1950’s, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Pop had been dead for about a month. Ralph had settled into a routine at the motel and was easily able to keep up the charade of having a sick elderly grandfather who spent his days in bed. He explained to the few guests that he was there for the summer helping his grandpa out. He handled the guests with a maturity and expertise that didn’t make them question his story.
He’d bum an occasional ride from a guest who was leaving and make his way into the city to handle necessary business, but it wasn’t much. He’d check the post office for mail and get some groceries. He couldn’t buy beer, but he didn’t drink beer anyway, and there was a lot of it left over from Pop’s last grocery run. He didn’t have to pay the utility bills because he’d been with Pop the day he paid them up for the next year. He did have to pay the phone company, though, but he did that by mail. He forged Pop’s signature on any checks that he wrote. After getting a bank statement in the mail and seeing Pop’s balance, he knew he didn’t need to worry about money. It wasn’t a lot, but it was more than he’d ever known in his life. More than once he considered trying to withdraw it all and leave, but why would he? He had nowhere to go and he felt safe here.
He woke up that morning and got himself fed and dressed. He took Ruthie and Razor’s picture off the dresser and tucked it in his back pocket. He had a habit of keeping it with him. He felt better having them close, even if it was just a picture. It was starting to get worn-looking and he wondered what he could cover it with to protect it.
He was skimming leaves out of the pool when he heard a rumbling. Looking up, he saw three motorcycles pull into the motel. He wondered if they were lost or would be looking for rooms. He hadn’t had a guest in about six days.
He laid down the skimming net and watched as they made their way around the pool and playground area, parking their bikes in front of the motel. All three got off and started walking toward him.
They looked like trouble. They looked like serious trouble.
He didn’t say anything. He would let them talk first. The one who appeared to be the leader spoke first.
“You work here?” he asked the boy.
“Yes, sir. I help my grandpa out. He’s the owner.”
All three stopped in front of him. The leader spoke again. “Doesn’t look like you get much business out here, do you?”
Ralph started to get nervous. Why would the guy want to know how much business they got? He felt uncomfortable. With a calmness he wasn’t sure he felt, he answered, “Not much.”
He met the man’s gaze. Ralph was big for his age and hoped he gave the impression of being a little older than he actually was.
The leader nodded his head, slowly looking around. The two guys behind him were doing the same thing.
Before the guy could say anything else, Ralph asked, “You guys looking for a room?”
There was a round of laughter. “Nah, don’t think we’ll need a room. Just looking for a place to rest our asses for the day. You got anything to drink?”
“What do you want? Got water, soda pop, maybe some iced tea.”
“How about a beer? Does your grandpa drink beer by any chance?”
“Yeah, I think I can give you some of his beer.”
“Is he here?” the leader asked. “Should I ask him for permission?”
Another round of laughter. Ralph knew they were playing with him, but he didn’t know why or to what end.
This could turn out bad.
“You can meet him if you want. I’ll have to take you into our room, though.” He nodded at number four. “He’s real sick. Doesn’t get out of the bed except to use the bathroom. Has a hard time breathing. I help him out.”
He knew he could get caught in this lie, but he was counting on the fact that they really didn’t care. They were just feeling him out. He was right.
“Nah, don’t need to meet him as long as he’s willing to share his beer.”
Ralph brought them their beer and watched them from the corner of his eye as he continued with his chores. They grabbed some chairs from the pool area and set themselves up between the playground equipment and the pool. He noticed when they were finished with their beers so he made a few more deliveries without being asked. They seemed to like that.
They only bothered him once when it started to get dark. He’d made them some sandwiches and was bringing them out when he stopped short. There was a blazing fire going and they were sitting around it. They’d made a fire right between the pool and playground. What the hell! He’d been taking care of the grass and now there would be a gigantic burn mark right in the center of it.
He slowly approached them, and when the leader saw him he stood up.
“Hope your grandpa don’t mind. We won’t be needing any rooms, but we’ve decided we’re going to stay and maybe have a little campout right here.”
“Hope he didn’t need that picnic table,” one of the other guys said.
This brought some chuckles. They’d used one of the tables to make their fire. His first reaction was to get angry, but then he realized he really didn’t care about a picnic table.
“He won’t care. Here’s your sandwiches and more beer. It’s the last of it, though.” It was true and he looked the leader straight in the eye as he said it.
“Thanks, kid. What’s your name?”
“Ralph.”
“Well, Ralph, I’m Red and this is Chops and Dusty.”
