Webs we Weave

            It was an overcast day in Avon Lake, Ohio.  This was typical for mid-September as the seasons were turning.  Aphrodite , like most eight-year-old girls, was going to school.  Luckily for her, school was a stone’s throw from her house and this year she got to go to school on her scooter with a friend who also lived near-by.  She was at an age where she was just beginning to feel embarrassed around her parents and wanted some independence.  Her mother, Effie, allowed it but she’d be lying if she said it didn’t bother her at all.  It had been a tough year and a half for Effie’s family as her husband, Aphrodite’s father, walked out on them causing her to file for divorce and deal with raising two little girls while trying to get her divorce finalized with an uncooperative partner.  Things were beginning to turn, though, her divorce would be finalized in 11 days and she had found a boyfriend that treated her much better than the last.  Although she had many people she could thank for getting her through this time; toward the top of the list was Aphrodite’s godfather Larry.

            Larry had never wanted any children nor ever wanted to marry.  Due to this, Aphrodite was the closest thing he’d come to a daughter and he treated her as such.  Like most fathers, Larry was very overprotective over Aphrodite and would tell her frequently how he didn’t like that she befriended boys in school instead of girls.  Aphrodite found it entertaining and shrugged it off like all girls do when older generations talk like this.  What made Larry different from most 33-year-olds, however, is that he wanted to die.  It’s not that he was suicidal; he was just content with the way his life had gone.   The only thing he really enjoyed in life was travelling.  At 38 countries and 31 states, he had done a decent amount of that for one lifetime.  Regardless of how many new countries he saw, however, he never lost sight of what made it possible; the death of his best friend two days after his 18^th birthday.  His friend was nine months older than him when he died and Larry thought it a little too coincidental that it turned out that December 31 was when he’d be the exact same age as his friend was when he died.  Larry was attending college in New York when that happened and he had gone by himself to Times Square to bring in the New Year simply because he was always told it was dangerous.  To Larry’s dismay, nothing happened.  While the million people in Times Square that night were celebrating a new year, Larry’s head was down sad that he had officially lived longer than the best person he had ever known.  It was at this precise moment Larry lost his fear of death.  He found it interesting that most trips he went on, someone told him not to go because it was too dangerous and he would die.  Larry only hoped it was true but it never was.  Talking with others, he saw the fear in them to travel to certain places or wait for something to happen before going.  Larry didn’t understand why people waited their whole lives to live it.  He also knew, however, that he probably would be the same way if he still had that fear of death.  Deep down, in a place he didn’t visit, he knew his friend’s death set him free to live.  Not a moment went by when he wasn’t faced with the paradox of being grateful and guilty for the exact same reason.  Now, he just searched for a worthy cause to give his life for.  He wasn’t very good with authority or taking orders so the military was out of the question.  No, he wanted to protect women he cared about.  He was raised very old fashioned.  If it ever came to his life or a woman’s, he dies, woman lives.  Given his thoughts on his own death, this was ever the easier for him.  There were some females, however, he’d be more willing to give his life for than others and Aphrodite was on the top of that list.  His eagerness, however, may cause him to jump the gun and overreact.  He already had done it once and his lack of regret made him realize he was prone to do it again.

 

            Aphrodite sat in her third grade class bored.  Her young mind daydreamed to things little girls may think about like My Little Pony to Pokemon Go to Unicorns.  As the time passed by, she counted the minutes till recess.  Aphrodite was a happy girl that was very empathetic towards her peers.  She was not shy to walk up to kids and ask them if she could play with them and handled rejection well.  She had many people who loved her and she loved them back with equal vigor.  All little kids seem to have a catch phrase that older generations coin for them.  Aphrodite, however, had two.  When Aphrodite got into a bind, instead of lying, she would say, “I forgot” and Aphrodite’s sense of time was always “Last week” regardless of how long ago it actually was.  “Last week” for Aphrodite could mean years or yesterday.  Most of the time, she took this criticism well but no eight-year-old actually likes being made fun of. 

            Finally, recess was here, and Aphrodite ran outside with her classmates to play on the playground.  She found her way to a net that formed a web that kids could climb on.  She started climbing and making her way to the top.  One of her classmates, Luke, wanted to climb on the web too but it was too crowded with other kids.  Rather than wait, Luke grabbed Aphrodite by her long light brown hair and yanked her off the web.  Aphrodite, never being prone to violence, told the monitor and the school dealt with it in the calm, non-confrontational way that schools take care of problems.  The school alerted Effie and Effie was infuriated.  Like Larry, Effie was also raised old-fashioned.  The women maintained the house and took care of the men by feeding them and running errands but men were supposed to make the money and when shit hit the fan, men get involved and sacrifice themselves.  After all, they weren’t the ones responsible to raise the kids so they’re the ones that have to take the fall.  She immediately texted Larry at work and said, “Ummm no, Imma need you to catch the next flight out we have business to handle”

            Larry still lived in New York and Effie was in Avon Lake.  It was a quick flight and Effie had conned Larry into taking it for stupid reasons using her, Aphrodite, or her niece, whom Larry was very close to, for bait.  Larry read the text and knew where this was going.  He had a comeback now as there was one boy that Larry didn’t mind Aphrodite hanging out with and that was the son of one of Effie’s closest friends.  His name was “Jimmy.”  Larry had seen Jimmy, at nine, pick a fight with a 24-year-old man at least four times his size for, what Jimmy’s young mind perceived, as disrespecting Aphrodite.  If Jimmy was willing to take that guy on, Aphrodite’s classmate would be a piece of cake.  Jimmy, unfortunately, did not to go Aphrodite’s school.  Effie ignored the comment and said, “Some boy pulled Aphrodite off the Webb at school on the playground by her hair.”

            Effie’s boyfriend would always tell Aphrodite that if a boy was mean to her, she needed to “kick him in the nuts.”  Larry was a very sarcastic person so responded in kind with, “And his nuts haven’t dropped yet to kick him….Dean (Effie’s boyfriend) method still valid actually.”

            Effie texted back a bunch of laughing emojis.  Truth was, Larry wasn’t really in the mood to hear this.  One of his other friends had died less than two weeks before rehashing a lot of old memories.  Once again, it was a really nice guy.  This time, however, Larry had actually heard the guy say he wanted to live.  In fact, that was one of the last things his friend ever said to him.  To Larry, he couldn’t understand why someone like him who had wanted to die for a over 15 years and 9 months was still going on and someone like his friend Frank was dead before he could get what he wanted in life.  For Frank wanted the wife, the kids.  He worked out regularly and tried to eat healthily.  Frank was overweight throughout college and a few years after but he had gotten in shape.  He was almost a year younger than Larry and all Larry could ask was, “He did all that keeping healthy shit for what?” 

