A Long Road to Redemption

Chapter 51

Mail was handed out at its usual time after the evening meal. "Routine, routine, routine," Sidney thought. She was excitedly waiting for this letter because it had the photos from Jillian's wedding. When she saw them, she marveled at how beautiful they were. The last picture was of the bride and groom and their wedding party. When she saw the picture, she gasped in excitement. The bride, groom, and the best man were pictured. In Jillian's hands, instead of her bouquet, was a small sign that read, "Miss you."

The next day, she was surprised to have a visit from Mr. Brady and Detective Taylor. Neither was in a good mood when she sat down across from them. They filled her in on the events of her case and that they believed that sooner rather than later, Leonard Pierson would no longer be a threat. As soon as that happened they could start moving forward on trying to get her case reviewed by the courts. The next part was where things got dark.

"Sidney," Brady began, "I need to warn you that you must be extra aware of your surroundings. This is a dangerous time for all of us." He adjusted his glasses and sat straight up in his chair. "Shelia Lee was murdered a few days ago. Pierson is taking the gloves off in a bid to stop us. Failing that, he will go for revenge on us all."

"Is there anything else you can tell us about the Piersons?" Taylor interjected into the conversation. "Anything you can remember can be a help. Even if you think it's not important."

Sidney shifted nervously in her chair as she let the information sink in. She had not seen or heard from Pierson since the card he sent her after she first got to Helen Palmer Prison. "No. Lawson never talked to me about his business. I'm sorry, I honestly don't know anything." She tapped her fingers nervously on the table. "He told me once while we were staying at his family's mountain cabin that he was the go-between of his father's clients and the company, but he never wanted to talk much about work. It made me mad when he brought work files while we stayed there. He said it was to keep them safe and not lying in his office."

Taylor's countenance suddenly brightened. "Wait. You said Pierson had a cabin in the mountains?"

"Yeah, we used to go there a few times a year."

"Can you tell me how to get there?" Taylor asked, trying hard to temper his excitement.

A few days later, Taylor and several officers he trusted raided the cabin. Sidney's directions were spot on. The place was not fancy but was still bigger than a small house. They made entry and began to secure the scene. Taylor entered the building and saw a half-eaten sandwich in the sitting room on a couch facing the television. Someone had been here recently and possibly been alerted to their approach.

"Officer Barnes, pick five officers and come with me. We may have a runner. The rest of you secure this cabin. Don't touch anything in here until I get back." He wished he had a K-9 unit, but one was not available, and the cell reception was spotty at best here. The officers spread out through the woods, searching for any sign of whoever was hiding in the cabin.

Taylor knew it was probably a wild goose chase, but he had to try. Suddenly, a shot rang out, and an officer screamed in pain. Taylor and the others rushed to the scene in time to see a man on a dirt bike take several more shots at them. One shot hit a tree near his head. He returned fire, but the man took off. Taylor rushed to the spot and found an old logging trail. The bike and its rider were long gone, and there was no way to find him. Plus, there was a wounded officer to tend to in the meantime.

It took nearly half an hour to get an ambulance to their location. Fortunately, the officer's bleeding was under control, and no vital organs were hit. He would pull through, thankfully. Taylor was angry with himself for being taken by surprise like that. He should have known someone might be hiding out there. Once he collected himself, he walked into the cabin. Simmons was there going through some files he found.

"Hey, Taylor," said Officer Barnes, "I found how he knew we were coming. There's a camera monitor and motion alarm set up over here." Taylor saw that the camera pointed down the only road in or out of the area. At least they knew how whoever it was had been tipped off.

Simmons called him over to the table in the kitchen. "Look at this. We have delivery schedules, cargo manifests, and a ledger with names and amounts of money, all off the books. And here's the kicker: I recognize several of these names as known drug pushers and cartel members. You wanted a smoking gun. Well, here it is. How much do you want to bet my DEA friends can fill in the blanks?" He could hardly contain his excitement. "After all these years. We've finally got him."

"Detective, we got something else too," said Officer Barnes. She handed him a man's wallet. "In his haste, he must have left it behind." Taylor took the wallet and quickly found what he was looking for: the man's driver's license. When he saw the name, a new wave of frustration went through him.

"We almost had him," was all he could say. He showed the others the license that belonged to Bernie Goldman.