Wrongly Accused

by Erin Wade

  Dawn nodded. “It’ll take a lot to make these women trust the system.” She continued to read the file. “This went on a long time, before you came.”

  Dawn gasped when she saw the photo in Terry’s file. “This is grotesque! The rapist? Is that written in her own blood?”

  “Yes,” Val murmured, looking away. She couldn’t stand the look of disgust on Dawn’s face.

  Dawn studied the photos. “Was she a drug addict?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was she seeing Merrick on a regular basis?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “The rapist. It seems strange that she would write that instead of the name of her abuser,” Dawn said. “Everyone is assuming it’s two words: the rapist. What if it’s one word? Therapist.

  “I think she was trying to identify her therapist as the one responsible for her death.”

  “Oh my God,” Val exclaimed. “You’re right. She wasn’t very literate and probably had no idea how to spell Merrick’s name, so she wrote therapist.”

  “I’d bet a month’s pay your Dr. Merrick was trading drugs for sex,” Dawn said.

  “A month’s pay, eh?” Val smiled.

  “Before this place, that would have been a lot of money to bet.” Dawn shrugged. “No so much now.” Thanks to you, she thought as the smile disappeared from Val’s face.

  “Her family had already hired an attorney to sue Merrick for malpractice,” Dawn added. “I’m betting your two guards traded a hit on Terry for drugs. It seems drugs are the top currency in prison.”

  “I wouldn’t take your bet, because I’m sure I would lose, but you have given me an idea to discuss with the DA’s office.”

  They spent the rest of the afternoon writing and rewriting the information for the DA’s office to make it as condemning as possible and getting all the facts in order and substantiated. “I’ll personally take this to the DA in the morning and reassure him he has my fullest support,” Val said as she slipped the information into an oversized envelope.

  Dawn stood and stretched. “I can’t believe it’s so late. My stomach just reminded me that I haven’t eaten since breakfast. I’d better run before the cafeteria closes.”

  “Why don’t we get off the grounds and go to a great little Italian restaurant I know?” Val suggested.

  “Can we do that? I mean, can you take me outside the prison?” Dawn dared not hope.

  “Wardens are autonomous,” Val said, laughing. “Our prison is like our own little fiefdom. I think that’s part of the problem. When the government gives one person that much power, they must make certain they can be trusted not to abuse that power. What’s the old idiom? Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

  “I’d love to eat something besides prison food,” Dawn admitted. “May I run upstairs and change out of these scrubs?”

  “Of course. I’ll come get you in thirty minutes.”

  Dawn walked to the door and then turned around. “Thank you.”

  Chapter 20

  Dawn changed into the dark blue slacks, white blouse, and dark gray cardigan the prison allowed her to wear in the hospital. As she fixed her hair she thought about her afternoon with Val. The warden had played the devil’s advocate on several points Dawn had made in the charges that should be filed against Merrick. “We must be able to prove them beyond the shadow of a doubt,” Val had insisted. “Anything less will weaken our case.”

  Dawn eyed herself in the small mirror over the sink. Even without makeup, she was beautiful. Prison had a way of leveling the playing field for women, but even prison hadn’t dimmed the sparkle in the doctor’s Caribbean blue eyes.

  The knock on her door made her heart skip a beat. Surely, I’m not excited about dinner with the warden, she thought.

  Dawn couldn’t hide her surprise at Val’s appearance. She had become accustomed to the warden’s severe look, with her hair slicked back in a bun at the nape of her neck. The Val standing in her doorway looked like a runway model for women’s casual clothing.

  She wore fitted jeans with a tight-fitting pullover that accentuated her flat stomach and ample breasts. A leather vest pretended to hide them but didn’t. Her thick, dark hair swirled around her shoulders. She was breathtaking.

  “You . . . you’re gorgeous,” Dawn stammered.

  “Thank you.” Val’s shy grin made her even more appealing.

  Val stopped at the guard desk and signed Dawn out of the hospital. She made no excuses.

