by Ashley Goss
Chapter 15
Elijah
I have never been so scared in my life. I’ve been arrested for murder? I feel like no matter the instance that murder is considered when you take someone’s life, and I did just that. I took Dwayne’s life from him. I knew that he was trying to hurt us, but maybe I could have gotten through to him a different way. There had been so many things going through my head that I could have done differently at that moment. I feel like maybe I deserve to be punished for my actions.
When I went to Nikki’s that night, I wasn’t expecting for Dwayne to show up. I did bring my gun with me but just for precaution. I never imagined he would indeed be dumb enough to show up at her house. But he did. He did show up, and now he is dead. While sitting in the back of the police car on the way to the station, all I could think about were those things. What could I have done differently to prevent this from happening? Did I deserve to go to prison for murder? There are so many things that I need to know, but I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to say anything that could be used against me later.
We pull up to the police station, and they walk me inside.
“We need intake on new inmate, Elijah Barnes!”
I hear the buzzer go off, so I walk inside the double doors to be admitted to jail. I never thought that I would end up here. I am proud that I had never been to prison before. I try to stay far from it and make sure I never do anything that I could get in trouble for, but here I am.
I got undressed and feel weird. The guard is just standing there watching my every move. I guess it makes sense because they want to make sure I didn’t have anything that could hurt them or any contraband.
“Here is your uniform. Put it on!”
After getting dressed, I follow them to take my mugshot, then they show me where I’d be staying, where I would be visiting until this is all over. I’m not ready to see the inside of this place. I’m going to be sleeping with real criminals around me. I wasn’t terrified of people, but there is no telling what they did to wind up in here.
“Barnes, here’s your bunk. Make yourself comfortable.”
My roommate’s a small elderly man.
“Hey. You can have the bottom bunk.”
“I don’t like top bunks anyway, so that works out great,” I tell him with a half-smile.
“My name is John. What’s yours?”
“My name is Elijah.”
“What did you do to get in here?”
What should I say? Should I tell him the truth? Well, no sense in lying considering he would probably find out eventually anyway.
“They arrested me for murder. It’s a long
story.” John gives me a look to where I couldn’t tell if he thinks I’m joking or he is just trying to figure out if he should be worried or not.
“Well, the good thing is we will have plenty of time for you to tell me what happened.”
I’m happy to see that he is not scared of me. He must know I’m a genuine person and not some crazy murderer.
“What are you in here for?” I ask.
“Shoplifting.”
He doesn’t look like a guy that would shoplift.
“Why would you do that?”
“Mine too is a long story. Guess we should get started.”
We sit around as I tell John the whole story about what happened with Dwayne. When I’m done, I just watch his face to see how he would react. I want to know what he would have to say about it.
“So, I’m confused, why are you in here for murder then?”
“I don’t know; they haven’t really told me anything since I got here besides not to talk to them. So, I am asking the same question you are.”
I know that Rachel, Chris, and Nikki must be worried sick about me at this point and their heads must be spinning trying to figure out what’s going on. They will be in to visit and figure out what is going on. At least I have a decent cellmate. I could have gotten stuck with some crazy buff guy. So, I am lucky right now in that aspect.
“So now to you, why did you get arrested for shoplifting?”
“Well, I had lost my job, and my wife was a stay-at-home mom and never worked a day in her life. We have two small grandchildren who we took in when their parents passed away. We had finally gotten to the point where we had no money for food at all. I went to the local food bank who would not provide any food to us for some reason. I went to the local supermarket and just started stuffing things in my pockets and in my jacket so I could feed the kids. I was not going to let them go without eating. I would do whatever it took to keep them fed. So, I did, and I got caught. Now I’m here!”
I never realized how lucky I am since I had never been that desperate for food. I’ve always had food on the table to eat. This man went to jail so he could feed his grandkids. I hate to think that those kids are having trouble getting food. They are just kids. This makes me feel sick to my stomach.
“Well, I commend you for taking such a risk to feed your family. You are a good guy. How long did you get for shoplifting?”
“Just a month.”
Wow, a month for shoplifting food. You would think the judge would give him less considering he was doing it to feed his family.
“How much time do you have left?”
“Two weeks.”
He would be out of here shortly. I might be in jail for the rest of my life depending on what happens in my case. I need to find a lawyer soon. I need to tell him what happened and see if he can get me out of here. I didn’t even know who to call. I’ve never needed a lawyer before.
“Let’s get some sleep before they make us all get up in the morning.”
The next morning, I figure it’s time to start looking for a lawyer. The cops tell me the appointed a lawyer for me and that he wants to meet this morning. I didn’t like court-appointed lawyers. They are usually underpaid and didn’t try to help you. They try to do the least amount of work as possible. I go against my instincts and decide to go ahead and meet with him.
