Hannah rolled her eyes. “A little late for that, isn’t it?”
“He said he didn’t want you to visit in prison, respecting Gloria’s wishes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t attend the trial.” Nigel watched her eyes dart toward him. “He has no issue with that; look, if we have it our way, he’ll be out soon, and you’ll be able to rebuild what was robbed from you both.”
Hannah nodded, grateful for the opportunity her dad was being handed.
Kathy didn’t reach for Hannah’s hand, try to hug or comfort her, or sit closer to her, but the words she spoke touched Hannah and sent shivers through Nigel.
“Hannah, for me, honor your mom this one last time. She spent her life keeping you away from that terrible place. How she did it, right or wrong, is now irrelevant, but for whatever reason, Hank now agrees with her decision. Can you please do as they ask? Honor their wishes this one last time, and stay away from the prison that inflicted so much pain on your family and required Gloria to sacrifice so much?”
The words Kathy spoke, along with the tears that threatened to spill over her eyelids, touched Hannah. Something about her mom and dad seeing eye-to-eye on the very point that had driven them apart sealed the deal. Hannah nodded. She’d stay away from Folsom.
“Am I able to call him during this next phase?” she asked.
“Yes, absolutely! In fact, he said that he’d call you this week.”
Nigel assured them both that he’d notify them as soon as the court date was set. They promised him that they’d both be in attendance. Smiling, he reached and shook Kathy’s hand. He’d expected nothing less. Instinctively, he leaned in and hugged Hannah, and she hugged him back.
“Another one from Hank and from me!” Gathering his coat, he thanked Kathy for the water. Turning to Hannah, he complimented her again. “You have grown into a lovely young lady, and Hank has every right to be proud of you.”
Hannah’s face lit up.
“He’s proud of me? Did he say that?”
Nigel nodded. “Always.”
It was a lot to process, but Hannah was excited. As soon as Nigel left, her fingers typed ninety miles an hour as she tapped away on her phone, filling Cash and Lindsey in about the pending court date, the potential of her dad’s conviction being overturned, and the possibility of him getting out immediately for time already served.
Cash: Babe, this is unbelievable!
Hannah: Right!
Cash: Have you talked to your dad?
Hannah: Not yet.
Lindsey: OMG! This is crazy!
Hannah: I know. Still can’t believe it.
Later that evening, Hannah sat on her bed, conch shell in hand, and read one of the letters from the tattered box. For the first time, the Captain’s voice sounded like her dad’s. Placing the letter on her chest, she flopped back on her bed and put the shell against her ear. The familiar sound of the air swirling around the inside, reminding her of the ocean, once again brought comfort and also joy. A knock on the door startled her. Kathy popped in her head, and asked if she could come in. She had an unusual look on her face, and Hannah had no idea how to read her. Kathy tightened the blanket that she had wrapped around her and sat down next to Hannah on the bed. Hannah waited. Kathy looked as if she was struggling for the right words to say, but finally, she pulled out a photograph of Gloria that Hannah hadn’t seen before. Gloria was all smiles. Hank had his arms wrapped around her waist, and Hannah was perched on Hank’s shoulders.
“Oh my God, look how little I was!” Hannah giggled.
Kathy smiled and looked closer at the picture she held in her hands.
“You were a tiny little thing; I think I’m the one who took the picture that day. Anyway, I found this among your mom’s things. It was one of many that she cherished.”
Hannah sat and listened.
“She loved him, you know, and she loved you. Finding out that Hank will be exonerated of the crime that ruined all of your lives would have made her so happy!”
Kathy’s voice was barely a whisper. Picking up Hannah’s hand, she studied her face. Hannah’s eyes, so big and blue, looked like her mom’s. Kathy could see her sister in her niece. Grateful for that, she finished talking to Hannah.
