Sparring Partners(53)

Cody backs away and leans on the picnic table next to Marvin. They watch the searchlights sweep the sky in the distance.

“What were your dreams, Marvin?”

“I don’t know. Playing baseball. I had good parents, still do, with lots of brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, one big family, happy most of the time. In that respect, I’m a lucky man.”

“You sure are.”

“Willie Mays was my hero and I dreamed of playing in the big leagues. My dad was a player, did three years in the minors, but that was before Jackie Robinson. He couldn’t make any money so he quit and came home. He taught me the game and I loved it.”

“How far did you go?”

Marvin finds this amusing. “Not far. In 1965 the White Sox drafted me in the forty-fifth round, which happened to be the last round, and they offered me two hundred dollars to sign.”

“Did you?”

“No. My dad said don’t do it. He knew I couldn’t make it in the bigs, too slow, and he didn’t want me to waste the next five years bouncing around the minors. He wanted me to go to college, but we couldn’t quite swing it.”

“He must have been a smart man.”

“Still is. I listen to him, off and on, and he still likes to give advice.”

“And your mom?”

“Oh, she’s still around. They’ve been married for fifty-something years. She likes to give advice too.”

Cody is too nervous to stay in one place. He walks to the fence and stares at the moon. “One time, I guess I was about twelve, me and Brian were in the woods and we were hungry, cold, it was wintertime, and we were scoping out houses to break into. It was night, just after dark, and we sneaked up behind this house at the edge of the woods, a new subdivision. We shinnied up a tree for a better look. We were like cats in the night, moved so quick. We looked down into the house. There was a big window near the kitchen, and there was this perfect little family all gathered around the table having dinner. Father, mother, three kids, one boy about my age. Eating, talking, laughing, behind them was a fire in the fireplace. I thought—What happened to me? Why am I up here in a tree, hungry and cold, and that kid has the perfect life? What went wrong, Marvin?”

“I don’t have an answer.”

“I know you don’t, Marvin, so just humor me, okay? My biological clock is ticking. I mean, really ticking.”

“We better get back inside. You got thirty-three minutes. The warden might catch us out here.”

“What’s he gonna do? Give me some demerits? Put me on probation?”

“Don’t know, but he can stick me over there in the general population with the riffraff.”

Cody laughs at this. “I guess life’s better here on death row.”

“I prefer it.”

“Thank you, Marvin, for this.” He waves at the moon. “Thank you for being nice to me. Some of those other guards are assholes.”

“I’ve always liked you, Cody, and I never felt like you deserved to be here.”

“Well, thank you, Marvin, that’s nice to hear now that we’re down to the wire.”

Vehicles approach on the road that leads to the central prison. It’s a caravan of sorts, with a police car in full blue-light mode leading three identical white vans. Another police car follows. They turn in to the parking lot near the front of death row and stop. In the distance, and too far away to hear what’s being said, the vans empty and the guards escort the people inside.

Cody and Marvin watch this, and when the people are out of view, Cody says, “Well, I guess the witnesses have arrived. The hour is drawing near.”

“You got that right.”

“Have you seen the witness list, Marvin?”

“I have.”

“So, who’s on it?”

“I can’t say.”

“Come on, Marvin. I think I’m entitled to know who’ll watch me die. For Pete’s sake.”

“Some of the family. The Bakers had three children.”

“Murray, Adam, and Estelle. Thank God they were not at home that night. I remember them from my trial. I even wrote letters to them but they never wrote back. Can’t really blame them.”

“Well, they’re here, along with a couple of the prosecutors, some cops, I think. I don’t know everybody on the list.”

“And no one on my side of the room.”

“That’s what you want, right?”

“I guess. You want to watch me die, Marvin?”

“The answer is still no.”

“Didn’t think so. Just wondering, Marvin, how will they feel when it’s over? Will they be relieved? Sad, maybe? Downright happy that I’m gone? I don’t know. What do you think?”

“Don’t know. They surely want to see you die, else they wouldn’t be here.”

“Well, I’ll give ’em their money’s worth, me and the warden.” Cody paces a few steps and keeps looking toward the Gas House. “You know, Marvin, I do feel sorry for them. They lost their parents and they were good people and all that, but I swear I didn’t kill anybody.”

“I know.”

“I even told Brian to put the gun away.”

“One time, years ago, I was talking to your lawyer, Jack. I like that guy. He told me about your case, said you didn’t kill those people, said it was your brother who did all the shooting.”