Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“She’s not going anywhere,” Derrick says to him, “just uncuff her.”
Rudy huffs out, slipping the key into the lock and uncuffing me. My hands rub where the metal was. “You better make sure she doesn’t run.”
“Run where?” I ask him and he doesn’t bother answering. “I think I’m going to throw up,” I mumble under my breath.
“I’ll get you some water,” Derrick says and I look down at my hands.
“We are going to get everything moving quickly so we don’t have to drag it out,” Wayne assures me, and I’m done.
“I want a lawyer,” is the only thing I say to him. “I want a number to a lawyer.”
He nods at me and smiles sadly. “We’ll get you someone.”
My legs start to bounce up and down with nerves. I can feel a panic attack coming, my chest gets tight and my breaths come out in pants. Derrick comes back and hands me the bottle of water. I reach for it and take a sip, my mouth feeling dry. “We are so sorry, Julia, we tried.” His voice trails off.
“You have a job to do,” is the only thing I can say. It’s not his fault I’m in this mess, it’s my own.
“Her lawyer is here!” a man yells into the room. “And it’s Stuart.”
Derrick and Wayne both look at me at the same time. “Big guns,” they say in unison. “Good.”
“I want to meet with my client in private.” The man walks in wearing dress pants and a button-down shirt. “Nice to meet you.” He smiles at me. “I’m Stuart.”
“Um,” is the only thing I can say.
“You can meet her in room one,” Derrick says.
“Thank you.” He nods at him. “And where is Phillip?”
“Around here somewhere,” Wayne says. “But I can call him.”
“That would be great,” Stuart replies. “Come with me.” He motions with his head and I look at Derrick and Wayne for permission of sorts. They just nod their heads at me.
I follow Stuart to the door that says room one. He opens the door and waits for me to step in, and closes it after me. “Have a seat.” He points at one of the two chairs that are tucked into a brown table in the middle of the room.
I pull out the metal chair and sit down, my hands starting to shake. “Julia, my name is Stuart and I’ve been hired by Mr. Grant.” I look down at the brown table, the stinging in my eyes starts for a second before the tears run down my face.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say softly.
“I know you didn’t.” His voice goes softer than before.
“What’s going to happen to me?” The question has been going around and around in my head the whole ride here.
“I’m going to try to get you out on bail today,” he says, folding his hands on the table. “But with it being almost the end of the day, I don’t know how realistic that is.” My heart picks up speed at the same time I feel bile crawl up my throat. “Bail is going to be set and you are going to be bonded out.”
“But I’ve never been in trouble before,” I say, trying to grasp at everything he is saying. “Like, I work for the state.”
He’s about to say something when there is a knock on the door and someone comes in. “Sorry to interrupt,” the man says to us. “I heard you were looking for me.”
“Phillip,” Stuart says his name, then looks at me. “This is the prosecutor. How fast can we get her out?”
“Tomorrow morning,” he replies, looking at Stuart and then at me. “Everything is shut down for the night.” My head wraps around the fact that I’m going to spend the night in jail. “We are going to have to fingerprint her.” It’s at that point I don’t listen to the rest. I can’t, the buzzing in my ears is so loud I can only see his lips move. I snap out of it when I hear, “Seventy-five thousand dollars.”
“Seventy-five thousand dollars,” I repeat. “I don’t have seventy-five thousand dollars.”
“You just need to come up with ten percent,” Stuart explains to me. “Is there no way we can get her out today?” Stuart asks him and the prosecutor shakes his head, turning and walking from the room.
“What is going to happen?” I ask Stuart. “Will I stay here?”
He takes a big inhale. “They are going to fingerprint you and then take your mug shot.” My head hangs down, even if I don’t want it to. “Then they are going to place you in a holding cell. My guess is you’ll be alone because they know you.”
“And then what?” I ask him. “What happens tomorrow?” I don’t even bother asking him what happens the day after that and next week.
“Tomorrow we will appear in front of the judge and you will have an arraignment hearing. The judge will read the nature of the charges against you, and you will be formally asked to enter a plea. I will speak on your behalf and we will be entering a plea of not guilty. I will have the documents ready for your bail, and once they are signed by the judge and filed, you will be free to go. I will need you to schedule an appointment with me next week so we can discuss the case.”