THE SPOILS OF SUMMER
By
J. T. HOWELL
For an innovative high school student, summer vacation means a chance to make some easy money. He plans a summer crime spree and organizes his school chums as the Associates. Intoxicated by the success of their first score, the young hoodlum's crime wave snowballs beyond their ability. What was intended to be an exciting summer of fun and games hits the fan of reality, detouring the wanna-be gangsters to an unforeseen and catastrophic ending.
About The Author
J. T. HOWELL was born and raised in the inner city of Los Angeles, California. His infinite recollection of high school, student pranks, adventures, and misadventures, enables him to write compelling fictional accounts of both real, and imagined events. This novel brings memories to mind of an earlier time.
e-BOOK
Maverick Publishing
HOUSTON, TEXAS
The
SPOILS
of
SUMMER
By
J.
T. HOWELL
e-Book 2003
www.mittymax.com
Copyright 2002
THE SPOILS OF SUMMER
By
J. T. HOWELL
ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED
Copyright 2003
e-Book
Maverick Publishing
HOUSTON, TEXAS
THE SPOILS OF SUMMER
By
J. T. HOWELL
FICTION
Any resemblance of the characters in this book to persons living or dead is coincidental.
e-Book
THE SPOILS OF SUMMER
By
J. T. HOWELL
A
friend is not a fellow who is taken in by sham.
A
friend is one who knows your faults and doesn=t
give a damn!
From
the writings of
J.P. McEvoy
Jed opened his eyes and looked around the light-filled room. He was getting up early for change, without being called by his mother. It was the last day of high school before summer vacation and he had a lot of things to do today.
He listened to his mother talking to his
sister in the kitchen, their voices rising and falling as they argued about
something or other. Most of the time they argued about Jan=s staying out too late during the week. Since her graduation
from high school last year, Jan worked for the telephone company in Hunts Park.
She was saving her money so she could move away from home and be on her own for
a change. Jed thought that was a lot of nonsense. His sister had it made at
home: her mother did her laundry, gave her a place to sleep, fixed her meals
and it didn=t cost Jan a penny. She was really stupid
to want to move away from home.
Jed=s father had worked almost all his life
in an iron foundry; still, he never made a lot of money. That isn=t for me, Jed had thought to himself a hundred times. He had
to laugh at his father=s salaryCfive
hundred dollars a monthCeven though he was a foreman at the
plant. With a little luck and if things go as planned, Jed would make more than
that on just one “job.” That was the real reason why he had to get to school
early today and get things organized for Saturday night. He was going to steal
a car. His first contract!
Getting out of bed, he went into the
bathroom and took a shower. After drying off and carefully brushing his teeth,
Jed combed his hair, putting in an extra effort to make the customary
“duck-butt” just right. Returning to his bedroom, he put on his pants, a pair
of well-worn Levis and adjusted them just rightCone
inch cuffs all the way around the bottom of each pant leg. Next, he put on a
clean pair of white socks and slipped into his shoes with double built-up
soles. Completing his wardrobe, he put on a pressed maroon choker shirt and
buttoned it to the neck.
Now, Jed was ready for another day of
high school, his last day before summer vacation. But unknown to Jed, it would
be his last day of high school forever!
As he was finishing dressing, his mother
opened the bedroom door, looked in and started to say something, but Jed
interrupted her before she could speak.
“I=m up, mom, What=s for breakfast ?” he asked, surprising his mother.
“Well, aren=t
you the fancy one today,” she replied. “Breakfast is ready. Do you want me to
fix a lunch? Remember, school is out at noon today.”
“No, never mind about lunch. I=ll grab a sandwich or something at school if I get hungry,”
Jed said.
“There was something going on with him,”
Jed=s mother thought to herself as she
returned to the kitchen. “He never needs money or even asks for it anymore. He=s even buying all his own clothes now. He=s been getting more secretive by the day, but maybe that=s just part of a boy growing up.”
Following his mother into the kitchen,
Jed sat at the kitchen table and took a drink of milk that his mother had set
in front of him. It was cold and he shivered as he drank it.
“I=ll have some cold cereal and milk,” he
said to his mother. She had already anticipated him and set a bowl of Fruit
Loops in front of him.
“Ah, my favorite kind,” Jed said,
laughing at his mother.
“What are you laughing at?” she asked.
Then becoming serious, she said to Jed, “Your father wants to talk to you about
a summer job. He thinks that he can get you on at the foundry as a summer
replacement. Do you think you would like that? You could make some extra money
this summer to buy things, maybe even a car!”
“A car! Do you think dad will let me have
a car?” Jed asked. “I=ve already studied for the driver=s examination and all I need is more driving practice. All
the guys at school, well most of them anyway, will have their own cars in their
senior year. That would be really great!”
“You will have to talk to your father
about that, but I think it will be okay with him,” she said. “But only if you
are serious about taking the job at the foundry.”
His mother’s last words took the
enthusiasm out of him. He didn=t want to work in that damn foundry. It
was hot and dirty work, besides, he could make more money doing what he does
bestCstealing things! You name it and he could
get it for youCfor a price of course! Jed was just
beginning to make a “name” for himself and his “partners in crime.” This
summer, he hoped to make a lot of money in his new business. Jed liked to call
the members of his group the “Associates.” He thought the name had a nice ring
to it.
“Come on, mom,” Jed protested. “You know
I don=t want to work in the foundry. I can find
a job somewhere else for the summer. Help me out and talk to dad for me. Will
you? Please!”
“You=re always trying to weasel out of
something, aren=t you?” his sister, Jan, said as she
entered the kitchen. Jan was a well–developed, blue–eyed blonde and always had
an opinion on any subject, whether she was right or wrong. Dressed in a summer
business dress, she was ready to go to work and was in a good mood for a
change. It was Friday and payday at the telephone company, and she eagerly
looking forward to the weekend and her two days off from her job.
