Jimmy

by Robert Whitlow

He could hear Jake moving through the house. Then there was silence. Jimmy strained to listen. The silence continued. Maybe the snake man had left. Jimmy scooted forward off the mattress and managed to stand up. He walked to the boarded-up window, bent down, and peered through the largest crack. All he could see were the trunks of trees. He was somewhere in the woods. The sun was shining. He wished he could put his lips to the small opening and breathe fresh air.

  He heard a click at the door. Turning around, he rushed back to the mattress and sat down. He remembered to stare at the floor as the door opened.

  “That’s better,” Jake said.

  Jimmy glanced up. Jake was in the doorway with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

  “The floor!” Jake yelled. “Look at the floor!”

  Jimmy jerked his head back down.

  “Stand up and face the window,” Jake ordered.

  Jimmy obeyed. Jake came up behind him and exhaled a puff of smoke that wrapped around Jimmy’s head.

  “Do you like cigarettes?” he asked.

  Jimmy shook his head.

  “You’re going to like them less in a few minutes. Are you ready for me to take off the cloth covering your mouth?”

  Jimmy nodded.

  “If I do that, you have to promise not to say anything unless I tell you to. Do you understand?”

  Jimmy nodded again. He felt Jake’s hands at the back of his head. Another wave of smoke came around to his nostrils. He felt the gag loosen, fall from his nose, then from his mouth. Jimmy gasped for breath.

  “Is that better?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jake hit him sharply in the back of the head. Jimmy stepped forward.

  “I didn’t tell you to speak!” he screamed.

  Jimmy stood still and focused on breathing in as much air as possible. He licked his lips. His mouth was dry.

  “Was that gag too tight?”

  “Ye—,” Jimmy started, then stopped.

  Garner hit him again but not as hard.

  “That’s better. I can ask a question, but that doesn’t mean I want an answer.”

  Jimmy didn’t move.

  “If I hear a sound I don’t like, then the cloth goes over your mouth tighter than I had it before. Do you understand? You can speak.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jimmy answered in a weak voice. Then he flinched in anticipation of a blow.

  None came.

  “That’s the way it’s going to work. I like you calling me ‘sir.’ It’s a nice touch.”

  “Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

  Jimmy nodded.

  “Okay. I’ll show you that I’m not such a bad person.”

  Jake reached up and tied the blindfold around Jimmy’s eyes.

  “The bathroom is this way.”

  Jake led him by the arm from the room and a few steps down a hall. He stopped and adjusted the blindfold just enough for Jimmy to see what lay at his feet.

  “Go. I’ll be here waiting.”

  Jimmy stood still.

  “What are you waiting for?” Jake asked sharply.

  Jimmy didn’t answer. Jake laughed.

  “How stupid of me,” he said. “Your hands are still tied.”

  He spun Jimmy around. Jimmy felt something cold like metal against his wrists, then heard a ripping sound as the tape was removed. Jimmy grunted in pain but didn’t cry out. His hands came free. He rubbed them together.

  “Is that better?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jake struck him on the side of the face where Jimmy had fallen. It hurt, and Jimmy couldn’t help but cry out.

  “I didn’t tell you to speak!” Jake screamed. “Now get in there before I change my mind! Don’t touch the blindfold.”

  Jimmy went to the bathroom. When he finished, he flushed the toilet and moved to the sink. He felt the faucet knobs for the water.

  “That’s a good boy,” Jake said. “Wash your hands.”

  Jimmy let the cool water wash over his hands and wrists. He wanted to drink some very badly. He cupped some water in his right hand and raised it to his lips. Before it reached his mouth, Jake knocked his hand away.

  “A drink will have to wait,” he said. “I have some questions to ask you first.”

  — Thirty-five —

  Jake returned Jimmy to the tiny bedroom.

  “Stand still and face the window,” he commanded.

  Jimmy stood at attention facing the boarded-up window. Jake left the room with the door open. Jimmy glanced over his shoulder. For a split second, he wondered if he should try to run. Trying to escape from Jake Garner would be a lot harder than getting away from Walt. Jimmy kept his feet planted. In a moment, Jake returned and came up close to Jimmy’s left ear. More smoke floated up toward the lightbulb.