            As you may have been able to ascertain, Larry did none of that.  He drank an obscene amount of soda daily and ate fast food living on a carnivorous diet.  He drank on occasion and avoided the gym like the plague.  Still though, he was alive, and Frank was dead, thus emboldening his point; what really is the point of living a healthy lifestyle?  Since he was already pissed at the injustice of this, this boy set him off but he kept it bottled in.  Effie responded back, “Not going to lie kinda pissed”

            Larry responded, “As u should be.  What is this boy’s name?  And what did Aphrodite do?”

            Effie responded, “like” then corrected it with “Luke” continuing, “She went and told the monitor.”

            Larry merely responded, “Good”

            To Effie, that was the end of the conversation.  To Larry, it was time for some planning.  Larry only liked a handful of little kids but for the most part, he couldn’t stand to be in their presence.  He was appalled that everyone thought them to be so innocent while he believed them to be illogical, annoying, lying, half humans.  He had to admit that there was more logic in them than he gave them credit for but their information was lacking therefore came to wrong conclusions based on faulty information.  Maybe he should replace, “illogical” with “uninformed.”

            Larry waited till the weekend finding out everything he needed to know about Luke.  Effie opted to pick Aphrodite up from school one of the days much to her protest but Effie was used to being yelled at by her daughter.  Unlike many parents, Effie never tried to be Aphrodite’s friend.  She always established that she was the adult and she was the child and that she was the authority figure and what she said went.  To Effie, upsetting your kids was just part of parenting and after nearly nine years, she was used to it by now.  She took a picture of Luke and sent it to Larry per his request.  She was still extremely angry as she was always raised that boys don’t hit girls.  Having just gotten out of an abusive relationship, all she wanted was that her daughters would never have to deal with a physically abusive man.  Effie believed there was still time for Luke but he just picked the wrong girl to mess with.  She didn’t really know what Larry would do with it.  I mean, it was a little much to come from New York just to get revenge.  Larry liked rough housing with little boys but Effie had never seen him actually hurt one before.  Larry boasted that of all the cousins, friend’s little brothers, nephews or other little boys he rough housed with, he only messed up and hurt one twice.  Oddly, it was the same little boy but both times he was okay after a few moments to recover.  Even his parents weren’t mad at Larry for that.  Effie knew Larry still felt bad about these two times so assumed that he wasn’t really going to do much to Luke; though she hoped he would.  She didn’t know Larry to be all talk and no action.  He always said he’d kill for Aphrodite, so now it’s put up or shut up time!

            Living in New York, Larry knew a lot of sketchy characters.  He had grown up in the upper middle class, went to an expensive college, therefore met other wealthy kids that had connections.  Larry used one of these connections to get a fake ID and credit card.  The company the connection had was legitimate on paper with employees and everything.  The only thing they asked for, however, was when you used their company credit card, you paid them the money you charged on it in cash.  Larry didn’t know how they made money nor cared.  They created fake employment forms so that if ever asked, they just blame it on the employee falsifying their documents.  This way, the company pretended to be a victim also instead of the enabler.  Larry used the credit card to rent a car and drove to Cleveland using cash.  Even though he had fake credentials, Larry took precautions.  He told a homeless man that he would leave a credit card for him tomorrow that he could use to buy food with.  Really, Larry was leaving it that day.  He had a few credit cards he never used simply because they were issued before he had a job, thus the limit was $500.  For what the card was really being used for, $500 was well worth it. 

            He drove to Cleveland hoping two things.  (1) The homeless guy waited until the following day to pick it up and (2) If he didn’t, he didn’t spend the full $500 before tomorrow.

            Larry made it to Cleveland in 6.5 hours using cash to pay for tolls and gas.  It was two in the morning when he arrived at Effie’s.  He took a nap and woke up at 5:00AM and headed out.  At 5:00AM on any day in the suburbs of Cleveland, which Avon Lake was, the streets are barren but on Saturday, it’s pretty much a ghost town.  Effie had found out Luke’s address easy enough; it was posted in the school registry that every parent got.  Larry drove to Luke’s house as dawn was creeping.   He kicked himself for not leaving a little earlier so he had the cover of darkness.  He was willing to go to jail for Aphrodite but he would at least try to avoid it.  He picked the lock to the house and let himself in.  Avon Lake had a lot of burglaries lately but these parents didn’t seem on high alert.  He had no idea what he would say if Luke’s parents woke up.  Being bald, Larry could wear a wig easily without real hair getting in the way.  He also had colored contact in and hoped that would be enough if caught.  He knew that at Effie’s house, the master bedroom was the furthest from the stairs but Larry figured that most parents would put their room closest to the stairs so they could hear if their kids were up and going downstairs.  Also, if intruders came, they would have to get through them to get to their kids.  Due to this, Larry ignored the first bedroom he came to and inched the door open of the next one.  His assumption was right; there lay Luke sleeping peacefully.  He skulked inside the room and slapped his hand over Luke’s mouth.  Luke woke up and tried to scream but Larry’s hand muffled it to above a whimper.  Quickly, Larry’s other hand wrapped around his tiny neck as the crease of his elbow bent against Luke’s two carotid arteries.  Now that Larry had Luke by the neck, he no longer needed to muffle his screams and the choke would suffice.  The hand that was previously on Luke’s mouth came up as the crease of his elbow engulfed Larry’s other wrist as his hand reached back and grabbed Larry’s opposites shoulder.  Larry wore work out gloves to the house and the reason became apparent right now.  Luke instinctively grabbed Larry’s arm that was around his neck and pulled as if his little nine-year-old muscles could overpower Larry’s man arms.  When that failed, Luke tried digging his nails into Larry’s hands.  The fabric on the workout gloves was more than capable of ensuring that if Larry didn’t see Luke did this, he’d have no idea it was happening.  Luke struggling was actually helping Larry.  The more a body is in motion, the more important breathing is and Larry was cutting off all breath.  Not only that but he was cutting blood flow to the brain causing the brain to panic and demand more blood to figure out a solution, which actually made the problem worse and just cycle again and again until the brain gives up and shuts the body down, which is commonly called “unconsciousness.”  Even under normal circumstances, this hold would bring about the end result quickly but Larry quickened it even more by lifting Luke up causing him to kick but applied more pressure as he was hanging from his neck so his arteries were being constricted even more as his own body weight was being used against him.  In all, Larry didn’t have the hold on for more than 30 seconds before Luke’s body went limp. 

