The Lion-Man
Midnight Rose 1993
Part 3
Joe had not imagined it. He convinced himself of this as he ran his flashlight beam over the warped and twisted hinges that once held the iron bars over the loading dock door, torn away by the mysterious beast-man’s raw strength. He did have further proof that the nightmare had happened no matter how unbelievable; Joe was missing both shirts beneath his suit jacket. He could not even recall when he dropped his service revolver into his jacket pocket.
Where could the lion-man have taken her? Cathy was in need of immediate medical attention. Granted this lion-man had exhibited some medical knowledge---How? Joe could not fathom---but there was no way that creature could perform major surgery. Joe began to fear for Cathy’s life in the hands of this beast-man, but at the same time he knew that she would be safe and that the lion-man would take excellent care of her.
Joe headed home and to a phone. He called Cathy’s apartment just to make sure the lion-man had not taken her there. No answer; he did not expect one. Joe sat down and called all the hospitals in the vicinity of the Lower East Side. No Jane Doe had been left on their doorstep and Joe hung up when the nurses pressed him for more information.
Joe could only worry, wonder, and pray.
***
The next thirty-six hours dragged by like tree sap in the bitter cold of winter. Joe passed the hours best he could. Keeping on top of the DA caseload took his mind off of Cathy’s fate for awhile, but every stolen glance at Radcliffe’s empty desk sent him to the phone. He did not know why he kept calling her apartment. He knew that there would not be any answer; yet he hoped.
Joe covered for Chandler when their boss, John Morino, asked for her whereabouts. "You know how Chandler buries herself in her investigations, John." Joe had said. "This isn’t the first time. If she doesn’t show in 48 hours I’ll send the bloodhounds out." That sedated the District Attorney for the moment.
Joe went over to Cathy’s apartment that evening and knocked on the door himself. Where could she be? Where had this beast-man taken her? Joe did not know where to begin to look. Cathy and the lion-man had stepped off the earth, vanished. Who could he ask about the creature? If he mentioned to Cathy’s friends---the ones he knew of---that she was missing, it would only worry them about her disappearance. Besides, who would believe him that a lion-faced man kidnapped Cathy?
***
The following morning found Joe Maxwell in a terrible mood. Little sleep in the last two nights did nothing for his disposition. If someone rubbed him the wrong way this morning, he was liable to snap their heads off and fire them all. Joe’s attention strayed again and again to the glass of his office, peering through the slats at the outer bullpen bustling before him. His tired eyes would land on Chandler’s desk becoming piled higher and deeper with folders of legal correspondence from couriers and co-workers. He sighed as his heart fell; maybe she was never going to walk through those double doors again. Joe was thinking the worst and the most terrible part was never knowing what became of his beloved Radcliffe.
At that moment, a figure appeared in the main office doorway clad in a dusty black cape with a deep hood. Cathy!
Joe’s first impulse was to throw the door open, run to her, and give Cathy the biggest hug in the world. Everyone witnessing this would think the assistant DA had flipped his lid---How the rumors would fly! The impulse faded as Joe’s eyes were opened to a part of Cathy Chandler he had never noticed before, because until the other night, there had been no frame of reference.
Cathy mirrored the image of her mysterious friend in her long, flowing, black cape with the deep hood. Though not as big as the lion-man, Cathy could have easily passed in the obscuring shadows as the creature. Chandler’s arrival brought acknowledgement from her co-workers, not only in greeting but also of respect. Everyone adored Cathy; her surface was sweet, warm, and open, hiding her determination, her toughness, and her incredible courage. Chandler made her presence known to make justice prevail but most often let herself blend into the background, letting others take the glory for the finished work.
The strange lion-man had been all fierce determination, street tough, and single-minded but Joe sensed it was because of the circumstances. The mysterious creature had been forced from the protection of the shadows that hid him from the world. His vulnerability in the light of being discovered showed a being who was tender and compassionate, willing to sacrifice himself for a friend. The lion-man had a commanding presence of power, strength, and dignity. His manner was quiet, and this enabled him to stand in the background undetected. The lion-man’s presence and influence in Cathy’s life was felt, if not necessarily seen---by Joe, until now.
Chandler hurried down the crowded runway of carpet between the rows of cluttered desks; made more of an obstacle coarse as she attempted to shield her injured shoulder from being bumped. There was vigilance in the way her green eyes scanned from one face to another and around the room. Joe noted Cathy’s keen awareness of her surroundings even in an office where she was safe and off the streets. The mysterious lion-man had demonstrated the same attentiveness; a comfortable awareness of what was going on around him, seen or unseen, heard or unheard.
This lion-man must be a heavy influence in Cathy’s life, Joe concluded. He was sure the lion-faced stranger had played a hand in shaping Chandler’s street sense. What was the creature’s connection to Chandler’s past?
Chandler went straight to her desk. As she stiffly eased out of her long cape, her gaze found Joe watching her. He could not help his shameless staring because for one brief, frozen moment he found himself looking into a pair of eyes that were not Cathy’s but those of the lion-man. They were eyes that held the same spirit, the same intenseness, the same fierceness, the same tenderness, and the same honesty that had always impressed Joe about Cathy. The two were somehow connected, somehow blended together---Joe stopped himself, he was reading far too much into this---romanticizing this.
Joe cut his revery short. He wanted answers now. He opened his office door and, not to appear that there was anything out of the ordinary going on, he bellowed, "Chandler, I want to see you in my office." Joe retreated to his desk and sank slowly into his chair. He found himself suddenly tongue-tied and nervous, like he was about to meet the mayor or a movie star. So many questions he wanted to ask but did not know where to begin---or how to begin. He ran his fingers through his dark curly hair and took a deep breath.
