“That was a really dumb thing to do if you were joking,” Ruggi said. “People are going to take it at face value.”
“It’ll all come out when it goes to trial,” Ricky replied confidently. “You’ll see it wasn’t half as bad as people make it.”
“Ricky, you really need to get clean.” Ruggi meant this both figuratively and literally.
“Why?” Ricky asked. “What’s the use? No one loves me. Why bother? The universe wants me like this. . . .”
Ruggi realized he wasn’t reaching Ricky and decided not to press that matter any further. He dropped Ricky off at the 7-Eleven in Kings Park, where Jimmy was waiting, and promised himself he would find a way to help Ricky. He drove back to the Place and talked to Suzi Strakhov about how concerned he was about Ricky’s health and behavior. The two discussed the possibility of getting him emergency housing and into a local rehab if they could get his parents involved. Ruggi got on the phone and called Dick Kasso.
“Unfortunately, the dealings with his father were very difficult,” he recalls. “He was very strict and demanding. Whenever we tried to talk to him about Ricky, he had all the answers that he needed—that Ricky was just a waste. . . .”
Once again, Tony was out of options. He and Suzi seemed to be the only people left in the world who believed in Ricky. Despite his many transgressions and failures, they always saw the good in him, holding on to their faith that with the right tools and opportunities, Ricky could become a happy and productive member of society.
That night Tony Ruggi locked up the Place and went home, completely unaware that any hope of salvation for Ricky would vanish the next day.
Chapter 29
THE EVENING OF JUNE 19, 1984, began on a high note. The school year was ending, and the New Park kids all headed downtown to hang out. There were beers to be chugged, pot to be smoked, acid to be taken, and laughs to be had. Meanwhile, Johnny Hayward was uptown at the local Sizzler steakhouse. He sat in his seat, impatiently fidgeting as he chewed his dinner. Flanked by his parents, he thought about his friends and the fun they were having. Johnny appreciated the meal, of course, but he would rather be downtown.
There was also the tension at the table. The last time the Hayward family went out to eat, Johnny had just been released from the hospital after a surprise allergic reaction to the caramel coloring in Johnnie Walker Red Label Scotch Whisky. When Johnny’s parents met him at the hospital, they found their son in such an animated state that the doctors warned of transferring him to the psychiatric ward. Upon hearing this, Johnny’s father gave his son one good punch upside the head, knocking him out cold.
As time went on, Johnny grew to appreciate that punch.
A few weeks had passed, and Johnny had agreed to his father’s order to “swear off the red stuff.” He had other vices, after all. Tonight he was going to see the Acid King. Ricky would have drugs, and maybe he would see Gary so the two could bury the hatchet. Enough time had gone by for Johnny to forgive him.
Gary was certainly looking for forgiveness that night. It was time to make everything right with the world. Nearly two months after reaching into his friend’s jacket pocket, Gary was finally going to pay Ricky the remaining twenty bucks for the stolen PCP. Granted, the money he was carrying was technically owed to Johnny, but Gary was worn and wearied from the ordeal.
Convinced his life was now getting back on track, he headed downtown. For the past couple of days he had been hiding out, thinking his life over. He was set on leaving Long Island and was seriously considering joining the army. However, before all that was to be done, Gary had a movie date with his new girlfriend, Grace Schinmann, and wanted to hang out with Ricky afterward. Still driven by a raging desire to fit in, Gary desperately wanted to repair their fractured friendship—and what harm would another night or two of partying do before leaving Northport for good?
On his way downtown, Gary stopped at Merrie Schaller’s house to say hi to a few people. There, he found Glen Wolf and their mutual friend Valerie MacKenna sitting in one of the bedrooms. The three exchanged pleasantries and lit a joint as Gary sat on the floor.
“So, what are you doing tonight, Gary?” Valerie asked.
“I’m meeting up with Ricky and then I’m going to the movies with Grace,” he replied.
“You know Ricky’s looking to kick your ass, right?” Glen said. “The word’s out, man.”
“It’s fine,” Gary replied with a chuckle, knowing he had twenty dollars in his pocket with Ricky’s name on it. “I’m all paid up.”
Valerie was worried. Something seemed off.
