by David McGhee
Chapter 9: Everyone needs a little probation now and then.
Josh was still dazed as he made the lady's espresso. He had been running mostly on fumes since the night before and couldn't bring himself to think that anything was out of the ordinary. Life goes on, whether you want it to or not. He had forced himself to come to work and so far it wasn't doing all that great of a job in keeping his mind occupied. He did not tell his boss nor his co-workers about what had happened the night before. Josh wasn't the kind to ask for a pity party.
From across the bar he noticed a tall blurry figure come into view. He tried to focus his eyes but they were failing him. The espresso had been pulled for more than a minute now, causing the lady up front much distress. He took his eyes off of whatever he had been looking at and handed the girl her shots. She said something about not leaving a tip but he didn't care at that moment. He just wanted to go get some heroin and sleep for three days straight.
Sleep... He wished he could have normal sleep again. Like he used to when he was clean, before all this shit happened.
Before his addiction.
Before Bill got wrapped up around a tree.
He wanted nothing more than to go into the back room and cry. His eyes began to sting and he felt them with his hands. He was crying now. He couldn't stay out in the front room and do this in front of everybody.
Josh turned around and headed for the back when he heard someone call his name. It sounded like it was coming from miles away; its echo reverberated all around his head. He had to sit down.
"Josh!" The familiar voice sounded again. Was he hearing things? He turned around to see that the tall figure was Malcolm. He had no idea why but he wanted to hug him right now and have him take him home so he could be alone.
Josh wiped his face off with his shirt sleeve. "Hey man."
"Hey you!" Malcolm smiled. "Why are you crying?"
Josh hesitated but decided to tell him anyways. "Bill's dead..."
Malcolm stood silent for a moment, his grin replaced by a somber, mournful look. "How?" He asked.
"Drove drunk." Josh felt like going in the back again. "Dude. I can't stand here and talk anymore. I think I need to go home."
Malcolm nodded. "Well I can take you. You look like shit."
Josh laughed. "This coming from a man who's whiter than Casper." The humor was short lived however. Josh walked into the back and told his employer that he had to leave. It took some haggling but when he finally came clean about why he was in such a sorry state that day his boss agreed. He grabbed his coat and headed for the front of the espresso bar and made himself a caramel latte.
"You want something?" Josh asked, fighting back the tears that threatened to show up again.
"No man, I'm cool." Malcolm put his hands in his pockets and stood awkwardly while Josh made his drink. When he finished he cleaned the steam wand and told the other girl Michelle goodbye. As he walked around the bar Malcolm put his arm around Josh's tiny frame and walked him out of the Jumping Bean.
Once outside Josh could no longer hold it in. He fell to his knees and began weeping on the concrete. Malcolm looked around the shopping center and noticed a few people staring at him. He felt bad but he didn't want to cause a scene. He reached for Josh's arm and tried to pull him up but he resisted with all his might.
"NO!" Josh screamed. His face was now bright red and wet. Malcolm let go and tried again thirty seconds later. On the second try he was able to lift Josh to his feet. He pulled him into an embrace and tried to quiet his sobbing friend. He never knew that he and Bill was this close. Or were they? Malcolm got a little annoyed by the whole thing and held onto him tighter.
Josh gently pushed Malcolm away and wiped his face off with the bottom of his shirt. He took some deep breaths and put his hands up, as if he were surrendering.
"I'm OK." He choked.
"You sure?" Malcolm asked.
"Yeah. I just need to get home." Malcolm put his arm around Josh once again and led him to the parking lot, where his car was. He unlocked it with the electronic buzzer on his key ring and helped Josh into the passenger side seat. He then shut his door and made his way to the driver's side of the car. When he got in Josh noticed how cramped he was in the tiny vehicle and made his first joke of the day.
"Serves you right for being so tall." Josh said, smiling.
Malcolm could help but grin. "I know, right?" He put the keys in the ignition and started up the car. As he pulled out of the parking lot Malcolm looked over to his right to see that Josh had put his head against the window and closed his eyes. He wondered if he was going to go through withdrawal soon. Knowing better than to ask he just focused on the road and went down to Josh's house.
