A Dark and Stormy Night

Second blast to my mind was the evening time. In just a couple of hours it would again be a dark and stormy night. I'd been inside a lot longer than I'd thought I had been. I could see the worry on my Mom's face and the distaste of seeing me in a jail suit.

A guy in a gray suit carrying a microphone stepped up to me and pushed the Mic toward me. I thought he would know so I beat him to the punch.

"Do you know how Kelly's is doing?"

"Yeah Kevin, she's in the hospital and expected to live. She's had the artery repaired and her wound treated, now the only thing they're worried about is she hasn't regained consciousness. She was a lot closer to bleeding out than anyone thought. But she'll live; now all they're worried about is her brain, worried if blood flow was cut off for too long. But as soon as she regains consciousness they'll know if everything is alright."

He turned the microphone and showed me the switch as he turned it on. I looked to the camera and its red light was on too.

"So Kevin, how's it feel to be a hero?"

"A hero?...for what? Saving Kelly? I don't feel like any kind of a hero at all. Until just a half hour ago I was still caked in Kelly's blood wearing only my jeans in a room with the air conditioner turned up to max cool. Fed soda pop by the gallon and not allowed to go to the bathroom."

Spalding slid up beside me and turned his back to the reporter the heavy whisper...

"Stop talking kid, stop...shut up, you don't know the shit you'll get in if you don't stop!"

But I was pissed, so it was green light and pedal to the metal for me.

"These cops harassed me for hours trying to get me to sign a confession, a confession to a crime that I didn't commit. They harassed me for hours and then just left me in a locked room by myself for more hours. All because they wan..."

From behind me I felt a huge shove that knocked me into Spalding. His theatrical fall to his butt on the landing almost made me laugh. His yell of, 'he attacked a Police Officer' started that laugh to leave my mouth. Until my legs were kicked out from under me. The fall to concrete was hard, worse was the knee that landed in my back. Then the jerk of my arms back and the rattle of handcuffs...

Was drown out by the bellow of...

"STOP...everyone stop right now."

Coming up the side steps was my old friend Officer Glenn Ridge, but ahead of him was Chief of Police Michael Jansen. He walked up to the landing and stood almost in front of me. I thought that everyone said that he was in the state capital for all of this week? Glen must have called him in.

"Curtis, would you mind killing the Mic for a bit please, thank you. Get the kid up right now, JUST WHAT do you dumb sons of a bitches think you're doing. No wait that's the trouble you're NOT thinking. No, how can you possibly be thinking when you've got what people are calling the 'hero of the county', slammed to the concrete in front of the evening news and thirty cell phones whose video will be screaming police brutality on facebook and Internet sites all over the world in ten minutes."

"No, you're obviously NOT using anything that's between your ears. Detective Spalding, you and your brother David are on administrative leave as of right now, you too Jefferson. That push looked like a planned set-up to me. So all of you turn in your gu..."

A loud voice carried in from the crowd...

"B...you promised me. You promised that he'd go to prison for killing my Jimmy. You promised."

My eyes spun through the crowd until I spotted her...Jolene Hansen...Jimmy's Mom.

"You promised, and now they're going to let him go. But you promised me."

My eyes flew open as I saw the silver plated shine come out of her purse. But again my body knew better than I did. My knees and leg muscles turned to liquid as I started what I hoped was a light speed flight to the safety of concrete. On my way down I saw Chief Jansen step toward me.

But the heavy 'BOOM', the flight of the angry bee, and the zing off building brick, was close, real close. The three were simultaneous in my ears and mind, the boom, flight, zing.

The second 'BOOM', flight and meaty thud lifted and spun Chief Jansen's body so that it landed just instants after mine did. That boom said things in my mind, hand cannon, magnum.

The third 'BOOM' lifted Officer Ridge off his feet and knocked him back. Everyone else was in full flight...away.

The irresistible body urge to look put my eyes above Chief Jansen's body. Everyone in the street was flopped down on the ground or in full flight away too. Jolene stood like the lone pine tree, pistol coming down for number four...

When the crack, crack...crack, crack, of two lighter caliber double taps sounded almost, almost simultaneously. Pink color blossomed behind Jolene as she lifted off her feet and flopped back onto the street and lay still. Chief Jansen's body rolled back flat and a deep groan sounded, I heard his hand and gun hit the concrete.

