MurderVerse

Mom was sitting in front of her television, totally engrossed

An afternoon talk show burst from her ancient set

And she was absorbing every word.

"This is interesting, Johnny." She said without looking up

"Whatever, ma"

"Sit John, join me for a bit of enlightenment."

"I heard scandalous content has been known to damage these older sets."

"Just sit." She moaned

I sat.

***

The Line-Up

There's the Show Host who claims to have a Ph.D. in psychology but

was actually discovered working as a bouncer outside a Manhattan

nightclub; this according to People Magazine

Three Guests: all men

First, the Victim, the one with the story to tell

Second, the Author, who along with the victim wrote the tell-all book

Third, the Expert, a criminology prof from a major university.

The Studio Audience, Women, probably housewives, capable of showing

sympathy, outrage, or curiosity depending on which buttons the Show Host

decides to push

"Isn't this man courageous for exposing this horrible truth?"

Thunderous applause

He plays his audience like a fiddle

And last but not least the long-suffering Wife sits with the audience

The woman who stands by her man through thick and thin

Through crime and punishment

Through 1000 editorial 'edits' that skew truth in favor of

sensationalism

Bestsellerism.

The Wife gets the biggest round of applause

"She'll probably be found dead along with her old man when this show is

over."

"Quiet, Johnny, let me watch."

***

The Subject: Grooming Young Boys For A Life of Crime

Now, I'm glued.

The Host: You have exposed this deep dark secret that organized crime

would like to keep under wraps.

The Victim: Correct. I was approached by an old man in my neighborhood

who asked if I would pick up his brother at the airport and drop him at a

hotel on Clearwater Beach

The Host: How old were you at this time?

The Victim: 16. I had just passed my driver's test.

The Host: How much money were you paid?

The Victim: Two hundred at first but after three years I was making five

hundred per trip.

The Host: How many trips in total?

The Victim: At first like one or two a month and by the time I was 19 it was

three or four a week, both two and from the airport

The Host: And it was always the same guy?

The Victim: Yeah.

The Host: Did this man have a name?

The Victim: I called him John because it was easy to remember.

The Host: But that wasn't really his name, was it?

The Victim: No it wasn't.

The Host: After a short commercial break we'll come back and reveal who

John actually is.

During the break, my mother turns to me

"Is that what Maxine did to you?"

"Did what, ma?"

"Prepared you for a life of crime."

"Do I look like I'm living a life of crime?"

"You sleep all day, your out all night.

"I'm my own boss, ma, c'mon."

"Boss of what?"

"You know what I do, I'm a consultant for ACE* plumbing."

"Do consultants always get paid with large amounts of cash like

you keep in the box under your bed?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. All that cash you keep under

your bed. In the box."

"Don't know what you're talking about, ma."

"If it's not yours, I'll take it. Your father probably left it."

"Ma, the show's coming back on....."

Show Host: Okay, we're back.

SH turns to the 'expert,' the criminology prof.

Show Host: Dr, what are we seeing here?

The Expert: It's getting harder for large organized crime entities to recruit

new members

Show Host: Explain, help us understand

The Expert: The RICO laws landed on the mob with both feet, guys were

going away for longer and longer periods of time. The mob wasn't

attracting new talent as it did during the fifties, sixties, and seventies

Show Host: And how did they solve this problem?

The Expert: Young men are targeted and befriended, usually by a trusted

neighbor, in most cases a retired senior citizen whose job it is to find little

chores for the young man to do.

Show Host turns to The Victim

Show Host: Is that how it worked for you?

The Victim: Yeah he was my next-door neighbor so I thought nothing of it

when he started asking me to do favors for him.

Show Host: Did your parents get suspicious?

The Victim: No because he made friends with them first. He made sure

mom and dad gave their permission before I did anything.

Show Host turns to the author

Show Host: You did some in-depth research on this subject and found

some interesting, and shocking things

The Author: Yes. This idea of soft recruitment wasn't invented by the mob

Show Host: By who, then?

The Author: Two sociologists working within the prison system came up

with the idea of a 'soft recruitment'

Show Host: Soft recruitment?

The Author: Becoming a young man's best friend and slowly guiding them

along a path that ends with the subject becoming fully involved in

criminal activity

Show host turns to the Expert

Show Host: You knew these guys, these sociologists?

The Expert: They were colleagues of mine; knew them well. These guys

spent years interviewing criminals of all types. They were experts on

criminal thought processes. At one point they asked me how they might use

all this combined criminal knowledge.

Show Host: And instead of using it for good they did what?

The Expert: They developed a plan to turn young men into super crooks.

Mother turns to me

"That's what she did to you."

"Mom I'm trying to watch this."

She turns back to the TV set.

SH turns to the victim

Show Host: And did you become a super-crook?

The Victim: By the time I was 19 I was transporting, not only, John but

large amounts of cash John brought with him. On the way to the hotel, we

would make stops where he met with all kinds of shady characters

Show Host: Was that scary, meeting all these 'shady characters' as you say

The Victim: Not at all. I was treated like a prince.

Show Host: So you enjoyed the attention you recieved from the people you

were meeting

The Victim: Absolutely

The Expert: At this stage in the grooming process he is a prince, he's in no

immediate danger because he's protected, in this case, by John.

The Victim: All the guys we met were very respectful of John and in

turn they showed me respect as well.

Show Host: Where was the turning point, from an innocent observer to

being a full-fledged participant in illegal activity?

The Victim: (Starts crying.) On my nineteenth birthday, I was introduced

to Joseph who put a gun in my hand and said we had some work to do. I

took my first life that night.

I was stunned, am I was watching myself?

"Does he bring back memories, John?"

I started to tremble and shake; tears ran down my face.

"I was wondering when the guilt was going to catch up with you."

"It's not guilt, it's fear, ma."

Ma went to the kitchen; comes back with a glass of water and a dish rag.

"Dry your eyes my little one."

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"In this life, wives, mothers, girlfriends, sisters, and daughters, we all

pretend not to know. We pretend you all have legit jobs like plumbing

consultants and garbage executives but we know, and we blame ourselves."

"Your not to blame ma."

"Somewhere along the way, I fell down on the job or you'd be a doctor, a

lawyer, or maybe even a cop.

"I wasn't born to do legit work."

"You and a chorus of thugs can sing that song all day long in the end you all

pay for your crimes."

"Well luckily I haven't made any deadly mistakes."

"Not any you know of at least."

You know what I'm talking about