A Interesting Day of Souls

I know this will probably never be read or seen but I don’t care. I need to feel like, even though its my last moments, that I’ve accomplished something. I need to tell someone the truth, and I hope that this will reveal it. My name is Jack Herring. This is the only time you will have ever heard that name or will again. It all began on April 25, 1981. It was typical April showers that flowed from the sky like the tears of God. I was drenched from head to toe as rain pounded, hard onto the streets. It had been like that for days. Just lousy weather. I had just got out of the Clubhouse and I was walking down the city streets. I grabbed the sides of my trench and I headed home. It was a dark night. Not the night you would think as dark but truly dark but then again it was always dark in the City. I headed towards my apartment. It wasn’t much but it was home. A small hole in a hard town. I got to my apartment which was dimly lit under the streetlight. I opened the door and walked into my apartment. The peelin’ red wallpaper and the cockroaches scurrin’ into the walls. Felt like home. I took my fedora and trench and threw it onto my coat rack. I sunk into the ragged loveseat and lit a cigarette. Then took a glance at the newspaper. Apparently some queers had been coming down with rare diseases lately. Besides that the rich were getting richer, the poor were getting poorer. That was the life in the Big Apple. I put the butt out in the ashtray and closed my eyes. I dreamt of the time when I was a kid. I was never the most popular kid in school, but never took anything from anyone. I was a loner and that was the way I liked it. Until I met her. Her name was Evelyn Feyne and even in school, I knew she was the only dame for me.

“So you’re the new girl, Miss...”

“Feyne. Evelyn Feyne. And you’re Jack Herring.”

I still remember how her hand felt when we shook hands. It felt warm and kinetic.

“You know me.”

“Who doesn’t know the famous Mr. Jack Herring who broke the big Dope ring down in the Bronks. So what’s your angle?”

“Hey, I was just doing my job as a law abiding New Yorker.”

“You really expect me to believe that?”

“Did it work?”

“Well...let’s just say, you don’t strike me as the do-gooder type.”

“Alright, you got me. I got 500 bucks, a fake gold medal from the Mayor, and a cheap pickup line to use on the dames. So what’s your story?”

“I won the President’s Award for Educational Achievement.”

“Well, you're too smart for this school, that’s for sure. How’d you end up here?”

“Well, I’m an orphan and I move around between foster parents. My new foster parents live here so, yeah. But I like it that way, I like being alone. Independent. It makes me feel more free, more in control. Got a light?”

“Sure.”

I lit her cigerette and then I lit my own.

“Well, I’ll see you around...Legs.”

“Likewise, Gum-shoe.”

As I walked away, I saw a grifter making moves on her. I thought she might be in a fix, until she tied him to a chair with his necktie. Yeah, she was my kind of woman. She was smart and fiercely independent but I loved a challenge. Over the years, we became serious rivals. Somethings never change and now Evelyn hung around the Rache Club. Though it was little better than a dive,. Lots of power players hung around there and Eve was the moll for all of them. Evelyn had her pretty little fingers in every dirty game in town, which made her my best informant. I was just starting to relax when I got the call.

“Yeah, who is it?”

“It’s me. Eve.”

“Yeah, what do you want?”

“It’s Mouse. He’s in the hospital.”

Mouse. I was always at choosing chums but no one else got me into more trouble than Daniel “Mouse” Lerouso. Maybe I felt sorry for him but he was always the dependent type. He first got into drugs when we were kids and he never got off it. At first he was just a crackhead but when he started selling the stuff, he got five to twenty. I managed to get him bail on my own recommendation and what did he do. Get caught cold on a racketeering beat with a Drug Cartel. It was bad enough for my rep but then I had Internal Affairs all over me like a cheap suit. Never gave that goon the time of day again. I gave chumps three strikes and Mouse was on ten. I thought he was probably in the meat house cause he overdosed. But I had a feeling that something was different.

“Let me guess? Overdose.”

“Not this time, Jack. I can’t explain it on the phone. Just please come down.”

I knew this was serious because Eve was scared and she didn’t scare easy. Something was up and I knew that I had to find out what it was. I grabbed my trench and walked out the door. Sheets of icy rain and blistering wind pounded the streets so I flagged a cab down.

“Take me to the Ridgemont Hospital.”

“Alright, mack.”

We drove off and I was thinking, what could Mouse be in for besides an overdose? The more possibilities I thought of the more unlikely they got, so I just resigned myself to the truth that I won’t know till I know. I finally got to the meat house so I paid the cabby and walked towards the entrance. I could never get used to hospitals. Its like a private world full of contrast. Its always bright, white and clean but you only went there if somethings was the matter with you. Every time I went into the hospital, I got the creeps. That was probably pretty soft thinking but I’ll tell you one thing, I would rather die on the streets with a slug in my gut than in a hospital, being injected and experimented on by the quacks. I walked into the reception which was crowded Joes watching the tube. I headed towards the receptionist.

