Author: Don Morgan

On Tick, a short side street in North Long Beach, connecting Hwy 1 and an old fishing pier, JM Investments built a 5-store strip mall meant to serve the fields of Naval housing just across the street.

It stood in the middle of this short block with an empty lot and the pier on one side and an Old English Cedar clapboard house on the other. There was a market on the corner and across the street, more empty lots.

Unfortunately, no sooner was it built than the Department of Navy started pulling men out of Long Beach, relocating them to San Diego and the east coast to support the increasing needs of the Vietnam War.

As the drab faceless houses on the east side of the highway began to empty, the only movement in the whitewashed silence of those 5 empty stores was that of an occasional insect, the glass windows first caked with soap were covered with dust.

Until Saleh and Aata rented two of the stores to open a bakery, Aata Bakes, and the Circle S laundromat.

Judge Murty smiled benignly at the family as he read the sentence, even winking at Orguz as he mentioned the GED. He understood Orguz.

Throughout his career as a prosecuting attorney and then defense attorney, his only goal was to get things right.

He struggled for years feeling inadequate to the job. He struggled with his own arrogance and guilt at not being perfect. He struggled with a system that was broken, letting the guilty go while abusing the innocent. He was dissatisfied, discontent and at a loss.

Then, on vacation with his wife in Hawaii, he re-discovered the Lord and was born again.

He realized that he could do more good on the bench than before the court. There he could make the decisions that counted for both God and man. He could take some of the blindness out of justice and help good men get on their way.

At the start of each day, he asked the Lord for guidance. He was quite willing to admit that he didn’t always understand. But if he erred it was in an effort to do the best, the right thing.

Today had been a good day. Now, on his way home, he felt at peace. He felt in his heart and soul the same warmth and harmony that he felt in the soft purring of his bright red Ferrari. He had done the right thing.

Hijo was tried as an adult, In a plea deal, he accepted a sentence of 10 to 15 years in state prison and the death of Madrigal was quietly forgotten.

The rest of the boys were remanded to the Juvenile Authority and were to remain wards of the court until their 18th birthdays with probation until the age of 24.

Orguz was granted an additional option by Judge Murty, he would be released either on his 18th birthday or when he passed the battery of GED testing the state required to enter junior college.

Subsequent probation would depend upon whether he was able to attain his equivalency documents.

Hijo was the only adult among them. He was kept at Kern Valley State Prison, while the others were at Juvenile Authority in Long Beach. Lieutenant Sauter hoped to use this isolation to his advantage in the QMart robbery.

Anonymous tips placed Hijo and at least three of the other boys at the scene. They had recovered the ring stolen along with the gun from Madrigal’s personal effects.

It looked pretty simple, what Lieutenant Sauter needed was a confession and he could hand this case off to the prosecution and get on with his life. He had a vacation coming up.

So, he let it be known that one of the boys in Juvenile Hall called Hijo the shooter in the QMart robbery.

“This puts you at the scene, Hijo. You, the gun, the ring. Miguel says you were the trigger man,” lieutenant Sauter had a soft, unhurried voice. He could wait.

“Bullshit! He said what? You are lyin’, man. Miho knows I would never go near a gun, man!” Hijo proclaimed.

Lieutenant Sauter shrugged and raised his eyebrows, “I don’t know, man. That’s what he said,” he waved his hand slightly indicating he had no control over it.

Hijo stared at Lieutenant Sauter hard, Lieutenant Sauter in turned gazed at Hijo with the relaxed expression of a man on a martini break.

Finally, Hijo said, “That was Madrigal, man, not me,” Hijo’s eyes were wide, as he stared at the Lieutenant, “I do not do guns, man.” Hijo was serious.

“So Madrigal shot the old lady at the QMart?” The Lieutenant asked, off hand.

“Wasn’t me, man! Jesus can back me on this one, man,” Hijo said with his jaw firm and mouth set in affirmation.

“What about Orguz, Hijo, was he with you guys?” Asked Lieutenant Sauter.

“Gomez?…” Hijo looked a little confused, “Uh, Oh yeah, man. Gomez!”

“Orguz,” said Lieutenant Sauter.

“Right! That’s what I said, Orguz, man, he was there. Bad motherfucker, that Orguz, bad motherfucker,” Hijo nodded intently at the Lieutenant.

Judith Bloome looked out the window of their third floor apartment. Her tightly crimped hair was pulled back in a short gray ponytail and her hands were on the window sill, as she paused on a warm night to enjoy a cool breeze.