He noticed a cop car out in the driveway and passed him by. Malcolm nudged Josh to awaken and he did so after some hesitation.
"What are the cops doing here?" Josh said groggily. Malcolm did not have an answer.
"Do you want to face them?" Josh asked as he parked two blocks from Josh's place.
Josh felt as if his veins were coursing with ice water. He shook his head. "Could you drop me off by the library?" Malcolm knew what this meant. The library was across the street from the park. He was going to go score. Part of Malcolm wanted to turn him over if for anything so he could get help.
He did as he was asked and drove down Colfax to Broadway, where he was going to drop off his friend. They did not speak to one another the entire way down and whenever Malcolm tried to talk Josh just grunted and looked away.
When they got to Colfax and Broadway he pulled up at the bus stop and parked for a second. He expected Josh to at least say thank you but the guy just bolted from the car and ran down the street. Angered, Malcolm drove off and found a parking spot on Lincoln and 17th.
He only had a few quarters on him but he felt that he could go and either get Josh or get the guy supplying him the poison in the allotted amount of time the parking meter would allow. He got out and fed the machine, then turned and ran towards Colfax. He made it down to the park in a few minutes time and could see Josh down by the cathedral looking stone structure. He went over to a wall and crouched behind it. He looked up to see Josh giving a Hispanic man what looked like money. Malcolm uttered a low animal growl and scraped his nails on the concrete, leaving marks.
Josh had bought his fix and now he was going to go to a bathroom and shoot up. He made it almost out of the park when Roger came up beside him.
"How're ya doing buddy?" He asked, patting Josh on the back. Josh shrugged him off and started walking faster away from him.
Malcolm saw the dealer walking away in the opposite direction but decided to let him go for now. He was sure Josh was going to overdose or something.
Josh made it to Colfax but Roger was still walking beside him. He looked back and saw the only other person in the park at the moment, it was just some tall guy with black hair. Roger felt for his cuffs on the inside of his jacket and waited for them to get out of the park to strike.
Malcolm followed them to the McDonald's on 16th and Court when he saw the tall blond headed guy reach for Josh's arm and pull him to the side. Malcolm nearly flew over to help Josh but had a feeling that he should stay back and see what was going to happen.
Josh was taken aback by the force of Roger's pull. He started to protest when the man pulled out a badge from underneath his jacket. Every cell in Josh's body went numb and he let out a long, pained cry.
Josh knew the guy was a little too eager to be a real junky. Daniels pulled out his cuffs.
"Put your hands behind your back!" Daniels commanded. Josh did as he was told, looking at his converse sneakers as he did so. Daniels put the hand cuffs on him and told him to not move. He reached for Josh's pockets. "Anything sharp in there that's going to poke me?" He asked.
Josh banged his head on the cement wall in front of him. "I have a needle in there, but it has a cap on." Daniels proceeded with care as he pulled out his works and the black heroin balloon. Josh starte
d to cry and began to hit his head progressively harder on the wall. Daniels pulled him aside and sat him on the ground. Josh had hit himself hard enough to draw blood on his face, Daniels figured with the events of the past two days he might be a suicide risk.
Malcolm could smell Josh's blood from down the way and it made his mouth water. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his long arms around Josh and drink every ounce of life out of him. It smelled so good that he was getting an erection just thinking about it. But he kept his distance and observed the plainclothes policeman pull out a radio. Within a minute or so a squad car came by and he led Josh into the back seat. Malcolm couldn't stand the smell of blood nor the seeming ease that Josh had been arrested so he turned around and headed back for the park.
When he got there he could see no other persons in the grassy area other than that bastard dealer who sat under the shade of a tree. Malcolm looked in all directions to make sure he was clear. He then walked over to the short Hispanic man and stood over him, casting a long shadow. Malcolm's fists were balled so tight that his nails were cutting into his skin. The man had his eyes closed and his hands behind his head as he lay on the grass.
