North of the Rock

by Ian Jones

  ‘Hello Anthony,’ John started.

  Collis nodded back.

  ‘What the hell do you want? I never thought I’d see you again.’

  ‘Well, your old friends in the FBI thought it might be an idea for us to have a chat. Especially with everything that’s happening at the moment. So, they asked me to help out and I thought why not?’

  Collis looked sullenly back.

  ‘Yeah right. So what, you gonna say sorry now? I’ve been in here near enough eleven years asshole.’

  Collis picked at the frayed edge of his white uniform shirt sleeve. John watched him and frowned.

  ‘No, I’m not apologising for anything. You are guilty. I don’t care what some ignorant prick of a judge thinks, he wasn’t involved, he knows nothing more than what he’s read in the papers. You did it. No question about it at all. And you’re in here. But it sounds like you’re getting out, and we wondered how you did that.’

  John anticipated something triumphant, some bullshit about how much cleverer they were but Collis said nothing, didn’t even smile. He looked up at the camera and then back at his sleeve, then rubbed his face and licked his lips again.

  ‘I didn’t do nothing about that,’ he spoke quietly, almost a mumble.

  ‘Well someone did.’

  Collis said nothing. John looked hard at him. Something was wrong here. He hadn’t expected this, from his memory of Collis he had believed he would be in for a whole load of ‘how smart we are’ and ‘how much are we going to sue’ rhetoric, with a lot of injured pride and Texas is better than you thrown in. But that wasn’t how it was. Collis was subdued, nervous, scared. For a man promised release by the highest judge in the state this didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

  And now John saw how prison had been, close to eleven years. Collis had several scars on his head, face and neck, and his left hand was at an unnatural angle to his wrist. There was fading yellow bruising on his right cheek and the eye above was swollen and blackened.

  ‘Eleven years. Been tough on you right, Anthony?’ John asked gently.

  For the first time Collis looked at him.

  ‘What do you think?’

  John thought about why he was there, what Patrick had wanted. Maybe this could work after all.

  ‘Well ok Anthony, talk to me. So tell me, how did all this start with Judge Raymer? It seems like a long wait for an appeal to me.’

  Again, Collis glanced up at the camera. He shrugged, liquid eyes looking around.

  ‘I didn’t know. I was told about it. Just like that. I was in the computer class, a boss told me all about it. Showed me the newspaper. Till then I hadn’t heard nothing. Nobody contacted me.’

  ‘That doesn’t make any sense. It read like they had been working on it for the last ten years.’

  Again Collis looked at him. The weird eyes were still there, but had faded somehow, like all the life had been removed, something had been switched off.

  ‘You know what? Just fucking ask me. Why do I care? I don’t give a shit anymore. Ask me, and I’ll tell you,’ Collis whispered.

  This guy is terrified, John realised. Of what or who, he didn’t know. He decided to change tack. looked up at the camera and smiled at Collis.

  ‘Listen Anthony, whatever you say today, I will pass onto the FBI. That’s why I’m here. But look, they can get copies of the recording. Nobody can do anything with this. You got nothing to fear. It can’t get edited, or changed. If necessary I will check every second of it. If there is anything you say that is helpful to the FBI then in turn it could be of use to you. But it sounds like you’re getting out anyway.’

  Collis rubbed his face with his hands, the left moving slowly. Then he sat back and nodded, saying nothing.

  ‘Anthony. Your attorney has been in, right? So, you have been working on this, you must have,’ John prompted.

  ‘No, I could never do shit. I tried but got no help at all. Then years later that guy shows up here. He came to see me about a month ago maybe. Just to get me to sign some paperwork. But this was a while after I read about it, and nobody called or nothing.’

  ‘So he just turned up? Out the blue?’

  ‘Yeah. I never knew nothing about it. I never get visitors anyways, so I just went to meet him. It was in the governor’s office. I was never in there before neither.’

  ‘What paperwork did he ask you to sign?’