“You should hang with us instead, Gary,” she offered. “We’re all going to chill out in the New Park and play guitar. It’ll be a good time, man.”
“Nah,” he said. “I gotta find Ricky, then we’re gonna hang out.”
Glen and Valerie were silent. Gary sensed their apprehension.
“It’s okay, guys,” he said. “Seriously, it’ll be fine.”
“I still wouldn’t go if I were you,” Glen warned.
“I swear, it’s fine,” Gary said with a confident laugh.
“Well, at least walk with us downtown?” Valerie asked.
Gary agreed, and the three left Merrie’s for the New Park. Glen left Gary and Valerie once they hit Main Street. Glen’s girlfriend, Jane Allen, was waiting for him inside the Feed & Grain restaurant, and he told the two he would catch up with them later. When Gary arrived at the New Park, he didn’t immediately see Ricky, but he did find another familiar face—his friend Liz Testerman. Liz was a few years older than Gary, but she had always been kind to him, despite the occasional problems they had.
The two stood in the far corner of the park and talked about the television shows they’d watched as children. Liz and Gary laughed as they tried to remember the lyrics to the theme songs from Sesame Street and Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Once the duo agreed that they were recalling the words correctly, the sounds of Liz and Gary harmonizing began to drift across the harbor.
“Come and play, everything’s A-OK . . .”
“It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day . . .”
Up the block, Jane Allen loudly stormed out of the Feed & Grain. Her dinner date with Glen had turned into a heated argument, and she left him to go hang out in the New Park. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she avoided the group of kids hanging out inside the roundhouse and walked over to the wood forest playground to fix her makeup. She soon noticed someone approaching. It was Gary Lauwers. She was surprised to see him downtown. Everyone knew about the rift between him and Ricky, and most of Gary’s friends assumed he was still hiding.
“What’s wrong, Jane?” Gary asked.
“Just stupid shit with Glen,” Jane replied, brushing the dark red curls away from her eyes.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gary said, trying to comfort her. “It’ll all work out.”
“I’m not worried,” Jane replied. “I’m gonna go out with him again. I’m just pissed off.”
Jane chatted with Gary for a few more minutes before she walked over to the roundhouse to say hi to everyone. Ricky, along with Jimmy Troiano and Albert Quinones, had just shown up. The trio were celebrating Jimmy’s recent release from jail. Just a few days earlier, on June 15, he had been arrested for burglarizing a house on Main Street and was released the next day pending trial. The three noticed Jane as she walked over.
“Hey, Jane,” Ricky said. “You wanna buy some mesc?”
“Nah,” she replied. “I don’t do mesc.”
“Oh, c’mon!” Jimmy prodded, flashing a grin. “It’s fun! We’re on, like, ten hits each!”
The sharp-toothed salesman’s pitch didn’t work. Ricky quickly changed the subject.
“I feel dehydrated,” he said, staring off into the distance. “Do you know where the nearest pool is? I wanna go pool-hopping!”
Jane giggled. Ricky, lost in a state of euphoria, was obviously feeling the full effect of the microdots.
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“The only water I know close to here is the harbor, the marina, or Scudder Beach,” she replied.
Ricky didn’t feel like going to any of those spots, and instead asked Jane if she would walk over to the Northport Harbor Delicatessen and buy them some orange juice. Jane, still upset about her fight with Glen, decided she could use the short walk to calm down, and agreed. Jimmy handed her a dollar and she set off for the deli. Once there, Jane grabbed the biggest carton of Tropicana orange juice she could find.
Back at the New Park, Gary noticed a small group of people out of the corner of his eye. Seated on a bench near the park’s wooden gazebo were Ricky, Jimmy, and Albert. Gary walked over, grabbed a wad of bills from his pocket, and offered Ricky a twenty. Surprisingly, Ricky refused to take the cash, instead offering Gary a seat on the bench, along with an invitation to get high with him. Ricky opened his hand to reveal a stash of purple microdots. Gary happily accepted three.
Ricky, Jimmy, and Albert were already high by the time Gary showed up, but soon he was tripping along with them. Once the microdots kicked in, Gary ran off, laughing hysterically about phantom cats and giant sharks in the harbor. Excitedly zipping through the New Park, Gary bumped into Lion, who was standing in the parking lot.
