Chapter 40
<Jasper Coven>
"When are you going to get me out of here?" My chains clang as I set them on the metal table.
My thin arms are shaking and the nausea is making my head spin as I look at Isaac and my lawyer, Mr. Travers, sitting across the table from me. Mr. Travers's face is like a stone statue wiped of all sympathy. Isaac's gray eyes are softened with pity, the crow's feet deepening with every sigh.
"Jasper, we're not posting your bail." Isaac says diplomatically.
"What do you mean?" I slam the table as I stand up. "It could be months before I get a trial. I can't stay in here."
"You can and you will," Isaac glares at me, the fury making me sit down. "You're going to be spending more time in here anyway, and this way we can ensure that your access to heroin is completely cut off."
I roll my eyes and exhale as I itch my healed injection sites. I've been sitting in jail for almost two weeks, waking up everyday hoping my trial date will be set. It was easy getting an arraignment. The judge was all too happy to set my bail at $500,000 and smirk at me as I tried to scramble for a solution. I told my lawyer to post it, but he said he had other instructions, and so I was sent to the county jail for my waiting period. It's like being in limbo; a painful, nauseous, itchy limbo that never seems to end. I hate the not knowing, being at the mercy of other for my fate.
"So, a trial date has been set."
My ears perk up at the chance to get out of the jail for a little while.
"It's next Wednesday." Mr. Travers says as he pulls a manilla file from his briefcase. "We've come by to discuss your options."
"I'm guessing its guilty or not guilty."
"The DA has sent a plea deal over, and it would probably be in your best interest to take it given they already arrested your dealer and found the heroin on you in a legal manner."
"Did Abigail get arrested for knowingly harboring a person possessing heroin?"
"Good Samaritan laws protected your friend." Mr. Travers says as he pulls out a copy of the DA's deal and slides it across the table to me. "The heroin they found on you contained a small amount of fentanyl, which makes your charges worse."
My eyes widen when he says that and I stare down at my lap, shame burning on my cheeks. I guess it's good I didn't get the chance to use it.
"The DA has offered to reduce your charge to a state jail felony and recommend a facility with a rehab program that will help you to get clean if you plead guilty."
"How many years would it be in jail?"
"The maximum is two years. You had almost three grams of heroin on you, so she's being very kind with how much she's reducing it." Mr. Travers says, pulling the paper back towards him. "If you reject it, she'll have no choice but to charge you with a third-degree felony."
"I guess it's the better option then."
"You'll get clean, and you won't even have to spend that long in jail." Isaac looks at me, his eyes pleading.
"You don't have to convince me, Isaac," I sigh and look back at my lawyer. "I'll take the deal."
~~~~~~
It's Wednesday morning and I'm dressed in a suit and shackles as the prison guards lead me towards a car that will take me to the courthouse. When we arrive, the guards force me out of the car and towards the steps to the courthouse where Isaac and Mr. Travers are waiting for me. The group of us walk into courtroom A300. Isaac sits down in the row right behind the defense table, while Mr. Travers and I take our seat at the table. Ms. James, a severe looking DA whose red hair is turning gray around the edges, is sitting at the table opposite to us. She nods when Mr. Travers catches her eye, and then she turns back to scribbling on her yellow legal pad.
YOU ARE READING
A Girl Named Callie
Spiritual*sequel to A Boy Named Jasper* ~~~~~ When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" (John 5:6) ~~~~~~ Jasper has been in L.A. for almost five years. Not a day w...
