Blood Money: Bo, the Early Years

By Keith Deaver

Clarence E. Bownen nicknamed Bo was the only child of a
strange couple. His mothers father was one of the wealthiest
people in Bos small town. His father had begun a life of crime to help support his siblings at a very young age. Sent to the finest Catholic school, the child genius also studied his fathers mistakes as a criminal. Weighing his options, Bo decided that he would be retired by the time his classmates fi nish college. With help from his fathers only friend, Bo and his felon partner George dive into a world of money and power beyond Bos wildest dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781469188966

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Bo was born Clarence Edwin Bownen on June 13, 1972 at Union Hospital in Elkton, Maryland. His father, Melton Bownen was born in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. Mel grew up in poverty with three siblings: two brothers and one sister. His brother, Robert, was two years younger and the baby, Jane, came six years after Mel. Their parents, Mary and Elmer, moved to Elkton soon after Elmer enlisted in the army, fighting in World War II, and Mary worked at a hand grenade factory right off Blue Ball Road in Elkton. Mary and the children lived in a makeshift government community and scraped by on poor wages. Robert and Mel worked side jobs as soon as they could walk to keep food on the table. They would do anything from milking cows to shining shoes. When Elmer’s stint in the army came to an end, he returned home a drunk. By the time Robert and Mel were ten and eight, they started a life of crime. Stealing everything that they could get their hands on, it wasn’t long before they found themselves in the juvenile system. Bo never met Pop-Pop Elmer or Granny Mary. Elmer was found dead in a cheap motel room. Granny succumbed to cancer a few years later. He didn’t even know how old they were and only had one bad picture of them where they appear to be in their thirties. Mel never talked about them, and Bo didn’t want to give him a reason to beat on him. He found plenty of reasons to do that already.

CHAPTER 2

Bo’s mother Judy came from a completely different background. If opposites really do attract, Mel and Judy were the perfect example. Bo knew a great deal more about his mother and her parents.

Judy was born in the year 1947 in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Clarence and Helen Snyders. They were both from large families and also grew up in poverty. After Clarence was discharged from the army, he moved to Jersey, taking a job with a local trucking company. Soon after, he met a stunning woman by the name of Helen, who worked for the Bell Atlantic Phone Company. They made the perfect match. Clancy was a mountain of a man, standing six feet four and 240 pounds of solid muscle with jet-black hair and Helen, a slender five feet eleven and 120 pound brunette. They looked like a Hollywood power couple when they dressed up for a night on the town. Determined to make a better life for themselves, they married and moved into a small apartment for the outrageous price of seven dollars a month. Never going without but saving every penny they could. Clancy opened a corner store two years after matrimony. Shortly after Judy came along, by the time she entered first grade, the Snyders had two inner city stores running while still working their nine to five jobs. While visiting his brother Albert, who had married and started a family in Elkton, Clancy was intrigued by the low cost of land and endless business opportunities. Over the next ten years, with their savings and excellent credit, Clancy and Helen bought several properties, including two houses, an apartment building, a building that span half a city block, and thirty-seven acres of beautiful land on the Elk River. When Judy graduated high school, the Snyders, who now also had a six-year-old son, Edwin, left the ever-growing dangers of the city to make a safe and profitable life in Elkton.

CHAPTER 3

Elkton was famous for one thing when Clancy and his family moved there. It was the place everyone came to for a same-day marriage. People came thousands of miles to tie the knot in this one-horse town by train, bus, and automobile. Other than a line of wedding chapels, a bowling alley, three redneck bars, and a few catteries, Elkton was pretty dead. Clancy capitalized on this by bringing a little of the city to this sleepy town.

In his massive building at the end of West Main Street that was technically on West Main and Blue Ball because it was L shaped, he opened Elkton’s first and only go-go bar. The dancers only wore panties and pasties. In the sixties, that caused a big stir in such a conservative town. In addition to the bar, he filled the remaining space with a package store, restaurant, and taxi stand. The Snyders made their home on the second floor going up a set of wooden steps over the restaurant.

By the early sixties, Mel had spent most of his life in prison and juvie hall. When he was released from the Penn in 1964, he swore he would never go back. Shortly after his release, he married the first girl he saw, named Ann. They had a son named Justin and lived in a small house in the middle of town. Mel worked night shift at Chrysler Motors in Newark, Delaware, and built houses during the day. Quickly seeing the easy money to be made by subcontracting from builders, he quit the auto plant and went into business with a new friend named Charlie.

