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Marshall shut the door on his father's life and faced the uncertainty of a world without him.
      Beatrice caught the weight of Buford's absence and bore it for the rest of her life. She worked full-time at a public school cafeteria and did cleaning work on the weekends. But she could not stop the natural force of a missing husband and father.
      The home seemed empty and insincere after that, and the Jackson siblings began to mutate into children of loss. They became wild, aimless, and took to the streets as a replacement for the man they had lost. Suddenly, the danger of the neighborhood invaded their house and twisted their lives into ruin.
      Marshall's older sister, Theresa, started drinking, and drugs soon followed. She moved from one stupid boyfriend to another, until she got knocked up like the rest of her friends. Beatrice and Theresa fought bitterly about the unborn child, and Theresa moved out of the house and got on welfare. She came back when her daughter was born with a mental defect that would render her handicapped for the rest of her life. Theresa didn't understand that you had to stop taking drugs when you were pregnant. The baby, little Fiona, would forever be a reminder of that mistake.
      Marshall became a regular visitor to the Cavanaugh home during this time, going there to escape the darkness that had fallen on his own home. He and young Danny soon became best friends.
      The Cavanaughs were one of the few white families who stayed in the black neighborhoods, in part because the city had a residency requirement for its police officers, but mostly because they liked the people there. They were God-fearing Catholics and believed that each man was their brother.
      The Cavanaughs were a good but troubled family, just like Marshall's own. Danny's older brother had been in jail for most of his life. And even though a good job had helped Robert Cavanaugh, he still drank too much and argued terribly with his wife, an amiable woman named Lucy. But they were lucky in that despite their dysfunction, no one had died because of it.
      Marshall and Danny shared their lives in the black neighborhood. Danny had already picked up the lingo and rhythms of the street and at times seemed more at home than Marshall. There were a few white kids who got locked into the community and culture and in effect became just as black as their friends. Danny was one of those kids. Sometimes Marshall would hear him talking and not even know he wasn't black until he saw his face.
      They were ostracized by their friends for their friendship but held on fast to each other. Soon, Marshall looked at the little Irish boy as his brother.
      This drove a bigger wedge between Marshall and Moses. Jealous and alone, Moses' resolve to do wrong deepened until it became his philosophy. He became worse, getting kicked out of school, fighting and stealing everything in sight. He was a monster devouring the happiness and hope of his family.
      Beatrice was pleased with Marshall's transformation, but like so many mothers from the inner city, she felt her work was done with him, and concentrated on the bad son. Moses got all her attention and compassion, even as Marshall excelled in school, graduated with honors from Pershing High School, and enrolled in Wayne State.
      Marshall's relationship with his mother soured and he was off in the world on his own. He did well in college but dropped out and joined the marines. Danny Cavanaugh went against family tradition and joined with him.
      Beatrice was angry and heartbroken. She did not know what the service held for a black man in America. But Marshall wanted to be as far away from her and Detroit as he could get. So, he joined the service and went overseas. He didn't write or talk to his family for months.
      In the service, Marshall learned to be strong, tough, and resilient. He learned his way around a gun and vowed never to be without one at his disposal.
      Danny Cavanaugh