The Conviction: Enacting Vigilante Justice

by John Mathews

  ONE

  “I’m done for the day, Richard. We can discuss this again on Monday, but I’m telling you that this case is finished. He hasn’t got a chance at an appeal.” Nancy Dorsey grabbed her brief case and started towards the door.

  The defense attorney stood up before she could head out of the office. Nancy stopped for a moment, knowing that he was going to say something that she didn’t want to hear.

  “There has to be a loophole, Nancy. I want to keep meeting with my client, even though he is incarcerated. He at least needs to feel like there’s a way out. Getting ten years for a first time…”

  Nancy promptly interrupted him. “You mean that you want to keep billing him, right, Richard? And keep getting paid by the state for someone that can’t afford a defense of his own? All you need to do is file for an appeal, wait, and learn. Nothing is going to change the outcome of this case and you know it. Have a good weekend.”

  She stepped out of his office, closing the door behind her. Is he serious? There is a way out – serve the damn time. If you want your client to feel better, send in a psychotherapist. Spineless twat. Nancy Dorsey had served as a prosecuting attorney in Topeka, Kansas for twenty-two years, and knew the ins and outs of the system like clockwork. She was a hard-nosed woman who was proudly tough on criminals. After finalizing her divorce a couple of years ago, she was solely focused on her career and affluence.

  Nancy pulled into the cul-de-sac of her two million-dollar estate. Despite her former husband’s considerable debts and a mortgage that she couldn’t really afford, she had maintained the lifestyle that she wanted in the affluent neighborhood of Mission Hills. She wasn’t about to let falling real estate values deter her from keeping the 10,000 square foot place all to herself.

  She set her brief case on the kitchen table and made a steaming hot Italian coffee from the stainless steel pump cappuccino machine. After stirring in two teaspoons of sugar, she eagerly gulped it down, went into her personal office, and had a seat at her computer desk. She was shaking her head in disbelief at Richard’s foolish behavior. The evidence against his client was overwhelming, and it was about time that he focus on cases where he would be more useful.

  Nancy kicked off her work shoes, comfortably stretching her feet out in front of her, and switched on her personal computer. More than a hundred spam emails, what a pain. Do I need to create a new email account every other month or what? After hitting the delete button over and over, she logged into her account on a business networking website. She had joined the website months ago in hopes of connecting with other successful professionals. This webpage displayed profiles of potential business investors, advisors, and those looking for business ideas or partners.

  Ahh, there it is, the message I’ve been waiting for. Let’s see if this guy’s serious. At least he’s been professional with me from the beginning, which is more than I can say for many of my associates. And he really does seem to have a lot of insight, experience, and a proven track record. If this investment opportunity is real, then I need to be in on it.

  “Nancy, I want to personally invite you to a business meeting where potential investors will learn all about the opportunity that I have been discussing with you. I will be presenting a chance to get stock with several companies that are both undervalued and have tremendous growth potential in the next three to five years. We specifically look at the Price/Earnings to Growth (PEG) ratio to provide a complete picture of the expected return on investment for each company. Our motto is ‘divide and conquer’, and we need a few qualified people to go in on some investments with us, so that we may own a larger share of the profits. We want to keep the share holdings in the hands of the few who we will get to know and trust. The invitees to the meeting are strictly confidential as are the specifics of what will be discussed.

  Please find the time and date of the meeting as well as the location at a large office warehouse in the city. We chose this location since we feel privacy and security are of the utmost importance. Food and drinks will be served for all of the privately invited guests and I look forward to your RSVP.

  Regards,

  Jordan Davidson”

  Nancy looked over Jordan’s profile one more time. A career background as a venture capitalist and hedge fund trader. That’s a little over my head but whatever. Where’s his background info? Ah – here we go. His profile outlined his reason for signing onto the website as being to network with other professionals for business investment opportunities offering a high rate of return. He wanted to create a team of investors that could scoop up a very wide range of stocks while all sharing in the profits together. He had messaged Nancy and learned about her liability for her former husband’s debts and her overwhelming mortgage, and thought that she was the perfect candidate for a medium-range short-term investment.

  I think I’ve got nothing to lose. At the very least I can gain some valuable insight. If Don had a tenth of this guy’s financial sense, I wouldn’t be in this ridiculous financial hole since the divorce. Even in her late 50’s, this slender inconspicuous woman with short, dark hair was a risk-taker and would-be investment tycoon. She accepted the invitation, and confirmed her attendance at the upcoming investment business meeting.

  ***

  As she drove through downtown Topeka the following Friday afternoon, Nancy kept a watchful eye on her GPS system. The route she took was rather tricky, and passed through a working class neighborhood. The smallish houses gave way to old buildings with only a few small windows up high. She passed by the Topeka train station and soon arrived at her destination. The warehouse was several stories high by several stories wide, taking up almost a whole block. It was made entirely of blood-red brick with just a few narrow, rectangular windows on each floor.

  Nancy pulled her blue 2013 Audi A3 around to the back of the building. The parking lot was old and worn down looking with small bits of gravel covering it. She parked her Audi next to the three other cars in the lot and stepped outside to have a better look around.

