Whenever I visited her, Magdalena and I had deep, philosophical discussions under her dilapidated, single-wide, rusty trailer. We did more than talk about school and boys and what we were going to buy at the store when we made our first millions. We discussed things like life and death and how to solve our many problems. One time, we even deliberated on what makes a mean person? How do they become evil? I thought it was their growing up, their childhood making them this way, and I had the evidence to prove it because of Darrell and his mean mama, Nannie Jo. Magdalena agreed with me, but she decided the theory did not work with her dad because of her Uncle, Hermie Dean, who was raised in the same home as her mean dad.
Uncle Hermie Dean was not perfect. He did have some criminal tendencies, but he was not evil or mean-spirited. Most of his crimes were of a petty nature with an occasional armed robbery thrown in for good measure. Uncle Hermie was good to Magdalena and the girls. Magdalena said if not for him, she would never have known men could be good because her only other male role model was her dad. Uncle Hermie Dean was the one who made sure the girls had Christmas presents and something to eat when Randall Michael Wall left town. He checked on them, but mostly came around when his brother was gone because they did not get along all the time. Hermie Dean was the baby brother, but he did not mind telling his big brother to lay off the girls. They scuffled more than one time about it, and his last visit to their home resulted in an all out brawl in the front yard. The cops were called and both men were arrested. The problem was the police sent Randall Michael Wall home and kept Uncle Hermie Dean on outstanding warrants. He was currently in Raleigh in the state penitentiary serving time for several violations of his parole.
Magdalena and I concluded after this discussion that a bad childhood could make you a bad person, but people could rise above their raising. Uncle Hermie Dean was an example of this, if you were not including his penchant for taking other people's property into play. Uncle Hermie Dean proved that to be a singularly bad person, you had to have badness in you. Randall Michael Wall had more than his share in him.
Revenge. Magdalena and I wanted revenge. She was tired of living under the roof of a crazy man. I was tired of watching this horror show. We were both ready for the credits to roll on this sad tale. I say "sad" described her and her sisters' and mom's life more than fear because their life just made you want to cry.
The anxiety associated with trying to tiptoe around Randall Michael Wall's moods was causing Magdalena stomach aches. We knew to defeat an enemy you must know your enemy, so we began to observe and take notes on his behaviors. We kept our notes in a spiral notebook in a cardboard box under the trailer where we held our club meetings. We called it our club because everyone who has ever been a kid knows you gotta have a club, even if the membership is only two kids, and the main goal of the club is to discuss ways to defeat your enemy, otherwise known as your dad.
We took notes of Magdalena's dad's crimes. We bulleted these offenses and kept a running list in both of our handwriting because there was something every day we could write about. All the actions were not criminal, but they were all cruel. The list looked like this:
* Slapped Sissy today so hard it knocked her down.
* No power today again. The first day was sort of fun, until the flashlight died. Now temperatures have dropped in the 40's at night and it is fricking freezing. Took heater from my house (Candi thinks it was stolen off front porch, she is nervous), otherwise baby sisters will get sick. Where is he, when will he be home, why did he not leave money? No gas, no way to get to town for help. When will he be home? We didn't want him home, but we needed him home. A Conundrum, for sure.
* Held mama's face under the dirty dishwater in the kitchen sink until mama got choked and threw up.
* Ran over a kitten on purpose with the lawnmower.( I can't even think about this one without getting nightmares).
* Threw the baby's blankie in the fire. It was so ratty, it probably needed burning, but you just don't throw a baby's blankie into the fire. The blankie that comforts and lulls the baby to sleep. Thrown in the fire, right in front of a screaming baby.
* Shots fired as Magdalena ran next door to get help. Trying to kill her or scare her? Does NOT matter if they were shots fired at her or over her head because it is all about perception, and her perception was - she was out of her mind terrified!
* Spit tobacco on the baby in the carrier, like a game. Yelled "10 points" when he hit her. Yelled " bullseye" when the tobacco juice hit her on the head.
