Her Eyes Were Open

I served three years on a ten to fifteen stretch for armed robbery when the Governor of Ohio decided, for monetary reasons, to pardon a big group of nonviolent offenders. Somehow my shyster lawyer got me on the list and I have no idea how he convinced them that I was non-violent. Suddenly I was a free bird; back out in the civilian world with no parole and no supervision.

I thought that Ohio, me having a record there, wasn’t the best place for me to stay.  I kept in touch with Joe Johnson, a con I met in the joint when I was doing a stretch in Nevada.  He lived in Connecticut so I decided to head there. In Akron I picked up all the cash I had stashed away from the jobs I had done and hopped a bus to Bridgeport. Joe found me a room in a boarding house in Stratford, the next town over, and helped me find a job installing electric generators.  I figured I’d work at that a bit till I found something more to my liking and background. Joe helped me pick up an old car from a friend of his so I had wheels in my new location. Joe himself had found God and was constantly trying to get me to see the light in Jesus so after a while I steered clear of him. I’m the kind of guy though that always finds people to hang out with and get me where the action is. 

After settling in, I started to drink each evening in a nearby tavern. That’s where I met Dejean Bramble, a thin black guy with a big smile and a gold tooth in the front of his mouth. He was always joking and jiving and we struck up a conversation. He was a small-time grifter and pimp and when he found out I had done hard time he looked at me in awe. Being a con was impressive to him. Dejean and I started palling around together.  Coming from prison this was odd since in the joint there was no integration. The gangs ruled and even guys that tried to steer clear of trouble had to ally somewhat with one of the gangs. I’m big, I can handle myself and I look the part. I did some tough man contests back in Nevada and it left me a bit of a beat up face. The Aryan brotherhood, they wanted me. They’re a bunch of wackos but I fought alongside them once or twice in the yard so they watched my back.   The Crips and the Bloods were for the black guys and the Latin Kings for the Spanish. In the shower once, some black guy touched my ass. He was one of the toughest Bloods and I beat the shit out of him so the black guys steered clear of me.

Dejean came into the bar one night with a hot blonde girl about twenty and a guy, tall and skinny, about my height and probably the same age as the girl.  Dejean waved me over and introduced me.  

“Hey Roddie, I want you to meet these kids. I told them you’re a good guy and a good friend of mine.” 

The girl came toward me and held out her hand. In a soft, flirty voice she said, “Hi Roddie, I’m Jessie.”  Up close she was a stunner, with a body to die for, long wavy white blonde hair and big blue eyes that sparkled.  Her girlish voice, out of place in a tough bar like this, made me melt. She shook my hand formally like she was meeting someone in authority and it seemed odd.  “This is my boyfriend Matt,” and she pointed to the guy behind her. The boyfriend was a skinny prick with acne and he had the look of a junkie. She probably was a junkie also but she was such a knockout, I ignored that.

Those big blues of hers looked right into my eyes and she said in that sweet voice, “Dejean says you’re good people Roddy, and we should know you.” The twinkle in her eyes made everything else fade away and I just smiled and stared. I’m usually smooth with broads but with her I was shy and blurted out “Jessie you’re a honey and a half.”

“Roddy, you’re real good looking in a tough sort of way.” Her gaze seemed to be fixed onto my face.  She was hot and I wanted her, but she was way too young for me, although my brains were still located between my legs. 

I was flattered and surprised. “Jessie, you’re blowing up my ego. These days I’m mostly invisible to any woman under thirty.”  I laughed. 

She shook her head. “No Roddie you look good to me,” and she seemed like she meant it.

The boyfriend seemed angry and pulled her away.  They walked onto the little dance floor the bar had and Dejean sat down next to me. “Pretty nice, eh Roddie?” he said and smiled.  “I think she likes you. You can thank me later if you get anything.” He looked over at her dancing. “Great ass” he said and snickered. “She and that skinny-assed boyfriend has themselves an H-problem. I gives them little jobs to get them cash.” 

I sat back to drink some more and the boyfriend left the dance floor and walked over to me. He was rail thin, wearing a long sleeved shirt that hid the tracks on his beanstalk arms. He looked at me eye level.  “You want her?” he asked, “She likes you, so I’ll make it cheaper than normal; a hundred bucks. Take her to your place, bring her back here and I’ll pick her up later. “

I should have turned it down. Getting mixed up with a hot hooker is always trouble, but I glanced over and saw her looking at me. She was smiling the same as when we were talking and all I saw were sweet young blue eyes and that hot body. She was younger and better looking than I had been with in a very long time.  I nodded yes at her and she walked over. “Give me the hundred now,” the boyfriend said. 