Suddenly, her husband was calling for her from his wheelchair. He was thin and frail, his eyes were gray, almost colorless, since he lost his sight to diabetes. He was shaking. It was another of those awful dreams in which he awoke to find himself blind.

She put her arms around his head to comfort him, his face reminded her of a whimpering puppy, his voice strained and hoarse, dragging sound out of the air. He had been such a handsome, robust young man.

When Judith had finally gotten him back to sleep, she went to downstairs to the laundry room to collect their clothes.

She heard screams and thought of her husband, but the screams were coming from outside.

Judith was frightened and hid behind a row of washing machines. In a moment, it was silent again, and all she heard was her neighbor’s TV. They could never sleep and watched Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable and Jimmy Stewart movies all night long.

To get back upstairs, she had to pass the back door but it was open and she was afraid.

First, she took a peek. There didn’t seem to be anyone around. Then she noticed a mess of clothes laying on the concrete steps leading out to the carport. Judith timidly stepped through the door and looked, pushing at a pair of jeans laying there with the toe of her shoe.

Something fell out. It was a ring.

Judith picked it up and looked at it under the porch light. It was a diamond ring.

Glancing back at the clothes, she saw what might be blood and backed away, turned then ran up the stairs with her laundry and the diamond ring.

When a couple of months had passed and no one asked about the ring, she decided to pawn it and buy something special for herself and her husband.

Judith Bloome was arrested for possession of stolen property.

The ring had been taken in the same robbery as the gun used in the QMart hold-up and shooting.

“He didn’t do it, I know he didn’t!” Syeira insisted.

Hormat responded, “We know he didn’t do it, Syeira, but why did he go into town that night? That is all we are wondering. It just isn’t like Orguz to leave like that.”

“He was kidnapped!” Syeira said.

Hormat and Aata quietly wondered if he could have been running away, but he seemed so happy.

None of them could bring themselves to think that Orguz could be involved with a robbery or a gun, but they all wondered why he went into town in the middle of a show without telling anyone.

Bilko kept his ideas to himself.

That weekend when the family went to visit Orguz, Aata brought cookies. They sat around a table with Orguz. Saleh began again about the judge, if he understood why Orguz was there,  things could go easier for him.

But Orguz was mute. “Can we talk about something else, please. I was just going to a movie.”

Bilko started in mid-sentence, “even if it was girl or something like that.” Both Orguz and Hormat gave him a sharp look.

“Well, sometimes boys want to see girls,” said Bilko, retreating.

“There are plenty of girls that come to the carnival,” Hormat said, “he wouldn’t have to go into town to see one.” Under the table, she kicked Bilko’s foot.

Orguz was going to see a girl.

Hijo was angry. Angry wasn’t the word for it.

The four burst out of the QMart, running as fast as they could down an alleyway next to the store to Miguelito’s car. When Madrigal tried to get away, Hijo grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed his head against the car door.

“What the fuck were you doing?” Everyone knew, Hijo didn’t just get angry, he got crazy. He shoved Madrigal into the car.

“Hijo, vato lo lo, you understand. The gun, I wasn’t going to use it…”

Within minutes, they were on the other side of Long Beach between a carport and the rear of a row of apartment houses.

Hijo shoved Madrigal up against the brick wall of one of the apartment buildings, then with his right hand around Madrigal’s neck he pushed him up off his feet and up the side of the building.

Madrigal couldn’t breathe but kicked, swung his arms and gurgled as he watched Hijo draw a six inch Bowie knife out of his jeans. Hijo stabbed Madrigal over and over as methodically as a machine. Madrigal hung from Hijo’s up stretched hand sobbing and writhing against the wall.

When he was done, Hijo tore off Madrigal’s clothes and they left the body draped over a fire hydrant on the street.

“That’s the way he wanted it, that’s the way he got it,” Hijo said. “We were all together at my house, right? We were playin’ dominos,” he said with a grin.

“What about invasion of privacy, Dusty, photographing those girls in the dressing room of one of their peep shows,” Judge Murty said, “then selling those photos at his ‘concession’.”

“I never did that, your honor!” Orguz shouted.

“Then why do so many people say you did?” Judge Murty said, responding to Orguz.

“That is an allegation, your honor, that has never been proven.” Dusty said, “and what boy, given the opportunity, hasn’t ‘peeked’ at his sister, the neighbor girl or even his mom? Your honor, this was a childhood prank!”

“The pictures I sold I got from magazines,” said Orguz drooping back into his chair. “Fashion magazines,” he said.

The judge turned to Dusty. “I have a duty to the community, Dusty, and to Orguz Ortrar, to see this case as clearly as I can.

