12 minute read
A Mother’s Plea
A Mother’s Plea Conor Hoffman
The sound of high heels striking the cold tile floor echoed throughout the corridor of Wilmington Correctional Facility. The source of the deafening footsteps was a small, portly woman. She was sixty-seven years old, but she looked closer to eighty-seven. As she reached her destination, a guard leaned over to open the massive steel door at the end of the hallway and stood aside to allow her entrance. As she took in her surroundings, she looked in front of her and saw him.
He was about ten years younger than her. He was cleanshaven and completely bald. His gigantic six-footeight frame was not meant for the chair he rested upon, but nevertheless, after seeing the woman enter the room, his eyes lit up like pearls. He leaned up against the countertop, his face inches away from the hard, plastic window that separated them. The man kept his beaming eyes fixated on the woman as she nonchalantly set her purse down on her side of the counter, pulled out her chair, and took a seat. They locked eyes. Neither said a word until finally, the man spoke up.
“You’re here early.”
“I don’t like to keep people waiting. Besides, I want to make the most of the time I have with you today.”
The man’s already massive grin expanded even more. It was a sight that would unsettle even the hardest of people...he chuckled and looked down at his lap while composing himself. “It’s been a long time since anyone came to see me. Having nobody to talk to drives me crazy.”
The woman leaned in closer to the window. “You’re a murderer, Robert. Why should anyone want to visit someone like you?”
For the first time, Robert’s smile wavered. He slowly leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs as he did so. “Huh. Straight to the point, aren’t you? Okay, I can play that game.”
“This isn’t a game, Robert!” The woman sternly interjected. “You know why I’m here, and I want you to tell me what I want to know.”
Robert’s lip suddenly quivered and his eye twitched. He took a deep breath. “This is about Brian, isn’t it? You wanna know where I dumped him.”
“What have you got to lose? They’re putting you in the chair in a couple months.”
“I’m well aware of my current predicament, but I appreciate your concern,” Robert sneered. “If you really cared about your boy, why the hell did you wait this long to come see me? Don’t give me that sob story, Carol. I know your type too well.”
Carol leaned back in her chair as well but didn’t give any other indication of faltering. “I don’t expect you to understand me, Robert, but don’t judge
me. I had my reasons for waiting. Don’t pretend like you know me. You don’t.”
Robert suddenly laughed and surged forward. This time his face was just shy of touching the barrier, and his breath began fogging up the transparent wall that kept mother and killer in separate worlds. “Do you know how easily I could kill you if this thing wasn’t stopping me?” Robert said, flashing a hideous grin. Yet even now, Carol kept calm.
“I don’t care what you want to do to me,” Carol replied coldly. “Look at me, Robert. I’m an old, fat, ugly woman. My only kid is gone, and my husband passed away last September. Killing me would be doing me a favor.”
Robert’s gleeful gaze dissipated. He looked like a child who’d lost his favorite toy. “Aww, c’mon! You’re no fun. Aren’t you gonna cuss me out? Tell me how I’m gonna burn in hell? Call me all the names in the book? Give me something!”
Carol’s emotionless face slowly turned sullen. “It’s been almost twenty years, Robert. Any anger I’ve had for you is long gone. I just want my boy.” The guard entered and held the door open as he had before. “Alright, Mrs. Jacobson, your time’s up.”
Carol turned and looked over at the guard, nodded, and stood up. She looked back at Robert one more time. “Same time sound good to you?”
Robert didn’t say a word. Instead, he gave her a thumbs-up and exploded into a fit of giggles. “Ohhh this is gonna be great! You’re a fiiiiiine woman, Carol!” —
The next day, Carol composed herself and stepped back into the meeting room. “Good morning, Robert. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Pft...wanting to be formal, huh? What’s the matter? You realize being bitchy just makes me angry and gets you nowhere?”
Carol stared intently at the killer. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a long time...something that bothered me ever since I saw your face on the television...why did you do it? What made you want to kill Brian?”
