Undermind: Nine Stories (6 page)

He reluctantly decided it was time to call his
brother. Before he even found his brother’s name in his list of
contacts, he heard a car pull into the driveway. He ran to the
window and saw that it was Joy, Nikki, and Jake. He’d have to call
Danny later. He couldn’t have the conversation he intended to have
in front of them. He was determined to keep as few people as
possible from knowing about anything he did that was illegal.

***

Later that night, he and Nikki talked in bed as
they usually did after sex and before sleep. She laid a bent leg
over his legs and rested a hand on his chest and looked at up at
him.

“So are we now the proud owners of two
firearms?”

“Not yet. We have to get approved again. Another
background check, and three days to cool off.”

“What? They said you need to cool off?”

“Not me, specifically. Everyone has to. State
law.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Yep.”

Dave adjusted his position so he was lying on
his side, facing Nikki.

“Any news from the police?”

“Uh yeah. The bastard psycho has an alibi, so
they didn’t arrest him.”

“How could he possibly have an alibi, Davey? He
did that to you. He can’t have an alibi!”

“He obviously lied, so that’s the end of that.
We’re basically on our own. But don’t worry. I’m not going to let
anything happen to you or Jake.”

“He just lied? That’s it?

“Yeah. That’s it. The cops don’t care, babe. It
took multiple calls just to get that much info out of them, and
even then, the cop I spoke to would barely give me the time of day.
They honestly don’t give a shit about people.”

Nikki sat up and looked around for her top. She
saw it on the other side of Dave.

“Would you hand me that?”

Dave looked where she was pointing and said,
“No,” smiling. “I think you should always be topless.
Everywhere.”

He laughed, but she didn’t think it was funny –
not at the moment. She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know why the police believed that guy’s
alibi, but I know it’s not because they don’t care. If they didn’t
care, they wouldn’t be cops.”

“Nikki, I
talked
to the cop. He was
dripping with indifference.” He made a jerking-off motion with one
hand. “His lack of concern oozed right through the phone and got
all over my hand.”

“Gross, Dave.”

“I’m telling you, babe. He literally couldn’t
have cared less. Just like the so-called social worker. She doesn’t
give a shit about Theodore the same way the cops don’t care about
us.”

“I don’t believe that. They wouldn’t have jobs
to help people if they didn’t care about helping people.”

“Then explain to me why they acted exactly like
they couldn’t possibly be bothered to give a shit about any of us.”
Dave sat up now, ready to debate with his lovely wife.

“How should I know?” she said, spreading her
arms with her hands up.

Dave took advantage of the move to fondle one of
her breasts.

“Could you stop? We just had sex!”

“I know, but you’re so sexy. I want you
again.”

She smiled reluctantly at the compliment, then
forced a stern expression.

“Stay focused. My eyes are up here. I’m serious,
Dave. I’m trying to talk to you. And if you’re too distracted then
give me my shirt.”

“I’ll be good.”

“You better. Now, listen. I don’t know why it
seems like they don’t care, but I truly believe that people who are
employed in helping professions wouldn’t be if they didn’t want to
help people. Think about how many cases they probably have to deal
with. Maybe they’re overwhelmed. Ya know?”

“You might have a point. The cop didn’t even
remember who I was two days after talking to me in person.”

“See? The only way he could’ve forgotten is if
he’s had to deal with so many people in the last two days that he
can’t even remember victim’s names from two days ago.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then he’s over-worked
and there need to be more police. Same with Yvonne. If she’s too
busy to help a little boy who’s been brutalized by his dad, then
what’s the point of her even being there?”

“The police were soliciting for donations
recently so they could get bullet-proof vests for all of the
officers, so they probably don’t have the money to hire more
people.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Dave said, getting off the
bed and pulling on his sweat pants. “How can we give billions of
dollars in foreign aid and not have enough money for adequate
staffing of our own police and child services?”

