“April Fool!” Carter said to Dugan. “Now give me that piece of paper.” Dugan handed the piece of paper back to Carter, sank back into his bed, and resumed his vigil.
Carter walked away, crumpled the paper, and cocked his head in a lunatic laugh.
… One minute earlier …
“Here, Dugan,” Carter said with an uncharacteristically broad smile. “Get ready, buddy. It’s what you’ve been waiting for.” He handed Dugan a piece of paper. Dugan snatched it with greedy, fumbling fingers.
Dugan began to read the letter. “Dear Mr. Dugan: Thank you for your correspondence, which has affected me greatly. I am writing to inform you…” He’d been waiting for this letter for years. His pulse quickened, his palms quivered. He mouthed a hasty prayer of thanks. Then he reached the end of the letter, and discovered it was not at all what Carter had said. Not even close. In fact, it was a big joke. And he was the victim.
… Five minutes earlier …
Carter took the piece of paper from the printer. It looked good, it looked official. He had used the letterhead with the embossed seal and addressed it to Dugan. Carter used his best pen to sign it. He didn’t sign his own name, of course; he used the name of someone far more important.
… One hour earlier …
“Hey, Carter,” Wilson said to the man sitting next to him in front of the bank of video monitors. “It’s April 1st, you know.”
“Yeah?”
“How about we pull one over on Dugan?”
Carter lowered his feet from the desk and turned his attention away from the crossword puzzle in front of him. “What you got in mind?”
“Don’t you think April Fool’s Day is the perfect day to give him what he’s been waiting for?”
… One year earlier …
Dugan sat at the typewriter. It was an old machine that used the force of his fingers to lift heavy metal levers and strike through a ribbon onto paper wrapped around a roller. It wasn’t the first time he had written this letter. It had become a yearly tradition, something he did every spring. Nothing had ever come of the letters he’d sent before. But if there was one thing Dugan had plenty of, it was time.
He pressed the keys slowly, deliberately.
“Dear Governor…”
… Ten years earlier …
The guard escorted Dugan to his cell. He hadn’t introduced himself, but he wore a nametag that read “Carter.” Dugan walked in, and Carter slid the bars shut behind him. They locked with the sound of metal grasping metal.
“Let me have your cell assignment form,” Carter said.
Dugan turned and looked at his jailer again. Carter’s expression betrayed no compassion, no empathy. He handed Carter the piece of paper through the bars and stared him in the eye. “I didn’t do it. I know everyone says that here. But I really didn’t do it.”
“Right, buddy. I guess the judge who gave you life without parole thought otherwise. Only the governor can save you now.” Carter walked away, crumpled the paper, and cocked his head in a lunatic laugh.
Matthew Strada lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, son, and dog. His work has appeared as Every Day Fiction’s story of the day and is forthcoming in the Boston Literary Magazine.
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19 Responses to “THE APRIL FOOL • by Matthew Strada”
Comments
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April 1st, 2008 at 2:43 am
Wow, love the backwards plotting - really effective. But what a cruel joke!
April 1st, 2008 at 3:29 am
I too loved the structure. And the joke was sick, but very effective.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:59 am
Very difficult to pull off this kind of story, but you do a fine job.
April 1st, 2008 at 4:51 am
Damn good.
April 1st, 2008 at 5:20 am
Ahh i love this idea!…what a fantastic story!, very very cruel joke though
April 1st, 2008 at 5:26 am
I couldn’t wait to get to the start
Dark indeed.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:14 am
I like the backward-telling. It’s a good story. The joke is terrible, and actually it seems like something a cruel guard would do.
I have to say, I have a dear, dear, innocent friend who’s awaiting sentencing on a conspiracy to commit murder charge. This story made me a little sick. Her guards have been known to be cruel, as well.
I guess “good story, it made me sick”, is an okay comment, right? I mean, it drove home and made me react. Truly, it’s well-written. Just a little too close to home for comfort, or laughter, this morning.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:56 am
Cold bastard, this Carter. But a well told tale.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:12 am
I love stories that play with the timing, like the movies Memento and Vantage Point. The joke might just have seemed cruel if the story had been written in a straight forward way, but because of the backwards structure, a huge level of anticipate built up which made the punchline all the more effective. Well done.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:26 am
Frightening. Well done.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:11 am
Thanks to all for the comments. It’s so rewarding to read how people have reacted.
Kevin, I am very sorry to learn of the very personal analogue in your life. The story was, in fact, inspired by my wife’s experiences as a criminal defense attorney. She has spent much of her career representing people in straits not dissimilar from Dugan’s. As a result of her work, I have developed my own personal relationships with people intimately affected by deficiencies in the U.S. criminal justice system — including a friendship with a man who was exonerated after spending several years on death row.
The story is too short and simple to constitute a real commentary on criminal justice (and it was not intended to be); but it does make me happy to see that it has provoked a thought or two in some readers. (Though I’m sorry that the thought it has provoked in Kevin is a painful one.)
April 1st, 2008 at 10:18 am
No worries, Matt. The timing of your story just happens to coincide with her week of sentencing. I am glad to know that the story comes from a sympathetic view of the situation (Dugan’s and my friend’s). I thought as much, by the way it was written, and by its title, but it’s good to know where the story came from. Thank you.
And seriously, it’s a good story.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:32 am
Well done!
I liked this story a lot, it was a pretty tasteless joke but effective.
I look forward to reading more from you.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:39 am
DNA was supposed to put all this wrongly accused stuff to bed. It’s terrible that it still happens.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Wow. Heart wrenching story. And contains all the awful sadness of a cruel April fool joke. I like the way you set things from forward to back, it was a little difficult to read, like walking backwards in unknown territory, but the story made the effort worthwhile.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:40 am
Oh so cruel - I love it! Good, unusual read.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:51 pm
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April 4th, 2008 at 6:03 am
Love the way you wrote this. It definitely packed a punch!
April 5th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Wow, one of the most unique short stories I’ve ever read. Great job.
(Poor Dugan.)