  ‘Some documents, that I have been denied an appeal, and not allowed to speak to counsel, or any legal people.’

  ‘That’s bullshit.’

  Collis half smiled, and nodded.

  ‘Oh yeah, that is bullshit I was trying to get something done ten years ago.’

  ‘Why do you say that?’

  ‘When I was sent here, I was told don’t worry, we’re on your side, we’ll get you out, you’re not on your own. We’ll look after you. And I believed them, why wouldn’t I? But I never heard nothing. Nobody ever came here. Not once. I couldn’t get hold of nobody. It turns out that yeah, I was completely on my own. And let me tell you, I wasn’t prepared for this. I thought I would be straight out the door, that’s what I was told, and I really believed that someone would be looking out for me in here. How wrong was I. First three years, I was in hospital more than in the block. I don’t wanna talk about that.’

  Collis’s lip trembled. Although he didn’t want to think about it too much, John could imagine what he had been through, best not to remind him, he decided.

  ‘You played your part right? But then they just forgot about you.’

  ‘That’s it exactly. Man, how stupid I was. Like I knew I was low down on the ladder right? Of course I was, I was just the hired hand. But I really believed they would look out for me. They fucking promised, over and over and like a fool I listened to every word.’

  ‘You probably don’t believe me, but I’m sorry about that.’

  ‘Sorry? Why the fuck would you care.’

  ‘It ain’t right you were left hanging, if you were made promises.’

  ‘Yeah, I was made a lot of promises. But nothing. Nobody ever even answered the fucking phone.’

  ‘So what did this attorney say?’

  ‘He didn’t know nothing. I think he didn’t really even know why he was here, I could see it. Written all over him. Barely knew my name. Got me to sign the forms and then he got the fuck outta here. And yeah, I was excited, I want out. Of course I do. Like I asked him, how long, he just said real soon, it will be real soon, then he was gone. I tried calling since, but there ain’t a proper answer, some bullshit message service. And I never got no call back.’

  ‘Nothing since?’

  ‘Nope.’

  ‘So what’s going on?’

  Collis leaned forward and looked back up at the camera.

  ‘You mean it? Feds get this recording?’

  ‘Yeah I mean it. I will arrange it soon as I get to my phone.’

  ‘Right well I’ll tell you what I think. This is a distraction. I’ve been suckered, again. Look, I ain’t totally fucking stupid. I can see what’s going on. I ain’t fucking getting outta here. But enough noise gets made, plenty people start talking, papers are full of it and the high and mighty in the state of Texas can sweep a lot of other shit under the carpet when there ain’t anyone looking. Nobody will ever notice.’

  John nodded.

  ‘Ok, well, that makes sense.’

  Collis sat back again and crossed his arms.

  ‘And that’s it. I got nothing else to tell you. Do whatever you want, it can’t be any worse for me.’

  ‘I’m not going to do anything. I told you the truth, I’m here because the FBI asked me to come and talk to you.’

  ‘Yeah, well, we can talk. I’ve got fuck all to lose, nobody gives a shit about me anyhow.’

  John nodded slowly. He had got a lot more than he expected, and it was going to help Patrick. He could ease off now.

  ‘But it’s better here for you now right? The guard said you were in some di
fferent unit or something.’

  ‘Well I don’t have to bed down with the animals anymore. Haven’t done that for years thank Christ. I got my own cell, and I ain’t stuck in with the rapists or the other monsters neither. So yeah, that’s better. But I still got to watch out you know. I still got to eat. I don’t go in the yard, I stay where the bosses are, but if anyone wants to, they can get to me.’

  He rubbed his face where the bruises were.

  ‘Yeah I can see that.’

  ‘I got this because of all this shit in the press. Everybody immediately think I’m in the boss’s pockets, I’m special. Suddenly everybody got to speak to me. Lot of wolves in here. This is a bad place. Don’t get me started.’

  ‘What’s this about computer class? I thought all that would be a big no-no.’

