Heartstone

by Phillip Margolin

  Richie Walters parked his ’55 Mercury next to the curb in front of Elaine Murray’s house. Before he got out, he checked his face in the rear view mirror. He had taken care of a pimple on the left side of his chin with Clearasil and he wanted to make sure that he had done a good job. The pimple was almost invisible under the flesh-colored cover-up. Richie smiled. He looked good. He had made a special effort to look good, because tonight was going to be a special night.

  It was chilly out and Richie tucked his hands into the pockets of his letter jacket as he headed for the house. He felt funny: half elated, half depressed. He had never asked a girl to go steady before and the idea frightened him a little. For all his good looks and popularity, he was awkward with girls. He always felt that he was saying or doing the wrong thing when he was with them. Then he had started dating Elaine and everything had changed. He felt at ease with her. She thought his jokes were funny and his views incisive. And she responded to him sexually-to a point. That was the only problem they had. When he was kissing her or holding her, he lost control. Elaine would let him go so far and then stop. He knew she trusted him, because she let him go as far as she did, but he always left her with a mixture of fulfillment and frustration.

  Going steady was a big step to take. He had thought about it for some time before deciding to ask Elaine. The biggest problem would arise next September. Richie was crazy about Elaine, but he knew that she was not as smart as he was. She had applied to State and a few other local colleges, whereas he had applied to mostly Ivy League and other eastern schools. State was his last choice and he did not really want to go there.

  Richie did not think that he would have much trouble getting into a top school. He had excellent grades and he had letters in three sports, plus an honorable mention All-State as a halfback his junior year. Coach thought he would make first team this year and a few schools had already offered him athletic scholarships.

  Richie had turned the athletic scholarships down. He wanted to play sports in college, but he was more interested in his education. He had listened hard to what John Kennedy had said during his campaign for the Presidency. Kennedy had talked a lot about public service and the disadvantaged. Richie felt that he had had all the breaks and he had decided that he wanted to help those who had not. He was not sure if he wanted to be a doctor or go into law or perhaps science. He was certain, though, that he wanted to work with, and help, people.

  Richie rang the doorbell. He took a look at his high school ring. It would not be on his finger after tonight. That was, if Elaine accepted. For a second he felt a surge of fear. What if she rejected him? No, she wouldn’t. He was sure that she felt for him the same way that he felt for her.

  Richie heard footsteps approaching from inside. He took a quick look at the sky. It was a beautiful clear night. There had been some rain earlier in the day, but the sky was unclouded and star-sprinkled now. He had certainly picked a romantic evening to ask Elaine to be his girl. He had planned how he would do it. First he would take her to the movies. Alice Fay had invited them to a party, but he felt that the movies would be more intimate.

  After the movies, they would cruise downtown. Richie’s car was out of character for a boy who was basically introverted; but he loved it. He had customized it himself and it was the talk of the school. No one could touch it in a drag race.

  Afterward, they would have something to eat. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Then he would drive her to Lookout Park and ask her to go steady.

  The door opened and Mrs. Murray invited him in. He liked Mrs. Murray. She was always very cheerful. He told her how nice she looked and she thanked him and called upstairs for Elaine.

  Myron Krauss was in town to sell hardware, but the market was lousy, he told everyone at the bar who would listen. Myron was forty-eight, fat and balding. He lived in Minneapolis with his wife and three children. After twenty-five years of marriage he found them all boring.

  Myron was pretty boring himself. Maybe that was why no one was listening to him. After a while Myron even bored himself, so he decided to try another bar. He stumbled when he pushed himself off the red leather bar stool. He had to grab for support. “I’m a bit high,” he thought. He knew he wasn’t drunk, though. Myron was proud of the fact that he could hold his liquor.

  When Myron lurched out into the cold night air, two young men in black leather jackets and tight blue jeans followed him. Both men had their hair combed back at the sides and forward in the center, until it curled in the middle of their foreheads, like Elvis Presley’s. The hair had been heavily greased and what little light there was in the bar reflected off it.

