One Morning in Wilton – Part II
( Part I appeared in the Fall 2024 issue of The Gavel )
By Tom Dickson
“ Hurry !” Click . The phone went dead . That was Corey ’ s mom .
Now , two of the people in a small-town love triangle were dead . And the third was about to receive one last and final love letter . What do we do ?
The letter was now under the care and custody of the U . S . Postal Service .
Ruben smoked a couple more Marlboro Lights . And I finally said , “ Ruben , do you know the Wilton Postmaster ?”
“ Sure . Bob Mason . Why ?” “ Can you go get him and tell him to bring his keys ?” “ Why ?” “ Because he needs to open that postal box and give you the letter .” “ What ?” “ He needs to open that mailbox and give you the letter .” “ Are you out of your mind ? That ’ s a Federal crime !”
“ Well , no , not technically it is . Not if we get permission from Carrie . Besides , she ’ s a minor .”
“ Not technically ? What do you mean , not technically ? You lawyers . You ’ re out of your mind .”
“ It ’ s not a crime if we get permission from Carrie or her mother . We can do this . Ruben , you know the postmaster . He knows what happened here . He will help . Two kids are dead . Let ’ s avoid the trifecta . We need to get that letter .”
“ Jesus Christ . Get out of my car . Get out of my car !”
I got out of the car and just stood in the driveway . Ruben sat in his car smoking another cigarette . He was a smoker . Sucked it hard . He was smoking like a chimney .
Then he started his car , backed it up , and headed towards downtown .
He came back with the postmaster , and we walked down to the postal box . Before putting the key in the lock , Mr . Mason asked ,
“ You boys know what you ’ re doing here ? This is a Federal crime .”
“ No , it ’ s not .” “ Why not ?” “ It ’ s called exigent circumstances .” “ Who are you ?” “ I ’ m the lawyer .” “ You ’ re the what ?” “ I ’ m the lawyer .” ( Repeated now with less conviction .)
“ Ruben , I ’ ll do it for you , but I ’ m not doing it for some smartmouthed lawyer .”
Ruben just nodded in agreement . Mr . Mason opened the postal box , found the letter , and gave it to Ruben . He left the other mail in the box and locked it up .
Turning to Ruben , he said , “ I don ’ t need a ride . I ’ ll walk back . You fellows are on your own .”
Mr . Mason then walked back to work , and Ruben drove to the McLean County Sheriff ’ s office to open and copy the letter .
In North Dakota , suicide is the second leading cause of death for young people , second only to car crashes . It is a close second . There is no manual for what we did That Morning in Wilton . There were no rules . That Morning in Wilton , we were just hoping to save somebody ’ s life .
I waited outside the Braun house . Ruben returned about an hour later . The letter had been re-sealed .
It looked good . Couldn ’ t even tell that it had been opened . Clearly , this wasn ’ t the first letter that had been opened at the McLean County Sheriff ’ s office .
Ruben picked me up . Not sure why . I am not exactly sure why I was part of all this . When you don ’ t know what you ’ re doing , sometimes two is better than one . We drove to Carrie ’ s house , where her mother met us at the door . She knew about Corey , and she had been crying . Carrie was in her bedroom crying . The mother knew Ruben , but she wasn ’ t sure who I was . I kept quiet this time . Ruben did all the talking . He told her about the letter and gave it to her .
“ Corey wrote this letter for your daughter . Carrie is a minor . You
16 THE GAVEL