“I saw cats, man!” Gary shouted.
“Sure!” Lion laughed.
“No, man,” Gary insisted. “There are cats all over the place!”
Gary eventually calmed down and told Lion how happy he was that he could finally show his face in Northport again.
“Well, I guess it’s safe for me to come back down here now,” he said. “I’m all paid off, I’m in good, it’s safe. I’m gonna get some beers and get fucked up.” Gary hugged Lion and walked away.
When Jane returned from the deli, Ricky, Jimmy, and Albert grew ecstatic at the sight of the large container of juice. The three hurriedly passed it around among themselves, quickly emptying the carton. Glen Wolf then ran up to the group, shouting, “Hey! There’s a keg party right over there! What are you assholes sitting here for?! Let’s everybody go!”
Ricky definitely wasn’t going. It was Randy Guethler’s birthday, and his friend Orville had decided to help him celebrate by ordering a few kegs for a party at his house. Ricky was still convinced it was Randy who had ratted him out to the cops, and wished him dead. Jane didn’t feel like going either, since Glen would be there and she wasn’t ready to forgive him. She stayed behind in the park, along with Ricky, Jimmy, Albert, and Gary—who was still excitedly racing around, vividly hallucinating. Most of the roundhouse crowd then departed for Orville’s. Jane hung around for a little while longer, talking to Ricky before she was picked up by a friend.
There were only a handful of people left in the New Park now. One of them was Matthew Carpenter, who had just arrived with his boom box, cranking tunes for the few who remained. The radio had a built-in tape player and was blasting Matthew’s cassette copy of Ozzy Osbourne’s Speak of the Devil album. When Matthew approached the roundhouse, Ricky said, “Hey, we’re going up to Aztakea. You wanna come?”
“I’m gonna stay behind for a bit,” Matthew replied. “I’ll meet you there later.”
“Is it cool if we bring your box?” Ricky asked.
Matthew said it was fine, and Ricky grabbed the silver General Electric AM/FM radio off the ground.
“Well,” Ricky said, “if you see any girls, tell them they should go up there if they wanna get fucked.”
Matthew laughed as he watched his friend walk away.
In another section of the park, Gary was sitting with his friend Dorothy, talking about his future.
“I’m going back to school,” he told her. “I got my act together. I paid my debts, I got a lot of friends, and I really care about myself. I don’t need drugs anymore. I’m gonna start over.”
Ricky approached the two, boom box in hand, with Jimmy and Albert following close behind. By now, Gary’s high was peaking and—much to Ricky’s annoyance—he began gushing about their repaired friendship.
“I’m happy we’re buds again, Rick,” Gary said.
“Yeah,” Ricky replied. “Because ‘buds’ totally steal from each other, right?”
Gary froze.
“Hey, I’m sorry, man—I really am.”
Suddenly Ricky lunged at Gary and grabbed him by the back of his neck.
Thinking quickly, Gary reached for the wad of bills in his pocket and again offered it to Ricky.
“Here, man! Here!”
Ricky stared at the crumpled bills in Gary’s shaking hand and laughed before shoving the boy away.
“Shut up,” he said with a reassuring smile.
Confused, Gary got back up to his feet. He assumed Ricky was just messing with him, and laughed along before saying good-bye to Dorothy and walking away.
Ricky, Jimmy, and Albert followed.
“Hey,” Ricky said, calling out to Gary. “Let’s go up to Aztakea and trip.”
Gary hesitated. He had plans with Grace and didn’t want to ditch her on what was supposed to be their first date. Glen’s warning also began to replay in his mind.
“I don’t know, man,” he replied sheepishly.
Ricky wasn’t fazed.
“Come on!” he implored. “We’ll go to Dunkin’ and get jelly donuts. My treat!”
Gary remained quiet and Ricky quickly realized why.
“I’m well over it, dude,” he assured him. “I’m not going to kick your ass.”
After a brief pause, Gary smiled. He enjoyed the camaraderie that came with Ricky’s newfound forgiveness. Grace would understand. After all, he wouldn’t have to hide anymore. She would be happy about that.
