The Life of Jacob Track (Book Two of the 33X Series)

Chapter Twelve

           

CHAPTER TWELVE

March 1, 2015

Zac was let out on bail, but restricted to Pawnee county, which wasn't very large. He was stuck wearing an ankle bracelet. Until they found a body or evidence that Zacchya was alive, he was still being tried for murder.  He was awaiting the results of a drug test.  He had found a lawyer and got a full drug test within 24 hours of being arrested.  Hopefully whatever had knocked him out would show up in his blood stream. It was one of the only sources of hope he had left, a shimmer of hope that he wouldn't spend a lifetime in prison for a crime he didn't commit.  He knew the system well, too well, and his options didn't look good.

            He had gotten out on bail from a savings account he had.  It was originally for a trip to Italy he hoped to take in about five years, but now the account was drained.  He'd be lucky to be free enough to ever see Italy.  Now, he would have taken Oklahoma just for a change of scenery, but he couldn't complain too much. He was at home and not in jail. Anything was better than jail when all the jailers were old friends who now hate him.

            Surprisingly and thankfully, his family was being supportive, and to that he was grateful.  The entire police force thought he was guilty and the media was following their lead.  There were broadcasts everyday about Zacchya and how wonderful she was, how her family clung to hope that she'd return.  She'd been missing for two weeks already.

            Her brother, Trevor, had gone to the police station with a goodbye note she had apparently written.  He turned it over for evidence, hoping they'd follow the lead.  It gave Zac a bit of hope.  Maybe she really had left town.  It didn't explain the blood in the trunk of his car, which had turned out to be hers.  There was still a large possibility that she was dead, or someone wanted everyone to believe she was dead.  Zac leaned toward the latter.

            The entire situation had felt off to him from the moment he woke on his living room floor.  Someone wanted people to believe that Zacchya was gone, dead, and that he was responsible for it.  They had drugged him somehow and left a convincing false evidence trail. He just wished he could prove his suspicions, but there so far had been no way.

            His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone on the couch cushion next to him.

            "Hello?"

            "Zac, it's Jeff Williams."

            "Oh, Jeff, how are you? What's up?" Zac replied.  Jeff was his lawyer. Jeff was good and not cheap.  Zac's wallet shuddered sadly in his jeans pocket.

            "Well I just got the letter from KC Regional about the drug test results," Jeff replied brightly.

            "Oh! And?" Zac sat up straight, nervous and excited.

            "Well there was apparently an odd mixture of chemicals in your blood. It took so long because they were trying to name the concoction, actually. But apparently, it's some modified version of an elephant tranquilizer, made safe for use on humans."

            "What?" Zac's jaw dropped open in surprise.  He had been drugged.

            "Yes, so this will definitely help our case. I will fax a copy out today. Unless they try to spin it as you drugged yourself to look innocent, which is quite possible, we should be good.  Honestly, I don't see how they can NOT see this as fishy.  You're clearly being set up by someone. I think that someone has a lot of money too."