“I’ll pay her,” I told him curtly, and then led Jessie out to my car.

On the short ride to my place she chattered away like a schoolgirl.  I knew she was a junkie but there seemed to be no hard edge to her. Jessie was either one of the world’s greatest actresses or just a sweetheart in a bad situation.  I’ve been around the block more than once but I couldn’t tell or maybe I didn’t want to know. There was an innocence about her that I liked immediately. 

She was wearing tight jeans and a lacy shirt that showed off her magnificent young chest and while she studied my face, I had trouble keeping my eyes off of her.  “You’ll see the whole package soon enough” she laughed, “keep your eyes on the road.”

At the rooming house I parked in the driveway and took her upstairs. I was supposed to tell the landlady if I had guests but usually she was asleep, and if she wasn’t, she just looked the other away if you brought someone in. 

Jessie was upbeat and talking away in that sweet girlish voice as I took her into my bedroom. I knew it was a fake situation because I knew I was paying her, but that didn’t change the fact that it felt good having her by my side. The warm feeling felt real as she held my hand. 

The guy who rented the room next to mine was a pill head and I saw him take guys into his room all the time. We heard him coughing and Jessie said “That’s McCann in there, right?”

“You know him?”  I asked. I was surprised. McCann was definitely gay so I couldn’t see him with Jessie. 

“Yes,” she answered. “He comes to the bowling alley in Milford and buys pills from Dejean. I brought him some stuff here once.  I think he’s gay. He turned down a girl Dejean got for him.”

She said everything matter-of-factly; buying pills, McCann gay, DeJean trying to set him up. Her manner and her sweet voice were endearing and I was getting hooked.

Once inside my tiny room, she started to unbutton her blouse. I didn’t want it like that, just sex and nothing else; I liked her and I wanted it to be something.  I put my hand on her arm to stop her from getting undressed, then pulled her over to me and kissed her. I could feel her body melting into my large frame. At first she was surprised, but then she kissed me back and I felt something special inside; perhaps a long forgotten memory from before my life got fucked up. Her mouth was soft and warm and her kisses seemed real. We stood kissing for quite a while and then, still dressed, I lay down with her on my bed.  Then we made love like lovers, slowly and passionately. 

When we finished, she cuddled next to my side in the space left on the bed. She put her head in the crook of my neck and it felt right; like she belonged there. The small bed was uncomfortable even with Jessie next to me, yet for those few moments it felt wonderful and natural having her beside me. 

She hugged me like it had all meant something. “It was really nice Roddie,” she told me in an almost whisper.

“You don’t have to say that Jessie. I enjoyed it though.”

“No I really mean it. You’re a nice man.” She kissed my neck.

We lay there for a while and then I stood up and looked at her. Her naked body was amazing, tight and alluring. “Jessie you are beautiful,” was all I could say to her.

She smiled a sweet schoolgirl smile and then said again “Roddie you are really a nice man. Did you really do hard time like Dejean said?” 

“I done a couple of stretches,” I told her, “It’s no big deal. You do the crime you have to do the time.”  I laughed.

“Wow, I know it’s tough in prison.” She seemed as awed by my record as Dejean. “My old boyfriend Tony is in Niatic. He got two years for dealing and he’s a mess.”

“I hope he survives the joint. It’s no picnic,” I told her, playing up the menace to impress her more.

She stood up and dressed and I stared at her like a teenager after his first piece of ass. It was stupid; she was just a hooker. I’ve had many women over the years, but I watched her like a young boy in love. I have a daughter out in Reno, haven’t seen her in ten years, but she’s probably older than Jessie. 

Jessie smiled at me the whole time she was dressing. I wanted to do something to show her that it had been special. I handed her a hundred and fifty dollars and she looked at it and shook her head. 

“No Roddie,” she said trying to hand the cash back to me,” Matt said it was only a hundred.” 

I pushed it back at her. “It was special Jessie. Keep the extra fifty. Don’t give it to Matt.”

She put the whole wad in her purse and we left. Back at the tavern she kissed me goodbye and drove off with the boyfriend. Dejean was sitting at the bar sipping a scotch and when I walked over he had a big grin, his gold tooth gleaming. “She wonderful ain’t she,” he laughed. “You jus’ been to heaven.” I couldn’t disagree. 

Jessie started to hang out with us in the tavern and she and I talked almost every night. She was complicated and the other guys in the bar shied away from her.  Her clients must have been from elsewhere; I never saw her leave with anyone but me. I took her twice more over the next two weeks.

