Bodies Out Back

by Nanisi Barrett D'Arnuk

  The five stood and walked over in front of the judge.

  The judge looked them over.

  “You have all been arrested at a house that contained a vast amount of drugs and drug paraphernalia. You were each in possession of several grams of cocaine, heroin, or methamphetamine. You are charged with possession and distribution of those drugs. How do you plead? Mr. Shermer?”

  “Not guilty, your Honor,” Preston answered.

  “Mr. Alison?”

  “Not guilty, your Honor.” It was Billy’s turn to plead.

  “Mr. Troup?”

  Neil took a deep breath. “Not guilty, your Honor.”

  “Ms. Spaulding?”

  “Not guilty, your Honor,” Laurie whispered.

  “And Ms. Andrews.”

  “Not guilty, your Honor.”

  “Do you each have access to legal representation?”

  Preston, Neil, Billy, and Cam all answered in the affirmative. Laurie said a soft no.

  The judge looked around. “I’m sorry, Ms. Andrews, but with your previous record and the fact that you aren’t a Canadian citizen, I can’t assign a bond for you. I will set a bond restraint at ten thousand dollars for each other of you, or you will be held here until your arraignment.”

  Cam sighed and nodded. All five looked at each other.

  “Your arraignments will be on Friday afternoon at two P.M.” Then he turned to his clerk. “See that Ms. Spaulding gets legal help and that they each have the opportunity to contact next-of-kin or legal representation.”

  All but Laurie were ushered out of the room. They were taken to a room down the hall. There were benches and a table there. On the table was a telephone.

  The jailor who had accompanied them looked at the papers in his hand.

  “Shermer?” he said. Preston stood up and the officer pointed toward the phone.

  “One call,” the jailor said.

  Preston walked across the room and sat next to the table, his back toward everyone. They could see him shaking his head and pleading with someone. He finally nodded and slammed the phone back on its base.

  A second jailor took his arm and he was taken outside, probably back to his cell.

  “Troup?” was the next one to be called. Neil, too, sat at the table and made his call.

  Billy slid closer Cam.

  “Do you have an attorney here in Canada?” he asked.

  “No, but my friend should be able to help me, if I can get in touch with her.” Cam looked around the room until she saw a clock. It was already a quarter ‘til four. She had hoped that she could reach Michael before she left work. She knew Michael never used her phone while she was on the road. Maybe she should call Jean-René, instead.

  A court clerk walked up to her. “Ms. Andrews,” she said, “As a United States citizen, will you need to call someone in the US?”

  “No. I have friends here that should be able to help me.”

  The clerk nodded and walked away.

  “If you need someone, my barrister should be able to help.” Billy said.

  “Thanks,” Cam whispered.

  Neil stood up and was taken from the room.

  “Andrews?”

  Cam got to her feet and went over to sit next to the phone. She dialed Jean-René’s number. After several rings, his secretary answered.

  “May I speak with Senior Sergeant Gauchet, s’il vous plais?”

  “I’m sorry,” the secretary answered. “He’s out of the office. Would you like to leave a message?”

  “Yes, please,” Cam answered.

  “I’ll forward you to his answering machine. Hold on a moment.”

  The secretary switched her call to Jean-René’s line. After the obligatory introduction, Cam heard a beep.

  “Jean-René,” she began. “It’s Cameron. I’ve been arrested in a drug sting by Magog police. The judge wouldn’t assign a bond for me because of my record and that I’m not Canadian. The arraignment is Friday afternoon at two. I don’t know what you want to do about it. I guess I’m here until you decide how to handle it. Please let Michael know.” She hung up and was taken back to her cell.

  * * * *

  Cam’s cell was the second from the main door of the cell block. She saw a hallway which ended in a larger room but was put in her cell before she had a chance to look around.

  Cam sat down on the bunk.

  Now what? she asked herself. I guess it’s wait until Jean-René or someone comes for me. She got to her feet and paced a while. This cell had been painted white but was dingy from cigarette smoke.