  ‘I teach computer stuff. You know, write a letter, send an email, real basic, and also some website stuff. But it passes the time, and gets me credits too. My councillor says I could be out in about seven years, I got a good record.’

  ‘Well at least that’s positive. I appreciate you talking to me, I just got a couple more questions. What’s your connection to Barlow? Abel? I can’t figure out how all this started, with One Race I mean. I’ve met them, and I’m struggling to make it all fit. I know it was a long time ago.’

  Collis looked hard at the camera, then picked at his sleeve again.

  ‘I don’t really know them. They were backing One Race, and they’re from Texas. I think Barlow had the vision, you know the whole White America thing. Abel was always loud in supporting him. But I didn’t really speak to them, I met them maybe twice, never for long. I just used to get emails. You know. Instructions.’

  ‘Really? That’s surprising, they live in Gray Rock.’

  Collis stared at him.

  ‘You sure?’

  ‘Oh yeah. That town has changed, you wouldn’t recognise it.’

  ‘I didn’t know that.’

  ‘Nobody ever comes to see you?’

  ‘Like who? My brother’s dead. My parents ain’t around a long time. Anyone I thought was my friend I soon found out wasn’t.’

  ‘I heard about your brother. I’m sorry.’

  Collis shrugged.

  ‘Yeah, well he was a kind of a mess, some people were not helping. But he made his own choices and didn’t want to listen to anyone. I don’t blame nobody else for that.’

  John had never expected to feel any sympathy, but it was impossible not to; the man opposite was an empty shell.

  ‘What about Paul Hunter? That was who you called all those years ago.’

  Collis looked surprised.

  ‘You know him?’

  ‘Not personally. But he is around Gray Rock.’

  ‘I wouldn’t have expected that. He likes to be out the way. But I don’t really know him that well, he just seemed to be a guy who would get things done.’

  John nodded, it was what he had already assumed.

  ‘How are you doing in here? Changed your mind about the white supremacy Ku Klux Klan thing?’

  Collis sat slowly shaking his head, looking even more lost, eyes wet.

  ‘It was all bullshit, all fucking lies. I found that out real quick. In here, it’s all about colour. It’s mob rule, like a hundred years ago. But I believed it. I thought I was right. They found me and I bought every word they told me. When I was in school I never took no notice of anybody’s colour. I wanted friends, like all kids do. That all changed once I left, I got in with some guys and then I became who I was. I had problems, lot of difficulty fitting in and they made me welcome, like I was important I guess. It wasn’t real, it took a long time for me to work that shit out. Yeah, they used me. And now, well, I ain’t got any friends in here neither, white or black. They all treat me the same, good or bad. Because there ain’t no difference in any of us. I learned the hard way. And to tell you the truth, the only men I ever seen in here with even a shred of decency have been black or Hispanic, and I mean that.’

  ‘Regret is a part of life, unfortunately. We all regret things we did.’

  ‘Yeah, I got regrets. Biggest is I regret believing all the shit I was told, and that we would make a difference, it was all bullshit. I know that now.’

  ‘You killed three innocent people Anthony.’

  Collis went to speak, glanced at him then looked up at the camera and then down at the floor, saying nothing.

  ‘Well once you’re out you can start again. You’ll get help.’ John told him gently.

  ‘Maybe.’

  John checked his watch.

  ‘Anthony, I will be reporting our conversation to my contact in the FBI, and they will subpoena the tape straight away. You’ve been very helpful. We could do with more information on Abel and Barlow.’

  Collis leaned forward.

  ‘I think I’ve proved my position. You tell your guy I could be persuaded to talk more, but they got to move me from here. This place is fucking crazy. I don’t care where it is, just somewhere I can get some peace. I’ll answer any questions. Like I said, I don’t know those guys really but there are a couple of others who work for them that I can talk about.’

  ‘Ok, I’ll pass that on. I think they’ll be interested.’

  ‘Good.’

