I wasn’t sure how long I had been in my cell when one of the guards came into my door. “Hanson, you have a visitor.”
“I’m not taking visitors.”
“I know, darling.” The female guard drawled in a thick southern accent. “But this here’s a lawyer who came to discuss your case.”
I sighed. There wasn’t much of a case to discuss. I was up a creek without the proverbial paddle.
I sat up in my bed and nodded, crossing my legs beneath me.
The cell door opened. The guards all knew me by now; they knew I wasn’t going to fight or even try to escape. For the most part, they left me alone and had begun to trust me a little. Or at least about as much as a guard could trust an inmate.
A well dressed, middle age man came into my cell, and the guard placed a wooden chair in the cell with me. The lawyer looked about my parent’s age, in a sharp and expensive looking suit. His hair was streaked with grey.
He didn’t look at all like the usual public defenders. They were usually younger lawyers, fresh from law school. They were trying to gain experience. Usually, they were idiots.
“Well, Isaac. This is quite the predicament.” He mused, plopping down on the wooden chair. He opened a leather brief case and removed a stack of paper work.
I drew in a deep breath. “Yeah.” It was the only thing I could think to say.
“Can you tell me why you aren’t taking any calls or visits? I know your family has tried calling and visiting numerous times, but the officers claim that you aren’t taking visitors.”
I nodded. “As far as my parents are concerned I’m guilty. It doesn’t matter what my side of the story is, I’ve got a criminal record. I’m already guilty. I’m sure if my parents see me that way, a jury will see the same way.” I shrugged.
The lawyer squinted at me for a moment. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”
“You’re my public defender, I thought.” I mused.
The lawyer chuckled softly. “No, no. I don’t practice law much anymore; I only take on certain cases. I’m Judge Donovan James. Olivia’s father.”
“Oh, crap. Sorry. I didn’t know.” I flustered. “I guess this is the best way to meet your girlfriend’s father, huh?” I shrugged.
Olivia’s father chuckled. “No, I guess not. Olivia has told me what happened. She said she was with you the entire time, and she insists that the drugs found on you were not yours. She told me that you’ve worked very hard to turn your life around, that you quit smoking and drinking and your grades are good. She has told me over and over again how much you mean to her, and how she knows you’re a good person. She has called me every single hour of every day since you’ve been here to beg me to help you. She’s even come to the office and insisted on seeing me. To be honest I was only taking this case to get her to stop, but now that I’ve seen your records and your history… and I think I should be able to help you. Olivia insists that this officer…” He checked his notes” Officer Locke is a crooked cop who has something against you. This seems like an interesting case, and I’m willing to take it on.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Olivia’s father drew in a deep breath. “The first thing they tell you in law school is that it doesn’t matter if you did it or not. If you did it, sometimes its better not to know… It’s mostly to avoid something called perjury, which is essentially lying under oath. However, what I would like to hear is your side of the story…”
I drew in a deep breath. “I learned my lesson the first time. I swear. I did some horrible things when I was addicted to drugs. I lied, I stole, I hurt the people I love. Above all, I nearly killed my little sister. It took her up until now to forgive me. She was afraid of me for months. That’s going to haunt me for the rest of my life.” I insisted. “I spent weeks in rehab and prision, which were absolutely awful. You have no idea. And as if I hadn’t learned my lesson, my parents hated me so much they shipped me off to a school where I couldn’t really get into trouble if I tried. But it was probably the best thing they could do for me. Because I met Olivia. And I know that sounds stupid and cliché, but she changed my life. She showed me that there was more to life than just chasing some stupid, temporary high. She helped me get myself together. She helped me get my grades back up and because of her I actually could have had a future.” I paused, swallowing thickly. “I wouldn’t have done something stupid that would jeopardize how hard I’ve actually worked to pull my life together. Above all, I wouldn’t have hurt Olivia like that.”
Olivia’s father nodded slowly. “Can you tell me what happened the night you were arrested?”
I nodded. “I was with Olivia the whole day. I don’t think I even left her side for five minutes. Not even to go to the bathroom. I was literally by her side the whole day. We got into her car… err… your car…” I quickly corrected. “And we started driving back to your place. We were planning on spending the evening together watching movies… She was complaining about the song on the radio. She said she hated it. There were flashing lights and Olivia pulled over on Bradley street. She was only doing six miles over the limit. The officer asked for her license and proof of insurance, which she gave. He told her she was doing eighty-six, but there was absolutely no way. I mean there’s no way. People were passing us on the road. The next thing I knew was that the passenger’s side door opened and officer Locke yanked me out of the car and handcuffed me on the hood of the car and was searching me.”
“Just like that? Without any probable cause?”
I shook my head. “She wasn’t weaving. We were both sober as… well, a judge I guess.”
Olivia’s father nodded. “Would you be willing to take a poly-graph test?”
“Of course.”
“And a drug test?”
“Absolutely.”
“And you’ll testify against officer Locke?”
I nodded. “I don’t know if it’ll do anything, but yeah.” I replied.
Olivia’s father nodded. “Well, I think I’ve heard everything I need to hear… I’ll get back to the office and start working on your appeal. I’m going to pull Officer Locke’s records and see if there are any complains about him… and we’ll go from there.”
“Thanks… this… this means a lot. You have no idea.”
Olivia’s father smiled wryly and nodded. “Now, in terms of posting your bail, there’s nothing I can do tonight… but if I sign the paperwork and get working on your appeals, I should be able to have you out first thing tomorrow morning.”
I drew in a deep breath. “I don’t have any place else to go… I might as well just stay here. I’m sure my parents won’t have me back in the house.”
Olivia’s father nodded. “I have spoken to your parents, and they are aware of what’s going on. I know Olivia speaks to them daily. It is my understanding that they do not hold you at all responsible for what is going on. They are anxious to have you home again…”
I swallowed thickly. I knew I couldn’t face them, even if what he was saying was true.
“If you are uncomfortable returning home, you are more than welcome to stay at my condo with Olivia… however there will be rules. You must stay on the sofa bed, and there’s to be no funny business. If there is, you’d better believe that I have the authority to throw you right back in here.”
“No, no. Of course.” I insisted.
Olivia’s father smiled lightly, and stood up. “I’ll get started on getting you out, and once you’re settled, we’ll start working on your case. I’ll do my best to have this mess all cleaned up before you’re set to return to school.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I scrambled to my feet and extended my hand. “Thank you, very much, sir.”
Judge James smiled lightly again and nodded, shaking my hand. “You mean a lot to my daughter. I haven’t always been able to be there for her when she’s needed me, but now I have a chance to at least fix some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past. You mean a lot to her, and if I have to put my reputation on that, I will. My daughter is smart and level headed. She wouldn’t be fighting this hard for you if you weren’t worth it.” He clapped me on the shoulder and left my cell.
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