She controlled her boyfriend like he was a dog. He tried to act tough but she was in charge and dragged that prick around like he was on a leash. Yet they weren’t hurting for cash so she must have been taking care of him.

A couple of weeks went by and then she said to me “I want you to meet somebody. I think he could use you and you’d be in with a hot crew.” From the bar she had me drive her and Matt to an office on North Avenue in Bridgeport. We walked in together. The sign on the door said “Costas Giannis, Attorney at Law.” I recognized the name; Dejean had tried to get me to meet Costas also, but I had never gotten around to it.

There was a waiting area with no secretary and Jessie led me right into the main office.  She didn’t knock. The boyfriend slinked away and stayed off to the side in the foyer. Costas was a fat guy with slicked down black hair, a puffy face and wearing a thousand dollar suit that he had sweated through.  He sat behind a big desk and another guy, short haired, muscular and hard looking sat next to him. Costas at first ignored me and looked at Jessie with big goo-goo eyes. She walked over, sat down on his lap and kissed him.  “Hi honey,” she cooed and then said, “This is the guy I mentioned Costas. I think he’d be perfect.” The fat man had his hand on Jessie’s delicious bubble butt and it was clear his mind wasn’t on meeting me. Jessie had him in her palms, just like the boyfriend, and just like me, whenever I was with her.  Eventually Costas asked Jessie to step aside and turned in my direction and smiled. “I’m Costas Giannis,” he said to me, holding out his hand. I shook it and he continued. “Jessie says that you’d like to work with me.” The other guy nodded silently. “She says you’re called Roddy. Where you from and what’s your last name?”

“Roddy Grant. I’m from here, there and everywhere; originally Nevada, but I done some time in Ohio.”

Costas nodded and turned toward the hard guy sitting next to him. “Well Roddy from here there and everywhere, this is Eddie Bratsenis, you’d be working with him. We need help from time to time; lost a crew member recently.”

I knew what he wanted and my rep as an ex-con was my in. “I may be available,” I told him. “Depends on what the job is.” 

“Nothing too hard,” Costas told me. “We don’t believe in trouble and the money is good. You’re not on parole or anything?”

“No I got a complete release in Ohio.” I liked the idea of new action and I enjoy working crews like this, so I told the fat man I’d work with them.  

“Eddie, show him the club upstairs,” Costas told Bratsenis. “You guys get to know each other.”

Bratsenis stood up and he was a bit shorter than I was. He led me up a back staircase and showed me into an upstairs office that had some couches, a refrigerator and a pool table. “If you want you can hang out here,” he told me. “When we have some work I’ll let you know. Keep your regular job, its better cover.” He didn’t say much and after ten minutes or so I left and went back to the bar. Jessie stayed behind. Costas had it bad for her.  

Dejean told me that Costas was connected and tied into all the local Greek wise guys. He was also tight with Angelo Barberi, who was in the Patriarca family from Providence, and ran most of the gambling in Stratford. “Man you get in with Costas, Roddy boy,” Dejean said, “you be in fat city. I do some selling for him occasionally.”

I stayed with the electric generator company but only went in occasionally; told them my back hurt. After a few days Bratsenis called me. The first job we did was easy but it was typical of the types of things we pulled off. We followed a truck into the Fairfield rest stop on 95 and watched as the trucker went into McDonalds. Bratsenis got into the truck, the keys were conveniently left there and drove off. We took the truck to the back of a closed used car lot in Milford and two guys off loaded it into a second truck. It had a shipment of computer tablets. Bratsenis then drove the original truck to another rest stop twenty miles north and left it there. I followed him and we drove back together. “Roddy” he said to me, “a piece a cake. No trouble.” He laughed.  Before we heisted the rig he handed me a thirty-eight. “Just in case of trouble.” Three days later, Bratsenis handed me a thousand bucks cash.

Costas put money out on the street and Eddie and I did some collecting for him. My size and beat up face came in handy in the collecting business. Eddie drove us to a jewelry shop in a nice strip mall in Westport. The jeweler was with two customers when we walked in but turned white as a ghost when he spotted Bratsenis.  Eddie silently motioned him to a back work area and he left the couple he was waiting on. I followed. 

“Things didn’t work out too well this week at the track, eh Solly?” Bratsenis said to the man, who was shivering and nodded his head. “You owe Costas four large and I want it now,” he said to the frightened jeweler who shrugged and pleaded. 

“I’ll get it to him.”  

Eddie pushed him against the wall. “Not good enough Solly. Maybe Costas will take a Christmas gift to tide him over.” He picked up a nice watch that sat on a workbench. “This a Rolex Solly?” 

