Chapter 16

I didn’t get a lot of personal mail. I got my bills: utilities, rent reminders, med-bills for my quarterly checkups, and assorted junk mail. But other than those, hardly anything. But I got one now. Return address: Winslow State Prison. I opened it.

It was from Leonard. I read it. He’d been in the infirmary for a month. Beaten to a pulp, and likely disabled for life, though he did say he would be able to walk again, just not very fast, well, after some rehab and therapy. He was hoping my old lawyer, mister Horace Hollins esquire would be willing to help him out. Or, more accurately, he was hoping that I could convince my wonderful former solicitor to help him ‘get’ out. I sighed. I’d ask; I had to ask. Not many people in that awful place had done me right; Leonard had.

I made the call. Horace would be meeting me at Abby’s for lunch.

“Thanks a million for coming,” I said. “Lunch? I’m buying.”

“Uh-oh, this is gonna cost me no matter what,” he said, snickering. “I mean if you’re willing to pay.”

“Hey, I’m employed. I’m flush,” I said. “But, yes, I need a favor if possible.”

“Okay, you got it if possible,” he said.

“I think you met my ex-cellmate Leonard Denier a few times in the past,” I said.

“Yes,” he said, sounding suspicious. I handed him Leonard’s letter to me. He read it.

Done reading, he passed the letter back to me. “I’m ordering the filet,” he said. I smiled.

“You got it,” I said.

“There is a hitch or two that might hinder our success in this effort,” he said.

“Okay?” I said.

“Adam, getting a man out of prison before he’s served the minimum is a very dicey deal. When we got you out, and I do mean we, me and Rodney, you’d served almost your whole sentence. You had but a year to go.

“Also, I knew some things that even Rodney didn’t, and still doesn’t, know that I know,” he said.

“And?” I said.

“Adam, I know what kind of man you are. That is one reason I do what I can to make your situation not as bad as it might be...”

“Yes, I know you know about the big thing,” I said. “So...?”

“No, not that. I know that you didn’t kill those three men. I know it was Riley did it,” he said.

My face lost all of its color. I could feel it. And, I knew that he knew what he was talking about; his tone of voice told me that much.

“How?” I said.

“I heard them talking about you. About how much they owed you and hoping that they could come up with a solution that would somehow make things right with you. They’d lied or kept things, so many things, from you that they were and are at the point of being despairing,” he said. I was nodding.

“And they don’t know you know?” I said.

“No,” he said.

“Good.”

“The only reason I am telling you this is to explain to you the reason that I am willing to try and do the impossible and get a man out of the slam in his eighteenth or nineteenth year inside who was sentenced to twenty-five to life. If it were anybody else...” he said.

“But you will help him then, at least try,” I said.

“I will do more than try. That said your injuries and the fact that you’d served all but the last year of your sentence made it fairly easy to make my case. And, well, a gift of a quarter million dollars to the assistant warden’s favorite charity, sealed it,” he said. “Rodney’s gonna have to take another financial hit. That’s going to have to be up to you to convince him,” said Horace.

“Shit!” I said.

“He wants to do things for you, Adam; he actually needs to. This one is going to cost a lot more money and as well some political capital is going to have to be called in as well. So, are you up to the effort? I know what you think of him and her too if it comes to that,” he said. “But, if you really want to help your friend...” I was snorting, but only in my head.

“Okay, let’s do it,” I said. “I’ll talk to the man—reluctantly.”

“Okay, and I’ll talk to our friend the assistant warden,” he said.

“What was it, maybe a year ago, you helped Margo get that job at Allied?” said Rodney.

“I guess,” I said.

“And now this fellow inmate from before,” he said.

“Yes, he made a mistake and it cost him, just like me,” I said.

“No, not just like you. You didn’t kill those men. He did kill the one he was convicted of killing. That’s a helluva difference,” he said. I raised my hand to interrupt, but he shushed me.

“Adam, we’re going to get him out, try to for sure. Horace says he thinks he can do it, but there may be some bumps in the road. So we’ll just have to see. But...

“Look, if you need something; I will never say no to you. But one day, maybe one day; you can see your way clear to cut her some slack. Hate me if you need to hate somebody, but not her. She did you wrong, because I pressured her. I can pressure people and I did pressure her. She succumbed and that was your loss and my gain. But Mister, you are not just my brother, you’re my hero, hers too regardless of what you may think. And sure as shit regardless of our stupid words: we love you. That just has to be enough, Adam, it does. Anyway, according to Horace, we should know about your bud in a couple of weeks,” he said.

“Okay,” I said, and let it go at that. It didn’t seem like the time or place to argue with him about how she saw me or him either. The time would come, but not today.

“One other thing,” I said.

“Okay,” he said.

“It was Horace’s suggestion. He said that I should ask you about maybe getting him, Leonard, a job. But not at Allied. Cons aren’t supposed to cavort with each other, especially when they’re on parole. And I don’t want to quit the job I’ve got,” I said. He nodded. It was clear that all pretense that Horace had gotten me the job at Allied was for sure passé.

“Okay, but I have to ask. We will be doing what we can to get the man out, but are you willing to guarantee his behavior in the work place?” he said.

“Huh?” I said.

“I could give him a job at the LLC. It would be simple for me to do so. But, he is a killer, a real one,” said Rodney. I nodded.

“Yes, I can vouch for his behavior. And that would be a good job for him. He regrets what he did, kinda, but he is saddened about how his wife betrayed him. Believe he, I know his story, and he is not looking for trouble. He’ll probably become the best you’ve got once he learns the ropes of whatever job you assign him to,” I said.