“Stand back.” The edge in the officer’s voice gave clear warning. “You need to stay where you are. There is nothing to see here.”
“This is my co-worker.” Holt’s voice was unmistakable.
Kira closed her eyes. Holy Fuck! What is he doing here? This cannot get worse. Fuck….fuck.
“My name is Captain Holt. I can take her home, officer. If she needs a ride.” Holt spoke with authority.
“You need stay right there, Captain. We are almost done here.” His voice sounded uneasy. Then to Kira, “Turn around and stand on your left foot. Hold your right foot out 8 inches off the ground. You must keep your leg straight and hold it up until I finish counting”
Kira turned and raised her right leg. As she did she raised her gaze as well and met Holt’s eyes. The officer began counting slowly from 1001 to 1030. As he counted Kira stared at Holt. He looked her up and down taking in her appearance, and then looked from her to Paige’s car and back. He seemed to be piecing it all together. The look of distain on his face softened. Kira knew that he knew exactly where she had been. She realized she had been holding her breath again an exhaled long and slow as the officer finished counting.
“Now I’m going to need you to blow into this breathalyzer,” the Officer spoke with confidence.
She saw Holt mouth the word “Shit” and shake his head. I am going to jail. Every glimmer of hope faded. Methodically, Kira followed the officer’s directions for the breathalyzer.
“Stop trying to not take the test,” he commanded impatiently as she tried desperately to blow hard enough to register the test.
“But I’m trying to,” Kira explained.
“Stop talking. I didn’t tell you to speak. You need to blow into the mouthpiece when I say. Stop trying to not take the test.” He was getting loud as he cut Kira off and demanded that she start over. The test registered the second time. Almost as soon as it beeped he began to read her rights.
“Turn around,” he commanded. “Place your hands behind your back.” Kira felt the cold steel of the handcuffs closing around her wrists. The sound of them clicking into place would haunt her sleep. Tears started to escape her burning eyes. As he sat her in the back of his car she heard Holt’s voice.
“Kira, this is going to be OK.” She couldn’t see his face but Holt’s voice was strained with a forced confidence as he tried to reassure her.
She appreciated Holt’s attempt, but she knew it wasn’t OK and wasn’t sure if it ever would be again. Kira watched Holt talking quietly with the officer through the window of the cruiser and wished she could hear what they were saying.
* * *
By the time they reached the station for booking, Kira was fully sober. The officer led her from the cruiser into the El Paso County Jail. Kira fought the urge to vomit. She looked at the pavement, afraid to look up at the large front doors of the jail. The pressure of the officer’s grip on her arm was somewhat comforting. Having never actually broken the law before, she felt closer to the officer than whatever lay waiting on the other side of those doors. The doors opened and the booking area strangely reminded her of the ER waiting room—the chaotic mess of people crying and yelling; the intense smells of vomit, urine, and body odor; people sleeping on the floor; and addicts of every shape and size. He led her to an intake desk where she gave her name and handed over her personal possessions, which since she didn’t have her purse consisted of the relentless bracelet that Stark had given her, earrings that were her grandmother’s, and a necklace she had borrowed from Paige. She closed her eyes as all that identified her was sealed in a plastic bag, tagged, and labeled. Holt had taken the keys so she didn’t even have those. Not that Paige would ever let her drive the Bel Air again. Fuck Paige. Why did she take me there anyway? Fuck her and Stark, too.
She was placed with two other girls in a holding area before processing. Kira gulped hard as the officer left and she was alone with the two women. The taller girl had the pasty white skin and dark sunken eyes of a drug user. Her straggly blond hair had jet black roots and appeared to not have been brushed in more than a few days. She wore an oversized shirt and vividly patterned leggings that seemed to be screaming for mercy, since they were about a size too small. One black converse high top was untied but she didn’t seem to notice. The girl eyed Kira as she entered the room.
“Heeeey girl. What you in for? My name’s Naveah….’’ she began, with raised eyebrows and her head cocked to the side. Her words were slightly slurred and about 2 beats off tempo. Kira was too frightened to giggle.
