Another Last Chance

by Tristan Walker

  “Okay, good.”

  The investigator stood up and walked over to the window where he contacted the lawyer and gave him the okay to come in.

  When Kevin had finished reading the statements he returned it to the investigator who then left the room.

  The lawyer came during the afternoon of the following day. The officer left the door opened and stood outside the room, giving them their privacy.

  The lawyer greeted him and immediately went into his briefcase, taking out the necessary documents. He kept it in his hand and looked to the door, scanning the area.

  “Mister Ramoutar explained everything to you already?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, and you understand everything he told you?”

  “Yeah, I want to believe so.”

  The lawyer was staring at him as if he was looking forward to a question, but after waiting a few seconds he handed over the document and a pen.

  “This very straightforward. All I need you to do is read it through and once you don’t have any problem, you would put your signature here.” He pointed to the line where Kevin was required to sign at the bottom of the last page and he took a seat.

  Kevin took some time to read all four pages, and when he was finished he acknowledged that it was the same as the previous one. The lawyer noticed that he had stopped reading and stood up.

  “You finish?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay.” There wasn’t any signature and he waited a while before asking if there was a problem.

  “No, but I just want to find out what is the procedure from here.”

  “Okay.” He straightened up. “Well, once you sign it I would communicate with Mister Ramoutar and we would start working out the charges.”

  Kevin became concerned about the amount of charges he would be facing.

  “How much charges I looking at?”

  “Well.” He looked to the door again and then leaned closer to Kevin to keep the conversation between them. “I going to work it out in order for you to get the least amount of charges from these offences. But don’t worry, me and Ramoutar working together to make sure you don’t get anything more than eight years. That was the deal and we sticking to that.”

  Kevin felt relieved, and he nodded his appreciation. The lawyer seemed happy too.

  “Okay. So as soon as you sign this I would be able to go back to my office and start cutting down these charges.”

  Kevin scratched his signature on the line and gave the pen and the document back to him. He examined it carefully before putting it into his briefcase. He was ready to leave.

  “Okay, so let me go back and start working on this. Once I finish before you get discharge you would see me here. If not, I would see you at the station to confirm everything and you would put your final signatures, okay?”

  “Yeah, cool.”

  He walked out the room and the door closed behind him.

  As time passed Kevin realized that he was in hospital and he was already feeling more confined than a prisoner. His only hope was that Shantel wouldn’t be ashamed of him and she would bring his child to visit him occasionally while in prison.

  Some nights he found himself crying as it was difficult to deal with the feeling of being all alone and hopeless. He was surrounded by four dark walls with no tv, music, or connection to the outside world. The only comfort he had during the late hours of the night were the voices in his head, telling him that he would soon be out of the hospital and off to a prison where there would at least be some sought of interaction with reality and visiting hours.

  On the fourth week he was removed from a number of machines and the major tubes were also taken out. The doctors had come to him and informed him that, once everything went well, he would be discharged in two weeks time.

  It was the best news he had gotten since the morning he woke up at hospital and it was also the first time he had smiled since he was there.

  Motivated by the news he had spent the remaining time exercising his body by doing some, simple awkward crunches on the bed along with stretches and other short movements.

  During his final week the officers had uncuffed him from the bed and kept only his legs chained. He was allowed to move around the room and he took full advantage of the situation by pushing his body to the limit. He would do everything from push-ups, sit-ups, crunches and jumps.

  On the morning that he was carded to be discharged, he’d woken up before sunrise and did his usual early morning workout and then went standing at the window, awaiting the sunrise. It was the first time he’d done that.

  He felt like a new man and he knew he looked like one to.

  He had a beard now, and although he was slim he could see and feel his rock-hard abs, hands and legs.

  He was disappointed that he had lost the battle against the officers, but he had won something much more important and that was the ability to survive whatever they threw at him.

  He closed his eyes and allowed the sun to consume his body. He then stretched out his hands like an eagle would spread its wings. It was exactly what he needed to rejuvenate.

  At that moment it was clear to him that he was the only person in control of his future. And, win, lose or draw he’d have to remain in control.

  The door opened and he felt someone enter the room. He didn’t move, just listened carefully.

  “Aye, muscle head.”

  It was one of the officers and he knew exactly who it was without opening his eyes or dropping his hands. He shook his head to the petty remark.

  “Start organizing. We leaving in an hour's time.”

  Kevin remained quiet. He opened his eyes and enjoyed the view.

  When he heard the door close he turned and went to the bathroom to do as the officer instructed.

  After the doctor and nurses were gone, four officers entered the room. They handcuffed him and escorted Kevin out of the hospital and into an awaiting police vehicle downstairs.

  He was dressed in a hospital gown and was given the opportunity to contact someone of his choice when he arrived at the Central Police station, to bring a change of clothes for him to attend court the following morning.