The boy nodded and walked the food over to the two men. He had the beers tucked into his pants and there was another round of laughter when he pulled them out.
He handed Red his beer and sandwich. Red set them on the chair he’d been sitting in and, draping his arm around Ralph’s shoulder, slowly walked him toward number four. When he was out of earshot of Chops and Dusty, he asked the boy, “How long you been here with your grandpa?”
Ralph didn’t expect the question and couldn’t think straight to tell the truth. “Since I was little,” he answered.
Red seemed to like this answer. He nodded. “You take care of all the business? All the guests?”
“Yes, sir. I have to take care of them.”
“Your grandpa ever help out?”
“Pops doesn’t get out of bed barely at all. Just to use the bathroom, like I said before. So, no, he can’t help out.”
“Good. Good. Do you remember a guy who might have stopped here three, maybe four months back? Nice-looking guy. Clean cut. Probably wearing a suit and driving a nice car. He was an insurance salesman. You remember anybody like that?”
Ralph could answer honestly. “No. Nobody like that comes to mind. I’d remember. We don’t get many people here.”
“Thanks, kid. I appreciate the hospitality.” He reached into his pants and pulled out a wad of cash. He took some money out and handed it to Ralph. “Tell your grandpa to let you keep some of this. I watched you working around here all day. You earned it.”
Ralph just stared at the money. He couldn’t remember anybody ever paying him for anything. Pop had never paid him. He gave him food and shelter, but nothing else. Before he could say anything, Red told him, “Go to bed. You worked hard today.”
He slapped Ralph on the back and turned around, heading back to his friends and the fire. Ralph let himself into number four and locked the door behind him.
The rest of the night was uneventful. He was grateful the television hadn’t broken when Pop fell into it. He fell asleep watching it and woke up sometime after midnight. He shut off the TV and started to head back to the bedroom when he stopped to peek out the window. The fire was just a soft glow and he could see the three men sleeping around it. They must’ve brought bedrolls, he thought. He glanced at the door. He’d remembered locking it behind him when he came in earlier. He double-checked to be sure. He headed for the bedroom, and without taking off his clothes, plopped on top of the covers and fell asleep.
He wasn’t sure what time it was or what woke him. He stared around the bedroom, trying to adjust his eyes. The previous day’s events invaded his senses. Bikers, sandwiches, beer, a fire. His eyes flew open and he bolted upright when he realized the pitch-dark room had a soft red glow. Was there fire in here?
He looked to his right and noticed the cause. The phone on the bedside table was lit up. The motel had two phones. One in the office and one in Pop’s room. The one in Pop’s room shared the same line as the office phone and Pop had shown him early on how to press down the red button, lift the receiver and listen in on guests’ phone calls.
Pop was a nosy old man. Maybe he was just lonely, and listening to other people’s conversations gave him a small thrill. Whatever the cause, it didn’t happen a lot because there were very few visitors, and Ralph hadn’t remembered one since Pop died that had asked to use the office phone.
Someone was using it now. Whoever it was had to have broken into the office. It was locked and the only key was on a peg out in the living room.
Using the technique he’d seen Pop do only twice, he slowly pressed down the red button while lifting the receiver. He didn’t hear a click and hoped the person using the office phone didn’t hear it either. He held his breath as he listened. He recognized Red’s voice.
“I’ve already confirmed he hasn’t been here.”
“Exactly how did you confirm this?”
“It’s just a kid and an old man. The old man can’t get out of his bed. His grandson runs the place. Asked if he was here. The kid wasn’t lying. I know when someone is lying. He wasn’t here. Plus, his name’s not in the register.”
“He wouldn’t have used his real name.”
“I fucking know that. I know his handwriting. I even know how he would disguise his handwriting. Only a few signatures and I can guarantee none of them are his. He hasn’t been here.”
“You keep looking for him. You find him and you bring him in. And you make sure he has the fucking bag with him.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find him and you’ll get your money back.”
“This is not about the fucking money. I want that bag.”
Just then, a wild animal gave a piercing cry from behind the motel. Ralph clasped his hand over the mouthpiece. Would Red hear that through the phone? Or would he hear it just like Ralph was hearing it coming from behind the motel? He froze.
“Is this a secure line, agent?”
There was a pause before Red answered. “Yes, it’s secure.”
“Find that bag.”
There was a click. Ralph knew without a doubt Red knew someone was listening.