  A door to the warehouse was open and there was the sound of voices coming from inside. Nancy approached the entry, noticing that the windows on either side of it were secured with steel bars, and stepped inside.

  A familiar voice greeted her just inside the door. “Well if it isn’t Nancy Dorsey. It’s been a good while since we’ve see each other. Fancy meeting you here.”

  Nancy gasped in astonishment at seeing Topeka Defense Attorney John Madison who had obviously been invited to the private meeting. She had battled him in court over criminal cases many times before. “Why John – what a surprise. Our paths seem to cross even at some inconspicuous places.”

  John nodded. His mid-fifties portly face with thick glasses had a faint smile across it. Nancy thought that he seemed a little too glad to see her. “That they do. How the heck have you been? I would imagine that the single life of such a successful and well-respected prosecuting attorney is treating you very well.”

  What the hell is he doing here? I know where he lives – he wouldn’t know a good investment if smacked him in the ass. Nancy grinned. “How did you know? I made sure that I was very well fixed after the divorce. I figure to put in no more than ten more years of full time work and then be fully retired.” Lying was easy for her.

  “You always did like leading a life of luxury, Nancy.”

  Like he would know what that is. She patted John on the shoulder. “Precisely. So how did you find out about this – um, meeting? Do you know how many people are going to attend and what exactly it will entail?”

  “Probably the same way that you did, Nancy – through the online business website. There are only
a couple of other guys here so far. I just know that this was organized by a real investment guru. He’s going to show us some unbeatable opportunities, like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”

  “But what do you know about this guy, John, and do you know what the opportunities entail?”

  “I don’t know much more than you do, but by the look of his online profile and experience, he has been cleaning up for years. This sounds like too good of an opportunity to pass up. Come and look at the spread that’s laid out for us here in the main room!”

  Nancy hung her jacket on a hook just inside the doorway and walked with John further inside the spacious warehouse. In the center of the room was a round wooden table with a white tablecloth. Spotlights, dangling from the high ceiling on long wires, brightly illuminated the entire space. On top of the table was a meticulously laid smorgasbord of sliced prime rib, grilled vegetables, jumbo shrimp cocktail, whole grain bread, an assortment of fruits and cheeses, and accompanying bottles of wine and champagne.

  She smirked at John and poured herself a glass of red wine. “Well at least they know how to make us feel welcome here.”

  Across the table were two other much younger men. John motioned them over to introduce them to Nancy.

  “Kevin and Jeffrey, this is Nancy Dorsey. She is one of the state’s premier prosecuting attorneys.”

  Kevin Thompson was the first to greet her. With his dark brown eyes wide open, the tall and lanky man stepped forward. “Wow, Mrs. Dorsey – I sure didn’t expect to see you again. I mean, well – not since the trial is finished and all. All I can say is thanks for giving us that sweet deal. We sure didn’t mean for nothing that bad to happen.”

  Nancy gazed at Kevin and then over at Jeffrey Eldridge. Good Lord, it’s like I’m back in court. What the hell are these two doing here? She had tried many cases in her time, but could easily remember these two guys, now in their early-twenties.

  Jeffrey stood next to Kevin and spoke to her. “Ya man, we woulda been royally screwed without you. Thanks again for doing the right thing.”

  John looked completely puzzled and adjusted his spectacles. “Wait a moment – you mean that you three already know each other?”

  Nancy nodded emphatically. “Of course, John, don’t you remember? I tried a case against these two guys a little more than three years ago. You were defending a third guy who was involved in a crime with them – a breaking and entering that ended up with one of their friends getting killed. How could you have forgotten?”

  John’s jaw dropped to the floor and he slapped his hand against his forehead. “My God, that’s right! I hadn’t recognized them! I was defending Michael Jaworski.”

  Defending? If that’s what you want to call it. “Exactly,” Nancy responded. “We made a plea deal and these two guys got just a few years in prison. Your client was sentenced to life.”

  John blinked. “Ya, that was a REALLY tough case. The evidence was rather scattered, but it didn’t look too good for Michael. We were really in a bind. With the testimonies from you two guys, I don’t really think that there was much else I could’ve done to...”

  “There wasn’t,” Jeffrey interrupted. “We’re just glad to be out of prison and moving on with our lives.” His low voice resonated from his strong, muscular body, made even more formidable by the tattoos covering his arms. “So how is it that we’re all here, today, for this little get together?”

  Nancy shrugged. “I was going to ask you guys the same thing. This can’t be a coincidence. Did you say that you met the guy who called this meeting, John? You know this Jordan Davidson?”

  “Not at all,” replied John. “I think we all just know him from the online invitation.”

  “So then where the hell is he?” Jeffrey was anxious for some clarification. “And when does the meeting begin? It’s ten minutes past the scheduled starting time.”

  John surveyed the large, open room once more. “I guess he just hasn’t arrived yet. So let’s eat this wonderful food and have a cocktail until Jordan gets here.”

  Suddenly, the small group of four was startled by a thunderous noise of metal slamming against the hard, concrete floor. A steel-plated door had come crashing down from above the doorway. Now the only visible exit from the warehouse was sealed shut, and they were all trapped inside.

