Fort Morgan (14 page)

“
You know it as much as I
do,” Dionne said.

Dionne turned back to the elevator and
pressed the call button five or six times.

“
The Spider’s in prison,”
Yvonne said. “Says so right here.”

Her sweet voice made
Dionne turn to her. Yvonne held up her index finger where she had
tattooed the words “Spider in prison” in
script
. Yvonne nodded, and Dionne
hugged her. Dionne
allowed
herself a single sob before she pushed Yvonne
away.

They had just turned back
to the elevators when Dionne’s cell phone rang. She’d just answered
it when Rodney’s
cell phone
rang.

“
What?” Dionne asked into
the phone at the same time Rodney said, “You’re sure?”

Stuffing the phone into his pocket, Rodney
threw the bags down. He put his big hands on Dionne and Yvonne’s
shoulders. Dionne looked up at him in horror.

“
Go!” Rodney said. He gave
her a little push.

“
What is it?” Yvonne
asked.

“
We have
to. . .” Rodney moved the women down the hallway. They
were a few feet from their suite when a man carrying a shotgun in
his right hand turned down the hallway in front of them. Seeing
them, he ratcheted the shotgun. Rodney kicked open the door to
their suite and pushed them inside. The man fired.

“
Go!” Rodney said. “Get in
the bathtubs!”

He leaned against the wall
to grab the man when he came into the room. Dionne grabbed Yvonne
and they ran to the giant bathtub in Yvonne’s room. Rodney breathed
out all decency, all kindness, and all love. He drew from the well
of rage and prison violence. When the killer took a step into the
suite, he met the
Rodney
who’d spent more than two decades in
maximum-security prison.

Rodney grabbed the man and threw him against
the wall. Rodney caught him when he bounced off the wall and threw
him into the other wall. The killer tried to use the shotgun.
Rodney smacked him across the face with his massive fist. The man’s
jaw dislocated and broke. Still holding the gun, the man started to
fall. Rodney wrenched the shotgun away from the man and threw it
across the room. In desperation, the man pulled a knife from the
sheath on his leg. Rodney kicked his hand with such force that the
man’s hand broke. The knife hit the wall and bounced away.

Sliding down the wall, the man screamed for
his life. Rodney put his hand on the man’s neck. He’d pulled back
his leg to end the man with one kick to the chest when he felt a
cool hand on his arm. He looked to see Yvonne. She gave him a
slight smile.

He looked to his left and saw that Dionne
was holding the shotgun on them.

Looking back at Yvonne, he saw that he’d
choked the man unconscious.

“
You can let him go,”
Dionne said.

Caught between the rush of
violent rage and his heart exploding with joy for seeing his
beautiful wife, Rodney began to huff the
air
.

Rodney tried to catch his breath. When he
looked up, Yvonne smiled at him. He dropped to his knees. His hands
came to cover his face. When Yvonne’s hands touched his shoulders,
he began to weep. She held him tight as he sobbed through shame and
rage over this person he’d become, this person he’d been — the
rage-filled and violent prisoner inside.

“
Yes, that’s right,”
Dionne said into her
cell
phone
. “I have
the shotgun
on him. No, ma’am,
he’s passed out. Tie his hands?”

In the tight nest of
Yvonne’s arms, Rodney had a sense that Dionne was tying the man’s
hands. Yvonne held on until the police arrived. By that time,
Rodney had returned to the kind philosopher who worked at Lipson
Construction. When the police moved the killer, he opened his eyes.
Seeing Rodney, he screamed with fear. The police scowled at
Rodney,
but he
just shrugged.

The police took their statements and
retrieved their baggage. A half hour later, the killer was gone and
their suite was a crime scene. The hotel manager ferreted them away
into an even nicer suite. They were just getting settled when
Yvonne turned to Rodney.

“
I asked Dionne, but she
won’t tell me,” Yvonne said. “What happened?”