            Larry unceremoniously threw Luke over his shoulder and opened the window.  He didn’t dare go out the front door and risk running into his parents with their son over his shoulder.  Parents will fight the hardest when defending their kids.  Larry knew of way too many stories of inhuman feats of strength from parents trying to rescue their kids to believe that he could fight off two of them.  Yes, a neighbor may see him but it was still pretty dark out and very early on a Saturday morning.  It was a calculated risk he had to take.  He climbed down the house from the window balancing Luke on his shoulder and hurried to his car.  He contemplated putting Luke in the trunk but he had to make this look as normal as possible.  For all the neighbors knew, Luke was sleeping and Larry was taking him on a trip but didn’t want to deal with a groggy little kid so took advantage of driving with the tranquility of a sleeping kid rather than an awake one that liked annoying drivers either by the movies they were watching or asking incessant questions.  The child locks were on and Luke didn’t live far from Effie.  He drove towards Effie knowing that he wouldn’t make it before Luke woke up but at this point, Larry was in control.  Nobody could help Luke now and Larry could easily render him unconscious again.

            While Larry was kidnapping Luke, Effie was fast asleep.  Aphrodite had woken up but didn’t want to get out of bed yet.  She was used to being awake when her mom was asleep so she occupied herself not just until her mom got up but after she had her much needed coffee.  She eventually got up and poured herself cereal and ate breakfast.   She had had a tough week at school so she sat at a small table and took out her sketchpad and started drawing.  She had no idea that her godfather had come to town while she was sleeping.  His living in New York, made Aphrodite constantly miss him and she eagerly awaited the next time she’d see him.  Last time he was in Avon Lake, he had driven back with her and her family from New York as they flew in from Greece.  A one way rental car was really expensive so Larry accompanied them and then drove the car back to New York.  Aphrodite knew this plan but her godfather surprised her the next morning after driving back by telling her he was going to Chicago to visit Aphrodite’s cousin.  Aphrodite thought hard but in the end decided she didn’t want to go with him.  She had been away from home for three months and had just gotten back, leaving so soon was too much.  Larry dropped her off at home and left.  Aphrodite was sad and took this to mean that her godfather preferred her cousin over her even though he constantly told Aphrodite that Aphrodite was his number one.  That was a month ago but it seemed like years.  Really, Larry was leaving regardless.  Either he was going to Chicago or heading right back to New York so they didn’t have to pay for the rental car for another day.  Aphrodite, however, didn’t know that.  As she was drawing, a car pulled up into her driveway.  Since they lived on a side street, this was rare but Aphrodite thought nothing of it.  She just continued to draw.

            Luke did indeed wake up and, predictably, he was scared.  He looked in the front seat and saw a man he had never seen before.  Larry said in the calmest voice he could muster but it was a little hard with Luke screaming, “Relax, I’m not going to hurt you if you behave.”

            Luke hysterically screamed, cried and made noises that resembled words as his breathing got heavier.  Larry thought how he was going to play this but really there was no good way.  Rendering the kid unconscious didn’t cause amnesia.  Luke knew what happened so pretending to be his parents’ friend seemed ridiculous.  Still though, kids were stupid.  Larry said, “A couple days ago, you pulled a little girl off the web by her hair.  You were forced to say you were sorry but your parents felt like that wasn’t enough.  They asked me to teach you a lesson and make sure you don’t do it again.  Like I said, you’ll be fine so long as you’re a good listener.  Stop whining and use your words, I can answer any questions you have.”

            “Who are you?”

            “I’m Aphrodite’s dad” knowing that if Luke ever got away throwing that piece of shit under the bus was fine for him. 

            “Look Mr. , I’m really sorry for what I did to Aphrodite.”

            Larry was impressed that Luke knew Aphrodite’s last name.  He wondered if they knew each other better than he thought.  If so, this may prove a little more difficult.  Larry responded, “I’m afraid ‘sorry’ isn’t going to cut it kid.  You’re going to have to tell Aphrodite.”

            “But I did tell Aphrodite”

            “Yea, because the school told you to” Larry had no idea if what he was saying was true or not; he was guessing.

            Luke started crying and said, “Please, just take me home.”

            “I will take you home after you make it up to Aphrodite.”

            Luke responded with obvious fear in his voice, “What do you mean?”

            Larry smiled into the rear view mirror and said cheerfully, “You’ll see.”

            Luke said, “Mr. , I promise I will never do it again.  I’m really scared right now, I learned my lesson, please let me go home or at least talk to my parents.”

            “Your parents are sleeping.  Don’t bother them. Let them rest.”

            Luke nodded his head.  Larry thought about how he despised American kids.  He was raised Greek and corporal punishment was a usual thing.  Americans frowned upon it, but you don’t see kids with foreign born parents grabbing little girls by the hair and yanking them off things.  For they know what would be in store for them when they got home if they did.  He also was losing respect for Luke.  I mean, Larry choked him out and dragged him to his car.  How could he think his parents were actually okay with this and would be bothered if he contacted them?

            Larry pulled into Effie’s driveway and into the garage.  He shut off the car and closed the garage door.  He removed his wig and gloves and tossed them to the side.  The hardest part was over but this next part was really risky and probably stupid.  It was also going to be difficult.  To Larry, though, Aphrodite was the one that was hurt, so Aphrodite should get a chance to hurt Luke.  She was just so compassionate that Larry knew it would be a tough sell.  When the garage door closed, Larry turned to Luke and in a stern voice said, “Now Luke, you do everything I tell you to do.  Aphrodite may protest but the sooner you do it the sooner you get to go home and see your family again.  So, if Aphrodite tries to say ‘no,’ you have to help me to convince her okay?”

            Luke’s body tensed.  He said, “Convince her to do what?”

            “You’ll see”

            “Okay, I’ll try.”

            “That’s a good boy” Larry said with a smile. 

            Larry got out of the car and opened the passenger side door to let Luke out.  To Larry’s surprise, Luke didn’t run toward the garage door but followed him into the house.  Effie had told him to be stern with kids and they’d listen but he doubted it. When Larry walked in Aphrodite was already at the door and ran to Larry screaming “Nouno!!!!” which is “godfather” in Greek.  Larry scooped Aphrodite up and kissed her on the cheek and said, “Hi Aphrodite, I missed you.”

            For the first time, Larry realized his mistake.  Aphrodite didn’t address him as “daddy,” which means Luke knows he’s not her dad.  Minor problem; Luke was in Effie’s house.  The houses were far enough spread apart that nobody would hear him scream.  He was trapped. Luke, though, didn’t seem to notice.  After all, for all he knew, “Nouno” meant “dad” in Greek.  When Larry put Aphrodite down, she noticed Luke for the first time.  Aphrodite’s thought process was “What’s he doing here?” but she was raised to be polite so she said shyly, “Oh, hi Luke”

            “Hi Aphrodite”

            Larry said, “Aphrodite, Luke has something he wants to tell you.”