  TWO

  Jeffrey set his drink down and gazed at the steel door. “What in the hell is going on here?”

  Nancy looked John square in the eye. “So do you still think this Jordan guy is coming? This looks like some kind of fucking set-up. I’m too rich for this crap.”

  John hesitated for a moment before responding. “Calm down, guys. It can’t be. Surely there’s an explanation for this. There must be a way to open that door back up from the inside.”

  Kevin took his cell phone out of his pants pocket. There was no signal. “Do any of us have any cell phone reception here?”

  The other three checked their cell phones and nobody was getting a signal.

  “We’re inside some really thick, brick walls with high, industrial ceilings.” John remarked, keeping a placid disposition. “I don’t think any of us will be able to make a call.”

  Jeffrey darted towards the steel door. He tried to lift the thick, solid piece of metal, and then pounded on it relentlessly with his fists. “Open this goddam thing. Who the fuck closed it and where the hell is he?”

  John cupped his hands over his mouth and shouted at him. “That’s two layers of solid steel plate. I don’t think that pounding on it is going to…”

  “Well I don’t like being caged in here like an animal,” Jeffrey retorted. “I’m gonna be getting the fuck out of here if this is some kinda set-up.”

  Nancy motioned to him to come back to the round table. “Let’s discuss this together and figure out what’s going on here. Did we all receive the same online invitation to this business meeting? I know that John and I did.”

  Jeffrey nodded. “Ya, some dude had contacted me on facebook and was talking with me for a few weeks about this amazing investment opportunity.”

  Nancy gave a look of acknowledgement. “And how about you, Kevin?”

  “Well ya, this Jordan Davidson guy was also talkin’ to me on facebook.” Kevin replied. “He was tellin’ me about some sweet investment deals and that he needed a group of people to go in on them with him to minimize risks. And he knew that my family has a lot of money so he thought I was the perfect candidate.”

  “So we all got the same offer – to meet here at this old warehouse at 4 pm today, Friday, to learn about the investment opportunity of a lifetime? And we were all part of the same criminal case that I prosecuted a little more than three years go?” Nancy queried.

  The three men nodded.

  Nancy wagged her finger back and forth a few times. “So before we all start going crazy, let’s have a look around this place and see if we’re missing something.”

  They walked together to survey the huge, mostly empty former production floor inside the warehouse.

  The inside walls were made of bricks of various reddish shades. The more than twenty-feet high ceiling was supported by long wooden beams. Some metal pipes ran just under the beam support structure and held dangling halogen lights. Two long, narrow windows were high up on each of the brick walls, and covered by steel bars. In the far left corner of the room there were a bunch of shipping crates, stacked in rows on top of each other. Behind the crates against the wall was an eight-foot square plywood panel with some aluminum rods in front of it. The top portion of the plywood was marked with the words “Heavy Freight Rooms”.

  Jeffrey tilted his head up to see the bit of sunlight coming in through the windows. “There sure as hell ain’t no way to get out through those windows. You’d need a ladder to even reach them and those bars on them reminds me of being back in prison!”

  John nodded in agreement. “I think this used to be a shipping warehouse. They would have stored a lot of valuable commodities inside an
d security was essential. From the looks of those old abandoned shipping crates, it’s been a while since anyone was working here.”

  Nancy gave a wry smile. “So then who was online posing as some investment guru, and had the key to this place? Whoever it was must’ve had some kind of authorization to be here – I mean look at the food and drink that was left for us.”

  “Ya, who the hell is this guy? Could it be someone that we all know?” Kevin responded.

  John lifted his hand up cautiously. “Well, let’s discuss it. Have any of us heard from or seen anyone strange since the conclusion of the case three years ago? What about you guys when you were in prison? Did you have any correspondence with anyone from outside?”

  Jeffrey and Kevin both shook their heads emphatically in disagreement. “I hardly even heard shit from my own family,” Jeffrey remarked.

  “All right, then,” John replied. “And when did each of us first hear from this Jordan Davidson guy? About three weeks ago for every one of us?”

  The other three nodded in agreement.

  Nancy spoke tensely. “So the big question is – who brought us here and what the hell do they want with us?”

  The sober mood of the group was broken by a sizzling sound, as each of the hanging halogen lights went off, one by one. After a few seconds, the room was dark except for the bit of light coming in through the high windows. Then the plywood panel along the back wall behind the crates slid open, revealing an opening with a light shining from inside.

  Jeffrey muttered. “I think we might be about to get our damn answer.”

  THREE

  “So what do we do now?” inquired Kevin. “Head in through the opening like some damn mosquitoes being lured into the purple light?”

  John stared directly at the opening, the light blinding him for a moment. “We have no choice but to find out exactly what’s going on. Don’t jump to any conclusions just yet. Let’s go and see what’s through that doorway.”

  The group of four cautiously approached the opening in the brick wall. John was the first one to arrive at the doorway. He peered in and saw a stairway leading upwards. “This way.” He started up the stairs and the others followed.