  I could use a cigarette now, she thought. It had been quite a while since she had a smoke. It was one of her tools to calm herself when things with her job got tense, like now. Cigarettes also gave her the impetus to be a little tougher.

  The bed was firm, but there was only a mattress. She could hear people walking outside and from time to time heard doors open and close. She also heard voices from other cells and noises from all around the building. Yup, back to jail. Come on Jean-René, decide what you want done.

  Later, her door was opened and the jailor stood there with a rolling table that held pillows, blankets, and other items.

  “For you,” he said as he handed her a pillow and a heavy gray military blanket. With that he also handed her a metal cup, a toothbrush, a small tube of toothpaste, a blue T-shirt and two pairs of white panties. Cam threw it all on the bed.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Is there any chance of getting something out of my purse? I had two packs of cigarettes in there. I’d sure like a smoke.”

  “I’ll check,” he said. “Here, have one of mine.” He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a pack. He shook a few up and Cam took one. He produced a lighter and lit it for her.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I really needed this.”

  “I’ll see what I can do for you.” He closed the door and the lock slipped into place. She could hear him stop at another cell; probably Laurie’s or Janelle’s.

  She picked up one of the panties to inspect it. Yup, tighty-whitey, one-size-fits-all. Actually one-size-fits-none. The shirt was a large, but at least she’d have something to change into tonight.

  About an hour later, her door was opened again.

  “Dinner time,” the jailor, this time a woman, said. “You can come out in the common space to eat.”

  She was shown into a room, in the opposite direction from where she’d been brought before. Laurie was already there, seated at the round table in the center of the room. There were two other round tables against the far wall and a stack of hard plastic chairs.

  “How’s it going?” Cam asked her.

  Laurie nodded.

  “Did you get a barrister?” Cam asked.

  Again Laurie nodded. Her eyes were red, she’d been crying.

  “I know,” Cam started, “It’s hell, isn’t it?”

  Another woman emerged from a different cell. “Hi, girls,” she said. “I see I’ve got company for dinner tonight.”

  Cam and Laurie introduced themselves. The other woman’s name was Grace.

  “What do we do in here?” Laurie asked softly.

  Cam took a deep breath. “Absolutely nothing, unless a friend or someone can bring you a book to read. The first couple days are always the hardest.”

  “The first couple?” Laurie exclaimed, suddenly looking up. “How long will we be here?”

  Cam shook her head. “I think until we’re arraigned, which I suppose is Friday afternoon, unless you post bond. After that? I guess it depends on the judge and your barrister. Have you talked with him yet?”

  “No, it was a nice woman. She said she’d be in this evening.”

  “A public one?” Grace asked.

  When Laurie nodded, Grace continued. “I hope you get Penny Wiggins.”

  “Yes, that was her name.”

  “Good. She’s mine, too.”

  “Well, at least you have a woman barrister. I’m not sure what my friend wil
l get me. I haven’t had a chance to talk with him. I had to leave a message on his office machine. I hope he gets it tonight, although I doubt it matters if he gets it tomorrow morning. We’re here for at least two days.”

  “What’cha in for?” Grace asked.

  “Drug sting,” Cam answered.

  “That’s tough. I’m only here for three months. I’ve done one already.” She looked from Laurie to Cam. “I got caught with too many groceries and a few other things in my pocket.” She looked at Cam. “You sound like you’ve been in before.”

  “Yes, in the States, I did a three-year term.”

  “Three? For?”

  “Same. I sold a gram of coke to an undercover bitch.”

  “Damn! Three years for a gram? Things must be really tight there.” Grace couldn’t believe it.

  “Well, they found another ki and a lot of money in my apartment. I had to plead that out.”

  “Ah! Now I understand.”

  “Oh, and I was the arresting officer in another sting that wasn’t reported correctly and some of the take came up missing.”

  The others looked at her with their eyes wide.