  “I was in the hall waiting to see what you’d do,” Jake sneered. “If you had tried to run, I would have broken your jaw.”

  Jake grabbed Jimmy’s hands, jerked them behind his back, and wrapped a few turns of tape around them. The loss of freedom crushed Jimmy. He began to sniffle.

  “You don’t like that?” Jake asked. “Get used to it.”

  Jimmy’s lower lip quivered. Jake spun him around.

  “Now look at me.”

  Jimmy looked into the face of his tormentor. There were dark circles under Jake’s eyes. His short hair stuck out in several directions at once. His nose was creased with a deep scar. Not a tall man, Jake wasn’t much larger than Jimmy. He took the cigarette from his mouth and held the glowing end in front of Jimmy’s nose. Jimmy tried to hold his breath, but Garner kept the cigarette close until Jimmy had to breathe. He coughed slightly as a wisp of smoke entered his lungs.

  “Do you want me to move the cigarette?” Jake asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Jake slapped Jimmy with his free hand. Jimmy stepped backward and closed his eyes.

  “I didn’t tell you to speak!” Jake screamed. “How can anyone be so dumb?”

  Jimmy’s body shook. He tried to stop, but his shoulders and chest continued to tremble. Garner stared at him for a few seconds, turned, and left the room. He slammed the door and set the locks.

  “We’ll talk later!” he yelled through the door. “You’re going to tell me everything you know!”

  Jimmy moved shakily over to the mattress and sat down. His body settled down. He realized that he was breathing hard like the day he passed out in Coach Nixon’s office, so he tried to slow down. The shaking stopped, but it took a few moments for his breathing to return to normal. He licked his lips again, but there wasn’t much moisture in his mouth. He sighed and closed his eyes. He was suddenly very tired. He leaned over on his left side and pulled his feet onto the mattress. He awoke with a start as the door opened.

  “Nap time?” Jake said.

  Jake had a bottle of water in his hand and another cigarette in his mouth. Jimmy sat up and looked longingly at the bottle. Jake followed his gaze.

  “I thought you didn’t like water,” Jake said.

  Jimmy didn’t answer.

  “Stand up and come over here,” Jake commanded.

  Jimmy obeyed.

  “Do you want a drink of water?” Jake asked.

  Jimmy stood mute.

  “Good. You may speak,” Jake said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Garner unscrewed the cap but kept the bottle in his hand.

  “You can have a drink if you answer my questions truthfully. Do you remember when you testified in court?”

  Jimmy didn’t answer.

  “And you promised to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? That’s what you’re going to have to do if you want a drink of water. Raise your right hand.”

  Jimmy hesitantly raised his hand.

  “I don’t have a Bible handy,” Jake said, “so we’ll have to pretend.”

  Jake repeated the words of the judicial oath.

  “You can answer,” he said when he finished.

  �
�Yes, sir.”

  “Until I tell you otherwise, you can answer all my questions. Do you understand?”

  Jimmy was not sure if the question was a trap.

  “Answer me!” Garner screamed.

  “Yes, sir,” Jimmy responded in a trembling voice.

  “Who are Hal Sharpton and Pete Gambrell?”

  Jimmy took a deep breath. “Hal was the quarterback of the football team, but he got kicked off for fighting—”

  “That’s enough. And Pete?”

  “He’s a running back.”

  “Did you ever hear them say my name?”

  “No, sir.”

  Jake gave him a puzzled look. “Did you ever hear them mention the snake man?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Who is the snake man?”

  “You are.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Are you the snake man?” Jimmy asked.

  “Don’t ask me any questions!” Jake yelled. He raised the bottle of water to his lips and took a long drink. “This is good water, but you’re not going to taste it unless you do what I tell you.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “When was the first time you heard Hal and Pete say anything about the snake man?”

  “When I was sorting helmets in the equipment room.”

  “What did you hear?”

