Jimmy

by Robert Whitlow

  “Stop,” he heard a voice say.

  Jimmy froze.

  “I need to count it,” the voice continued.

  Jimmy moved closer to the container. The voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

  “It’s all there. It’s your job to split it up.”

  “I thought there was going to be another five hundred.”

  “Your money is there. We don’t think Sharpton deserves anything.”

  “That wasn’t the deal.”

  “Do you want to give it back?”

  “No.”

  “There is a lot more where that came from if you’re willing to cooperate.”

  “I’m listening.”

  Jimmy inched around the container and looked up. Two figures were sitting in the stands directly above him. Their legs blocked his view of the sky. Wanting to avoid whoever it was, he stepped behind the container and walked around the back of the stands to the other end of the field. He crossed the end-zone area. Suddenly, the lights for the stadium came back on. The glare caused him to stop and put his hand against the goalpost.

  “Mitchell!” a voice called out.

  Jimmy looked but couldn’t see anyone.

  “Over here!” the voice said.

  Jimmy looked toward the Cattaloochie side of the field. Coach Bolton was standing at the top of the stadium waving his arms. Daddy was beside him.

  “Come on!” the coach yelled.

  Jimmy ran toward them. Daddy walked down the steps and met him on the field.

  “Coach Bolton turned on the lights because we were concerned that you’d gotten lost in the dark.”

  “No, sir.”

  “Let’s go. Everybody has left the stadium, and your mama was worried about you.”

  Mama gave Jimmy a hug when he appeared. Together with Daddy, they headed toward the parking lot.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  “Throwing away trash for Coach Bolton.”

  “He shouldn’t have sent you out in the dark.”

  In the car, Mama talked nonstop about the game. She’d sat next to Mrs. Cochran and enjoyed her reaction to Max’s heroics on the field.

  “I think it’s wonderful that Max won the game.”

  “It’s a team sport,” Daddy said. “He couldn’t have done it if Jimmy hadn’t given him plenty to drink.”

  “That’s right,” Mama agreed. “You’re doing a great job as a manager.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  After he took a shower and put on his pajamas, Jimmy lay in bed and waited for Mama to come into his room and pray with him. She sat on the edge of his bed.

  “Mama,” he said, “I think the snake man was at the game tonight.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Jimmy told her what he’d heard in the stands. Mama listened closely, a concerned look on her face.

  “Did they know you were listening?” she asked.

  “No, ma’am. You told me not to talk to anyone about it, so I walked around the back of the stands to the other end of the field.”

  Mama stroked his cheek. “That’s good. Don’t go to sleep yet. I want your daddy to hear this.”

  Mama left and returned with Daddy.

  “Tell him what you told me,” Mama said.

  Jimmy repeated the conversation.

  “Something illegal is happening,” Daddy said soberly. “And whoever is doing this has recruited Sharpton, Gambrell, and possibly others.”

  “What are you going to do?” Mama asked Daddy.

  “I’ll have a talk with Detective Stephens. He’s over all narcotics investigations for the sheriff’s department. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a system of informers at the high school who can fill in the blanks.”

  “Will Hal and Pete get into trouble?” Jimmy asked.

  “Maybe, but that’s not your problem,” Daddy said. “The important thing for you is not to tell anyone about the conversation at the football field. No matter what happens, keep your mouth shut. Can you do that?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Mama looked at Daddy anxiously.

  “I think we should reconsider the private school in Carroll County. Jimmy could let something slip by mistake, and there’s no telling what might happen.”

  “Private school?” Jimmy asked. “What’s that?”

  “A very nice, small school,” Mama answered, resuming her seat on the edge of his bed. “It doesn’t have all the problems of a big school like Cattaloochie County High. Your daddy and I have talked about sending you there for a couple of years. I visited, and they have a lot of nice students and teachers. You would be in regular classes and get extra help when you needed it.”

  “A different school?” Jimmy asked.

  “Ellen, let’s have this conversation downstairs,” Daddy said. “We shouldn’t drag Jimmy into it until we’ve made up our minds.”