We kept this list with the dates so when we were called to testify we would have dated notes to reference. We were naive. We believed someone out there was waiting to save my friend and move her and her family to a happy home.
Help never came.
We got serious and deadly with our plans. Is it any wonder we plotted Randall Michael Wall's demise? We were too scared of him to outright kill him, but it does not mean we didn't think of ways to rid the world of him. Poison? Rat poison, easy to get your hands on, but probably easily traced. Accidental shooting? We were terrified of guns, understandably since shots were routinely fired off the back deck and sometimes in our direction. Brake failure? Used often in the tv shows we watched, but we knew nothing about cars, and worried the brakes would fail when the family was in the car.
We thought of a myriad of ways to rid the world of Randall Michael Wall, but in the end we were too afraid, and we were children, and thus full of false hope we held for rescue.
We believed in rescue until middle school. By then, we had watched a lot of TV and read a lot of books and knew we were on our own, we would have to make our own fate. We began to take a different kind of note. We began to chronicle Randall Michael Wall's movements in order to figure out who he worked for and what he did for a living. We were hoping if we connected him to crimes not involving his family, maybe someone would care. These notes included references such as:
* Gone for two days. Car has red mud on tires.
* Found receipt from gas station in Lubbock, Texas. What is in Texas? Later, found another one from Amarillo, Texas. What is in Texas?
* Not drinking today, quiet, slept 24 hours, woke up and stayed on the phone all afternoon.
* Went to drug store. Talked to pharmacist. Left with package. No one sick at the house.
* Hardware store trip. Purchased various tools, including a saw, a hammer, a shovel. Never fixed anything in his life.
During the time from 3rd grade until the summer all hell broke loose, our notes on Magdalena's dad were brief, specific, and increasingly terrible in scope. Then, overnight there was change. If you read our notes from this time, you will be able to pinpoint the time frame where things began to change. Chronologically, it goes something like this: crazy, unpredictable violence to still crazy mean at times but with a more controlled calm. Magdalena's dad began acting differently around his family about the fall of our 7th grade year. Magdalena's dad was still mean and nasty, but not to an extreme. He did not go too far. Social Services did not visit once in those years because there was no questionable bruises on babies or unexplained broken limbs.
Randall Michael Wall's public persona changed. Before, he did not care what people outside the family thought about him. An example of the change: he began to go to school functions and present himself as a concerned father or a proud father, whichever was needed.
My mother met him at the Spring Fling my seventh grade year for the first time and after said to me that Magdalena's father was "precious". She said he was so kind to Magdalena and her sisters, no wonder I wanted to stay over there all the time. She was surprised I never mentioned this. I never talked about him before then because he was completely evil, and I knew what my mom would do, and I could not lose my best friend. So all those years, I said nothing. Suddenly, my mom thought Magdalena's dad was the father of the year. She was fooled by a man who before, seldom cared to hide his true nature.
Randall Michael Wall was gone less. He started giving what amounted to a weekly allowance to his wife. It was clear he was trying to make people believe he changed, but Magdalena and I knew better. He still spit tobacco on the baby. He popped our checks from behind with both hands. It was like he was trying to behave, but sometimes he could not help himself. To this day, the hair on the back of my neck stands up when someone walks closely behind me.
Something changed with Magdalena's dad, but we did not know what it was then. His random acts of kindness made us nervous. We paid more attention and took more notes. We noticed his work habits changed. He was home more. He would go long stretches where he would not leave the house. Then, he would get a phone call and leave in minutes with no explanation. He seemed to be always checking his phone. He was like an ER doctor on call.
We learned much later, Randall Michael Wall changed when he got a new job and began to work for the Collector.
_____________________
Taken from the Mt. Airy News about the time Randall Michael Wall changed jobs:
Title of Article: "Body Found at College"
A male person found partially decapitated in a parking lot at Surry Community College was declared dead Wednesday morning.