Malcolm reached down just in time for the man to open his eyes. Before he could scream Malcolm put his hands around his small head and twisted it, hearing the loud crack as his neck broke into two just above the second vertebrate. Malcolm kept his hands on the little man's head and felt for the pulse to recede. When it finally did he eased his head back down onto the grass. Malcolm looked around again to make sure he wasn't being watched.
There was a man way down the way but that did not bother Malcolm none. He stood back up and walked briskly to the other side of the park, where he disappeared into the crowd of library goers. He decided to go in and wait a while before he returned outside.
There was a dead man lying out in broad daylight. Certainly that was going to cause quite the stir.
Josh was led into the holding area of the new Denver Police station. His wrists were raw from the cuffs being too tight and he was seriously thinking about suicide. He didn't know how he would do it, but he felt as if it was a moral obligation now. How was he going to explain this to his roommate?
His family?
His work?
He felt screwed. He was going to lose his job and probably his room at the house. A wave of frigid depression washed over him.
The first pangs of withdrawal started to hit him and he shifted where he sat in the open lobby to get a little more comfortable. He couldn't though, his mind was racing too fast for him to keep up and his skin was starting to burn. Josh felt his crotch area and moaned, he had sweated through his pants, which is common when you are going through withdrawal. He needed a shower. He never had gotten arrested before but knew that he would most certainly have to stay a while.
Josh heard his name called and looked around the lobby area to see who had said it. There was a bald man with a short gray beard sitting at the desk up on the steps motioning for him to come over. Josh did as he was asked but kept his head low the entire time.
He sat down in front of the man and he introduced himself as officer Mitchell.
"I need some information from you young man." He said without any discernable emotion. Josh nodded but still didn't look up. He gave him all of his contact info, his birth place, and his social security number. When he was done with him he told Josh to go take a seat again until the nurse called for him.
Josh was beyond the point of crying and felt himself grow number with each step he took back toward the lobby area. He found a seat next to what looked like a tranny and sat down.
"Whatchoo in for sweety?" The he / she asked.
"Drugs." Josh put his face in his hands and held himself steady.
"First time?" he / she said. Josh looked up and saw it cross its legs and shake it's head in amusement.
"Yeah, first time." Josh conceded. The thing next to him started laughing softly.
"You'll be out in a few days honey. They gonna give you probation." The thing scratched its crotch and stood up to straighten out his / her pants. It sat back down. "Nothing big."
Josh felt a little bit better but not a whole lot. "What are they going to do when they find out I'm on heroin?"
The thing scoffed in disgust. "They gonna give you something for it. But it ain't gonna be no picnic. I was on the stuff for two years befo' I quit." It looked around the room. "I wish I had a cigarette. Them things are harder to quit than smack is honey."
Josh had to ask. "Are you a boy or a girl?"
"Depends on what your definition of a boy and girl are." The thing laughed. "I was born a he but now I'm a she." She extended her hand to shake. "Name's Crystal."
Josh smiled. "Josh." He took her hand and it was surprisingly firm and masculine. "What are you in for?"
It was Crystal's turn to smile now. "This is a special time for me. I've got my thirtieth ho charge!" She gave a whoop and a holler, causing the other newly arrested people to look on over, Josh felt embarrassed.
"You gonna be out soon." The girl put her hand on Josh's knee, he pushed it away but she seemed unfazed. "Just you see."
He spent the next thirty or so minutes talking to her until he heard the nurse call out his name. Josh once again held his head low and marched toward the desk at the far end of the room where the nurse was sitting. It was a young man with short red hair and had blue scrubs on. He motioned for Josh to sit and went through the standard questions.
"Do you take any medication?" He asked Josh. Josh shook his head and kept his hands in his lap. The man continued, "Are you going to be coming off of anything that we should know about?"
Josh looked up and felt tears coming. "Heroin." He said meekly. He was so ashamed.
"OK." The man said nonchalantly and began to write something down on the form in front of him.
"Will you guys give me methadone?" Josh asked.
"Nope." The man looked up and stared Josh straight in the eyes. "We just do Clonadine here. It should take off the edge but you're still going to go through a good bit of withdrawal."