            Aphrodite looked at Luke and Luke looked straight into her eyes and said shyly, “Aphrodite, I’m really sorry I pulled you off the web.  It wasn’t very nice of me.”

            “That’s okay Luke”

            Larry shook his head.  “I’m sorry Luke, but not good enough.  If you want forgiveness, you gotta beg.  And begging needs to be done on your knees.”

            Luke looked incredulously at Larry and Aphrodite smiled.  Larry was wondering how Aphrodite would take this but she looked expectantly at Luke.  It seemed like Aphrodite was on board.  Luke shrugged his shoulders and knelt down on his knees.  He interlocked his hands in front of him and said, “Please forgive me Aphrodite.  I’m really sorry, I swear I’ll never do it again,  Please!!!!” Luke’s tone took a whiny tone. 

Larry seemed to think he was beginning to figure out that he was in a precarious situation.  The unfortunate thing was, Luke seemed to realize that Aphrodite was his best chance of getting out of here safely.  Unfortunately, Larry was beginning to believe that although prior he didn’t believe Aphrodite’s reaction would affect him, it just may. 

            Aphrodite giggled and sad, “It’s okay Luke, you didn’t hurt me that much.”

            Larry turned to Aphrodite and said, “Aphrodite, don’t you think that since Luke hit you, you should hit him?”

            Luke tensed up but was still on his knees.  Aphrodite looked confused at Larry and said, “But he didn’t hit me, he just pulled my hair.”

            “Well, still I think you should hit him back.”

            “Ummm okay.”

            Larry turned to Luke and said, “Luke, get up”

            Luke obeyed and Larry turned to Aphrodite and said, “Now, what does Dean tell you to do to boys that are mean to you Aphrodite?”

            Aphrodite knew what he meant, “Oh no, I’m not doing that, that’s mean”

            “Wasn’t he mean to you? “

            “Well yea but….I don’t know.”

            Larry glared at Luke and Luke remembered their conversation in the car.  His knees were shaking and he didn’t know what to expect but he knew that unless this man got his way, Luke wasn’t going to be safe.  He said, “Aphrodite, come on, just do it.  I’m a tough kid, I can take it,”

            Aphrodite said, “Okay, but I really think this is going too far.”

            Luke took a deep breath.  He didn’t like being the only one not knowing what was about to happen.  Aphrodite walked up to him and drove her right knee into Luke’s crotch.  Luke grabbed his crotch and keeled over crying in pain.  Aphrodite knelt down next to him and consolingly touched his back and head and said, “I’m sorry Luke, but you said I could.  Are you okay?”

            At this point, Effie came down the stairs.  She had woken up to Luke’s screams and realized Larry was back.  She yelled out, “Aphrodite, get off him, what that boy did to you was wrong.  What did I always tell you, boys don’t hit girls.”

            “But mom, he said he was sorry.”

            “Don’t talk back to me young lady!” Effie snapped back.  “It’s never okay.  I don’t care if he said he was sorry.  He needs to learn!”

            Luke said between sobs, “I don’t know what else I can do.  I can’t take it back, I wish I could but I can’t.  Please don’t hurt me anymore.  I learned my lesson.  I already said I would never do it again, I don’t know what else you want from me.”

            Effie put on her motherly consoling voice and said, “Luke, I appreciate that you’re sorry and you promise you won’t do it again but unfortunately that’s what everyone says.  I need to make sure it’s true.”

            “It is.”

            “Well you didn’t actually say you promised now did you?”

            “I promise, I’ll never hurt Aphrodite again.”

            “Not just Aphrodite, but any girl”

            “Okay, I promise I will never hurt a girl ever again.”

            “I don’t know, Larry what do you think?”

            Larry glared at Effie.  Using his real name he thought was stupid but nothing that can be done about it now.  Besides, if all went according to plan it wouldn’t really matter any way.  Larry thought about it.  He always wanted to teach his niece and goddaughter how to choke someone out from their backs just in case they ever had a guy on top of them against their will.  American parents give their daughters whistles that they blow if they’re being raped.  As if at the sound of a whistle people come running.  His first experience with a rape whistle was when he was at a family party and his cousin’s cousin kept blowing hers just for fun.  Larry got annoyed, walked over to her and yanked the whistle from her and put in his pocket.  The girl smiled as she was hoping to annoy but Larry thought about it and decided, what happens if a rapist does exactly what he just did?  It’s almost like a bluff.  You hope that the rapist gets scared off by a loud noise in case someone heard it and will actually come running.  This, unfortunately, is probably not the case.  Being able to fight on your back is much more preferable of an option.  To Larry, though, mounting an 8-year-old, even if it’s his goddaughter, was a little weird.  He couldn’t think at what age it would be appropriate but he figured better to err on too young than too old.  Now he had a guinea pig and it wouldn’t have to be him.  Effie got Luke some juice and gave it to Luke.  Luke sipped the juice panting as he recovered from the blow.  This small act of kindness was endearing him to Effie.

            Larry said, “Luke, before I take you home, there’s something I want to teach Aphrodite and I’d like you to help me.”

            “Okay” he said because he was too scared of Larry to disobey. 

Larry was amused by this.  After all, he didn’t hit the kid yet; Aphrodite did.  Then he remembered he did choke him out, so that probably helped instill fear in the boy who probably had never been hit by an adult before. 

            “First, there’s something I want to know” Larry said as he walked behind Luke.

            Luke tensed up but didn’t move.  Larry wrapped his arms around his head in the same manner he had in Luke’s room but this time instead of grabbing his own shoulder, he grabbed the opposite side of Luke’s head pressing against his temple.  He said, “What hurts more, this…” he held the hold for a couple seconds before switching to the hold he used before and said “or this?”  The first hold was what professional wrestlers used, the second, and the one he used at Luke’s, was what UFC fighters used. He had much more practice with the first one and had seen success, Luke was the first person he tried the second one on.

            After a couple seconds, Larry let go and Luke exhaled as his body sucked in much needed air.  He said, “Definitely the second one.”

            Larry thought that would be the answer but was disappointed that the one he had used so effectively for so long was actually the inferior one.  At least he knew better now.  Larry moved toward Luke again and saw Luke’s entire body stiffen.  This was just for fun; Larry was not going to put him in the hold again.  He said, “Aphrodite, I want you to lie on your back.”

            Aphrodite did so and Larry took a deep breath.  Even though, he knew he was helping her, he couldn’t help but feel like a pedophile right now making little kids play sex games.  This wasn’t a sex game he told himself.  The kids are fully clothed.  It may look bad but it’s not bad.  Still though, the next words were difficult for him.  He said, “Luke, lie on top of her.”

