“Yeah. Hungry, though.”
“How about some ice cream?”
“That would be good.”
“Okay. Oh, but there is one thing I need to ask you first.” I stepped up to the bed. Pulling the little red box from my pocket I pulled open the lid. Natasha never even looked at the ring. She looked at me. Just me. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears and she smiled. I knew all that she saw was me.
JOSHUA
Of course, the police were going to listen to my brother first. He was the one who met them at the door like the gentleman he is. But being taken down to the police station wasn’t so bad. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the accommodations.
Being thrown into a cell with four other men would be enough to terrify an ordinary man, but not me. This was just a small detour. At any minute the Universe would reveal her plan and I’d be back on the street. But right now I would have to earn my stripes.
“What are you looking at?” I hissed immediately, upon hearing the bars lock behind me and the footsteps of the police officer recede down the hallway. “Do you have something you want to say to me?”
The man I was saying this too had to be about six feet tall and barrel chested. There were tattoos on his arms. He had probably been thrown in for public intoxication or something equally benign. Note to my future protégé: If you aren’t going to go big, go home.
He narrowed his eyes at me and began to stand up when I punched him in the larynx. Then I grabbed him by the hair as he was gasping for breath and slammed his face into the nearest concrete wall. The blood made a pattern like a butterfly.
He slumped to the floor. The other men watched him but said nothing. They didn’t call for help. They turned their backs. I was left alone. It’s that whole honor among thieves thing. They may hate my guts but they hate the police more.
I sat in that holding tank for about thirty minutes before my attorney showed up.
“I don’t care what you do. You need to get me out of here.” I said to Bernie Power, my attorney. He stood about five feet six inches tall. A real short shit. His suit had to cost about three thousand dollars and his shoes the same. He had been my attorney since my parents died and my brother tried to get me off the board of directors the first time. Bernie tied things up with so much red tape the suit looked like a Cristo work of art. His hair was white and naturally wavy and he had two huge dimples in his cheeks when he smiled, which wasn’t that often.
But right now he wasn’t helping. This was ridiculous that someone like me had to sit here on a metal seat talking into a phone that was covered with only God knew what kind of bacteria from this place.
“Joshua, I told you. You’re being charged with kidnapping and attempted murder.”
“I told you. She’s not going to talk. She’ll change her story. Now, whatever the bail is you take what you need and get the wheels of justice turning my way. Okay? Is that too fucking hard for you to figure out?”
“Joshua, I told you. You aren’t going anywhere. And cussing me out won’t change that. Look, I’ve always been honest with you. And right now I’m telling you that the chances of you getting out of this place are going to be slim. You are part of the Reid fortune. Whatever judge we get is going to look to make an example of you and a name for himself. Bail may not be an option. We just have to wait and see.
I felt my blood boiling. This wasn’t the kind of thing the Universe would do to me. Not me.
“And that is just what you’ve got going on in this country. Seems I was also informed that a certain companion of yours went missing in Canada.” Bernie looked at me like I was a kid who had chocolate all over my face but said I didn’t eat the cake.
So what? Who cared about what happened to some whore in Canada?
“They’ll never find a body.” I said.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Josh. I am.” Bernie said, his eyes darting around quickly. “What I am going to tell you is that you need to relax. No more displays of strength in the holding cells. No more smartass comments to the guards. Just do as you’re told and it will help me do what I have to do to get you out.”
It was over six months ago that I had that conversation with Bernie. He was right. It was pretty amazing how easily people leaned your way with just a little shred of respect. Like cows with big, dumb eyes that followed along a metal maze calmly and content to just walk. They are skinned and sliced and hanging in a meat locker on a hook before they know what has happened.
Unfortunately, my brother had gotten to the jury at the trial. It was a speedy event with no cameras allowed. My brother made certain of that. They wanted me to take a deal. Thirteen years with the possibility of parole after five. I wouldn’t accept. The Universe doesn’t reward making deals with mere mortals.
So Bernie argued my case and made my brother and Miss Natasha Morgan look like the scheming parasites they are. But, the twelve peers in the box thought I was a bit over-the-top. I wasn’t allowed to take the stand. So I sat next to Bernie listening to each witness talking try and make me out to be some kind of monster.
Funny thing that Marty’s Secretary Denise didn’t have anything to say. Natasha didn’t have much to say either. Not after it came to light how much I had spent on her, where I had taken her, how she was now pregnant with my brother’s kid.
I have to admit, she robbed me of the opportunity to hear the sordid details of her relationship with my brother when I confronted her at her parent’s house. But Bernie, I have to say, did a magnificent job getting her to tear up. Her eyes darted back and forth from Bernie to the jury to me. Her cheeks burned with humiliation as she acknowledged being with my brother and I during the same time period. Not at the same time, mind you. But a few weeks did overlap. She fidgeted in her seat and stared daggers at Bernie who I think was having a good time himself. And when she had finished and stepped down from the stand our eyes locked and I gave her a quick wink. I lived on that memory of her shame for a couple of months once they placed me in my new living quarters.
The only fly in the ointment was Diamond. When she took the stand I have to admit I was in awe of her. She stared right at me. She didn’t flinch. She repeated the story of what had happened in beautiful detail and I relived it all with her as she spoke. For a second, just a sliver of time, less than a blink, I was almost certain I felt a spark between us. A mutual appreciation for what we were and that was predators that were on opposite sides of the morality line. Diamond would never admit to it but she was craving my blood just as I had been for Natasha and my brother. Somehow, she thinks that makes her better than me. But it didn’t. It made her my equal. She never did what I expected her to do. In fact, she always surprised me. Unpredictability is a rare quality in most women. Many nights I laid awake wondering how different things would have been if I had pursued Diamond instead of Natasha. There would be no doubt that I would have to pay her a visit once I was released.
I have to admit that prison isn’t really as bad as it is made out to be. Not for someone like me.
Statesville Penitentiary was a mid-level security prison. There were some real heavy hitters in here and quite a few offenders were transferred to maximum security prisons after a brief stay within these wall. But it was actually a very interesting place. Bernie was able to secure me a single cell. It was as small as you’d think it was but how much room did I need to plan for the future.