Josh groaned.
When he was booked in and had changed into green felon jail clothing, Josh was led down a hallway and into a big metal elevator along with a handful of other men. They were joking and talking and it felt to Josh as if they didn't understand the severity of their situation. They were in jail for Christ's sake! He kept his head low and said nothing.
He was escorted down another bland looking hallway and into a large room that had two floors, each floor had a row of green metal doors wrapping around the room that contrasted with the manila paint on the walls. He had been given a blanket, a towel, and a bag of toiletries, he was told that his room was on the second floor. Room 204. He walked resignedly up the metal stairs and went into the enclosed space of a room. There was a man with a bald head and a goatee lying on the bottom bunk. He noticed Josh walk in and sat up.
"Got me a roommate now huh?" He said to himself in a gruff baritone. Josh felt like this was the start of some gay porn that he never wanted to watch in the first place. He only hoped that the man wouldn't go after him while he slept. If he could get any sleep at all that is...
"Just to let you know," The man was saying. "that if you snore, I'll kill you." He got up and went for the urinal / sink and undid his fly. Josh looked away and put his stuff on the top bunk. He took off his orange jail slip on shoes and climbed up. The man finished peeing and flushed the toilet, going back to his bed without even washing his hands.
They had given Josh a clonadine before he came up and he could sort of feel it working a little. Clonadine is a heart pressure medicine that is supposed to make coming down more tolerable. So far all it had done was make him extremely light headed.
"What are you in for?" The man asked from the bottom bunk. Josh continued to stare at the ceiling, focusing on the fluorescent light above him.
"Heroin." Josh said quickly, his eyes were growing heavy.
/> "Tough shit that stuff is." The man laughed. "How did you get yourself into that stuff?"
Josh couldn't pin point an exact time he came about liking opiates. He remembered breaking an arm and getting pills. But that was a long time ago. His first use of heroin was a different story.
He had gone to a Dressy Bessy show and was enthralled by the opening band, The Amazing Fuck Ups. They had a chick bass player AND drummer. The other two guitarists / singers were men. They had rocked for a good thirty minutes before abruptly quitting and started to haul their gear off the stage. Josh followed the lead singer down out of the back door of the Hi Dive, hoping to tell him what a great show they had put on.
When the man put his heavy 12x4 guitar speaker cabinet into the van Josh made his move. "Great show man!" He said aloud.
The man looked at him and smiled. "Thanks man, thanks for coming!" They shook hands and Josh offered to buy him a drink but the man declined. "Hey man, do you know where I could score in this town?" He asked.
Josh was at a loss, "Um... I have like two percosets. I could give you one. It's better if you snort it though."
The man laughed. "No man. Fuck that wimpy shit. I'm talking about horse." He smacked his lips as he said this. Josh still didn't understand what he meant.
"I'm not sure I follow you." Josh admitted. The man looked around the dark alleyway and motioned for him to come to the van.
Before he opened the door, he stopped and put his hand forward with the palm up in the air. "We cool?" He asked.
"What?"
"I said, are we cool? You're not a narc or anything are you?" The man was getting nervous. Josh shook his head and he was led into the back seat of the van. The man pulled out a brown cloth bag and walked passed Josh on his way back into the venue. When he reached the door he looked back and said "Are you coming or what?" Josh did as he was told. He was on autopilot at that moment in time and followed the grungy man back into the building. He was then led into the bathroom nearest the exit and the man shut and locked the door behind him.
"Ever do this shit?" He asked Josh, who again shook his head silently. The man smiled. "It will change your world!" He dumped the contents of the bag onto the bathroom floor and plundered through it until he found his needle plus a clean one for Josh. He prepped the stuff while Josh stood over him, dumbfounded at what he was seeing. There was no way he was in this position right at that moment. The man took off his belt and wrapped it around his arm. Josh couldn't watch so he looked away. The man laughed.