Things were going great until one day in 1967 when Mel came home early and heard the back door slam as he entered through the front. Ann stood in the living room with a guilty look on her face that turned into horror as Mel picked her off the floor by her neck and choked her until she almost passed out. He then threw her into the wall where she crumbled to the floor as he walked out. He never returned and to this day, Bo has never met or even seen a picture of Ann or his half brother Justin.

Bo had heard several stories over the years of how his mother and father met. He pieced this one together and believed it to be true. Mel had heard a lot about the new bar in town called Snyders. After work one day, in July, he was having a few beers with some friends when one of them brought up the bar. He said, Every guy in town is trying to get a date with the owner’s daughter, but she won’t give anybody the time of day. They say she’s a real stuck-up bitch. Mel said, I bet you twenty bucks that I can get her to go out. Mel’s friend took the bet.

Mel was a very handsome man. Most women in Elkton would say he was the best looking man around, standing five foot eleven and weighing 210 pounds with broad shoulders and huge powerful hands. His complexion in the winter months was darker than most Caucasians in the dead of summer, and his tan in the summer was nothing short of to die for!

He kept his beautiful black hair short and combed back, looking somewhere between young Elvis and James Dean in Rebel without a Cause.

Friday, after work, Mel drove to Snyders’ Bar to try and win his bet. After parking his pickup, he walked through the saloon-style doors of the bar, grabbed a stool, and waited for the young blonde to take his order. Judy finished giving a patron his beer, walked straight down the bar to this man holding out a 100-dollar bill, and said, You have to leave. No shirt, no service. And then she walked away. Mel walked back to his truck in disbelief, trying to comprehend why this girl didn’t realize that she had just disrespected not only the best looking guy around, but the toughest man in town.

He thought about going back in and beating the shit out of everybody in there, but he just put his shirt on and returned to the bar. Judy took his order, placed his bud in front of him, and again walked away. No smile. No small talk. No nothing. Cold as ice. Mel figured she must have a rich boyfriend, or she was a lesbian. Either way, she was nothing like the tramps in this town, so he wasn’t going to give up easy. This went on for the next three weeks, with Mel visiting the bar every day and asking her on dates at least four times a week. The answer was always no, but she had dropped her ice princess act and even smiled during their short conversations. Mel was also trying to get on Clancy’s good side by giving him a hand every chance he could. He did small things, like helping him stock cases of beer and kegs, ordering his construction crew to grab shovels and rakes, and spreading two dump trucks loads of gravel across the parking lot. Clancy was no fool. He knew what Mel wanted. Though he didn’t like the fact that he was six years older than his only daughter, he liked that he was a hard worker and a strong man, like he was. About a month after Mel first walked into the bar, something happened that Elkton locals talk about to this day. At 5:00 p.m., Helen and Judy were tending bar, and Clancy was working in the package store. Mel was at his usual spot at the end of the bar when four bikers walked in and took seats. The bikers started insulting the ladies and spitting on the floor, so Mel jumped up and told them, Bring it outside! Mel was out the door first and when the first man passed through the swinging doors, he caught his right hand to the bottom teeth and chin that broke both of them. Bleeding badly with a crushed face, he lay limp, head inside the bar, feet outside. The second man caught a hard left to his right eye than a right hand blow that found his nose, as he fell back against the wall. The other two men made it out.

They stood to Mel’s left and right, swinging wildly. Mel did his best, blocking what he could and even got in a few good shots, but after about thirty seconds, he was fading fast. These men weighed as much as he did and were both taller, and Mel had broken his right pinkie and ring fingers with the first punch. Mel lunged at the man to his left, grabbing him around the neck with both hands and slamming him against the brick wall while pressing both thumbs with all his might into his Adam’s apple. Mel felt the right side of his face and ear turn red hot as the fourth man landed crushing blows to this wide-open target, but Mel refused to let go of his friend, even though he was limp and turning purple. The blows suddenly stopped to the side of Mel’s face, and then he felt a strong grip on his left shoulder and hand. Mel turned his head to see Clancy’s face close to his. Clancy’s lips were moving, but he heard nothing. Finally, Mel let go of the man and collapsed. The last thing he saw was Judy and Clancy trying to catch him. He came to his senses, seconds after he fell out with a cold splash of water to his face. Judy had a damp rag going back and forth across his face, applying pressure on the cuts that were bleeding most. Two things stayed the same after that day. Mel never heard out of his right ear again, and he and Judy became a couple.

