by R. B. Conroy
Sensing Dirk’s distress, the hardened guard excused himself. “I’ll be back in ten to pick up the shaving stuff, Harrison.” Dirk could hear the heavy footsteps of the guard moving down the concrete floor to the next cell.
Dirk lifted the blanket off the bed and buried his face in a wadded corner and continued to cry. Years of holding back his emotions seemed to be exploding from inside of him. After several minutes of unbridled sobbing, he was able to stop and wipe his face dry with the wadded blanket. His red, blood shot eyes looked at the clock on the wall across the corridor from his cell. It read 9:41.
Dirk stood and stepped over to the front of his cell and picked up the tray left by the guard. Knowing the guard would be back shortly, he set the tray on his bunk and quickly sat down. He placed the mirror on his knees, shot a wad of shaving cream into his open palm, spread it all over his face and began to shave. No sooner had he finished, than he heard the footsteps of the returning guard. He cupped his hands and ran them through the cool water in the pan, splashed his face clean and quickly dried off with a small towel draped over the head of his bunk. He scooted to the end of his bunk and slid the tray of shaving supplies through the small opening and scooted back to the other end just before the guard arrived.
The big guard stood watching Dirk. There was a wisp of a grin on his square face.
Red-eyed, the combative Dirk, got defensive. “What the hell you staring at, Ellsworth?”
“Calm down, Harrison.” The guard reached inside his pocket and handed Dirk a small comb. “It’s your hair. It’s going every direction.”
Dirk leaned over and snatched the comb out of the guard’s hand and ran it through his hair several times. He handed the comb back to the guard.
I’ll be back in ten minutes, Harrison, be ready!” The guard bent down, lifted the tray and walked away.
37
Eyes moist and still a little red, Dirk took a deep breath as the guard opened the door to the visitation room. After weeks of continuing trips to solitary, threats from other inmates, and arguments with most of the guards, Dirk needed to see someone who cared about him. He was smiling when he reached the visitation booth and took his seat across from Naomi, but the smile soon faded.
“Where’s Earl?” Dirk knew he should be happy to see his sister and he knew that prison was not the best place to bring a little boy, but something about Naomi always seemed to irritate him. He had positive thoughts about her when they were apart, but as soon as he saw her, he became aggravated. Maybe it was his own guilt for not keeping in better touch with her over the years or his embarrassment from being in prison. He didn’t know and never would, because that kind of introspective thinking was not possible for Dirk Harrison.
Naomi’s open, vulnerable smile soon dissolved into a sad, disappointed look. Tears welled in her eyes. “He wanted to come and see you in the worst way, but I didn’t think you would want him to see his Uncle Dirk in prison. I’m sorry.”
“What difference would that make? He knows I’m in the pen, doesn’t he?”
“No, I didn’t think you would want me to tell him, so I never did.”
Dirk shook his head in disgust and fell back against his chair. “So your big brother embarrasses you, is that what you’re saying?” Deep down, Dirk understood why Naomi hadn’t told Earl, but he attacked her anyway because she was weak and vulnerable and he was a bully. Dirk had been looking forward very much to seeing his sister, but his hostile reaction when he saw her proved once again why he could never have a close relationship with anyone, not even his sister.
“No, you don’t embarrass me.” A few tears rolled down her cheeks, she was about to break down completely. She picked a tissue from her purse and dabbed the tears away. “Please Dirk, don’t be like this, I just wanted to have a nice visit.”
Dirk leaned up and dropped his elbows on the long table top that bordered the visitation window. “Why didn’t you come sooner?”
“I was busy twenty-four seven, I was working two jobs and trying to spend a little time with Earl. I wanted to come very much, Dirk, but I just didn’t have the time. Now that I’ve met Jerry, I have more time. I should be able to visit you on a regular basis.”
Dirk’s dour expression turned inquisitive. “Jerry?”
A grin appeared on Naomi’s face, the tears stopped and her face brightened as she spoke. “Oh, he’s wonderful! He treats me like a lady and Earl just loves him. He’s a mechanic at the Walmart in Valdosta. He makes good money and he has a brand new double-wide on a beautiful lot just outside of town with a creek running through it and everything. We’re going to get married this spring.” She tilted her hand toward the window, showing the small diamond ring to Dirk.