Not too long after Josh averted his gaze did the man say that he was finished, that it would be his turn next. Josh looked back down at the guy who was wiping the pit of his elbow with a toilet tissue, wiping the blood off. He then put the clean needle in the same cotton he had used and drew up the rest of the brown liquid.
Josh's heart started to beat so fast he was sure he was going to have a heart murmur or something. He was then asked to sit down; he did as he was told. The man told him to remove his jacket and he did that too. Josh was wearing a short sleeve black t-shirt. His virgin veins displayed prominently on his arms like most skinny white guys. The man put the belt around his left arm and tightened it. It was almost uncomfortable but Josh ignored it.
The man had the needle in one hand and the other was resting on a large vein in Josh's forearm. "You always have someone shoot you up the first time." He said as he put the needle to the skin. Josh looked away and flinched a little when he felt his skin being punctured. In less than a second the man took it out and put some tissue over it.
Josh looked back down at his arm. "Was that it?" He asked. The man laughed and told him to wait a second. Before he could reply he felt it. That first great rush. Better than any sex he'd ever had. He remembered the aura around everything was so bright and welcoming.
Josh opened his eyes when the green metal door slid open loudly. An officer stood at the door way with a clip board in hand. "Joshua Hardy?" He asked.
Josh sat up. "That's me."
The officer wrote something down on his paper and said "They want you downstairs for questioning."
Josh jumped off the bed and slipped on his shoes. He stepped out of the room and the cop spoke into his walkie talkie. "Baker this is Romero, close 204." And within two seconds the door grinded shut. The officer told Josh to tuck in his shirt and to go down the stairs, out the door, down the hallway to the elevators on the left. Josh did as he was told which he was getting good at. He got to the main door but it was shut. He looked back at the officer who spoke into his communication device again, and again the door slid open. He went out and followed the directions he was given. Along the way he passed a few guards. Josh couldn’t keep steady with them staring at him.
“Get in line on the left sir!” One of them barked. Josh could swear he saw a flash of what appeared to have been a good chunk of his childhood.
Then he got a brain zap. Like an electric shock in the brain. It made him fidget.
When he got to the elevator he noticed that there wasn't any buttons on it, just a key hole on the side. Josh looked around but saw nobody there. He looked up and saw a camera trained on him. He waved and gave it his best forced smile.
The elevator door opened and a voice scared him. "Get into the elevator sir." Josh had no idea where the voice was coming from but he did as he was told, again, because he was a pro at this. The door behind him shut and the elevator began its descent. After about half a minute Josh could feel the floor come to a stop and the doors behind him slid open.
When he looked around he saw Officer Daniels wearing a blue button up shirt and dress pants. His badge was displayed on his belt buckle. Josh felt nothing but contempt for the man and thought, for a split second, about charging him. He didn't however; he just stared dumbly at the man who had arrested him. Daniels smiled and motioned him to follow with his index finger. He turned around and Josh walked briskly behind. Halfway down the hall an officer told him to keep his hands behind his back. This irritated Josh but he did as he was told nonetheless.
Josh was led into a room with a two way mirror and a long folding card table. Two chairs were at opposite ends and Daniels motioned for him to sit down. Josh sat on one of his legs and looked around the bland looking room.
Daniels sat down across from him and crossed his arms. "Going through withdrawal yet?" He asked.
Josh nodded. "A little bit."
"Is the Clonadine helping any?"
Josh laughed. "I wouldn't be going through withdrawal if it weren't for you." He paused, and then added "Roger."
Daniels laughed, but it was a warm, nice laugh. There was no malice in there that Josh could hear. "Would you have stopped if we hadn't arrested you?"
"We?" Josh scoffed. "You were the one who did it."
"Yeah but..." Daniels waved his hand around the room. "It was a collaborative effort." His smile faded and he leaned in closer. "I want to talk to you about Bill Rumsfeld. Was he intoxicated when you last saw him?"
The mention of his former roommate was enough to make Josh's balls retreat up into his body. "Yes." He said quickly.
"Do you know on what?"
"Just alcohol, if you think he was on drug you're wrong. He was just a drunk." Josh shifted in his seat and sat on his other leg.