  “Cameron!” Laurie exclaimed.

  The main door down the hall opened and the jailor walked in leading Janelle. She was led through the common room to a cell in the other corridor. Her cell was opened and she was given the chance to look around inside, then she returned to the common room.

  “Laurie!” she exclaimed, as she ran to Laurie and threw her arms around her.

  “Are you all right?” Laurie asked.

  Janelle nodded. “My father said he’d be here tonight. I’m not sure what will happen. He was so mad!”

  “Yes, mine was, too. Mine doesn’t want to post bond.”

  The jailor walked in and opened the top half of a door in the far wall, and then she stepped aside.

  “Come over here and get your dinner, ladies.”

  Grace immediately stood up and walked over to the doorway. Someone on the other side passed her a tray.

  “Hmm,” Grace said. “This looks better than last night. One of you must be a VIP.”

  Cam laughed, as she approached the door, too. She was handed a tray. It looked like a chicken leg quarter, some mashed potatoes, a scoop of green beans, and a roll. There was also a cookie and a cup of black coffee.

  “Yup,” she said as she returned to the table. “I’ve had much worse.”

  Laurie and Janelle returned to the table with their trays and the door was closed.

  “You can sit here for a while, ladies,” the jailor told them. “You have to be in your cells at nine o’clock, locked down. A buzzer will sound at 8:45 to alert you.”

  Yes, thought Cam. Just like in prison. Another boring night alone.

  Chapter 23

  When Michael pulled up to Cam’s house, she opened the garage to park her bike. She was surprised; Cam’s car wasn’t in there.

  Must be out running errands. I’ll go inside and start dinner for her. She’ll be pleased when she gets home.

  Michael went into the house and looked into the refrigerator. Here were chicken breasts in there that Cam had planned for dinner. There was also cheese, ham, and turkey to make sandwiches.

  Except for the cheddar instead of Swiss, that would make some fabulous cordon bleu, she thought. Michael pulled out the pans she’d need. She looked through the cabinets for spices. It was a good thing she’d helped Cam do grocery shopping. She could show off her culinary expertise and have a wonderful meal waiting when Cam got home.

  She laughed to herself. It’s a good thing I do the cooking. Cam knows almost nothing about cooking. If it can’t be boiled, broiled, or microwaved, she is lost. About the only thing Cam can cook from scratch is a fried egg…and maybe some bacon.

  Michael got busy and started cooking. While she was waiting for everything, she set the table to be very romantic. This would be a good night.

  After checking the rice and chicken, Michael decided to take a quick shower before Cam got home. She’d only hopped on her bike when her classes were finished and driven here directly from work. She really needed to clean up.

  She sat there at the table with her glass of Alberta Premium Whisky. That brand was a little heavier than most, but she loved the taste. She had decided that if she was going to drink, she’d buy exactly what she liked, no matter the cost.

  The bottle of Cam’s scotch sat on the table. All the food was in the oven, staying warm. All that had to happen was for Cam to come home and then they’d eat.

  Where was Cam? She was never this late. Michael pulled out her phone and pressed Cam’s number. She waited until it switched over to voice mail and left a short message. Then she dialed again. Perhaps Cam was busy and couldn’t get to it in time. She tried a third time. Again, there was no answer.

  Michael looked at her watch. This was strange. Where could Cam be? Finally, she called her brother.

  “Jean-René,” she started, “did Cameron do any investigating for you today?”

  “No, not today. Why?”

  “She’s not here and her car is gone. At first I thought she’d gotten delayed somewhere, but she’s never this late, especially without telling me. She doesn’t answer her phone. I called three times. She knows what time I’ll be here. I even cooked dinner for her. It’ll be dried out if it sets any longer. I cooked a special chicken for her.”

  Jean-René could tell Michael was worried. She was rambling. Michael never rambled. She always said what she wanted to say in as few words as possible.

  “Has she said any more about that drug ring she found?” Jean-René asked.