Dirk was taken aback by the startling revelations. The momentum of the conversation had definitely shifted to Naomi. He was speechless.
She went on. “It was the money you gave me, Dirk. I was able to pay off all my bills and get my feet back on the ground. I started feeling better about myself and I was able to see what my life had been doing to Earl. I wanted him to grow up to be good man in the worst way, so I stopped seeing my other boyfriend. Then Earl and I started going to the First Methodist Church on Saturday nights after I got off work at the 7-11. That’s where I met Jerry. He goes there, too.” She smiled, clasped her hands together and sighed. “I just love him, Dirk and I know he loves me. He has horses, too. He keeps two of them in a little stable out at the house. He lets Earl ride them and everything. He thought I was working too much, so he made me quit one of my jobs. Now I just work at Publix three days a week. This weekend he is going to take us to ….”
The slight grin on Dirk’s face gradually faded as he listened to his sister go on and on about her new and exciting life. Even his hapless kid sister had made something of her life. He felt useless as he sat there in prison with absolutely no future ahead of him. He was happy for his sister, but he was also jealous of her and the positive changes taking place in her life. It made him realize just how meaningless his life had become. At times like this, he found himself fantasizing about doing sick, ugly things to Cathy Roberts. Images of his deadly fight with Eric Lowe flashed through his mind but the head on Lowe’s body was Cathy’s, not Eric’s. She put me here! He thought. That bitch ruined my life!
After several more minutes of excited rambling by Naomi, the impatient Dirk spoke up. “Okay, okay, I’m happy for you and your new boyfriend, but enough is enough.”
“I’m sorry, Dirk. I guess I have been running on a little.” Slightly red-faced, she smiled meekly and asked. “So how is everything going for you?”
After hearing of Naomi’s exciting new life, Dirk was hugely embarrassed by being a lowly inmate in prison, and Supermax, none-the-less. He had always been the successful one in the family with his biker shop and all and Naomi had always been the sibling who was struggling, the family loser. He was trying desperately to come up with a way to spin his depressing life in the penitentiary in a positive way. He thought for a moment and then spoke with veiled enthusiasm, “Ah…it’s okay. I get three squares a day. I exercise every day and I’ve met a lot of great guys in here.” He chuckled nervously and glanced up at the ceiling after the “great guys” comment-he hated everybody he knew at Raiford with a passion. “I’m thinking about writing a book about my time in here. One of the guys in here wrote a book and it became a best seller. Now he travels all over the country giving speeches. He’s got a guard with him, of course.” Another huge lie. Dirk hadn’t met anybody in maximum security who had even remotely attempted to write a novel.
His sister’s face lit up. “Wow! That’s exciting, Dirk! My brother the famous author! Sounds like prison is going good for you.”
“Well…uh, you know. It gets a little boring at times, but yeah, it’s all right.”
“I’m so happy for you.” She hugged herself and moved side to side. “This is for you, big brother!”
“Oh…uh, thanks. And I’m glad to hear about Jerry and all.”
“He’s just wonderful.” She lifted her arm and studied her watch. “Oh my, it’s going on eleven and I forgot I have a parent conference at Earl’s school at one today and it’s over an hour’s drive to the school from here.”
A bolt of sadness shot through Dirk. He wanted to reach through the glass barrier that separated the two of them and hug his sister. After months of a hostile, sometimes brutal existence, he had been face to face with someone who really cared about him. He didn’t want her to leave. He begged her to stay, “You sure you gotta go now?”
“I’m sorry Dirk, but Earl is doing so much better in school and I have to learn to be a better parent. They have these conferences every term and I don’t want to miss it, but I will be back soon, I promise!” She turned and called for the guard to come and escort her out.
“Good luck with your book.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“I know my way here now, so it will be easy next time.” She smiled warmly.
“Are you ready, Miss Harrison?”