CHAPTER 4

Being an only child, Bo got plenty of attention, both positive and negative. Mel never troubled any family members to watch him, nor did he trust strangers to babysit. When still in diapers, Mel would take Bo to the jobsite and place his playpen in the shade. In the winter months, he stayed with Pop-Pop and nanny until Judy got off work.

As Bo lay in his cell that first night, he was amazed at how short his childhood had been. His Pop-Pop had taught him how to hunt and trap. His father only taught him hard work, violence, death, and money.

Mel had been a fugitive of the law since Bo was born. His parents never separated but lived in different houses. The homes were both owned by Clancy and sat on opposite sides of the Elk River. A pair of binoculars was the only thing they needed to see from house to house. Judy lived at Locust Point surrounded by four marinas and summer homes. Mel lived in an old slave house that he remodeled for Clancy. It sat off Old Field Point Road surrounded by thirty-six acres: five being yard and garden, two marshland, and the rest mostly forest. Bo liked to stay with his father. Not because Mel was a caring person, like his mother. It was the simple fact that he had so much prime hunting and trapping land. Bo could take his frustrations out on anything that walked, crawled, or swam. Pop-Pop’s backhoe, grader, and bush hog only threw gas on the inferno already burning in his head.

CHAPTER 5

Bo didn’t get much sleep that first night in Hagerstown. It wasn’t because he was afraid to meet the masses at count in the morning. After all, he was a living legend. Laws were changed after his arrest and conviction.

Juveniles were now being charged as adults for severe or brutal crimes, no matter their age. Thirteen-year-old boys were getting anything from twenty-five years to life without parole. If Bo were to have killed a baby or an elderly couple to ruin so many young lives, it would give him cause for concern. Bo, however, was convicted of killing and or aiding and abetting in the deaths of thirty-six people, thirty-one being federal agents, which made him a criminal superstar. To top it all off, he achieved this before his fifteenth birthday. Bo had been offered six-figure book and movie deals, both of which he declined. There is a certain risk of being famous or infamous in prison. Some punk is always trying to make a name for himself and that’s why people such as Charles Manson and other high-profile criminals are put into protective custody or Punk City (PC), as a con would call it. They often request it simply because they are punks. Bo didn’t request for PC nor, given the number of the boys in blue he took out would he have gotten it. Prison guards and police for the most part are the most vindictive people to walk the earth and believe they are above the laws that the rest of us must obey. Bo already secured his safety from the law by sending an unmarked envelope with the names and addresses of every mother, brother, son, and daughter of the five hundred guards working in Hagerstown. The only return address was PO Box 187. 187 is the nationwide code for murder.

After Private Marsh did the six-fifteen count the first day, the tier proceeded to walk to chow hall. D and E block ate together. One hundred in each housing unit meant two hundred junkies, murderers, petty thieves, rapists, and child molesters, all breaking bread together. The skin heads, over twenty-five strong, were the first to reach out. There sergeant asked Bo to come sit with them. He kept walking and copped a squat with his tray, back pressed to the wall.

The niggers were next and then the spics; both received the same blank stare. As Bo left the chow hall, he approached the three men separately with the same message. I have a proposition. At morning chow, you will sit with leaders of your rival gangs if you would like to hear it.

Maryland DOC has a policy that if you share a cell, you get ten days a month taken off your sentence, but Bo had a mandatory bit. He would be there until his twenty-first birthday, no matter what. That’s how the guards that wanted to show him who really had the power got their first shot in. Coming back from his first breakfast at chow hall, he was ordered to pack his shit and was informed he would be moving to C block in a two-man cell. The captain taunted Bo down the tier. The only words Bo spoke were the names of the captain’s family. He was hit with a baton in the back of his knees. He didn’t fall or even stop walking. He started naming addresses. Captain Sharp’s face turned blood red but stopped his assault. The damage had already been done though. Bo had been there less than twelve hours, and they already drew first blood. Bo silently thought let’s see who is greater, himself or Captain Sharp.