            Luke did as he was told hesitantly.  When he did, Larry felt the urge to attack Luke.  He had to remind his guttural reaction that he did tell Luke to do this so Luke wasn’t actually doing anything wrong.  He said with strain in his voice, “Okay, now Aphrodite, if a boy ever has you in this position and you don’t want him to and he won’t get off you, I want to show you what to do.”

            Aphrodite said confused, “Okay Nouno”

            Larry really wished they would stop addressing him.  He said, “Aphrodite slide you right leg against Luke’s side and over his shoulder.”  Aphrodite did so.  “Now place your left leg against Luke’s left hip and push pushing your upper body to the right.”  Aphrodite did what she was told and Luke remained in the same position. 

Larry was realizing just how effective this was; the guy has no idea what’s coming, therefore, does nothing to resist it.  It actually seems like the girl is giving up and letting him take her.  Obviously, Luke and Aphrodite are too young to realize what the implications of all this is.  Larry said, “Turn your leg so that it’s straight across the back of Luke’s neck parallel to floor.”

            “What does ‘parallel’ mean?”

            “Point your foot and you knee towards the walls not the floor.”

            Aphrodite easily twisted her leg into the position.  “Use both your hands to swing against Luke’s arm and tuck it into your arm pit squeezing your arms at your side squishing his arm in between your left arm and your side.” 

Aphrodite did this and found her left hand inches away from the back of Luke’s head.  Larry continued, “Place your left ankle on top of your right ankle, grab the back of the Luke’s head with both hands and pull down while you flex your feet and shins.”

            Aphrodite did all that and as soon as she flexed her feet, Luke squirmed violently but couldn’t move too much.  Larry watched on curious at what would happen.  Luke pulled his knees under him and tried to lift Aphrodite.  It’s very hard to lift something when you can’t breathe but Larry was curious to see if it worked.  He said, “Aphrodite don’t let go, let him try to get out of it.  Luke, I’m not going to be mad if you do.”

            Aphrodite’s upper body lifted slightly off the ground as Luke got his feet under him and was squatting down trying to pull up.  Larry was a little disappointed for he thought Luke was going to do it.  Luke was bigger than Aphrodite, which surprised Larry because he knew at young ages, girls grow faster than boys.  Unfortunately, since this technique is more for adult women than little girls, the size discrepancy is going to be very pronounced with the advantage going to the guy most likely.  Suddenly Luke collapsed forward and his body went limp.  His arms weakly slapped against Aphrodite’s legs and then he pinched them.  Aphrodite said, “Oww, and released the hold.”

            Luke jumped back and exhaled and then started panting.  He said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, I mean, I didn’t hurt her, you said I could try to get out, I didn’t hurt her.  I swear, Please, please…..I’m sorry.”

            Larry chuckled, “Luke, I’m not mad; I said you could try to get out.  That seemed to be the only way you could; if she let go.  You couldn’t force your way out, right?”

            Luke took a deep breath and calmed down.  “No, I tried to pick her up but then everything went weak and I got light headed.  That move hurts.”

            “Okay, remember Aphrodite, getting pinched isn’t that big a deal.  If you’re ever using that move, it’s because the boy is really trying to hurt you.  Never do it just for fun or just playing but only if the boy is seriously trying to hurt you okay?”

            “Okay”

            Effie chimed in, “And if he’s really trying to hurt you, don’t let him go just because he pinched you.”

            Larry added, “Wait until he stops moving.  Then relax your legs but don’t move them for he might be faking.  Wait 30 seconds with your legs loose ready to tighten them again if he moves.  If he doesn’t move for 30 seconds, then use your legs to swing him off you.”

            “Umm, I think I got it.”

            Larry turned to Luke and said, “Luke, you gotta do it again.”

            “She’s going to knock me out?”

            “No, you’re going to pretend to be knocked out and she’s going to practice getting you off her.”

            “Oh okay”

            Larry walked Aphrodite through the hold again and Luke instinctively tensed and squirmed but then relaxed.  Larry told Aphrodite to loosen her legs and she did, she counted to 30 and then pulled her legs to the side lying Luke down next to her.  Larry said, “Good job, now do it again.”

            Luke wasn’t resisting not just from fear of Larry but because now Aphrodite wasn’t holding him in the hold for very long.  Larry said, “Okay, Aphrodite now, I’m not going to tell you what to do, do it by yourself.”

            After a couple, ‘I forgot what’s next’ Aphrodite was getting the hang of it.  Luke was a good sport about it.  His neck did hurt but he didn’t dare complain.  When Aphrodite had done it perfectly five times in a row without Larry telling her what to do, Larry said, “Okay, that’s enough for today, thank you Luke.”

            “Your welcome, Mr. ”

            Larry looked at Aphrodite but she didn’t say anything.  Aphrodite actually didn’t know Larry’s last name.  She had just figured out his first name.  After all, to her, he was always, ‘Nouno’ so she kind of ignored what anyone else called him.  Larry said, “Luke, because you were such a good listener, I’m going to give you your favorite food for lunch.”

            “Okay, I like steak.”

            “Steak it is.  What’s your favorite steakhouse?”

            “I have steak in the freezer” Effie called out. 

            “Yea, but they take a lot of time to thaw.  Luke’s probably pretty hungry and wants to eat soon.” Larry said

            Luke shook his head indecisively and said, “I am kind of hungry but if you want to make steak, I can wait.”

            “No honey, that’s fine, we’ll order.  What’s your favorite steak house?” Effie asked

            “LongHorn”

            “Larry called and took their orders and paid using the fake credit card.”

            Effie had some steak in her freezer and she was a fabulous cook.  She took them out to thaw and Luke and Aphrodite watched TV and played together.  The whole time Effie and Larry looked at them.  Effie called Larry into the kitchen and said, “So, what now?”

            Larry said, “I know they’re getting along. I really think Luke learned his lesson but, it doesn’t change anything.”

            “Yea, I know.  But I mean, I can charm his parents. I’ll throw you under the bus a little bit but what do you care?  You live in New York.”

            “I do think you’d be able to do that”

            “Yea, so your call.”

            Larry knew Effie well enough to know what she was doing.  It bothered him that Effie actually thought that Larry didn’t know.  Still though, the plan could backfire for Effie so he said, “We’ll see.  Everything’s clearer after you eat.”

            “I mean, it may be a little risky to go to Longhorn”

            “We’re picking it up.”

            “Yea, I guess you’re right.  I’ll pick it up, can’t risk someone recognizing you.”

            “Okay”

            When the time came, Effie took the rental car to Long Horn to pick up the food.  When she got back to her garage she took an old sheet and wrapped it around the back seat.  She took the food inside to find that Aphrodite had already set the table.  She had trained her so well.

