A Fine Time to Leave (part II)

Like a good detective, I jotted down a few questions I wanted to ask Joe. Put them in a manila folder, with a bunch of other papers related to this case. I like to come armed with a case file that looks more substantive than it actually is. I positioned the chairs in a way so that Joe’s voice would carry directly to the microphone in the room. I placed my folder and keys at the far end of the table, relegating him to the seat closest to the door. That way, when I would tell him that he was free to leave anytime, he would believe it.

I didn’t have a strategy for this interview, because I was genuinely just curious. I wanted to know what was the impetus for relaunching his criminal career. So, I got the camera all set up, and the room ready to record. 5 o’clock came and went. At about 5:30, Joe called and told me that he was parked in the back. 

When I walked outside, I saw the man from the surveillance video, fidgeting, with his head darting side to side looking over each shoulder. He was nervous, but this is a small town, and I thought his response was likely paranoid or overblown. He was a caricature of himself. Before I started the interview, I could tell he was one of those Florida trailer park thugs. 

I opened the gate for him and shook his hand. 

“It’s nice to meet you in person.”

“Easy for you to say. Wish I could say the same,” he replied. 

I laughed. “Well, you wouldn’t be slinking in the back of a police department, if you didn’t do some dumb shit.”

“True, true. And I’m truly sorry for that.“

“You know, I think I might actually believe you. Let me pat you down real quick before we go inside. I’ve got to make sure you don’t have anything on you.”

“Understandable.”

Joe had nothing, but a lighter, cigarettes, a phone, and a wallet with six dollars.

“You’re square.” I told him.

As I escorted him inside, I continued talking. 

“I heard you do landscaping, but that handshake felt more like a stonework. Is that from doing hardscapes, or something else?”

“It’s mostly construction. The other guy does the landscaping stuff. I’m stonework, tiling, and mosaics.”

“Mosaics? Like backsplashes or something fancier?”

At this time, Joe sat in the seat I arranged for him, and I sat across from him.

Joe got his phone out, and started showing me some of his work. He had something to be proud of, which is more than I can say for most of the other folks I get to meet. Joe showed me a picture of a walk-in shower. The door was not yet installed, but the tile work on the longest wall of the shower was truly ornate: an impressionistic ocean view layered with navy blue, cyan, and lighter turquoise.

“I’m not gonna lie, Joe. That’s legit.”

“Thanks.”

“You’ve actually got talent and ability, so why are you…”

“I know. I don’t know. It just got to be so easy, and everything is so expensive. All my tools and materials are through the roof, and the people I’m building for don’t want to pay.”

“You know why everything is so expensive?”

He silently humored me.

“Because people keep stealing shit. You think Home Depot is just going to eat that cost: nope. The working man is always taxed when people break the law. He’s always taxed when his government decides to close down his business, and send everyone a check too. Only the government could cut us a check, and have it cost us three times as much in the future.”

“I never thought about that. I truly didn’t want to hurt anyone else’s business. I know it’s hard.”

“I believe you. That’s why we’re talking about this the way we are. That’s why you’re going to stroll out of here after we talk. I can tell you’re a good dude making bad calls.

“Thank you.”

“But, it doesn’t look like you’ve always been the man you are today…”

“That’s true. That’s true. I went through some pretty rough stuff. I hurt a lot of people, but that part of me is done. I just want to take care of my daughter.”

“How old is she?”

“She’s two. I finally got it good. My wife is so…”

Joe briskly inhaled and slowly sighed. He looked up at the ceiling. I let the silence linger for a bit, and watched his expression. In that moment, he briefly furrowed his brow, and then inhaled again, slowly this time–his face relaxed.

I spoke up, “They’re truly the only things that make this world worth it… Women and children. You couldn’t pay me enough money to protect and serve a world full of men. It’d be a graceless world.”

“Yes sir, graceless. I like that.”

“How long have you been with your wife?”

“Couple years.”

“And, after all the bullshit I’ve seen on your record, you’ve finally got it good?”

“That’s how it feels, anyways. I just want my daughter to come up right. I can’t have her thinking this kind of stuff is okay.”

“Joe, I know this is tough, but I promise you. I’m not a ‘gotcha detective.’ You walk me through what led you to sitting in this box with me today, and I will go to bat for you every step of the way. Now, I will hold you accountable, because you’re a damn man, but I will speak to your cooperation and character. Temptation gets everyone sooner or later, and on this side of the grave, sometimes we have to pay for our sins. But, I will walk with you as much as I can. Every time you voluntarily tell me the truth, you earn more respect, and I have more leverage in trying to talk your victims into accepting repayment instead of seeking charges, same with the DA. You are now in control of the kind of character to which I can attest. So, starting as early on as you want, how’d you end up in this box today?”