Utah Saints (pt 2).

When Dixie come around that corner with that dead boy over his shoulder I’da like to shit myself. I haven’t seen him in gone three years now and the first time I lay eyes on him he done killed somebody. Jesus Christ, old Dixie says, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees me. You got to be kidding me. Ham Dyer.

Hell yeah, I say back to him, but what you got there, Dixieland?

He look like he don’t remember he even got it, jumping a little bit. It was an accident, he say. I didn’t meant it.

I known Sergeant Gamble for damn near seven years and whatever favor he needs from me he gets. I tell him we got to get rid of this guy and Dixie says we can’t just dump him we got to take him to the hospital, and I say Dixie you can’t think so good right now, this guy is dead as a doornail. I thump the dead guy on the head a couple of times to show him and Dixie yells like an explosion to leave him alone.

You can’t carry him around, though, I tell him. Somebody’s going to see. Let’s just put him up someplace for awhile until you can think on it.

Turns out there’s a busted up van in the back that’s perfect. I cover the guy up with a couple blankets, and Dixie’s better now but he keeps grapping at stuff like his hands are trying to run away from him. So who was he, I say, closing the doors quiet like. He must of rubbed you the wrong way pretty bad.

Dixie covers his face with them blown up hands, holding his breath for so long I thought he was gonna toss right over, and then he’s as normal as pie. Makes me shiver just a bit at how he was able to flip the switch like that. What are you doing here? he says. It’s fucking weird you popping up out of the blue like that. I never told you where I was going when I got out. I didn’t even know about here until I got here.

You left me your dad’s number, I tell him. I called him.

For two long seconds I’m sure that Dixie is going to kill me. Those hands wanted to do it real bad. When did you talk to my dad? he asks like bullets.

Three months ago, I tell him like I’m guessing. Dixie’s looking hard at me like he don’t trust me, and I guess he shouldn’t because the truth is I went to his dad’s place first, hoping Dixie was living with him. The old man was laid up in bed and wasn’t talking real straight. But I got him to tell me that Dixie was in Rain City.

I ask him if he lives around here somewhere and he just laughs and says he’s going in. Come on and drink with me, he says, as big as fucking Frankenstein I swear to go. And then you can get the fuck out of here.

I wait a minute before going after him. I guess I’m kind of scared a little bit, but you can’t blame me because Dixie does that to everybody. I was the only one in the whole squad who he’d even have anything to fucking do with.

I open the van door and lift the blanket. The guy’s eyes are open and holy shit that is something to see. Dead people are supposed to be scary and bad but not this guy. I reach in and lift up his eyelid so the streetlight can get it. That’s just so very pretty. He’s not real warm but that’s all right. I just want to see what he feels like, just want to hold him for a second and see them blue lights shine.