“How long the guard give you?”
“Ten minutes, but I ain’t worried about him.”
“Ten minutes ain’t going to be long enough to tell you much. But I’ll tell you this. I go back to Fort Jackson and they’re gonna kill me soon as I step inside.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
Rufus shook his head. “I tell you, then they gonna just come after you.”
“I’m in here with you, ain’t I? That baby soldier out there is stupid, but he ain’t that stupid. He’s gonna put me down on the visitors’ roster. You know that.”
Rufus swallowed with difficulty. “I know, probably never should’ve got you to come on down here.”
“I’m here now. So start talking.”
Rufus thought about it for a minute. “Look, Josh, that letter from the Army, when I got it, I remembered everything that happened that night. I mean everything. It was like somebody shot it right into my head.”
“You talking about the girl?”
Rufus was already nodding. “Everything. I know why I did it. And the fact is, it wasn’t my fault.”
His brother looked at him skeptically. “Come on, now, Rufus, you did kill that little girl. No way around that.”
“Killing and meaning to kill’s two different things. Anyway, I got my lawyer from back then — ”
“You mean your piss-poor excuse for a lawyer.”
“You read the letter?”
“Sure I did. Came to my house, didn’t it? Guess that was the last civilian address the Army had for you. Big, dumb carcass, didn’t know it had you smack in one of its own damn prisons.”
“Well, I got Rider to file something for me. In court.”
“What’d he file?”
“A letter I wrote.”
“Letter? How’d you get it out?”
“Same way you got the letter from the Army in.”
Both men smiled.
Rufus said, “They got a printing operation inside the prison. The machinery’s hot and dirty, so the guards give you a little space. Let me work my magic.”
“So you think the Court’s gonna look at your case? I wouldn’t bet my life on it, little brother.”
“Don’t look like the Court’s gonna do nothing.”
“Well, gee, that’s a big-ass surprise.”
Rufus looked past his brother at the door. “When the guards coming back from the prison?”
“Boy said tomorrow morning.”
“Well, that means I got to get out of here tonight.”
“Woman who called me said you had some kind of heart problem. Look at you, all strapped to this crap. How far you think you can run?”
“How far you think I can run dead?”
“You really think they gonna try and kill you?”
“They don’t want this to come out. You said you read the letter from the Army.”
“Yep.”
“Well, I was never in the program they said I was.”
Josh eyed him hard. “How you mean?”
“Just what I said. Somebody put me in the records. They wanted me to look like I was in it, to cover up what they did to me. Why I killed that little girl. In case somebody checked, I reckon they had to do it. They thought I was going to be dead.”
Josh took this in slowly until the truth hit him. “Jesus Lord Almighty. Why would they do that shit to you?”
“You asking me that? They hated me. Thought I was the biggest screw-up in the world. Wanted me dead.”
“If I had known all that was happening, I sure as hell would’ve come back and kicked some butt.”
“You were busy trying to keep the VC from tearing you up. But I go back to prison now, they gonna make sure they get me this time.”
Josh looked at the door and then down at his brother’s restraints.
“I need your help to do this, Josh.”
“You’re damn right you do, Rufus.”
“You ain’t gotta help me. You can turn and walk straight out of here. I still love you. You stood by me all these years. What I’m asking ain’t fair, I know that. You worked hard, you got yourself a good life. I’d understand.”
“Then you don’t know your brother.”
Rufus slowly reached out and took his brother’s hand. They gripped each other tightly, as though trying to give strength and resolve to one another for what lay ahead.