“That’s worth more than I owe,” the man stammered. 

“Good,” Bratsenis said, “Costas will take it as payment.” We left the jeweler sitting there.  

Some weeks after I started with Costas’s crew Jessie called me and her voice seemed scared over the cell phone.  I really liked her but now I didn’t want to get too close. Costas could turn on me over her in a heartbeat and Bratsenis was dangerous. Dejean told me that he was a suspect in several local hits. 

 “You have to come out here quick, there’s some trouble,”  she said. 

She gave me an address in Greenfield Hills, a posh area in Fairfield, and I pulled through an iron gate into the driveway of a brick mansion.  Jessie answered the front door and led me inside. She was dressed like a million bucks but was agitated and took me quickly into a huge living room. An older man, well into his sixties, sat on a couch. His head was down and he was shaking. He didn’t look at me.  “What happened?” I asked her. She shrugged and said, “He thinks he’s having a heart attack. He couldn’t get it up so I gave him a viagra and then we smoked a joint. Then he started to freak out. He won’t let me call the hospital.”

I shook my head at her. “Gave an old man a joint and a Viagra; Jessie you should know better.” I walked over to the man and calmed him down. “You’ll be all right Mister, just lie down for a while, then call an ambulance.” He nodded his head and I took Jessie and left. 

On the ride back as usual she chattered away. The old man’s condition didn’t faze her and was forgotten.  “Nice place eh Roddie?” She said, “That old guy’s a judge, a big-timer. He calls me whenever the wife is away. She travels a lot and he lets his servants go so we’re alone.”

Two days later Costas called a meeting with Eddie and myself in the office. Jessie sat with the fat man and she spoke. “The judge has a safe with a lot of cash and jewels. It’s a pushover. I know the security codes. He likes taking me out but we go far away cause he’s afraid of being seen. He only calls when the wife is away and then he wants to be alone in the house. He’s a freak; likes to jack off watching me dance.  He gives the servants the evening off so we’re alone. I told Costas that if I take him away you guys can get into that safe easy. You’ll have plenty of time. That safe is fucking loaded.”

Everything seemed so easy. Bratsenis could handle a small safe, I could go in with him just for protection, and we got Louie Vacca to drive.  A week later Jessie said that it was a go; the judge was taking her to a restaurant in Mystic and we had the whole evening to do the job. We watched from the street as he and Jessie rode off. It was as easy as she said. Knowing the security codes we just walked in. I stood guard in the bedroom while Bratsenis went into a big walk-in closet and cracked the safe. The haul was amazing. The judge had a huge wad of cash, we counted it later at a hundred twenty-five large. I wondered why a judge had so much cash lying around but it was ours now. There was also a collection of jewelry; diamond cocktail rings, necklaces, broaches. We gave it to Costas. I bet it was worth more than the cash.   We reset the security codes and were out of the place in an hour and a half and back at Costas’s office by ten-thirty. He met with Bratsenis in the office and then Eddie handed me an envelope with ten large in it, a big haul for such an easy job.

A few days later Costas held a small celebration in his office. Jessie and Matt were there along with Bratsenis, Vacca and myself. Costas sent out for Chinese food. “Gentlemen”, Costas told us with a big smile across his fat face, “we’ve had a hell of a week. Let’s enjoy it.”  He held out his glass and we all drank up; top of the line Chivas. “I haven’t heard from any of my contacts,” he told us next. “I don’t think that Jessie’s judge even reported anything. He must have insurance.” He took another sip of the scotch then held up his glass again, “That’s his problem. Let’s drink to Jessie, she’s our hero.” 

During the party the heat in the office was blasting and Costas was sweating through his fancy suit. He had Jessie glued to his side, his hands roaming all over her body. Matt had his skinny ass off to one side and Jessie ordered him around like he was the hired help. “Hey Matt get me and Costas another drink. Hey Matt, a plate of food for us.” He snapped to it, doing everything she asked, but he was sulking. I might do anything for her also but I’d never be a dog for no broad. That skinny prick took it though.

Costas had us take it easy for a few weeks after the heist and I put in a several days at the generator company. There was no heat on us. I was drinking with Dejean when Bratsenis called my cell. “You better get your ass over here right away. It’s important.” 

At the Greek’s office Matt sat face down in the entryway and I walked past him into the main office. Costas sat behind his desk with Bratsenis to the side in a chair. Costas was crying and Bratsenis spoke up, “That scumbag strangled Jessie,” pointing to the outer foyer. Costas wept some more and I was stunned.  “She must have pushed him too far.” Eddie said. “She’s in a motel room in Milford.” 

