First Degree Innocence (12 page)

He made another cursory scan and held the thermos in the air. “Anyone want water?”

No one responded, and Seth turned back to her. “It matters to me.”

“If only I could believe that.” She grabbed the hoe and started where she’d left off. Her heart fluttered. She wanted more than anything to tell him everything.

His hand grazed her sleeve. “Did I do or say something to make you mad?”

She locked gazes with him. “I’m not mad, just frustrated. We’re on opposite sides of the fence here. No one else believes I’m innocent, so why would I expect a guard to care?” She stopped whispering and turned her angst against the dirt, stabbing at it with the hoe.

“Not all of us are your enemy.”

Pausing, she leaned on the handle and took a long breath. “Really? Based on the treatment the women receive, I’d have to say I don’t believe you. Besides—”

“Back to work!” Someone barked from across the garden and the other inmates jumped up.

Murmuring voices drowned out the shuffling feet returning to the garden .Seth leaned a little closer. “We’ll talk again soon. Maybe I can change your mind.” He turned and walked away, leaving Carrie puzzled at his sincerity. Could she honestly trust him?

* * * * *

In the rec room, Carrie took advantage of Jet’s absence and pulled Susanna away from the group. The two huddled over a mock game of rummy.

“Where’s your cellie?” Susanna fanned out her cards.

“Ogden pulled her out earlier this morning and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Maybe she got paroled.”

Carrie rolled her eyes. “Fat chance. I don’t think the guards have that much pull.”

Susanna drew from the stack in front of her. “Let’s talk about something else. Tell me how things are going in the garden.” She added a trill to the last word.

“The work isn’t easy, but being outside the fence, if only for a few fleeting minutes, is worth the effort.”

“What about Seth?”

“He’s nice enough. Even asked me why I’m in here, but based on Ogden and her cronies in this place, wouldn’t I be stupid to think he’d give a shit?”

“Why, Miss Lang! I don’t believe I’ve ever heard you use that word before.”

“I’m learning a whole new vocabulary here.”

Susanna glanced around then gazed back at her cards. “I know. This place has a way of changing you. If the suspicion and paranoia don’t get to you, something else will… but, I think you should tell him. What could being honest with him hurt?”

Carrie swiped her free hand across her brow. “Just what I need—someone else to laugh when I declare my innocence,” she whispered.

“Maybe he’ll be different.” Susanna discarded.

“This is stupid!” Carrie threw her cards on the table. “We can’t even have a decent conversation without worrying that someone is watching or listening.”

“Uh oh, someone is frustrated.” Susanna folded her cards and added them to the pile. “Let’s go outside and get some air. Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of something and get into a better mood.” She winked.

* * * * *

Carrie waited in the kitchen for the garden work detail to assemble. She glanced at the grease-stained calendar on the wall, hardly able to believe she’d been here for almost five months. She’d watched the first harvest of the corn, witnessed the tomatoes plump and ripen, and yearned for the taste of sweet summer melon. Now she was part of the brigade harvesting fall vegetables, and she had yet to taste one morsel she’d had a hand in growing.

The other trustees assembled and lined up behind Carrie. As usual, she returned their nods in a ritualistic morning greeting. Plates and utensils tinkled across the room as other inmates worked, cleaning up the kitchen. The mingled odors from breakfast hung in the air like an invisible menu.

Working in the garden had lost its appeal. Carrie had taken Susanna’s advice and shared her story with Seth. It hadn’t been easy, with a word here and word there amongst watchful stares, but shortly after her declaration of innocence, he no longer headed the work detail. His leaving raised serious doubts. Had he asked for a transfer to get away from her? Or, maybe someone noticed them talking too much and removed him from garden duty. Regardless, he’d left without a goodbye and that hurt more than anything. Depression gripped her, dulling any chance of a good mood.

Carrie’s focused on the wall calendar, specifically October 12. Being incarcerated certainly wasn’t how she planned to spend her twenty-fifth birthday. Last year, she’d grumbled about being alone. She shook her head at the irony. If only she had the opportunity for a “do over,” she’d snatch it. Her lonely apartment suddenly held major appeal.

