‘Hey Jerry, how you doing?’
Jerry and John were college buddies from the same fraternity, Alpha Zeta. They were best friends who trusted each other with their lives and that would be their downfall. Jerry lit a cocaine joint and offered it to John.
‘Sorry Jerry. I don’t do that anymore,’ explained John. John used to be a junkie but decided to turn over a new leaf after seeing one of his best friends overdose on heroin.
‘Oh Ok. But it don’t mean I can’t smoke it. I get it from this Jamaican gangsta who walks the hood around near my parents. He is so cocky, he acts like he owns the hood. He threatened my mother a week back, he then carjacked her and broke her leg during it. I gotta get him back. John I need your help with somethin’.’
‘I’m tellin’ you now, I aint getting involved in any of your dosy ideas. You remember the last job, we nearly got killed and what was it for just some smack. You should grow up. I have.’
‘What you talkin’ about John?’
‘Me and Becki are engaged, we are getting married next month.’
‘You better be bloody joking John. She’s only 17! Have you told her father? You know he’s gonna kill you.’
‘I’m gonna get it sorted with him. God Jerry, I thought you would be supportive.’ Becki was John’s girlfriend. They had been going steady for over a year and they were ready to go to the next step. Becki was incredibly pretty. If you saw John you would imagine a 200lb trailer trash hooker, but instead of reeling in a piranha, he caught a mermaid. She was also well educated. She earned good money by working in a bank, organising people’s loans.
‘Alright Jerry, but I better be getting a decent cut. Tell me, what’s your idea?’
‘Every Tuesday, this drug-pushing Negro walks past my parents with his weekly earnings in a briefcase he has handcuffed to his wrist. I’ve seen him open the briefcase before and I’m guessing there’s at least $50,000. You get half if this goes well. Just think of that money you could pay for a decent wedding.’
‘Ok, Jerry. How do we execute the plan?’
John had always seen himself as a bit of a military enthusiast. When other children were running around playing ‘Cowboys and Indians’, he was running around pretending he was in Vietnam.
‘My parent’s bedroom has a good view over the street. When the nigger walks past, I’ll shoot him and then you can run out and steal the briefcase.’
‘I aint sure Jerry.’
‘Stop complaining and meet me at my parent’s at 8 in the morning. Don’t worry they will be at work. Ok. Don’t chicken out on me. I’ll bring the weaponry as well, so you aint got nothin’ to worry about.’
The door slammed behind him.
John arose to the sound of mockingbirds singing. He checked his alarm clock to see the time. 6:17 A.M. John turned on the radio. He realised he had changed again. This time for the worse. He never woke up that early or listened to the radio when he did awake. He would have never helped with the murder of someone innocent. But then again he would never betray his best friend. He knew he had a duty to help Jerry. Anyway he knew he would be $25,000 richer by the end of the day, if all went well.
John arrived at Jerry’s parents at 7:36 A.M. He had left a note with Becki saying he gone to a seminar entitled, ‘How To Be A Successful Businessman.’ He had to lie to her to be sure she didn’t get involved in this.
Jerry opened the door, ‘Morning John. Can’t believe you’re early for once! Becki really has changed you hasn’t she. Hey John, sorry about what I said yesterday. I guess I’m just jealous. It’s just I need a woman.’
‘Hey Jerry it’s all right. Don’t beat yourself up over it.’
‘Ok. Well my parents have gone to work, so we can prepare. I’ll be using my rifle, but if anything goes wrong, you brought your magnum didn’t you.’
‘Yer, sure I did.’
Prison life is tough. There’s rivalry, fighting, treachery and shite living conditions. The rivalry mainly comes down to two gangs, separated by race, but united by violence. JP and me aint in either of the gangs. I suppose you could say we are drifters. They try to stay away from each other, but life is so boring here, the only good thing you can do is fight. The last big fight they had was about a week ago. It was in the canteen. The only place someone can relax. There was stabbing, punching, kicking and biting. It was like Rocky III but without Stallone. Some crazy black bloke who everyone calls ‘The Bull’ stabbed JP. Better off calling him ‘Bullshit’ know because he dead. He got beaten up so badly by the wardens, because of the stabbing, that he later died of a punctured lung.
JP had his hand strapped up for just over a week. Anyway it’s only 3 days till ‘Fryday’. Quite a coincidence that my execution lands on a Friday.
‘Hey, Jerry! You heard the new MC Hammer track?’ John bellowed from upstairs.
‘Shut up fool! You supposed to be looking out for him.’
‘I am. I guess he just late.’
