The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (54 page)

“I might have a solution, Grant,” Cass said.

“Please oblige us, sir…be so kind!”

“
I
shall adopt the girl,” he said softly.

.

W
olf’s face went white. He stared at Rochelle as if she were the devil’s messenger.

“How can Cass fucking do that? He can’t do that! It’s sick!” he cried.

They were in the top floor studio apartment, Wolf’s new hideout.

“He can and he will, Wolf. And you can’t deal with him the way you dealt with the others. He is just too big for that.”

A terrible anger seized him. “Oh, yes, I can! I can kill him! I
will
kill the motherfucker! How dare he lay eyes on my girl!” he shouted.

“And how will that help, uh? How will a dad on death row help Robin?”

“So what do I do? No, I know exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to take Robin and leave the fucking country. I’ll settle down somewhere in Brazil or some other place.”

“You want to kidnap her?”

“She’s my daughter, for Christ’s sake! You don’t kidnap your own daughter. They…they’re the fucks that are holding her hostage! They’re the fucking kidnappers! They’re the fucking thieves…they’re stealing my child from me! THEY!”

The doorbell rang then. Rochelle went to answer it. It was Keith McKenzie.

“Keith!” Wolf said. “What’re you doing here?”

“I called him,” Rochelle said. “That’s the only way to deal with someone like Cass.”

“The courts?” He gave a derisive snort. “So what are the grand plans?”

“We have to stop Mr. Cass from indirectly adopting this…this girl, Robin.” McKenzie said.

“And on what grounds are we going to do that?” Wolf sought.

“Isn’t it obvious? He is an old man, who has no spouse and lives alone, is out of the house for the most part. How could he possibly nurture and bring up an eight year old? Moreover, the law is very clear: a single male cannot adopt a girl child, whatever his age.”

Wolf and Rochelle’s faces brightened simultaneously. Oh how could they have missed the obvious?

“Great, isn’t it?” Wolf said, throwing up his arms. “So we’ve won already!”

“On the face of it…but not really.”

“What do you mean?”

“There is a way out for Cass if he wanted.”

“What way?”

“The law also says that if a single man lives with his extended family that contains female members—sisters, sister-in-laws, mothers, aunts, daughters…any such relative—any female member
can
adopt a girl child provided the NAB is satisfied that the child shall have the full-time services of that female relative.”

Wolf’s face fell.

McKenzie continued, “You must remember, Ian Cass is not only a very powerful and respected man, he is a very principled one too. To uphold his beliefs he would make almost any sacrifice. He has two sons and a daughter, all married, all living independently. However, he could exert enough pressure on any of them to come live with him. That way he would have one female relative in the house who could officially adopt this girl, Robin. This way the provisions of the law would be fulfilled. Moreover, everyone knows he practically raised his children on his own. No one has better credentials in that department…and his experience in the field is vast. If it came to that, he would quit working completely and devote all his time to rearing this girl, Robin, even as this girl, Robin, would remain legally adopted by his female relative. Get my point?”

“Will you quit calling her,
this girl, Robin?
It sounds fucking obscene,” Wolf shot hotly.

The doorbell rang again. It was Maddy.

“So what’s going on, boys?” she said brightly.

“Time for me to leave,” McKenzie said. “We’ll initiate action as soon as we have concrete news of Cass’s move.” Then he got up and left.

Wolf turned to Rochelle. He regarded her and admiration rose to his face. “Does Art know you’re betraying him day in and day out? Doesn’t he suspect anything?”

“Would I be giving you all this info if he did?”

“What would I do without you, Roch?” he said, his eyes full of gratitude.

“Didn’t I tell you that a long time ago?” she said, a smile tugging at her lips.

“How about tossing some honey this way?” Maddy butted in. “I’ve been doing some pretty smart work for you, and for free too. Don’t overlook it, prick.”

Yes, how could he forget? Weren’t it for her, the powerful Hardings would never have succumbed.

.

T
revor Harding was the owner of the New Halcyon Grand, the nation’s premier hotel, and the world’s first ever seven-star hotel. But he owned one more. A sixty room inn in the Greenhouse District of the Long Tongue. It was an isolated, non-descript place on a farmland, veiled behind impenetrable vegetation. A rent-by-hour joint, you could either get your own girl, or one could be supplied to you from the stable. The place was so obscure, it may well not have existed—only the diehard regulars were aware of it. Membership was exclusive and new clients needed at least three solid references from trusted patrons, and then were thoroughly screened by a PI agency.
This
was the place where Trevor Harding made his real fortune, although the ownership was in a fictitious name.

But despite all their wealth, life wasn’t a gravy truck for the Hardings. In their twenty-two years of marriage, Trevor and Amy had no children to share the pleasures of existence with. They had long thought of adoption, but somehow it had never come about. So when Ian Cass came up with this proposal, they jumped at it. That the girl was handicapped didn’t matter to them, for Trevor Harding himself had recently lost a leg, victim of anonymous gunfire that had shattered his left calf beyond repair. These days, prosthetics alleviated all shortcomings. The Hardings felt honored that important people of New Halcyon had chosen
them
for this celebrated girl. Indeed, it would be a huge privilege to be her parents.

It was again left to Stanley Knott to look into the matter. But Knott quickly realized this was out of his league. After the attempt on Trevor’s life, paranoia had set in on the Hardings, resulting in heavy twenty-four-seven armed security around the couple and their home. Knott saw no way to breach that, and finally Wolf had turned to Maddy.

“It’ll cost you,” she had said expressionlessly.