“You got any pills on you?’’ Naveah continued without waiting for Kira to answer. “You know they search you in here. If you got pills, you better pull them outta that snatchel and swallow them bitches. I already downed mine. You get an extra dime for possession, ya know. They pinched me for DUI for pot. Can you believe that shit? Since when is it illegal to smoke pot and drive?”
“Now, what?” Kira shook her head in disbelief. Surely she had heard some of that incorrectly.
“You know Drivin…Underneath…..Intoxicated. But I wasn’t drinkin’ or doing drugs. I was just smoking a little pot. They said when they pulled me outa the median that it is illegal to smoke pot and drive. They even took my pipe.” Then louder, “And I better get that shit back! I’m not even sure that is a real thing, DUI for smokin’ a little pot. Shit.” Nevaeh twirled her finger around a greasy strand of blond straw as she spoke. Her nails were long and vibrantly painted with orange and green glitter.
“Yes, I think that is very illegal. Pretty sure that’s a real thing,” Kira told her. Wow, just fucking wow. Kira attempted a semi-understanding smile to cover up her sheer amazement.
“Really, fuck. Since when?” Neveah raised her eyebrows with suspicion, which almost made Kira pee her pants laughing, as they were already drawn on in a look of constant cock-eyed surprise. It looked as if one eye was just a little more alarmed than the other.
“Um…since forever. Pretty sure…forever,” Kira said, nodding to emphasize her confidence.
“On your feet, ladies.” The officers voice had the melodious ring of a 70-year smoker. Kira’s mind instantly flashed to the caseworker from Beatlejuice. Kira was still standing in the center of the filthy room, arms folded trying not to touch anything.
This has to be one of the seven levels of Hell.
They were marched to another room and instructed to strip for a full body search. Kira closed her eyes and said goodbye to the last shred of dignity that she possessed.
“So you think they’ll put it in the little bag with my belongings and give it back when I leave?” Kira asked hopefully.
“What?” asked the gruff female officer.
“My dignity,” Kira answered matter of factly. “I just wondered if it goes in the bag, too?’’
The older woman chuckled, “Sure thing, kid. I’m sure it will be in there somewhere. What’s left of it any way.” The woman finished the search and handed her a little plastic cup and an orange jump suit. “Fill it to the line and get dressed.” The woman instructed.
“What’s this for?” Kira asked, horrified.
“Well, your dignity is in the bag so might as well fill the cup with urine. Got to check for drugs and pregnancy before we finish your booking.”
Kira sighed and did as she was instructed.
Neveah piped up. Her loud nasally voice startled Kira. “Not me, I am one and done! No babies in this oven. Hell, no. My baby Jerome, his daddy so lazy. He don’t pay me on time. He ain’t neva got no job. This girl’s one and done!”
One of female officers rolled her eyes as she collected and labeled their specimens then left. The others stood guard while they dressed in snazzy orange jumpsuits and white imitation ked sneakers. They were then moved down the block walled corridor to another room for mug shots. “This will make a lovely Christmas card,” Kira mumbled quietly.
“Oh, girrrl you have to look good for this pic. My friend Alex met her last baby daddy cuz he saw her mug
on internet,” she purred between missing teeth.
“You’re joking, right?” Kira hoped to God she was joking.
“Oh, no, girl you can’t make dis shit up!” Neveah swayed her head authoritatively.
“Apparently not.” Kira shook her head in disbelief. How the hell had she ended up here? Kira moved forward in line. As mortified as she was and career ending as this would probably be, she couldn’t help but smirk as the camera flashed. What did it matter now?
Kira was moved with her two cell mates down another long block hallway and through a set of heavy locked doors to their luxurious accommodations for the night. Once in the hall of cells, Kira noticed that each was filled with two to four people. She tried to look straight ahead but the cat calls from within terrified her. Kira peaked out of the corner of her eye at the creatures lurking behind the steel bars. Some were women but most cells were filled with men. The air was hot with the sour smell of urine and vomit. Kira fought the urge to throw up right there in the hall. Kira was immediately thankful for the coverage of the orange jumpsuit. They were placed in an 8-foot by 10-foot block cell with no window. The door, however, was only bars and provided little barrier from the masturbating tattoo and grease-covered man across the hall.