“Get off my back,” Jed said angrily. “You=re nothing but a pain in the butt. You know that, don=t you?”
“Don=t talk that way to your sister,” his
mother scolded. Turning to her daughter, she said, “Be nice to your brother for
a change. Okay?”
“He=s always trying to get out of things,”
Jan protested. “He knows you will fall for whatever he wants.”
Just then, a car pulled up in front of
the house and the driver honked the horn.
“There=s
Susie,” Jan said. “See you tonight. Bye.”
“Have a nice day,” her mother replied
Jan picked up her handbag and sweater,
waved to her mother and Jed, and ran out of the front door, letting it slam
against the doorframe as she always did.
Jan worked at the telephone company with
Susie, who gave her a ride to work every day. Susie had graduated from high
school a year ahead of Jan, but they had been friends for many years: in fact,
since grade school. Susie was going with Fred Lunsford, her high school
sweetheart, and they planned to be married soon. Susie=s parents were against the marriage, saying they were both
too young and that neither one o f then was ready for the responsibilities of
marriage. But, they thought different and planned to elope no matter what other
people said or thought.
Some of Jed=s
friends gossiped about Susie and said that she was “easy,” but none of them had
actually had sex with her, except for maybe Fred. Jed thought that she was all
right and just liked to flirt a lot.
But for now, Jed was more interested in
Fred Lunsford and his car. He was trying to interest Fred into driving him down
to Tijuana, Mexico, where he planned
to some buy illegal fireworks. Fred would be told about the fireworks, but Jed
wanted to buy some marijuana too, which Fred wouldn=t be told about, at least, until the last moment. That was
why tomorrow night was so important to Jed. He was going to steal a car, sell
it and with that money, he was planning to buy fireworks and the “pot,” which
he would sell for a profit to someone else. Jed didn=t know exactly to whom right now. He had to talk to Nick
Corrente, another associate, and see what customers he might have for him. Jed
knew he had to plan in this business and his plan was simple: line up a prospective
buyer, obtain the product, then turn it directly over to the buyer. Hopefully
doing it all on the same day and never holding the stolen goods for any long
period of time. Of course, everything
would have to be for cash.
“What are you thinking about?” his mother
asked. “It=s almost time to leave for school.”
Her voice broke his concentration of
thought and brought him back to the kitchen table and his breakfast.
“Oh, uh,” Jed muttered. “I was thinking
of school, that=s all.”
“Well, you better get a move on. You don=t want to be late the last day of school, do you?” she
asked.
Getting up from the kitchen table, Jed
looked at the clock on the kitchen wall. It was seven-fifteen. He had plenty of
time to get to school; besides, on the last day of school there were no real
classes. Classes consisted mostly of the teacher taking roll call, and then the
class was dismissed or the students were allowed to pass their “class
yearbooks” to their classmates to write remembrances of their high school days.
This was a complete waste of time for Jed. He didn=t even buy a class yearbook. He was saving his money to
invest in his illegal ventures this summer.
“Right, mom,” Jed said, as he placed his
breakfast dishes on the kitchen sink. “See you when I get home.”
Putting on his suede jacket, he looked at
himself in the hallway mirror, then he called to his mother, “See you later.”
“All right,” she replied from the kitchen
where she was washing the morning dishes. She waited to hear the slamming of
the front door, but it never came. Jed had closed it quietly on his way out of
the house. “He was such a thoughtful and considerate son,” she thought to
herself.
Crossing the lawn, he began walking down
the sidewalk toward Wilcox Avenue. He had to do some serious thinkingCsome really serious thinking! First, he had to talk to Jesse
Lopez. Jesse was a year younger than Jed, but he was an expert at “hot-wiring”
cars. Jed didn=t know where he learned how to do it, but
he was a real professional at it. Jesse had probably learned the “art” from his
uncle, who drove a produce truck from the Mexican border town of Mexicali to downtown Los Angeles twice a
week. His uncle was known to be a fairly good car thief in his own right.
Jed had to be sure that Jesse would be
available to hot-wire a car for him tomorrow night. He had gotten a “contract”
for a certain year carCa 1939 ChevroletCfrom a car mechanic in Garden City. He had found the car and
had seen it parked in front of a bar near his house every Saturday night for
the last three weekends, and he hoped it would be there tomorrow night. Jed
would have Jesse hot-wire the car for him, then he would drive it across the
Los Angeles River bridge and deliver it directly to his customerCJimmy “the Greek” Pugh. On the day that he planned to steal
the car, he would call the Greek and give him a time when he would arrive with
the stolen car. The Greek would leave a garage door open for Jed to drive the
hot car into without arousing any suspicious. He was to get a thousand dollars
for his part in the theft, then he would be on his way as if nothing had
happened.
There was a gas station two blocks from
the Greek=s garage and Jed wanted to be picked up
there by another associateCBob “No–Nose” Pruitt. No–Nose would drive
Jed home from Garden City after the heist. Also, No–Nose would be an excuse for
Jed, just in case someone asked!
Jesse was to get one hundred dollars for
his part in the job and No–Nose was to receive a tankful of gas for being a
pick up man. Jed would make almost nine hundred dollars for his part in the
heist. With this money, he planned to buy the fireworks and marijuana in
Mexico. He had to talk to both, Jesse and No–Nose, today for sure and be
certain that everything was Aon@ for tomorrow night. If things went right
today, as he hoped it would, he would call Jimmy “the Greek” Pugh later today
and let him know that everything was going as planned. Still, things could go
wrong. Jed had no way of knowing if the car he wanted to steal would be in
front of the bar tomorrow night! It was still a matter of luck. Jed had a busy
day ahead of him and it might be all for nothing!
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