“Yeah, I’m Jack Herring. I’m a “friend” of Daniel Lerouso.”

“Yes, Mr. Herring. We’ve been expecting you. Mr. Lerouse is in room 205 on the Second Floor.”

“Thanks, doll.”
I walked into the elevator which was playing “Live and Let Die”. Ironic and I hated irony. Mouse was in the Emergency Wing and I was nervous in spite of myself. I guess a part of me was still a sucker for loyalty. I got out of the elevator and walked towards Room 205 . The hall was empty but not silent. The sounds of sneezing, coughing hurling and crying were like a sick tribute to the rainforest. I had to admit the noises were bugging me. No wonder most doctors were headcases. I heard bits of conversation too.

“A blood transfusion but that could...”

“Just do your job.”

Eve. She always was used to getting her way with things. I opened the door and walked in. She turned towards me.

“Jack,so you came. It’s about time. What took you so long, handsome?”

She was trying to talk smart with me but I saw the worry lines etched into her face.

“Traffic was murder. How’s Mouse?”

I walked towards the bed and saw him lying there. I’ve never seen Mouse sit still for a minute. Made the whole scene look even more twisted. I turned towards the doctor.

“What’s the matter with him, doc?”

“Well, in all honesty Mr. Herring, we don’t know. My prognosis is that Mr. Lerouso has Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia. How Mr.Lerouso could have contracted such a rare disease is beyond my comprehension.”

“And what are the effects of this bug ,Doc?”

“Well, the virus attacks tissue of the lungs, which in its earliest stages it’s characterized by shortness of breath. However, in Mr. Lerouso’s case, the virus has destroyed too much of the healthy lung tissue. In his current state, I would say he only has a month...if that.”

The Doc’s news hit me hard. He had close-calls but he always managed to weasel out of it. But I guess everybody's gotta bite the bullet sometime. I remembered the first I met Mouse. He was playing a good punching bag for the meatheads. He was a sap and I felt sorry for him, so I stepped in.

“What’s wrong Brent, all the fifth graders home sick today?”

Brent and his “brunos” turned towards me.

“It ain’t none of your business, Herring. Now go dust or you’re next.”

“I’m sure you need four of your goons to take on one “skin”?”

Brent threw Mouse to the concrete and walked towards me with blood still dripping off his knuckles.

“You’re gonna regret opening your yap, stiff.”

Soon I was surrounded by Brent and his muscle.

“Yeah Brent, get two more goons and we might have a fair fight.”

They all rushed at me at once. Predictable. I easily weaved through their attacks and then I cooled them off with some chin music. I was over easy. As I walked towards Mouse, I reached into Brents pocket and grabbed the cigarettes from his pocket. I reached down and helped Mouse up from the street.

“Jack.”

“Mouse.”

“Thanks for the help but I had em on the ropes.”

“Yeah, and those ropes were becoming a noose real quick.”

“I appreciate the help but why? You made some hard enemies with the upper crust.”

“If you want, I could just let you be their doormat and then the janitor can wipe you off the street in the morning.”

“No, it’s just.... no one ever done somethin’ like this for me.”

“Yeah, well those dopes were saps, so it was no skin of my back. But don’t make this a regular deal. I ain’t no guardian angel.”

“Yeah, sure. You want a light?”

Mouse took out small lighter from his pocket.

“Sure. Why not?”

It seemed like me and Mouse had drunk from the same bottle forever, so it was tough news. But the way his life was, he was going to a better place no matter which way you flipped the coin. At least there are no drugs where he was going. I took it bad but Eve took it the worst. Eve was a tough dame and she never liked showing her emotions, but tears were flowing down her cheeks that night. It was strange. No person with a working immune system should’ve been able to get that virus. I had a hunch that something screwy was going on here and I trusted my hunches.

“Doc, do you have Mouse’s medical records over the past six months.”

“Well, as a detective, I’m sure you realize that I can’t give you the medical records unless you have warrant.”

Hmmm, that was typical. Everyone wanted a piece in this City. I rolled my eyes and pulled 50 bucks from my pocket.

“Ah, yes. I think I have access to those records Mr. Herring.”

Then he walked out the room, grabbing something from the counter on the way out. After the Doc left, I walked towards Eve and put an arm on her shoulder. She wasn’t the emotional type but tears were flowing down her cheeks that night.

“It’s just... I knew he was in a fix. I just... wish I could’ve done somethin’ more.”

