Guilty! The Trials of Phil Ferguson

by Sean Russell

  “Thanks, Jade. I’m sure I would have regretted what I was in the process of doing.”Hespeed-dialedTeddy.

  “Teddy…cancelthatorder.”

  “Whattheassman.YoufeelthisisKFC?FuckyouPhil!Youcan’tplayfairand winthisone.Jadegotyoulikeapussy!”

  Phil ended the call, shaking his head. He knew he did the right thing, but the implicationofTeddy’swordsscaredhim.WhatifTeddywasright?

  Jadesensedhisuneasiness.

  “Comehoney,weneedashowerbeforeyourappointment.”

  CHAPTERFORTY

  Beyond the humiliation of the buggery, there were the painful memories threateningtoreturn.

  Jimmy had managed to shut them out through the years, so much so that he perceivedthemasfigmentsofhisimaginationuntilthatpainfulreminder.Then thememoriesstartedtoseepback,butnotforlong,Jimmyurgedthemaway.

  Hewasastrongman,hissuccessprovedit.Hewasmolestedasateenager,that’s all his conscious memory would allow. The transgressor had paid dearly. That too he remembered. As he became wealthy he anonymously gave to the

  children’shomehehadstayedatforthefewmonthsittookhimtorecover.

  Hehadnochoicebuttorecover,becausehewastoooldtostayonlongerand

  therewasaseriousdemandtoplaceothermoreneedywretchesinthehome.The pain of his past drove him to success at all costs. He always took care of the home.Henevervisited,buthealwaysgotreportsincludingpicturesdetailingthe upkeepoftheplace.Hundredsoforphansbenefitedasaresult.

  Jimmy’smindreturnedtoplottingallformsofrevenge,buthecouldnotgetpast theriskofexposure.

  He was in a real bind. If he was the kind of person to give respect, he would haveconsideredAmanda.

  Itwasanairtightplanwhichwaswellexecuted.Hewasnotthatkindofperson.

  Allhecouldthinkofwasrevengeandthepricehewouldhavetopayforthose videos.

  There was no way she was going to all that trouble involving her sick friend withoutaimingtogainsomemeans,butwhat?Freeuseofthecondo?Ormaybe

  sheexpectedhimtosignthedeedovertoher.Thatwasprobablyit.Sheloved theplace.Hewouldsignthedeedalright,buthewouldmakesureshepaid.She wouldpaybackeveryounceoffleshforthesufferingshemadehimendure.As

  for Jackie, he had planned to trap her at immigration whenever she hoped to leave.Hehadpeoplethere.

  He was too late. She flew out early that morning before he had regained consciousness. Bitch, she, he, it, whatever it was, would pay the moment she returned to Barbados. He was getting too frustrated plotting futile revenge for Amanda.Hewouldjustshootheronsightanytimehesawher.

  HeoptedtofocusonPhilFerguson.Thatmadehimsmile.Watchingthatproud

  manfragmentunderpressureandhisfatherunabletoaidhimwithallhismoney and connections. They were all losers. The deputy DPP would ensure that Phil wenttoprison.

  Therewasnowayout,noonetosavehimlikethatself-righteousDeanMorgan.

  He was going to make sure he would have no job on his return. He would be replacedbyhismorethandeservingdeputy.

  CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

  Philwasbackathomeafterhismeetingwithhislawyer.Hewasglum.Heknew

  Jadewasright,buthekeptgettingthatnaggingfeelingthatTeddy’spredictions would prove to be prophetic. As it was, his meeting with Mitchel was encouraging, but not convincing. The real problem was that neither he nor MitchelknewhowfarJimmy’sinfluenceextendedandthereforeprovidencewas

  skewedagainstthem.

  Itwasnotacasetobefoughtonthetenetsoflaw.

  Arguingthecaseanddealingwiththeevidence,therewasaninsidiouspresence whichdiscardedwhatwasright,trueandjust.Theyjustdidnotknowwhatthey were up against. They didn’t know if Jimmy had leverage over the judge and eventhejury.TheonlyrealevidencetheycoulddependonwasthatJimmyhad

  subvertedthesystemextensivelysofarandthechancesofPhilbeingconvicted werehigh.