  Kevin admired his surroundings. Although it was everything he was used to, he enjoyed being in the midst of it once again.

  There were three police vehicles and as they exited the hospital’s compound they made their way through the streets with the sirens screaming at pedestrians and vehicles to get out of their way.

  Kevin was in the vehicle in the middle and his body was being thrown from side to side as the vehicle swerved around other vehicles and took some sharp corners.

  Traffic lights meant nothing to them as they burst their way through, getting full respect from oncoming vehicles.

  It took them a little less than ten minutes before they came to a sudden stop in front of the police station.

  To Kevin’s surprise he could see a crowd of pedestrians waiting to see what was taking place. He could already feel the embarrassment as the reporters waited to the front to get a clear shot at him for nothing more than a headline story.

  Two officers opened the back and helped Kevin out.

  The flashes started immediately, and voices could be heard from the crowd as they all tried to voice their opinion at the same time.

  Kevin kept his head turned away from the commotion as he was being hurried to the station’s entrance, protected by a barricade of four additional officers.

  It seemed as though there were reporters everywhere as the police were being prompted to answer questions as they made their way up the steps. They hadn’t said anything.

  On the inside Kevin was presented to an officer who was sitting behind a desk. He was dressed in casual clothing and was seen delegating officers to carry out certain functions. After writing Kevin’s information in a log book the officer instructed them to start processing him and then take him to a cell which they had prepared for him in the back.


  They led him into a room where they took his finger prints and filled out the necessary forms. He was then allowed one phone call. He thought about reliability and contacted his cousin who lived in Port-of-Spain. He requested a suit and a change of clothes and his cousin said that he would be there after work.

  Kevin was led through the halls and placed into the first empty cell. As his hands and feet were being freed from the cuffs he could hear shouts coming from the other cells as prisoners called for food and drinks while some pleaded for a hearing as they swore their innocence.

  It was Kevin’s first time in a prison cell. He had only heard stories of the poor conditions.

  Inside the cell was dark, since the overhead lights weren’t working. The first thing that caused some discomfort was the scent of sweat and faeces that filled the air. There was a small vent about twelve feet up but that wasn’t enough to filter the air, much less rid the room of its odour.

  There was a metal toilet bowl and basin on one side of the room and a concrete bench to the right of it where discoloured newspapers were spread across like it had been used by everyone who came in.

  The cell was not designed to cater for privacy or comfort.

  Kevin felt his stomach turn and he began to feel lightheaded. Within a short moment sweat had already covered his skin and he was in desperate need of water and something to eat.

  He stood close to the iron bars where he would catch the first set of almost-fresh air that came down the hallway.

  The voices of the prisoners next to him would often distract him from his situation.

  As more time passed his thirst was becoming unbearable. The water in the tap looked contaminated by the rusty pipelines but he felt as though he had no other choice. He drank from the pipe and returned to the iron bars where he sat on the ground and waited.

  A few hours passed, and two officers came with a box containing lunches. After distributing it they took some time to explain to the rowdy prisoner that whatever problems he had, he’d have to take it up with the magistrate the following morning. After mentioning that several times to the same individual, Kevin saw them walking away annoyed by the prisoner’s lack of understanding. They told Kevin that his lawyer was on the way.

  Outside was already dark when the lawyer arrived. The officers had taken them into a room where the lawyer sat opposite Kevin at a wooden desk.

  There weren’t any windows in the room just the desk, two cameras and an air conditioning unit. Both officers stood at the door.

  “How everything going with you?” the lawyer said, while taking out the documents from inside his briefcase. Kevin wasn’t sure if he should answer the question. He knew that speaking the truth would cause some tension and he was already enjoying being out of the cell for the few minutes.

  “Well, all I could say is thank God for life,” Kevin said.

  The lawyer smiled, though the true answer seemed obvious to him.

  He placed his briefcase on the ground, leaving only the documents and a pen on the table. He started flipping through the pages.

  “Well I worked out everything and I got a total of fourteen charges.” He paused and looked at Kevin who was looking right back at him. Kevin was wondering what it meant in terms of jail sentencing.

  “That is about seven and a half years in prison, could be less, knowing you don’t have any previous conviction. But, at the end of the day. That is all up to the judge.”

  Kevin was quiet. For him there wasn’t anything to be happy about. After seeing the condition of the cell, all he could think about was framing his mind to spend seven years in similar conditions.

  The lawyer seemed unsatisfied for some reason. “Just remember this could’ve been a lot worst,” he continued. “I bypassed a lot of minor offences in order to keep it below eight years… okay?”

  “Yeah,” Kevin finally said. “I not upset or anything. You do what you say you was going to do. So… thanks.”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem. I just doing my job.” He turned the document and guided it over to Kevin.