“That’s the feds who give money away. Not the
states.” She crawled over and grabbed the shirt she’d been wanting,
then looked around for her shorts.

“Then the feds need to give money to the states
– to our
own
country, and not to other people. Jesus. Isn’t
that just common sense?”

“To us,” she said, pulling on her shorts. “But
we’re not running for office and trying to please everyone in the
world.”

“Now who’s the cynic? I’m going to get some
water, you want some?”

“I’ll come with you,” she said, laughing as she
smacked Dave’s hand away and pulled her top back down. “Stop it.
Your sister might still be up.”

“Oh, like she’s never seen tits before,” Dave
scoffed.

***

The next morning, Dave was tuning a customer’s
piano when his cell phone rang. He glanced over and saw Nikki’s
face on his screen. He finished the string he was working on then
answered the call.

“Hello, beautiful!”

“I think he has Jake! I can’t find him anywhere.
I only took my eyes off him for a second to look for something in
my purse and… oh my God, Dave you have to do something. He has our
little boy!”

“Wait. Slow down. Where are you?”

“I’m at the park with Joy and—”

“I’ll be right there!” He looked at his tools,
then turned to his customer. “Phyllis, I’m afraid I can’t finish
this just yet, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. I have to attend
to a family emergency,” he said, racing to the door.

“Oh dear, I hope everything is okay,” she said.
He didn’t hear her as he exited the house and ran to his car.

Dave drove as fast as he deemed safe, ignoring
speed limits. He actually thought it would be great if a cop
noticed him speeding because they could follow him to the park with
lights and sirens. He thought of calling 9-1-1 but a small part of
his mind insisted that Nikki was mistaken. This wasn’t happening.
It couldn’t be.

Approaching the corner of the street the park
was on, he took the turn in a slide. He accelerated and
straightened it out, then slammed on the brakes when he saw Joy
standing with Jake, shielding her eyes from the sun as she gazed
around the park. He left the car parked haphazardly with the engine
running as he ran toward them.

“Where’s Nikki?” he demanded, out of breath
despite the short distance he’d run.

“I don’t know, Dave. She was right here. We were
looking for Jake and she said, ‘That sonofabitch!’ and started
toward the parking lot. At the same instant I thought I saw Jake in
the crawl tube and went over to check. When I found him and turned
around to tell her, she was gone.”

Dave looked toward the parking lot. It was
empty, but having no other clues for where to look for her, he
started walking quickly in that direction. Maybe he’d be able to
see where she went from there. He patted his left pant pocket to
feel for cigarettes although he’d quit smoking years before when he
and Nikki started dating. She’d made it a condition if they were
going to continue.

He saw a person lying on the asphalt against the
curb that separated the parking lot from the park grass and broke
into a run.

“Oh God!”

Her face was so bloody and her nose was angled
off to the side, making her almost unrecognizable, but it was
definitely Nikki. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He
looked up and signaled for Joy to stay where she was, holding his
hand up in a “stop” gesture. He spoke to Nikki while simultaneously
dialing 911.

“Nikki, can you hear me? Nikki? It’s me, Dave.
Help is on the way.”

The 911 operator answered and asked what his
emergency was. He told the man that his wife was injured and
unconscious. He confirmed that she was breathing. She had a pulse.
It looked like her nose was broken, but he wasn’t sure of anything
else. He told the operator where they were.

“Please hurry! You’ve got to send someone right
away!”

The man assured him that an ambulance and police
had been dispatched and would be there soon.

***

Dave rode in the ambulance and stayed with Nikki
for as long as he could until she was wheeled into an emergency
surgery room and he was gently turned away. Joy had argued that she
wanted to be there too, but Dave convinced her that it would be
best for Jake if she took him home – and locked all her doors and
windows.

Now he wanted to talk to the police, and if they
weren’t willing to listen to him and take things seriously for a
change…he didn’t know what he would do, but he was going to do
something. He was ready to kill Ron with his bare hands.

