When he was done they gave him $50 cash, told him to have a good day, and shuffled him through the exit.
Immediately Alex was blinded by the midday sun. He hadn't been in direct sunlight for weeks and had grown accustomed the prison's dim environment. It was windy, too, something else that Alex hadn't even noticed was missing from within the stuffy walls.
"Take a second," he could hear Zeke say, "it's bright out today."
After a few moments, he looked up at Zeke. "Hey, so, can you tell me what's happening?"
"Sure, let's sit down over here," Zeke said, pointing to a picnic table. Zeke recounted what happened at Blue Shield's office. Salter admitting to killing Cahill, setting Alex up, and the entire series of events leading Zeke and Matty to discover his involvement.
"How much am I paying you again?" Alex asked.
"Not enough," Zeke replied, laughing. "I'm glad we got you out of there when we did. I'm not sure they would've released you if things had ended differently in there."
"Yeah, me too," Alex said. "So . . . now what?"
"Move on with your life, as best you can, I guess. I've got another surprise for you." Zeke got up and gestured Alex to walk to the parking lot. Alex saw his motorcycle sitting outside.
"Wow, look at that," Alex said, "you finally got it for me."
"ADA Williams said they didn't need it for evidence anymore. Salter's taped confession is more than enough. They also found Cahill's cellphone at his apartment. Still had dried blood on it."
"I guess that's it then," Alex said.
"Be careful when you're leaving," Zeke replied, "there's a lot of media waiting outside the gate."
"Should I talk to them?"
"That's up to you. If it were me, though, I'd just want to get home and put this all behind me."
"Yeah," Alex said, standing up. "That sounds pretty good."
Zeke handed Alex his motorcycle helmet. "It's been a pleasure. Call me if you get into any more trouble."
"Thanks,” he replied.
After a few minutes checking out his bike, Alex swung out the kick-start and thrust down. The motorcycle roared to life. He put on his helmet and pulled out of the parking lot. A guard opened the gate at the back, and Alex turned into the street, flanked by reporters and photographers. He disappeared around the corner.
I’m going home, he thought to himself.
March 9th, 6:45pm
"What? No introduction?" Matty asked, walking out of the jail parking lot.
"Nah, Alex had more important stuff to do," Zeke replied.
"Whatever. What would you say about getting drinks?" Matty asked.
"Sounds good to me. Can I invite a plus one?"
"Ugh," Matty groaned, "fine. But keep the footsie to a minimum."
An hour later, Zeke and Matty were walking up to Cole’s when they saw Lexi outside.
"Glad you could make it," she said as they approached the bar.
"And miss drinks at Cole's? Never," Zeke replied. "Have you moved back into your apartment yet?"
"Yep, brought my stuff back this morning. Told my boss I'll be back in tomorrow."
"I'm sorry for everything that happened—"
"It's okay, really. I'm just glad that you're ok, and that you got Alex out of jail."
"Don't worry about me," Matty said, "I'm fine."
Lexi laughed. "I'm glad you're okay too, Matty. Obviously."
"Obviously," he replied.
"I heard on the Today show that you're doing an 'exclusive' televised interview tomorrow," Lexi said. "You're the 'rookie' attorney that got his innocent client out of jail."
"Yeah, it's nothing big. I'm just doing it over the internet from my office."
"Nothing big. Listen this guy," Matty said.
"So, do you still want to be a corporate lawyer?" Lexi asked.
Zeke took a sip of beer before responding. "No, not really. I like working on criminal cases. The pay sucks, and I've received more death threats over the past few weeks than I can remember. But it's fun, and I can run my own shop. That's what matters to me right now."
"Awesome," she replied. "After this, I have a feeling your phone will be ringing off the hook—"
"Hey," Matty interjected, "check this out." He handed his phone to Zeke, showing him a text message. "It's from Marlowe, the girl I met at Dirty Laundry last week."
Zeke read the text: "Hey Matty. There was a drive by shooting just now at my apartment. Cops are here asking questions. They said I can't move. You won’t believe this. They’ve arrested a bunch of ladies on motorcycles. I think an one of my neighbors may have gotten killed. I need a lawyer. Can your guy get here?
Zeke handed the phone back to Matty. He looked at Lexi, "you're gonna hate me—"
"You have to go? Go, it's fine, don't worry about. Go defend your client."
"Thanks, I'll make it up to you," Zeke said. He turned to Matty, "You coming?"
"Do you really need me for this?"
"You're a critical piece of the puzzle Matty," Zeke said, smiling. "Also, I need a ride."
TO BE CONTINUED…
<<<<>>>>
Notes
Chapter 6
1 See Into the Desert, a novella and prequel to Blackbird. Available Summer 2019, by A.J. Gentile.
About the Author
A.J. Gentile writes fast-paced legal thrillers. He is husband to an occupational therapist and father to a tiny human, but is also a lawyer, world traveler, garage band guitarist, and constant source of disappointment to his Chinese teachers. Raised in Southern California, he now enjoys soaking in the southwest China sun.
Blackbird Page 18