He jumped up and ran to the living room. He peeked out the window. He saw Red come out of the office, and he could tell that he was carrying the ring that held all the motel keys on it.
Red approached the first door, Unit 15. He jiggled the door handle. Of course it was locked. He used one of the keys to unlock it and let himself inside. Ralph knew there were no phones in any of the rooms except for this one. If Red was going to check each one to be sure, he’d have to work fast.
He unplugged the phone from the wall and walked to the small laundry basket that held some dirty clothes. He stuffed the phone down into the pile. He almost laughed at himself at the absurdity of hiding the phone. If Red made his way back to the bedroom and discovered there was no old man back here, he’d have a lot of explaining to do. Fuck!
Think, think, think. He had one shot.
He went to the dresser and pulled out Pop’s cigarettes. Thank goodness he’d never thrown them away. He lit one up and started puffing on it as he grabbed a blanket and pillow from the closet and carried them out to the couch. He grabbed an ashtray off the kitchen counter. He had to fumble around for it because he refused to turn on the lights. He dashed back to the bedroom and placed the ashtray on the nightstand. He put the cigarette in it. He pulled back the bedspread he’d been laying on and mussed up the bed some more.
Then he went into the bathroom. He turned on the shower and turned the hot water up as high as it would go. He left the light on and locked the door from the inside. He pulled it shut.
He ran out to the living room and peeked out the curtain. Red was at number six. One more unit to check before he got to four. He hesitated for a second and then came to a decision. He unlocked the door and jumped on the couch. He stood up again and yanked off his pants, leaving them on the floor. He laid back down on the couch and pulled the blanket up.
He had just closed his eyes when the door opened. Red stood in the doorway, the moon casting a shadow that spilled into unit four. Ralph knew that Red hadn’t expected the door to be open. He watched through slitted eyes as Red tossed the master keys off to the side. They must’ve landed in the grass because they didn’t make a sound.
Red reached around the wall and turned on the light.
Ralph sat up on the couch and used his hand to shield his eyes. He knew he gave the impression of having been startled out of a dead sleep.
“Sorry, kid. Didn’t mean to wake you. Need to use the phone. You have a phone in here I can use?” Red was slurring his words and pretended to stagger. Ralph knew he wasn’t drunk. He’d heard him on the phone. He was stone cold sober. He also knew Red had thrown the master keys aside because he didn’t want to get caught with them.
Ralph rubbed his eyes like he was trying to make sense of the scene that was before him. He sat up and reached down to pull his pants on. He stood up, and while zipping them, answered Red, “No phone in here. Sorry. I can take you down to the office and let you use the one in there.”
He walked toward Red and started to take the office key off a peg by the door. He could see through his peripheral vision that Red was scanning the room. He was looking for a phone.
He walked in and brushed past Ralph as he headed back toward the bedroom.
“You sure, kid? Maybe your grandpa has one I can use.” He headed back to the bedroom and fumbled for the light switch. Ralph was right behind him and could tell he was taking in the room slowly. No phone. No old man, either.
Still feigning sleepiness, Ralph answered, “No. No phone back here, either.” He brushed past Red and walked to the nightstand. He took the lit cigarette and quickly stubbed it out. He then looked toward the bathroom door. The light was on and steam was coming out from underneath the door.
“Your grandpa always take showers in the middle of the night?” he asked nodding at the bathroom door. He didn’t sound as drunk.
“Yeah. Said the steam helps his lungs. Makes it easier to breathe. He’d probably breathe easier if he’d quit smoking.”
Ralph shook his head and started to walk back to the living room, leaving Red in the bedroom doorway.
Red took one look around the room. There was no phone here and he was certain there wasn’t a phone in the bathroom. He fake staggered back out to the living room. Ralph had already laid back down on the couch.
“Sorry to bother you, kid. I’ll just use it in the morning. If I can remember by then who I wanted to call.” He switched off the light and closed the door behind him.
Ralph jumped up and peeked out the window. He watched as Red retrieved the motel’s master key ring from the grass and made his way back to the office to return it. He wasn’t staggering.
The next morning, the three bikers asked for a skillet, some eggs, and any kind of meat. Ralph brought them what he had and noticed they’d restarted the fire and placed a grill from one of the barbecues on it. A coffee pot was sitting on top of that. They had what looked like army mess kits, so he didn’t need to provide them with any cups, plates, or cutlery. He was glad.