Students and staff were notified via an emergency response system early Wednesday morning before school started. School was canceled for the day while law enforcement searched the premises.
An unidentified source revealed the body was missing both hands and feet. This source stated the authorities have no suspects, but added: "Someone was sending a message."
The body has not yet been officially identified pending family notification. Classes resume at the college on Thursday.
_________________
Taken from "The Collector" by Geoffrey Guthrie
The Collector Speaks about His New Hire
Randall Michael Wall had a reputation for being a son of a bitch. He worked for an unscrupulous criminal who dealt in crimes of all natures. The criminal boss employed several men, his was a fairly big operation, but Randall Michael handled all of the dirtiest work. This is what made him an ideal helper for my line of work. Once the boss was dead in a parking lot and some of his associates were killed in a drive by shooting in Charlotte, Randall Michael Wall became a free agent available for hire.
Helpers are difficult to find in my business. And, let me add here - not because they are not out there. Even an evil dictator can find men to follow his wicked ways and not just because they are "following orders". There are people out there just waiting for the opportunity to belittle other people or march them to their deaths. Just look at history. Hitler was evil, but he could not have murdered so many without the help of people who were not just showing up for work every day but were actually enjoying their jobs.
In my collecting quests, I had helpers. There were several over the years, most of my earlier right hand men lasting for only a year or two. My latest, a close friend, was with me several years. He was the perfect assistant. He never questioned my requests. He was not easily repulsed. He worked overtime if needed and and did not mind being on-call, although I did always try to respect his time since he worked another job. He did not mind getting his hands dirty or bloody or both. He was creative with disposals. He possessed no scruples and did not like people, though he could sure fake this. He liked to watch people in pain. His friendly personality ensured people liked him. He worked for cash and was paid well over the years.
Our business partnership changed because my best friend no longer had time to do the heavy lifting. He was a busy man, and he was more important to me as a peer and partner than a heavy lifter. I kept him on, but I found a replacement for him in Randall Michael Wall whose first job for me was to rid the world of his old boss. I respected the old boss, so I gave Randall Michael explicit instructions about his parking lot disposal - make it look like a drug deal gone bad. This was a test for Randall Michael. He passed.
I set Mr. Wall right to work. His first priority - an important job that required someone with his skills and his complete lack of empathy. It was a job that others might see as messy or confession inducing. He was going to help me finally get a baby for my collection.
Randall Michael Wall was perfect in most ways as an assistant except for one small problem. He was an asshole to his family. His brother told me all about it. Hermie Dean was my initial idea for a recruit, but it was obvious from our conversation over a few beers (his interview) that Hermie Dean was too soft for the job. I did like what Hermie Dean told me about his brother. He was cold and mean-spirited - just what I needed. The problem - I did not like the way Randall Michael treated his family. Well, really I could care less, but his treatment of his wife and children drew too much attention. Attention was not something I desired in an assistant.
Once he passed the initial test, I gave Randall Michael Wall a list of rules. These included typical boss/employee business requirements such as: discretion, loyalty, and following explicit directions. I added he should never draw unnecessary attention to himself. The last rule meant better family relations, anything else and I warned him, his fate would be worse than his former boss.
As part of his interview for the job, I took Randall Michael Wall to see my collection. Other men visited this area in the past, and I knew by their expressions whether or not they would become a guest or get the job. Other than my most recent long-term helper, Randall Michael Wall was the only man not phased at all by my collection. He was impressed. He smiled. He asked questions. He wanted to talk with my guests. He wanted to know more. He respected my accomplishments. He wanted to be part of the operation. He was pleased with the salary and the perks.
Randall Michael Wall was hired.
Author's Insight: I still don't like someone walking up behind me for the same experience mentioned above, and my older sister can tell you for real that shots fired in your direction are terrifying, whether they are fired at you or over your head.