“I think Gloria’s reasons started out to protect you, but then she became defiant over an argument that they’d had, her and Hank. Ultimately, she got in too deep, the lie, the moves, and the angry words; there was no way to turn back. But I guess what I’m trying to say is this…” Kathy took a deep breath as she wiped a single teardrop that had trickled down her cheek away. “She would truly be thrilled that you are getting him back in your life. Happy for both of you, and I think if she were still here with us, she’d spend every moment trying to make it right. And if she couldn’t, she’d encourage you to spend every second you could to get to know your dad again. He’s a good man. And, again, she did love him.”
Hannah hugged her aunt, and though neither one of them acknowledged it, they cried together, tears of loss, hope, and apprehension.
“Do you think he’ll be exonerated, for sure I mean, the conviction really overturned?” Hannah asked.
“Based on everything Nigel told us, I do. I really do.”
Kathy walked toward the door. Stopping, she turned back around and asked Hannah a simple question.
“Do you feel helpless right now?”
Hannah hadn’t thought about that, but yes, she did feel helpless, knowing that all they could do was wait. Nodding, she confirmed.
“Do you want to change that?”
Waiting for Hannah to answer, Kathy could see Hannah’s wheels turning in her head as she wondered how she, a teen, could do anything to help. But yes, she was definitely in!
“What do I have to do?”
Chapter 44
Are You Ready?
Peace
Peace and quiet
This I crave
Settle my nerves
Still my mind
Heal me
~ Hannah Gunner ~
Hank sat nervously on the edge of his bunk; after all, this could be the day that changed his entire life. His favorite guard appeared at his cell, opened the door, and handed him a suit.
“Here, your attorney told me to give you this. Put it on, and you can meet with him before you leave for the courthouse.”
Hank took the hanger and thanked the guard.
“No need to thank me. I didn’t buy it.”
The suit was a tad too big, but Hank pulled it off by tightening his belt and rolling the bottom of the pants underneath by a couple of inches and securing them with tape acquired from the guard.
“What you really need is a few safety pins, but you know the rules. I’ll see if I can swipe one, might not work, but I can try.”
“Thanks, it sure can’t hurt!”
A few minutes a later, the guard reappeared.
“Are you ready? Let’s go.”
Hank was escorted to a small room that had one table and two chairs. Michael and Nigel were waiting for him. Greetings and handshakes were exchanged before they sat down and got to business.
“I don’t expect this to take long,” Michael told Hank. “Once we present the appeal based on testimony from all of the witnesses, including James and Lewis, I’ll ask the judge to overturn your conviction and release you for time already served.”
Hank, for the first time in years, was trembling.
“I don’t expect you to have to take the stand at all, but it is possible that the judge may ask you a few questions.”
Hank nodded. Answering a few questions shouldn’t be a big deal. Michael continued as Nigel furiously scribbled notes and tapped away on his iPad. Hank didn’t know what Nigel was writing.
“Are you ready for your overdue day in court, Hank?”
It took him a second to answer; images of Gloria and Hannah from a lifetime ago flashed before his eyes. It had all gone wrong, so quickly, so many years ago, but he would have given anything if Gloria were going to be
there waiting for him today.
“Hank, are you ready?”
“Sorry. Yes. Yes, sir, I am. As ready as I’m ever going to be, I suppose.”
Nigel signaled the guard that Hank was ready to be escorted out. He was cuffed and taken to the waiting dock for a van to arrive that would take him to the courthouse. Nigel and Michael discussed the details of his case on their way to court. Receiving a text message that Sharon, Mr. Stoddard’s daughter, was on her way pleased them both. If the judge needed to question her, they wouldn’t have to track her down.
Hank rarely left the prison grounds. Riding in a vehicle didn’t feel familiar to him anymore, and he couldn’t help but notice his knuckles were white from holding onto the armrest too tightly. He had given up hope of being paroled early, let alone released early. Forcing himself to think only of that moment, he tried to clear his mind, but it was impossible. His freedom, yet again, was at stake and there was nothing he could do about it.
His attorney’s car pulled up to the courthouse several minutes before the prison van arrived. Shocked by what they saw, Michael grabbed his cell phone and started filming the crowds that greeted them and instructed Nigel to do the same.