CHAPTER 6

A couple moved into Clancy’s farmland right next to Mel’s house, bringing with them a singlewide trailer. Bo was just shy of his thirteenth birthday when he helped Pop-Pop install the septic system. The job consisted of digging a hole, big enough to bury an old 200-gallon oil drum. The next step of the job might not have been legal, but it was fun. Bo took a twelve-gauge shotgun loaded with deer slugs and shot holes in the bottom and sides of the tank. Clancy then dumped a foot of gravel in the hole. They had now made a drainage system that allowed most of the liquids to drain from the tank. After placing the drum in the hole, then filling in around it, the job was all but complete. After hooking up the four-inch sewer pipe, the Walkers had a working septic system, and Bo had a dangerous weapon.

The young couple, Sean and Stephanie, had a one-year-old girl, also named Stephanie. Closing in on thirteen, Bo could easily pass as fifteen or older. The hard work his father had demanded of him kept Bo in excellent shape. He stood five feet eight, with broad shoulders, a six-pack stomach, well-developed biceps, and several distinguishing scars. Sean was a steel worker who showed no affection to Stephanie.

Bo had been sexually active since he was eleven but had only been with one girl. Bo felt inadequate around women because of his father. Mel, by no means was a pervert; he just liked to sleep naked. That also meant if he had to get up at night, he got up naked. So Bo had seen Mel’s penis, all twelve inches of it, at a very young age. Bo thought all men were created equal. After finding out he got the short end of the stick, he blamed his father for being such a late bloomer. Bo hoped that twenty-one-year-old Stephanie, with an asshole for a husband, would change all of that. He would hold that four feet eleven, 110-pound brunette in his arms, no matter who paid the price. Bo thought to himself, It’s not going to be me.

Bo’s gift list for his thirteenth birthday was simple. He wanted the .44 Magnum that he had his eye on since Christmas and a three-wheeler. The gun put a smile on his face, but Bo was speechless when he saw his other present. Instead of seeing a three-wheeler, when he walked around the building, there was a pickup truck. A three wheeler’s for kids. That’s a 72 3 speed on the column, said Mel. Bo’s father had never been the affectionate type. Weekends and holidays were taken for what they are, just another day. The only reason Mel took off work on any day, including funerals, was that there was no work to be done. So keeping the tradition alive, Bo simply patted Mel on the shoulder and said, 72 Chevy, the year I was born. Thanks, Dad. I love it! With the truck came rules that made Bo wish he had gotten the three-wheeler. He could only drive the truck on the two miles of road around the farm. Mel had sent Bo to the finest school in town. He was an alter boy and had an IQ of 152. Bo had learned all he could from this man. It was time to make his own mark on the world. The rule about the truck would be the first one he broke. It would also be the last time that he allowed any rules to hinder him.

CHAPTER 7

Captain Sharp’s demeanor had changed drastically by the time he and Bo arrived at C block. Three new inmates arrived earlier that day requesting two-man cells, to lessen their sentences. When first leaving E block, Sharp had told Bo his cellmate would be a 300-pound Muslim. Sharp said he had picked him special for Bo because his sentence was twenty-five years for killing a white man. Sharp now, having a change of heart, told Bo to take his pick. The fat Muslim was out of the question. Bo’s other options were a Latino who stabbed his wife’s lover or a white college freshman from the University of Maryland. He was sentenced to six years for raping a valedictorian, if it was the story that Bo read in the Baltimore Sun.

Cell number 21, ironic, Bo thought, the same number of years I will be when I’m released. As Bo walked into the cell, he threw his bag of belongings on the bottom bunk. College boy, meet your new daddy, said Bo. Yeah right, get your shit off my bunk, the boy said back. Bo replied with a stiff left jab to the nose, followed with a right to his left eye. Barely vertical on wobbly legs, a kick to the nuts put him on the floor. The young man lay in the fetal position on the cold concrete. Bo sat down on the bunk and grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him over to his feet. Bo caressed his hair while asking his name. The boy pathetically whispered Matt. Bo bent over and, while kissing Matt’s cheek, said, You’re name is Matty now, and you belong to me. Do you understand, Matty? Bo asked. Matty couldn’t speak but did nod his head yes as he burst into tears. Bo sighed as he stood up and grabbed Matty’s washcloth. After wetting it, Bo knelt down and wiped the blood off his face. In a mocking tone, Bo began to rant, "Stop crying, you little bitch. Is that what you told the girl as you raped her? Mommy and Daddy’s money couldn’t protect