The Elephant Tree

by R. D. Ronald

  Scott took a cold beer from Jeff’s fridge and drank it while sitting at the kitchen table to calm his nerves and chewed up a few of the painkillers he’d been given by Jeff. Once his head had fogged over and a cool almost novocaine numbness had washed through him, he set off in the car back to the city.

  Chapter 15

  Scott waited until he had Jeff’s 4 x 4 back onto the highway before he risked making a call. He had managed to settle his hand into a numbed stupor but any sudden movement would cause bolts of pain to surge up his arm. Once the road was straight and clear he held the wheel steady between his knees and used his good hand to dial Putty’s number.

  ‘Yeah?’ Putty said, connecting the call after just one ring.

  ‘It’s Scott, is she back yet?’

  ‘No she called and said she was OK but that was over an hour ago and still she’s not here.’

  ‘OK well sit tight, everything looks like it’s gonna work out. I’ll give you more details once I’m back,’ Scott said, attempting to reassure.

  ‘All right Scott, but I’m getting restless.’ Scott heard the slide click of shotgun shells being loaded, further underlining what Putty had just said.

  He hung up the call but just as he had dropped the phone in his lap it started ringing again. Jack’s name flashed on the caller ID.

  ‘Jack,’ Scott said, connecting the call.

  ‘Hey little brother,’ Jack said, his voice sounded different but Scott couldn’t tell what it was, ‘I hear you’ve been having some problems.’

  Scott waited for seconds that felt like minutes for his brother to elaborate on what he’d said.

  ‘What is it Jack? Do you have something to tell me?’

  ‘You’re probably back en route to the city, come see me and then we’ll talk,’ he said, and then a click as the line went dead.

  Scott dialled Jack’s number, the car veered drunkenly towards the central reservation on the highway as he tried to manipulate the steering with his knees while punching buttons on the phone. Scott dropped the phone and instinctively reached out for the wheel with both hands. A lightning flash of pain shot from his left hand up to his temple, causing him to grind his teeth. Scott gave an anguished cry and steadied the car with his one good arm. He reached for the phone and dialled for Jack. The automated voice mail picked up, Jack’s phone had been turned off. He pressed his foot harder against the accelerator until it was flat to the floor. The lights above the highway flickered on signalling the oncoming night.

  * * *

  Angela was scared but had been able to maintain the stubborn resistance she’d put up since being dragged into the van. Her initial kicking and flailing had been quelled pretty quickly by a number of punches to the torso from one of her captors. The one who identified himself as McBlane had assured her she would be hurt no further providing she behaved.

  He’d told her that if Scott played along with the role intended for him, she’d be released within a day or two. Angela wasn’t about to accept anything these men said, but further struggles would guarantee an immediate violent response so she conserved her strength, watched and listened.

  The largest of the three men drove the van and, after maybe a few hours, Angela began to recognise buildings in Garden Heights from where she still lay on the floor of the van. She still didn’t know their destination and was abruptly told to shut up on the three occasions she’d asked.

  The men had remained mostly quiet. McBlane took two calls during their journey but in both had done very little speaking. Just interjected yes and no answers at intervals to questions she supposed he’d been asked.

  When sudden darkness enveloped the van, Angela had to fight down the immediate panic that arose in her. The vehicle angled suddenly downwards then proceeded to take a number of tight turns, descending further. Angela guessed their location must be one of any number of underground car parks throughout the city.

  After a few more minutes the large driver manoeuvred the van into a spot and got out. McBlane reached down and removed a pistol from an ankle holster and held it directly in front of her.

  ‘We will exit the vehicle and move quickly to an elevator. You will not struggle. You will not scream or in fact make any noise at all. You will do only as instructed. Do you understand?’

  Angela nodded, her focus on the weapon rather than the face of her captor as he spoke.

  The back doors were opened. McBlane held her firmly by the upper arm and directed her out. He slid the pistol into his left hand pocket where his hand no doubt still grasped it ready to withdraw quickly if needed.

  Angela glanced around the lot for any possible chance of escape. There were numerous cars parked but no-one around. She was ushered towards an elevator that the large man had gone ahead and summoned. Once inside McBlane withdrew a small gold key from his pocket and inserted it into a hole at the bottom of the face plate.

  ‘One of the perks of owning a penthouse apartment,’ he said to her, grinning, ‘you don’t have to be bothered by the neighbours.’

  Angela recognised the elevator interior now. This was the Walker building. She’d seen Jack use a key like that on occasion when they’d returned back after dates. It took the elevator right to the penthouse level, bypassing anyone waiting on other floors. So McBlane owned one of the other seven.

  The elevator reached the thirtieth floor in seconds and the doors slid silently open onto the familiar freshly-scented hallway.

  Once out of the lift Angela looked quickly to the left, the direction she used to walk towards Jack’s apartment, hoping either he or someone else may be there to at least witness her abduction. The hallway was vacant, she was dragged in the other direction and around a corner. She’d seen no-one since entering the building and no-one knew she was there.

  McBlane opened a door identical to the one at Jack’s apartment and she was thrust inside. The interior was very different. There was little furniture dotted around and the walls were bare plaster. Whatever flooring was in the apartment had been covered over by thick sheets of opaque plastic that crackled as they walked across it.