“That’s a stupid question,” Robert spat.
Carol recoiled at the bluntness of his response but quickly recovered from the shock. “How? I don’t think it’s a stupid question.”
Robert sighed, reclining in his chair and planting his feet on the counter. “What made you decide to talk to me, Carol?”
“Because I wanted to. Because I felt like it had to be done.”
“And that’s why I killed Brian. There was no thinking about why. I wanted to kill the kid so I did. Picked him up off the highway after his car broke down and strangled him. No thought about it.”
Carol’s brows furrowed. “What kind of a person just decides to take a life? I can’t understand you.”
In a blur, Robert rose to his feet and slammed his bearlike fist on the table. “Do you think I give a shit what you do or don’t understand?!” The guard behind him stepped forward.
“I want to know you more, Robert. Can’t you just work with me a little? Please?” As much as she hated doing it, Carol gave a heart-melting smile. When she looked at the man who killed her son, she saw memories of a baby’s first steps, a first day at school, passing the
driving exam, adjusting a tie for prom night...a single tear went down her cheek. Robert saw this and he turned away with clenched fists, the veins in his arms bulging.
“We’re done here...” he whispered.
Carol scooted out of her chair, and made good her exit.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said as she strode out.
“Damn woman, so fucking stubborn...” —
“My old man used to kick my ass y’know? He was a hard old bastard.” Robert gave a weak chuckle as he sipped from the bottle of Coke the guard had given him. “I remember this one time he came home totally out of it. I could smell the booze on his breath a mile away. He was yelling at me to come downstairs and ‘take it like a man.’”
Carol said nothing. She simply nodded softly.
“Well anyway...” Robert set down the soda and took a puff from his cigarette, “I can still remember the look on my ma’s face. She just sat there at the table with a cup of coffee. Didn’t say nothing. Didn’t look at me. She just sat there like a fuckin’ zombie.”
“What did he use that night? Was it the fire poker?”
“Nah. He took this broken cue stick he’d picked up somewhere. That bastard knew how to take anything he found lying around and use it to hurt somebody. Violent son of a bitch he was.”
“And your mom always stayed out of it?”
“That’s right. She’d say she loved me when he wasn’t around...” Robert paused to put out the cigarette, “but the second things got hard she wouldn’t do jack.” He looked up the ceiling and blinked a few times. “In some ways I think she was worse than my father. At least when he said he’d kick my ass he’d do it. That woman was just full of hot air. Could never trust her to do anything without her turning tail and taking off when things got hard.”
“Is that what you think about me? Do you think I’m someone who just wants to take the easy way out?”
Robert gave a gentle smile, but then his brows narrowed and his expression went from friendly to combative. “I’ve given it a lot of thought. You say you wanna see your boy again, but you’ve only come to talk to me now that I’m gonna get the chair pretty soon. That’s the thing with you women: You’re all talk, but you jump ship at the first sign of trouble.”
Carol looked down at the floor. Suddenly, she looked back up with a powerful glare. “I’ve got something to show you. It’s a special surprise, and I think you’ll be very interested to see it.”
“Ohohoh that’s sweet. Is it a present? You gonna give me a cupcake so that I’ll give you what you want? Get the fuck outta here with that crap!”
The clacking of high heels became muffled as the door to the room finally slid closed. —
When the large metal door swung open the following morning, it wasn’t Carol who stepped through to greet Robert. Instead, one, two, then three burly men began to file inside. Each of them carried several large boxes, set them down on the floor, exited, and returned with more mysterious
packages. Then, as abruptly as they entered, all three movers left. It was only now Carol entered.
“I bet you’re wondering what’s going on. You probably have quite a few questions.”
“I’ll admit this is one crazy stunt you’ve pulled. You’ve got my attention.”
Carol walked over to one of the boxes. She tenderly placed her hand on the top before opening it up and having the guard assist her in dumping its contents onto the floor. It was full of wrapped presents. Once that box was empty, then another was dumped...then another...Pretty soon, the entire room was littered in gifts.