“That’s, that’s Hannah!”
Nigel pointed to the slim teen standing on the courthouse steps chanting something he couldn’t quite make out yet. She was holding a sign up above her head. In fact, just about everyone who had gathered at the courthouse was holding some sort of sign.
“How many people do you think are here?” Nigel asked.
“I don’t know, honestly, a hundred maybe? A hundred fifty, if not more?”
The signs read all kinds of things from RIGHT THE WRONG, FREE HANK! to WRONGLY CONVICTED! WHO’S THE CRIMINAL NOW? The media was on site, and multiple reporters were trying to grab an interview with Hank as soon as he arrived. Hannah spotted Nigel and made her way down the steps toward him. Cash and Lindsey were by her side.
“Is he about to be here?”
Nigel nodded. “This is amazing! How did you do it?”
“What, this?” Hannah smiled. “It was Kathy, Cash, and Lindsey, really, who helped me. Phone calls, Twitter, Insta, Snap, you name it, we were spilling our story everywhere.”
“Well, it worked!” Nigel reached out and hugged her. “It worked! The community is on his side, and that can’t hurt. Well done!”
The crowd suddenly started to cheer, clap, and broke into a chant free Hank, free Hank, free Hank, indicating that the prison van had finally arrived. Staring out the window in disbelief at the support that he had received from what was left of his family and total strangers, Hank, shaking and holding back his tears, couldn’t help but break down. The guard assigned to escort him laid a firm hand on his shoulder. No words were exchanged. He sat in place for a few minutes and gathered himself. Taking deep breaths, wiping the stray tears away with his hands, he stood on trembling legs and made his way to the door of the van. Slowly he stepped off the steps and onto the concrete. Nigel grabbed Hannah’s hand and led her over to the side entry. For the first time in over eleven years, Hank came face to face with his daughter, no glass barricade between them. A guard stood between him and Hannah. The crowd spotted them and once again started chanting, but this time the chant sent a different haunting message. Wrongly convicted, robbed! Wrongly convicted, robbed! Wrongly convicted, robbed! The guard showed zero expression on his face as he stepped to the left and let Hannah look into the eyes of her father for the first time—no glass between them—since she was a little girl.
Cash slipped his arm around her waist, as he watched her nervously take three steps toward Hank. Hank, still cuffed, looked his daughter up and down. How tall she was now! How beautiful she had become, a true young lady. She had Gloria’s nose, her little chin, and there were those big, beautiful blue eyes. His heart was pounding in his chest and he wasn’t prepared for Hannah as she suddenly lunged toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The crowd, which had been chanting nonstop, suddenly went silent. The reporters crowded the pair as Hannah burst into tears.
“I can’t believe it’s you. You’re here. You’re really, really here.”
Hank could barely hold his emotions intact as the years flashed before his eyes. Here stood, right before him, his First Matey, that pirate child still somewhere inside those blue eyes. Wanting to reach out to hold her, he raised his cuffed hands, but Hannah kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.
“Don’t worry about that now, Captain, those damn cuffs will come off inside.”
Michael tapped her on the shoulder.
“It’s time, Hannah. We have to go.”
Hank’s hands, cuffed together, reached up and touched her face. She was truly there, standing in front of him, and it wasn’t a dream. They led him up the concrete stairs as the crowd once again started to chant his name. Reporters tried to ask him questions, but he ignored them as he tried to speak to Hannah one last time. He yelled her name, but she hadn’t heard him over the crowd. Frantically, he yelled it again.
“Hannah. Hannah.”
Cash and Kathy cleared a path for her as she ran up the stairs before he entered the courthouse.
“Cap. Right here!”
“I just want to say,” he started to say, but struggled to find the words. “I just want to say, well…”
“I love you, Dad!” Hannah said.
“I love you too,” he managed before they pulled him inside the door.
Chapter 45
This IS It!