  ‘I like what you’ve done to the place,’ Angela said sarcastically, trying to hold back any fear from her voice.

  ‘I’m remodelling. No point in having nice things laying around if you may end up making a mess,’ McBlane said coldly, looking directly at her.

  Despite herself, Angela shuddered as the calculated directness of his words hit home. She didn’t want to be the reason for the plastic sheeting on the floor.

  ‘Put her in the bedroom and lock it. She won’t be a problem in there and we have things to discuss.’

  The other man, was it Dominic she’d heard him called? took Angela to the main bedroom and locked her inside. The room contained a bed and nothing else. No objects of any kind that could be used as a makeshift weapon. No phone or any means of contacting anyone to let them know her location. Her cell phone and the bag of money she’d been carrying when she and Scott had fled from the house had been the first things to go when she’d been snatched into the van. She returned to the bedroom door and silently turned the handle but it didn’t budge. For now she was a prisoner. She lay down on the bed and waited.

  Angela started awake, the bedroom still shrouded in darkness. The voices in the other room were no longer talking in hushed tones. She got up and silently moved to the door. She’d woken a number of times during the night; twice at the sound of the larger thug opening the bedroom door to check on her. His prolonged gaze as he loomed in the doorway communicated perhaps more than a passing interest in Angela.

  As she tried to decipher the conversation the door was unlocked. She jumped back just in time as it swung open and the other thug told her to follow. Angela backed away fearfully, but he reached forwards and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out.

  ‘Sit,’ McBlane commanded, and pointed to a seat. He had a phone in his hand and began punching numbers.

  Angela sat where instructed and waited. None of the
three were at least visibly holding any weapons so she figured there was probably no immediate danger. Another man she hadn’t seen so far was standing by the front door and didn’t appear to be paying her any attention. He was shorter than the others but what he lacked in height was more than made up for in build.

  ‘Scott, I hope I didn’t wake you,’ McBlane spoke gleefully into the phone.

  Angela tried to mask her excitement as a flame of hope ignited in her belly. McBlane said something else and then thrust the phone at her.

  Scott spoke quickly, his voice layered with concern. Angela tried to reassure him, although afterwards she had no memory of what she’d said.

  McBlane took for phone away and again began to talk into it. Angela looked around the room; the faces of the other three men watched her, like ghouls seeming to feed upon her misery.

  After a few moments McBlane hung up the call. He signalled to the two men from the van and they walked to the door.

  ‘Your unfortunate ordeal should soon be over now,’ McBlane said checking his watch, ‘you’ll remain here with my associate and once I have concluded a few things with Scott, you will be released,’ McBlane said, with the majestic air of one bestowing a great gift upon a less fortunate soul.

  Angela didn’t gratify his statement with a response and only stared back, challengingly. After a few seconds McBlane turned and walked out. The other man approached from his post by the door and motioned for her to return to the bedroom. Angela defiantly took a cigarette from a pack on a table as she walked past, and lit it before returning to her prison.

  Over the following hours Angela watched the glow of dawn reach over the horizon; the light was orange and hopeful. The city breathed into life as another day rolled out below her. There were no nearby buildings that came close to the height she was at, and no-one below would be able to see her so trying to signal would be useless. Angela had to remain patient and hope Scott would be able to give McBlane what it was he wanted to secure her release.

  The door opened once when the sun had begun to ascend in the sky, and her latest captor walked in and dropped a store bought sandwich and a can of Coke onto the bed. She was allowed a toilet break he’d said, but the door would remain open, so she’d declined.

  Angela finished the sandwich but ignored the soda. Her already full bladder wouldn’t appreciate the added pressure, but no way was she going to let the creep watch her pee, so for now she’d tolerate the pain and the thirst.

  Angela must have dozed again and was woken by the sound of a phone ringing in the other room. She sat up on the bed but could hear nothing of what was being said. A moment later the lock was released.

  Angela stood up and tried to mentally prepare herself for what might follow. Had Scott been able to give McBlane what he wanted or was this the end of the line?

  ‘Outside,’ the man barked.

  ‘Why, what are you going to do?’ she asked, cursing the audible tremor she could hear in her voice.

  ‘That’s it, you’re free to go.’

  ‘So I just walk out?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘What if I go to the police?’

  The man laughed a mirthless and cruel sound. ‘You won’t.’

  He walked towards the front door, opened it and turned around to wait for her.

  Tentatively, Angela made her way towards the exit, and then into the hallway beyond.

  ‘Have a nice day,’ the man said, and closed the door after her.

  Chapter 16

  Scott parked up near Jack’s building and slid a handful of coins into the meter. The city nightlife had begun to get underway. Two couples walked past talking and laughing amongst themselves, voices elevated with alcohol. A man and woman walked slowly along hand in hand on the path opposite. A current of air carried the suggestion of fast food.

  Scott walked quickly to the glass doors and saw Eddie on duty as he passed through. Eddie started to smile but it left as quickly as a startled bird when his eyes fell upon Scott’s left hand. Blood had soaked through the bandage during his trip back to the city, and with the look of fatigue that undoubtedly shrouded Scott, Eddie’s concerned expression was more than warranted. Scott held his right hand up as questions began to form on Eddie’s lips.