  “What about my job as manager of the football team?” Jimmy asked as understanding of Mama’s suggestion dawned. “And Max? And my teachers?”

  “You would have new teachers, and we’d help you find activities besides managing the football team,” Mama said. “You’d still be able to see Max on the weekends.”

  “Enough,” Daddy said. “Go to sleep. On Monday you’re going back to Cattaloochie. Don’t worry about a new school.”

  Mama and Daddy left the room, but Jimmy lay awake.

  Worrying.

  — Thirty-four —

  No one mentioned the private school during the following week. Jimmy started to bring it up at supper but decided that not saying anything might keep it from happening. The thought of leaving the people he’d known since kindergarten upset him.

  Football practice settled into a routine. Brian Brown worked with the first-team offense, but Max also got in a few snaps. Friday’s game was against Parker High School, a new school on the outskirts of Atlanta.

  During football practice, Jimmy didn’t have any direct contact with Pete or Brian, and he remembered Daddy’s command to keep his mouth shut. Each night, Daddy asked if the subject of the postgame conversation had come up at school, and Jimmy truthfully told him no.

  Friday night came, and the Captains easily defeated Parker High. After the Dake County game, most people thought the next game would be much closer. Max dressed out for the game but didn’t play. Brian performed well and didn’t make any serious mistakes. Pete rushed for over 150 yards. Jimmy did everything asked of him as a manager.

  During the ride home from the stadium, Mama said, “Don’t forget to feed the cats tomorrow. I did it this afternoon, but you agreed to help Delores, and it’s your responsibility.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Jimmy answered with little enthusiasm in his voice.

  “Would you like to ride your bike to her house?” Mama asked.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he responded more brightly.

  Saturday morning dawned with a hint of fall in the air that tickled Jimmy’s nose as he went outside to check on Buster. Football practice had cut Jimmy’s time with the dog, and Buster jumped around excitedly when Jimmy entered the backyard. Jimmy threw a ball a few times and laughed as Buster overran it and rolled over in a heap.

  “I have to take care of Otto, Maureen, and Celine,” Jimmy said as he moved toward the gate. “I’ll let them rub against me, and when I come home, you can smell my blue jeans as long as you want to.”

  Mama and Daddy were drinking coffee in the kitchen.

  “Sorry I didn’t fix breakfast, sunshine,” Mama said.

  “I ate cereal,” Jimmy replied.

  “I’ll fix meat loaf in the pan for supper,” Mama said.

  Jimmy grinned. “I bet the cats wish they could eat meat loaf, but I think I’ll give them liver dinners.”

  Daddy reached into his pocket.

  “Here’s the key to Delores’s house. Make sure you don’t lose it.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you know how to get there?” Mama asked.
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br />   “Yes, ma’am. I ride past Grandpa and Grandma’s street—” Jimmy stopped. A wave of sadness suddenly washed over him. “Should I still call it that?”

  “Yes,” Mama replied quietly. “You can always call it that.”

  Jimmy sighed. “After I pass their street, then I go through two stop signs. The cats live in a yellow house on the right side of the road.”

  “Excellent,” Daddy said. “Be careful. Lock the door after you finish.”

  Jimmy’s bike, repaired after the wreck, was in good shape. Mama came outside onto the porch to see him off. Jimmy, his Ready Kilowatt cap on his head, honked twice and waved as he turned down the sidewalk.

  He wasn’t afraid of the familiar streets. Every dip in the sidewalk, each tree along the roadway, every house was a known landmark, but he missed Buster padding alongside him. He passed Ridgeview Drive. He’d not climbed the pole since Grandpa died.

  “One,” he said when he came to the first stop sign and honked his horn once.

  He continued another block. A white pickup truck passed him on the road.

  “Two,” he said when he came to the second stop sign and honked his horn twice.

