Chapter 5

1993-96

After my good luck at Christmas, that is seeing my woman again after more than a year and a half; and, having gotten rid of the threat to my anus by Blue Top; I found myself maybe getting a bit more good luck. I’d gotten me a new lawyer, pro bono. Some group who specialized in helping this or that inmate with their parole and rehab and such. The new lawyer? Her name was Jennifer Connolly, J.D.

My wife had apparently been writing letters to this and that group looking for help and she’d gotten it, the help. She, my new lawyer, was in the seat at the table, the seat nearest the door. I walked in and around it and took the perp’s seat across from her.

“You shot a cop, really,” she said. Not even a hello.

“He was blackmailing and threatening my wife,” I said, defensively. The woman sighed.

“Mister Steele, I’m not going to kid you. It’s going to be tough going. But, I am going to do my best for you. And, at worst, providing you don’t do anything egregious to piss off the officials here at state, I figure to be able to get you out at least by year ten. It might be sooner if we’re lucky, but at least by then,” she said.

“Okay,” I said. “Can I ask, you talked to my wife?”

“Yes, and a friend of hers who has some influence, but still, it’s going to be an uphill struggle. Okay?” she said. I nodded.

“Okay,” I said.

“I should tell you I have already tried once, some time ago to see about getting you an early parole, but it was too soon. The powers wouldn’t go for it, wouldn’t even give me a serious look see. Your wife’s friend asked me to see if there was anything there, but no, there wasn’t, not then, too soon, like I said.”

“Really, I didn’t know. But okay, yes, I understand,” I said.

“She, your wife, really feels bad for you, more so than most wives in my experience. I took this case mainly because of her sense of desperation. She feels that since you did it to avenge her—mistakes—that she’s responsible for what happened. At any rate, I will be doing my best. I will be visiting you from time to time, more to remind you that I’m on it than anything else. Okay, do you have any questions?”

“No, not today,” I said. She pulled out a card and placed it on the table in front of me.

“How’s your memory?” she said.

“Okay, I guess,” I said.

“Okay then, memorize that number. I mean memorize it now, right now,” she said. I looked her askance but did as she said. I nodded. She took the card back. “I’d leave you the card, but in my experience, they often get confiscated or lost or whatever. If you need anything, apart from cigarettes or what all, give me a call, and I will see what I can do.”

“Okay, and thank you ma’am,” I said.

“You’re welcome. See you soon,” she said.

“Jennifer met with him yesterday. She called me to let me know,” said Nathan. “She going to be working on it, his parole. She’s actually confident that she can get it done a bit sooner than we all thought would be possible, but of course, that said, it’s very often the case that anything that can go wrong, well, can go wrong.”

Victoria sighed. “I know. I just hope things will fall right for our man,” she said. “And thank you, Nathan, for all of your help.”

“Not a problem. The man must be a really good guy to have you supporting him like you do. You are a helluva woman, Vic, really,” he said. He could not have imagined just how in error his analysis of the look on her face was.

“He’s been in there almost six years now. I feel so guilty, Nathan. If I hadn’t...” and she started to cry. He went to her.

“Honey it’s all right. He made a mistake, we all make ‘em. But, we’ll take care of him when he gets out regardless. We just have to be patient,” he said, and she howled even louder.

“So, your woman came again today,” said Carlos, he was smirking: he didn’t have a woman, just a bitch, me.

“Yes,” I said. Not wanting to elaborate.

“You owe me,” he said. “You should show me your appreciation.” I hated the man, not as much as Marcus the asshole Blue Top, but damn near, and I had no escape.

“It’s Konrad’s birthday this Saturday,” said Victoria, “number three.”

“Yes, I know. And he’s having the party you promised him,” said Nathan.

“Yes, and Selena is helping me plan it. Big sister and all of that,” she said.

“Is Lynne helping out. I know she was in charge of the catering at Selena’s birthday last year,” he said.

“Yes, she’s doing the same for Konrad,” she said.

“Good, good,” he said.

1996

And now it was year eight of my incarceration. And now I got a visit, a visit that I had a feeling was gonna make my day.

“Hi lawyer lady,” I said. The guard had let me into the little ten by ten meeting room that she and I had met in almost quarterly since our first meeting almost two years gone.

“Hi to you John Michael,” said Jennifer Connolly. “I have some news.”

“Okay?” I said.

“You’ll be getting out. The final word hasn’t come down, but it will by tomorrow or the next day,” she said. I sagged back in my seat.

“Oh my God!” I said. “I don’t know how...” and I started to cry. She waited for me to get hold of myself, and that took some time.

“I had to play dirty to get it done, but I finally did,” she said.

“Play dirty?” I said.

“Yes, I got a ton of dirt on Carter Williams, well, my PI did: dirt that the department didn’t want to have advertised. You might say we made a deal,” she said. I was nodding.

We talked for some time about the info she’d got and what my requirements for parole were going to be and all of it.

My lawyer handed me a sheet of paper with my wife’s current address. I’d be needing it when I did get out.

“I went back to my cell a happy man. I did cross my fingers that the word that came down in the morning would not be another disappointment. I was literally shaking, shivering, with anticipation, hope.

Thanksgiving was a week and a half away. I hoped I could be home for that. It sure would be appropriate if I were.

I had asked my lawyer, that wonderful lady, to not clue my wife. I wanted to surprise her. I was rubbing my hands in glee. Talk about happy. It was going to be the happiest day of my life, well, the third happiest: right behind my marriage to the most beautiful woman on the planet and the birth of my daughter Selena. Oh my God I was a happy man.

And the sex. The sex was going to be epochal that first night, I figured I could count on that one and that was for damn sure! Talk about needy, I sure as hell was that, oh yeah!

And the word did come down and it was all good. I would be out in a week’s time, the day before Thanksgiving.

And there was more good news: I had a home to go to, so I didn’t have to be cloistered at a halfway house. I would need to be checking in with my parole officer by a week from Friday, but no problem that, none whatsoever.

Jennifer had offered to pick me up since I wasn’t going to be cluing my woman to do so, that so I could surprise her. I’d waved her off. This one was on me and only me. Jen, had given me a questioning look, but had shrugged her reluctant okay. I wondered at that, the questioning look.

At any rate, I had almost three hundred bucks to get me started, that, the money, from work I’d been paid for while in prison. I’d need to be getting me a job right off though; I knew that. But for a short time, I’d be living off of what Vic made at the salon. But, I wasn’t worried. I was on a roll, a lucky streak. I could do no wrong. God was taking care of me because I had taken care of my woman and arguably my baby daughter, well, she wasn’t exactly a baby anymore; she was eight or nine. My math skills were still shit. But whatever, my woman could educate me.