“What is this? You trying to play mind games or something? Trying to win me over with toys?”
“No, Robert. These are birthday presents for my son. For the ten years he was missing, the family pitched in to get him all this. We were hoping he’d come back someday to open them.”
Carol reached down to open one of the larger packages. It had the shape of a guitar case, and sure enough, out came a beautiful Gibson Les Paul. The thing must have cost a fortune.
“We got this the second year he was gone. We got donations from the community. Even got it signed by one of his favorite bands.”
Robert’s eye began to twitch furiously. He sucked in his breath and pointed a finger at Carol. “Ha! That’s really something, but you can’t fool me! Most of those are probably empty boxes. Maybe just random junk you taped paper over. I ain’t falling for it!”
“I figured you’d say that.” Carol opened the door, sticking her head out to peek around the corner. “You can bring it in now, George.”
At her command, one of the movers from earlier wheeled in a large cart. On it was a VCR, a single tape, and a small television.
“Jesus! Presents and movies? You really know how to treat a guy, don’t you?”
Carol silently waited for the mover to plug everything in and leave. Then, she inserted the tape and pressed the Play button.
A hum then emanated from the speakers. As the video played, it was clear by the grainy quality and lack of sound that this was decades old. The footage showed a family sitting around a table. They were dressed in party hats and wielded shakers, horns, and other accoutrements. A large “Happy Birthday!” banner hung over their heads and a cake decorated in a rainbow of lighted candles took the center stage. Robert could tell by the movement of everyone’s mouths that they were singing “Happy Birthday.” As they concluded, they all bent down, and in unison, blew out the candles. One woman in the footage caught Robert’s
“
eye. She was far younger and prettier here, but...
“That’s you, isn’t it? The lady right there?” Robert asked. His excitement was gone. He sounded defeated.
Carol only nodded. “Keep watching. There’s more.”
For the next ten minutes, Robert saw several identical clips. Family and friends gathered to sing in honor of their lost loved one. And in every scene, Carol remained front and center. Each time, she offered a wave and kiss to a son long dead even then.
The screen went black and Carol shut off the VCR. “That’s where it ends.”
Robert looked down at his interlocked hands, then back up at Carol as she continued staring. Robert’s movements became more frantic. His breathing got deeper and faster. Finally, his fluttering came to an anticlimactic halt.
“Guard...” he finally whispered. “Get me something to write with.”
The guard quickly did as he was told. Robert yanked the materials from his hands and furiously scribbled something before slipping it under the slot in the window to Carol’s side of the screen.
“Take this and get the hell away from me. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Carol hesitantly took the scrap of paper as if it were a rotten fruit or dead rodent before pocketing it and scurrying away. As she left, she thought she heard muffled sobs coming from Robert’s side of the room. —
Two weeks came and went before Carol finally got the call she’d been so anxiously expecting. She answered on the first ring. “Hello? Who’s this?”
“Hello, Mrs. Jacobson. I wanted to give you an update on those remains we found at the location you provided us.”
Carol didn’t say a word.
“The skeleton was found buried with articles of clothing matching those Brian was last seen wearing. The forensics team verified it was an adolescent Caucasian male, and now they’ve done tests with dental records. We’ve got a positive ID on your son.”
Carol began to shudder. Tears started to trickle, then cascade down her cheeks.
“Mrs. Jacobson? Are you still there?”
“Yes...I’m still here...I just need a moment to process this.”
“Take all the time you need. When you feel ready, please come down to the station and we’ll go about giving you possession of the remains. If there’s anything else you need from us, please let us know, okay?”
“Yes. Thank you.” Carol set the receiver down on the hook. Time froze, and she stood there in the center of the room. Then, Carol fell to her knees and sobbed. She sobbed for what seemed like years. Years of waiting, wondering, anxiously thinking about when Brian would finally come home to see her again. It was a long time coming, but now, Carol could be a mother once more.
