First Degree Innocence (25 page)

She accompanied the deputy down the long corridor and out the door to the waiting vehicle. The fresh air smelled better than ever before. She couldn’t believe that in a few hours she’d be free.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Nestled in the corner of the police cruiser’s backseat, no handcuffs, no shackles, Carrie rested her head, disbelieving the outcome of her hearing. She’d expected much more of a fight from the state. They’d seemed so adamant at her first trial, and convinced twelve strangers of her absolute guilt. Between Ryan, Seth and Stephen, they’d put together an iron-clad appeal. She’d never be able to thank them enough. Biting her knuckle, she stifled the gleeful laughter bubbling inside. She was about to become a free woman after over a year spent behind bars.

Memories of her months of incarceration spun through her mind. Her one regret: she didn’t get to see the looks on Jet and Ogden’s faces when their nasty little secret was exposed. She hadn’t known Marie Collins long enough to care about her, but the woman deserved to serve more time for her attempted stabbing. The nightmare was almost over.

Carrie’s gaze shifted to the window. Acres and acres of central valley farmland rolled by like scenes of a movie. Her heart ached, seeing laborers, some wearing bandanas or wide-brimmed hats, hunched in the fields and toiling for despicable wages. At least, the late afternoon hour gave them some respite from the unrelenting California sun.

Recollections of her time spent toiling in the garden flooded back. The difference: That time gave her freedom from confinement and the pleasure of gazing upon Seth’s handsome face. Did she love him? She wasn’t sure. She’d never loved a man before. Liked perhaps, but loved? Never.

The flat, endless land stretched on for miles with nothing familiar on the horizon. She leaned toward the deputy. “How much further?”

“Almost there.” He pointed out the driver’s window toward the prison.

She chuckled. “I was so busy thinking about my good fortune, I didn’t even notice. Once I leave Nuevo, I never want to see it again.”

She sagged back against the seat, recalling all the times she’d stood at the prison’s steel fence, peering across miles of emptiness at the darting colors on the interstate. Funny, the distance looked much shorter from this perspective.

Within five minutes, the deputy stopped the cruiser in front of the sally port doors. He radioed the tower, and the massive steel door rolled up like a Venetian blind. Once inside, her escort left the driver’s seat, circled behind the vehicle and opened her door. He offered his hand to help her out and guided her to the door of the processing area, where he stopped. In his other hand, he held a manila envelope stamped “court documents”.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I’m not allowed inside with my gun. Someone will be out to get you.”

The ensuing silence begged for something to be said.

“Thank you for taking me to court today.”

“You’re welcome. I’m happy things went in your favor.” He smiled, softening the coldness of his eyes.

“I imagine you have a very difficult job.”

He nodded. “It certainly has its challenges. The hardest part is remaining detached from whatever happens around you.”

“I suppose that would be hard, especially if you genuinely care.” She’d never make a good cop. She cared too deeply about people.

The conversation lulled again, but the familiar freckled face of the red-headed guard appeared in the doorway.

“Delivering Carrie Lang back to you.” The deputy handed the folder to the matron, turned and walked back to his cruiser. He glanced over his shoulder. “Good luck, Ms. Lang.”

“Thank you, officer.” She stepped inside, lightness lifting her spirits. This time, she’d be preparing for departure instead of being booked into the bowels of Hell.

“Have a seat over there, please.” The guard pointed to a chair between two holding cells. Strange faces stared out from the windows. Carrie understood the apprehension in their eyes.

She sat and waited while the guard opened the envelope and perused the contents. Anxious, she crossed and uncrossed her ankles and fidgeted in her chair.

The matron looked up at Carrie and smiled. “Looks like things went in your favor today. That’s good news.”

“Very good news.” Carrie beamed. “How long before I can leave?”