  The wind gusted as the two men exited the bar. They pulled on leather gloves and followed after Myron at a fast pace. There was an alley a little bit ahead of the drunken salesman. The two men timed their actions perfectly. They reached Myron just as he reached the alley.

  Ralph Pasante slammed both hands against Myron’s shoulder and Myron stumbled into the alley. Myron was too drunk to realize what was happening. His face registered puzzlement instead of fear. Willie Heartstone knew that his prey would react just this way from past experience. He hit the little man in his solar plexus. Myron grunted. He could not breathe. He thought he might die from lack of air and he opened his mouth wide and wheezed. Willie thought Myron looked like a fish. He let him wiggle around for a second before driving his knuckles into Myron’s nose as hard as he could. Willie felt bone crack and crumble and he saw blood gush out. That felt good. Ralph kicked Myron in the groin. Myron fell to his knees and his head bounced off the alley floor when it hit. Ralph stomped him once for fun. Then they went through the unconscious man’s pockets. When they had his wallet, watch, rings and small change, they ran out of the far end of the alley. Their car was four blocks away.

  After they had driven a few blocks, they pulled over on a side street and Willie counted the money.

  “How much?”

  “A hundred and sixty bucks and change,” Willie said in a matter-of-fact tone. The muggings did not excite him like they used to, unless the victim put up a fight. Then he enjoyed it. He liked beating someone with spirit. It made him feel masterful. This punk tonight was a zero. Willie knew that he would not fight when he saw him flashing his roll at the bar.

  “What do you want to do now?” Ralph asked.

  Willie ran his tongue across his lips. The two beers he had had in the bar had made him loose and easy. While sitting and waiting for the fat man to leave, he had daydreamed about a woman: his dream woman. The one who came to him at night when he was alone. She was blond and long-legged and she always cowered on the floor before him. Sometimes he would beat her. Sometimes he would please her.

  “I don’t know,” Willie answered casually. “We could cruise downtown. It’s almost ten-thirty. The movies’ll be letting out.”

  Ralph smiled. He knew what Willie was thinking. Friday night movies meant unattached high school snatch. Willie headed for downtown Portsmouth.

  Bobby Coolidge stopped the car in the yard of Alice Fay’s house. Alice lived in a modern, three-story stone house which was located on several acres of Portsmouth’s wealthiest suburb. Her folks were in Hawaii on vacation, so Alice had the house to herself. Bobby and Billy checked their hair in the car mirror. Bobby could hear the sound of a rock band vibrating the night air and he could see the silhouettes of people talking and dancing inside the house. He told Billy to hurry up and Billy zipped up his jacket.

  Roger’s car pulled up behind them and they walked up to the porch. Bobby knew that the four of them would not be welcome, but he didn’t give a shit. Most of the people at the party would be candyasses. Jocks, brains. In general, squares. He knew the squares felt uneasy in his presence. He enjoyed that.

  Bobby pounded on the front door and a boy in a white shirt and chinos opened it. When the boy saw who had knocked, he looked nervous. The boy was Arnie Klaus, a jock. Arnie looked strong, but, like most jocks, he was chicken when it came to a fight. A year ago, when A
rnie was a freshman, Billy had made him cough up a quarter for protection. Billy had outgrown that phase, but Arnie still avoided both Coolidges.

  “Hi, Arnie,” Billy said politely. “Good party?”

  “Yeah, Bob,” Arnie answered, a little too enthusiastically.

  The four of them drifted into a corner of the room. They had noticed the buzz that had accompanied their entrance. It gave Bobby and Billy satisfaction.

  The living room was big. Alice’s family had plenty of dough. Everyone looked freshly scrubbed and fashionably casual. Bobby hated them. He tried not to brood on it, but he felt that it was so unfair that these snotnose punks should have it all, while he and Billy had to work so hard for everything they had ever gotten. It had been like that ever since their father had died. Both of them holding down jobs after school. Living poor. Watching their mother drink herself away.

