Chapter 12: "The Free Man"

The warden had been notified that Ethan's appeal had been moved up at the last minute. Upon receiving faxed conformation from the county prosecutor that Ethan had won his appeal and his conviction had been not only overturned but the death ruled self-defense, the warden called his various minions and started the paperwork necessary for Ethan's release.

By the time Ethan's work detail returned to the prison for lunch, the paperwork was all but completed and the warden had already had the man's clothes and personal effects brought to his office. With his clerk standing by, he informed Ethan of his freedom. After spending thirty minutes on the phone with Howard getting the details, two guards escorted Ethan to the showers used by the guards so he could shower and change into his civilian clothes. Ten minutes after that, Ethan was walking a free man out of the prison to a waiting taxi.

Fearing possible investigation by more government agencies than they wanted to think about, the Harris's wasted no time in making their most sizeable donation to the county coffers, in exchange for documents for immunity from prosecution that is!

At Howard Booth's insistence, Foster had a cashier's check in the amount of $100,000 wired to a bank in Columbus and the check was waiting for Ethan upon his arrival. The money would be deducted from the 10.5 million dollar settlement.

Foster had even made a few calls to the D.M.V. and had Ethan's inmate license upgraded immediately. A certified copy of it was also waiting for him at the bank when he got there. Ethan deposited $50,000 and took the rest in cash.

Upon leaving the bank, Ethan had the taxi driver take him to one of the local Ford dealerships. As they pulled into the dealership, Ethan saw exactly what he wanted and upon getting out of the taxi, he walked into the lobby and asked to see a salesman.

He said to the man, "I want to buy that candy-apple read Mustang and I've got cash. If you can't have me out of here in thirty minutes I'll go somewhere else. Is that a problem?" The man saw the taxi with its motor running outside and politely asked to see the money. Ethan showed him the envelope containing the cash causing a big smile to appear on the salesman's face.

The taxi paid and dismissed, Ethan and salesman sat down to begin the necessary paperwork. While they were doing so, the manager of the dealership came over and politely asked Ethan if he would be offended if the man verified the authenticity of the money.

Ethan told him no and handed the man the business card the bank manager had given him along with the receipt for the cash withdrawal of $50,000. Howard had told Ethan that if asked for his address to give them the address of his office. It came in really handy when they were talking to the insurance agent over the phone making sure the car was insured. Two minutes later, the manager returned apologizing profusely to Ethan and asked if there was anything he could do to help move things along.

Exactly twenty minutes later, Ethan was in his brand new car and on the highway back to Magnolia.

The drive to Magnolia seemed to take forever, which gave him plenty of time to think.

In his conversation with Howard Ethan had learned a lot. The man had told him how Becky tirelessly worked to get his freedom. That she had never married and had waited for him all that time.

Upon hearing the lawyer's words, Ethan felt the heavy burden of guilt fall upon him. He felt horrible for not having returned responding to her calls, letters and requests to see him. He had meant well, but in hindsight, he could see now that it was the wrong thing to do. 'It's a wonder, ' he thought to himself, 'that she didn't give up on me.' Like Ethan, she had lost the last fifteen years of her life.

The difference was, she had done so willingly and he wondered how he would ever live up to her expectations of him. He didn't know, but he did know that he would spend the rest of his life trying, not just because he owed it to her, even though he did; but also, because he still loved her. It was that love for her that had kept him going all those years.

As impatient as he was to be reunited with his love, Ethan found he enjoyed the simple freedom of the drive back to Magnolia. He took end the landscape along the way as he passed field after field covered with the trademark red soil made so by its high iron oxide content.