  ‘I’m off to get it looked at, I just need a quick word with Jack first.’

  Eddie nodded dumbly and said nothing. Scott made towards the elevators before Eddie called out to stop him.

  ‘I forgot, he left a couple of hours ago. He left a message for you that he was going to your place. He was with that girlfriend he had a while back, the pretty one.’

  ‘Who?’ Scott asked, surprised. Why would Jack have chosen to hook up with an old girlfriend at a time like this?

  ‘I can’t remember her name.’

  ‘Well what did she look like? What colour hair did she have?’

  ‘Been all kinds of colours,’ Eddie said, smiling, ‘it was red when I saw her today though.’

  ‘Angela?’ Scott asked, incredulous.

  ‘Yeah, that’s it, Angela. Do you know her?’

  But Scott had already taken off and was running back towards the car. He jumped in, started the engine, pulled out of the parking lot so fast that the rear end whipped around and smashed into the front wing of a silver Mercedes, causing its alarm to sound and all passers-by to stop and stare.

  He drove off as quickly as he could, ignoring the shouts from witnesses to the damage. Scott took the quickest route he could to get back to the cottage, stopping for nothing. He jumped red lights, twice ran up onto the kerb to pass a stationary vehicle and almost ran down a motorcycle rider as he pulled out from a junction without looking.

  Everything Scott had learned swirled around in his head but he couldn’t keep the thoughts still long enough to be able to fit them together. The pain in his hand throbbed. A constant reminder of his limitations as it rose up through the fading medication, but Scott couldn’t chance taking more. His fogged over consciousness could be more debilitating now than the pain itself.

  He concentrated on the road.

  Jack’s Lexus was parked in front of the cottage with no-one inside. He no doubt still had a set of keys to have let himself into the cottage. Scott tried the front door and true to form Jack had left it unlocked.

  ‘Jack?’ Scott said cautiously as he entered the hallway.

  A light was on in the living room and background noise of a TV. All other rooms remained silent and in darkness.

  ‘You took your time,’ Jack said absently as Scott entered the room.

  He looked around quickly but no-one else was there.

  ‘Where’s Angela?’

  ‘Angela is fine,’ Jack said, noticing the stained red bandage wrapped now loosely around Scott’s hand, ‘what about McBlane, did he come back with you?’

  ‘No.’ Scott didn’t know what answer to give. Didn’t know what connection there was between McBlane and his brother.

  ‘Is he dead?’ Jack asked, seemingly bemused.

  ‘No. At least, I don’t think so. Not yet.’

  Jack let out a hearty laugh that under the circumstances couldn’t have seemed more inappropriate. ‘Go on there Scott. It looks like even I may have underestimated your potential. What about the two that were with him, are they....?’

  ‘The same, yeah,’ Scott interrupted.

  Jack smiled, and motioned for Scott to take a seat. A now familiar teardrop-shaped bottle of Glenmorangie sat on the table in front of Jack, and two glasses. One had a small amount of scotch in which Jack drank before filling both.

  ‘ To new beginnings,’ he said, and held out his glass towards Scott.

  Scott did likewise, reminding himself what Jack had taught him in the past about not making a play until you have one. He had no idea what was happening but one thing he did know was that Jack had answers he needed. A lot of them.

  ‘So you’re working for McBlane?’

  ‘Not for – no. Working with – yes.’

&
nbsp; ‘What did you mean about even you had underestimated me, Jack?’ Scott asked cautiously, taking a sip of the scotch.

  ‘It was me who wanted you brought in, in the first place. McBlane thought you were just another low level drug dealer like the million others out there. I told him you had a lot more potential than that. I bowed in his favour in a staffing matter a while back, so now it was time for him to do the same. Twinkle was just a way to bring you to us.’

  ‘But those conversations we had, you kept trying to warn me away from them.’

  ‘I knew if I tried to get you involved you’d have run a mile. The best way to get you interested in something is to tell you not to do it, always has been. You’ve got a stubborn streak that’s wider than you are. The only reason you kept on so long with the design work I put your way was because I didn’t pay you enough to be able to quit.’

  ‘So what exactly is your relationship with McBlane, Jack? And how long has it been going on?’

  Jack shook his head. ‘Don’t look at me like I’m something stuck to the bottom of your shoe, Scott. I didn’t start up with him intentionally. I just had the misfortune of being the older brother, and the even greater misfortune of coming across some information that I had no choice but to act on.’

  ‘What information? What are you talking about?’

  ‘About Bob. Those letters you found confirmed a lot of what I already knew. We’d had conversations in which he’d cryptically hinted at things. It left me with all kinds of questions but he would never answer any when asked directly. I was out walking one day when I saw him down there at that damn tree. Meditating he called it, but it was just an excuse to sit and feel sorry for himself. He was crying and talking softly. I had to creep up really close to be able to hear what he said. I don’t know whether this was something he did often or if that was the first time but he was confessing to all of it, over and over. Saying how sorry he was for what he’d done.’