2.2 - In Need of a Lucky Cricket

     Bridgeport was everything I dreamed it would be. It was the greatest city in the world. Home of the arts, the clubs, and the subway stations. It was heaven.

     I took a taxi from the airport to my new apartment in the middle of the city. There was a subway station and a restaurant right next door. I stood outside of my building, peering up to the top of the structure.

     I smiled. Maybe if I moved here under better circumstances, I would be able to enjoy this more. I then realized I was here just to get Dad out of jail, then I would be moving back home. I looked at my cell phone. 14 missed calls from Mom. I felt a sharp pang of guilt as I realized she had no idea I was leaving. I decided to call her back later, and headed into the building.

     I walked into the building and scanned the lobby. The mailboxes were on the right side of the door, and the doorman's desk was on the left. In front of me was the elevator. Before the door closed, I was able to catch a glimpse of a very attractive blue-haired girl going up, presumably to her apartment. Already off to a great start.

     I walked over to the doorman, who gave me to the key to my new apartment on floor 14.

     After I got off the elevator, I opened the door to the apartment. To me it looked like any other old apartment. Bland, simple wallpaper, a bed, a cheap TV, and a small kitchen.

     I unpacked all of my things, and I spent some of the day just lounging around in front of the TV. After a few hours, my phone started ringing. At first I thought it was my mother, but it was a number that Richmond gave me before I left Starlight.
     "May I speak to Gavin Villiers?"
     "This is he." I replied.

     "Hello, I'm Trisha Jackson, I work at the BPPD office in south Bridgeport. I was calling to tell you that you're scheduled here to report to work tomorrow morning at 7 o'clock a.m. Is this correct?"
     "Yes, that's right."
     "Ok, just calling to let you know. The uniform should have already been at your apartment."
     "Yes, it was."
     "Great. When you arrive, please report to the Chief's office. Thank you for your time." she finished.

     The rest of the day, I decided to explore the city for a little while. I bought some food at the grocery store, I made a trip to the bookstore to buy a few books, and I even stopped by the art store and stocked up on paint. I brought my easel with me on my trip, and decided to practice my painting while I was here. While I was at the hobby store, I immediately halted in my tracks. I had forgotten my violin back home.

     I walked out of that place with a brand-new violin. It was a complete impulse buy, but I guess I needed a new one anyway. I also couldn't be here for months without playing my violin. I had this fear that I would forget it if I didn't practice long enough, so I practiced violin and painting every day, even if I didn't feel like it. When I was outside the apartment, I decided to take it out of the case. The violin itself looked great, and it felt good to have the new one in my hands. I decided to take the bow out and play it for a little bit. My old violin sounded great, but nothing compares to the sound of a new violin. I ran the bow across the strings back and forth, letting the music carry my thoughts away. I completely forgot I was on the side of the road, and I completely forgot I probably looked like I was a lunatic.

     I'm not even sure how long I was playing. I know it must have been a while, because I noticed the moon was in a different place when I finished. While I was playing, a few people bypassed me, but someone eventually stopped watching and watched me play.

     At first I didn't recognize her, so I just continued playing. But after a closer look, I realized it was the girl in the elevator when I arrived this morning.

     I smiled. She must have been enjoying the performance, because after I finished, I watched her reach into her back pocket and pull out her wallet. she pulled out a five-dollar bill and tossed it into my violin case.

     I did a mock bow, and I put the violin back in the case, removing the money. "Thank you." I said with a soft smile.
     The girl smiled back at me. "It sounds beautiful. Way better than any of the other street performances I've seen." She said with a chuckle.
     "You've seen a lot then?" I asked.
     "You're in Bridgeport. This is the capital of street performances." she laughed. "I'm Autumn."
     I smiled. "Vinny."
     I put the violin with the case and propped it up against the building. She walked up to me. "How long have you been playing?"

     "A few years. Do you play?"
     Autumn scoffed. "No way. I never had the time. I was into sports when I was in high school, so everything else kinda had to take a back seat." She scratched the back of her head and continued. "You just moved into my building, right? I saw you when I was getting on the elevator this morning."
     I nodded. "Yep, just got here this morning. I've been wandering the city all day."
     "Why'd you come to Bridgeport, going to music school, or...?"
     I shook my head. "I'm actually not here for college, or really anything related to music. Although, I wish I was."

