Easy Time

16-year-old Hoochie and his friend Shane snuck into the basement of First Nations accountant Frank Momaday one night and stabbed him to death with a pair of knitting needles. Hoochie was caught. In a world where most incarceration of criminals has been farmed out to private corporations, and where First Nations claims to parallel government are increasingly recognized, the judge allowed a sentencing circle to make recommendations for Hoochie’s punishment. Now Hoochie has a zapper in his skull far more effective than any electronic ankle cuff and will be serving his time in the widow Momaday’s basement. What this delectable woman has planned for him is both more benign and more horrible than he ever could have imagined. NOT easy time.