice let them in. The place was spartan but comfortable. Dan had expected more of a show from a wealthy investment banker; then again, maybe this was the other side of Dennis Braithwaite.

  Once they were inside, Dan examined the lock. It was sturdy enough.

  “Is this the only door?” he asked.

  Ashley’s eyes grew wide. “Do you think someone might try to get in?”

  “Just being sure,” Dan said. “I don’t like surprises.”

  They watched as he went room to room, examining everything, opening closets and looking around before returning to the main room.

  “I’m going to put the money right here,” he said, placing the box on the floor beneath the table.

  The others followed him with their eyes.

  “That way we’ll know where it is at all times. I’m not anticipating any danger. I doubt anyone will try to steal it before we deliver it, unless they suspect a double-cross and want to take charge of things early to surprise us.”

  “How would they even know we’re here?” Janice asked.

  “It’s possible there’s a trace on your phone.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Janice wailed. “This is crazy!”

  “It’s best to be safe.”

  “Great.” She slumped into an easy chair. “What do we do?”

  “We need to set a watch.” He pointed to the couch. Beside it was a side table covered in magazines. “We’ll all take a turn. When it’s your turn you simply sit on the couch and read. If you see or
hear anything the least bit odd, you wake me. Got it?”

  They all nodded, wide-eyed, like children being told a ghost story.

  “Who’s first?” Eli asked.

  “I’ll go first, unless anyone has objections,” Dan said.

  “I’m good with that,” Janice said.

  Dan checked his watch. “It’s past midnight. You should get as much sleep as you can.”

  “No argument with that,” Eli said.

  They were all exhausted from the drive and the adrenaline rush that had by now subsided. Janice and Ashley took the bedroom at the front; Eli and Dan each claimed a room at the back.

  Dan waited till the others had gone to bed then sat on the couch. An article on teeth whitening came closest to having an appeal of all the reading material within reach. Most of the magazines were fitness-oriented. Not surprising, Dan thought, remembering Dennis Braithwaite’s well-honed physique.

  The wind had increased. After a while, Dan put the magazine down and turned off the light. From time to time, lightning crept into the room. He watched the glow as it crept up his arms and torso, as though he were a ghost appearing out of the ether.

  He was tempted to text Nick to say they’d arrived safely, but without saying where. In the end he decided against it. It was always at the back of his mind that with all the technology at his disposal Nick might succumb to the temptation to track him.

  Just before two, he knocked on Eli’s door. Eli came out scratching his beard and looking bewildered. His eyes were stark and his skin splotchy. Dan couldn’t shake the notion that he was still an adolescent.

  “Can you do this?” he asked.

  “I can do it.” Eli nodded.

  “All right. You can wake one of the women in two hours. Remember — if you hear anything, call me.”

  Dan headed to his room. He hung his shirt on the back of the door but left his pants and shoes on. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Sleek, no extra flesh. His chest was hard, his shoulders pronounced and bony. He wished now he’d had a bite of that pizza. Breakfast was a long way off.

  He stretched out on the bed and looked at his watch. A lone mosquito buzzed across the luminous dial. Outside, the leaves made a shushing sound. His head dropped onto the pillow, but he knew sleep wouldn’t come. It promised to be an exhausting night.