“Hello, my name is Jeff Harvey. The court has appointed me as your attorney. We have some things to discuss to see what kind of case we have here. Take a seat.”
“My first question is why am I being charged with murder this long after the incident when the cop said that he understood that it was self-defense?”
“Well, there is no good evidence stating that it was an act of self-defense. There was no sign of a break-in at the apartment.”
“He was stalking outside of her home, and I saw him. I got up and opened the door and told him that he needed to leave. That’s when he began beating me. He threatened her and was trying to drag her out of the house. He even took my gun from me to force her to leave with him. I waited until he wasn’t paying attention to me anymore and took the opportunity to get my gun back. I told him to let her go and leave, but instead, he charged at me, so I pulled the trigger twice. He was trespassing and a threat to both of us. Please tell me how that doesn’t constitute self-defense?”
“Well, like I said, there is no sign of a break-in. Therefore, everything is going to be based on evidence. There is no evidence besides the pictures of you and Nikki after the incident. The only concrete evidence we have is a dead man and your gun.”
Are you serious? So, I’m guilty of murder because a man came into the house and threatened us. This is ridiculous. I didn’t even know what else to say at this point that could help this man understand what happened. I didn’t know if it’s worth even my breath to speak to this man.
“Well, thank you for your help, but I won’t be using you in my case. I don’t think you have a good look at my case. I need someone who will fight for my innocence, and I can tell that it will not be you.”
“GUARD!” I scream.
The guard came and escorts me back to my cell. I’m so livid I can’t think straight.
“What happened?”
“The lawyer they appointed me is a joke. He said that I have no case and I should basical
ly plead guilty and get it over with because there is no hard evidence that it was self-defense. I will not go to prison for this. I refuse to believe that there is nothing that can be done to prevent it.”
I’m trying to think of something that could prove that I acted in self-defense. The lawyer thought that nothing is going to change unless I have some hard evidence. I didn’t understand how with all that happened that night, none of her neighbors heard anything. It was a very loud altercation inside that house, and surely someone must have heard something. I need to use the phone. I need to get ahold of Nikki and see if she could find me a lawyer that cared about their clients.
“Guard, could I use the phone?”
“You have three minutes.”
I dial Nikki’s phone number, praying that she would pick up.
“Thank god you answered. I need help. Can you guys work on finding me a lawyer? The guy I met with today was an airhead and basically told me I had no case.”
“We found someone who might take your case for free. The lawyer should be up there any minute to meet with you.”
“Hopefully, she is better than the last one. It looks like she is here now. I got to go.”
“There is someone here for you. Follow me,”
I walk into the room to see a middle-aged woman. She’s dressed very professionally and looks to be legit.
“Hello!”
“Hi, my name is Jolene Wentworth. I have been asked by a couple of your friends to evaluate your case to see if I would take it on pro bono. I would first like to make it aware that I don’t do this often. I must really believe in you and your case to take it on. I will be meeting with you today and then doing some digging to see if this is a good fit for me. Is that okay with you?”
“If you are even ten percent better than the man that was court appointed to me then you are better. I just need someone who will fight for me and my life. I don’t deserve to be behind bars for the rest of my life. Hopefully, once you hear everything, you will agree also.”
She must be better than him. I need a good lawyer. I need someone who is going to dig for stuff to prove I am innocent.
“First, how did you know Dwayne?”
“He was one of my best friend’s boyfriends.”
“Have you ever gotten into an altercation with him before that night?”
I’m going to have to lie. I couldn’t tell her about when Nikki was in the hospital because then it would look like I’m violent. I didn’t know this was going to happen, and she would ask this question, but lying is my only option.
“No, I hadn’t. Dwayne did, however, almost kill Nikki a couple months before the incident, which landed her in the hospital.”
“Okay, so Dwayne had an abusive, violent side. This could be useful in the case. Did this happen more than once?”
“Yes.”
“Well, good. If you did, the jury could say that you were the jealous lover that found out she had a boyfriend and then tried to kill him!”
I think to myself that at least she has a sense of humor about this.
“Good thinking. I can tell you this, we are going to need some more stuff to go off than just this.”
I know deep down we will find something to help. I just must stay strong. There will be a break, I know it.
Chapter 16
Nikki
I can hear Rachel and Chris moving around out in the kitchen. I decide to go ahead and get up and make some coffee for us. It’s going to be a long day, and I’m not sure what it’s going to entail. I will need coffee, for sure.
“Good morning, guys,” I stated.
“Not much good about this morning,” Chris replies.
“Well, hopefully, we can figure some things out this morning,” I replied to him.
I felt awful. Elijah would have never been in this situation if he hadn’t come over to my house that night. Although, if he hadn’t have been there, I would probably be dead. I blame myself now. This is all my fault. He could possibly spend the rest of his life in jail because of me. This is unsettling to think about right now.