     "Why'd you move, then?"
     I thought about how to word it, considering I'm not supposed to be telling anyone why I'm working for the police. "There's a job I have to do." I said, trying to cut it off.
     Autumn nodded. "Ahh, I see." We talked for a little while longer, then Autumn decided to head back up to her apartment. "I have to wake up early tomorrow morning, so I better take off. It was nice meeting you, though." She started walking for the door before adding, "Good luck with that job."
     I smiled. At least I made one friend today. I wasn't sure if I were going to make any tomorrow.

     I woke up early the next morning, and headed straight for the police HQ. I was nervous as hell, I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
     I walked in the front door with my new uniform, and I saw three guys standing in front of rows and rows of computers.

     I remembered that the lady on the phone told me to go to the chief's office, but I had no idea where it was. I walked up to the guy with red hair. "Hey, can you tell me where the chief's office is?"
     He scoffed. "You the imposter?" When I shrugged, he groaned. "The cop who isn't a cop?"
     I wasn't really sure how to respond. "I guess."
     "Okay, I'll only say this once. I don't care who you are or where you come from. If you slow any of us down at all, I won't hesitate to make sure that your time here will end." He said, getting in my face.

     I held my hands up in defense. "Back up. I'm not trying to cause trouble. I'm just here until I finish the job, and then I'm leaving."

     The guy backed up and pointed to the door behind me. I turned around and pushed through the door, not thinking about knocking.
     There was an older man sitting at the desk in the back of the room. He glanced up at me. "Ah, Villiers. Please come in, let me just finish this email."

     After he finished his email, he jumped up from his chair and walked over to me. He shook my hand. "Pleasure to meet you. Richmond's told me good things about you."

     I gave him a skeptical look. "Richmond barely knows me."
     He waved it off. "He told me you were a bright, strong young man." He walked back over to his desk and looked through his files. "What exactly has Richmond told you?"
     "Not a lot."
     "Good." He turned to me. "Bridgeport is probably the most famous city in the U.S. That also means this is where the most crime happens, and I have a lot of basic traffic cops, but I only have four officers who can actually keep control of all of the organized crime in the city. Recently, especially, there has been some gang violence that's becoming more and more serious, meaning you have your work cut out for you." He put his files down and continued. "You'll be working with the officers outside. You'll be paired up with two of our officers, and you'll be working with them."
     "Which officers?"
     "Officers Dill and Wicker." He noticed my puzzled look and chuckled. "The officer with the red hair, and the only female officer here."
     I silently swore. I would have to work with that jackass outside.
     Chief continued. "No missions today, however. The other officers are going to take you to the firing range so they can test out your shooting."
     He continued to brief me on the other technicalities, and I took my leave.

     When I closed the door, I looked in front of me and gasped when I noticed a familiar face.
     Autumn broke away from a conversation with Dill and laughed when she saw me. "Well, hello, there. I'm Officer Wicker."

     Autumn noticed I was speechless, so she continued introducing everybody. She gestured to Dill. "This is my partner, Officer Dill, but you can call him Benny. I guess the three of us are going to be spending a lot of time together." Benny just scoffed.
    She gestured to the other officer standing next to Benny. He was probably the skinniest person I've ever seen. "This is Officer Barney, you call him Arnold." He just smiled. "Welcome aboard."

     The third officer, however, was the complete opposite of Arnold. He was rather tall, and he was very stocky. He just smiled and waved at me. "This is Officer Sisson. AKA Walter."
     Walter waved at me. "Very nice to meet you."

     They gathered the weapons, and we left the station and headed for the shooting range.

     On the way there, I didn't dare talk to Autumn. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because I might cause her trouble if they know that she knows me. Maybe it's because Benny in particular intimidates the hell out of me. I wasn't really sure.
     I turned to Arnold. "So, what exactly is going on with the 'gang violence' the Chief told me about?"
     Arnold shrugged. "There's been some gang stuff going on around town, which is normal, but it's been elevated by a lot in the past few days. People's homes have been broken into, people have been terrified by these guys. We don't even know who they are, but we're trying to keep it under control."
     "We do know that this isn't the normal gang shit. This is way more serious than we originally thought it was." Benny added.