Jessie had charmed me and just like the boyfriend and just like Costas I liked her a lot. Thinking of her lying dead in a motel room was like a kick in my gut. Still I stayed cool while Costas wept; only way to act in my world.

“What’s he doing here then?” I asked, pointing at the outer office.

“Prick thinks we have to protect him”, Bratsenis told me. “Says he knows too much. He’ll talk if he’s caught.”

Costas stopped weeping and his face took on a look of pure hatred; only a woman can bring on something like that. “You have to take care of him Eddie.” The menace in the fat man’s voice was clear.

Bratsenis walked to a closet behind Costas’s desk and took out a shoulder holster and a berretta. He put the holster on and turned to me. “Roddy you drive.”

I’ve never wacked anyone, although in Reno I watched Joe Murrell take out a snitch and helped him get rid of the body. I was uneasy walking out with Bratsenis but what could I do. I worked for Costas and something had to be done about Jessie’s death.

“Come on” Eddie said to Matt who was shaking. 

“Where are we going” Matt asked, his voice trembling.

 “Costas has a safe place up near Hartford. Keep you there till this blows over.  First you’re going to show me where you left her.”

“I’m not going back there.” Matt said terrified, “what if someone found her?” 

“You’ll go where I tell you,” Bratsenis told him as he dragged him to his feet and walked the skinny prick to the car. Eddie sat with him in the back and I drove to the motel in Milford. We cased the place and everything seemed clear. Matt took us into the room. Jessie lay on the bed, her neck purple where the scumbag choked her. Her skin was pasty white. Eddie checked the pulse in her neck and nodded that she was dead. I felt like throwing up.  I’ve seen dead bodies but she was special to me. Her eyes were wide open and I leaned over and closed them. Eddie took a bracelet off of her wrist and a diamond necklace from her neck. They were gifts from Costas. Eddie put the jewelry in his pocket and walked into the bathroom while Matt stood there sobbing, staring at the body. Before I knew what was happening, Eddie had a cloth over Matt’s face and the berretta, with a silencer, at his temple. A single shot, just a dull click from the berretta, and Matt fell to the floor. Eddie waited a few seconds then felt his pulse. He was dead. Eddie wiped the gun clean, took off the silencer and placed the piece in Matt’s hand. He left the light on and singled me to look outside. There was no one around and the two of us left. In the car he said “Murder suicide, that’s what they’ll see.” I thought it wouldn’t work but what could I say.

Back at Costas’s, Eddie handed the fat man the bracelet and necklace. Costas shook Bratsenis’s hand, started to cry and asked.  “That douchebag is taken care of, right?” Eddie nodded. 

I was freaked by taking Matt out. If Costas’s operation fell apart or if the Judge did some more checking I was looking at murder as well as robbery. But I was also upset over Jessie. I banged her only four times but we had talked so much that I felt real close to her. It started me thinking about my daughter Robin back in Nevada. There was never much between her mom Candy and me even though I knocked her up. We just palled around together and when I did a stretch for assault in Carson City, Candy pulled up roots and went to Reno. Robin had to be twenty-five now. 

I called the last number I had for Candy and she answered. “It’s Roddy,” I told her. “How you been?” 

She wasn’t pleasant. “What the fuck do you want; need some cash you deadbeat?” 

“No,” I told her, ``I been east the last few years and I’m coming back to Nevada. Was thinking about looking up Robin. How’s she doing?” 

“She’s doing fine, no thanks to you.” 

“Do you think she’ll see me?” 

“What the fuck for?” 

“I’m her dad. I just want to.” 

“Well if you get here, call again and I’ll let her decide.” Candy then hung up. 

I couldn’t tell Costas and Eddie that I was leaving.  They wouldn’t let me go, maybe even take me out because I knew too much. I just had to run; there was little chance they’d track me down. 

I packed what I could in a single suitcase and cleared out my bank account. Left the car at the rooming house, took a cab to the train station and caught a train to New York.  At Penn Station I jumped on a bus to Chicago. From there I’ll find my way to Reno. Bus travel is underrated, it’s comfortable, cheap and best of all pretty much anonymous. When the bus eventually got on Route 80 West I took out my one photo of Robin as a little girl and looked at it. She had big blue eyes and they stared out of the picture.  Over the years I hardly ever thought of her but I stared at the picture and it kept changing from Robin as a little girl to Jessie and then back to Robin. 

By Benjamin Fine

From: United States

Website: http://benfineauthor.com