“Yes, I am.” Naomi scooted her chair free from the table and turned to leave. She paused for a second at glance back at her sour-faced brother. “Love you!” She tossed him a kiss.
“I love you, too.” Dirk said quietly. The word love was the antithesis of the cold, isolated life he was experiencing in Supermax. Just saying the affectionate term caused tears to well in his eyes. Dirk watched as his sister paused at the exit door, turned and mouthed the words “God bless you.”
The door closed behind Naomi. Dirk’s face fell into his hands and he began to sob once more. “I love you, Sis,” came the muffled groan.
“Let’s go, Harrison,” the guard barked from the corner of the room. “Your visitor is gone.” He walked rapidly over and slid his hand under Dirk’s arm.
Dirk yanked his arm forcefully away from the guard. “Get away from me, Ellsworth!” Dirk planted both of his elbows firmly on the desk top, doubled his fists and glared straight ahead at the glass. He felt angry and depressed. He had just watched his sister walk back to her new-found life of freedom and happiness. He dreaded going back to that sparse, lonely little cell that had become the center of his life. He wanted to be out of jail and working at his bike shop, just like the old days, not in this depressing hell hole. Right now, he felt so discouraged that he didn’t care what happened to him.
“Okay, Harrison, so you want to do it the hard way.” Not wanting to fight with a man known for his violent behavior. Ellsworth called for backup. Within minutes, two young, muscular guards pushed into the room.
“Not him again,” one of the guards groused.
“Yeah, and he’s refusing to go back to his cell.”
The guards slowly moved over, forming a semi-circle around Dirk.
“I’m giving you one more chance to go peacefully, Harrison. If you don’t, we are going to take you out by force.”
“Jam it up your ass, Elsworth!” Dirk said quietly. He quickly clasped his hands together, spread his elbows wider apart and dropped his face just inches from the desktop, bracing for the coming assault.
The guards moved in. Dirk felt two arms push under his arms and attempt to yank him off the desk top. At the same time, a thick arm jammed under his chin and formed a vice-like grip on his neck. Dirk wrapped his legs around a post under the table and fought the men with all he had, cursing and making failed attempts at spitting on them.
Dirk was holding his own, when one of the guards shouted, “Go for the hair!” Dirk felt fingers scraping across his forehead. Soon, someone had hold of his hair and was trying to yank his head backwards and up from the table. Dirk could feel his hair ripping from his skull. Blood began to trickle down his face. Strong and wiry, Dirk was not giving up. It was a ferocious struggle. Then suddenly, Dirk felt something cool on his face followed by a pungent, chemical like smell. He immediately began to gag. His eyes and face were on fire.
“You rotten bastards!” he screamed. He felt another shot of mace hit his face. The pain was almost unbearable. The guard holding his hair slammed his head downward and began banging his inflamed face on the table top adding to the agonizing nightmare. Dirk felt his nose shatter on the unforgiving surface. Blood splattered on the table top but Dirk wasn’t giving up He kept fighting with all he had. Battling to retain consciousness in the midst of the ferocious assault by the three officers, he suddenly felt a blunt-force object blast into the back of his head. The room went black.
38
THE VILLAGE’S DAILY SUN
December 25, 2011
Prison officials at the Florida State Penitentiary in Raiford reported to The Daily Sun at 8:43 AM this morning that Dirk Albert Harrison, 48, of Lady Lake, Florida, was found dead in his prison cell at 6:14 AM. Cause of death was apparent suicide from hanging by the neck. The officials said that Harrison had appeared despondent recently and had threatened suicide on several occasion leading up to the tragic event this morning. Harrison was incarcerated in the Florida State facility after he was convicted of first degree murder for the brutal killing of Florida resident Eric Robert Lowe on May 27th of this year. Harrison is survived by a sister Naomi Harrison and a nephew Earl Harrison both of Valdosta, Georgia. Funeral arrangements are pending.
39
One year later
“What are you up to today, my sweet and lovely?”
“My, aren’t you the pleasant one this morning.”
“Just being my usual wonderful self.”