     It took a long time to reach the firing range. Right when we passed the grocery store, a scream pierced the air. "HELP!" A woman's voice filled the silence.
     The five of us started following where the noise was coming from. I heard a loud, "Shit!" and then a guy came running around the corner of the grocery store. He glanced over at us, swore, and sprinted full speed across the street.

     "HEY!" Benny yelled. The guy kept running, so we all ran full speed at the assailant. Autumn stopped Arnold and Walter. "You two stay here and check on that girl." Autumn turned around and followed me, while I was following Benny.
    "Stop! Police!" Benny ordered. He was approaching the guy fast, while the assailant was slowing down.

     Benny jumped on top of the guy, but the assailant threw his arm around his back and elbowed Benny in the gut. Benny doubled over while the guy kept running.

     "Shit!" I swore. I spun around to Autumn. "Check on Benny, I'm gonna go catch that guy." I sprinted, full speed, towards the criminal. I was gaining on him fast, my lungs and my legs screaming for a break.

When I was finally close enough, I jumped on top of him, tackling him to the ground. We quickly got back up, and the criminal grabbed my shirt collar and pushed me over, struggling to get up and get away.

The two of us struggled and fought on the ground. I blindly threw punches while he kept pushing me around. I felt a stab of pain as he punched me in the face. Two. Three. Four punches. I finally released my grip. He stood up and kicked me in the gut. Twice. Three times. Then he took off, leaving me on the ground.

I slowly and shakily stood up, wildly looking around to find where he went. I couldn't see him. He was gone.

     Benny came running up to me, glaring at me. "What happened? Where is he?"

     When I didn't respond, he pushed me. "What the hell happened? How could you just let him go? Did you at least see where he went?"

     Autumn came running up, getting in between Benny and I. "Back off, Benny. At least he lasted longer than an elbow to the gut."

     "At least I actually did something." Benny retorted. "I'm going to talk to the victim, before the Imposter let's her get away too." Benny turned around and walked back towards Arnold and Walter.

     Autumn sighed. "Don't worry about Benny. He'll eventually warm up to you, he's just got this pride issue."

     I slowly nodded. "I'm sorry. I tried to stop him."

     Autumn chuckled. "Don't worry about it. It happens with everybody." Autumn stood aside, motioning towards the grocery store. "Let's go check on our victim, yeah?"

     I walked with Autumn back to the grocery store. Benny, Arnold, and Walter stood around the victim, asking her questions about her attacker. The victim looked familiar. Really familiar. "I don't even know who he is." That's when it hit me. Lucy Miles, Ryder's ex-girlfriend.

     Lucy did a double-take when she saw me. She turned to me and gaped. "You're Ryder's brother, aren't you?" her eyes widened. "You look so different."

     Benny looked from Lucy to me. "You two know each other?"

    "Yeah, this is Lucy Miles. She was my older brother's girlfriend back when we were in high school."

     Benny nodded and turned back to Lucy. "Why did he attack you?"

     "I don't know. I started getting these weird phone calls a few days ago, and then this guy shows up and tries to take my purse. I don't know why."

     Benny nodded. "I'm gonna call the HQ."

     I turned to Lucy. "When did you even move? I thought you were still living in Starlight Shores."

     "It was a few years ago, a little while after Ryder and I broke up. I finished school here, and now I have an apartment in the city."

     I nodded. "Would you mind coming down to the station so we can ask you about that guy?"

     Lucy nodded. "Sure."

     A car showed up to escort Lucy to the station. Benny and Walter jumped in, leaving the three of us to walk back to the station.

     "What the hell happened out there, Villiers?" Chief stormed. "I told you that we've been having trouble, and if we caught this guy, we could have stopped it."

     "I am sorry, sir. In my defense, I didn't have any backup. You're star officer got knocked out with an elbow to the gut. I'm not really sure I'm the one you should be grilling." I remarked, trying to sound as respectful as I could.

