Chapter 2

I called the cops and they came. They wasted no time sending another cruiser to fetch my wife. They arrived back at the Rooster in less than an hour. That was expected, and I’d prepped Vicky well enough, so that if she didn’t cave emotionally, we could get away with our ruse.

Things went my way. Vic did try to convince them, the cops, that it was all her fault that she had given in to blackmail by the dead officer; and I had come in just as she was about to be taken yet again by the man, saw the gun and shot the man with it.

Still, it was a cop that was killed. The men in blue did not treat me gently. My wife was screaming at them to stop roughing me up. I winced in pain as the cuffs that pinned my arms behind my back were put on me. My woman was crying like all get out; but, at least she didn’t give it up. I was grateful and relieved about that.

Eventually, I was hustled outside and into a waiting cruiser and driven to the county lockup. I wouldn’t be seeing the light of day, apart from a prison yard, for a long time.

It was but three days after my arrest, and I was sitting in court for the first time. I was shackled and hungry and cold. The D.A. had put an offer on the table for me and my court appointed attorney, Henry Goodman, a beardless boy of 29, to consider: first degree manslaughter with the possibility of parole if I pled guilty. Failing to accept the offer, I would be faced with a charge of one count of first-degree murder; best hope then would be a second-degree murder conviction.

My attorney told me that the D.A. did have an outside chance of getting his murder in the first or at least a second-degree conviction but had no chance of getting the death penalty because of the exigent circumstances: the cop was dealing drugs; they’d found some product in his cruiser. And no, I didn’t exactly know what “exigent” meant.

Still, even with no chance of getting the death penalty, life in the slam, or twenty to life at best, was not to be considered. I took the deal. I had to get out and be with my woman again someday. God how I hoped she was all right and could hold it together.

Because I’d pled out there was no jury trial. The judge, Harry Morrison, was not however, disposed to be merciful: I got ten-to-fifteen, and yes, with the possibility of parole after the ten years, and a slim possibility of maybe even earlier depending on circumstances; well, that’s what my PD told me.

Victoria was there when the hammer came down on me and howled when I was shackled and all but dragged from my seat at the defense table and hauled back to lockup to await my transfer to state prison. That would turn out to be the max-security unit at Winslow. And that was 200 miles from our place in Phoenix. I wouldn’t be seeing my wife often: actually, it would turn out to be but once a year—that by agreement between us. More often than the once a year and I was sure she would fall apart.

And, we agreed that her visits, would be other than on one of the big holidays. On her last visit to me in county I asked her to make her visits to see me on our anniversary, August 14th, or as close to that date as possible. She’d agreed.

She’d spent the whole day crying for her man: the man who was going to be taking her punishment. How could she have agreed to let him do that. The knock on the door was soft. She rose to answer it.

“Lynne,” said Victoria Steele.

“Hi, Vic, how are you holding up,” said Lynne Michaels.

“I’m not,” she said, and she began bawling again. Her long-time friend from their high school days wrapped her in her arms. There would be but little talking for the next while.

After her man’s arrest, Victoria had sought the support of her friend. She was the one really true friend she had. But, even she could not be let in the know of what had really gone down that day, that awful day; her man had made that clear and his word was set in stone!

“It’s just too much for me, Lynne, just too much,” said Victoria.

“He’ll get out one day, Vic. And when he does, you’ll be there for him. And, I know he’ll need you to be there for him more than he ever has.

“I don’t know what he was thinking shooting that guy. He had the gun; he could’ve gotten the both of you out of there without killing him. But, I do understand that he must’ve been seriously angry at the man for seducing you like he did,” said Lynne. “And maybe he was afraid the man had a second gun or something.”

“I guess,” said Vicky. “I will need to be getting a better job now, especially with Selena still a baby. I can’t make it working part time at Townsend’s. I already asked if I could get on full time, but the answer was no.”

“That’s one thing I can help you with,” said Lynne. “I asked Mary if she would hire you. She does have an open chair. You can have it if you want. And, it is full-time.”

“Oh my! Really?” said Vicky.

“Yes, really,” said Lynne.

“When can I start?”

“Monday if you want,” said Lynne.

“I want, and I’ll be there. But...” said Vicky.

“Just show up at 9:00. The boss will be there. She’s kind of expecting you. I kinda told her that you were in a desperate place because of, well, because of,” she said.

“Thank you, Lynne; and I am desperate,” said Victoria.

The bus to state prison was not air-conditioned, had no bathroom, and made no stops. None of us talked, not a word. The guards, four of them-two up front in a cage and two to in the back also in a protective cage, just stared at us or talked in low tones to each other. It was the saddest time of my life. And yet, a time of gratitude too. Why gratitude? Because I was able to do something, prove something, to my wife that words could not ever have adequately expressed. Oh, and the something was my love for her. I just hoped it would be enough to sustain her during the years to come. And more than that, I hoped it would be enough to keep her faithful to me during that long lonely time. And, there was my baby. She was going to grow up not knowing me; that would be the hardest.

I’d be seeing my wife in but six months. That’s when our August 14th anniversary date would be coming up. I was pretty sure she’d make it up to see me. If she didn’t well, then I just wouldn’t know what to think. But again, I really had no serious doubt but that she’d be coming up. My one real concern however was how she would be able to handle things without me being there for her, and boy that was a concern, a major worry.

She just had to be able to deal with the reality of things. But there was another problem. Neither of us had close living relatives; we did have some friends, friends mostly from where we worked. She’d need to be getting a better job. Her part time gig at the salon was not going to be enough. She and I had talked about things before I was sent up to state prison; and she had finally made me shut up and let her worry about the money. I’d shut up. Still, I had made her promise to let me know when she was finally settled into whatever job she was finally able to get. I knew I had zero influence in that area, but I did worry. Oh my, yes I did!