  “I’m surprised she didn’t ask you why you’re taking me off premises,” Dawn commented as she fastened her seatbelt.

  “I don’t answer to them.” A twisted smile flitted across Val’s lips. “They work for me.”

  The evening was filled with teasing and laughter as Val related stories about growing up with four older brothers. “They made my dating life a zoo,” she snickered. “It was always Mary and me against the boys. When I was seventeen, we had a Rottweiler named Max that wouldn’t bite a biscuit, but he looked like the devil reincarnated when he snarled and those fangs came out. His bark was bloodcurdling.

  “I was dating a nerdy fellow. You know the type—tall, skinny, glasses, harmless, and thrilled to be dating me. Max hated him for some reason and always lunged and snapped at him. My date was determined to make friends with Max and brought him large milk bones.

  “One night we came home a little after curfew, and he walked me to the door. He pulled a handful of milk bones from his jacket pocket and said, ‘I brought these in case Max is out.’

  “We stood on the front porch, him trying to decide if he could kiss me and me trying to decide if I’d let him. My youngest brother let Max out the back door as my date left the porch. He was halfway to his car when Max rounded the corner, growling and snapping like the hounds from hell. My date screamed like a girl, threw the milk bones into the air, and flew to his car. He laid rubber all the way down the block.

  “My brothers laughed until they cried at how shrill my date’s scream sounded.”

  Dawn laughed. “You had to be tough, growing up with four older brothers.”

  “You think I’m tough?” Val tilted her head, and the candlelight danced in her eyes.

  “I’m beginning to change my mind,” Dawn mumbled.

  “I’m not really.” Val frowned. “Sometimes I think I’m in way over my head.”

  “Would you like dessert?” the waitress said, sliding a small menu in front of them.

  Dawn shook her head. “I couldn’t possibly eat another bite. We really should get back.”

  “I have something for you,” Val said when the waitress left to get the check. She pulled her purse into her lap, reached inside, and placed a plain, white, rectangular box in front of Dawn.

  “You shouldn’t give me things,” Dawn said as she lifted the lid from the box. “It’s a cell phone. Am I even allowed to have a cell phone?”

  “You are if I approve it,” Val said, smiling. “And I approve it. I’ll feel better about your safety if you have it, and it will save you thousands of steps a day. Best of all, I won’t have to run all over the prison looking for you. I’ll simply call you.”

  I can call Niki, Dawn thought. “Yes, I suppose it will make it easier on both of us.”

  Val lowered her voice. “This is also a weapon. When you push this button, these two prongs pop out. It becomes a taser. Simply push it against the skin of an assailant and push the same button, and you’ll deliver a shock that will disable any one.”

  ##

  As soon as she entered her room, Dawn plugged in the cell phone and started charging it. She walked to the infirmary and checked on her patients before going to the nurses’ station to check everyone’s charts.

  Even though it was late, she sneaked a call to her mother. “Mom, is Niki around?”

  “She’s been in bed for hours, dear. Why are you still up? Are you okay?”

  “I had to check on a patient.”

  “We got Niki a cell phone,” Ruth said. “Would you lik
e her number?”

  “Oh yes, please.” Dawn tried to hide her excitement. She wrote down the number and stuffed it into her sweater pocket. “Thanks, Mom. I love you.”

  She typed her initials onto the last patient’s chart and logged out of the computer. She refrained from running as she hurried back to her room.

  Deciding to shower in the morning, Dawn slipped into bed and made her first call on her cell phone.

  “Hello?” Niki’s sleepy voice sounded like music to Dawn.

  “Niki, baby, it’s me, Dawn.”

  “Dawn! Oh my God, Dawn.” Niki squealed into the phone. “I miss you so much. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

  “I know. I miss you too.” Dawn sighed. “I miss you more than I ever imagined I would.”

  “How are you calling me?”

  Dawn told Niki about her outing with the warden.

  “And she gave you a cell phone?” Niki said, a hint of distrust in her voice. “What did she want from you?”

  “Nothing, silly. She gave me the phone for safety and so the hospital personnel could easily contact me. Tell me what you’ve been doing.”

