“Fred?… You’re Fred Bromley, right?”
“What?”
“C’mon, Fred. Don’t you remember me?”
It was another Saturday morning. Mel sat on the park bench as he did so often, weather permitting. He wasn’t wild about drizzle, for example. Then he stayed home.
Now, while tossing stale popcorn to the pigeons, he was mistaken for someone named…
“Who do you think I was?”
“Fred, remember me?… I’m Ralph Frampton.”
Mel was at a loss. He knew only a few people named Ralph but no Frampton.
“No, I’m not him. I’m not who you think…”
“That proves it, Fred. Only you would deny it… Look, I don’t mind what you did. Say, how long have you been out of the correctional facility?”
“Facility?”
“Sorry, Fred, I won’t blab it around.”
Looking from side to side, the man, in an inexpensive trench coat, lowered his voice.
“What I always wondered was—why’d you rob so many costume jewelry places, when you could’ve gone after the real thing?”
“Costume jewelry?”
“Yeah. With your poor taste, I mean, in clothes and things like that, why’d you go for the low class stuff? Didn’t you realize the police would suspect you immediately?”
The stranger was dismissive of Fred’s patched jacket, as well as his pop corn.
“But I’m not—”
“I know. You’re going to say you’re not responsible for half the jobs. It was your cousin Rocco.”
“Rocco?”
Clouds were gathering in the east. Mel thought of leaving. He could stop by Al’s Diner on his way home to have a slice of coconut custard pie, if any slices were left.
“You don’t mind if I sit down? It’s good to be in the fresh air, even if it’s on a crummy bench.”
“I don’t like the look of those clouds.”
Mel was about to excuse himself. They both gazed up to the heavens from which, it is said, comes all help.
“When you think of it, we’re pretty lucky, Fred. We’re breathing the fresh air. Imagine Rocco, on the inside… At least, I think he’s still there… You know, he told me that once he’s out, the first thing he’s going to do is come after you.”
“What?”
“He didn’t like serving time for being blamed for some of those places you actually robbed.”
He could almost see Rocco now, with his sneer intensified by his scar.
“I remember him saying: I’ll be watching you, Ralph. Because if I know you, you’ll lead me right to Fred…”