     "Dill has been with us for a few years now. I know his limits. You aren't even a cop, so you better not let this happen again. If it does, the deal's off, and you can go home. Am I clear?" When I nodded, he motioned me out the door.

     "The Three Stooges" stood by one of the desks, talking to each other. I sighed. If today is how the rest of this job is going to go, I'm gonna have one hell of a time.

     Autumn got off of one of the computers and came up to me. "Hey, you wanna walk home?"

     "So, how did you know that one girl? The girl that got attacked?"

     I laughed. "She was my older brother's girlfriend back in high school. He was completely in love with her."

     Autumn chuckled. "That's nice."

     "Yeah, it was nice until I found out she was cheating on him with one of my best friends."

     Autumn gasped. "That's horrible. Did you tell him?"

     "I wasn't going to, at first. I didn't really have a great relationship with anyone in my family when I was first starting high school, but Ryder helped me out when I was in the worst place I could be. He became my best friend, him and my sister. So, I did eventually tell him. He was hurt, but he did better without her anyway."

     "Where is he now?"

     I paused, and broke out in a fit of laughter. "He's a travelling acrobat." The two of us broke out into laughter.

     Autumn brushed her hair back. "I guess not every relationship is perfect."

     "I don't think I've ever seen a seemingly perfect relationship."

     "Really?"

     I shook my head. "My parents didn't have the best relationship with each other for a while. They're good now, but it was really bad before. My brother fell in love with every girl he ever met, he just falls for the wrong people. My sister dated maybe one guy for about a week."

     "What about you?"

     I shook my head. "I've never had a serious relationship in high school. I mean, there were a few girls that I dated, but it never turned into anything serious."

     "Do you wish you had something serious?"

     "I don't know. Looking back, I had a pretty good teenage life. I was happy, for a majority of it. I'm not in a rush for anything serious."

     Autumn nodded.

     "What about you?"

     Autumn shook her head. "I never really had a social life in high school." she explained. "My mom died when I was a toddler, so for a long time, it was just my dad and the nanny. When I got to high school, my dad got me into an early police school. In between all of that, it was hard to maintain a social life, ya know? Then, I got out of high school and straight into the station. I didn't even have to look for a job, now I just work for my dad."

     I stared at her, wide-eyed. "Your dad's the chief?"

     She looked at me and nodded. "The other cops always treated me differently than Benny or Arnold or Walter. I always thought it was just because my dad was the chief, but then I figured out it was because they earned their job, and I got mine handed to me."

     I shook my head. "You're an awesome cop. You wouldn't have gone down with just one elbow to the gut." I joked.

     Autumn smiled at me. "Thanks."

     The two of us walked into the lobby of my apartment. She turned to me and smiled.

"See ya tomorrow, partner."

*AUTHOR'S NOTE*

Ugh that chapter took unnecessarily long xDDD

This chapter might be a little slow, but it's gonna pick up next chapter :D

HAPPY THANKSGIVING GUYS. I <3 YOU ALL.

2.1 - Boiling Nightmares

     When I graduated high school, Khloe and Ryder had been gone for 2 years. Khloe went to study alchemy in Moonlight Falls, and Ryder went to get a head start on his acrobatic career in Riverview. They had moved on with their lives, leaving me here to live my teenage years on my own.

     When I was younger, I thought being the only child would be great. The parents only have to focus on one kid, and that means more attention, more love, and more stuff. But, when Khloe and Ryder both left, the house went quiet. Regardless, I've had a better relationship with my parents than I ever did when they were still living here. I knew I couldn't blame all of that on them, I was pretty screwed up in high school.

     In senior year, I fought like hell to get all my applications for college in. My parents(namely, my dad) wanted the three of us to grow up to be politicians or doctors. In fact, I expected the two of them to be either one or the other. Khloe, the teenage high school nerd, and Ryder, the boy wonder. Khloe made the best grades, but Ryder was perfect. Ryder was the football player/musician/brainiac 3000 that any parent would want to have. I guess growing up in my siblings' shadows was part of the reason why I was so messed up. Anyway, they're prized child grew up to be an acrobat, much to their dismay, so they weren't really pressuring me to go into anything specific, as long as they didn't end up with another acrobat.