My head dropped and I cried...

I shouldn't be too ashamed to say that, but I am. When two knees bumped into my body and my head crawled into my Mother's lap, arms wrapped her hips...and I cried. I'm kind of ashamed of that too. But I'm glad to be able to be ashamed.

Noise seemed to spring into being instantly and it was all around and fast. Someone jerked the door of the police station open and screamed 'medical', 911 was on dozens of lips. I could hear Curtis's voice in the background trying to give a news report. Voices and bodies flew in every direction.

I pulled my head up a little bit; Jolene's body lay all by its self in the middle of the street. Arms spread out wide like some kind of grotesque cross. As if through Kelly's ears I heard Principal Lane's words; 'well girls you'll just have to understand that boys will be boys.'

My hunch driven mind is telling me crossroads, pivot point, fork in the road, but this was it. If Principal Lane had disciplined or even sent Jimmy home, would he have gone after Kelly? and started this avalanche of shit? That little voice in my mind is saying no, loudly.

Sitting up I see Chief Jansen's bullet wound is almost in the same spot as Kelly's stab wound was. The phrase goes through my mind, 'bullet wound goes in small comes out big.' So I tip Chief Jansen's body up on its side. Softball size of...hamburger, and I'm frantic suddenly for something to put on his wound. Feeling first for my handkerchief and a mental overlay flash of Kelly. A t-shirt is pushed into my hands, they fly folding it into a pad. Putting it on the mess his shoulder is, and then I lay him back flat. Another t-shirt is handed to me, quick folds and I press down hard on the wound. I'm thinking that the pressure will carry through to the back too.

The unbelievable small flash of white draws my eye to the image of my Mom kneeling beside me in her bra, and the realization that the first shirt was hers, the second was Dad's. Looking across the Chief's body to his bare chest.

"Dad, can you check Officer Ridge?"

"He's got four cops around him son."

"Anybody check Jolene?"

"I think someone did, but I'm sure she's gone. Four bullet holes in her chest and nobody's even looking at her."

"Will you check on Glen for me please Dad?"

"Glen?"

"Officer Glen Ridge."

"Sure."

A sudden increase in light flashed my eyes up to see Curtis and his camera man standing over us, Curtis stage whispering into his Mic. I hear words like; Chief, shot, hero, Mother. But I'm not paying attention, except for the sudden small giggle I can't quite stop. The puzzled look from Mom, prompts me to lean and whisper.

"Your boobs are going to be on TV." The slap on the arm is expected.

"Oh shut, my bra is a lot bigger than most of your girl friends bikinis." Needless to say the red is rising.

"Yeah, but so are your boobs." Now the slap was a bit more earnest.

"Glen was hit in the lower part of his lung and he's having a hard time breathing."

"Is there air sounds outside his wounds?"

"Yeah."

"See if they can find some type of plastic wrap, like sandwich wrap or something like that. The EMT's put a patch over Kelly's wound and she started breathing easier. Make sure they get both sides; Chief's exit wound is huge. Jolene had a fuckin cannon. Trust one of those hill girls to have a magnum and know how to shoot it." A hoarse voice, barely above a whisper came from below us.

"Fuckin gun could be anyone's. God damn Spalding had to have called her. How could she have known to be here when you were coming out, and to bring a gun? One of them had to have called her."

"Just be quiet Chief the EMT's should be here soon."

"No, someone find Lieutenant Janacek for me and bring him here. I need to tell him some stuff."

"I know Gary Janacek, I'll get him here." Then Mom took off, bra and all. Dad was back.

"Kevin that sandwich wrap worked, he's breathing easier now."

"Great! Thanks to Terry and Joe. God I hope those EMT's or ambulances get here soon."

Mom comes back with Lieutenant Janacek in tow. The chief's hoarse voice rises.

"Kid, I've got some private police business to tell the Lieutenant, he can hold the pressure pad so you and your folks can be together."

"Sure Chief we'll go check on Officer Ridge."

Mrs. Kidder comes in to hand a t-shirt to Mom and Dad. Looking up to watch her leave I'm amazed to see the crowd gathering, people are coming from everywhere even before the EMT's can get here. One guy runs up to the landing and I hear, 'I'm a doctor'. Lieutenant Janacek points him toward Officer Ridge.

