Pretty Boy

If you had said to Jimmy Gracey that he would die in the arms of a man while wearing a dress and high heels he would have issued one of his famous king punches and left you lying in a pool of your own blood, before celebrating with a beer.

He blamed his mate, Kurt, for what he was wearing that day. But it was Jimmy who strode in to the department store on the High Street and asked to see the range of extra-large dresses. And it was he who purchased the yellow one with the diamond pattern with the explicit purpose of wearing it out that evening.

Even as he stood wearing the dress in the motel room, he felt more of a man than he had for years. He pointed the replica pistol at the unsuspecting John as an open handbag swung from his arm and watched and waited while Kurt grabbed anything and everything he could.

Fewer than 15 minutes later they were heading west in a new SUV and almost $500 richer. They agreed that Jimmy would drive and that they would not remove their wigs and dresses until they were near the State line.

But Jimmy was ill-prepared for the 20 minute car chase with Police through the unfamiliar roads of Baltimore. With a recent conviction for assault was still fresh in his memory and on his record, he was glad when Kurt finally saw an empty slip road and yelled at him to turn-off.

As they sped they missed the “National Security Agency - No Public Access” sign. They swerved around the armed guards and kept going until Jimmy took two bullets, saving him from the humiliation of being arrested in a dress, but killing him dead.