"Uh huh." Daniels smacked his lips and went on. "We were just concerned that drugs may have played a part in it all. When one person in a house does heroin there are usually others."
Josh laid his head on the table and closed his eyes. "No." He sighed. "Just me."
"Well we found some needles in your room." Daniels looked toward the mirror and checked his hair. "We're not going to charge you for that though."
Josh felt his eyes watering up. "Was it you who was at my house?"
"No, that was officer Jim Ronny. He took your roommate's deposition and was given permission to search the house. He only found the stuff in your room, which is good news for us." Daniels leaned in closer. "Do you know what tipped us off?"
Josh was crying now and he shook his head no.
"It was your eyes the night that Bill had his accident." Josh could just kill himself. "Plus I've been following you for some time now. I couldn't stand by and watch you ruin your life like you were doing."
Josh wiped his face but his arm was not a good towel. "As opposed to you ruining MY life?"
"I didn't ruin your life son. If anything I believe this will help you." Daniels searched his pockets for something that could be used as a tissue but could find none. He got up and told Josh that he'd be back and left the room. Josh did not dare try the door, which had a card key activator on it. Instead he stood up and wiped his face with his dark green denim shirt. He walked over to the mirror and inspected himself. He looked like shit. He was pale and sweating and he felt that he may throw up sometime soon, but he fought it back. Josh had to sit down again.
Josh wanted another Clonadine bad. How many hours had it been? The nurse told him that he'd get it every four hours or so until the worst was behind him. Was he going to miss his shot by being in here? He sat back down and laid his head down on the table, looking sideways at the nondescript room.
Was it just a minute or ten? Daniels hadn't come back, Josh was beginning to think he was going to be left in the room overnight or something until he heard the door lock switch. Daniels came in with some brown paper towels in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other.
He had another brain zap.
"I'm not supposed to do this so keep it on the down low OK?" He smiled and gave josh the Styrofoam coffee cup and paper towels. Josh took them and sat the cup to his side while he wiped his face dry.
He wadded up the paper towel and sat it by the coffee. He didn't even think about touching the stuff, he was starting to feel extremely ill.
"So am I going to prison?" Josh said meekly.
Daniels laughed. "Hell no son! Tomorrow you are going to drug court and will most likely be let out the following day to probation."
Josh groaned, another two days without heroin. "Will you guys give me some Clonadine to go home with?"
Daniels smile disappeared and was replaced with a grim expression. "Your roommate says he does not want you back. He can legally kick you out since you are not on the lease, but he said he will hold your stuff for a few days."
Josh sat frozen. He ran his fingers through his fading blue hair and sighed. "Where will I go?"
Daniels shook his head. "I don't know. I'm sure you'll find something."
Josh put his head back down on the green table. "You've ruined my life..."
Malcolm wanted to go visit Josh but the visiting hours were too rigid to get in on time. It's first come / first served and also he hadn't been fully booked in by the timeline. This irritated Malcolm to no end and he swore that if he ever found this Daniels (at least that's the name of the arresting officer on the police report) he would surely rip open his lungs.
Malcolm had driven home and walked back down to the police station, hoping to catch the blond officer as he left. He felt foolish sitting in the lobby and was sure that he would come out the back way or something. All around him were scruffy looking men, old women, and young children crying for their mommies or daddies or something to that like.
He had brought a book to read but was so far too captivated on the exit door. He knew that it was stupid to think he'd ever come this way and after about four hours, near midnight, he gave up and walked out of the police station. When he had asked what Josh would get for his arrest he was relieved when almost everyone said probation. He was scheduled for court in room 1H the next morning at seven am.
Malcolm decided to peruse the park again to see if anybody was there doing something bad. To his dismay it was deserted. The cops enforced the park curfew and it apparently had worked. This also irritated Malcolm because he was hungry. The last two people he had killed had not been on the menu. He supposed he'd just have to find a stranger and do what he does best. To hell with moral aptitude! He was going to feed and he didn't care who it was.
