The Room (2 page)

To the Editor and Publisher:

Gentlemen:

I would like to bring to your attention, and the public at large, a condition that exists in this State. Actually, I should say I feel that it is my duty and obligation to bring this situation –
no
– flagrant situation to the attention, and conscience, of the people.

There exists –
no. lets see

We are living in the midst of a Police State, a creeping neo-fascism. Wherever you go, whatever you do, you are followed by the eyes of the State in the uniform and guise of the police.

yeah, thats good, that should hit them real hard
.

Naturally, the average person is unfamiliar with the many and various laws in existence. As a matter of fact there are so many laws still on the books, some hundreds of years old, that even the members of the legal profession, including the judges on the bench, cannot possibly be familiar with all of them. For example –
no
– e.g.; how many people know it is against the law to spit on the sidewalk. And this is not the only ridiculous –
no
– the only inane law still on the books. There are literally hundreds equally as asinine. And why are such laws allowed to exist? I/ll tell you why. To provide the tools (the police) of this Police State the means with which to harass its citizens at will. They know
that it is impossible for any citizen, no matter how law abiding, to walk the streets 5 minutes without breaking a law of some kind.

Of course there are those who will say that such — archaic laws will never be enforced. Let me here and now assure you that such is not the case. The average cop is vindictive and will not hesitate to use his authority and position to avenge a real or imagined grievance. Be subjected to a cops animosity and park a few inches from the curb; or drop a cigarette butt on the sidewalk and see what happens

yeah, youre damn right they will
.

Or suppose you are falsely arrested and you are able to prove it in court. Just see what happens then. Just see how they dog your every step just waiting for you to commit some sort of infraction of the law.
yeah, the bastards
. And it can be some obscure health law written in the days of sailing ships. They will continue to hound you and lock you up (knowing, of course, you will be released) until you are ready to have a nervous breakdown. And another thing – how many times can you call your employer and tell him you will not be at work that day because you are in jail. Just how long do you think you will have your job. And even if they have no right to lock you up, how many people can afford to continually retain a lawyer.

This too the police are aware — cognizant of. They know no individual can withstand their organized pressure. They have the power of the State behind them.

It is time for the people of this State to be awakened to the real and potential danger surrounding them. If something is not done soon to retard the growth of this fascistic cancer we may all be awakened some night to the sound of axes chopping down our doors and Storm Troopers will be dragging us out of our beds.

I know this to be true as I am one of the victims of this conspiracy.

yeah, thats a good idea
.

This letter was written with great danger both to me and the individual who smuggled it out. For that reason I dare not sign my name or even mention where I am incarcerated.

He reread his letter, nodding with self-satisfaction as he emphasized particular words and lines.

That should do it. That should really stir something up. Theyll probably try to shut me up somehow, but I/ll be damned if they will. I dont care what they try. They can beat me all they want, and keep me in the hole as long as they want, but I wont break. Theyll never break me. Theyll have to kill me to keep
me
quiet.

And after the letter is published they wouldnt dare kill me. With that newspaper behind me theyll be afraid to put a mark on me no less kill me. The publisher will probably insist that they release me. Even if they raise my bail
they
will be able to bail me out. Be no trouble at all with
their
money and influence.
They
can even go to the governor. Theyll go to the governor eventually anyway. Therell be an investigation by the legislature and then the entire country – hell, the whole
world
– will know. Then theyll be sorry they locked me up. Theyll regret they fucked with me. I just hope they dont drop dead from fright or some damn thing. I want them all to live to regret it.

His door clanged open and the guard told him he had visitors. Smiling smugly he adjusted and smoothed his clothes as he followed the guard to the visiting room. He was led to a stool on the prisoners side of the partition. The room was empty except for the guard, two well-dressed men, and a captain. When the guard left the captain turned to him. This is Mr Donald Preston, publisher of the Press, and Mr Stacey Lowry, the attorney. They nodded to each other over the partition. As you know, it isnt regular visiting hours, but im making an exception in this case. The captain smiled at all of them before leaving.

He looked at the captains back, sneering. Exception. He knows damn well a lawyer can come anytime. He waited a few more seconds, until the door closed behind the captain, before speaking to the two men.

I see you got my letter. Yes. It was delivered by your friend last night and my editor called me immediately. I immediately called Stacey – Mr Lowry – and made an appointment to get here the first thing this morning.

Well, I am certainly glad you got here as fast as you did. I was not sure if he had been able to smuggle the letter out or not. I was afraid he might have had to destroy it. Or even been caught with it. It is a relief to know he made it all right, smiling briefly before resuming his look of serious intent.

Has anyone indicated, in any way, that they are aware of, or suspect, the fact that you smuggled a letter from here.

He looked at Stacey Lowry, wanting to convey, in some way, the fact that he was aware of his reputation as one of the finest criminal lawyers in the country, if not
the
finest. No sir. I am certain no one even suspected. We were extremely careful. And too, I do not think the captain would have been so unconcerned.

Probably not, but you cannot be too certain about that.

I hope you did not have too much trouble reading my letter. Well, my editor did have a little trouble with a few words, where the paper had been folded, but nothing really serious. By the way, whose idea was it to use toilet tissue.

That was my idea. I did not have any paper, or money to buy any – they took all my money – and I knew they would be suspicious if I asked for paper so I used the toilet paper. They do not check on that. And my friend was able to sneak a pencil to me and I wrote it at night. The only problem was sharpening it. I had to use my teeth. I imagine you could see, by the writing, that the pencil was not too sharp, smiling.

Well, that certainly was clever of you. It is obvious that you are one of those rare individuals who can persevere under adversity with ease.

