The Struggles of Johnny Cannon

The Struggles of Johnny Cannon by Isaiah Campbell

Book: The Struggles of Johnny Cannon by Isaiah Campbell Read Free Book Online
Authors: Isaiah Campbell
Parkins stood and came over to us.
    â€œAnd a miracle we’ll have here soon, I believe. Alabama isn’t as far behind as people think.”
    She put the tray down and went back into the kitchen, and the way she did it showed that she wanted to say something else but couldn’t ’cause she knew it wasn’t a woman’s place to say it in front of all them people.
    â€œWhat’s wrong with her?” I whispered to Willie.
    â€œIt ain’t nothing,” he whispered back. “She’s been bellyaching to Pa that she’d like us to pick up stakes and move up north somewhere, ’cause folks here ain’t so happy with a black family living nearby.”
    â€œY’all are thinking of moving?” I asked. That hit me like a sack of bricks.
    â€œNo, we ain’t going to move. She gets on these kicks every time something hits the news about the race problems around here. We just got to ride it out. Like Pa says, Alabama ain’t that far behind.”
    Mrs. Parkins came back out with a pitcher of lemonade.
    â€œBy the way, Johnny,” she said, “Willie told me you have a visitor that’s about to have a baby. How is she?”
    I shrugged. How are you supposed to answer a question like that?
    â€œStill pregnant, so I guess about as good as can be expected.”
    She nodded like that was the perfect answer. Women was weird.
    Willie grabbed my arm.
    â€œThat reminds me,” he said. “Come on.”
    He dragged me into his bedroom and pulled the letter that was supposedly from Tommy off the wall.
    â€œI was thinking about what you said, about Antonia and Rose being spies, and it got me to thinking, what if Tommy was being a spy when he wrote this letter?”
    â€œThat don’t make no sense,” I said. “He was a pilot, not a spy.”
    â€œNo, I don’t mean like a literal spy.” He put the letter on his desk and started looking at it more closer. “I mean, what if he was thinking like a spy. What if he wrote it in code?”
    Well, that sounded more interesting, but there was a problem.
    â€œBut Tommy wouldn’t have no reason to write me in code.”
    â€œRight, but what if he did  ?” He pointed at something on the letter. “I mean, look at how many times he wrote ‘first letter.’ He wrote it five times.”
    â€œI don’t know, I think maybe he was just drunk. He’d written me before, so that ain’t even true.”
    â€œRight, so maybe it’s a clue,” Willie said. “What happens if we just take the first letter of the words and try to read them?”
    I looked at the letter. I could tell that wasn’t going to work just by the first sentence.
    â€œIt says ‘wmfl.’ That don’t mean nothing.”
    He nodded but kept looking at it.
    â€œOkay, but what if we start here at the paragraph that says ‘Knowing every elected politician’? ’Cause, look, this sentence that’s standing all by itself doesn’t have no period. Almost like it’s leading into whatever this paragraph is saying. ‘But what I really need to say is’ what?”
    I looked at it again.
    â€œIt starts with ‘Knowing,’ so K . Then ‘every,’ so E . Then another E , then a P . So ‘Keep.’ ” I was starting to see what he was saying.
    â€œThen Y ,” he said. “And O . U . Then R . Your. Then B . L . O . Uh, let’s see. O . Then D .”
    We looked at each other and both said it at the same time.
    â€œBlood.”
    Dadgum. The hairs on the back of my neck was starting to raise. Willie real quick underlined the first letters of the rest of the paragraph.
    S atisfies A s F ailure E levates F ailure, R usting O ur M en. H ear A ntonia + R ose’s M essage
    I read it, and my voice wasn’t able to go above a whisper.
    â€œâ€Šâ€˜Keep your blood safe from harm.’ ”
    We both stared

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