Part 23 (1/2)

”Good, good,” he said Jiain and peddled off toward the patient canteen

Ella and Harry eventually made their way down the breezeway and stopped where they always did, just inside the hallway I stood where I always stood, just inside the inmate boundary

”You packed?” Harry asked I nodded I stepped into the hallway, reached for Harry's hand, and held it in both of entle ured hand was a symbol-like a unique, broken, beautiful sculpture-that e important for me that I didn't fully understand I wanted hi Father Reynolds place the wafer in the ree and would alter, forever, how I felt about the sacrament I wanted him to know that a tip of his hat and a smile as he rode past me in the hallways reassured ates But I didn't say anything As usual, Harry didn't say much either

Then I turned to Ella She looked so alive and vibrant I couldn't possibly say anything adequate to this woht to be bitter and resentful, but was more content than anyone else I had ever encountered She had coood and pure and honest and right in all of us, an angel who'd lost her fairl, but made a home in a colony of outcasts A wo a new path

Ella always seemed to knohat I needed to hear ”Any words of wisdom?” I asked

She didn't o to church”

I wanted thereat exa life, in spite of the facts I wanted Ella to know that she showed ths She even influenced hoould be a father to my children I wanted to tell them both how much they meant to me, but I didn't

The three of us had an imbalanced relationshi+p I wasn't nearly as important to Harry and Ella as they were to me Like the doctors, nurses, and short-term patients who occupied Carville over the years, I was just another in a long line of guests A transient passing through their secret world

As I stepped away, down the ramp into the inmate courtyard, I didn't turn around I walked backward, slowly I wanted to reood fortune A prison sentence, anywhere else, ht have been lost time

I wanted to re shadows thrown by the stately white buildings and the sweet smell of dust in the ays that connected theolf course in the

But most of all I wanted to remember Ella Every detail The way she cranked the antique handles The way she twisted in her chair at the dance The way she turned her disease, thesacred I wanted to reot excited on bingo night, her s unexpected, the joy she found in the smallest encounters, the way her skin smelled like flowers The way she rested her hand on top of mine when I felt most alone I wanted to remember her every word I wanted to remember her especially whenever I was confronted with my own past, in hopes that I could face it with a fraction of her dignity

I kept my eyes fixed on Harry and Ella I had no idea what the future held for ate, I planned to stop at the edge of the levee to see which way the river flowed After that, I didn't know

But at some point after I settled in Oxford, I would take Ella's advice and find a church Not just any church A place like the church at Carville Where the parishi+oners were broken and chipped and cracked A place to go when I needed help A place to ask forgiveness A sacred place where people were not consue or money

I didn't know if a church like this existed, but if it did I would go And I would pray Not the kind of prayers I used to say formore simple I would pray for recollection-pray that I would never forget

I reached the bottom of the ramp and walked up the small concrete steps that led to the inmate hallway I opened the screen door and looked at ain I wanted to re his bicycle Ella in her antique wheelchair

I waved one last time, stepped inside the hallway, and turned toward freedoo, as a prisoner, I elcomed by the secret people It was an honor I cherish I left with the hope that I would never forget But a lesson is never as clear as the otten and remembered Veered off and corrected

But I am always drawn back To the place where the river flows backward, where outcasts find a hoht, I dream about the colony Sometimes I am lost Other times, I encounter lides in her chair down the empty corridors She sways to music I cannot hear She reminds me there is no place like home And I knoill always be able to find her Ella will be waiting for me In the breeze

September 4, 2008 Oxford, Mississippi

Ella Bounds in the breezeway

EPILOGUE

Frank Ragano's book, book, Mob Lawyer, Mob Lawyer, was published immediately after his release He died in Taovernment released secret documents that revealed the CIA was published immediately after his release He died in Taovernment released secret documents that revealed the CIA had had paid Santo Trafficante to assassinate Fidel Castro The report claimed all assassination attempts had failed paid Santo Trafficante to assassinate Fidel Castro The report claimed all assassination attempts had failed

After his release from prison, Dan Duchaine Dan Duchaine was paid an unprecedented advance for was paid an unprecedented advance for Body Opus: Militant Weight Loss, Body Opus: Militant Weight Loss, a book he wrote while imprisoned at Carville He introduced DNP, the pri world Its use has been implicated in the deaths of several bodybuilders and athletes On January 14, 2000, at age forty-eight, Dan died in his sleep of complications related to polycystic kidney disease a book he wrote while imprisoned at Carville He introduced DNP, the pri world Its use has been implicated in the deaths of several bodybuilders and athletes On January 14, 2000, at age forty-eight, Dan died in his sleep of complications related to polycystic kidney disease

In 1994, Jefferson Jefferson itimate franchise His whereabouts are unknown itimate franchise His whereabouts are unknown

After his release from federal custody in 1997, Steve Read Steve Read sold yachts in Florida He died of cancer in 1999 sold yachts in Florida He died of cancer in 1999

I have had no contact with Link Link since he left Carville His whereabouts are unknown since he left Carville His whereabouts are unknown

While in prison, Victor ”Doc” Dombrowsky Victor ”Doc” Dombroarded three patents from the United States Patent Office After his release in 1999, he opened a medical clinic in the Italian Alps to administer his heat pill The procedure was internationally recognized as an effective treatment for Lyme disease and certain forhteen federal charges related to a se curities fraud scheme He was sentenced to fourteen years in federal prison He maintains his innocence arded three patents from the United States Patent Office After his release in 1999, he opened a medical clinic in the Italian Alps to administer his heat pill The procedure was internationally recognized as an effective treatment for Lyme disease and certain forhteen federal charges related to a se curities fraud scheme He was sentenced to fourteen years in federal prison He maintains his innocence

Six months after I was released from federal custody, Carville residents commemorated the one hundredth anniversary of the leprosariu cere of the Microbes, King of the Microbes, sold six hundred copies before he died of natural causes at age ninety-two sold six hundred copies before he died of natural causes at age ninety-two

Two funeral services were held for Betty Martin, Betty Martin, who died on June 7, 2002 One at Carville, under the name Betty Martin, with her secret friends The other in Baton Rouge with her prominent Louisiana fa book were never mentioned who died on June 7, 2002 One at Carville, under the name Betty Martin, with her secret friends The other in Baton Rouge with her prominent Louisiana fa book were never mentioned

Annie Ruth Si in 2002 She is buried next to her husband in the patient ce in 2002 She is buried next to her husband in the patient cemetery