  “Just read it through and if you need me to clear up anything, just ask, okay? If not, I would just need you to sign on the last page so I could take it for the inspector to sign.” Kevin lifted the pen and began turning the page.

  “Take your time.”

  Kevin browsed through the pages. There were fourteen pages and each page were labeled notice to prisoner. Kevin read charges from escaping lawful custody, procession of an illegal firearm, malicious damage, damage to government property, and more. On the last page he noticed that he was to be charged for shooting with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He turned the page again and his eyes focused on the dotted lines. He looked to the door and he could see the officer on the opposite side looking right back at him. He then took up the pen and hesitated for a while as he thought about the possibility of being tricked. Nevertheless, he scribbled his signature, hoping that everything would work out the way they’d explained.

  The lawyer carefully compared his signature with another document and then placed the pages back into his briefcase. He signaled the officers, then got up and thanked Kevin and the officers for their time and left the room.

  Kevin was taken back to his cell.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kevin had almost drifted away in sleep when he lifted his head, distracted by a tapping sound on the bar. He saw a man holding up a suit in one hand and a bag in the other. He couldn’t see the person clearly from where he was lying on the bench.

  He got up and as he walked closer he noticed that it was a police officer dressed in the grey and blue uniform with stripes on his sleeve. It was the first officer he saw attending to prisoners in that uniform since he was brought in.

  Kevin reached up to the bars and he smiled when he noticed who it was.

  The corporal smiled back at him.

  “What you doing here?” Kevin said in a most grateful voice.

  “I work here, remember?”

  Kevin was glad to see someone he knew.

  He studied the suit that the corporal was holding in his hand. It was a black suit with a white shirt. It was neatly pressed and kept in one of those clear suit bags. Kevin could tell that the other clothes he’d asked for was in the black plastic bag in his other hand.

  Corporal Gibson passed it through the bars and Kevin took it and rested it on the bench and returned to him.

  “So, what? You working tonight or something?”

  “Yeah, I come on for eight.”

  “Okay, cool.”

  “Yeah, I finishing in the morning. How everything was with you today?”

  Kevin quickly recapped the day.

  “Well, this is a first-time experience for me, so I just getting used to it. I can’t complain. Lunch and dinner was ah little late, but at least I eat, right?”

  “True.”

  Corporal Gibson seemed to have something on his mind. “How everything with you though?” Kevin asked, hoping that his question would give the corporal some sort of encouragement to open up.

  “Well. I holding it down for now. I in charge of this shift so I have some paper work and some other things to finish up. But, other than that. Everything just normal.”

  “Okay.”

  The place was quiet for a while and the corporal walked to the other cells and observed the prisoners for a moment before returning. His concern was more obvious now.

  Kevin’s anxiety was building and he couldn’t hold in the anticipation any longer. “You sure you good? You looking like you have something on yuh mind.”

  He studied Kevin for a moment. “Well, I was watching through the files and I see you decide to confess?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Kevin reminded himself that the corporal was the person in charge and it was obvious that he would have access to all the files concerning the prisoners.

  “I think everything will work out better this way.”

  “Well, true. But, that is not what bothering me though.�
�� The corporal looked concerned. Kevin held onto the bars and leaned closer to him. He was very interested to hear what the corporal was about to say.

  “I trying to understand why you thought you had to lie about it in the first place?”

  Kevin released the bars and took a step back, trying to come to terms with what the corporal was saying.

  “What you talking about? I didn’t lie.”

  “I talking about Wendell. I ask if you was the one who killed him and you did say no.”

  “Yeah, and that was the truth. I didn’t lie. I tell you before, that me and Wendell was good friends and…”

  “Okay, yeah, I know.” He lifted his hand, cutting Kevin across. “I remember what you tell me. But, if that is the case, why you confess to killing him if you know you didn’t do it?”

  “I didn’t confess to. Wait… what?” Kevin couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He could feel the tension rising as he walked back to the bars. “What you mean, I confess to the killing? I didn’t confess to killing anybody.”

  Corporal Gibson shook his head and smiled and started walking away. Kevin could tell that his smile was meant to be a disguise for his frustration. He stopped a few feet away and turned back to the cell.

  “Who you think I is? You take me for ah fool or something?”

  “What? No… I would never do that. You suppose to know me better than that.” Kevin walked closer to where the corporal was standing. “Listen, I confess to certain things but I didn’t kill anybody so I didn’t confess to killing nobody. I telling you the truth. Why you not believing me?”

  “Hmm.” Corporal Gibson sighed. “Why? Why I should even believe you when you telling me one thing and telling them a whole different story?”

  Kevin thought about his question. It lingered in his mind as he relived the signing process, trying to remember where he’d gone wrong. He couldn’t recall anything suspicious. On both occasions he had read the documents word by word before putting his signature. The only thing he could’ve thought of was the possibility of them forging his signature.