  He thought about what that meant as he had countless times before, as he had been doing for much of his conscious time since it all began. He ran over everything in his mind, detail by detail, straining his mind to find something, anything,tostopthistraintoincarceration.Hefeltthephysicalresponsetohis frustrationwiththefutilityofitall.Heknewitwasonlyamatteroftimebefore his body would give out under the pressure and something physical would manifestitself.Hehadbeenhavingpalpitationsandchestpains.Sometimeshe was dizzy and disoriented, and didn’t know where he was. The symptoms did notlastlong,buttheyreturnedrepeatedlylikethatunwelcomeacquaintancewho consideredhimselfapalanddidnotknowhewasunwantedandsomadeithis

  businesstopopinanytime,alwaysuninvited.

  Fortunately, Jade was not close by for most of the episodes. Phil laughed at himself as he thought that was as far as his good luck went. The torture was grinding him, but his inner self-preservation would not give in. He resolved to fight to the bitter end, until every and all possibilities were exhausted. Despite his assurances to Jade, he now found himself in a place where any means necessarywasunacceptablelikeVisaandMastercard.Hewouldhaveimmediate

  gratification, but he would have to pay with interest and the risk of digging a holehecouldnotgetoutof.

  Hewastemptedtomakealastditchefforttofight,tocallTeddyandgivehim thegoahead,tosethimlooseliketheloyalpitbullwhowasonlybristlingatthe opportunity to protect his master, sinking his teeth into the offender and not releasing,heedlessofthesizeorferocityofhisadversary.

  PhilwastemptedtopickupthephoneandcallTeddy,butbeforehecoulddecide todial,thephonerang.Itwashispreoccupationthatallowedhimtoanswerthe call.Itwasanunknownnumber.Sincetherecentmayheminhislife,hedidnot answercallsfromunknownnumbers.Hehadlearntafterreceivinganumberof

  nuisancecalls,especiallyfromreporterstryingtogetaninsidescoopinthePhil Fergusonsaga.

  He decided from then that anyone who was worth talking to would have their number show on caller id, and he could determine if he wanted to speak with them.

  Heansweredwithoutthinking.Thevoiceontheotherendmadehisheartskipa beat.Ashoney-coatedasitwas,asdelightfulastheownersounded,hedidnot need this now. Somehow the finger to press the end button was paralyzed. In fact,hewassolamethathedidnotevenmovethephonefromhisear.Hegave thecallingpartyanaudience.

  “HiPhil.Howareyou?”

  Thevoicewassweet,sultryandsexy.Philwonderedifsheknewhewasaboutto goontrial.Whydidheanswerthedamnphone?Heshouldjusthangupandnot

  take the call in case she should call back. Better, he could shut the phone off.

  Somehow,asifunderaspell,ormaybehehadconditionedhimselfsomuchto

  be polite—it was hard to break that habit—he stayed on the line. Phil was foolinghimself.

  “I’mnotsure.”Philchidedhimself.Whywashebeingsohonestwithher?He

  feltvulnerableandshedidn’tdeserveit.

  “Not the words I expected to hear from a top notch lawyer. I believe I can change your tune. I am possession of a remedy for your malady.” Phil relinquishedallholdoncaution.Anythingtogetoutofthismadness.Anything.

  “Goahead.”

  “Well,let’ssayIhaveextensiveleverageonJimmyandI’msureIcan
havehim reversethewheelsofjusticethathavebeencrushingyou.”

  “Really?”Phil’stonewasdry,buthewasinwardlyhopeful.

  “Really.”

  “Sogoahead.Tellme.”

  “No,notoverthephone.It’sbetterthatwemeetinperson.”

  “Idon’tthinkthat’sagoodidea.”

  “FairenoughPhil.Ididn’tcallyoutotwistyourarm,Icalledbecauseyou’rein arealbindandIcanhelpyou.”

  Phildidn’tneedtoponder.Hewasdesperate,buthecouldn’tletherknowthat.

  “Pointtaken.Whenandwhere?”

  “I’mgoingtobeniceaboutthis.I’llletyouchoose.

  I’msureyou’vegottoomuchgoingon.Iamofftoday.

  Allday.Youtellme.”

  “Hmm.” Phil paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, calculating his options.“HowaboutIcallyou?I’vegottorearrangesomethings.Thiscallwas unexpected.”

  “SurePhil.I’llhearyoulater.”

  Hervoicecaressedhisear.Itwassosmoothsosweet.

  “LaterAmanda.”