“Good Morning, garden trolls.” The guard’s voice startled Carrie from her thoughts. The mocking tone was annoying enough, but the freckled-faced woman rumbled her baton against the metal lockers next to the door then sauntered to the front of the line as if she required a queen’s respect. “Time to work, ladies.”

The door open, Carrie hurried outside before her mouth got her in trouble. No longer the timid new kid in the cellblock, she often spoke her mind and paid for it. She’d already lost recreation time for a week and that sucked.

Despite her thin jacket, fall air enveloped her in frosty arms and made her shiver. She hugged herself and marched in place. “Are we going to get heavier coats anytime soon?” Carrie’s breath turned to mist and hung in the air.

The matron laughed. “You won’t need one once you get busy, Lang. Grab a bin and start picking.” She nodded at a stack of plastic tubs next to the fence.

Carrie pulled on her gloves, grabbed a container and passed through the gate to the garden. She clenched her teeth to keep a response inside. “I see you have a nice thick coat on, bitch,” she mumbled to make herself feel better. Without some release, her head would surely explode.

“Mornin’.” The voice struck a familiar cord. Carrie jerked around.

Seth appeared from behind the shed. At his smile, the chill gripping her melted away.

“Where have you been?” She knelt and plucked peas, keeping her head down. Her heart pounded with excitement despite trying to act indifferent.

“On vacation.” He turned his back to her, but stayed close by so she could hear him. “Sort of a last minute decision… an old friend came to town.”

What she wouldn’t give if she and Seth could sit down somewhere and talk—really talk. Share a long conversation. The only things she knew about him were tidbits she’d been able to snatch while here in the garden. He didn’t wear a wedding band, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t married. She didn’t have the guts to ask. Her stomach knotted at the possibility he had a wife—a family, but she pushed the thought aside.

“Did you do anything fun?” Her thighs burned from squatting, but the cold air no longer bothered her.

Seth walked to the end of the furrow next to her, waved to the armed guard in the tower, then came back to where she hunkered. He stood with his back to her, remaining ramrod straight and acting the role of guard. “Not really. Stayed in, had a few beers and talked about old times.”

“Sounds fun to me.” She snared more peapods and placed them in her bin. “Where is your friend from?”

“New York.” Seth strode down the garden again, exchanging pleasantries with another guard at the far end.

Carrie glanced over her shoulder, happy to see his handsome face again, then quickly returned to plucking vegetables. If anyone suspected she and Seth shared even a remote friendship, she’d be stripped of her trustee status, or worse, he could lose his job. She kept her head down, and within a few moments, raised her hand in the required manner. “My tub is full. I need another.”

Seth crossed to the stack and retrieved an empty. He brought it to her and bent to take the filled one, leaning so close her breath hitched. “My friend’s a private investigator… I told him about you.”

Chapter Thirteen

Carrie rested her arms on the rec room table and looked across at Susanna. “I’m not sure what to make of Seth telling someone about me. Should I be impressed or afraid? What if his friend convinces Seth to stay clear of me?”

“Didn’t you say his buddy’s a P.I.?” Di asked.

“That’s what Seth said. I really wanted to ask him if there was a chance his friend might look into my case, but….”

Di leaned into the conversation. “I’m sure he already asked his pal to look into your case.”

Carrie raised her brow. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Nobody does anything for free. I’m sure a private investigator costs an arm and a leg. And I can’t imagine that Seth is going to foot the bill.”

“Maybe Seth’s just a nice guy who wants to help. You did swear your innocence to him, didn’t you?” Susanna glanced up from picking at her cuticles.

“Yes, but I expect he hears the same plea from someone every day. I’m nothing special to him.” Carrie’s admission stabbed at her own heart.

“Well, I’ve never had a male guard show any interest in me, have you?” Franny glanced at each woman, and in turn they all shook their heads.

“Why don’t you just ask him why you became a topic?” Di shrugged and smiled. “That’s what I’d do.”

“I might not like what I hear,” Carrie confessed. “I enjoy his attention, but I’m not stupid enough to think he’s going to be my proverbial knight in shining armour.

