Billy Bragg

Jonathon William Bragg did not start out life trying to be a bad guy. Of course, not many people in the world are born mean. There’s been a few, Murdock recalled, one woman named Naomi Landers from up in Johnson County apparently never liked her parents or her siblings or the cat.

Billy Bragg wasn’t like that! He learned his hate in high school or there about. Someone called him a name, he took offense, a teen-age rumble started and 10 years later it ended when name calling got the better of him and this time he was bigger and stronger and had ten years to swallow his pride and the fight was over in about fifteen minutes with the bully’s head caved in and his brains on the floor and Bragg in the corner crying in his beer realizing at the last what he had done.

While the trial was ordinary the outcome was not. Bragg had pleaded guilty to the fighting and losing control and having 10 years of hatred unleashed but he did not plead guilty to manslaughter but to assault and battery, saying the death was not his intention or his fault. The coroner, the investigating detective, the court-appointed psychologist, felt otherwise. So did the jury.

Bragg changed his tune. He fired one attorney after another going into the appeal. He denounced his victim. He claimed his actions had been determined by God. The court was pondering a psychiatric review again and then, for any reason not known to the good folks of the town, he was let out on bond. He promised, he said, he promised, he promised, he promised, he wouldn’t leave town. And he didn’t. Instead he got himself a gun.

That was when Murdock found him, too. In the alley next to Murdock’s office. Johnny Murdock had been out late that night, late for him, at least, doing a bit of very close surveillance in an undisclosed back yard only to arrive to his office and find Billy Bragg waiting, loaded for bear, or at least loaded for Murdock.

Murdock had been on the defense team that could not get Bragg off and Bragg more than once swore his anger at Murdock and old Chester McClain, the lead attorney, but Chet was old and Bragg didn’t seem that was much of challenge.

What Murdock knew, though, and so did Chester McClain, was that Bragg was a bit different. They found by just plain luck that one time Bragg was eating at a local restaurant and for no apparent reason other than being altruistic (a word Bragg would not have used on himself) Bragg paid for the breakfast of an elderly couple who looked like they had seen a rough last few years. That didn’t seem to tie in with a young man who could erupt so quickly. Bragg’s landlady said the man was quiet, willing to help around the place, paid on time. He was polite.

He was polite. Which was sometimes, Murdock thought, an indicator of trouble.

And, Bragg drove one of his neighbors, an older man, to the grocery store seemingly whenever the old gent wanted to go, as if Bragg was willing to give up his time for the man. They weren’t related, the old boy was nice enough and had a pension but not much wealth, as far as Murdock could tell. Were these random acts of kindness. Bragg was always polite.

Until he wasn’t polite any more and when the warrant was issued for him because he violated his parole.

Bragg had a gun. Later it was discovered he’d purchased it from a private owner. Nothing fancy. A six-shot 38-caliber old-style police revolver and he only bought six bullets was not much of a weapon unless of course it was pointed at you.

Bragg’s politeness compelled him to call out to Murdock from the dark of the alley. Johnny Murdock about jumped out of skin.

“Hola, Murdock. You all right?”

It took Murdock a long heart-beat to recognize Bragg’s voice. In the next heart-beat he remembered that Bragg was armed.

“Billy, you going to shoot me down in the dark?”

“Of course not. You tried to help. Didn’t do much but you tried. You and old man McClain. You tried although I thought at times you didn’t try very hard, either.”

“We did what we could,” said Murdock.

“Right. I ‘spect you did. Just sometimes I think  it wasn’t very much. Didn’t have much to offer me.”

Murdock felt it was not the right time to explain to Bragg that his personality had left them few options. Nor was it probably the right time to express the idea that Murdock carried with him that Bragg might very well have been freed under supervision if the case had turned their way only slightly. But, it hadn’t.

“Look, Billy, there is the story going around you stole a gun. Don’t get yourself in to worse trouble. Let’s get down to the station and put this behind us.”

“Yeah, right, Murdock. No. I believe I can get behind all this with easier moves like why don’t you come done this alley with me.”

Murdock’s heart was beginning to pound ever harder if that was possible. Of all the alleys in town this was the darkest, for sure.

“Billy, what are you going to do? Huh? Something really awful? You kill me won’t get you any better off. The cops are looking for you. You make it tough on them and they’ll just respond worse.”

Magical interruption? Luck? A car pulled up to there end of the alley. Murdock could see it was Estep. When he turned his attention back to Bragg, he sensed Bragg had moved farther into the dark. Murdock held up his palm, indicating to Estep to stay where she was next to the car. Bragg had slipped further into the dark, unnoticed. Murdock ventured into the glow of the street light to stand by Estep.

“What’s up?” she said. The cop in her voice was demanding. “Is Bragg back in there?”

“Yeah. He’s looking for a fight, I think. With me.”

“Not going to allow that.”

“I know but about we can do is wait for daylight.”

“Won’t happen,” she said. “He’s not that kind.” She made police noises into the radio microphone. “Backup is on its way, Murdock. Let’s don’t do anything stupid.”

“I don’t he’s the kind to come out guns blazing, either. We’ll have to go get ‘em.”

“That’s not what I’ve heard,” said Estep. “He’s liable to do anything.”

“Murdock!” Bragg called from deep in the dark of the alleyway. “Murdock? You still out there?”

“Yeah, Billy, I’m here.”

“I’m a mixed up kind of guy, Murdock, I know that! At least you tried to help. I appreciate that. Some where along the way a screw came loose. You know what I mean? Faulty wiring finally broke down.” He laughed. “Is that what you educated people call a bad analogy? Faulty wiring breaking down. Like I’d rubbed off a spot of insulation and shorted myself. What a joke.”

“It’s not a joke,” said Murdock.

“On me, it is. Murdock?”

“Yeah, Billy. What?”

But, Billy Bragg didn’t answer. The hum of the city answered the silence. The cicada, which had not been bothered yet by the loud talk, screamed ever so louder. Taking a cue from the silence of the alley, Murdock’s imagination perked up at the tone of Bragg’s voice, at the instant recognition of what the boy was thinking. Murdock stepped away from the relative safety of Estep’s car and took two or three quick strides into the treacherous dark trap before Estep ordered him to wait.

“Billy?” Murdock’s voice disappeared into the empty of the dark alley. “Billy?”

There was one shot. It disturbed the dark and the reasonable quiet of this part of town. The cicada went quiet, too. Murdock froze in his tracks. A half-a-moment passed while Estep fished a flashlight out of the trunk of her car and they worked their way down the alley. Thirty or forty feet in, where there was a dumpster and broken furniture, in a doorway to one of the businesses out on Hamilton Street, they found Billy Bragg.

The cicada returned.

Billy Bragg lay sprawled in the dirt and trash of the brick path of the alley. He’d swallowed a bullet. While Estep was cop-cautious approaching Bragg’s body, Murdock leaned against the brick wall, disappointed and sick to his stomach. It had not needed to end this way. Whatever made Bragg tick was now lost and could not be undone or corrected. The finality of it all was ever so much more difficult to accept. Murdock wanted to argue with Bragg which took him a moment or two to realize that futility. He was angry at Bragg for not wanting or trying to correct his life. Murdock felt someone or something was a fault here but he wasn’t able to get to an answer.
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