  Achance…aglimmerofhope…hisheartleaptatthethought.Hehadtomake

  thetimetoseeher.HehadanothermeetingwithMitchellintheafternoonand Jadewouldbecheckinginonhimshortly.HecouldnotletJadeevensniffthe scentofAmanda’scallonhisphone,farlessthenotionofhimmeetingAmanda.

  Desperatetimescalledfordesperatemeasures.Thiswasthemostdesperatetime Philhadeverfaced.Hehadtoatleastseewhatshehadtooffer.

  CHAPTERFORTY-TWO

  IsaacwasinJudgeRoberts’chambers.OralRobertswasahighcourtjudgeand

  he was also Isaac’s friend. They had fallen out many years ago over a misunderstanding.OralhadunderstoodthatIsaacstolehisgirl,Isaacunderstood thatthegirllikedhim,andthatOralwasjustafriend.Shedidn’tlikehimthat way. She understood that Oral’s emotions got the better of him and he misinterpreted her being a friendly, fun-to-be-around person as an invitation to have a relationship. Isaac understood Anita and Anita understood Isaac. Oral nevergotit.Maybehedidn’twantto,afterall,Anitawasarealprize.Shewas bynomeansabeauty.Butshewasattractiveenough.

  Herinnerbeauty,however,hadabrilliancenoonecouldmiss.Oralwantedher andIsaacstoleherfromhimandmarriedher.

  Isaachadnowhereelsetoturn.HecouldnotletPhilgotoprison.Thiswashis lastchance.Hehadexhaustedallotherpossiblecontacts.Oralhadthereputation ofbeingano-nonsense,honorable,andfairjudge.Isaacwashopingtoappealto the judge’s sense of fair play and justice and that his influence at worst could buyPhilsometime.HewashopingthatOralwasprincipledenoughtoleavethe pastinthepast,andthathewouldwantjusticetoprevail.

  “Oral, you know what I’m here about. So I’ll get straight to the point. I need your help. What is happening to Phil is wrong. It had no right getting this far.

  The case is all a setup and an obvious one to boot. I know you are a man of principle and you believe in honour and justice. You need to intervene, not because I want to get Phil out of trouble, but because it’s the right thing to do morally,ethically,andlegally.”

  Oraltookhistime,lookingatIsaacashespoke.

  Ashewatchedhimitwashardtotellwhathewasthinking.Thirtyplusyearsas ajudgehadgivenhimtheabilitytowearaninscrutableface.Hewouldmakea good poker player. Isaac looked back at him, waiting for his reply. Oral continued his silence. His face was more contemplative, as if he was trying a case and weighing the arguments before giving a final judgment. After what seemedtobeaneternity,hedeliveredhisverdict.

  “Ican’t.”

  Isaacwaited.Hewasexpectinganexplanation.

  Therewasnoneforthcoming.

  “Youcan’toryouwon’t?”

  “Ican’t.”

  Oral’sdrynesswasaggravating.

  “Whatdoyoumeanyoucan’t?”

  Isaac’s tone had an edge. Oral’s expression said he had noticed and his brows rebukedtheoffender.

  “Ican’t.”

  “Don’tgivemethatOral.Talktomelikeamanandgivemeanexplanation.”

  Isaac looked like he was about to explode. It was clear that he was using a tremendousamountofwillpowertokeephimselfincheck.Oral,inturn,seemed tobeenjoyinghisvisitor’sdiscomfort.Helookedquietlyamused.

  “Settle down Isaac, your personal involvement in this matter has clouded your judgment.You’reasmartman.YouknowverywellIcan’tusurpthestructureof thejudicialsystembecauseyourprecioussoniswrongfullyaccused.Thereisa process.Thereissomethingcalledanappeal.Itispresentinthejudicialsystem fortheseverysituations.Philhasagreatlawyer.Hemaysucceedwithamotion formistrial,inwhichcaseallthiswouldbemoot.Iwouldbeveryoutofplaceto usemypositiontooverridemycolleaguesforthesakeofcarryingoutwhatyou perceivetobejustice.”

  Oral’sdeliveryleftnouncertaintythatthiswashisfinalword.Therewasgoing tobenodiscussion.

  The only thing that was missed was the bang of the gavel on the desk, to punctuatethefinalityofthestatement.

  Isaac hated to admit defeat, but it was clear there was no budging Oral. The frustration he felt was tremendous. He wondered how much of the dissertation wasgenuineandhowmuchwaspayback.