“My guess is that you are having a golf game at one of your favorite courses today and that’s why you’re in such a good mood.” Sally Mann finished dabbing on her lipstick and quickly stuck the gold tube back in her purse. She stood erect and glanced in the bathroom mirror for one last go-over.
“Oh, how cynical of you, my dear. I’ll have you know that I am not, in fact, playing one of my favorite courses today.” Dave stuffed his wallet, keys, and handkerchief in the pockets on his Bermuda shorts and grinned mischievously at his wife. She tossed him an incredulous stare from the bathroom. “David!”
“Okay, okay. It might be one of my favorites.”
Sally’s left eyebrow raised. “Tierra Del Sol?”
“You’re a mind reader, darling, an absolute mind reader.” Grinning, Dave yanked the belt snug on his shorts and headed for the bedroom door, pausing before leaving the room. “I forgot to ask where you are going today, you never told me.”
“Oh, Joyce Kilgore and I are going shopping in Ocala. She needs new shoes for pickle ball and she says they have a better selection at some sporting-goods shop in Ocala. She’s picking me up in five minutes.”
“Oh, no! We won’t be having our usual bowl of cereal together? How depressing.”
“Nope, you’ll just have to muddle through breakfast without me. We’ve decided to stop and grab a quick bite along the way.”
Dave turned and hurried over to Sally and puckered up. “Better give me a kiss now. Ed and the boys made a tee time at 8:45, so I need to hustle and get a bite to eat.” The two shared a quick kiss.
“Have fun shopping.”
“Hit ‘em straight,” Sally replied.
* * * * * *
“My gosh Sally, I wonder where everybody’s going. It seems like 75 is busy all of the time anymore.”
“I know. It’s getting ridiculous. Hey, there’s a MacDonald’s right up here. Why don’t we go through the drive-thru?”
“Sounds like a winner.”
Joyce exited the busy highway and took a quick right into MacDonald’s. “Oh good, there’s nobody in front of us.” Joyce maneuvered her SUV along the narrow pathway around the building. She jerked to stop next to the annoying speaker.
“I’ll have an Egg McMuffin value meal with regular coffee, please,” Sally said.
“Gotcha.”
Joyce’s window slid down at the sound of the voice on the speaker.
“Welcome to MacDonald’s. Would you like to try one our delicious breakfast croissants today?”
>
“No, thank you. We would like two Egg McMuffin meals with regular coffee, please. And, could you put an Equal in one of the coffees, please?”
“Certainly. I’ve got two Egg McMuffin meals with regular coffees, one with an Equal.”
“That’s correct!”
“Your order comes to $9.72. Please pull around to the second window.”
Joyce did as ordered by the scratchy voice and eased her way along the narrow pathway to the second window. She thought she felt something drop in her lap. She glanced down at the folded ten dollar bill lying on her lap.
“Don’t argue, Joyce. You drove, so I’m getting breakfast.” Sally said firmly.
“Okay, okay.” Joyce pulled to a stop by the drive-thru window and snatched the bill from her lap. Inside the window, the attendant snapped the lids shut on their drinks and set them in the cardboard carrier next to the white sack containing their McMuffin meals. Then she turned and slid the window open. “That will be $9.72 please.”
Locked in conversation with Sally, Joyce turned and handed the attendant the ten dollar bill. Her eyes went wide. She immediately began poking Sally on the leg to get her attention. Keeping her hand low, she turned her finger and jabbed it toward the busy lady at the drive-thru window.
Taken aback by the sudden actions of her friend, Sally glanced past Joyce through the window. “Oh, my word!” she exclaimed. Then she quickly turned and fell back against the seat. Eyes wide, she stared straight ahead, away from the attendant.
Without looking directly at Joyce, the attendant handed her the twenty-eight cents in change. Then she lifted the container holding the food and drinks and pushed them through the window toward Joyce. She smiled and made brief eye contact with Joyce. The stunned attendant’s smile faded quickly as her eyes bounced off of Joyce and then to Sally. “Have a good day,” she said so rapidly and quietly that Joyce almost couldn’t hear her. She quickly closed the glass and disappeared from view.