“What I see is a boy who grew up in questionable surroundings, taking a night off to cruise the streets of Long Beach looking for,” the judge stopped and seemed to fumble for words, “fun.

“He meets Hijo, who is also out for some fun, they decide to rob an all night market. Orguz thinks, ‘hey, I’ll be out of this town in a few days, no one will ever know’. Except, Dusty, it didn’t work out that way.

“Mrs. Pitch kicked the silent alarm and the police were already on their way when they were on the way out of the store.”

Dusty stood, “Your honor, it makes no sense. This boy is innocent. He never saw those other boys before. He knows nothing about this!”

“He only has to meet them once, Dusty.” Judge Murty waved his hand, “Alright, sit down Dusty. Let me ask Orguz a few questions, OK?”

Dusty sat and nodded at Orguz.

“Orguz, why did you come into the city, that night?” Judge Murty asked.

“I wanted to see a movie, got tired of the same old thing.” Orguz thought he sounded mopey and sat up straighter in his chair.

“Just wanted to see a movie, nothing else?”

“Yeah, that’s all,” Orguz said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I see. According the the police report, you were able to name Hijo and pick out two other boys from a lineup, is that correct?” The Judge asked.

“Yes, your honor,” Orguz answered.

“How did you come to know Hijo’s name?” The Judge asked smiling in a friendly sort of way.

“I don’t know,” Orguz looked away, “I heard it. Someone said it. But there were three boys, I just didn’t get a good look at the third one.”

“How is it that you got such a good look at Hijo and two of the boys and they didn’t shoot you too? Just …luck?” The Judge smiled again, but the smile looked ugly on his face.

“Just wanted to go to a movie, your honor,” Orguz said, his voice muted, hands clasped in his lap, looking down.

“Your honor,” Dusty Lang, Orguz counsel began, “I think what we have here is just a unbelievable piece of bad luck and timing that put Orguz Otrar at the scene of a terrible crime.”

Judge Murty began fidgeting in his chair, brushed his nose with his fingers and appeared to uncomfortable. Dusty paused for a moment, thinking the judge wished to speak. When Judge Murty said nothing, Dusty continued.

“His parents are both religious people and honest concessionaires in a traveling road show called Jubilee! which was invited to this city by the Long Beach Lions Club.

“It is true that Orguz Ortrar has spent most of his young life on the road, but there is no proof that he has ever been in serious trouble or committed any crime. He has no criminal record of any kind.

“On the contrary, Orguz is an industrious and hardworking young man, your honor, while other kids were out playing, he was developing his own business, right along side his parents in Jubilee!

“It is probably true the Orguz’ lacks the education that many other kids his age have but he knows right and wrong, and he can read and write.

“On that awful night, Orguz decided to take some time off and go see a movie. That’s all. He happened to be in the QMart shopping for candy when this thing happened. He was as frightened as any of us would be.”

Dusty paused. “What would you do, your honor, in a situation like that?

“His crime was fear. He saw that woman lying there covered in blood, he saw the pistol on the floor. He didn’t know what to do but he was afraid to leave the gun, he didn’t know whether the boys who had robbed the store had left or were right behind him or were coming back.

“Your honor, he picked up the gun and ran for the door to throw it away, so that it couldn’t hurt anyone else.” Dusty hit the table with his fist, softly to make the point.

“That gun, your honor, that was reported stolen two full months before Jubilee! even came to Long Beach.

“Hijo and the other three are known members of the East Side Longo gang, Orguz Ortrar could not even have known them before that night.

“When the police arrived. Orguz Ortrar was arrested without a fuss. He picked the perpetrators out of the police library and lineups. He cooperated fully, he never held back, your honor, he had nothing to hide. He is innocent!

“Your honor, Orguz Ortrar has been in Juvenile Hall for two months for something he wasn’t even involved in. I ask you to release him and end this painful experience for Orguz and his family.”

Hormat and Bilko got up early to go with Saleh and Aata to the hearing.

It was hot and they all were nervous. They were there to tell the judge that Orguz was a good boy, that he could not have been involved in what happened in the QMart that night.

But Judge Murty waved off Aata’s words.

“How could you, in good conscience, take this precious gift of life that God gave you, birth it on the street, as you did, and raise it to hoax, defraud and swindle?

“I have here reports that your son, Orguz Ortrar, has been taught to sell pictures of naked women and stale candy to children, to drink and chase around after girls in your porno peep shows.

“Do you think that growing up in surroundings such as you provided is a proper childhood?

“On what authority can you tell me he is a good boy?

“Your pleadings will have no effect here.”

Aata wept.