The whistle, signaling the end of recreation time, sounded. Carrie pushed away from the table and stood. “I’m pretty sure I’m making much more of his comment than I should. He probably only mentioned his friend’s credentials to impress me. I’m not going to give it another thought.” She started for the door before someone pointed out her obvious lie. Not give him another thought? She may as well say she planned to stop breathing.

Falling into line according to cell number, Carrie pondered asking Seth about the conversation he shared with his friend. Maybe she should wait until he offered more information—if he did. God, she hated being so confused.

She drifted along the hallway in thought until her cell door opened. A guard gave her a shove toward the opening then sealed her inside. Some of the matrons liked to exert their control more than others. Carrie tolerated it to keep peace. Nothing good ever came from engaging a superior in this place.

Jet peered up from repose. “How was rec?”

“Fine. Where were you?”

“I had better things to do with my time… like gearing up for the deal you and I made.”

Carrie’s breath halted. Her thoughts of Seth faded like fog in the sunshine.

Jet propped herself on her elbows. “You remember, don’t you? I’ve given you more time than I planned.”

“I hoped you’d forgotten about it.”

“Not a chance.” Jet’s eyes narrowed. “And don’t think you’re weaseling out on me. A deal’s a deal.”

“I know, I know.” Carrie’s shoulders sagged. The time had come for answers to all her previous questions, but was she ready? She plopped on the edge of Jet’s bunk. “So, what am I supposed to do?” Dread formed queasy bubbles in the pit of her stomach.

* * * * *

Carrie closed her gaping mouth. “You’ve got to be kidding. Even if I stick to my bargain, your plan will never work.”

“I say it will.” Jet turned from the sink, her eyes blazing with ebony fire.

“Let me see if I understand correctly.” Carrie stood and began pacing. “You’re going to arrange to have my cell changed again, and I’m going to plant a weapon of some sort in the bedding of an unsuspecting soul.” She stopped, faced Jet, and raised questioning hands. “For what purpose?”

“That’s where your need to know ends.”

“Great! You expect me to be part of a scheme without even knowing the whole story. That’s not fair. And, you haven’t even told me the name of the person whose cell I’m going to share. I think I have a right to know that, at least. Maybe if you told me why you harbor such a grudge against her, I might understand.”

Jet crossed her arms. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know … just as soon as I have your assurance you agree to do what you promised.”

Carrie massaged her brow. “If I recall, you didn’t give me much choice.”

“Then we have a deal.” Jet crawled back onto her bunk and sat Indian style. “You’re going to help me pay back the bitch who ratted out my brother.” She unveiled her plan with the ease of someone announcing a trip to buy ice cream.

“How well do you know this person?” Curiosity raised the hairs on Carrie’s arms.

“I know her well enough. So do you. Sit down and I’ll tell you the whole story.”

Carrie sat, pulled one knee up and hugged it. “Go on,” she urged. Yet, her dry mouth warned she wouldn’t enjoy what she was about to hear.

“Once upon a time, my brother shared a relationship with a skanky ho.” Jet pretended to read from an imaginary book. “Miss Skank knew what my baby bro was about when they got together, but when the cops got involved, instead of keeping her fuckin’ mouth shut, she turned on him. He’s over on the other side doing a hefty sentence, and it’s all her fault.” She looked up and smiled. “The moral is don’t fuck with my brother.”

“I don’t follow you. What was he about?”

“God, Lang, you are so naïve … or stupid.” Jet rolled her eyes. “Drugs. He was about making money, and his product of choice was cocaine. Understand?”

Carrie released her knee and lowered her foot to the floor. It wasn’t her fault she hadn’t been raised with druggies and thieves. Rather than argue, she massaged her throat to quell a growing lump. The story had a familiar ring to it. Coincidence or not, she had to know for sure. “W-who is this woman you hate so much?”

“Let’s just say I’m arranging for you to have a reunion with a good friend.”

“You, y-you can’t mean Susanna.” Carrie widened her eyes.

“That’s exactly who I mean. The bitch’ll pay, trust me.”