     In the summer after senior year, I got a call from the university of Twinbrook, who had a killer architect program. suprisingly enough, they accepted me. I was to move in in the fall.

     Telling my parents that I got into college was the best part. Neither of their prized twin children went to college, so hearing that at least one of their kids were going to college would be music to their ears. My mom, needless to say, was ecstatic.

     "Vinny!" She shrieked. "I can't believe it! That's wonderful news!"

     My dad came rushing to the kitchen to see what the fuss was about.

     "Dad, I got accepted into TBU." I said, grinning from ear to ear.

     In an instant, my dad's eyes lit up as he threw his hands up in celebration. "Hallelujah!' He screamed.

     

     That night, we had a tiny celebration between the three of us. My mom made my favorite dinner: spaghetti with veggie sauce. During dinner, the three of us talked about what was going to happen after college, where I was going to live once I graduated, and so on.

     Khloe and Ryder both called me to congratulate me, and everything seemed like it was working out.

     After a couple of weeks, though, an old mistake came back to haunt me.

     Officer Kasmir, one of the police officers of Starlight shores, came to the door one morning.

     "Is this the residence of Grant Villiers?" she asked formally.

     "Uhm, yeah, he's my dad."

     Kasmir slowly nodded, then continued. "Do you mind if I come inside?"

     I slowly nodded, and let her in the door. She stepped in the living room and I closed the door.

     Dad walked over from the kitchen to the living room, eyes darting from me to Kasmir. "Good morning, officer."

     Kasmir saw Dad, and marched over to him. She flipped him around, and pulled handcuffs out of her pocket. My heart dropped as she read my father his miranda rights. "Grant Villiers, you are under arrest. Any thing you say can and will be used against you-"

     "Whoa, what?" I threw my hands up. "Why are you arresting him? Under what charges?"

     Kasmir looked straight in my eyes, and killed me inside with six words: "For the murder of Katie Reynolds."

     My dad was taken in to jail that night for a murder he didn't commit. My mother begged and pleaded with Kasmir to let him go, and that he didn't kill her. Kasmir said that they found a DNA sample on the body that they ran through, and Grant's name came up. They said he wasn't being taken to prison, at least until they definitely know who the killer is. He was taken in, leaving Mom and I dumbfounded. I didn't sleep at all that night. I knew this was going to come back to haunt me, and now they got the wrong person.

     Mom and I headed for the jailhouse the next morning, to check in on the situation. The police directed us to the second floor, where a man in a suit was waiting for us. He introduced himself as Ryan Richmond, Dad's lawyer.

     After the introductions, we got right down to business. "What are they accusing my husband of?" Mom asked, concerned.

     "Mrs. Villiers, your husband is being accused of the murder of Katie Reynolds, which is a murder that happened years ago. Witnesses saw three assailants murder the girl and then run off. For the longest time, they were never able to find any evidence for the murderer, since it happened during the winter, when the criminals were probably wearing mittens. The police had to reposess the girl's clothes after she died, and they spent years trying to find a DNA sample that might lead them to the killer. They ran the DNA sample through the police computer, and your husband's name came up."

     My mother looked back at him, horrified. "Are they completely sure it was my husband?"

     "To be honest, the DNA identifier does make mistakes. It only runs through people that are in the police computer, which means it doesn't necessarily have to be him. This is why they're questioning him before they decide to put him on trial."

     I nodded, remembering how Dad told us all about how he went to jail for public intoxication in high school, which explains why he was in the computer. My mom still wasn't settling. "What are the chances of this going to trial?"

     Richmond almost looked like he had a pained expression. "It depends on how well questioning goes, but because this case has been unrequited for about four years, the chances of this going to court are quite high. But, this is where I come in. I'm going to know today if they're taking him to court, and if they are, I am going to make sure he wins the case." Richmond said confidently.

     Richmond and my mother discussed more technicalities about the whole thing, and then the two of us headed home.

     Richmond called us later that day. He told us that they decided to take him to court.