“Not long. I’ll have someone escort you back to your cell to get the items assigned when you checked in, and in the meantime, I’ll retrieve your property bag from storage. A few computer checks, entry of your judgment, and you’ll be on your way.” She motioned to another guard. “Can you please take Ms. Lang back to retrieve her stuff?”

Carrie followed behind the person wearing the name tag, “Freedland.” So many new faces must have resulted with Ogden’s firing. Most likely some of the other guards were aware of the situation, and through their participation had also been relieved of duty.

The cell was empty and the door open—rec time. Carrie stuffed her few toiletries inside her laundry bag with her spare uniform, stripped her bed and balled the sheets up in the worn blanket. Hugging her assigned belongings and filled with sudden sadness, she turned back to Ms. Freedland. “Is it possible for me to visit the rec room one last time? I’d like the opportunity to say goodbye to my roommate.”

The woman shrugged. “I really don’t know. I haven’t been here long enough to know all the rules, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. Leave your things here by the door and come with me.”

The guard assigned to the rec room allowed them inside. Carrie made a beeline for the table where she’d spent so much time with Susanna and the girls. Ms. Freedland hung back by the entrance.

Susanna looked up from her usual card game, collapsed her fanned hand and smiled. “You’re back. How’d it go?”

Carrie swallowed. “I’m free.”

“What?” Susanna stood and grasped Carrie’s hands. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. They’re waiting for me in the processing area, but I couldn’t leave without telling you how much you’ve meant to me all these months.” Her voice cracked and tears pooled in her eyes.

Susanna embraced her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you to make me laugh.”

Carrie stepped back and wiped her tears. “Oh, you’ll find someone else funnier than me.” She gazed at the group seated behind Susanna. “I-I don’t know what to say. You’ve all been like family to me, and I’ll never forget you.”

One by one, her friends stood and hugged her.

Turning to Susanna again, Carrie forced a smile. “I promise I’ll write to you, and you can read my letters to the girls. Depending on where I end up, I’ll try to come visit.”

Susanna swallowed hard. “You’d better write. It’s no fair leaving us hanging without knowing everything that happened today.”

“The most important thing you need to know is that you’ll no longer have to put up with Jet and Ogden. They’re out of your lives for good.”

Carrie turned to a tap on her shoulder.

“Time to go.” Matron Freedland nodded toward the door.

“Oh, Susanna, I’m going to miss you.” Carrie hugged her friend one last time. “Take care of yourself and stay safe.” Tears streaming, she turned and walked with the guard to the door. She stopped and waved, then blew a kiss. She really would miss them all.

Sniffling, Carrie stopped at the cell and snatched her belongings from the doorway then returned to the processing area. The red-headed guard greeted her with her property bag and directed Carrie to the women’s shower room. “When you’re dressed, I should have your paperwork ready for you.”

Carrie hesitated outside the cold, block room, remembering how frightened she’d been the day she’d arrived. With a deep breath, she stepped inside and pulled her wrinkled belongings from the zippered bag—undergarments, her pink blouse, denim jeans, tennis shoes and socks. She lined them on the wooden bench where she’d once sat and shivered while waiting for Ogden to further demean her.

In the very bottom, she found her purse. The black clutch held her keys, a tube of lipstick and her wallet complete with nineteen dollars and forty-four cents. She flipped through the brown leather, checking for her driver’s license and her mother’s photo. Carrie stared through blurred eyes at the woman who’d loved and cared for her—so much she feared losing her daughter to her ex-husband. Feeling no animosity for the lies her mother told, Carrie understood and forgave her. Life was good, and nothing could spoil the moment.

Carrie stripped off her orange peels and let them fall to the floor. Shedding the prison underwear, she covered her nakedness with her own bra and panties, and reveled in the knowledge of being the only one to have worn them before. She donned her pants and blouse, then sat and pulled on her socks and shoes. Strangely, the moment resembled hitting the rewind button on a video. Her life had taken twists and turns she never imagined in her wildest nightmares, but now she was starting a new chapter in her life. Where she was heading? She didn’t know.