He went about his chores and acted like nothing unusual had happened the previous night. They finally finished their breakfast and used the motel hose to clean up their mess kits. Red announced they were leaving. They had packed up their bikes and were standing around the fire talking. Ralph walked over to them and started to pick up a chair. He was going to return it to the pool area. He had his back to them as he started to walk away.
“Hey, kid, what’s this? You dropped something.”
He turned around and noticed the guy that had been introduced as Dusty was holding something. He dropped the chair when he realized it was the picture of Ruthie and Razor. It must’ve come out of his back pocket. He considered it his good luck talisman and had never considered what he’d do if he lost it.
He lunged for Dusty to grab it away from him, but Dusty had anticipated it and took a step back.
“Whoa, whoa, kid. Give me a second to look at it. Don’t have to get your balls all twisted.”
Ralph reached for it again and Dusty took another step back and held the picture up high.
“Quit fucking with the kid. Give him his picture,” Red growled.
“I will. Just don’t see what all the excitement’s about. Just some girl and her mutt.”
He started to hand it to Ralph and when Ralph reached for it, Dusty swiped it away before he could grab it. The quick movement caused him to lose his grip on the picture and, as if in slow motion, it softly floated over the fire pit and landed in the burning embers. It quickly caught fire, and before Ralph could reach for it, it was gone. He stood there and stared.
They were gone. He would never see Ruthie’s smiling face again. He would never see her curls. He would never see Razor’s intelligent eyes.
Never.
“Gee, kid. Didn’t mean for that to happen.” Dusty was being sincere.
The three men shook their heads and started walking away, single file, toward their motorcycles. Dusty was bringing up the rear.
There was a loud cry, almost guttural, and before they could turn around, Dusty was on the ground and Ralph was on top of him. Ralph had picked up one of the pieces of wood from the fire and clobbered Dusty as hard as he could as the man turned to see where the sound was coming from. Dusty was now on his back. He hadn’t been knocked out by the blow, but he was too dazed to fight back. Ralph was sitting on his chest and bloodying his face. It took both Red and Chops to pull him off.
Red hoisted Ralph up by grabbing him beneath each armpit and pulling him to his feet. Then in a common wrestling move, he clasped his hands together behind Ralph’s neck, making it hard for him to break free. He was breathing heavy. Red held him back while Chops tried to help Dusty.
“Calm down, kid. Take it easy and catch your breath. I know why you got mad. Dusty is an ass, but I know he didn’t mean it. Calm down.”
Ralph’s breathing slowed as they watched Chops help Dusty into a sitting position. He took a bandana from his pocket and gave it to Dusty to wipe his bloodied face.
Dusty looked up at Ralph. “I should fucking kill you, you little bastard. You fucking broke my nose.”
“Shut up, Dusty. You pulled your shit on him. You had it coming. You two. Get on your bikes. Get outta here. I’ll catch up.”
He never relaxed his grip on Ralph as they watched Dusty and Chops get on their motorcycles and take off. Dusty had staggered a little bit. That hit to the head was pretty rough. Apparently, he had a hard skull.
When they drove away, Red let go of Ralph. Ralph turned around to face him.
“He had it coming.”
“I know he did. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
They stood there and stared at each other. Red sized him up. Red was an intimidating man. He was large and rough in appearance. He was covered in tattoos and had a deep voice that resonated long after he spoke. Ralph broke the stare first and looked at the tattoo that was showing just above the neckline of Red’s shirt. Without being asked, Red answered him.
“It’s a devil. You’re seeing its red tail.”
Ralph didn’t say anything, just looked back up at Red. There was something in the glance Red recognized. This kid knew something. He never found a phone, but he knew the boy had been listening. Ralph had a secret, too, and even though Red didn’t know what it was, he intended to find out. He could beat it out of him, but something told him this kid wouldn’t crack.
Red looked over at number four. There was no old man in number four. This kid was smart enough to be living here by himself. He glanced back at Ralph and the boy’s cold, green eyes told Red he was right.
He gave a half smile and nodded. He needed to get Ralph to come to him. To trust him.
“Look, kid. If anything ever happens with your grandpa,” he paused. “You know what I’m talking about?”
Ralph didn’t answer so Red continued.
“You know, with his health? Anything ever happens and you don’t want to be out here by yourself, you come find me. I’m in Fort Lauderdale. I’ll give you a job.”
Ralph didn’t say anything at first. He just stared with those intense green eyes. He finally asked, “How will I find you?”
“You find my bar down by the beach and you’ll find me.” He started walking toward his bike and called out over his shoulder. “It’s called The Red Crab.”