  “Flint drove me to TCU, and I got registered for all my classes. I lucked out and got every course I needed.”

  “That’s great. Niki, I . . . uh—”

  “What?”

  “I can’t stop thinking about how wonderful it felt to kiss you.”

  “I know,” Niki said. “That’s all I can think about.”

  “If you were here I’d kiss you again,” Dawn said, snickering at her own audacity.

  “Oh, I’d do more than kiss you,” Niki whispered into the phone. “I’d touch you and . . .”

  Dawn held her breath as she listened to the things Niki had planned for when they were alone together.

  “I’d better go,” Dawn said when Niki stopped to take a deep breath. “You’re killing me.”

  Niki giggled. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you, Dawn Fairchild.”

  “I’m afraid the feeling is mutual,” Dawn said with a sigh. “I love you.”

  “Love you too. See you tomorrow.”

  Chapter 21

  Dawn showered and dressed. She picked up her new cell phone. It represented a tiny bit of freedom—the ability to reach out to those outside the prison walls. She almost dropped it when it shrilled in her hand. It took her a minute to realize she could answer it.

  “Good morning, Dawn.” The warden’s warm voice filled her ear. “Did you sleep well last night?”

  “I did.” Dawn sighed, thinking about her conversation with Niki.

  “Have you had breakfast yet?” Val inquired. “If not, you’re welcome to eat with me in my office.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Twenty minutes,” Val twittered. “Breakfast will be served in twenty minutes.”

  Dawn shoved aside the thought of calling Niki—but not for long. “What can it hurt?” she muttered as she punched in the number.

  “Hello, my love,” Niki said after just one ring.

  “You already have my number programed into your new phone.” Dawn approved.

  “It’s the only number in my phone.” Niki giggled. “The only number I need.”

  “You’re so sweet,” Dawn said. “How did I get so lucky?”

  “I can’t wait to visit you,” Niki said.

  Dawn could almost feel her excitement through the phone.

  “I know. I’m excited too,” Dawn gushed. “But I have to go. I’m having breakfast with the warden.”

  “Why?” Niki snapped.

  “Because she told me to,” Dawn said. “I’ll see you in a few hours. I love you.”

  Four hours and thirty-nine minutes, to be exact, Niki thought as the line went dead.

  ##

  Val looked at her watch as Dawn walked through the door. “Right on time,” she said, flashing Dawn a brilliant smile.

  “Only a fool would keep the warden waiting,” Dawn jested.

  “The warden . . . is that how you think of me?”

  Dawn cocked her head, confused. “How else would I think of you?”

  Val shrugged. “As Val, a friend.”

  “There’s a little matter of being wrongly accused that stops me from thinking of you as a friend.”

  “Fair enough.” Val knew she was fighting a losing battle. You’re so damn stubborn, she thought.

  “I’ve been going through the records of all the women who were treated by Merrick who are still here,” Val informed Dawn as she poured their coffee. “I want to interview all of them. He probably treated them all the same.”

  “That’s a wonderful idea,” Dawn said. “If the DA can build a case with multiple witnesses, we can put Merrick away until the second coming.”

  Val laughed. “The second coming, huh?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I do,” she said with a chuckle. “I currently have forty-nine of his former patients in the medium-security housing. I’m scheduling them to come in—one every hour. I’d like you to sit in on the interviews.”

  “I’d love to,” Dawn said. “I’m curious to know if he manipulated them the way I suspect.”

  “I know it’s asking a lot of you, but if we work ten hours a day we can finish in a week.” Val nibbled her bottom lip as she waited for Dawn’s response.

  “I can do that,” Dawn said. “Unless we have an emergency situation in the hospital.”

  “Perfect.” Val beamed.

  “I must see my visitors today.” Dawn wrinkled her forehead. “Other than that, I’m good for the entire time.”

  “Oh.” Val’s flat exclamation left no doubt that she expected Dawn to cancel her visitors. “I could let your visitors come three days next week.”