  Jimmy related the conversation. When he reached the part about Hal’s summer job picking up packages in Atlanta for delivery to Piney Grove, Jake swore and took a deep drag on his cigarette. Jimmy stopped talking.

  “Go ahead,” Jake said, taking another drink from the bottle.

  Jimmy continued to the end of the conversation.

  “That’s all I remember,” Jimmy said when he finished.

  “What is a bookie?” Garner asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Did you tell anyone about this conversation?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Liar!” Jake screamed. “Then why did the narcs start asking their little snits questions about Hal, Pete, and me at the high school?”

  Jimmy wanted to give an answer but didn’t know what to say. Jake stared hard at him.

  “Is that the only conversation you overhead about the snake man?”

  “No, sir.”

  Jake nodded. “After the Dake County game. I thought I saw you when the lights came back on at the field. Where were you hiding?”

  “I wasn’t hiding. I took out some trash and heard Pete talking.”

  “Who was he talking to?”

  “You.”

  “Are you sure about it?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Why?”

  “Because now I know how you talk.”

  “What did you hear?”

  Jimmy, aware of Daddy’s warning not to tell anyone, hesitated.

  Jake stepped forward and raised his voice. “What did you hear?”

  Jake glared at him. Holding the bottle of water in front of Jimmy’s face, he turned it over and let the precious liquid spill onto the floor.

  “Your mistake,” he said as he turned to leave the room. “You don’t need to answer. I already know.”

  The door shut; the locks clicked. The intensity of Jimmy’s thirst had increased enormously at the sight of the water. He stared at the wet spot on the floor. Getting on his knees, he bent over and touched the dark wood with his tongue. All he tasted was a layer of wet grime. In despair, he turned his face sideways and laid his cheek against the floor. No Watcher appeared to show him the way to a refreshing drink.

  Jimmy returned to the mattress but didn’t lie down. The initial shock of what had happened to him was over. He was a prisoner. He had no idea how much time had passed since he’d emptied the cats’ litter box, but the memory of freedom was already becoming fuzzy.

  He heard footsteps in the hallway outside the door, and his shakes returned. The footsteps continued down the hall; the shaking slowed down. When he closed his eyes, images of the snake man played across the back of his eyelids.

  He began to pace. He counted five steps across the room and seven from the window to the door. Back and forth he went until he wasn’t thinking anymore, just counting. Finally, he stopped in front of the window, bent over, and peeked through the largest crack.

  Walking slowly across the narrow view of the outside world were two men wearing camouflage clothing and carrying guns. Seconds after he saw them, they were gone. Jimmy knew what to do.

  “Help!” he yelled through the crack. “Help me!”

  He kicked on the boards covering the window, but they didn’t budge.

  “Help!” he yelled again.

  The locks on the door clicked in rapid succession, and Jake burst into the room. Jimmy saw him coming and cried out again.

  “Help me now!”

  Jake knocked him to the floor with a blow to the right side of his head. Jimmy tried to get up, but Jake was on top of him with his hand covering Jimmy’s mouth. Jimmy struggled with all his strength but couldn’t get free. Garner released his hand for a second, but before Jimmy could scream, Garner jammed a rag into his mouth and, while holding it in place, slapped some tape across Jimmy’s face and around his head. Jimmy grunted. There was a loud knocking on the front door.

  “Hello! Anybody home?”

  Jimmy tried to break free, but Jake flipped him over onto his stomach and wrapped his ankles in tape. Bound hand and foot, Jimmy lay helpless on the floor. Garner got up and left the room. The door closed. Jimmy lay still, hurting in new places.

  He prayed that the men would rescue him.

  Time passed without sound. Then a single gunshot rang out. Another long period of silence followed. Jimmy shifted on the floor, but no position gave him any relief from the tight bands around his head, hands, and feet. The sides of his head ached from the repeated blows and slaps.

  The door to the room opened slowly. Jimmy strained to see the feet of the person or persons about to enter, but no shoes were in sight. He heard a voice.

  “They’re gone,” Jake said into a cell phone. “I had to run them off as trespassers with a shot in the air.”

