A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 46

Thomas Gaddis sat in the interrogation room sweating nervously. His lawyer kept trying to calm him, but it was no use. He knew what happened to those who betrayed the Piersons and sometimes what happened to those who were compromised. In his best guess, he was in a no-win situation. So he sat there nervously waiting. The police had interviewed him several times, but they could hold him for up to 48 hours without charging him with anything.

Taylor knew that too and he decided to make him wait and sweat it out for a day before interviewing him personally. Now he was ready to make his move. He entered the room and laid a file on the table. Taylor sat down, put his hands together, and stared blankly at Gaddis and his lawyer. He knew he had a winning hand, but he had to be careful not to tip it off too quickly.

"This is a pretty unique situation you find yourself in, isn't Mr. Gaddis?" he began. "So how does it happen that an executive vice president at Pierson Shipping shows up in the middle of the night to a warehouse full of cocaine? What dumb luck is that?" He could see Gaddis and his lawyer exchange glances.

"Are you going to charge my client or what?" the lawyer said barely able to control his anger.

"Oh yes, we sure are, counselor," Taylor responded, "we sure are, but I thought we'd give your client here a chance."

"What kind of chance?" Gaddis blurted out before his layer could stop him.

"The kind that saves you a lot of time and dealing with Leonard Pierson kind of chance. You talk now and we can offer you some protection; if not well, you can take your chances with your boss."

"Just what are you offering my client, and what do you want to know?" asked the lawyer, clearly tired of the game.

"I want you to talk to a friend of mine." Taylor got up and opened the door, and another man walked into the room. "I'll let him introduce himself."

"I'm Frank Simmons, FBI," the man said as he showed his badge. "I think you have some explaining to do about why you were in a warehouse full of drugs. Is that where we are, Detective Taylor?"

"Yep, that's where we were. Mr. Gaddis was about to choose to tell us or his boss what he was doing there. Which is it going to be?"

"Wait a minute," said the lawyer," why is the FBI here?"

"Because that truck was scheduled to drive to Reno, Nevada," Simmons said. "That's called interstate commerce, which means the Bureau is interested. Honestly, where did you get your law degree?"

"The point is this goes deeper than just you," added Taylor, "Time to choose how you want this to go down. Are you an informant willing to testify, or are you a loose end that, for the last day and change, has been talking to the police?" Taylor could tell that Gaddis was getting nervous, and he became increasingly convinced that the man was not a martyr for the cause of Leonard Pierson.

"We want protection and a solid deal," the lawyer commented after an odd silence.

"Depends on what your client has to say, so let's hear it," Simmons told the man. Within a few minutes, Gaddis began to tell his story. Taylor believed that the walls built to protect Leonard Pierson were finally beginning to fall.

The mail was distributed to the inmates just after the evening meal. Jillian found Sidney in the commons area and called her over, holding a very official-looking envelope. The two walked to their cell and sat down on Jillian's bunk. "Sidney, I'm so nervous I can't open this. What if they rejected me?"

Sidney looked at her with a stern face, "You'll never know if you don't open it."

"Here, you open it," Jillian said, trying to force the letter into Sidney's hands.

"No way. You have to do this. Now put your big girl pants on and open the damn letter."

Jillian was taken aback by her tone, "Fine." She took a deep breath and slid her finger into the small crease of the envelope flap. She tore the top and pulled out the letter inside. Jillian took a deep breath and opened the letter. Silence followed as her expression turned blank.

Sidney waited for a response, but Jillian only sat there in an uncomfortable silence. "What did they say?" she finally asked. More silence followed. Jillian gasped for air as if she could not catch her breath. "Jillian?"

"They granted my parole," she finally broke the uncomfortable silence. "I'm going home. Oh my god, I'm going home." The two embraced each other in an expression of joy and relief. Sidney told her how happy she was for her and wished her well. "I'm not leaving for another month, but I have so much to do. I have to tell my parents, find work, I've got to.."

"Jillian, calm down. You're going home. That's the important thing. I am so happy for you, and I know you will do well. You've got support on the outside, people who care for you."

"I know, but what if I screw it up again. What if I'm right back here in six months? You know how many girls end up back here?"

"You won't. You learned your lesson, and you won't be back, I know it," Sidney said, fighting back a tear. "I'm going to miss you, girl, but you deserve this."

"Are you going to be okay, Sidney?"

"I'm going to be fine, and I have you to thank for that."

"I'm going to miss you. I promise I won't forget you, and I'll keep in touch."

"You better. Hate to have to come and find you."

On the first day of the month, a guard came to the door during the morning count. "Porter, let's go roll up your stuff." Jillian was surprised they were releasing her this early. She looked back at Sidney in disbelief, not knowing what to say. "You want to stay here longer, Porter let's go."

"Come on, let's get your stuff," Sidney said as she gathered up Jillian's belongings.

"No, wait," she said, "give away my stuff. Tell the others," she paused as she felt a lump growing in her throat and her eyes beginning to sting. "Tell them, just tell them something from me, okay?" The two embraced one last time. "I suck at this. I don't have the words."

"You don't need them," Sidney whispered.

"Let's go, Porter, last call, or your ass can stay here."

Jillian let go and walked out of the cell door. When she heard it close, she looked back with tears streaming down her face. Sidney smiled and waved to her. Then she mouthed the word "go". Jillian waved one last time and followed the guard down the cell block. A few hours later, she walked down a sidewalk to a gate that led to the outside. The guard opened the door and looked at her, "Get out," he said, "Good luck and don't come back."

She walked through the gate and took her first breath of freedom in four and a half years. Waiting in the parking lot was an older couple waving for her to come over. Her parents didn't wait for her to walk to them. Her mother ran to her with her father right behind her. After an embrace that seemed to go on forever, she finally said, "Let's go home." A few hours later, they arrived at her parent's home.