The Undoing of Langston Black
By T. Harrison
copyright © 2010 T. Harrison.
Cover art created by T. Harrison
Photo courtesy of Microsoft Windows Clip Art
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental. WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
I.
When Langston thinks of it now, it is hard for him to separate the truth from the lies. All he sees is her. He feels her go limp and soft under his hand. He sees her pretty eyes close slowly. He feels her give in. She was everything he ever wanted. Everything he ever imagined. He still doesn’t know how it all went so wrong.
A tall, lean female police officer strides into the interrogation room and takes the seat across from him. She adjusts her gun holster and leans forward on the table. Her wide, dark eyes look tired and a bit sad.
“I’m Sergeant Godmen and I’ll be taking your statement this evening.”
Langston takes a deep breath and looks at his hands. His knuckles are scraped and bruised. His wrists handcuffed to the reinforced steel table.
“You’ve been informed of your rights?”
“Yes,” he mutters quietly.
“And I understand you’ve waved your right to counsel?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, then, Mr. Black. I need you to tell me exactly what happened. From the beginning.”
From the beginning, he thinks to himself. He still isn’t sure what happened in the chaotic chain of events that brought him to this moment but, the beginning…the beginning stands out in his mind in vivid clarity.
“Her name was Sonrisa,” he begins after licking his lips. “In Spanish it means smile which is something she never does. Not often anyway. But when she does smile…it’s something to see.”
Langston presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, feeling desperation rise into in to his throat like a scream. There is no way out of this. He has to do the right thing. He has to tell the truth. “All I ever wanted to do was to make her smile…” he begins hesitantly. “To make her happy.”
Chapter One
Langston caught the ten o’ clock train to the Coca-Cola bottling plant in New Jersey almost every night. He worked third shift. Many young men of his age would complain that working third shift interfered with their night life. After all, he was heading to work when most of his friends were preparing to head out to bars and strip clubs but, Langston didn’t mind. Hanging out at bars and strip clubs was never really his thing. Besides, working third shift allowed him plenty of time to indulge in his hobby--photography. He also loved riding the train. The gentle rocking motion. The pseudo silence of the railcar click-clacking over the tracks. It soothed him in a way few things could.