The crowd has grown to maybe fifty-sixty people. There's over a dozen cops all over this area, some are keeping the crowd back. The crowd's pretty quiet; it's the police that are running around like chickens. Lieutenant Janacek will call one over and sent him off on a task.

Spalding and three others are just standing off to the side and talking among themselves or on cell phones. One police man is by Jolene with markers and a camera. Taking pictures of the gun and her purse, then inside of her purse, my mind's puzzled. Until he pulls out a cell phone and bags it, the light bulb goes on. Chief wants the call log; I hope she didn't clear it.

Siren wails come from two directions and are here pretty quickly. But Officer's have to help them get through the crowd. The little guy in my mind is shaking his head in disgust, lookie lou's view is more important to them than another person's blood.

One van is an ambulance and the other is EMT's. Lieutenant Janacek sends the ambulance toward Officer Ridge and the EMT's go toward Chief Jansen. But Chief holds them back for a little bit because he's still talking to the Lieutenant. He's tough but it doesn't do him much good because it's just a few minutes and I see his muscles go limp as he passes out.

The EMT's jump in and start putting needles in his arm for IV's. It's a bare five minutes and another ambulance gets here, gurney out and chief loaded onto it, into the van, siren on and away.

All that's left is the blood on the ground, the mess left behind, and all the lookie lou's. Plus Jolene and her big ass fuckin gun.

It's been almost a month since that dark and stormy night that Kelly was stabbed. Chief Jansen and Officer Ridge are still on medical leave. Officer Ridge had to have part of his lung removed; Chief Jansen is the one with the most damage though. He keeps trying to get back to work, but they won't let him.

But something's going on, something strange and behind the scenes. I've got a new lawyer. A guy from out of state and a much respected one too, and at no charge. Plus he flies in to ask me questions, and then flies back out. He has an assistant that's a man and I've never seen him take even a single note, but he asks questions too.

Either he's got a recorder, perfect memory, or he's not really an assistant. Guess which one my money's on. Looking that the 'assistant' I expect to see his coat swing open and show a gun and shoulder holster, plus a badge. Oh yeah, when he flies in and out at his own expense, it's just my lawyer. The assistant never seems to make it to the plane.

Why do I still need a lawyer...or two? My cousin Edward is still on the job too. Because the Spalding's are still after me. The only thing that's good about that is they're after me in the courts. Not with a hillbilly squirrel hunter and a long range rifle. Although I still watch and move around with a great deal of care.

Inquest that's what they're calling it. An inquest to see if I should be charged with murder. One of the first things that I told my new lawyer was about my fear about what they were after, a signature. At first he wasn't concerned about it. He felt that even if they 'turned up' a confession he could get it thrown out of court. Because of civil rights violations, interrogation abuses, and several other legalities.

But I reminded him that these judges might not throw anything out. Especially if we got Judge Lane or Judge Thorn. So my lawyer, Lionel Chopin, (no relationship) he always has to add that when he introduces himself. I think that he gets a kick out of doing it.

Came up with a plan to be proactive and discredit anything that they might produce. I got to fly over to the city where his practice is, take a polygraph test, and have it witnessed by the technician and a federal Judge that Mr. Chopin knew. Saying that I'd never signed anything like a confession. Then he filed a copy with the court system here in town.

Three days later a statement that I'd 'signed' was filed in the case. It was 'not quite' a total confession, but so close as not to matter. It was filed late because of all the confusion in the police department in the aftermath of the shooting, yeah right, and Detective Spalding being put on administrative leave.

It put all three of us in Farmer Ted's field, me and Jimmy fighting over Kelly. Kelly getting 'accidentally' stabbed trying to separate us. Then me, not really meaning too, but killing Jimmy in the fighting using my karate training. Then tearing and ripping Kelly's clothes while trying to stop her bleeding.

How did they think that they'd be able to get away with something so far away from the truth? Kelly came a lot closer to dying than any of us knew. It took almost two days before she regained consciousness. Even then her short term memory was badly affected. She remembered almost nothing of the attack, just running away from Jimmy toward the field.