Rodney turned to look at her. Exhausted from
the release of emotion, his eyes searched her face.

“
Please tell me,” Yvonne
said.

“
Your Spider is dead,”
Rodney said.

Dead
Spider

“
Spider is. . .”
Yvonne swallowed hard. Her head moved up and down, but her eyes
held Rodney’s. “And that man?”

“
Came to kill you, us,”
Rodney said.

“
Because of the Spider?”
Yvonne asked.

She looked at Dionne, who
looked away a little too quickly. Yvonne’s head went up and down
very slowly. Her mouth opened and closed. Her eyes welled with
tears. She turned away from them and took her
cell phone
from her
pocket.

“
Tannie?” Yvonne
asked.

She listened for a moment and put the phone
on speaker.

“
Tannie?” Yvonne asked.
“Your dad and Dionne are here too.”

“
Mom?”

“
Tannie, the Spider’s
dead,” Yvonne said. “Killed by some people who tried to kill
us.”

“
Oh, Mom.” Tanesha’s voice
was mixed with sorrow and concern. “Are you all right?”

“
You told me, but I don’t
remember,” Yvonne said. “What do I do now that the Spiders dead?
You said it over and over again. I know I should remember, but
I. . .”

“
You get to live the rest
of your life in peace,” Tanesha said. “When the Spider is dead,
you’ll get to live the rest of your life in peace.”

“
I do?” Yvonne asked.
Rodney came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her
waist.

“
I used to say that,”
Tanesha said. “I’d say something different now.”

“
Oh? What would you say?”
Yvonne asked. Fat tears fell from her eyes.

“
Now that the Spider is
dead, you get to live your life with love, peace, joy, and much,
much happiness,” Tanesha said. “A real happily ever
after.”

“
That sounds nice,” Yvonne
said. “I’d like that.”

“
Sounds to me like you’d
better get busy,” Tanesha said.

“
I’ll do it,” Yvonne
said.

“
Can I talk to Dad?”
Tanesha asked.

Yvonne gave Rodney the phone. He wiped her
face with his big hands. She held his hand to her cheek and he
kissed her nose. He took the phone from her, and Dionne hugged her.
Rodney clicked it off speaker and walked away. He talked to Tanesha
for a moment while Yvonne watched. He set the phone down and smiled
at Yvonne.

“
You love birds don’t need
me here,” Dionne said with a laugh. She headed for her
room.

“
Bumpy’ll
be here in a half hour,” Rodney said.

Dionne stopped at the door. With her back to
them, she nodded.

“
Miss T thought we might
want to drive back,” Rodney said.

“
Sounds like a plan.”
Dionne glanced at him. “We’re not leaving tonight, are
we?”

“
Not tonight,” Rodney
said. “We’ll spend another night under the feds’
protection.”

“
But Bumpy will be here?”
For the first time since all of this began, Dionne’s face reflected
her fear and sadness.

“
He’ll be here,” Rodney
said.

Dionne nodded. She picked up the larger bag
and went into one of the suite’s bedrooms.

“
Happily ever after?”
Rodney asked Yvonne.

Yvonne wasn’t crying any longer. She was
silent now, almost too still. Yvonne watched his face.

“
Don’t you think it’s
about time?” Rodney asked.

Yvonne’s eyes squinted for a moment. She
opened her mouth and then shook her head.

“
What is it?” Rodney
rested his forearms on her shoulders and leaned his head
in.

“
Nothing,” Yvonne
said.

“
I know you have mixed
feelings,” Rodney said. “I know that you are such a loving person
that you even loved the Spider. I know that this was a huge part of
your life, and that it’s not easy to deal with all of the change. I
know. . .”

Yvonne shook her head, and he stopped
talking.

“
How did he die?” Yvonne
asked.

“
Bullet through his
forehead,” Rodney said. “His daughter was with him.”

“
Amelie?” Yvonne’s voice
rose with fear. Her hand pressed to her heart.

