CHAPTER 16
844 Words
CHAPTER 16
Kennedy’s lungs seized up like the bulb on the tip of a Pasteur pipette. She didn’t know who to look at. It felt as if both Dominic and Willow had betrayed her.
Her roommate frowned sympathetically. “You want some tea?”
Tea? At a time like this?
Arrested. Had she heard that right? Was it possible they were wrong? She turned to Dominic. “Were you the one who brought him in?” Her tone dripped with anger and accusation, but she didn’t care.
He shook his head. “No. This is all out of my hands here. I just wanted to let you know. It’ll be on the news soon, and I didn’t like the thought of you finding out that way.”
“Why?” Kennedy demanded. “You said the department wouldn’t bother us. You said they’d be scared of the real story coming out.”
Dominic offered the slightest hint of a shrug. “That’s what a lot of us are wondering, too. Best guess is the chief was getting too much pressure. The media wasn’t buying the whole ‘I forgot to call for backup’ story. And then came Gordon Clarence and his followers with their protests, turning this whole thing into some kind of a witch hunt. The chief had to do something. Take some kind of action to save face.”
Kennedy couldn’t believe she’d let this man pray with her. She couldn’t believe another Christian could stand by and tell her these things while still wearing his police uniform. Why had he stopped by at all? Was he just here to gloat? Here to warn Kennedy not to get involved? Or ...
“What about me?” She wanted to sound forceful, but her voice betrayed her fears.
Dominic offered a small smile, which looked out of place on his sheepish face. “You’re fine. The chief looked into your background and apparently decided you weren’t worth messing with.”
“Because I’m white?” All Carl’s platitudes about racism being a sin of the past now sounded as nonsensical as the Dodo’s ramblings in Alice in Wonderland.
Dominic’s expression grew stern. “No. Because of your background. The chief knows a good lawyer will rip his guy to shreds if this case goes to court. He doesn’t want to touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
His words took time to settle, like droplets of oil slowly coalescing in an aqueous mixture. “So it’s because my parents can afford a good attorney?” she finally asked.
Dominic didn’t answer her question. “I’m really sorry. I came by to tell you if there’s anything I can do ...”
“Yeah, there is,” Willow interrupted. Kennedy had forgotten for the moment her roommate was listening in to their conversation. “You can get her friend out of jail.”
“I wish I could.” Dominic sighed. “Unfortunately, my hands are completely tied.”
Willow scrunched up her violet-tipped hair. “Yeah, that’s not good enough.” She pointed her finger toward his chest. “You know what’s even more dangerous than a corrupt cop? A halfway decent cop who sits in his patrol car full of self-righteousness and smugness and says he wishes he could do something about the bad ones but he can’t.”
Kennedy wasn’t sure if she should try defending Dominic or not.
“It makes me sick to think of how many of you there must be,” Willow went on, “going home to your nice little nuclear families, shaking your heads because one of your colleagues just acted like history’s biggest jerk, feeling smug because you’re one of the good ones and at least you’re ‘doing everything you can.’ You make me nauseous.”
Part of Kennedy was ashamed her roommate was subjecting Dominic to this verbal bashing, and part of her was glad Willow had the courage to express what she couldn’t yet articulate.
Dominic adjusted his uniform. “I better go.”
“Yeah, you better,” Willow spat.
He looked at Kennedy. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
She wanted to ignore him, throw him out of the room with Willow’s insults echoing in his ears, but instead she asked, “What’s going to happen to Reuben?”
Dominic frowned again. Kennedy realized he could be handsome if it weren’t for the strained, worried look in his eyes.
“It’s hard to say. He’s from Kenya, so they’re going to get the embassy involved. Nobody wants this to escalate further than it needs to. They’ll have an arraignment, probably charge him with assaulting an officer. If he’s convicted, my guess is they’ll move for deporting him. By then everyone will have forgotten about the whole incident, so the chief won’t have any reason to make him serve more time.”
“Do you think they have enough evidence to convict him?” Kennedy asked.
Dominic shrugged. “Depends on what kind of jury he gets.”
Kennedy tried to cling to some sense of hope. “But you said if another witness came forward ...”
A sad, heavy sigh. “It’s been all over the news. If any more witnesses are out there, we would have heard from them by now.”
“But it’s possible?” Kennedy wasn’t sure if she was making a statement or asking him a question.
“It’s possible.” He met her eyes. “But I wouldn’t bank on it.”
What about prayer? she wanted to ask him. Didn’t he believe in prayer anymore? Maybe if they all start asking God for a new witness to materialize ...
“He’s got school. We haven’t finished our lab report. He can’t miss that.”
“I think right now, your friend has more urgent matters to worry about than his classwork.”
“So there’s nothing we can do?” It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair. This was America, where everyone was promised an equal chance, where justice was supposed to be a non-negotiable guarantee.
Dominic stepped toward the door. “We can pray. And hope another witness comes forward with the full story.”
- Writer
