Prisoner Wright positioned himself next to my desk, seeking the attention his cellmate could not give him. A cellmate in protective custody.
“Put my stapler down,” I said, trying to act indifferent.
“You know who my Bunkie is, don’t you?”
I stayed with my paperwork, checking to see if my students signed their work-evaluations. “Yeah, I know who he is.”
“He’s one stooopid motherfucker!”
I warned Prisoner Wright about insolence, that I could write him up. He rephrased his statement, again indicating his disapproval of his cellmate’s actions. “Why?” I asked. Prisoner Wright never told me, like some inmates do, that pedophiles should be castrated and left to bleed out.
“Why!” he shot back. “First of all, why would you reveal the whereabouts of the victim’s body after twenty-two years?”
“Maybe he wanted to clear his conscience, give the family closure.”
He shook his head. “He got no deal!”
I ignored him.
“You heard what I said didn’t you? He got no deal.”
I continued with my paperwork, thinking, is this what it’s all about?—manipulating the system, making it work for you—or is it about the sudden realization that a family has a right to give their little girl a proper burial? “Yeah,” I smiled, “he got no deal.”
To the family of Cindy Zarzycki, your daughter's coming home. May she rest in peace.
14 comments:
Closure is wonderful and will put an end to the wondering, however, I think they should shoot the bastard.
Wow. "he got no deal," the other inmate says. What a horrible thing to say. I'm glad the killer finally let people know where the daughter was. A hard story here.
This is virtually a flash fiction itsself.
Shudder. But good work, JR.
I shudder again, wondering if I've been to that particular Dairy Queen over the years.
p.s. in the photo, is that you third from the left?
Amen to the homecoming.
Just exactly what kind of deal should he have gotten 20 years off his life no parole? I could see that.
Erik,
No. But nice guess. That's my brother. I'm second from the left.
Charles,
I wish it were flash fiction; unfortunately, it's more like flash nonfiction. This is why I try to keep my conversation to a minimum with the convicts. Short and to the point.
Ruth,
He's probably in protective custody because there's plenty of folks in agreement with your opinion.
TWM,
Not a bad idea. It certainly would free up some space in the correctional facility.
Wow, man. You see and hear it all. Every angle. Every twist.
You gotta sit down and write like twenty or thirty books. Do it.
Jim, cool. That was my second guess.
Well, the great and controversial writer Celine (possibly an inspiration of Norman Mailer's great fiction) said "I am a doctor...Crummy trade."
Wonder if the great Dr. Destouches (Celine's real name) would have thought of prison educating.
Always gotta look out for Psycho the Path.
Jim,
Great telling of a horrible story. Those poor people -- I have trouble even understanding what they must have gone through. I'm glad they can put her to rest in a spot of their choosing. But as for closure, I don't believe in it. That family is still in tremendous pain, I'm guessing and that asshole doesn't deserve so much as a word from another soul, much less a deal.
I enjoyed reading here tonight. Good stuff as always. Looks like you're getting in some fishing even though you're "staycationing."
I read Capote's In Cold Blood last week in preparation to rent the movie and the bio they made about it. In a way, your prose has a touch of that in it. The contrast between you and your students' imaginations and realities is always a good read.
Sad story. You need to dig deep to find the positive elements- the familial "closure", the fact that the killer was caught, the fact that the proponent of the deal mentality is behind bars...
Wonderful post. The sentence, "...your daughter's coming home" broke my heart.
Sometimes I wonder how you manage to retain your sanity and sense of humanity with your job.
oh my goodness. i can't imagine doing what you do. There must be tremendous burn-out. Sooooo sad...
I also wnted to stop by and say thank you for your encouraging comments on Jason's blog about my story GPS. So - thanks!
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