  Thetruthofitwasthatitdidn’treallymatter.Isaachadbeenunabletoalterthe courseofwhatmoreandmoreappearedtobedestiny.Itmadenosense.

  Losing his dignity by pleading further or attempting to strong-arm Oral, he wouldmakeagraciousexit.

  “Thanksforyourtime,Oral.Anitasendsherbestwishes.”

  Helefttheroomwithoutanotherword.HedidnotknowifOralansweredornot.

  Isaaccarefullywalkedoutoftheofficeandgotintohispickuptruck.Hecould holdoutnolonger.

  He pounded the steering wheel and dashboard as if he wanted to break something.Herestedhisheadbetweenhisarmsandwept.Afterafewminutes

  hegatheredhimselfandprayed.Hethenlefttheparkinglotanddrovestraightto church.

  *****

  IsaacwasreviewinghisearlierconversationwithOralinhismind.Hereviewed

  everything.Hewantedtoleavenostoneunturnedintermsofhelpinghisson.

  Itwasafternoonandhewasinhisoffice.Histhoughtswereinterruptedbyhis cell phone. He picked it up and answered. He noticed that he had four missed calls.Whenhedid,itwasusuallyJade.

  “HiPoppaFerg.Ihavebeentryingtoreachyou.”Isaacwasalwaysamusedby

  Jade’snickname.Itendearedhimtoherandhelpedbondtheirrelationship.

  Most people would have been wary of being so familiar with Isaac Ferguson, even a daughter-in-law. Such was Isaac’s bearing, but not Jade. She was bold andsweetwithitandwasthedaughterheneverhad.Notthathehadyearnedfor one, but having Jade was a bonus. She was a good woman, bright, ambitious, industriousandtotallycommittedtoherhusband.

  Her tone was not the usual cheery one that typically lit up Isaac’s day, it was strained.

  “Iseeyouhave.Iwasbusyandmissedthecalls.

  What’shappening?Yousoundupset.”

  “PoppaFerg.HaveyouseenPhilorheardfromhim?”

  “IspokewithhimthismorningandIwasintendingtocallhimjustnowassoon asIfinishedwhatIwasdoinghere.”

  Thetruthwas,Isaacwassecretlyhopinghecouldpulloffa‘hailMary’withhis last ditch talk with Oral and save the day. He had been unsure of the
outcome and thought it pointless to give Phil any false hope, so he kept his meeting to himself.Hewassodisappointedafterthathewentstraighttochurchtopray,and then he elected to spend the afternoon brainstorming Phil’s case. He was dedicatedtofightingtotheveryend.

  “What’sthematterJade?”

  “HetoldmehehadameetingwithMitchelthisafternoon,butthenIneededPhil togetaphonenumberandhedidnotanswer,soIsenthimatextandstillgotno reply.IdecidedtocallMitchel’sofficebecauseitwassomethingquitepressing that I needed. When I called, Mitchel told me they had met already and they agreedthattheyaccomplishedallthattheycould.

  It was up to the court, should anything miraculous transpire before they would contact each other. I’ve tried everywhere. I even went over to our condo, but therewasnosignofhimthere.”

  “Well, maybe Phil just needs some quiet time. I’m like that sometimes. I just needtobebymyselfandusethatspacetosortmymindout,andPhilhasbeen underalotofpressure.”

  “That’s what concerns me. Mitchel said Phil was not himself. He seemed distracted,likehewasn’tfullythere.Hedidnothavethesamedeterminationand urgencyaswhentheyearliermet.Itwasifsomethinghappened.”

  “Isee.Thatchangesthecomplexionofthings.”

  “PoppaFerg,IworriedthatPhilmighthavesnappedandthathemaybeoffto do something drastic, like threaten Jimmy or try to kill himself. He’s been gettingquitedesperate.”

  “Jade,thatseemsquiteextreme.”

  “It’sbeenextremeforPhilandheisdesperate,trustme.”

  Isaac was more concerned now. Not worried, he’d learnt over the years that worryaccomplishednothingproductiveandoftenwasdestructive.

  “Jade,istheresomethingyouneedtotellme?”Jadepausedasshecontemplated hernextaction.

  She did not want to betray Phil’s trust and lose esteem in his father’s eyes, as surely he would if she apprised him of Teddy’s ill-conceived plot to save Phil.