  Billy scanned the room. He stopped when he saw Alice Fay and Tommy Cooper standing near the punch bowl. Alice was going steady with Tommy. Tommy had his arm around her shoulder as if he owned her. Billy felt a mixture of anger and despair. It was not right that he should have no chance with a girl like Alice. She was tall and slender with large breasts. Her eyes sparkled and her teeth were perfect. She was perfection. At night, Billy fantasized about her. But it was just a dream and he knew that it could never come true. Alice and her friends were rich. They would graduate high school and go on to college. Bobby and Billy were nothings in their eyes. Their futures were obscure and gray.

  Tommy Cooper told a joke and Alice laughed. Billy hated Cooper. He was a jock and a brain. He was tall. His black hair was cropped in a crew cut and his skin seemed tanned even in winter. He wore his letter sweater proudly over a plaid shirt and tan chinos. He looked relaxed and at ease in white socks and loafers.

  Bobby noticed the way his brother was looking at Alice. Billy had never told him, but he knew about Billy’s crush on her.

  “That Alice is all right,” Bobby said.

  “She’s okay.”

  “I’d sure like to get me some of that, hey, Rog?”

  Roger leered.

  “Cut that out,” Esther said. “We shouldn’t even be here, so don’t cause any trouble.”

  Arnie had walked over to Tommy and Alice while they had been talking. Arnie said something and motioned in their direction. Cooper turned toward them and scowled.

  “I don’t like that prick,” Billy said.

  “Me neither,” said Bobby.

  “You want to have some fun?”

  “Hey, I told you I didn’t want no trouble,” Roger said uneasily. “Besides, we’re outnumbered.”

  “I didn’t say anything about trouble, Roger,” Billy said, grinning. “I said ‘fun.’”

  “Billy, I know you. Look, Esther, I don’t feel right being here. I’m going home.”

  Esther looked at Roger and at Billy and Bobby. Roger was her boyfriend, but he was acting like a coward.

  “Let’s stay, Roger. Please.”

  “I told you no. Now come on.”

  “You never want to have fun. I want to stay.”

  “Well I don’t.”

  Roger started for the door. Esther went after him. They were talking in angry undertones as they went out the door. Five minutes later Esther came back in. She was crying. “Oh, shit,” Bobby thought. Now they were stuck with Esther for the evening. Roger and Esther were always having fights. They usually ended with Roger slapping her around and Esther crying.

  “That bastard left me,” Esther whimpered.

  “Don’t worry. We’ll get you home,” Bobby said. He was watching Cooper carefully. Cooper had gone over to a couple of the bigger boys in the room and they were talking in the corner.

  “I think I’ll get some punch,” Billy said.

  Bobby followed his brother over to the refreshment table. His brother filled a glass of punch and munched some potato chips. The people at the table ignored them. There were a few comments made in guarded tones.

  Bobby noticed Cooper approaching. He was having second thoughts about what they were doing. He had been in a fighting mood all day, but now that it looked like they were going to get into it, he didn’t like the odds.

  “Hi, Alice,” Billy said.

  “Hello, Billy,” Alice answered stiffly.

  “Nice party.”

  Alice forced a smile and walked off. Tommy Cooper talked to her in low tones. There were four guys behind him. Bobby knew two of them from school. He did not know the other two. They looked tough.

  Alice looked upset. Bobby heard her say something about “no trouble” and he saw Tommy and the others push past her and head in their direction.

  “Alice said she didn’t invite you, Coolidge.”

  Billy was refilling his punch glass and he purposely kept his back to Cooper.

  “I guess she didn’t. We just heard that there was a party and decided to drop by.”

  “Well, why don’t you just drop out.”

  Billy turned. He was smiling. Bobby had seen that smile before and he moved his body sideways so as to make himself tough to hit.

  “Why don’t you just fuck off?”

  Cooper looked uncertain of his next move. The noise in the room had stopped.

  “Now look here…” Cooper started to say. One of the two boys that Bobby did not know had moved beside Tommy. He was Billy and Bobby’s size, about six two, and he looked lean and muscular. His hair was crew cut and he resembled Cooper. The other stranger was taller than the Coolidges, but he was fat and looked out of shape.