“Hey, baby, you like what you see?” His toothless grin and weathered skin made his actual age difficult to predict. “You know you want some of this! Don’t wrinkle your nose at me, you little whore. You’re in here too. You know you want this cock.”
Kira gagged and looked away at the wall. Is that? Oh shit it is. Kira noticed a fine dried blood splatter on the wall and wondered how long it had been there. She reminded herself to touch nothing. Hepatitis, the HIV…fuck, she was sure to end up with a disease before this was over. Three small dingy mattresses with no sheets or blankets lay on the concrete floor. Kira stared at them and wondered if at one time they had been white with blue stripes now were just a dismal shade of gray worn from years of sweat, vomit, and filth. Along one wall was a toilet that was covered in so many layers of grime, it made roadside gas stations look clean enough to eat off of. Oh, holy shit. No Way!
“Um, are we supposed to get sheets or pillows or something? Maybe a mattress cover?” Kira asked timidly.
The guard’s throaty laugh echoed off the block walls as she shut the door behind her. “Whatever you wish, princess. Is there anything else we can do for you?” Her laughter could be heard fading all the way down the hall.
The other two women settled on the mattresses. Kira vowed to stand all the rest of the night if she had to. Bed bugs, scabies, pubic lice…her mind ran down the differential diagnosis of everything she was sure she would have by the time she made it out of here. Kira paced back and forth in the small cell. How will I ever get out of this? I don’t even know who to call. Even if they did let her make a call without her cell she wouldn’t know any numbers. They had mentioned she would face a magistrate in the morning. Fuck, what was in that pink drink? Kira began to panic about the hallucinations at the house. What was real, what did she imagine? What if she had been drugged? If she was and it showed up in her urine, she was screwed. Her medical career was over. FUCK! Fuck, fuck, fuck!!
Before Kira could continue her self-loathing, the gray haired female guard arrived back at the door.
“Congratulations, Mama, looks like you’re pregnant.” The older woman laughed as if this was happy or at least amusing.
“What the fuck?” Kira blurted out louder that she intended? “Oh, shit you have to be joking. Please say that you are joking.” She felt faint. This cannot be happening. Nausea took hold and Kira turned toward the dingy excuse for a toilet.
“Reynolds……. Neveah, Reynolds, your pregnancy test is positive and based on your drug screen you better see a doctor right away. Lit up like a Christmas tree. Must have been some party.” The wrinkly hag was enjoying torturing them.
Kira looked a Neveah, who sad wide-eyed on the flaccid mat. The surprise eyebrows stretched to her hairline. The confused and constipated expression on her face displayed the distress her neurons were experiencing, trying to process what had just been said.
“Now, say what?” Neveah finally in the game jumped up. The other woman had already passed out cold, apparently very cozy on the dingy mat.
“You sayin’ I’m preg-nant? Shut up, you play-in!” She drew out the words.
“Trust me, I wish I was,” the female officer replied dryly as if she was ordering a tuna sandwich and walked away.
“Well Shiiiiit! There ain’t no way I could be knocked up. I know that shit’s fucked up.” Neveah’s head was in full roll now when she spoke.
“Have you had your tubes tied?” Kira asked hopefully.
“Hell no!” Neveah attempted to frown. Her forehead wrinkled and her mouth scowled but her eyes said…unhappy surprise!
“Um OK, are you using contraceptives when you have sex?” Kira felt like she was trying to get through to a brick wall.
“Say, what? I’m not in to that S & M shit. Do you think I’m sum kinda hooker?” Disapproving surprise.
“No. No. Sorry, you know like the birth control pill?” Please God don’t let this person procreate. Kira could see the burnt out wheels trying to turn. There was smoke, but no fire. Cue the crickets.
