American Rust: A Novel

Inside his cell, Poe fights boredom, making a belt out of a torn bedsheet. The noise in the cellblock is disquieting, but he resolves to mind his own business and keep his head down. The next morning, a guard lets him out for breakfast. The cafeteria is chaotic, not a guard in sight, “a place you could get away with anything” (196), but there is no other option for seating. Sizing up the crowd, Poe realizes he is one of the bigger men in the room, which is racially segregated. He sits in the white area and is immediately approached by a Black man—a hustler, Poe guesses—trying to sell him toothpaste and deodorant. Poe refuses, but as the man walks away, the sidelong glances from the room indicate that he has been “marked.” Another Black man approaches and tries to take his food. Knowing this is a crucial test and not wanting to look weak, Poe grabs the man in a headlock, throws him to the floor, and starts punching him. The room erupts in shouts, but soon one of the white men kicks Poe, breaking up the fight. He calls it a “fair fight” despite the protests of the Black men. The white man—a “shotcaller” because he seems to have some authority in the room—beckons Poe to follow him. He leads Poe through the cellblock to the rec area outside.

Outside, the men assure Poe he handled the situation appropriately, that he “got it taken care of” (200). They offer him survival tips and then tell him to wash the blood off his hands—they suspect the man who antagonized him has HIV. One of the men, Dwayne, takes Poe back to his, Dwayne’s, cell to wash his hands, and Poe finds it furnished with rugs, a curtain, and lavender soap. Dwayne explains the prison economy: Guards who make $18,000 a year can easily be bribed. Back in his own cell, Poe contemplates survival; he knows he will have to trust Dwayne and the others whatever the cost. He tries to remain optimistic, telling himself it will all work out in the end.

Riding the train, Isaac fights his own boredom, careful not to get lulled into a dangerous complacency. He climbs to the top of a coal pile and watches the scenery pass. He eventually settles back into the space between the cars—warmer, shielded from the wind—and eats a little. As the train passes through a tunnel, the trapped fumes make him sick. A long tunnel might asphyxiate him. The dead Swede dominates his thoughts, and he tries to reconcile his guilt by denying it. As night descends, he thinks again of his mother.

Glen Patacki, the local justice of the peace, invites Harris for a drink on his boat. As Harris drives through the woods and hills to the marina, he thinks about his younger days: Marine Corps veteran, the youngest man elected chief of police in Buell, and now, 18 months from retirement. On board Patacki’s boat, the justice asks Harris questions about outstanding warrants, “anything that might look even worse on this Billy Poe murder” (209). Harris assures him everything is clean, and then Patacki suggests Harris run for justice of the peace when he retires. Politically, he advises Harris, it would be better if he avoided any entanglements with the Poe case. They shift the conversation to budget cuts, and how they’ve impacted city revenue (fewer parking tickets, less income). Patacki theorizes that the problems they face are really national problems—too few stable jobs for people to feel invested in, no pride of ownership. Lastly, he cautions Harris about “going down a road” (213) he might regret.

By his third day, Poe begins to understand the prison hierarchy, and while the shotcallers have taken him under their wing, it is only on a trial basis. He could easily fall out of favor with a single misstep. By the end of the day, Poe is sunburned, hungry, and dehydrated. Black Larry, who, along with Dwayne and Clovis, are the unofficial leaders of the white power gang, offers to get Poe some smoked salmon from the commissary.

Poe knows he’s survived thus far, but he must take it day by day. He could get stabbed in the mess hall, and things could change in a second. Not for the first time, he regrets following Isaac into the machine shop. Isaac, Poe reasons, can afford to risk those situations because he doesn’t have the self-respect to stand up for himself; he can walk away from a fight, but Poe cannot. Poe fears reprisal for the man he beat in the mess hall, followed by a profound sense of injustice: He is innocent, but Isaac is free.

While the train is stopped, Isaac whiles away the evenings staring at the constellations and wishing he’d brought a book. Later, the train passes a US Steel plant in Michigan, still in operation. As the train slows, Isaac knows it will unload its coal freight and he will have to disembark. He sees the Baron hop off several cars ahead, and he follows. They walk together until they come to a small town. They are 10 miles outside of Detroit, the Baron tells him. They stop at a fast-food restaurant, wash up in the bathroom, and order fried chicken. Isaac has agreed to pay for it, but now he must fetch a small amount of cash out of the huge wad he’s taken from his father. He fumbles in his pocket and notices that the Baron is watching. He pulls out a $50 bill and pays for the food. They sit on the curb and eat, Isaac feeling drowsy afterward. The Baron suggests they get a hotel room, do their laundry, and sleep on beds for the night, but Isaac is suspicious and wants to leave the Baron behind as soon as possible. They walk past endless residential neighborhoods when they spot a liquor store. Isaac gives the Baron $20 for alcohol, intending to abandon him when he goes in, but the Baron catches up moments later with a handle of Jack Daniels, stolen.

As they look for a place to sleep, the Baron continues asking for money. Isaac is determined to wake up early the next morning and strike out on his own. They find a cluster of trees near a trailer park and lay out their sleeping bags. Isaac keeps his hand close to his knife. He wakes up several times during the night, each time telling himself to leave, but each time too tired to move.

Lee and Henry eat breakfast. Harris came the night before to ask about Isaac, and Lee wonders about Poe’s version of events. She wants to discuss it with Henry, but she procrastinates. She thinks of her mother: born to a wealthy Mexican family but “too proud” to avail herself of their money; living in Buell with a master’s degree in music composition; 31 years old and meeting Henry, an honest man who would never leave her. Lee feels her mother compromised by marrying Henry. She herself considered marrying a “worker” as a socialist political statement.

Finally, she asks her father about Harris’s visit, claiming Poe is innocent. She reiterates his story that Isaac actually killed the Swede, but Henry reminds her of Poe’s past run-ins with the law. They discuss getting a lawyer, and Lee offers her husband’s financial resources, but Henry refuses. He tells her not to trust Poe’s word and that she’s married now, implying that Poe is no longer her concern.

She steps outside, wondering where Isaac is and what has made him so desperate. Instead of bowing to social convention, Isaac says whatever he thinks, a trait Lee admires in him. Though convinced Isaac killed the man in the machine shop, she also imagines the courage it took for him to do it, to confront three men whom even Poe was afraid of. She finally decides to hire a private investigator to locate Isaac and a lawyer to defend him.