Joe thought of Cathy Chandler’s life as a puzzle that he could never quite finish. He had the edges complete, a framework of her professional life and the history of her high-class upbringing. Cathy’s personal side was a jumble of pieces that never seemed to connect. She was very protective of her private life and if one tried to pry, they ran up against a slamming door. Between dusk and dawn, Cathy’s life was a mystery. The discovery of her mysterious lion-man friend answered some questions that fit pieces together, while other pieces completely fell out.
A knock on his open door and Chandler strolled in clicking the door shut behind her. There she stood, his Radcliffe, poised and sharp with energy. She was smartly dressed in a silk white shirt, black slacks, and red bolero jacket, ready for business and, as always, a notebook and pen in her hand. It was as if the events of two nights ago did not exist or matter. His Cathy had not changed---the way Joe looked at her had.
"You wanted to see me, Joe." Cathy knew why she had been called and she would wait for Joe to speak of the matter first.
"You look well…considering what you have been through," Joe said. Cathy was the glowing picture of health; he was amazed at how quickly she had recovered.
The shot at small talk was awkward.
"I wish I could say the same for you," Cathy quipped. Her smile, Radcliffe’s sly touch of humor and teasing always helped relieve the constant tension they worked under every day.
"You had me worried there, Kiddo," Joe confessed softly. "You are a sight for sore eyes."
Cathy tipped her honey-blonde head as she shyly blushed like a schoolgirl. Did he not remember the lion-man dipping his head in the same manner?
"How is your shoulder?"
"I’m fine." Her green eyes warily shifted. They were both avoiding what they both wanted to know---How were they going to deal with the shared knowledge of the lion-man? Joe had the power to expose his existence and Cathy knew it. Her secret was in his hands.
Joe motioned for Cathy to sit and he leaned way back in his chair regarding her with a critical eye. He knew Chandler well enough to know that she was only going to give him the information he asked for straightforwardly. Joe slipped into his best lawyer’s voice. "Are you going to tell me about him?"
There was that shy secret Cathy Chandler smile, that twinkle in her emerald eyes that flashed for a moment until she tucked it away hoping no one had noticed. This time she did not and the twinkle became a glow. She shyly ducked her head hiding her beautiful features behind the smooth curtain of her hair.
Composing herself, she raised her head to look Joe straight in the eye. Cathy’s next words were solemn and stated as hard fact, "He does not exist, Joe."
Joe bolted forward in his chair, his mouth agape. "What do you mean he does not exist?" he boomed.
Joe had seen the lion-man with his own two eyes. He had witnessed the inhuman strength. Joe had followed him. Talked to him. Worked side by side with the creature to save Cathy’s life. The lion-man was real and Cathy wanted him to believe the mysterious man did not exist!
" I spent the better part of the night…." Joe stopped mid sentence.
In the silent truth of Cathy’s steady green gaze, Joe suddenly realized what she meant. The mystery of the lion-man himself; the secret she carried about him was to keep him hidden from the public. The creature’s discovery would surely rock the scientific community, if not mean the lion-man’s capture or death. The lion-man could not exist---there, but not there.
"I’m sorry," Cathy said softly. There was no remorse in her voice. "I made a promise."
Joe knew she would not break that promise. Chandler had never betrayed a trust---even when he had threatened her with the loss of her job. Joe knew she would not betray her mysterious friend.
"You would keep your silence even if it cost you everything?" Joe challenged, narrowing his brow. Chandler’s loyalty was legendary.
Cathy’s eyes took on a soft gray-green hue Joe had never seen in them before. "I would give my life." she whispered with reverence.
Joe sat back in his chair and ran both hands through his curly hair and regarded Cathy, his beloved Radcliffe. She was his prize investigator and they were a great team. Not only was the lion-man’s life at stake, Joe’s working relationship with Cathy hung in the balance. She would willingly walk away without a backward glance if Joe threatened to expose her strange, mysterious friend. He could not bear to lose her.
He sighed. Joe decided to let it go---for now. Let Cathy keep her secrets. His compounding pile of questions could wait for another day, perhaps in time she would tell him. This mysterious lion-man had saved Cathy’s life and Joe was forever grateful, he owed the guy. Besides, with Cathy insisting she work the streets alone, who but her lion-faced friend could keep her safe. Joe would still worry, but not as much.
"I’ll keep your secrets, Cathy," Joe smiled, then added lightly, "No questions and no blackmail."
Cathy smiled back with a nod. She looked very relieved, but at the same time Joe had a feeling she knew he would give in all along---woman’s intuition.
"Thanks, Joe."
That was that, Joe decided. He waved Cathy to move along with a gesture of his hand. "Alright, Radcliffe, back to work. You don’t get paid for doing nothing."
Cathy nodded and went to her feet. "I will have my report about the gang meeting on your desk by sundown."
"Edited for content," Joe smiled with a knowing wink.
Cathy’s shy smile was his reward. "Something like that…"
Her hand was on the doorknob when Joe stopped her. There was one little thing he wanted to know about the lion-man. "What is his name?"
Cathy turned as she opened the door. Her secret smile was larger then before. She gave him a wink. "I will have to ask him."
Joe watched her go. He wondered if she meant she did not know the lion-man’s name---or that she had to ask the lion-man permission to tell him. "Radcliffe!"
*****