  Without another word Collis stood up and walked over to the door, banging on it hard. It was opened straight away and he was gone. John stood up too and walked out. The guard was waiting at the end of the corridor, and he was led out back through the prison, then collected his passport. As he drove out through the gates he was suddenly grateful for the journey in front of him.

  He needed to think.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Once he got back on the road John called Patrick and relayed the conversation. After some initial confusion and then outright disbelief, Patrick agreed to get the recording immediately and also to arrange for an agent to call by the prison. John politely suggested not using anyone local, which Patrick agreed to. John hung up and checked his watch; just gone three. He should be back about six, perfect.

  He settled in for the long drive, trying to find a decent radio station. He had nearly given up when suddenly the female DJ announced it was time for Madchester! A celebration of British music and then the opening riff from ‘Driving South’ came on.

  That’ll do well he decided.

  He filled the car again halfway between Fort Stockton and Marathon, but got held up for a while further down the road as a tow-truck recovered a stricken panel van which had lost a wheel and slid across the road, so it was close to six-thirty when he finally rolled down the hill past the plant, and then stopped sharply.

  Something major was happening in front of the motel. He could see two State Police cruisers plus both of Gray Rock’s Sheriff’s own, all scattered around on the road outside the motel with their roof lights flashing. There was also a dark sedan with lights lit in the grille and a couple of vans parked randomly around.

  He wondered what was going on, must be an accident or something, and pulled up just behind the nearest cruiser. He climbed out and walked down the hill. There was a small crowd gathered just up the slope from the diner. He made it to the motel and started across the car park when there was a shout, and the next thing three state policemen were running toward him with their guns held high. He froze and raised his hands. The fat sheriff appeared from the corner by the stairs to his room and waddled forward wheezing.

  ‘That’s him! That’s the murdering bastard right there!’ he shouted.

  Murdering?

  John looked around confused, still holding up his hands.

  ‘What’s going on?’ he asked.

  ‘You shut the fuck up!’ panted the sheriff and two state policemen, one a big young white guy with a red face and neck and the other a smaller, even younger Hispanic man got on either side of him and held his arms. They started walking him toward the corner without saying anything.

  ‘You keep a tight hold of him y’hear!’ shouted the s
heriff moving closer.

  The two policemen ignored him and carried on walking. John allowed himself to be led, wondering what the hell was happening. Then an older black man with short white hair, smartly dressed in a grey three piece suit with a dark red tie done up tight appeared from around the corner. The policemen stopped, still holding onto John and the black man walked across, looking intently at him. He halted and stood still a few feet away, and nodded slowly.

  ‘You Mr John Smith?’ he asked, in a deep, cultured voice.

  ‘That’s me. What’s going on here?’

  ‘He’s asking the questions asshole!’ shouted the sheriff, who had moved closer.

  The black man held out his hand without looking.

  ‘You mind sheriff?’

  He nodded to the smaller policeman who searched through John’s pockets, handing over his wallet, mobile phone and passport plus a handful of coins to the black man, who looked through them carefully without saying anything. The policeman took John’s arm again.

  The black man produced a clear plastic bag and dropped everything into it, then looked back at John.

  ‘My name is Frank Slater. I’m a detective out of Odessa.’

  John said nothing.

  ‘Mr Smith, do you know a Miss Rita Gellar?’ Slater asked slowly.

  John stared at him. Something was very wrong here.

  ‘I know a Rita. Right here in Gray Rock but I don’t know her last name. What’s going on?’ he asked again.

  ‘This way please.’

  Slater turned and walked back around the corner, and the policemen guided John after him. They started up the stairs, the sheriff following. Slater reached the top and turned around.

  ‘Would you be so good as to stay down there please sheriff?’ he called out, and then walked into John’s room, stopping just inside the door. The policemen carried on moving John up the stairs and suddenly he knew. He looked in through the door and froze.

  Rita was lying on the floor on her back, facing the door with her eyes open. Her skirt was pulled up, and there was a lot of blood. Her hair was matted with it and her blouse was soaked. John felt weak, he dropped his head. Nausea welled up inside.