“Earth to farm boy. Tell me what she was like. I want to know!”
“Ah, she was sweet, real sweet. She promised to look after Bella for me. That’s all I need her to do. I’m going home soon. I can’t believe it,” I confessed to Errol.
“You deserve it. You’ve served your time. Don’t fuck it up and end up back here. I got another year to go. I’m trying to work on this appeal, but my lawyer is horseshit. That’s why I’m reading.” He held up the book to me, and I saw it was a legal handbook.
I frowned at him. “Backyard tactics? Think that will work?”
He lay back again on his bunk, gazing at the ceiling. “I mean, what the hell else am I supposed to do? I’m not going to just let it slide. This fuckface from cell block E is trying to scam me. We got a cigarette run going on, though. That’s what I got running right now to keep myself amused.”
I smirked lightly at him as I slipped into my bottom bunk. “You need me to get Austin involved?”
“Nah, I don’t need any heavy hitters right now. I got it covered. I made a nice bit of pocket change. Two grand in the last two weeks. Not bad for a two-bit hustler, huh?” Errol chuckled weirdly.
“Not bad at all, Errol. You still got your stash from the main robbery you did? Did they ever find it?” I asked quietly.
I sank into the lumpy mattress, working to get comfortable. My large frame didn’t fit so well on a single bed. My long legs hung off the end like a man in pants that are too short.
“Nah. Stupid cops. I got that stash waiting for me. I’m all set. Just have to make it through the year and get the fuck out of here.”
“How are you stashing that money? You better be careful in case they raid the cell.”
Errol cackled. “My guy, I got players still in the game on the outside. They’re stashing the money for me.”
I rested my hands behind my head and quizzed him. “How do you know they will keep it for you?”
“Because I have too much on them. If they double-cross me, I will make sure they get ten years apiece. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear.”
“What about you? Are you salty for taking the fall? You could have tattled on the Russians.”
“If I wanted to be shot at point-blank range, that would be a viable option.”
“You got a point there. They aren’t too friendly. I’ve had a few run-ins with them myself. I managed to outsmart them, though. Not so bright, those Russians. Big oafs, really.”
Errol and I had these enlightening prison conversations, and his bank robber stories kept me entertained. I even retained a few ideas from him. I would never forget when he gave me the rundown on prison etiquette when I first came in the cell. I smiled fondly at the memory.
“Number one, never hit the showers on Tuesday morning by yourself. You’re bound to meet a big hunk of burning love in there. There’s a standing arrangement,” he had told me. “Two, stay away from Frankie, Chase, Chester, and Raymond, the prison guards. Don’t test them. Otherwise, they will test you with their batons. Three, get in good with the old-timers. They’ll protect you if they choose to take you under their wing. Four, we got a cigarette run going, so if you need any, just let me know. I’m your man. All the rest, you learn on your own. Godspeed.”
His advice had never steered me wrong.
“It’s all good. When I get out…I got plans for Bella and me. It’s going to be a better life for us both.”
I visualized the trails I had yet to take her on beyond the farm and stopping at the brooks she used to love swimming in. My mother, for all her great qualities, wasn’t the one to do those things with Bella. She would teach her about growing crops and cooking. Bella would be free to roam, though. My mother didn’t hold her kids to her. She didn’t really need to. She knew all the mothers in the neighborhood and their kids. My mother was the quintessential farmer’s wife.
I let my thoughts drift. I ran my mind’s eye over the sensual-looking social worker’s legs. She might have had those pants on, but they were tight enough for me to see what she was working with. I bit my lip as I pictured all the things I could do with her. I was at half-mast just thinking about it. I would be at full mast if I were back home in my own space. Hell, I would indulge that fantasy with her.
That was another thing about being in jail. You had absolutely no privacy whatsoever, so jerking off while your cellmate was right above you was a no-no.
Thing is, I’d seen her before. The more I envisaged her face, the more I realized it. She’d been talking to another young guy a few months back. A visit. I only caught a glimpse of that long, thick ponytail that reminded me of a horse’s tail on the walk out.
A scuffling sound on the floor made me raise my head. I glanced sideways and saw that an envelope had been slid underneath the door. The bed creaked as I reached over and picked it up.
Errol didn’t hear anything, and the incessant humming that he liked to do kept ringing through the cell. I opened the envelope and slid out the paper.
Meet me in the yard tomorrow. Frank.
The vindication I sought was about to be served up on a platter. I hoped Frank would be able to point me in the right direction to Anna’s dealer.