  “They’re already on their way,” Dawn said. “I really need to see them today. They’re the bright spot in my day.”

  “Of course,” Val snorted. Someday I’ll be the bright spot in your day.

  They finished breakfast as they discussed the first interviewee of the day. Val asked her secretary to have a guard bring in Madonna Prater.

  ##

  Madonna Prater wasn’t the typical inmate. At five foot eight, she was the same height as Val and a little taller than Dawn. Her thick black hair was cut in a stylish bob—as stylish as one could get in prison. Her wry grin was indicative of her distrust of the system—any system. She hesitated when Val offered her a seat but then cautiously lowered her muscular frame into the chair. Her eyes constantly moved from the doctor to the warden.

  “You must take advantage of the gym here,” Dawn noted. “You look very fit.”

  Madonna nodded.

  “Have you ever done drugs?” Val asked.

  “No. I wouldn’t do that to my body.”

  “You’re our guest because you were convicted of aggravated assault,” Val said.

  “Yeah, an off-duty cop ran his hand up my girlfriend’s skirt. I beat the hell out of him. I had no way of knowing he was a cop. He was in plain clothes.”

  Dawn gasped. “Seriously? You’re in prison for defending your girlfriend? That’s not right. If anything, the cop should be in jail.”

  Madonna snorted. “My thoughts exactly.”

  “We’re not here to retry Madonna’s case,” Val said, redirecting the conversation. “We’re here to discuss your sessions with Dr. Merrick.”

  “Merrick?” Madonna gagged in disgust. “What a pig. I heard you had him arrested. Good for you, Warden.”

  “Tell me about your experiences with him,” Val insisted.

  “I only had one.”

  “Hmm. He billed us for eleven sessions.” Val shuffled through Madonna’s file and produced an invoice for the sessions.

  “Slimy bastard. I’m not surprised.” Madonna snickered. “I was sent to him because I supposedly had anger issues. The first thing he told me was that I had no right to almost kill a cop because he stuck his hand up my girl’s dress. He sat down beside me on the sofa
and proceeded to fondle my breasts. He was right. I did have anger issues. I beat the crap out of him. The next thing I knew, I was in solitary confinement where two guards showed up nightly and beat the hell out of me.

  “That went on for ten days. I guess the beatings were the sessions you were billed for.”

  “Did you report it?” Val asked, her face twisted in anger.

  “To who?”

  “We have protocols in place for inmates to file complaints,” Val said.

  “That would only have resulted in another beating,” Madonna grumbled. “Do you ever check up on your so-called protocols, Warden?”

  “Will you testify to the statement you just gave me?” Val asked.

  “If it will help put Merrick behind bars, you bet.”

  “We’re interviewing everyone who had sessions with Merrick,” Dawn said. “If you know of anyone, please encourage them to cooperate with us.”

  “I’ll give it a few days.” Madonna hesitated and then added, “If I don’t receive visitors in the middle of the night, I’ll trust you, Warden. If I do, I won’t help at all. I’ll figure I was duped, and you’re as bad as all the other bastards.”

  “Fair enough,” Val said.

  Madonna looked from Val to Dawn. “Tell me the truth, Warden. Wouldn’t you beat the hell out of anyone who snaked their hand up Dr. Fairchild’s skirt? She’s your woman, isn’t she?”

  “What? No!” Dawn jumped up. “I’m not a lesbian.”

  “Oh, I just assumed . . . My bad.” Madonna flashed them a look of disbelief.

  They interviewed three more women and were discussing the stories they’d heard when the PA system began trumpeting inmates’ names to meet their visitors.

  “I have to go,” Dawn said, beaming. “See you in an hour.”

  Chapter 22

  Dawn saw Niki the minute she entered the visitors’ room. Who could miss that glorious red hair hair?

  She tried to wipe the elated smile from her face and failed. By the time she reached Niki, she was certain her smile had brightened the entire room.

  She slid into her chair and grasped Niki’s hands across the table. “You look . . . magnificent. Are you trying to kill me?”