            Effie served the food and finished the side dishes she was working on while waiting for the food to be ready.  Luke had mashed potatoes, his favorite steak, his favorite beverage and some vegetables.  He devoured his food and said, “Thank you Mrs. , that was really good.”

            “I’m glad you liked it sweet heart.”

            Aphrodite collected her, Luke and Larry’s plate and brought it to the kitchen.  Effie brought her plate in and Larry got up and stretched.  He said, “Okay Aphrodite, I got to take Luke home.”

            “Ok, bye Luke” as she ran up to him and gave him a hug.

            Luke hugged her back and Larry looked on.  Effie glanced at Larry but Larry’s eyes told her all she needed to know about what he thought about this.  Effie smiled; they did look really cute. 

            Luke put his shoes on and walked out of the house into the garage.  Luke said, “Thanks a lot Mr. .  I was a little nervous at first but I had a lot of fun today.”

            “I’m glad Luke” Larry said impassively “but remember why you came.”

            “Oh yea, I do, I promise, I will never hurt Aphrodite again, and if someone else tries to, I’ll protect her.”

            “That’s a good boy” Larry said.

Luke’s hand gripped the car door handle of the seat behind the driver’s side.  Larry made the slightest motion toward his waist with his right hand.  His left hand gripped the driver side car handle and he turned to Luke and said, “Sorry kid” as the pointer finger of his right hand triggered the spring that would snap open the three inch blade of his pocket knife that he always carried with him and jammed it into the back of Luke’s neck.

 As the blade dug into the brainstem, Luke died instantaneously with no pain.   His small body collapsed forward and leaned against the car.  Puncture wounds kill the nerve cells fast enough that the body doesn’t send coagulates.  Because of this, there isn’t much bleeding.  Larry clicked the unlock button twice unlocking all the doors and wrapped his right arm around Luke’s small frame and used his left to open the door.  He pulled Luke’s body away with his right hand and opened the door with the left lying Luke in the back seat.  He yanked his knife out of Luke’s neck and placed it on the trunk hood.  He pulled the sheet over Luke and then grabbed duck tape from the wall and taped the ends.  He folded the sheet over Luke’s body and taped them to the top wrapping Luke like a present.  Larry grabbed a paper towel and wiped the blood off his knife and trunk hood.  He left the towels in the garage knowing Effie would take care of them.  He got into the driver seat and opened the garage and backed out of the driveway.  He took out his cell phone and called Effie’s sister.  Effie didn’t know that this wasn’t the first time Larry had killed.  Larry knew that Effie had a problem with Larry befriending her sister but Larry didn’t care.  Effie tolerated it more and more and in this situation, Larry needed her.  What Effie didn’t know, was that this wasn’t the first time he made this type of call.  Effie’s sister loved Larry as if he was her brother.  She had welcomed him into the family and would do most anything for him.  Larry had tested that once and he was about to again.  Effie’s sister worked in the funeral industry and had keys to a crematorium.   Larry only called anybody when it was an urgent manner so when Gissel, Effie’s sister, picked up, she immediately said, “Is everything alright?”

            “No, I messed up, I know you’re at work but I really need to see you.”

            Gissel knew what he meant.  One, Larry knew very well she was not at work, it was Saturday.  Larry was telling her to meet her at her work.  From the previous time Gissel helped Larry, she had taught him how to use the cremation machine.  Unlike last time, she wasn’t staying with him.  She said, “Alright, come by”

            “Thanks Gissel, I owe you”

            “Oh stop it.”

            Larry drove to the crematorium and Gissel was already there.  She unlocked the door and let him in.  She then said, “I’m leaving Larry; I don’t want to know anything else.”

            Larry nodded and said, “Thanks again.”

            “Don’t make this a fucking habit”

            “I won’t Gissel.”

            Gissel hugged Larry and put her cheek next to his and kissed the air and Larry did the same in a typical Greek greeting and good bye.  She walked back to her car and drove off.  Larry let out a sigh of relief.  If Gissel knew the specifics, she wouldn’t be too happy.  Gissel loved being a mom and loved kids and would never condone the killing of an eight-year-old boy.  Larry turned on the machine and walked out to the car.  He pulled the sheet containing Luke’s body and placed it on the slide.  He hit the button and watched the sheet slide into the container.  He sealed it and turned it on full blast.  The tight seal contained any smells and the exhaust let it out in a manner to not disturb any neighboring businesses or houses.  It was quite remarkable.  Larry knew this was a many hour process but he also knew he couldn’t leave.  He day dreamed and used his phone to watch movies.  After many hours, Luke’s body was reduced to ash.  Bones don’t burn even with the intense heat of the cremation machine but they had a system to dispose of them.  Larry did so and collected Luke’s ashes in a coffee tin that he had taken from Effie’s house.  He hit the self-cleaner on the machine and walked out.  It was the middle of the night now.  He drove to a spot overlooking Lake Erie and dumped the ashes from the coffee tin into the lake.  He then drove back to Effie’s.

            Effie could tell that when Larry saw Luke and Aphrodite hugging, he didn’t see what she saw.  She saw a cute moment between two little kids.  Larry saw a boy moving in on his favorite girl and his overprotective instincts were kicking in.  He knew the plan was to kill Luke.  Give him a nice last meal and then send him off to the afterlife.  She welcomed it.  That little shit hurt her daughter and one forced nice play day wasn’t going to change that.  She kept Aphrodite away from the door leading to the garage knowing what was going to happen there.  She couldn’t have Aphrodite walking in on that.  She told Larry it was a bad idea to have Aphrodite involved at all as she was known for ratting people out.  Larry convinced Effie by saying it was his life he was risking so they would do it his way.  The stubbornness of Greek men still baffled Effie but she went along with it.  She went over the course of the day.  She confirmed that she implied for Larry not to do it so she gave herself deniability.  She could say she tried to talk him out of it if Larry caved and told the cops that they had planned this.  Larry had never been arrested and was kind of a straight edge so Effie didn’t know how he would fare with questioning.  After all, Effie questioned him all the time and got things out of him.  What Effie didn’t know is that Larry knew what she was doing and fed her misinformation so she misinterpreted what he said without actually lying.  The next few days were crucial.  She wasn’t going to coach Aphrodite. She was just going to let things play out and what happens happens.  As she was putting Aphrodite to bed, Aphrodite pleaded that she wanted to stay up for Larry not knowing why he took so long to take Luke home.  Effie told her that he was seeing some of his other friends and she would see him in the morning.  When Larry arrived at her house, Effie had a late dinner waiting for him.  It was macaroni with a red sauce that Effie considered her specialty.  She had Barqs Root Beer waiting for him as well.  Larry engulfed the food and Effie said, “So how do you feel?”