Although a homeless person would be best, no one cares about them. Malcolm walked up toward what the locals called "The Triangle" which was at the heart of Samaritan House and Jesus Saves. Both were homeless shelters and Jesus Saves also served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Around the middle, which the sidewalk wraps around into a triangle, there were always homeless and crack addicts and hookers to prey on.
Malcolm walked toward the throngs of people standing / laying in the middle of the island. He looked around for someone perfect and could think of a few possibilities. He'd only been there five minutes and he was already being offered crack and a blow job.
The black lady offering the blow job stood about five ten and had a little spill over of skin on her jeans. She smelled awful to Malcolm but she was the best candidate so far. He motioned for her to walk to the side where it wasn't so crowded. She obliged.
When they were alone Malcolm asked "So you are giving blow jobs huh? How much?" He raised his brow trying to look interested.
The lady smiled. "For a handsome man like yourself?" She looked down at Malcolm's wrist watch and decided. "Fifty dollars."
Malcolm frowned. "Twenty five."
The lady turned around and started to walk away when Malcolm gave in and shouted for her to come back. "Fifty is fine I guess." He pulled out his wallet and flashed some hundred dollar bills in her face, whetting her appetite for the possibility that spending time with him could offer.
"We do it at my place though." Malcolm said as he handed her two twenties and a ten. "I live just up the street."
The lady took the money but shook her head. "I ain't been born yesterday son. I don't go off with no one I don't know."
Malcolm smiled. "We can't do it here."
"I got a place down the way. You got a phone?"
Malcolm pulled out his cell and waved it tauntingly in front of her. "Where is this place?"
She took the phone from his hand and began dialing a number. "It's just one of my daddy's. He's just up the street."
Malcolm was growing impatient. "I have a car you know."
She looked up from the phone and hit the cancel button. "Why didn't you say so honey? Let's go off. You lead the way." Malcolm led her down nearly three blocks before she got suspicious. "Where is this car?"
Malcolm paused and looked both ways at the traffic stop. "It's on Platte."
"No way, nuh uh." She shook her head in disgust. "I thought I told you we weren't going far out of the way. You aren't worth my time honey."
She turned around and started to head back when Malcolm called out "Please! I'll give you another hundred!" She looked back over at him, his face saddened with the prospect of losing her.
"A hundred?" She said in awe.
"Yes. Maybe more, please, I don't wanna be alone tonight." Malcolm extended his hand for her to take and she did. His massive hands engulfed hers and he led her down to 15th Street and up to Platte.
Josh just got back from the nurses office, his Clonadine fix satiated. He had never taken the pills before and they made it so he was nearly too light headed to stand straight. The pod officer had to help him up to his room and asked if he needed to see the nurse again. Josh thought about it but didn't like the idea of being away from a bed for any extended period of time when he was in a state like this. He politely declined and walked into his cell. It was past midnight and his cellmate was snoring heavily on the bottom bunk.
Hypocrite, Josh thought as he took off his shoes. He tried to pull himself up onto the top bunk but fell off due to his lack of motor skills. He bumped into his cellmate's side and immediately woke him up.
"What the hell man!?" He shouted.
"I'm sorry..." Josh mumbled. "It's the medicine they have me on. I'm just trying to get to my bunk." He tried and again he fell, this time on his ass. His roomie laughed and sat up in his bunk.
"Need help there captain?" He asked.
Josh didn't want to owe anybody a favor so he
shook his head no. He got up a little too fast and he felt his head grow numb and the cell turned white. Josh sat back down and tried to let it pass but it took a while for it to do so. His cellmate was saying something but he couldn't make it out.
"What?" Josh quipped. The man cleared his throat.
"I said what's your name?"
Josh felt his head and was getting off on the tingling sensation all around his body. "Josh." He sat up on the floor but didn't dare go any further until the room stopped spinning. "You?"
"Name's Casey." The man held out his hand and Josh took it. He nearly crushed his hand in shaking but at least he was getting the feeling that Casey wasn't going to rape him. At least he hoped he wasn't. Didn't they say in those crime novels that it's always the ones who were nice to you?
