Free My Brother's Keeper by Keith Gilman Page A

one of his dreams, the same fluid motion as the fish, his eyes open and unblinking, and yet imprisoned by four walls of thick glass. And from inside that glass cage, he could still see the world beyond, the boundary seemingly transparent and yet solid as stone.
    Maggie must have felt like one of those fish, he thought. He remembered feeling the same way when he was her age. He’d dreamed of flying like the hawks that nested high in the trees behind Karakung Creek. He would watch them hunt in Fairmont Park, stalking rabbits and mice behind the bronze statue of Washington, his horse rearing at the sight of all those cars going by on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. But the farthest Lou’s feet had ever come off the ground was when he’d climbed the marble pedestal to share the saddle with galloping George. His father had snapped a picture of him sitting on that bronze horse and kept it in his wallet, showing it to his cop buddies every chance he got. It looked as if Lou was trying to nudge the old campaigner out of the way.
    He often wondered if the dinners with Maggie had made a difference, those silent dinners, trying to understand the power of raw emotion for a nineteen-year-old, hoping he could touch the nine-year-old girl inside and give her a way now to spend time with her father that wasn’t equated with pain. Maybe she’d looked at those fish and thought they’d found peace, surrounded by all that water, safe behind the glass.
    He always felt that he’d failed her and that sentiment prevailed even now. Though at least now there was conversation between them. There were no answers, not to the questions she hadn’t known how to ask then and was afraid to ask now. Where had her father been for those years after the divorce? Why wasn’t he around? What kept him away? How could he forget his only daughter? Maybe the emotion that had persisted all these years was actually fear, a fear that one day they’d lose each other forever. And maybe dinners at the Peking Dragon reminded them both that it was within their power to change all that, give the past new meaning and create a future for themselves.
    But it had been a few weeks now since they’d been out, Lou’s police pension not allowing for much extravagance. He’d made excuses but Maggie knew that it was about money. They’d come to an unspoken agreement, cutting their restaurant trips from once a week to once a month.
    Joey had beaten him back to Heshy’s and was already sitting at the counter, nursing a cup of black coffee as Lou came through the door. His worn tweed sport jacket hung on a hook at the end of the counter. Maggie was coming out of the ladies’ room, ready for dinner, with her hair freshly brushed and a pair of purple glasses on her face and her best earrings in her ears. Lou held up an index finger, signaling her to wait while he had a few words with Joey. Maggie’s upper lip curled as she fell into a booth with an exasperated sigh.
    â€˜What the hell went on over there, Joey?’
    â€˜Your friend, Jimmy. That’s what went on. He’s a goddamn maniac. I thought I was bad. He makes me look like a fucking saint.’
    â€˜I find that hard to believe.’
    â€˜Jimmy’s playing the Joker Poker machine, right? He’s maybe into it for ten bucks, no more. Pretty soon he’s bumping the thing with his knee, slapping it. He’s cursing out loud at a video game, for Christ’s sake. Butchy is looking over at me like I’m his caretaker, you know, like he’d never even be in there if I hadn’t brought him.’
    â€˜I thought he was a regular in there.’
    â€˜He was, but Butchy didn’t want him coming in anymore. They had it out a couple times before.’
    â€˜Couldn’t you calm him down?’
    â€˜Easier said than done. Next thing you know Jimmy’s got a full house and he’s standing at the bar pointing at the cards on the