            “I’m fine Effie.”

            “Good”

            That was the most they spoke about it.  They talked about other things and then Larry slept on the couch while Effie slept in her bed.  Larry was not surprised to find Aphrodite come onto the couch in the middle of the night as she always did when he slept over.  It was always the same thing.  Larry pretended to be sleeping.  Aphrodite would lay down and after a little bit wrap her leg around Larry’s.  It was so cute and this time when she did it, it meant more to Larry because now he could convince himself he was still sane.  Sure he just killed a little boy but he could still be moved by this simple gesture.  He really didn’t feel guilty, which scared him a little bit.  The next morning, Larry had breakfast with Aphrodite and Effie and then Larry drove back to New York.  Effie knew that the cops would not listen to a parents’ plea that their kid was missing for 24 hours.  It had been 24 hours, now the cops would listen to Luke’s parents and the school was probably the first place they’d look.  Effie would be on edge for the next week while Aphrodite was in school.

            Larry returned the car to the rental agency and then returned the credit card to his contact and paid him for the car rental and Long Horn.  While Larry was waiting for Luke’s body to cremate, he checked his credit card statement that he left for the homeless man.  Just as he hoped, he had charges from the day he was in Cleveland. Now he had an alibi that he was in New York on the day in question.  It occurred to him, he shouldn’t have brought his cell phone to Cleveland as cell towers would ping in Cleveland but there was nothing he could do about it now.  He wasn’t too surprised to see that most of the charges were at liquor stores.  He was surprised to see that the homeless guy only spent $100 that day.  Larry checked for him at the corner he met him at and was shocked to find him.  The man gave him back his credit card and thanked him.  Larry said, “You’re welcome” and walked away stunned. 

He really expected the card would be maxed out and he’d never see the homeless guy again.  He would wait a month before cancelling it to avoid suspicion but now he didn’t have to do that.  When the bill came up, he paid it and went back to not using it.

            Larry knew that the first 48 hours of a murder investigation were crucial so he didn’t sleep the first two days when he returned to New York.  This made work difficult but he managed through it with five hour energy.  Luke was noticed missing but it took them a full two weeks before questioning the kids at school.  The cops’ logic was that he was abducted from home, not school, so therefore school was not the first place to look.  Instead, they aggressively interrogated the parents and when they ruled them out, went into their family members.  Luke’s family was appalled but had no choice but to comply.  When Effie went out to have a cigarette, she burned Larry’s blood napkins in a waste basket, which she also used to light her cigarette.  Finally, the day Effie feared came; the cops asked Aphrodite about Luke.  This was their conversation.

            “Hi Aphrodite, how are you?”

            “I’m good, how are you?”

            “I’m good, my name is Officer Phil”

            Aphrodite extended her hand, “Nice to meet you Officer Phil”

            “Can I ask you a few questions?”

            “My mommy said not to answer questions without her here.”

            “Okay, well then let’s call your mommy”

            Effie received the call and drove to the school and sat with Aphrodite.  She said, “Now Aphrodite, answer all the nice police officer’s questions.  You’re not in trouble just remember that we all love you.” Hoping she got the message that she was including Larry but realized that since Aphrodite didn’t know anything wouldn’t know not to mention Larry.

            After simple questions like how old she was and what not, the officer got to the point and asked, “Did you know Luke?”

            “Yup”

            “Were you guys friends?”

            “No, not really, he was mean to me on the playground.”

            “Why? What happened?”

            “He pulled my hair and forced me off the web”

            “That wasn’t very nice of him.”

            “No, it wasn’t”

            “Then what happened?”

            “I told the monitor and he got in trouble”

            “Well you did the right thing”

            “Yea, but he said he was sorry, so it was okay.”

            Effie tensed up.  She was hoping she didn’t go into detail about the apology.  The officer continued, “When’s the last time you saw him?”

            Aphrodite looked up and said, “Ummmm….” The suspense was killing Effie but she should’ve seen what was coming next, “Last week”

            The officer got real serious and leaned in.  He said, “Really? Where did you see him last week?”

            Effie chimed in, “She says ‘last week’ for everything.”

            The officer glared at Effie and Effie stopped speaking.  She was going to ask Aphrodite in her own way but knew the cops would think it was a trick.  She contented herself with she had positioned herself and Aphrodite that no harm could come to them; it would all fall on Larry.  “Did Luke tell you why he hasn’t been to school in the last couple weeks?”

            At this point, it had been two weeks since Luke’s disappearance.  Aphrodite said, “Oh, no, I haven’t seen him since he stopped coming to school.”

            “I thought you said it was last week.”

            “Umm, I think it was last week but maybe it was longer, I forget”

            “Try to remember Aphrodite, how long has it been since you saw Luke.”

            “I forget”

            “Are you sure you haven’t seen him since he disappeared”

            “Oh yea, I’m sure”

            “Okay, well he’s been gone for two weeks”

            “Okay, well then it was longer than that.”

            “Did any grown-ups get mad when Luke pulled you off the net?”

            “Oh yea”

            “Who?”

            “The teacher, the monitor, they told him that wasn’t nice.”

            “Anyone else?”

            “Mommy was mad because boys aren’t supposed to hit girls.”

            “That’s right, but we don’t hit anyone right.”

            “Well yea, but especially boys aren’t supposed to hit girls.”

            “Did mommy say anything to Luke about it?”

            Effie kept a stolid face but her insides were killing her.  In Aphrodite’s head only her nouno said something about it to Luke so she said, “No.”

            “Are mommy and Luke’s mommy and daddy friends?”

            “I don’t think so”

            “Has Luke ever been to your house?”

            “Yes”

            Effie jumped in, “Aphrodite, don’t lie”

            “I’m not” she snapped at her mom

            Effie said, “Officer, you can ask Luke’s parents, I don’t know this boy.  He certainly has never been to my house.”

            “I will be sure to do that.” The officer said and turned back to Aphrodite, “How did he get to your house?  Did his mommy and daddy take him there or did your mommy or daddy pick him up?” he looked at Effie in the corner of his eye to see if she signaled Aphrodite in any way.

            “I don’t know”  was all Aphrodite said.

            “Did Luke tell you how he got there?”

            “No,”

            “He just showed up?”

            “Yea, he just walked into the door.”

            Prepping for the interview, the cop had memorized the distance from each kid’s house to Luke’s contemplating which ones were walking distance for an eight-year-old.  Aphrodite’s was not one of them.  He said, “When was he at your house?”

            “Umm last week.”

            “So he came to your house after he stopped coming to school?”

            “No, it was before.”