Josh pushed it from his mind. "What are you in for?"
"Smacking my bitch up." Casey laughed. Josh immediately felt uneasy and tried to stand again. He went up slowly so he didn't get faint but it wasn't working. The man looked at him concerned. "You sure you don't need a little help there bro?"
Josh sat back down and gave up. "No. I'll just sleep here on the floor. It's good for my back." He lay out against the concrete and put his hands on his chest.
"You look like you belong in a casket lying that way."
Josh snorted. "I wish I were dead right now."
"Why? What got you in here?"
Josh sighed. "Drugs."
Casey threw his hands up in exasperation. "That's it!?" His voice was a near yell. "You'll be getting out in a couple of days! What are you complaining about!?"
Josh rubbed his eyes. "I suppose everything is out of proportion when your fucking dope sick..."
"So that's why you are so pale and green?"
"Yeah. This medicine they're giving me isn't helping matters much."
The man crossed his arms. "Clonadine?"
Josh didn't dare move, lest he vomit all over the floor and make the wife beater mad. "Yeah."
"You'll get over it. I was pretty messed up when I got here. I'm sure I'm going to stay a while too. I've got court in the morning, stupid state. They always take the bitches side!"
Josh thought about Cindy and felt a sharp pang of sadness. "Yeah."
Casey got up and pulled the mattress from the top bunk. "Get out of the way."
"What are you doing?" Josh got up and retreated to the corner.
"I'm gonna help you sleep." Casey said as he laid the mattress on the floor. Josh looked up, not really knowing what to expect from the man. When he merely stood there and waved his hand for him to get on he let his guard down and climbed on top of the sticky vinyl mattress. Josh's cold and clammy skin clung to it like saran wrap. He groaned.
"You'll be out soon. Don't worry. Just get some sleep." But Josh was already way ahead of him. He moved over to his side and Casey stood above him for a second before returning to his bunk. He noticed Josh's blanket on the floor and picked it up. Putting it on him went through his mind but only for a second. He decided to use it himself and made a make shift pillow out of it.
The hooker tasted weird. She was probably doing crack, speed, bath salts, or something, Malcolm thought as he drove up into the mountains to dump the body. He had thought about fucking her before feeding but opted instead for a blow job. She could barely fit him in her mouth and normally that would make his self esteem rise but the way she complained about his attributes just annoyed the fuck out of him.
He was certain she was thinking about robbing him because she carried a knife in her purse. Not just a switch blade but a big fucking hunting sort of knife. That irked him more than he wanted to admit to himself. Even though he couldn't die from getting stabbed he still hated having wounds that needed to heal. It just took too fucking long for him.
Malcolm kept thinking about the word 'fucking' a lot while with the prostitute. She was a filthy human and he was glad to shut her up. Not before he squirted semen all over her face that is. Before she could even wipe it off he went in for the kill. She of course cried out and he could feel her heart beat slow down with every liter drained. He shouldn't have pressed her face against his shoulder because he got his own seed on one of his nicer t-shirts. That stuff has a bleach like substance that stains almost any fabric it comes into contact with.
He couldn't wash it now so he threw it away. Stupid bitch, he thought.
Tomorrow was Josh's court date. He should be back into town before then.
Malcolm looked into the back seat and smiled. "Was it good for you?"
Cindy had been trying to call for almost twenty four hours but couldn't get a hold of Josh. She saw on the news that Bill had died in a car crash and had immediately gotten worried about his mental health. Not that he'd ever given her a reason to. Lord knows that he wasn't the most empathetic person in the world, still though. She was concerned.
She tried all morning before work but all her calls went directly to voice mail. She tried during breaks at work still to no avail.
It had crossed her mind that maybe he was arrested. But she did not know that all you had to do was call the police department and ask if a certain someone was an inmate in their system. She had never had a reason to do so before so she was at a loss somewhat.
Until he answered or his obituary showed up on her iPhone, she would just keep trying.
Maybe she thought, maybe he left town? She hadn't known him for too long.
Maybe he left town?