  “No. She told me what she told you over the weekend. We haven’t really talked about it.”

  “Wait. Wasn’t she going to make her last buy yesterday or today?”

  “That’s right!”

  “Let me make a few calls. I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.”

  * * * *

  Jean-René sat in Cam’s living room with his sister. He’d finally listened to the messages on his answering machine at the post. Cam’s was the third message. He’d then called the provincial and city police departments to see who they had arrested today.

  “How the hell did this happen? This would have been her last day on this,” he moaned.

  “That’s one of the things Maggie Thomason always complained about. Cam does things when the thought hits her and doesn’t worry about anything else. She very seldom tells anyone anything.” Michael was pacing.

  “How does Maggie deal with that?”

  Michael shook her head to show she didn’t know. “At least we know where she is,” Michael said as she sighed. “And she’s safe for another day. I guess I should call Maggie and see what she wants to do.” She picked up her phone and dialed the woman who was Cameron’s control as an undercover agent. She waited as the phone rang. Finally, she heard a sleepy voice.

  “Bon Nuit, Maggie, I’m sorry if I woke you.”

  “Michael! That’s okay, I wasn’t quite asleep yet. Give me a moment to sit up and turn the light on. How are you?”

  “I’m fine. I was sitting here talking to my brother.”

  “Jean-René? Tell him I said Hi.”

  “We were trying to decide how we should handle this situation.”

  Maggie heaved a loud sigh. “Don’t tell me Cameron did something I don’t want to hear about.”

  “She got busted in a drug sting. She’s in jail here in Magog.”

  There was silence to a moment. “What happened?”

  “I called Jean-René when I got home and she wasn’t here. Jean-René checked the answering machine at his office. I guess she used her one call to call him. She’s been working with him to find drug outlets or meth labs here in Magog.”

  “Yes, she told me.”

  “It seems the local police had a complaint that neighbors have been seeing lots of people and cars coming and going from a house there at all hours, so the local police broke in
and busted everyone. I understand they found a lot of drugs; coke, meth, and heroin. She was holding six packs of coke in her bag. Two grams each, I think. They arrested seven people.”

  “Has she been arraigned?” Maggie asked.

  “No. Here in Ontario, no one’s arraigned until the hearing. She’s being held without bond. There’ll be a hearing on Friday. I guess there was some flack because of her prison record and the fact that she isn’t Canadian.”

  Michael pictured Maggie shaking her head.

  “All right. Let me call Craig and see how he wants to handle this. I’ll get back to you. Where are you now?”

  “At Cam’s house. I’ll be here until this gets settled.”

  “Good. I’ll let you know what Craig says.” The phone went dead.

  Michael shook her head as she turned back to her brother.

  “Maggie said she’d handle this. She’ll call back as soon as the head of the agency decides what he wants done.”

  “So we wait.”

  Michael nodded. Then she asked, “Want some chicken Cordon Bleu? It may be a little dried out but it’s still warm.”

  Jean-René smiled. He loved his sister’s cooking. She was almost as good as their mother. His wife was a good cook, too, but with the kids, she had had to cut back on spices and special recipes. She also had to cook things that didn’t cost as much as when they were first together; no Porterhouse steaks, only hamburger, except on special occasions.

  When he didn’t answer right away, Michael knew he wanted the food.

  “I’ll get us both some. Bring your glass over to the table while I get everything.”

  Jean-René walked over to the table and sat at one of the settings.

  “Michael, look at this table: candles, napkins folded like hearts, flowers. Do you two do this all the time?”

  Michael shook her head as she placed a plate in front of him. She placed another plate across the table from him and sat down.

  “I thought that seeing I had time to cook, we’d make this a sort of celebration, but I’ll tell you, mon frère, sitting across the table from you isn’t what I had in mind when I planned this.”

  They both laughed and started eating.

  “Cameron is missing out on a good meal. This is very good. I know that whatever she’s eating tonight is nothing like this.”