            “Aphrodite, I need you to focus, you keep changing your story.”

            “No, I don’t, I told you it was last week.”

            “But Luke has been gone for two weeks”

            “Oh yea, I forgot, so it was longer.”

            “How much longer before he stopped coming to school?”

            The officer’s voice was starting to get impatient.  Aphrodite got scared so clammed up and said, “I forget.”

            The officer said, “Try to remember, this is important.”

            “I don’t remember, I’m sorry.”

            The officer sighed.  As far as he could tell, Effie was not signaling.  He went back to his calming voice and said, “Was anyone else there?”

            “Yea”

            “Was mommy there?”

            “Yea”

            “How about daddy?”

            “No”

            The officer took a stern look at Effie.  Effie looked back unmoved and said, “I already told you the truth sir, if you want to question me go ahead.”

            The officer turned back to Aphrodite and said, “Anyone else?”

            “Yea my Nouno”

            “What’s that?”

            Effie exhaled, Aphrodite had done it, she ratted out Larry.  Aphrodite said, “I don’t know, my nouno”

            Effie said, “Can I speak?  She’s speaking Greek right now, I can translate if you’d like.”

            The officer made a mental note.  Effie loved Larry but she loved Aphrodite more.  She was going to cooperate, Aphrodite needed her.  She said, “godfather.”

            “And where is Nouno now?”

            “He lives in New York.”

            “Then how was he at your house?”

            “He comes to my house sometimes.”

            “When was the last time he was at your house?”

            “Last week.”

            “Really last week, or last week like when you saw Luke?”

            “I don’t know.”

            “What did you do with nouno?”

            “We went to get bagels near where my dad lives”

            Effie’s eyes widened.  She was doing well keeping stoic but the fact that Aphrodite was jumping to when he drove back made her so proud.  Aphrodite was going to confuse the shit out of these people.  She contemplated chiming in to exploit this but figured it was too soon.  The officer said, “Did he take you to breakfast with Luke?”

            “No”

            “What happened after breakfast?”

            “He dropped me off at home and went to Chicago to visit Jenn”

            “Who’s Jenn?”

            “My cousin”

            “So he wasn’t at your house for very long?”

            “No, we got back really late, I was sleeping because we drove from New York, and then he told me to wake up early because he had a surprise.  I did and we got bagels and then he told me he was going to Chicago and asked if I wanted to come but I had just gotten home and I had been away for so long, so I just didn’t want to go anywhere, I missed Moutso.  Then I asked him to take me to Jimmy’s house but he said no.  But I really missed Jimmy and I really wanted to see him”

            It took everything in Effie not to burst out laughing.  The officer said, “Wait, slow down, okay so who’s Jimmy?”

            “My bestest friend.”

            “and Moutso”

            “He’s my puppy”

            “You said you were gone for a long time.  Where were you?”

            “Greece”

            “When was this?”

            “Ummm, last week.”

            The officer frowned.  He turned to Effie and said, “Can you make some sense out of this?”

            Effie said, “Sure, my mother lives in Greece.  I sent Aphrodite to stay with her for the summer, I ended the summer in Greece to collect the girls and come home.  We flew into New York where her godfather lives.  One-way rental cars are very expensive so I asked him if he would come with us to Cleveland and drive the car back.  He’s really close with my niece in Chicago so he opted to go to Chicago to see her and extended the rental an extra day.  He wanted to take Aphrodite but Aphrodite didn’t want to go.  All of this happened in August before school started.  This being October, it was certainly not last week.  My daughter, however, calls everything that happened in the past as ‘last week.’” 

            “What is her godfather’s name?”

            “Larry Rozakis”

            The officer turned to Aphrodite and said, “Aphrodite, I promise you won’t get in trouble.  We can protect you and your mommy can’t punish you for telling us the truth.”

            “My mommy always tells me to tell the truth.”

            The officer smiled and said, “That’s right.  I’m glad she taught you that. You’re being a good girl so tell me, is everything your mom said true?”

            “Yup”

            “So your godfather was here before school started?  In the summer time?”

            “No, my Nouno was”

            The officer pulled up google translate and switched it from Greek to English.  He had Aphrodite say ‘Nouno’ into it and it came back, ‘godfather.’

            The officer said, “Aphrodite, Nouno is the Greek word for ‘godfather’”

            “Oh okay, I didn’t know that.”

            “Didn’t you’re mommy ever teach you that?”

            “No, why would she?”

            The officer contemplated this.  He didn’t really have an answer.  “Okay, so your nouno was at your house for a night then he left.”

            “Yup”

            “So, he wasn’t with Luke.”

            “No, I didn’t even know Luke then.”

            “Okay”

            The officer asked some more questions but concluded that Aphrodite couldn’t really help with the investigation.  He looked into ‘Larry Rozakis’ in New York and found no record of him going to Cleveland via train, plane or car the weekend of Luke’s disappearance.  He looked into cars under his name but wasn’t surprised it came up empty.  His address was in Manhattan. Very few people kept cars in Manhattan. 

            Time passed and the kids moved on.  All Luke became was a sporadic amber alert that popped up on the news every now and then.  With no leads, the case got cold and Luke’s parents didn’t really pursue it because they hated the accusatory glances they got.  Everyone assumed they did it. 

            Four days after Larry returned home, he received an envelope in the mail that was a little too heavy to be paper.  He opened it and a key dropped to the floor.  It said, “Hey Larry, this is so you don’t need to contact me again.  As you know you’re always welcome at my home so I decided to give you a key in case you ever find yourself in a predicament like last time.  Just remember to show some restraint and caution.  Carelessness and abuse can have dire consequences.  Love you, Gissel.”

            Larry read it and smiled.  He knew very well it wasn’t a key to Gissel’s house.  Gissel basically gave him a license to kill but told him she didn’t want to be exposed in any way shape or form again.  Larry could respect that. 

            Although Effie loved what Larry did and it bonded her to him even more, she knew not to tell him any time someone picked on Aphrodite at school.  Murder was a little much for hair pulling.  She felt a little bad but she saw the big picture.  Larry would do whatever it took to defend her daughter and that made him even more of a keeper than he was before.  She never told anyone about what Larry did and neither did Larry. 

            Aphrodite went on with her life never the wiser.  Every time she saw her Nouno, he would make sure she remembered the holds he taught her with Luke.  At first, he was nervous it would jar her memory of him but it didn’t.  Sometimes Effie thought Larry secretly wanted to get caught.  He claimed that he kept it fresh because he wanted Aphrodite to know how to protect herself and if she practiced with other people, she’d stop associating it with Luke.  Effie thought this was a far stretch but allowed it to happen anyway.  Luke’s disappearance was never solved.