Frank Zafiro - Waist Deep

Harrity came to see me on a Saturday. Even on the weekend, he wore a stylish suit and a tie. He brought me a deli sandwich and a diet Coke. That was when I realized the food in jail really wasn’t as good as I’d thought.I sat and ate the sandwich while we tied up the loose ends of my case.

“Kris never said a word?” I asked around a mouthful of ham, cheese and bread.

“No,” Harrity answered. “And Matt Sinderling confirmed that he hired you.”

“So what does that do for me?”

“The DA agreed to drop the issue of the pictures and deal strictly with the gun charge.”

“And no chance that goes away?”

“On what grounds?”

I shrugged. “I’ve got no criminal record.”

“True,” Harrity said, “but you used to be a cop. You know the law, and that creates a higher expectation. Not legally, but in the mind of the prosecutor.”

I didn’t answer. At first, it seemed unfair that I was being penalized for having been a cop. But after I thought about it for a few seconds, I realized it was true. I did know better.

“Besides,” Harrity added, “I’ve got it on good authority that the detective in this case is pushing the prosecutor pretty hard to charge something.”

“Stone?”

“That’s the one. He originally submitted a laundry list of charges to the prosecutor, including Transporting a Juvenile for Immoral Sexual Purposes.”

“Where’d that come from?”

“The affidavit alleges that was what you were doing when you were arrested.”

I rolled my eyes. Stone was out for blood.

“It didn’t fly with the DA,” Harrity said. “He’s ready to offer sixty days with forty-five suspended for a guilty plea on the gun charge.”

“Yeah?”

Harrity nodded and consulted his notes. “You’ve been here for thirteen days already, so if we plead on Monday, you can walk out of the courtroom a free man.”

“I’ll take it,” I said.

“Good. Everything okay in here?”

I smiled at the thought. Was everything okay? I was in jail, in solitary confinement. I used to put people in here.

“Something funny?” Harrity asked.

“No,” I said. “Not really. Things are okay. They let me out for exercise an hour day. I play basketball by myself.”

“It may seem lonely,” Harrity said, “but it’s safe. Word travels quick in here. You’d be a target, even ten years removed from the force.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks for doing that.”

“It’s my job.” He paused, then added, “You know, you could have bailed out on this charge.”

I shrugged. I probably had enough money left over from Matt’s retainer to pay a bondsman. But it wasn’t like I could really spare it. “We’re looking to plea bargain, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll be serving days anyway. Might as well get them finished now.”

Harrity raised an eyebrow. It was as close to a smile as I’d seen from him since he took my case. “Most people would put off the inevitable.”

“Most people wouldn’t be in this situation,” I said.

Harrity didn’t answer.

I finished my sandwich and took a long drink of the diet Coke. Then I asked, “What about LeMond?”

“My understanding is that he’s disappeared,” Harrity said. “The police were unable to locate him for questioning.”

“Guess he took my advice,” I muttered.

“It would appear so.”

I sat in silence for a few moments, finishing my diet Coke. Then I thanked him for lunch and held out my hand. He shook it.

“See you Monday morning,” he said.

On my way back to my cell, another prisoner in solitary hissed, “Cop!” at me.The corrections officer ignored it, like I’m sure they’re trained to do.

So did I. But Harrity was right. News travels fast.

When the cell door clanged shut, I was alone with my thoughts again. Rolo was on my mind quite a bit.My arrest made the news. Rolo would have to be sweating it just a little. If Kris and I had told the whole story, everything we both knew, he’d be arrested for promoting a juvenile prostitute.

But when that didn’t happen, he’d realize that I held up my end of our bargain, even if it was after the fact.I didn’t put the cops on him, even though I could have.No more breach of contract.

I knew I’d be going to visit him after I was released.Not right away, because I was pretty sure that Detective Jack Stone would be tailing me around for a while.He’d probably bring poor Richie Matsuda along. They’d spend all their down time complaining about all the charges I got away with.Stone probably had a nice philosophy about “bullshit” to share, just like LeMond.

But eventually Stone would have to move on.He’d have no choice. There would always be other cases to work and I’d give him nothing to go on.And then I’d go see Rolo.We’d talk about breaches of contract. We’d work things out and if everything went right, I might even get my dad’sbomber jacket back.

I had another trip to make, too, and I didn’t care if Stone was still following me when I made it.There was a can of Maxwell House brand coffee, still unopened, in my apartment. I was going to take it and drive downtown.I’d find the real estate building where Clell had taken me in out of the cold and say thank you.I thought a lot about the best way to say it. Then I remembered he was from North Dakota, so I figured a handshake and the Maxwell House would be enough.

That night, as I tried to sleep, I wondered if I’d see Adam again.Or Katie, for that matter.They’d both gone out on a limb to help me and it almost bit them right in the ass.They had careers to protect.I hoped neither one got into any trouble. With no one saying much about what happened, I figured both were pretty safe. But that didn’t mean that either one would want to see me again.

I tried to shut my brain off. The world was full of a thousand million what-ifs. I only had the energy left to deal with what was.

On Monday morning, I sat in court next to Harrity. Everyone was prepared to go through the orchestrated formal dance that was our legal system.The bailiff called, “All rise,” and Judge Petalski entered and sat on the bench. I didn’t remember her from my days on the job, so maybe she wouldn’t remember me. That was some small blessing, at least.

She was all business, this judge. She asked if both sides were ready to proceed. The DA and Harrity both answered yes. The judge directed that the charge be read. The DA recited the formal charge, full of legal jargon. I barely paid attention.

The courtroom door creaked behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Matt and Kris Sinderling filed in and took a seat in the front row behind the defendant’s table. Matt shot me a nervous smile. Kris didn’t smile at me, but she did nod. I gave her short nod back.

I realizedthen that I might not have saved her.She had a tough road ahead of her. I had no idea which path she would eventually take.For all I knew, she was simply biding her time, keeping up her end of the bargain because she believed that she was protecting LeMond.She could be waiting until the day she turned eighteen and could go to him for good.I hoped not, but she could be.

“Mr. Kopriva?” Judge Petalski said, getting my attention.

I looked up to the bench. “Yes, your honor?”

“How do you plead?”

I glanced back over my shoulder. Kris was a vision that morning. A beautiful, heartrending sixteen year old girl in a blue and white dress, seated next to her father.If she’d had dark hair instead of blonde, she could have easily been Amy Dugger, still alive and happy.

Yeah, maybe I didn’t save her.But this time around, I didn’t let her die, either.And that counts for something.