Ups and Downs

ROLLER COASTER

 

Through watery eyes, his slippery tongue, Casey mumbles, 'Whatcha ask me, Shorty? Didn't hear ya good.' I repeat myself, 'Where'd ya get that rat gut so early in the morning?' I am so close to him I can feel his smelly breath on my shoulder.  He still can't hear me. His answer is a blink and a 'Huh? Huh?'

 

The gray-haired lady sitting in front of us on the Buckline bus turns around and in a soft, sugary voice tells Casey to tell Mr. Shorty where he got the cheap whiskey so she can read in peace. 'Sure, Lady. The guy who lives in the tent behind my cardboard box won't need it any more. I went to give him a cup of black Joe as soon as the sun came up and found him staring at nothing, blood all over his body. The bottle was still on the table so I took it.' 'Did you call the police?' Shorty asks. 'No way. I got out of there fast. Want a swig before it's all gone?'

 

Sirens tighten the tension. They come from every direction, head towards ' Vagrants' Haven'. Mostly others call it, 'Hellsville' and try to  get it cleaned out. Posters are on fences, lamp posts, 'Vote for Kendall,' 'Vote for Johnson.' It isn't going to matter who wins. Nothing is going to change. 'Casey, you can be in big trouble. Break the bottle you're holding. Do it now!' If the police find it on you, they might think you killed your neighbor for that bottle.' They are going to have to find a killer and may decide to make you 'it.' Short does not convince his sort- of- pal- to do it and just leaves him standing there, watching for the M. E.  wagon to take away the bloody body.

 

T.V. camera cars follow the M.E. Only one daily newspaper sends a token reporter. She happens to be beautiful. She also happens to be the M.E.'s daughter. While he's used to it, he still holds his breath when he exams a stiff. This one is not quite cold yet. He writes the time of death on his chart to be about 4 a.m. There is no immediate cause of death. His daughter waits outside until her dad signals for the team to remove the body. Discussions, possibilities are tossed around like beans in a child's play bag. 'Maybe he hemorrhaged ?' she suggests and steps lightly as she leaves the tent and its horrid possibilities.

 

Shorty approaches her, looks her over carefully and makes a few suggestions. 'Do you think the dead man was robbed? Could he have choked on something? Maybe he had high blood pressure and his heart burst open.' What a dirty look he gets from her. 'What are you a doctor, a psycho, an idiot?' The man barely has a place to take a piss, doesn't even have a bed to sleep on and you think he might have been robbed?' Her notebook falls from her hands, which allows Shorty a second to retrieve it for her along with his apology.

 

'Miss M.E.'s daughter. I may know this man more than you and believed him when he told me a long time ago that he has a very wealthy family in Pittsburghh who would gladly give him a stash to get out of the place he occupies. Michael, his name was Michael, didn't tell me why but did say he hated his parents. They offered him a large sum of money to return to the living. Maybe he finally accepted and was robbed.'

 

That did it for her. Almost blindly she walked away ! Such nonsense. Still ?????? Still??????

 

Back to the office where she filed a 'what if' column that made it to page one. And Shorty, with a little urging, made it to her apartment the very next night.