He had seen two police officers in the lobby as
paramedics wheeled Nikki into the hospital, so he went back to see
if they were still there. One of them was. He was talking to a
pretty girl in scrubs.

“Excuse me. I need to talk to you.”

The cop resented the interruption and was about
to say something but then he saw the look on Dave’s face.

“Let’s step outside,” he replied.

Dave walked toward the exit and could hear the
cop telling the young woman he’d be back in a few. He went through
the glass doors that slid open as he approached, then turned around
and waited for the cop.

“Let’s step over here,” the officer said. “I
could use a smoke.”

“Have you got another one?” Dave asked.

The cop handed Dave a cigarette, then lit both
of them. When Dave finished coughing, he thanked the officer and
asked if he knew who he was. He didn’t. Dave asked if the cop was
aware of the recent crimes involving Ron Mackey and the fire at his
house a few days before.

“I’m aware of the reports regarding Mackey, and
yes, I heard about the fire.”

“Good. I won’t have to tell you everything then.
I just need to tell you that this bastard is the one who attacked
my wife and he needs to be arrested, right now.”

“Did you witness the attack?”

“No, but my sister did,” he lied.

“And where is your sister?”

“She’s at her house, in fear for her life. This
psycho has already attacked me, set my house on fire, and has now
attacked my wife. If he goes after my son and my sister, nothing
will stop me from killing him. I need to know you’re going to do
something right now – before I have to do your job for you.”

“I understand you’re upset. I would be too. But
I need you to stay focused here and give me some information.
Okay?”

“What do you need to know?” Dave asked,
struggling to maintain his composure.

“What is your sister’s name and address?

Dave gave him the information and the officer
said he would go talk with her, and then he would see if he had
enough to make an arrest. Dave knew that wasn’t going to happen.
The cop would find out that he had lied, and once again, there
would be no reason for them to arrest Ron Mackey.

Dave thanked the officer and headed back into
the hospital. He went to the doors to the surgery room and paced
for a minute. He realized he couldn’t just stay there and do
nothing. As much as he wanted to be informed of Nikki’s condition
the instant someone could tell him anything, he knew that no one
was looking out for the rest of his family. Joy and Jake could be
in danger. But with a cop on the way over to talk to them, they’d
be safe for a short while. He had time to do something.

He looked around for restrooms and spotted a
small sign high on the wall with an arrow pointing up. He walked up
the hall with his eyes focused on the floor to minimize the view of
his face.

Inside the restroom, he walked to the far stall,
took out his phone. He found his brother’s phone number and
repeated it to himself several times before lowering the volume to
silent/no vibration.
He set the phone on top of the toilet
paper dispenser, then took off his shoes and placed them a foot
apart on the floor in front of the toilet. Then he sat on the
floor, hoping it had been cleaned recently as he slid under the
door and out of the stall.

As he walked down the hall, he kept his head
down, only glancing up occasionally to follow the signs to the rear
exit. Once outside, he jogged across the parking lot, turning as
necessary to avoid the path of cars and the roving security guard.
Reaching a main boulevard, he recalled where he’d once seen a
payphone; possibly one of the few remaining in the city. He headed
up the street, hoping the phone would still be in place at the
mom-and-pop gas station not too far from the hospital.

After jogging for a quarter of a mile, he could
see the station sitting on the corner in the dark. It was out of
business, but the payphone was still there. Now he just had to hope
that it worked and that the handset hadn’t been yanked off or
broken. He was in luck – sort of. The handset was attached and
there was a dial tone. The only problem was he’d never held
anything more disgusting, and the thought of putting it against his
head almost made him gag.

He inserted two quarters, dialed his brother’s
number, and held the phone an inch from his left ear, praying that
his brother would pick up despite seeing an unknown number appear
on his cell phone. It rang four times and Dave was sure his plan
was going to die before it got started.

“Hello?” he heard his brother ask
suspiciously.