The camp doctor said that he died from the richness of the food he'd been eating.
Vincent cried for a whole day after Tree Rat died. He blamed himself, and I suppose he had a share of the blame. But I'll never forget thinking how those Germans had hurt that poor boy so terribly that he couldn't even take in anything good. That was why so many Jews back then understood the American Negro; in Europe the Jew had been a Negro for more than a thousand years.
Abe and Johnny came to America and had a liquor store in less than two years. They worked hard for what they got but there was just one thing wrong: Johnny was wild.
Jackson said, 'I don't know if he got like that in that hole in the wall or he was always like that. He said that he went crazy for a night, once, because him an' Abe had to cut the hair from they own wives' heads fo' they went to the gas chambers. Imagine that? Cuttin' yo' own wive's hair an' then sendin' her ta die? … Anyway, maybe he went crazy for the night an' now that's why he's so wild.'
'What you mean, wild?' I asked him.
'Just wild, Easy. One night I goes down there with this high school girl, Donna Frank, an' I'm lookin' to impress her wit' some liquor and Abe is already gone. So Johnny acts like I'm not even there an' he start tellin' her how pretty she is an' how he'd like t'give her sumpin'.'
'Yeah?'
'He give her five dollars an' had me stand at the register while he fuckin' her right there behind the counter!'
'You lyin'!'
'Naw, Easy, that boy gotta screw loose, couple of em.'
'So you go inta business then?'
'Shit no, that dude scared me. But I told Frank about it and he made the connection. You see, Frank had gone to Abe one time but Abe didn't want nuthin' t'do wit' no hijack. But Johnny love it, all he sells is hijack after Abe go home at night.'
'Frank delivers here regular?' I asked.
'Yeah.'
'Just like a delivery truck, huh?' I laughed. 'He drive up on Wednesday afternoon an' unload.'
'Us'ly it's Thursday,' Jackson said, but then he frowned.
It was just a hole-in-the-wall liquor store. They had one rack for cakes, potato chips, and bagged pork rinds in the middle of the floor. There was a long candy counter and behind that were the shelves of liquor and the cash register. At the back wall was a glass-door refrigerator where they had mixers and soda pop.
Johnny was a tall man with sandy hair and glassy brown eyes. There was a look on his face halfway between a smile and wonderment. He looked like a young boy who had already gone bad.
'Hiya, Johnny,' Jackson said. 'This here's my friends Easy an' Zeppo.'
Zeppo came twisting in behind us. Johnny's smile hardened a little when he saw Zeppo. Some people are afraid of palsy, maybe they're afraid they'll catch it.
'Good day, sirs,' he said to us.
'You gonna have to start givin' me a percent, Johnny, much business as I bring you. Easy gettin' ready fo'a party an' Zeppo need his milk ev'ry day.'
Johnny laughed, keeping his eyes on Zeppo. He asked, 'What do you need, Easy?'
'I need a case'a Jim Beam an' Jackson say you could get it a little cheaper than normal.'
'I can give it discount if you buy by the box.' His accent was heavy but he understood English well enough.
'What can you do for two cases?'
'Three dollars the bottle, anywhere else you pay four.'
'Yeah, that's good, but just a touch over my budget. You know I lost my job last week.'
'Oh, that's too bad,' Johnny said, and turned to me. 'Here it is your birthday and they throw you out.'
'Just a party. How 'bout two-seventy-five?'
He brought up his right hand rubbing the fingers. 'I'd be giving it to you for that, my friend. But I tell you what,' he said. 'Two cases at three dollars is fifty-four. I let you have them for fifty.'
I should have haggled for more but I was impatient to get out of there. I could tell Albright that Frank would be there Friday and on Thursday Frank and I would make a deal.
'Deal,' I said. 'Can I pick it up tomorrow?'
'Why can't we do business now?' he asked suspiciously.
'I ain't got no fifty dollars on me, man. I could get it by tomorrow.'
'I can't do it until Friday. I have another delivery Friday.'
'Why not tomorrow?' I asked just to throw him off.
'I can't sell all my whiskey to one man, Easy. Tomorrow I will get two cases but what if a customer comes in and wants Jim Beam? If I don't have it he goes to another store. Not good for business.'
We settled the deal with a ten-dollar deposit. I bought Zeppo a half-pint of Harpers and I gave Jackson a