     The next morning, Mom and I drove down to the station again to meet up with Richmond. Richmond was able to get Dad temporarily released from his cell so we could talk about what Dad and Richmond were going to say in court. We gathered around the table in the conference room, and Richmond kept standing. "Alright, we go to court in a couple of weeks. I swear, I'm going to fight my hardest to keep Grant out of jail, but we do need to decide on what we are going to do." Richmond walked over to Grant. "Have you decided what you're going to plea?"

     Dad paused for a second, then turned to look up at Richmond. "I didn't kill that girl. What do you think I'm gonna plea?"

     Richmond held his hands up in defense. "I believe you, Grant. As I told your wife, the identifier makes mistakes sometimes. Regardless, we need to figure out how we are going to defend ourselves. Did any of you know Ms. Reynolds personally?"

     "No." My dad immediately answered.

     Mom hesitated, and looked at Dad. "Actually, we did. She used to be best friends with our daughter, Khloe. I remember Khloe was heartbroken when she died. It was so sad."

     Richmond nodded. "Ok. Would Khloe have any reason to murder Katie?"

     Mom jumped, alarmed. "No! goodness, no. Khloe would never hurt anyone, let alone her best friend."

     Richmond turned to me. "Do you know anyone who might have had a problem with either your sister or Katie?"

     After the nightmares I had the previous night, I was having trouble processing what anyone was saying. After a few seconds, I managed a "No."

     Richmond nodded, and walked back over to the front of the table. "I'm going to get in contact with Khloe soon, Mrs. Villiers. We're going to get a plan together and we're going to inform both you and your husband." Richmond picked a pile of papers off of his desk and walked over to Mom. He handed her the papers and put his glasses on. "Before we end this, though, if there's anything any of you want to tell me about this case, now's the time. Any information would be crucial in the case."

     I deeply breathed, and when I exhaled, I said it. "I was there."

     Richmond and my parents both turned to face me, eyes wild.

     "I didn't kill her...but I was there when she died."

     

     I told them the entire story. I told them about how I was with Ella and Eli, and Ella started fighting with Katie, who had caused Ella trouble before. Eli and I tried stopping Ella, but she kept fighting her. Before we knew it, Ella had stabbed Katie. The three of us went home and that was that.

     Richmond tried processing all of this. "Where is this 'Ella' girl?"

     I shrugged. "She left town a while ago. I have no idea where she went. Eli either."

     Richmond nodded, irritated. "Ok. Did she have parents I can contact?"

     Mom listened intently, and quickly turned to me. "Ella? what's her full name?"

     I stared at her for a couple seconds. "I think her real name was...Grizella? Grizella Ghee?"

     Mom gasped, wide-eyed. "Okay." She paused for a few moments, then turned to Grant. "Joey's gone."

     Grant rubbed his brow. "Yeah. Gary is too."

     Richmond's eyes darted from my mom to my dad then back to me. "So, no parents then?"

     Mom shook her head.

     Richmond nodded. "Alright. If that's it, we'll call this meeting adjourned. I'll keep in touch with the both of you, and I'll get in contact with Khloe. We'll formulate a plan and we'll come back to you. We meet in court in two weeks."

     

     When the two weeks were up, everything was worked out. Richmond told us that he wasn't able to find the location of Grizella Ghee, or Eli Martinez. But, he also said he wasn't making me confess, either. He told us that Dad was going to keep the blame on his head, at least for a little while, and they had their own plan that was "confidential."

     The night before the court meeting, though, was completely silent. Mom and I went through dinner without a word.

     She didn't talk, and I didn't talk. The only thing that filled the silence was the sound of spoons hitting the bowls. We both had that awful feeling that Richmond's plan wasn't going to work.

     After we both finished, I cleared up the plates while Mom started walking to the living room. She made it about halfway before stopping and putting her head in her hands. The sobs weren't obvious at first, but they became more louder, as much as she was trying to hide it. I stopped what I was doing immediately, and I just watched her, trying to find the words. "I'm so sorry, mom." I finished cleaning, and walked to my room, leaving my mother in the kitchen.

     

     The next day was the court case. Mom and I sat next to each other, both anxious to get this over with. Regardless of Richmond's promises, he hasn't informed either Mom or me about the specifics of their plan, which worried me even more. Did the two of them even talk about it?

