A Rage in the Cage

• Writer - Fabian Nicieza
• Penciler - Leinil Francis Yu
• Colorist - Jason Wright
• Editor - Richard Starkings
• Lettering - Comicraft
• Inker - Edgar Taded
• Inker - Scott Koblish
• Colorist - Harry Candelario
• Colorist - Elmer
• Editor - Mark Powers
• Editor in Chief - Bob Harras
• Lettering - Emerson Miranda

Summary

  Officer Cowaher, Officer Dunleavy, and the police coroner are examining the body of Linda Higgins (refer to Wolverine #91 for information on who she and her family are), who died apparently of a broken neck suffered from a fall against some porch steps. They were examining a welt in the back of Linda Higgins' back, wondering what had caused it.

  At a local hospital, John and Michelle Kole, Michelle being Linda's sister, were at a hospital where they received the bad news that Jane, Linda's daughter, was in critical condition due to internal swelling around the brain.

  Out on the road, Logan was on the trail looking for Mr. Higgins. He had overheard the two officers and the coroner talking about the death of Linda Higgins, and he remembered how Mr. Higgins was known to beat up his wife on several occasion, including that night where he almost killed Mr. Higgins for beating her in Wolverine #91, and how Mr. Higgins also tried to run him over in Wolverine #92. Logan believed that Mr. Higgins killed Linda, hurt Jane, his own daughter, and took his son, all while drunk (since Logan was encountering several beer cans along the road).

  At a roadside motel, Mr. Higgins and his son, Richard, had rented a room for the night. His son was sobbing uncontrollably while doodling with a red crayon on paper. Mr. Higgins, still drunk, tells his son that what happened happened, and nothing could be done to change what's done. He tells his son to get some sleep since they were leaving from Albany Airport the next morning. Logan, still on the trail, passes the motel without suspecting that the two had taken shelter there for the night.

  Meanwhile, Cowaher and Dunleavy continues to investigate the death of Linda Higgins. Showing the head coroner photos of the injuries that Linda had sustained, they learn that the lump on Linda Higgins was the sign that she broke her neck, and when she fell, she fell on her daughter, who banged her head against the porch stairs. They also learn that Linda had been hit with a blunt object, possibly metal in the back. Radioing two officers who were staked out at the Higgins household, they find a shovel in the front yard, and bring it in to the police station to dust it for fingerprints.

  In the meantime, Logan starts backtracking because he realizes he didn't see any more beer cans along the road, and being that it was 4AM, had to backtrack to check every motel along the route to see where Mr. Higgins and his son might have been staying.

  At the motel where Mr. Higgins and his son was staying, the two prepares to leave. Richard asks for a bathroom break before they left, which lasts much longer than anticipated. Mr. Higgins investigates, the bathroom to make sure Richard hadn't left any messages behind, and visually finding everything in order, departs for the airport with his son.

  Three hours later, Logan reaches the motel where Mr. Higgins and his son were staying. He finds out which room the two had stayed in from the maid who was cleaning the room. He finds some empty beercans, the red crayon drawings of Richard, but no other physical evidence to point him in the right direction ... until he discovers, behind the bathroom door, a heavy scent of crayon wax. He finds a message on the door, left behind by Richard, telling whomever discovers it that he and his dad were departing from Albany Airport at 9:00. Logan immediately leaves for the airport.

  Back at the police station, Cowaher and Dunleavy finds small finger prints on the shovel. Looking into Mr. Higgins' lengthy prior arrest record, which includes beating up Linda Higgins, they discover that the finger prints that they had obtained from the shovel handle didn't match. Cowaher decides to run a match on the prints to Mr. Higgin's son.

  At the hospital, Jane finally wakes up. Her condition was slowly improving. She asks her aunt where her mom was.

  Logan arrives at the airport with 15 minutes to spare. He reasons that Mr. Higgins and his son must be trying to get to Canada since Albany airport was so close to Canada. He finds the two in the terminal where he and his son were about to board a flight to Canada. Logan threatens to kill Mr. Higgins, who tells his son to back away. At the same time, at the hospital, Jane asks where her daddy and Richie were. Her uncle tells her her dad took Richie away. She asks if it was because Richie hurt her mom. Back at the airport, Richie screams out to Logan, telling him not to hurt his dad because he wasn't the one who had killed his mom, but rather, he had killed her. At the same time, Cowaher and Dunleavy discovers the fingerprints on the shovel handle matched Richie Higgins.

  Mr. Higgins tells Logan what had happened: he comes home late, drunk. His food was cold. He hits Linda Higgins for not keeping his food warm. She grabs a gun from the car, a gun which he used to protect himself from Logan, and threatens to shoot Mr. Higgins. Mr. Higgins tells her to do it, or he'd killer her. From behind, Richie tells her mom not to do it, and swings a shovel into her back. Mrs. Higgins falls forward, falling on Jane, both landing on the porch step, Jane knocked unconscious by the fall, Mrs. Higgins breaking her neck on the porch step. The airport police hauls both Mr. Higgins and Richie away, but not before Logan gets in the final word that maybe Richie had pushed her, but he sure didn't kill her, and that no matter what Mr. Higgins said, his kids would always know the truth.