  There was silence as Jake listened. Jimmy shut his eyes in despair. He didn’t feel like crying.

  “Squirrel hunters,” Jake said. “Deer season won’t be open for several weeks. They were toting shotguns and tried to argue with me that they had permission from the owner to hunt on this land. They may be right, so there’s going to have to be a change in our plans. I can’t wait until nighttime.”

  Jake kicked Jimmy in the ribs. A sharp pain shot through his side, and he winced.

  “Nah. I don’t think they heard him hollering, because they seemed more interested in arguing with me about hunting on the property than anything else.”

  Jake put his foot directly in front of Jimmy’s nose, then pulled it back.

  “No, I’m not going to do it here. It’s got to look like an accident. Otherwise, this thing will never go away.”

  Jake closed the cell phone, took out a cigarette, and lit it. He turned Jimmy onto his back with his foot and knelt down beside him.

  “Boy,” he said. “I would like to introduce your neck to the hot end of this cigarette.”

  Jake removed the cigarette from his mouth and blew smoke directly into Jimmy’s face. He held the orange end of the cigarette close to Jimmy’s throat. Jimmy tried to squirm away. Jake withdrew his hand.

  “But I can’t do that. I don’t want to leave any marks on you that don’t make sense. Are you still thirsty?”

  Jimmy lay still.

  “I bet you’re very thirsty. But don’t worry. In a little while, I promise you’ll have all the water you want. You’re about to go swimming.”

  Terror flashed across Jimmy’s face.

  “I thought that would get a reaction out of you,” Jake said. “I hope you like the deep end.”

  JAKE LEFT THE ROOM, AND SOMETHING IN JIMMY SNAPPED. His stomach was empty, but what little remained force
d its way up his throat in a foul tasting bile. Needlelike pain attacked his body in countless directions. He dragged himself to the mattress and rolled over on it. He tried to sit up but collapsed on his side. His fight, his will to live, was gone. All that remained was the wait for death. At least in that, there would be release from torment. Jimmy lay still. Time passed. Jake returned.

  “Resting?” he asked.

  Jake removed the tape from Jimmy’s ankles.

  “Let’s get going.”

  Jimmy didn’t move. Jake grabbed him by the shirt and forced him up, but Jimmy collapsed back onto the mattress. Jake slapped him across the cheek, but Jimmy didn’t respond.

  “Checking out on me?” Jake asked. “That will make everything that much easier.”

  Jake put Jimmy’s cap back on, then half carried, half dragged him out of the room. Without a blindfold, Jimmy could see the house. There was a small living room with a single couch. The rest of the room was bare. Jake propped him against the wall by the front door and looked outside.

  “No trespassers in sight,” he said.

  Jake shoved Jimmy across the porch. It was late afternoon. The sun dipped below the treetops of the woods surrounding the small house. The fresh air restored Jimmy, and he took a few steps on his own.

  “Feeling better?” Jake asked. “Just don’t get too frisky.”

  Jimmy saw Jake’s white pickup parked in the front yard. Jimmy’s bicycle was lying on its side in the truck bed. The sight of the bike, a reminder of his normal life, startled him. Jimmy tried to imagine riding the bike along the sidewalk near his house, but the thought broke down before he could follow it. Jake opened the door of the truck and pushed him inside.

  “Go back into the dark,” Jake said as he pulled a bandana from his pocket and wrapped it around Jimmy’s eyes.

  Jimmy slid onto the floorboard and leaned his head against the dash. Garner got in and started the engine. He turned the truck around and drove down the bumpy access road. Jimmy, unfeeling, stayed in the black world behind the blindfold. Jake turned on the radio in the middle of a silly song. The singer made a joke and laughed. Jake turned it off.

  They reached pavement, turned right, and accelerated.

  “Your swimming lesson will be at Webb’s Pond,” Garner said. “I saw in the paper a few weeks ago that your grandfather won second place in a fishing contest there. It’s a shame that he died the next day. The article mentioned that you went fishing with him. Is that right? If that’s right, nod your head.”