“Of course,” he shrugged. Then just for the heck of it, he asked, “How much?”

Mistake.

A glow came to her eyes. “A lay,” she said.

“Aren’t you a lesbian?”

“But I have this fantasy that just won’t go away,” she said with a serious face. “You know—to dress you up like a woman, painted face and all, and lay you…”

“Gosh, you started again! You’re some piece of work, you know!”

“Well then, at least show me your dick and let me hold it for a minute. I’m dying to see and hold a superstar’s dick, especially one as pretty as you,” she said.

“Are you for real…seriously?! If anyone heard you talk they’d think you’re complete bonkers. I mean, who talks like this?”

“Why do you care about the world? Behave in a way that comes naturally to you. In any case, do you think I’ve ever given a fuck about people’s opinion?”

“Now come on, you’re supposed to be an adult. Show
some
maturity at least.”

“Perhaps if mature adults behaved more uninhibitedly, more childishly, more like me, this planet would be a much happier place,” she retorted. “Anyway, I can, and will, say anything I want and the world can go fuck itself.”

“You talk this way with everyone…really?!” he said, disbelief on his face.

“Honestly? No…only with you, honey,” she said matter-of-factly. “I don’t know what comes over me when I see you.”

He shrugged. What could he say?

“So…are you going to show me your dick and let me hold it for a minute?” she persisted.

He shook his head exasperatedly and turned away.

She chuckled to herself. “My! You’re so cute when you get like this.”
And this is exactly why I love teasing you: I just love the way you blush—it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen
.

Again, he could say nothing…had no words.

She sighed mock-sadly. “Anyways, I guess I’ll have to forgo the pleasure. You’ll get your report on Harding in a week.”

“I want it yesterday.”

“You always do. Alright, I’ll see what I can manage.”

For an investigative journalist, it hadn’t been difficult. She had come up with the dirt on Trevor Harding. Then she insisted she break the good news to the saint herself. Going red, then white in the face, Trevor Harding had of course backed down on the adoption.

Now…Wolf gave Maddy a salute. She acknowledged it with a lustful wink. Then she offered him her lips and he flushed and turned away.

A little later, he said, “You know, your name Witcher is most inappropriate.”

“How so?”

“
Witch
would’ve been more fitting. Mad Witch, not Madonna Witcher.”

“Fuck you!”

“Fuck
you
!” he retorted reflexively.

“Really? You want to fuck me? I’m always ready for you, Pretty.”

This time, Wolf had no rejoinder.

.

B
ut Wolf knew that despite all the effort from everyone in his kooky gang, he was fast running out of time. With Ian Cass, he was facing both an immovable object and an unstoppable force—in other words, a wholly impossible state of affairs. He needed to do something sweeping, or he was going to lose his daughter for good. The thought that had germinated in his mind the other night, now begged full consideration.

He had been told that Robin had been brought to the Home by an old woman, who in turn had told the authorities that she had found the infant deserted outside her door in the middle of the night. In a great majority of such cases, it was always a desperate mother who forsook the newborn. Well, at least that was the assumption he would have to go with in the beginning.

He had to find her. If at all she still existed. And what if by some magic he found her? He would then have to persuade her to reclaim Robin from the Home—on the premise that a biological mother could not be denied. That was the only way to free his Butterfly from the jaws of the big dragons of the nation who were so pitilessly using her as a rag doll. And thereafter, he would have to further convince the mother to give Robin to him in adoption. Surely a woman who had abandoned her own child had done so under very compelling circumstances. Perhaps it was a poverty driven decision. Wolf prayed it would be. For then, he could buy her out. He would dazzle her with money—great sums of money.

Desperate, desperate thoughts!
Wolf told himself. But then that was so true—he
was
a desperate, desperate man…very, very desperate.

“
DO
you even realize, Mr. Wolf, how low you have sunk? If you would only sit down and reflect you would realize…no, you would be shocked how far you have fallen,” Sister Blessing said.

Wolf blinked.
Why am I putting up with this shit?

“Look, Sister, can we get to the point, please?” he said.

They were in Sister Blessing’s office—a medium-sized room, sparsely furnished with a desk and chair, an ancient desktop, visitor’s seating, and three cupboards. None of the modern gadgets—no air-conditioning, nothing much else.

“You have gone against Mr. Grant, a man of God. You have shamed your remarkable family. You have gone against those outstanding people like Mr. Ian—pride of this nation. You have dumped the girl you were supposed to take in as your daughter. You have brought dishonor to this wonderful country, and to this Children’s Home…a home of God. You have brought disgrace to practically everything that is good and noble in life.”

At another time, Wolf would have told this old fart to go shove her hand up her cunt. But not today. Today, he needed her…badly.

She continued, with the supreme confidence of her power. “Do you even realize how hurt and distressed President Grant is by your behavior? He can’t sleep at nights and remains lost in the day. He is unable to discharge his duties as the captain of this nation. Mr. Grant isn’t just our President, he is our moral beacon. You have not just injured…”

“Right, I’ve heard enough!” he spat, turned around, and began to stomp off.

“And you won’t even be sounded! How arrogant you have become!” she shouted over his shoulders. Then with a reluctant groan, she called out, “Do come back and talk.”

He stopped at the door. He turned around slowly and glared at her.

And she glared back.

“Not a word more on this,” he said, wagging a finger. “It’s none of your fu…business.”

She continued eyeballing him, then exhaled and looked away. Wolf returned.

“What do you exactly want?” she said tersely, not looking at him.

“I told you. I want the details of the person who brought Robin to the Home.”