“No,” Neveah answered. Vacant surprise.
“Patches, or an implant? Anything?”
“No, what would I do that for?”
“Do you use condoms for Christ’s sake?” Kira asked exasperated.
“Uh, nooo. Tyrone, he always pull out.” Nevaeh said confidently.
“Oh shit, you know that’s not reliable, right?” Kira was starting to get really frustrated, but Neveah wasn’t paying attention.
“Now Sketchy Steve, he said he been fixed….” She squinted and looked at the ceiling as if she was searching for something. “Darnell…OOOh he fine…and he got a job!” Her eyes lit up.
“Oh, dear God are you serious? What are you going to do?” Kira tapped the white ked on the concrete as she spoke. “You really need to see a doctor, like, yesterday.”
“Shit, what you know ‘bout doctors?”
The cocky semi-toothless grin was almost more that Kira could bear. She started to really answer her but then thought better of it. “Nothing, really. I was just thinking with the drugs and all. I don’t know.”
“What-eva. You betta get some resssst girrrl.” The handful of pills Neveah had downed earlier must have been getting the better of her. She curled up on the mattress as if she were tucked in at the Hilton. Sleepy surprise. Definitely not her first rodeo.
Kira looked around the spacious accommodations and tried to find a non-blood stained, non-parasite covered space to rest. The night was starting to wear on her and she was getting very sleepy. She moved to a corner that appeared less gross and sat down. She was careful to make sure only the jumpsuit and the keds were touching the floor and the walls. Kira pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head and arms on them. Oh man, how am I ever going to get out of this? How did I let myself get into this? What is my commanding officer going to say? Surely Holt will tell him everything. Shit, the Police will probably do that. What the hell was Holt doing there, anyway? Alone in the dark with her thoughts, Kira let the tears fall. She had been in some shit in her life but this had to take the cake.
* * *
Kira sat up. The sweltering pain overtook her entire head. Oh Shit. She knew instantly that she was going to vomit. She opened her eyes and the flourescent lights beaming overhead seared into her brain. Oh, fuck. She stumble-crawled her way across the concrete floor to the lone toilet and commenced praying to the porcelain Gods. The vague foggy details of the night before slowly came back to her. Oh, holy hell!
Kira wasn’t sure which was worse, the searing headache or the recollection that in the last 24 hours she had been to a sex club, stolen a car, and was arrested for drunk driving. Her stomach wretched again as she remembered seeing Stark on those screens. It was a blur of
sex and debauchery. Fuck, how could Owen Stark be a part of that? Something else plagued her, too. But what? What could be worse than getting arrested and finding out your boyfriend is part of some deranged sex group? Kira couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that something was very, very wrong. Um, hello dumb ass. You are in jail, remember? Arrested for DUI. But it was more than that. Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
She got up slowly from the cool floor. The pain behind her eyes was immediately worse in an upright position. She held on the block wall and began to make her way toward the bars. Ooooh, fuck. The masturbating man across the hall had fallen asleep with his shriveled meat in his hand. Gross. Well, at least he didn’t go to bed alone. Kira chuckled quietly.
“You find jail funny?” The shorter quiet girl finally spoke. Her voice was rough and reminded Kira of one of the aunts from the Simpsons.
“I um…no…. I mean…. Sorry, did I wake you?” Kira turned slowly as if her throbbing head was a bottle of nitroglycerin just waiting to be set off.
“You’ve never been to jail before, have you?” the girl said, tilting her head at Kira almost sympathetically.
“No, is it that obvious?” Kira asked. She knew it was, though. Never in a million years had Kira imagined that she would be here. Locked in a block cubicle with a seriously burnt out baby mamma and a…. “What are you in here for, if I may ask?”
“Not exactly sure. Probably drunk and disorderly. I was pretty baked by the time they picked me up.” She studied a bruised and swollen hand. “Maybe assault or domestic, too. Not sure. The old man and I were pretty into it last I remember. My name’s Sam.”
Stark September (Stark Trilogy Book 1) Page 28
