A Murder on Fifth and Dice and the Ruin of Fifeville

Book excerpt: James tells the story of how a once prosperous neighborhood became gang-ridden, drugged out, and violent-prone. He speaks through the lips of Benjamin Luther Slokum and how Ben related to ghosts of his grandma, his brother Ivy, and his cousin Roy. These people were all murdered on the corner of Fifth and Dice Streets in the heart of Fifeville in Ben’s presence. Ben hid while his cousin was gunned down by Jamie Charles, a notorious member of the Jamaican posse. A stray bullet killed Ben’s grandma. Ben held a gun but did not open fire. Ben had been a tagalong with the Fifeville Crew but was never a hardcore gangster. After the untimely death of his beloved ones, he decided that he would have nothing to more to do with gangs of the gangster lifestyle. He found out that a life outside the gang was every bit as trying as one within it. He met Moisha (Mo), at a party one night, and he and she got married, brought two children into the world (twins, Esau [Saw] and Jacob [Jay]), and tried to make a good life for them all in the same house that Ben had grown up in, in the same neighborhood where his relatives had been murdered—on the Corner of Fifth and Dice Streets in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ben decided that he would elicit change in Fifeville from gangs, dope, and violence by being a living example showing that anyone could have a good life without succumbing to criminal activities. But the crime around Ben and his family became a ravenous beast that consumed Ben and Mo’s firstborn son, Saw. That murder turned Ben’s life upside down. Mo left him and took his remaining son with her. He ultimately lost the house he tried to cling to. He lost his job, and he temporarily lost his mind. Mo’s love was the balm that healed his soul. He came to himself after talking to his friend Harry, an ex-con and ex-gang member. The narrative ends with Mo, Ben, and Jay, clinging to one another vowing to pick up the pieces and start over. This novel brings to life many of the hidden facts about drug dealing and gangbanging and how these helped ruin and destroy Fifeville.