“Are you guys ready to head there?”
“Let’s go!”
As we walk into the police station, I say a little prayer for Elijah. I didn’t know if he has ever been arrested before. If not, I imagine this is a bit scary for him.
“How can I help you?”
“We are here to see if we may see Elijah Barnes?”
“Take a seat.”
“He will be able to visit shortly.”
I start thinking about the reason why the cops would have arrested him so long after the incident. It caught my attention that I had just spoken to Dwayne’s mom a couple of days ago, and she had been distraught. Could this be her doing?
I step outside to call Dwayne’s mom.
“I just wanted to check on you to see if you were doing okay?”
“I’m doing okay now that they have someone in custody for murdering Dwayne!”
“He didn’t murder Dwayne. He acted in self-defense when your son was trying to kidnap and possibly murder me!”
“Well, the cops agree with me. Elijah will be going to trial for murder and will be convicted, and justice will be served for my son’s death. Mark my words!”
How could she do this to him? She has sent an innocent man to jail because she refuses to believe that her son had been troubled. The cops apparently agreed with her because Elijah is sitting in jail right now. They know the background between Dwayne and me. He was just in jail like three months prior for assaulting me into unconsciousness. He has apparently shown that he is violent toward me.
I tell Chris and Rachel about what Dwayne’s mom said, and they are as shocked as I am about it. This is something that Elijah needed to know. We need to let his lawyer know what she said too.
“He’s ready for you guys.”
Finally, we are going to get to see him. It has been a week since he has been in here. Jolene has been trying to figure out something to help him with his case. So far, there has been no luck, but we aren’t giving up. I couldn’t give up on him. He has only in here because he had been trying to protect me. I will never be able to live with myself if he ends up in here for life. There must be a way.
I walk in the meeting room, and he looks awful. He looks dirty, but I suppose he didn’t get the same luxury as he does on the outside.
“How are you doing?”
“I’m alright. I got lucky and got a kick ass cellmate.”
“We have missed you. We have been worried. Your trial is coming up in a couple of weeks, and we don’t have anything to help yet. We are still trying to find anything that could possibly help you.”
I didn’t want him to see or know how scared I am deep down inside for him. This man had=s been there for me since I met him. The kiss we shared meant something. I am just too stupid to show it. There is no time for it right now. We have so much to worry about it at this point.
“I just want you to know that I will come visit you as much as I can. I hate that you are in here because of me.”
“I’m not in here because of you. You deserve to be protected. The last thing you need to do is feel bad. Don’t.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m doing okay. You just focus on finding something that can help me!” He smiles, gives me a bear hug, and then leaves.
He seems so calm about all of this. Has he given up? He just didn’t look like he is too worried about it. Maybe he just didn’t feel like there is any hope left for him. Well, I have news for him. There is still hope, and we will find something that is going to prove his innocence.
My phone rings.
“What’s going on?”
“We need to do something and fast. I found something that could help Elijah’s case. I need to meet with you guys about it since Elijah told me to keep you guys updated. When can you guys meet me?”
“We can be at your office in an hour. See you then!”
As we walk into her office, I
take a deep breath to prepare myself for whatever she is going to tell us. She didn’t seem any different today. I figure she would be smiling or excited.
“So first, I want to prepare you for something that you might not want to hear, Nikki. Just remember that this could help Elijah’s case!”
“Jolene, just tell us what you found!”
“Well, I did some digging into Dwayne. I visited his work and asked around about him. I wanted to see if I could find anyone close to him.”
“AND?” I bark. “Just tell us what you found. Don't worry about me.”
“Okay. Well, I found a woman that he was having an affair with while you guys were together.”
“How the hell is finding someone he was having an affair with going to help Elijah at all?”
“The fact that she said that she called it off when he started hitting her!”
So now, I found out that he was indeed cheating on me and was also abusing another poor woman. It makes me sick to my stomach. After all the shit he gave me when he thought I was cheating on him. I should have left his ass way before I did.
“So, this will help him because it proves Dwayne is violent!”
“We already know he was violent. I was in the hospital because of him. Doesn’t that already prove he was violent?”
“Well, yes, but since you were involved in the incident, it doesn’t have the same effect on his case.”
“I understand. What else do we need? The trial will be coming up soon.”
We just want to find any way to help him. He needs to get out. He doesn’t belong in there. Anything we can do to prove he is innocent, we will do.
“Well, we need more things to help him. It would be a good idea to get your doctor to testify in Elijah’s case. It would help the jury understand what he did to you.”
Chapter 17
Nikki
Elijah’s court date is fast approaching, and I know we are not entirely ready. We haven’t seen him in two weeks, but that’s because he says to focus on his case instead of visiting him. We have all been working hard, trying to find things that could potentially help his case.