And there she was, looking defeated. Red hair swept across her face. Her face was like a book. A tragedy. I knew...I had to say something.

“Don’t be stupid. There was nothing you could have done. Mouse knew what he had coming the minute he popped his first pill. No use turning this into a sob story, we just gotta move on. I mean... that’s life. When you get thrown off the saddle...”

“You shoot the horse.”

I managed a smile but it felt like a grimace. Eve let Mouse’s hand go and reached into her purse. She pulled out a dog-eared piece of paper.

“This is from Mouse. It’s one of the only things he always has on him. Besides drugs, I mean. Now that he’s... you know. I thought you should have it.”

There it was an old black and white photo. Me, Eve, and Mouse sitting under the old oak. I remembered that oak. When we were kids, that oak seemed huge. We would always make bets on who could make to the top first.

“Alright, we all know the rules. On the count of three!”

“One.”
I remembered sweat peeling down my brow.

“Two.”
I remembered Eve pushing her bangs aside, her face clenched with purpose. Like it was life and death. She always was competitive.

“Three!”
Mouse ended the count and we all rushed to the oak. Our feet tore through the grass. The norm was that Mouse would trip after five seconds and it would be between me and Eve. But not that day. On that day, Mouse pelted past us like a bullet leaving the chamber. By the time we reached the tree, he was already at the middle of the Oak. Me and Eve tried to keep up but Mouse had already gotten to the lower branches. He looked like he just won the lottery until the branch broke. Snap! The sound of Mouse’s hopes getting doused with reality. He managed to hold onto one of the smaller branches but he lost the lead to Eve. Eve was right above him and then she kicked his branch. And he fell and failed. That girl didn’t know when to quit. Never did.

“I guess I win again!”

“No fair. You cheated!”

“I didn’t cheat. I had an opportunity and I took it. After all, there are only two kinds of people in this City. The wanters and the takers.”

I was done reminiscing, so I took the photo and shoved it into my pocket.

“That sure was a long time ago, wasn’t it Jack?”

“Yeah. A life ago.”

“Better times.”

“Happier times.”

“Eve, you need to find yourself a good man.”

“But I already have a good man.”

She moved up on me and I smelled her perfume. She always wore the same thing, Pyrrhic Victory. It had smelled intoxicating like lust and temptation. A bad combination for any man but I didn’t care. I was head of heels for this dame and right then my world consisted of her lips to her toes.Then the door opened. It was the Doc.

“Here are the medical records of Mr. Lerouso from the past six months.”

I looked over the records but the pieces of the puzzle weren’t fitting together. The records claim that Mouse had been going in regularly for years due to illness but the he supposedly caught pneumonia just two months ago. Things didn’t add up.

“What’s going on here, Doc? Why had Mouse been coming in since ‘79?”

“Well...Mr. Lerouso had been coming in for some time now to receive physical therapy. It had been nothing serious but it required quite a bit of time. Your friend was not very receptive to the process.”

Maybe it would’ve been a good excuse but the signs were like evidence confirming my convictions. His palms were sweaty, his hands kept twitching and he was avoiding eye contact. He was keeping something in the dark and I had let in some light.
“Now if you have any further inquiries, then I suggest you direct them at the management. Good day, Mr. Herring.”

I waited a minute or two and then walked towards the door.

“So you’re just gonna fade, handsome?”

“There’s some things I gotta do. I have a hunch that Mouse’s “pneumonia” might not be all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Alright, Jack, I’m heading home. Just remember if you find anything, you know my number.”

She then leaned in and gave me a parting gift on the lips. Those were the kind of gifts I liked. Short and sweet. But I was on the case right now and even a kiss from the Doll couldn’t shake my resolve. I guess there ain’t no off days for a flatfoot. I reached down and opened the door. As I walked down the hall, I became more suspicious of these “medical records”. I got to the elevator and headed down to the basement level. I needed to take a look at those records, whether they legally or otherwise. I only had two rules in this business. Rule one was to always look out for number one and rule two was to always trust your hunches. Those rules got me into big trouble with the Chief but even he couldn’t argue with the results. I took my hands out of my trench pockets as the elevator came to a screeching halt. The doors opened nice and slow but there were some “Bulls” down there, so I stuck to the walls and kept to the shadows. No use getting into a brawl if I didn't have to. I got to the Record Room and jimmied the lock. I couldn’t see a thing, so I shut the door and pulled out my flashlight. The file cabinets were alphabetical by last names so I located the H-P cabinet and pulled out the files. There a forest-worth of records in there but I finally managed to get Mouse’s. His records over the past few months were missing and the one’s that were there had a perfect health record. Mouse never had a perfect health record. The records had been tampered with, I needed to find out why.

END OF PART 1