  He rode about fifty yards before reaching the yellow house. He parked his bike in the carport and walked to the front door. Looking in the narrow sidelight window beside the door, he could see the cats milling around in the foyer. He put the key in the lock, turned it, and pushed against the door. It didn’t move. He stared at the key. Maybe he should go home and get Mama to help him. Deciding to try again, he put the key back into the lock. Turning it in the opposite direction, he heard a click, and the door opened. The mewing cats greeted him.

  “Hello, cats,” he said. “Would you like a liver dinner?”

  The mewing chorus followed him into the kitchen. Delores hadn’t kept the dinners organized, and it took a minute to find a large can of liver. He fixed the cats’ food, carefully spooning out equal portions for each one. The litter box was dirty, and he took it to the back door. When he opened the door, he thought he heard the sound of the back gate closing. Glancing to the left, he didn’t see anything.

  By the time he dumped the litter in the garbage can and returned to the kitchen, the cats had finished eating and were ready to go outside. They scampered past him. He put clean litter in the box. It would take several minutes to reorganize the cat’s food pantry. He heard a scratching sound at the back door. He turned around, expecting to see Otto, Maureen, or Celine wanting to get back inside.

  Instead, he saw Jake Garner.

  As soon as their eyes met, Jake threw open the door and rushed into the kitchen. Jimmy threw up his hands in front of him. Jake was wearing white gloves. He grabbed Jimmy’s wrists and spun him around.

  “Stop!” Jimmy cried out. “Don’t hurt me!”

  Jake wrapped something sticky around Jimmy’s wrists and stuffed a cloth in his mouth. Jimmy forced the cloth out of his mouth with his tongue.

  “Help!” he yelled. “Stop!”

  Jake stuck the cloth in Jimmy’s mouth and held it in place with his hand. Jimmy turned his head to the side and looked down. Staring at him was the head of the snake that coiled around Jake’s arm. Its head and mouth were huge, much too large for the snake’s body, and long fangs hung from its upper lip. Dark blue drops of venom dripped from the fangs.

  More tape came around Jimmy’s mouth. Then Jake grabbed Jimmy’s glasses and covered his eyes with another cloth. Jake pushed Jimmy through the house. Jimmy tried to yell, but the only sounds that came from his mouth were grunts. He hit his leg against a table, then tripped over a chair and would have fallen if Jake hadn’t grabbed him. Jimmy’s cap fell off his head, but Jake replaced it. Jimmy wasn’t sure where he was in the house. Jake didn’t speak until he pushed Jimmy against a wall and forced him to sit on the floor.

  “Stay there!” he commanded in a rough voice.

  A door opened, and Jimmy felt the outside air. He heard Jake’s footsteps move away, and he tried to stand up. Jake returned, jerked him through the door, and roughly shoved him onto the floorboard of a vehicle. The door closed, but Garner didn’t get inside. Jimmy lay still. One of his nostrils was blocked, and it was hard to breathe. He heard the sound of something being put in the back of the vehicle. The door opened, and the motor started.

  Jake backed out of the driveway, stopped for a second, and started forward. Jimmy felt every bump in the road, and the side of his head banged against the floorboard. Garner turned on the radio. It was not the sort of music Mama and Daddy listened to. It was so loud that it made it hard for Jimmy to think. Jake stopped several times, turned to the right, and began to pick up speed. He turned off the radio. Jimmy heard a series of beeps as Jake pressed numbers on a cell phone.

  “I’ve got him,” Jake said. “After a week going crazy with boredom, it couldn’t have been easier. Early this morning, he rode his bike to a house on the south side. Nobody was home. I grabbed him in the kitchen and threw his bike in the back of the truck. I’m already clear of the city limits. He’s tied up in the floorboard.”

  There was silence while Jake listened. Jimmy could faintly hear the other voice on the phone but not enough to understand what was said.

  “I think he was taking care of a woman’s cats,” Jake said. “That’s why no one was in the house. I didn’t leave any prints, and there won’t be any sign of a struggle. The bike gives me a great setup. The only downside about grabbing him in the morning is that I have to keep him hidden all day.”

  Jake was silent again.