He looked at Donald Preston and started to smile, but only allowed his face to relax slightly, not wanting to have them think he was conceited. Throughout their conversation he wanted to convey the impression of quiet courage.

You say they took all your money and refused to return any of it. Yes sir. Thats right. They would
not even allow you enough for cigarettes. Not only that, I could not even get a toothbrush.

A warm glow flowed through him as Stacey Lowry looked at Preston, an indignant expression on his face. Why that is utterly ridiculous.

As you can see, I was not exaggerating when I said they were harassing me. Well, we will put an end to that immediately. We have already contacted the bail bondsman and you should be out in an hour.

I certainly am glad to hear that. Being locked up alone without even a book to read or cigarettes can get to you after a while. Well, we are going to sit right here with you until they finish the paper work and release you. We are not going to take any chances.

Chances? looking quizzically at them. Yes. The captain was very curious as to why Mr Lowry and myself wanted to see you.

O, I see.

He adjusted his chair so the tape recorder was out of his sight. Donald Preston sat behind his large walnut desk, Stacey Lowry on the side facing him. He adjusted his chair again so he was facing the area between the two men in such a way that they were always in his area of vision. He enjoyed the size and richness of the room. He stretched his legs and sipped his drink.

He spoke deliberately and distinctly, concentrating on being coherent and knowledgeable. He related his story, going into detail necessarily omitted from his letter. When he had finished they took a brief break before starting the question-and-answer session.

It was obvious that the immediate rapport they enjoyed was due not only to their singleness of purpose, but also because they accepted him as a man. They were complete equals. He realized that they understood immediately that he was not just another crank, or simply paranoid, but a man wronged by the authorities. It was also evident
that they understood that he was not only fighting for his own rights and vindication, but for that of others who have been, are, and will be abused by this same authority if something is not done to check its malignant growth immediately. It was good to know that they understood these things and realized the type of man he was.

He nodded as Donald Preston freshened his drink. You know, the more we discuss this matter the more mystified I am that an individual such as you should find himself in such a – shall we say – unusual situation. What I mean is it seems so incongruous that a man of your breeding – you are obviously cultured and, I might hasten to add, a gentleman – should find himself behind bars.

He looked at the publisher, and Stacey Lowry, as he leaned slightly forward in his chair. Well, frankly, so am I. It is all so nightmarish that I do not fully understand it. Their motivation that is. One minute I was free and the next incarcerated. At first I thought perhaps it was a case of mistaken identity or some such thing. Then, after I went through the ordeal of interrogation and being booked, I started becoming paranoid. It seemed as if they had simply, and arbitrarily, decided to subject me to these flagrant indignities for no other reason than that I was there – like the mountain and the mountain climber. He smiled as they recognized the appropriateness of the analogy. It was not until I spoke to some of the other inmates, and observed what was happening, that I realized that this was simply an extension and manifestation of a higher, unseen and unheard, authority. Well, I guess I should say unheard except through the lower echelon.

That manifestation, as you so aptly put it, is something we have been combating – or at least attempting to – for years. But, unfortunately, most people think that police brutality is autonomous, that it is simply an error of overzealousness, or corruption by association with criminals, on the part of a few officers. They just dont seem to be cognizant of the real basis of this brutality. We have tried, Donald and myself, to make the public aware of what the real causes are and, of course, their ultimate and logical conclusion. But, of course, I do not have to tell you this. You have already outlined the genealogy of this structure clearly and succinctly.

The world-renowned criminal lawyer smiled at him and he allowed a slight smile to soften the gravity of his expression as he silently accepted the compliment.

True. True. Stacey has been lecturing for years on this selfsame subject and I have tried, from time to time, to awaken the public to the inherent dangers in this situation through editorials, but for the most part our words, or perhaps I should say, pleas, have fallen on deaf ears.

Well, the grave expression once again on his face, I do not know if its deafness or smugness. The it-cant-happen-here attitude. The old ostrich-in-the-sand routine.

Precisely. Thats why your letter was of such great interest and importance to us. Now we have something tangible to work with.

He looked at Stacey quizzically. I am not certain I understand.

It is this way. We have never had an individual, such as yourself, who was capable of presenting the case to the public in an intelligent and coherent manner, who had personally been subjected to this inherent corruption. I have met many men who have suffered unmercifully from this same evil, but there was always something to discredit them in the eyes of the public. Naturally most of them had criminal records, as these are the types of individuals the police love to prey on, and the public either discredits their testimony on the basis of this record, or simply says it serves them right, what can people like that expect. They do not seem to realize that it could just as easily happen to them.

How well I know, a broad smile on his face.

Precisely, both men returning his smile. And too, most of these men are incapable of presenting the situation clearly as they do not understand all the ramifications themselves. And even if they did, they are so pressured by the authorities that they are afraid to pursue an investigation to its logical conclusion for fear of being found dead in an alley. And frankly, I do not doubt that it can, and does, happen.

I know perfectly well that it can. And does. I have heard stories that would frighten anyone, emphasizing his words with his most stern expression. But surely there must have been others, like myself, who have been victimized by the system, in quotes.

Yes, of course, endless numbers of people have found themselves in the same situation you are in now, but even if they do come forward to protest they are only interested in voicing their own grievances, or, in some cases, they want to sue the state and get what they can. In any event, whatever their reasons may be, they are usually selfish – or perhaps I should say that they just do not seem to understand the overall picture. They just do not seem to be capable of realizing that this corruption perpetuates itself, and grows larger and larger each day, and that it not only constitutes a constant and continuing threat to them, but to their children and their childrens children. I guess they simply lack vision.