     Dad and Richmond stood on the defendant's side, with the chief of police and their lawyer on the plantiff's side.

      The judge walked in, and everyone stood. The judge made it over to the stand, and he called everyone to sit. "Alright, in the case of Grant Villiers, Mr. Richmond, how does the defendant plea?"
     Richmond started speaking, but Dad cut him off. He took a step forward, looked the judge straight in the eye, and spoke for him. "Guilty."

     The jury gasped, as well as several people in the audience, and Richmond stepped in front of Dad. "Your Honor, he didn't mean to say that."

     The judge looked at Richmond skeptically. "Your client has spoken, Richmond. He pleaded guilty." He looked towards the jury. "Are we done here?" When the jury nodded, he picked up his mallet. "In the case of Grant Villiers, the defendant is sentenced to 10-15 years in prison. Dismissed." The mallet slammed down.
     Dad rushed to come say goodbye to Mom and me one last time, but the police intercepted him. They turned him around and handcuffed him before carrying him back to jail. Mom sat next to me, sobbing hysterically. I just couldn't believe what happened. My dad took the blame. He knew I could go to jail and he took the blame anyway.

     I rushed into Richmond's office the next day. Richmond was at the computer, doing paperwork when I barged in. He looked at me and minimized whatever he was doing. "Oh, hello, Mr. Villiers." He turned to me. "Listen, I hope you know, what your father did wasn't the plan. I don't wanna say he blew it, but..." Richmond said, trailing off.

I nodded. "I understand."
"What can I do for you today?" Richmond asked.
I scratched my head. "The judge said he would be sentenced to ten years."
Richmond nodded. "Yes."
"Listen, I know you've helped us so much already," I trailed off, "But my dad can't stay in prison. He doesn't belong there. My mother won't survive ten years without him. I don't think he'll survive prison in the first place."
"What are you asking?"
"I want to know if there is any way I can somehow reduce his sentence." I finished.
Richmond shook his head. "Look-"
"Please. I can't let him take the fall for me. For ten years? I can't let him be in there for that long. If i could do community service, work for the police, anything to reduce his sentence? Please?
Richmond paused, and got back on his computer. He furiously started typing, and started talking to me. "Look, I feel for you, and I hate what happened to your dad, so I'm gonna help you out."
Instantly, my heart rose. "Really?"
Richmond nodded, and he turned back to me. "A good friend of mine is the chief of police in Bridgeport. He's had some trouble controlling the peace up there, and he needs an extra cop." When I tried to object, he stopped me. "I know you're not a cop. You don't need to be. If you take this, they'll provide a day of training before you actually go into the field. You'll be doing work for him with a partner of his picking. If you do this, I can pull some strings with the police here about reducing your father's sentence."
   

     "I'll do it." I finished, completely sure of what I was doing. I had to do this, for my parents. I wasn't going to let my father be stuck in jail for a full decade while my mother lives here alone. It wasn't going to happen, I was going to make sure of that.

     I got back home that night, and Mom was already asleep. I went in to check on her, and she had used tissues and empty glasses scattered around her room. I cleaned her room up, then I went to go pack. I bought a ticket for Bridgeport that left first thing in the morning, and I spent all night packing and getting ready. I couldn't take a whole lot so I tried fitting as much as I could into one suitcase. I wrote a letter to my mother when I was finished packing:

Mom,

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in person, but I'm leaving for Bridgeport first thing in the morning.

I'm going to be working for the police to try and reduce Dad's sentence. Richmond should be getting

in touch with you about the technicalities. I won't be gone long, just for a little while until I can get Dad's sentence reduced. You can call me anytime, at least after I get off the plane.

I love you,

Vinny

     I took the note, and sneaked back up to my mother's room. When I opened her door, the sun was already starting to rise. It looked like she didn't even move throughout the entire night. I hoped she would get on fine living by herself for a little while, at least until I've done enough for the police. Still, I was worried for her.

     I walked over to the bedside table, and left the note beside her, so she would see it when she woke up. Realizing I was pressed for time, I hurried to the bedroom door, and looked towards my Mom, making one last mental goodbye.

     I quickly got in the taxi and headed for the airport. Bridgeport was my next destination.