Her Doctors said that it 'might' come back. But because it was related to 'possible' blood loss damage the better possibility was that it might never come back. That might not be a bad thing for Kelly. She'd have a lot less 'emotional trauma' because she won't actually experience the attack. It 'might' not be a good thing for me, because there's no one to tell what actually happened. So maybe they can get away with their 'confession'.

The day the 'confession' was filed two uniformed officers showed up at our house with a Warrant for Arrest for me. Mr. Chopin had told us that because he was an Officer of the Court he couldn't tell us to break the law, but it 'might' not be good to end up in their physical possession again. Mom had seen the black and white go by while she was down the road at a friend's house and called us.

Dad and I went out the back door and into his workshop. I went down into the little dirt hole under the shop floor. Dad put the floor boards back in, a little saw dust thrown on top and a saw horse over that. Then he turned on his noisiest machine.

When the officers didn't get an answer at our door. They heard the machine running and came back to Dad's shop to present their warrant.

"Sorry officers, I'm not really sure where he is. He's a big boy and we don't watch his every movement. He might be at that girl Kelly's, or one of his other friends. But I think that I heard him talking about camping and fishing. We can go over into the garage and see if his camping stuff is there."

I almost laughed, Dad knew it wasn't there. It was still in the back of Mom's SUV from the last time I'd gone camping.

"Yeah, he's gone camping and his gear should be right here. You can even see in the dust where it was, but it's gone now."

"Well do you know where he's gone?"

"Oh hell no, he's got a bunch of secret fishing holes that he won't tell even me or his best buddy about. But he does catch some really good ones. His lips are sealed up tight as to where they are, says he doesn't want them fished out. So he could be anywhere, if he thinks that his spot could be fished out it might be pretty small. So yeah he could be anywhere."

"OK, thanks for your help, we'll have to go back and see what the Judge wants us to do now."

"Hey Officer, can I see that warrant for just a minute?"

"Sure."

Then my 'low tech dad' took a picture of it with his cell phone, I didn't know that he even knew how. Dad waited until the black and white left, then came and got me out of that tiny dark hole. We dumped that picture into the computer and e-mailed it to Mr. Chopin's cell phone.

I don't know how but it was less than an hour and my cousin Edward had an Injunction, I think they called it, signed by a State Judge. Against that warrant and 'my statement', claimed they were invalid due to a State IAD investigation into the conduct of Detective Benjamin Spalding.

A copy was sent to Judge Thorn who was the one who issued the warrant. Two hours later Judge Lane tried to issue another one. The next morning he received a phone call from some type of judicial oversight agency. Supposedly they told him that the warrant had been stopped at the clerk's office. That he was to abstain himself from any contact concerning the case involving James Paul Lane-Hansen because of his familial relationship with James Paul Lane-Hansen.

I guess, at least I was told that 'he' told them to keep their God Damn nose out of his court room. That he was the Judge and he'd do whatever he felt like. That the warrant would be enforced and the little bastard was going to go on trial and be put in prison like he deserved. They could fuck-off and stay out of his way!

That afternoon he was removed from his office by two State Highway Patrol Officers, put in the back of a patrol car and taken...somewhere.

I was getting to spend a lot of time with Kelly. We were both in a type of trouble, me more than Kelly. Kelly's was medical and in not too much time she would be back in school. Soon the Doctors would release her for activity and she could go to school, under limitations.

Not me, the school board had judged me a clear and present danger to the student body and staff of Mountain Central high school. That because of my involvement in the death of a fellow student, I was judged as too dangerous to attend school with others.

Six school board members split votes 3 to 3, so they had Principal Lane cast the tie breaking vote. Six board members; James Thorn to expel, Karen Williamson to attend, Steve Cauchy to attend, Eleanor Lane to expel, Mary Spalding to expel, Melissa Evans to attend, the tie breaker being Principal Lane to expel.

I was spending a lot of time with Kelly because our folks are splitting the cost of a tutor. Kelly's teachers are all sending homework and assignments home for her. She's allowed to send them back to school for credit toward her graduation, when she gets clearance to go back she'll be able to graduate with our class.

The soonest I could get approval to go back will be after the inquest, which is set for June 20th. Which of course is after schools out, I don't get to graduate with my friends. Furthermore I don't know what that's going to do to my scholarship to State. That's one of cousin Edward's job's is negotiations with the State University, but it don't look good. No high school diploma, no admittance, no scholarship and I'm fucked.