Jerry came upstairs with his rifle. The rifle was a .92 Springfield Sniper Rifle that was rejected by the US Army. Jerry bought it cheaply from a fish seller. The rifle was just like John. Cheap, tacky and rejected.
‘Jerry! Hey Jerry! He’s coming.’
The dealer was sly looking Negro from Compton. He would walk the streets all day long, just so he could pay for his addiction to heroin. He always wore his baseball cap back to front, whilst wearing a retro Adidas tracksuit. He stuck out like a sore thumb in an all-white neighbourhood.
‘Yeah I know. Be calm. I have him on my scope. John are you ready? Ok.’
John fired his weapon. Time slowed to a halt. The crack of the rifle sounded weird. Then silence. No cars driving, no birds tweeting, no children playing, no dogs barking. Just silence.
‘What a shot Jerry! Right between the eyes. Jerry? Jerry?’
The slam of a door echoed through the house.
‘Hey John, down here. Hurry up. Just gotta pray the pigs don’t get informed. Will you hurry up and get your ass down here.’
20 minutes now any my pointless life will be over. I’ve always envied JP. He’s as funny as hell and really sociable. I know he will cope when he gets outside. Some people can’t cope when they get let out, because they are so used to prison life, but he’s only been here just over a year. He’ll be fine. He’ll be missed incredibly. Not only is he friendly, but he imports things for people. Just last week he got me some of the finest Malt Whisky. He could get you anything with in reason. He got a fellow inmate a football 2 months back and we had a big game of football on the yard. JP got 2 days in seclusion for that stunt, he said it was worth it though.
Well I’ve done my duty. I was able to get JP out of here. I got the evidence and I got the alibi. I also persuaded the parole officer to help JP. By persuaded I mean threatened. I got a letter from JP thanking me for my work. He said that the court heard and saw the evidence and they accepted that he was falsely imprisoned. He got given $42,000 compensation, and the Fed’s are now on the trail of Jerry Walker. However John was ordered to serve 250 hours of community service for being at the murder scene and not calling the police.
‘John come on. I’ll give you a lift back home. Becki will be expecting you. Will you bring the rifle with you?’
‘Yeah, Ok. Jerry you got any gloves with you? I don’t wanna cover it with my fingerprints. Jerry, you think anyone saw us.’
‘No gloves John. Of course no one saw us, everyone will be at work. Will you hurry up.’
John clumsily picked up the rifle and then ran down the stairs.
‘John! Calm down! Just slow down; and get in the car.’
John threw the rifle into the trunk along with the briefcase. He didn’t realise they were now plastered in his fingerprints. Jerry started the car and signalled for John to get in. They pulled up outside John’s house 7 minutes later.
‘John, I got a favour to ask of you. Will you please look after the gun and the briefcase. I got paged that my mom aint feeling to good. Will you please do that for me John?’
‘Yeah sure, but you better pick them up 2 days from now.’
‘I will John. Thanks for today. I couldn’t have done it without you.’
‘Jerry can you believe we got away with it?’
‘Nope. I’ll ring you up later about the pickup.’
John exited the car and opened the trunk. He picked up the rifle and briefcase. He slammed down the trunk and on that cue Jerry drove off. John walked calmly towards the door. He went in and hid the gun and the briefcase. He realised that in 2 hours 16 minutes he had earned $27,453, exactly half the final amount.
John arose the next morning feeling refreshed and happy with himself. He had a long warm bath until the ringing of the doorbell disturbed him. John opened the door. Stood facing him were 3 policeman and a man wearing coveralls.
‘John Perkins, we have a warrant to search your house on suspicion on murder.’
The 4 men entered and immediately searched every nook and cranny in the house. They soon found the rifle and the briefcase. The man wearing coveralls tested the briefcase and the gun barrel for fingerprints. He found John Perkin’s fingerprints all over both of them. The casing of the bullet that was found near the scene matched the same ones as the bullets in the cartridge.
‘John Perkins, I am arresting you on suspicion of murder and the concealment of unreported weaponry.’ The officer told him his rights and marched out of the house and into the back of his police car. So many things went through John’s head on the way to the police station. One question remained in his head all the way there though and that was, ‘WHY?’
As I walk the dreaded ‘Green Mile’ I look around and see people that will soon be walking this walk. I see white faces and black faces. I see old faces and young faces. But the one face I don’t see is little JP. Thanks god I got him out of here. I’ve heard the burning smells like burnt pork. I know one thing though, and that is I aint gonna burn like no pig, I’m gonna burn like a fat white man who turned over a new leaf, to save the life of a young helpless kid, JP.
