Johnny Gets His Wings

Chapter 12

Officer Ken gave me a ride home. Once again, I was placed in the back seat like a criminal. But he told me not to take it personally. He claimed it was all about protocol.

"Where do you live?"

I said, "The Knight's Court Estate."

"Holy shit."

"You know it?"

"Yeah, I fucking know it. I'm always in that rat hole making drugs busts."

The Knight's Court Estate really wasn't an estate at all. It was a shitty apartment complex which was popular with the working poor. We rented a one-bedroom shoebox for $750 a month. I slept on the sofa in the living room, and my parents had the bedroom. But I never complained about the situation because I was never home. I went to school and participated in athletics. Plus I also had a part-time job at the local Walmart. I might have been the busiest teenager in the entire town.

I said, "You don't think I killed the colonel, do you?"

He said, "Are you fucking nuts? You were right there with me, you retard. It was a suicide."

"I don't mean it in that way."

He cracked his window and lit a cigarette. "So what you're really asking is if you're the straw that broke the camel's back." He took a puff and sighed. "Well, it certainly didn't help that you punched the poor guy in the head. Yet it wasn't you, kid. The colonel was made out of tougher stuff than that."

"Are you sure?"

"Huh?"

"Well, if he was as tough as you claim, his brains wouldn't be splattered over the walls."

He sighed heavily and took another drag from his Marlboro. "I guess you have a point. But his brains weren't splattered all over the wall. In fact, the bullet is still lodged in his head. There's no exit wound. For a suicide with a gun, it wasn't a sloppy affair."

"I guess that's a blessing."

"It certainly is for Darlene. All she was to do is throw away the bedspread and the mattress, and everything will be as good as new."

"I hope that the colonel went to the light. I'd hate to think that his spirit might soon haunt that beautiful house."

Officer Ken laughed out loud. "You really believe that superstitious bullshit? The colonel ain't going nowhere except a hole in the ground. This is all there is, kid. The stories about heaven and hell were made up to scare children and the weak-minded."

"How do you know?"

"I've been a soldier and a cop my entire life. I've seen the type of crap that you simply can't imagine. And the evidence is abundantly clear. This world is a complete fucking toilet. No god in his right mind would take credit for this corrupt outhouse of a planet."

"Damn. That's deep."

He nodded and took another puff. "I'm a lot smarter than I look."

Officer Ken pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex. Some guys were standing in front of one of the buildings drinking beer. He flashed his overhead lights, and they scurried away like cockroaches. Then he cut the engine before turning around to face me.

"Well, kid, the day definitely didn't go as planned. Nevertheless, I hope you learned something that might help you in the future."

"I did."

"And what would that be?"

"Don't join the military, and never marry a prostitute."

He laughed and laughed. And just as quickly, he started crying like a baby. The tears were running down his cheeks like a dam had exploded. I patted him on the shoulder and got out of the vehicle. Then I made my way toward my apartment.