  “There will be a call to the sheriff’s office sooner rather than later. His parents won’t wait around wondering what’s going on if he doesn’t show up on time. But it won’t matter. In five minutes I’ll be at the house where we’ll be safe and cozy.”

  A short period of silence followed.

  “No. I got the envelope and will pick up the rest at the usual place on my way out of town.”

  A longer period of silence followed.

  “Of course, I’ll try to find out what he’s told his parents and let you know. He’ll be well acquainted with the hot end of a cigarette before I’m finished with my questions.”

  Jimmy heard a click as Jake closed the cell phone. The radio came back on. Before the song ended, Jake turned onto a very bumpy road and drove so fast that Jimmy bounced up and down several times. He couldn’t figure out why this was happening to him. Then the truck stopped abruptly, and Jimmy hit his head against the floorboard one last time. Jake turned off the motor and left him alone. Jimmy tried to wiggle his hands, but they didn’t budge. Pain shot up his arms. His mouth was dry, and he was thirsty. Jake grabbed him by the right arm and dragged him out of the truck. Jimmy fell to his knees.

  “Get up,” he said.

  Jimmy, still blindfolded, struggled to his feet. Jake pushed him forward. Jimmy took a few steps, tripped, and fell face forward. He landed on the right side of his head so hard that he saw stars behind his eyelids. Stunned, he lay on the ground. Jake grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulled him to his feet, and guided him forward with his hands on Jimmy’s shoulders.

  “Climb three steps,” Jake said.

  Jimmy hit something solid with his shoe, then climbed the steps. He crossed a porch and went through the door of a house. Garner turned him around several times, then directed him forward a few steps to the left. A door closed.

  “Stand still,” Jake commanded.

  Jimmy felt Jake’s hands at the back of his head. The blindfold came off his eyes. Jake put Jimmy’s glasses back on roughly, poking him in the cheek. Jimmy blinked rapidly as his eyes focused. He was in a small bedroom with a bare lightbulb in the ceiling. A mattress without any sheets on it lay on the floor to his right. There was no furniture. A single window had been boarded up on the outside. Jimmy could see slivers of light through the cracks between the boards.

  “This is your new home,” Jake said. “But just temporarily.”

  Jimmy started to turn aro
und and face Jake, but a hand quickly hit him in the back of the head.

  “Don’t move unless I tell you to. If you understand, nod your head.” Jimmy nodded.

  “I’m the boss around here,” Jake said. “You’ve caused me so much trouble over the past two weeks that I’d like nothing better than to beat you bloody. Do you understand?”

  Jimmy wasn’t sure what he meant but nodded anyway.

  “Sit on the mattress.”

  Jimmy stumbled over and sat on the mattress. He glanced up at Jake. The snake man’s dark hair was cut short, and he’d shaved his beard. He sported three earrings in his right ear. The head of the snake that coiled around his arm bared its fangs.

  “Don’t look at me!” Jake screamed.

  Jimmy’s eyes opened wider. Jake lunged toward him.

  “Look at the floor!” he yelled.

  Jimmy dropped his head and stared at the scuffed wooden floor.

  “Watch the floor until I leave the room.”

  Jimmy kept his head lowered. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Jake open the door and close it. There followed two distinct clicks. Jimmy looked up. He was alone.

  He looked around the room. The walls were painted a tan color. Faded yellow wallpaper peeked out from under peeling paint. The door was wooden and painted dark brown. Jimmy shifted his weight on the mattress. The pain in his arms returned, and his face stung where he’d struck the ground. He tried again to wiggle his hands, but he couldn’t. He dropped his head and closed his eyes.

  He thought about Mama. Never had his heart ached so much to be with her. He knew what she would do. In an instant, she would release his hands, take the horrible cloth from his mouth, and hug away the pain. Tears came to his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. His chest heaved up and down in rhythm with his sorrow. His nose began to run, but he couldn’t turn his head enough to wipe it on his sleeve. He edged back on the mattress until he could lean against the wall. He closed his eyes to block out the room.