Dressed and ready for freedom, Carrie went back to the processing counter. The guard presented her with papers to sign: one declaring she received back all property taken from her when she was processed in, and the second, a completed checklist that recorded the return of inventory belonging to the prison. Carrie signed both. “Is that all?”

“That’s it.” She handed Carrie an envelope. “Inside you’ll find money for transportation home. There’s a bus schedule inside and a payphone on the post outside the gate. “C’mon, I’ll escort you out. You’re free to go.”

Carrie’s breath hitched. “Those are beautiful words. I never thought I’d hear them so soon.”

She walked with the red-headed guard out through a different set of doors, down a long outside fenced corridor to a pair of sliding gates. The woman used her portable radio and asked the guard overhead to permit Carrie’s exit. The squeal of sliding steel set Carrie’s teeth on edge.

Before she stepped outside the prison perimeter, the guard offered her hand. “We never really got acquainted. My name is Joanne Farris.”

Carrie shook hands with her and smiled.

Joanne covered their joined hands with her other in a friendly caress. “I want to apologize for the horrible way you were treated by Margaret Ogden. Not all of us think inmates deserve to continue to be punished once they get here. I’m glad the truth came out … for all of us. Good luck, Ms. Lang.” She released Carrie’s hand and stood until the gates slid closed between the two of them.

Freedom never smelled so good despite the loose dust being stirred up by the ever present wind lapping at the flat land surrounding Nuevo. A car approached in the distance. Carrie narrowed her eyes, trying to see the driver. She’d expected to find Seth and her father waiting, but found neither. The dark sedan stopped, the door opened and Seth’s lanky form uncurled from behind the wheel. His boyish smile sent a tremor to her soul. She wanted to run to him and fling herself into his arms, but resolved to wait for him to come to her.

His eyes sparkled as he drew closer.

Her legs turned leaden, making movement impossible. He closed the gap between them and hugged her. “I’ve prayed for this day, but I wasn’t sure it would come.”

She rested her head against his shoulder and inhaled his wonderful scent. “I’m so glad you came.” She leaned away. “I expected to see my father, too. Did you talk to him at all?”

“Oh, that.” Seth peered at her and grinned. “I asked him to let me bring you home, and he agreed. I have directions right here.” He patted his pants pocket.

“That’s a good thing because I have no idea where home is.” She chuckled. Turning serious, she lifted her chin and gazed into the blue eyes she’d come to love. “Honestly, I owe you more than I can ever repay. You not only involved Ryan in my case, but he found my father and brought us together again. There’s no amount of money I could ever amass that would ever be enough to show my gratitude and love.”

“You’re worth every penny I spent.”

“You paid for the attorney?” Her mouth gaped. “Now I owe you even more.”

Tell you what….” Seth reached in his back pocket, produced a pair of handcuffs and snapped them on her wrists. “These will have to do until I can buy you a ring, but if you agree to become my wife, I’ll unlock them. But this time there’s no possibility of overturning the verdict.” He brushed her lips with a gentle kiss that stole her breath.

Tears burned the back of her throat. She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. The dream she’d held close all these months was really coming true. Unable to hug him, she dropped her cuffed hands over his head and smiled up at him. “I’ll only accept if you give me a lifetime sentence.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Multi-published author, Ginger Simpson, retired from the University of California, Davis in 2003 after twenty-three years of working with students.  She relocated to Tennessee, along with her husband, Kelly, in order to spend time writing and be caretaker to their grandson, Spencer.  In her spare time, she blogs, chats, promotes, Facebooks, Tweets, posts on loops, and creates video trailers for her books.  She's been published since 2003 and hopes to be around for a long time.  With eight new releases coming in 2011, she's looking forward to a busy year.  The continuous stream of characters who use the revolving door to her mind keep in works-in-progress folder full.  It's a good thing she loves to write.