“Yeah!” he finally said.
Like a leaf caught in a windstorm, Gary was swept away by the trio as they faded farther and farther down Woodbine Avenue.
While Ricky, Gary, Jimmy, and Albert headed off in search of pastries and cigarettes, Matthew Carpenter stayed behind in the New Park, chatting with friends. A short while later he decided he wanted his radio back and walked toward Aztakea in search of the group. When he entered the woods, he saw no fire in the distance. The only sounds Matthew heard were the distant, echoing cracks of branches being broken, accompanied by vagabond drafts of wind whistling through the trees. He soon grew unsettled. The woods seemed unnaturally dark to him. With no adequate moonlight or nearby campfire to guide him, Matthew couldn’t see more than few inches in front of him, and nearly every advancing step brought a smack to his face from a dangling tree branch. The possibility of getting lost inside a pitch-black patch of unforgiving woods was quickly becoming very real. A voice inside Matthew’s head began to whisper, You shouldn’t be here. . . . He didn’t need further convincing. Leaving the darkness behind him, he turned around and ran back home.
Only minutes after Matthew left, Ricky, Gary, Jimmy, and Albert exited Dunkin’ Donuts, and the Acid King led his march to Aztakea. Walking out the door, Gary swallowed three more microdots given to him by Ricky. As the group made their way down the narrow trail, Ricky noticed three black crows circling overhead. He smiled, turned to his friends, and said, “Satan is with us. . . .”
* * *
Over on Tanager Lane, the Hayward family pulled into their driveway. Johnny went inside, grabbed a jacket, and walked out the front door. He made his way down Bellerose Avenue until he got a ride from a passing motorist, who dropped him off at the New Park. Johnny thanked the driver as he exited. The moon, now in its waning gibbous phase, glistened off the softly rolling sheets of pitch-black water that filled Northport Harbor. Johnny lit a smoke and scanned the park for any sight of Ricky. No luck. He did, however, see Lion.
“Hey, you seen Ricky?” Johnny asked.
“Yeah, a little bit ago,” Lion replied. “He was with Jimmy, Albert, and Gary. They all went up to the Dunkin’ Donuts.”
“Thanks, man.”
Johnny waved and set off toward 25A. It was a little over a mile away, but he kept telling himsel
f it would be worth the effort if he found Ricky. By the time Johnny Hayward finally made it to Dunkin’ Donuts, he didn’t see his friends sitting at any of the five small tables inside. His best guess was they had already left to go party at Aztakea. They were only half a mile away, so what would another ten-minute walk matter at this point? After all, he had already come this far.
Heading out the door, Johnny walked over to Franklin Street. He soon found the gravel path leading to Aztakea Woods. The road crunched with each footstep as Johnny inched farther and farther. Like Matthew Carpenter, he entered the opening trail of Aztakea expecting to quickly spot the glowing embers of a campfire in the distance. He saw nothing and called out to his friends.
“Ricky! Gary! It’s Johnny! Hello?!”
Johnny started to worry. Despite his anger toward Gary, he knew his best friend was with people who might be holding even worse grudges against him. Suddenly he heard strange noises in the distance. He couldn’t make out exactly what they were—to his ears, it was simply movement. He called out two more times, again receiving no answer. Finally Johnny decided to head back home. He had been trying to find everyone for a few hours by this point and didn’t feel like sticking around to see what was lurking within the woods.
Sometime later, three shadows exited Aztakea Woods.
The shadow of Gary Lauwers was not among them.
Part Four
THE DARK
This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grownups come to fetch us we’ll have fun.
—William Golding,
Lord of the Flies
Chapter 30
IT WAS QUIET. A CALM had settled over the harbor during the predawn hours, and most of the kids who had spent the previous evening partying were sitting around downtown when Ricky and Jimmy walked back.
While no one noticed Gary’s absence, his friend Dorothy did pick up on something out of the ordinary—Ricky’s outfit. He was still wearing the same jeans, but he had returned wearing a different shirt. Dorothy also noticed that Ricky was wet, as if he had recently taken a shower, but as she got closer to him, she realized that he still smelled of body odor.
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