Chapter 17
Crystal Blue Persuasions
by Will Gens

“I’ll be okay, just let me…just let me...” She had the wind knocked out of her and was struggling to catch her breath.

“Okay, okay, just breathe….phew, okay.” They helped Kate up.

“You sure you don’t want to call –"

“No, I’m okay. I just need to call my dad.”

Hank was stunned. He stared into space a million miles away.  He had gotten off the phone with Nassau County Detective Peter Mets, who insisted he meet him at the Long Island Jewish Hospital, the head trauma unit where Margaret was undergoing emergency brain surgery. 

“Life threatening injuries,” he had told Hank. He immediately called Long Island Jewish and was passed around until he found a supervisor who said she couldn’t really give out much information other than to say “critical condition”.

The nurse as an aside told Hank, “Your wife is really on the edge. There’s a small chance she will make it, sorry but I think you should know. They don’t allow me to say things like that, but I overheard them say there was no brain activity.”

He immediately rang Kate, what would he say, “your mother is brain dead." Okay, he thought, under other circumstances that might be funny. He was mostly concerned about what this would do to Kate.

“Daddy, I was just going to call you—"

“Kate what’s wrong you okay? You don’t sound right”

“Pike came after me, I need to go to the police.”

“Kate, he attacked your mom too.”
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Hank came alongside Kate who was waiting for him outside her apartment.

“Get in, I’ll explain.”

When Hank told the driver Long Island Jewish Hospital in Lake Success just off exit 33 of the Long Island Expressway, the cabbie, in a thick island accent, said he couldn't go, he was going off duty.

"That is utter bullshit, listen you take us out there or I'll make sure you never drive this cab again. I know people."

"Daddy take it easy maybe he does have to go---"

"Kate, it's bullshit, they never like to go to Long Island or the outer boroughs. What do you say my friend, we get out -- I have your license, your cab number and I have friends who are tight with the Limousine and Taxi Commissioner."

"You not a good maan, mista."

"Actually I am, here’s $100--this should make me a better man ..."
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Kate finally broke the silence. "Daddy, what's happening? All these strange things, Pike, me, the break in, mom being attacked, me being attacked. He wanted to kill me."

"I don't know honey, I honestly don't know. It doesn't make sense -- Oh shit, I've been trying to make some connection. A few years back, your mom use to come in here, and I forgot, but she took some lessons from Pike. In fact, that winter she took a lot of lessons." Hank stopped short, he didn't want to go into it right now. He'd save all this for Detective Mets.
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"Where the hell is she that bitch?" Pike demanded. He had managed to get buzzed inside the building and had feigned a delivery. Marie knew Kate was waiting on a rush delivery of some Mayhem logo markups for the team jerseys so she wasn't thinking when she opened the door to find Pike, battered and enraged. Forcing his way in, he pinned her against the wall and brought a blade to her throat. Sassy was under the table barking and snarling but she was afraid of Pike.

He pressed up against her, the point of the blade drew some blood, a slight trickle of blood.

"Teeeelll mmeeee!"

"Her father picked her up, her mother had been in an accident or was attacked or something. They went out to Long Island."

Pike thought it wouldn't be long before they connected him. He didn't care, all he cared about was getting to Kate.

“Where on LONG ISLAND or I cut your bitch throat.”

“I, I heard her say Long Island Jewish.”

"Payback, Payback..." he murmured. “Shut up you little shit!” Sassy was barking and jumping about. Pike wanted to kill the dog.  But instead he stepped away from Marie and in the next split second cut Marie’s throat with a broad slash. She gasped and her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She sank to the floor, the blood was squirting everywhere. Clutching her throat and on her knees she tottered then teetered from side to side until she eventually rolled over onto her back. While the blood oozed out of her, her eyes stared blankly into eternity.

After Pike left, Sassy came out from under the table. Whimpering, she kept nudging Marie’s lifeless body.

“Detective Mets. This is my daughter Kate, I’m Hank.  What happened? How is she, God, this is just awful.”

“She’s not good. She’s been in surgery for some time; the surgeon will speak to you at some point, but in the meantime I need to ask you some questions. I know this might be hard.”

“Pike! Pike! And it’s all my fault I should never ever have gotten involved with him.”

“Sorry, Miss, Pike? Who is this Pike?”

Kate proceeded to tell him how they met and about the break-in, the assault outside the Roller-Derby venue -- about everything. Hank filled him in with other details. Hank explained the connection to Margaret. Detective Mets made notes.

 Kate was beside herself.

“I brought this on us, I did, Daddy.” Kate cried in her father’s arms and Hank looked at Detective Mets as if to say they were done.

Just then the surgeon, Dr. Peter Meltzer (according to his name tag), came up and introduced himself.

Hank and the surgeon moved off to the side. Kate described Pike to Detective Mets, giving as many details as possible. In the course of the conversation, Hank’s face changed from concerned to grim.

“What must we face, I’m not sure I understand,” Hank said loudly.

Kate let out a scream.

“Marie!"

Speeding through the Queens Midtown tunnel in Margaret’s black Denali, Pike keyed Long Island Jewish into the GPS. He ran the toll booth and accelerated past a parked NYPD cruiser. The police officers didn’t notice Pike, or they didn’t seem to care.

“Enjoy your donuts, you lazy good for nothings –"
 
“Keep straight on I-495 heading east for 22.3 miles…”

“That bitch is going to join her mother and then I’ll take care of that Hank too; rat bastard. I hate them all. And what about Kucinich, shit I’ll take care of him too. Then, I’ll just disappear and start all over again somewhere else. Damn this is a nice drive. Mine now.”

Pike had this tune in his head for some reason; something he heard his mother play many times. This was her music. He missed her terribly.

“Look over yonder
What do you see?
The sun is arising most definitely
A new day is coming
People are changing
Ain’t it beautiful?
Crystal Blue Persuasion…”
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Lotte hung up the phone, she needed to call her father immediately. The last thing the family needed was this kind of scandal. This sordid business now implicating the club could spoil the whole deal. She needed to figure out a way not to associate this in any way with the club, which had the best reputation of any club. This could ruin that reputation.

“Papa, something’s come up. It’s not good…”





Will Gens is passionate about poetry, squash and family, and would one day love to see the elimination of petroleum-driven cars.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.