Chapter 48: Unexpected Visitor

At home with their baby, Roxanne awoke to Eliza crying – again. In her groggy state, she picked her up out of her crib and carried her to the rocker.
“Here, I’ll get her,” Tom said, bringing in a bottle. “You go back to sleep.” He kissed Roxanne’s forehead, then the baby’s.
As Roxanne drifted back to sleep, she could hear Tom softly singing Eliza a lullaby. His deep voice crooned, comforting both Eliza and Roxanne. Tom had been such a great help the last few weeks – feeding, rocking, and changing Eliza. Roxanne thought about how lucky they were now that Baxter was behind bars.
After their big bust with Baxter, the police discovered he had been extorting businesses all across Memphis. Owen was just one of about a dozen businesses Baxter had demanded bribes from in return for permits. If they didn’t pay up, he’d steal some of their goods. In addition, he’d been working with a gang known for dealing in cocaine and counterfeit cash.
Sometimes, the business owners would change their mind and give Baxter the bribe. Other times, something calamitous suddenly happened like a burst pipe that ruined a bunch of inventory or an infiltration of insects that caused the health department to shut them down or in Owen’s case – a fire.
The proof against Baxter, along with the permit he had signed, caused the city to drop their charges against Tom. They warned Tom that what he did was illegal, but based on the circumstances with Baxter, there was no need to further pursue the case.
When Tom left for work, Roxanne got out of bed to dress herself and Eliza. She decided to take Eliza to the zoo, hoping for a nice, relaxing day with her little girl.
By mid-morning, with the sun peeking through the clouds, Roxanne strolled by the panda enclosure, Eliza in her stroller, looking through the glass barricade. Roxanne marveled at two pandas sitting on the ground, eating crunchy bamboo by the handful.
Passing by the giraffes, Roxanne angled Eliza’s stroller to get a better view of the long-necked animals. They reminded Roxanne of Tom with their slow, deliberate movements and long, lean bodies. By the time they reached the tiger, striding back and forth along the grass, Eliza had fallen asleep.
Roxanne watched the big cat, striped in orange and black, its muscles taut as it continued to pace.
“Exquisite creatures, aren’t they?” said a voice behind Roxanne’s shoulder. The hairs on her neck stood up at the realization of who had been speaking to her. She averted her gaze to the side to be sure she was correct and gripped the stroller tightly.
“What are you doing here?” Roxanne asked. The bald man, one of her kidnappers, stood just inches away.
“Just enjoying the nice day,” he looked up at the sky - cloudless with a vibrant blue color.
“Yeah, right. I don’t believe that for a second. Tell me or I’ll scream.” The tiger gave a little grunt, still pacing, its agitation seeming to grow.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’m not here to hurt you. Just a reminder.” He flicked her hair.
“What now?” Roxanne asked through gritted teeth.
“Your loan shark wants to make sure the ground breaking is a success. Everything better go as planned. No surprises. He’s agreed to hold off your repayment for a larger payout from this development plan, but it had better go though.”
“It will,” Roxanne said, her back to the bald man, still watching the tiger.
“You might have gotten Baxter, but don’t try anything with us.”
She turned to face him, a confused look on her face. “Our arrangement has nothing to do with Baxter.”
The bald man laughed - a maniacal little chuckle. He glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention. “You don’t know, do you?
“Know what?” Roxanne shook her head.
“It was Baxter who rigged all the bets.” The bald man walked forward, approaching the next tiger enclosure where a white Bengal laid on the ground and licked its paws.
“What do you mean?” Roxanne followed, pushing the stroller.
The bald man wrapped his knuckles on the glass enclosure, trying to get the tiger’s attention. “He paid people to cheat so your father would lose.”
“No, no,” Roxanne shook her head. “He couldn’t have done that. My father made lots of bets. Baxter couldn’t have…” she stopped, trying to think more about what the bald man revealed.
“You father didn’t lose all the time. Just enough to get him hooked and coming back.” The tiger yawned, his mouth revealing teeth like sharp daggers
“But why?” Roxanne asked.
“He was putting the screws to Owen,” the bald man made a clawing gesture with his hand and released a little roar. “When he refused to pay Baxter’s bribe, Baxter exploited a weakness. Owen didn’t have any vices, so he preyed on your dad.” He looked in the enclosure.
“And like a tiger, he pounced.” The bald man jumped toward Roxanne and she stepped back, startled. She furrowed her brows and frowned, thinking about why Owen had begged her father to stop gambling, insisting he couldn’t help. When her father couldn’t pay after one big bet, Owen set him up with the loan shark.
Eliza started to fuss, and Roxanne jiggled the stroller, trying to get her to fall back asleep. “Look,” she said, pushing the stroller forward, “Tom’s project is going to be a big success.” She pulled the stroller back. “Tell your boss, he’ll get his money.”
The bald man walked away, and Roxanne tried to roll her shoulders back, ridding them of their tension. She took a few deep breaths and continued walking by the red pandas hidden in trees.
Realizing her dad had been a pawn in a bigger scheme, made Roxanne sympathize with him. She knew it was easy to get sucked into the excitement of high stakes drama, and she couldn’t blame Owen for not cooperating with a dirty crook. No one had realized just what kind of trouble her father’s deal with the loan shark would turn out to be.
The mistakes everyone had made along the way proved calamitous, but somehow, they brought Roxanne and Tom together. For that, she couldn’t be upset. Looking at Eliza, she felt thankful such intense circumstances had pushed them into a relationship.
Meandering through the orangutan exhibit, Roxanne picked up Eliza and held her close. Even though she was upset after learning more about Baxter’s duplicitous nature, Roxanne took comfort in the fact that the police had arrested him.
Moreover, she was sure the loan shark would get his money back from the development deal, even though now she learned it was really Baxter who should pay the debt. As long as Tom’s project was a success, everyone would profit, and she had faith Tom would create a vibrant and lucrative community.
Downtown in a colorful, zoo inspired café with murals of various animals on the walls, she met Tom for lunch in between some of his meetings. Tom cradled Eliza, kissing her face and playing peek-a-boo with the napkin.
Even though he seemed to be enjoying their company, Roxanne could tell he was stressed. He sat a little hunched, his eyes a bit droopy as if he’d lost some sleep.
“Tom, what’s up?”
“It’s this project. I really want to make it successful. It would be so good for the area, but I need community support for it. I want people to be enthusiastic about it so I can impress the investors. Otherwise, I’m afraid they’ll pull out of the deal.”
Roxanne grabbed his hand across the table. “I believe in you,” she said. “We’ll make it happen, so don’t worry.”
He rubbed his hand through his hair. “Roxanne, this isn’t something where we just need to chase people or shoot at things. I need a big show, lots of people, something that will gather interest.”
“And I told you, I’ve got it covered.” She took Eliza and placed her back in her stroller. Tom forced a smile her way.
“How about your day?” he asked, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Oh, I had a little visitor,” she said. “Remember the bald guy you shot at during my kidnapping?”
Tom looked at her and swallowed slowly. “Yeah.”
She nodded. Tom wiped his mouth with a napkin and slammed it down.
“When will this be over?” He boomed.
“It was just a warning. Everything’s fine.” Roxanne put up her hands to indicate Tom didn’t need to get upset. “Like you said, we’ll host a kick-ass ground breaking ceremony and your development project will be wildly successful.”
“Then can we get some sleep?” Tom asked, his shoulders slumping even further. Eliza started to cry.
“Someday,” Roxanne said, “Someday.” Poor Tom, she thought. He had no idea that the surprise she had in store for him was sure to fix all his worries – and earn him a good night’s rest.