Grief turns to joy
Pain turns to love
New beginnings unfold
Gifts from above
Life left to chance
Is no life at all
I’ll choose my destination
~ Hannah Gunner ~
Much to Michael and Nigel’s delight, the courtroom was packed. Michael had ensured that Hannah, Kathy, Cash, and Lindsey had seats directly behind the council’s table where Hank was seated in front of the judge. Hannah had been added as a character witness, as had Sandy, Nathan’s wife. As soon as Hank spotted her, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Cupping his mouth with his hand, he gasped, and mouthed her name: Sandy! She spotted him immediately, as soon as he looked in her direction. Placing one hand over her heart, she blew him a kiss with the other, signaling that, despite the loss of Nathan, she was going to stand up for, by, and support him. Sandy slipped Nigel a note with Hank’s name written on it.
We’d give anything if this had never happened! But it did, and now we have to make it right. We’re on your side and always have been! Can’t wait for you to meet Nate.
Hank read it twice before turning back around and mouthing the words thank you. He noticed that all of the seats in the courtroom were filled, and reporters lined more than a few rows. That could be good for him—public support for his case. Hank looked over his shoulder one last time, stealing a glimpse of Hannah talking with Kathy. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the fact that she was a mere foot away; all he wanted to do was reach out and hold her! A poke in his ribs startled him, followed by an announcement from the bailiff as the judge entered the courtroom.
“Please rise. The Court of the Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division, is now in session. The Honorable Judge Cardiff presiding.”
The sound of everyone shuffling to their feet bounced off the walls, as people stood up and waited for the next round of instructions before the trial got underway. Hannah reached over and grabbed Cash’s hand. She was visibly shaking, but Cash tried to reassure her by gently squeezing her hand in his and softly nudging her with his body. Lindsey stood as close to Kathy as she possibly could, and nervously the four waited as the judge addressed the courtroom next.
“Everyone may be seated except the defendant. Mr. Payne, please swear in the defendant.”
Hank remained standing as everyone around him sat down. After Hank was sworn in, the judge asked Hank’s counsel and the prosecution’s counsel to step forward. After a couple minute
s, they were dismissed to their tables, and the judge made another announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a unique case. We do not have a jury, but we do have a list of character witnesses. I’m going to ask that all character witnesses for the defendant please rise. We will swear you in all at once at this time.”
Hannah—feeling nervous—stood, along with Kathy, Sandy, and a few others. The bailiff asked them all the same question.
“Please raise your right hands. Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
In unison they all answered, I do. The bailiff addressed the judge again.
“Your Honor, today’s case is Gunner versus the State of California.”
“Is the defense attorney ready?” the judge asked.
Michael stood up. “Yes, Your Honor.”
“You may be seated.”
“And the prosecuting attorney?”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
“Be seated.”
Judge Cardiff gave the defense permission to proceed. Nervously Hank sat in his chair, helpless, and listened to every word that Michael carefully told the judge. His opening statements were strong and carefully crafted to deliver maximum impact.
“Your Honor, the State of California has committed an incorrigible crime against Hank Gunner. We’re here today to ensure that the original conviction for involuntary manslaughter is overturned and that he is released immediately, based on time already served. Robbed of the best years of his life and serving time, a sentence that he didn’t deserve for a crime that he did not, I repeat did not, commit! This terrible injustice has cost him years of his life that can never be recouped! He cannot wish them back, and even the monetary retribution that we’re asking for here today cannot buy back those years that he wrongfully served in Folsom State Prison. Those years, wrongfully convicted, not only cost him his personal life, it cost him his family. Not to mention precious time with his wife, who became ill and has since passed. For reasons beyond his control, brought about by this wrongful conviction, he wasn’t even able to attend her funeral. And we haven’t yet discussed the years that he’ll never recoup—in any way possible—to retrace the time and get back the days with his then-elementary-aged daughter so he could watch her grow up. Her first day of first grade, reading on her own, first and early years of school plays, first dance, first boyfriend, first kiss… the list goes on and on. Now she’s a teenager, and she’ll be graduating high school soon!”
Captain Fin Page 30
