Written By Brad Harness
Frankie, now going by Jordan Smith, drove out of town. He had no particular destination in mind so he took his time, enjoying the scenery and driving for several hours.
The interstate was typically busy and trucks and cars zipped past him, presumably in a rush to get somewhere. Eventually a town appeared over the next hill.
He had reached the outskirts of Jenkinson, Alabama.
“Population 3,456” announced the sign before him.
“Perfect!” he said aloud. Of course nobody heard him, and Jordan was okay with that. He pulled back onto the highway and drove into this small slice of Americana.
Flags drooped lazily in the afternoon heat, kids rode the sidewalks on bicycles, and neighbours chatted outside stores. Jordan found it all quaint, and hoped that here he could somehow reinvent himself.
Nobody would know anything about him, either as Jordan Smith or his real name Frankie Valera.
The creditors who had been trailing him likely had lost the scent by now. Jordan used cash, not credit cards. He swapped license plates with a car parked on a side street.
Then he went into a pharmacy and bought some hair dye. His plan was that after dinner, he’d somehow get a room at some flea bag motel and change his appearance.
Laundry flapped softly in the breeze and Jordan took the opportunity to permanently borrow some of the clothes.
“I need some money,” he said to himself and decided that he could get some by selling his car. After all, his Plymouth Valiant was a bit of a collector car by now, ad he had maintained it in decent condition.
So he pulled in to J.P. Motors on Broadway and had a chat with the used car dealer inside the office.
“Oh, sure, I can take that off your hands for youse” the man told him.
“Well I do need money to start my new life here in town, so how much will you give me for it?”
The dealer stood up, looked out the window at the car, and took a drag on his fifth cigarette that day.
“Tell you what…youse looks like a nice guy…I can give you two-thousand dollars for it.”
Jordan had expected a fight, and while he thought it was worth more, he needed cash quickly and didn’t want to get this guy asking questions.
“Deal!” he replied, sticking out a hand to shake on it.
NEXT WEEK: PART 6