  “Let’s cut the talk,” the boy who looked like Tommy said. “I’ve heard enough from this little fart. Now you two get out or I’ll kick your ass out.”

  “You better listen, Billy. This is my brother. He’s on leave from the service.”

  Billy’s boot caught Tommy’s brother in the groin. As he folded, Bobby hit him in the temple with a right. The boys standing with Tommy were too shocked to move. Billy had counted on this and he smashed the punch glass into Tommy Cooper’s face and hit him in the stomach.

  The fat boy was the first to react. He was deceptively fast and he put his bulk behind a right that exploded against Billy’s head, knocking him backward across the refreshment table. Bobby hit the fat man, but the punch had no effect and two other boys had him down before he could move. They were not hitting him. They were just holding him.

  “He’s got a knife,” someone screamed. Bobby could not see much from the floor. The fat boy moved into his line of vision and he heard his brother yell,

  “Come on, motherfucker, and I’ll cut you wide open.”

  “Stop this,” Alice Fay was yelling.

  “Let my brother go and we’ll leave this shithole.”

  “Let him up,” Alice said and the two boys that were holding Bobby rolled off.

  Billy was standing with his back to the table with the knife in his hand. The fat boy had a broken Coke bottle.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Bobby said. The crowd moved away from the door and they edged out. Esther was already on the porch. She looked terrified.

  People were filing onto the porch as they moved toward their car. Esther climbed in back and Billy drove off. Billy’s face was tight. Bobby could see a pulse throbbing in Billy’s temple.

  “The bastards,” Billy said in a taut, clipped voice. “Just once I want to be treated like a human being by those cocksucking sons of bitches.”

  “You were looking for it…” Esther started.

  Billy jammed on the brakes and whirled in his seat. He held a rigid finger in front of Esther’s startled eyes.

  “Just shut your mouth or I’ll ram a fist down it. You’d love to be one of those goody goodies, wouldn’t you? Well, they’re nothing but a bunch of leeches, living off of daddy’s money. Not one of them is worth the shit off of my asshole. And someday…”

  His voice trailed off into the darkness. The illuminated hands of the dashboard clock read ten twenty-five.

 
Elaine Murray checked her hair and lipstick one final time and left the ladies’ room of the Paramount Theater. She had been grateful for the excuse to leave Richie for a few moments. She needed the time to catch her breath. She felt as if she was floating and giddy.

  Elaine could hardly remember the movie. All she could remember was Richie’s strong arms around her and the passion of his kisses. They had gone to the last row of the balcony and the movie had barely started when she felt him slide his arm behind her shoulders.

  The movie was Midnight Lace with Doris Day and Rex Harrison. It was a thriller and it took place in London. It got tense and she moved as close to Richie as she could. Then he had been kissing her and she had kissed back, letting him slip his hand inside her sweater.

  Their tongues had touched and she could feel his fingers caressing her nipples through her bra. She had lost control.

  It was near the end of the movie when he had whispered that he loved her. She had almost cried. Then the lights had come on. She told him that she wanted to freshen up. Inside the ladies’ room, she sat in a stall until she was relaxed enough to go out again.

  Richie was waiting in the lobby. He felt happy and unsure of what to say now that he had said what was in his heart. Elaine took his hand and they walked out of the theater. The sidewalks were crowded with Friday-night strollers and the streets were jammed with souped-up cars that raced their engines and honked at each other. Downtown Portsmouth was the place to be seen on Friday and Saturday nights.

  Richie and Elaine walked slowly despite the chill in the air. A group of boys were standing beside Richie’s car. Elaine recognized Matt Shaw and Rudy Pegovich. They said hello and talked for a bit. Elaine wished they would leave. Soon Richie said so long and opened her door. She felt proud to sit in Richie’s car. It was the talk of the school. She didn’t know much about cars, but she knew that the engine was powerful and that other cars could not beat it. He had dragged with her in the car several times and she had always been thrilled by the car’s speed and Richie’s daring.