“
You remembered Seth’s
girlfriend.” Rodney grinned.

“
I’m supposed to be in her
wedding,” Yvonne said. “Is she. . .?”

“
No,” Rodney said. “Her
younger sister.”

“
Horrible.” Yvonne
nodded.

“
Yes.”

“
Did he suffer much?”
Yvonne asked in a quiet voice.

“
I don’t think so,” Rodney
said. “Don’t worry, Yvonne. His death was immediate.”

He gave her a soft smile and stroked her
cheek.

“
You are very sweet,” he
said.

She turned away from him and walked to the
window.

“
Stop!” Rodney said before
she moved the curtain. “That’s how he was killed.”

Yvonne’s hand lightly patted the fabric.

“
Please talk to me,”
Rodney said. “I can handle it.”

Yvonne didn’t turn around.

“
You’re heartbroken,”
Rodney said.

When Yvonne didn’t say anything, Rodney
swallowed hard. Deep in his heart, he always believed that she had
loved Aaron Alvin. Certainly that’s what Alvin had said. Her own
mother believed that Yvonne was with Alvin by choice. In this
moment, Rodney felt as if a sword had run through his heart. His
shoulders slumped forward with the weight of what felt like the
truth. Feeling Yvonne’s eyes, he looked up at her.

“
You’re an idiot,” Yvonne
said.

“
I’m a. . .”
Rodney shook his head. “What?”

“
You think I’m in love
with the Spider,” Yvonne said.

“
Aren’t you?”

“
No,” Yvonne said. “Do you
know what that man did to me? To Tannie? And
you. . .”

She shook her head.

“
I what?” Rodney
asked.

“
You think I love him
because it’s easier for you,” Yvonne said. “Then you’re the only
one who suffered.”

Rodney swallowed hard and blinked.

“
He’s a Spider,” Yvonne
said. “What do Spider’s do?”

“
Uh. . .”

“
They spin webs to capture
living beings so they can suck the life out of them,” Yvonne said.
“Even dead, he still has the power to do that to you.”

She gave a quick shake of her head.

“
If you don’t love him,
then why are you upset?” Rodney asked. He stood a little straighter
and felt a little braver. He scowled at her.

She snorted a laugh and looked up at the
ceiling. Her lips moved as if she were whispering.

“
What’s that?” Rodney
asked.

“
I’m asking God for
patience,” Yvonne said.

“
Patience!” Rodney said.
“You. . .”

“
I’m mad,” Yvonne
said.

“
Mad that your boyfriend’s
dead?” Rodney spat out.

The second she laughed, he felt like an
idiot. He put his hands on his hips and looked down at the
ground.

“
Why is
that
funny?” Rodney
asked.

“
I’m mad for two reasons.”
Yvonne looked away. She held out one finger and then another. “No
three reasons.”

“
And what are your three
reasons?” Rodney asked. Staring at the carpet, he shuffled his
feet.

“
One,” Yvonne said. “I’m
furious that I didn’t get to kill him myself.”

Rodney’s head jerked up. His mouth moved as
he repeated her words.

“
Number two!” Yvonne said.
“I’m mad that he didn’t suffer. If there was any fairness in this
world, he would have suffered a slow and very painful
death.”

Rodney grinned at her.

“
Number three!” Yvonne
said. “I’m mad because he managed to kill that poor young girl who
did nothing but happen to have him as her father. And
four. . .!”

“
I thought there were only
three,” Rodney said.

“
I have a right to be as
mad as I’d like!” Yvonne said. “Four belongs to you. You still
think that I loved him!”

She shook her head.

“
You’re an idiot,” Yvonne
said.

“
You have to pity the
mentally infirm,” Rodney said.

“
No, I don’t,” Yvonne
said. “What’s it going to take for you, Rodney? When are you going
to see that this thing was done to us — me, you, and Tannie? When
are you going to see that you’re not the one who suffered the
most?”