I wasn\u2019t sure how long I had been in my cell when one of the guards came into my door. \u201cHanson, you have a visitor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not taking visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, darling.\u201d The female guard drawled in a thick southern accent. \u201cBut this here\u2019s a lawyer who came to discuss your case.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sighed. There wasn\u2019t much of a case to discuss. I was up a creek without the proverbial paddle.<\/p>\n
I sat up in my bed and nodded, crossing my legs beneath me.<\/p>\n
The cell door opened. The guards all knew me by now; they knew I wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s age, in a sharp and expensive looking suit. His hair was streaked with grey.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Isaac. This is quite the predicament.\u201d He mused, plopping down on the wooden chair. He opened a leather brief case and removed a stack of paper work.<\/p>\n
I drew in a deep breath. \u201cYeah.\u201d It was the only thing I could think to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you tell me why you aren\u2019t taking any calls or visits? I know your family has tried calling and visiting numerous times, but the officers claim that you aren\u2019t taking visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cAs far as my parents are concerned I\u2019m guilty. It doesn\u2019t matter what my side of the story is, I\u2019ve got a criminal record. I\u2019m already guilty. I\u2019m sure if my parents see me that way, a jury will see the same way.\u201d I shrugged.<\/p>\n
The lawyer squinted at me for a moment. \u201cYou don\u2019t know who I am, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re my public defender, I thought.\u201d I mused.<\/p>\n
The lawyer chuckled softly. \u201cNo, no. I don\u2019t practice law much anymore; I only take on certain cases. I\u2019m Judge Donovan James. Olivia\u2019s father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, crap. Sorry. I didn\u2019t know.\u201d I flustered. \u201cI guess this is the best way to meet your girlfriend\u2019s father, huh?\u201d I shrugged.<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father chuckled. \u201cNo, 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\u2019ve 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\u2019re a good person. She has called me every single hour of every day since you\u2019ve been here to beg me to help you. She\u2019s 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\u2019ve seen your records and your history\u2026 and I think I should be able to help you. Olivia insists that this officer\u2026\u201d He checked his notes\u201d Officer Locke is a crooked cop who has something against you. This seems like an interesting case, and I\u2019m willing to take it on.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father drew in a deep breath. \u201cThe first thing they tell you in law school is that it doesn\u2019t matter if you did it or not. If you did it, sometimes its better not to know\u2026 It\u2019s 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\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I drew in a deep breath. \u201cI 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\u2019s going to haunt me for the rest of my life.\u201d I insisted. \u201cI spent weeks in rehab and prision, which were absolutely awful. You have no idea. And as if I hadn\u2019t learned my lesson, my parents hated me so much they shipped me off to a school where I couldn\u2019t 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 clich\u00e9, 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.\u201d I paused, swallowing thickly. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have done something stupid that would jeopardize how hard I\u2019ve actually worked to pull my life together. Above all, I wouldn\u2019t have hurt Olivia like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father nodded slowly. \u201cCan you tell me what happened the night you were arrested?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cI was with Olivia the whole day. I don\u2019t 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\u2026 err\u2026 your car\u2026\u201d I quickly corrected. \u201cAnd we started driving back to your place. We were planning on spending the evening together watching movies\u2026 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\u2019s no way. People were passing us on the road. The next thing I knew was that the passenger\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust like that? Without any probable cause?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head. \u201cShe wasn\u2019t weaving. We were both sober as\u2026 well, a judge I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father nodded. \u201cWould you be willing to take a poly-graph test?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a drug test?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019ll testify against officer Locke?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019ll do anything, but yeah.\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father nodded. \u201cWell, I think I\u2019ve heard everything I need to hear\u2026 I\u2019ll get back to the office and start working on your appeal. I\u2019m going to pull Officer Locke\u2019s records and see if there are any complains about him\u2026 and we\u2019ll go from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks\u2026 this\u2026 this means a lot. You have no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father smiled wryly and nodded. \u00a0\u201cNow, in terms of posting your bail, there\u2019s nothing I can do tonight\u2026 but if I sign the paperwork and get working on your appeals, I should be able to have you out first thing tomorrow morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
I drew in a deep breath. \u201cI don\u2019t have any place else to go\u2026 I might as well just stay here. I\u2019m sure my parents won\u2019t have me back in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father nodded. \u201cI have spoken to your parents, and they are aware of what\u2019s 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\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed thickly. I knew I couldn\u2019t face them, even if what he was saying was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are uncomfortable returning home, you are more than welcome to stay at my condo with Olivia\u2026 however there will be rules. You must stay on the sofa bed, and there\u2019s to be no funny business. If there is, you\u2019d better believe that I have the authority to throw you right back in here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no. Of course.\u201d I insisted.<\/p>\n
Olivia\u2019s father smiled lightly, and stood up. \u201cI\u2019ll get started on getting you out, and once you\u2019re settled, we\u2019ll start working on your case. I\u2019ll do my best to have this mess all cleaned up before you\u2019re set to return to school.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded. \u201cThank you.\u201d I scrambled to my feet and extended my hand. \u201cThank you, very much, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judge James smiled lightly again and nodded, shaking my hand. \u201cYou mean a lot to my daughter. I haven\u2019t always been able to be there for her when she\u2019s needed me, but now I have a chance to at least fix some of the mistakes I\u2019ve 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\u2019t be fighting this hard for you if you weren\u2019t worth it.\u201d He clapped me on the shoulder and left my cell.<\/p>\n