LITMIR.BIZ

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we’re going to go before the judge and I’m going to ask for bail. I don’t think we’ll have a problem getting it. Once we’re able to bond you out, Simone is going to take you home.”

      Joanna closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she muttered. “Don’t I get to make a statement or something? I thought they wanted to ask me some questions?”

      “What they were hoping was that they could push you into making an admission of guilt. They believe they have more than enough evidence to prosecute you. Them asking you questions was only a polite formality, the end goal being to discredit you.”

      “But what evidence do they have? How can they have anything? I didn’t do this!”

      “We’ll know more at your arraignment. I do know they believe they have a credible statement from your accuser.”

      She took a deep inhale of air, blowing it out slowly. “Will I have to spend any time in jail? I mean, how soon will I be able to get bail?”

      Ellington shook his head. “I’m going to do everything I can to make that happen very quickly. It’s still early. The judges are back from lunch, so once the police do what they need to do, there is no reason we can’t head right to the courthouse for a bail hearing. If all goes well, you’ll sleep in your bed tonight.”

      He cleared his throat before he continued. “Unfortunately the press is all over this. They’re going to try to get you to make a statement. You have no comment. You are not to discuss this case with anyone. Not your parents, not your best friend, Simone, not your husband or your boyfriend. No one! From this moment forward the state will try to find anything they can to use against you. We don’t want you to give them anything they can use. First thing tomorrow morning, you, Mingus and I will sit down and go through what we know and figure out how to proceed. Do you understand?”

      As she nodded her head in concurrence, Joanna’s tears finally slipped past her lashes, beginning to rain in a steady stream down her face. “I swear,” she said, her gaze shifting back to stare at Mingus. “I didn’t do this.” She wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. She then wrapped her arms around herself, hugging tightly.

      * * *

      A uniformed officer gestured for Joanna to stand and put her hands behind her back. She was a stunningly beautiful woman: long and lean with a petite frame and mile-high legs. She had delicate facial features, killer cheekbones, dark eyes and a warm umber complexion. Her skin was slick as glass with just a hint of pink undertones. Mingus imagined that if she ever blessed him with a smile it would be wide and full, showcasing the picture-perfect teeth currently biting her bottom lip anxiously.

      Mingus watched the detective read Joanna her Miranda rights, his voice echoing around the room like an annoying fly buzzing in the space. Zip ties were secured around her wrists and then a female officer clutched her by the elbow and guided her out of the room.

      Mingus was still standing like stone as he watched them take her away. Something he didn’t recognize pitched through his abdomen, a wealth of emotion swirling like a cyclone through his midsection. Before anyone had come into the room, Joanna had asked his brother for a tissue, tired of swiping at her tears with her fingers and not wanting anyone else to see her cry. For a brief moment, just before she was escorted out, his eyes locked with hers and held. Her expression was stoic, her lashes batting up and down to stall the wave of saline from falling a second time. The look on her face yanked at his heartstrings. Hard.

      As Ellington exited the room, Mingus moved in behind his brother, listening intently to the conversations being held. The detective was saying that the student and his parents were scheduled to come in again the following morning. Two uniformed officers were cracking bad jokes on the low, amused by the salacious details of the crime Joanna was being charged with. Mingus gave both men a look that cut their conversation short, leaving them red-faced and slightly anxious that they might be called out for the indiscretion.

      Moving back to the lobby area where Simone sat anxiously waiting for an update, Mingus was surprised to find himself conflicted. Something about the case wasn’t sitting well with him. Despite the assumptions of guilt and what little he knew of the evidence, Mingus had believed Joanna when she’d said was innocent.

      Simone pressed him for information. “How is she holding up?”

      “She’s not unraveling, if that’s what you want to know.”

      “Joanna’s a very strong woman. And she’ll fight this with everything in her. She’ll be fine.”

      “How close are you two? She knew Ellington, but we had never met.”

      “She’s one of my best friends. She was around more that year you spent in South Africa after you left the force. We talk often, and we hang out every chance we can, but our career choices keep us running in different circles. I think you, and maybe Armstrong, are the only siblings she hasn’t met.”

      “Ellington mentioned her husband? Or it might have been a boyfriend?” Mingus looked nonchalant as he questioned his sister about her friend, but truth be told he was curious to know more about her. To know if Joanna had a significant other. If some man had her heart and her heart wasn’t available.

      Simone finally answered. “She’s not married and, the last time we spoke, she wasn’t dating anyone special. I don’t think that’s changed.”

      “Does she have an ex who might be looking to hurt her?”

      “No!” Simone said, shaking her head vehemently. “No one I can think of. She’s always been very particular about who she dates, and most have been upstanding men.”

      “Most? What about the ones who weren’t?”

      Simone gave her brother a look. “Are you asking professionally or personally? Because I don’t know how that has anything to do with this case.”

      “The more I know about her, the better I’ll be able to figure out who’s trying to hurt her. Is this kid acting out because she gave him a bad grade or has someone put him up to this? If someone is trying to frame her, then this is vindictiveness at the highest level. If there is absolutely no truth to the allegations, someone has gone to a lot of trouble to destroy her. A scorned lover would be at the top of my suspect list because this is as dirty as it gets.”

      Simone blew a soft sigh. “I’m sure she’ll tell you whatever you want to know. She’s one of the most honest souls I know.”

      Mingus pondered his sister’s statement. It spoke volumes that she thought so highly of her friend. That Simone attested so vehemently to Joanna’s character. For his sister to see Joanna as family meant he would welcome her as if they were kin. Family meant everything to him and for that reason alone, he would do whatever he could to help the beautiful woman.

      * * *

      Three hours later Joanna stood before the honorable Judge Margaret Walker and listened as the prosecutor proclaimed she’d had sex with a seventeen-year-old male student numerous times. Allegedly, sex acts had been performed in his car during school hours, in her home and off school property. The state was charging her with two felony counts of rape in the third degree and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. After a statement against bail from the prosecutor and Ellington pleading for leniency, the judge granted bail. Her bond was set at one hundred thousand dollars. She was also ordered onto electronic monitoring and, with the slam of the judge’s gavel, Joanna knew her nightmare was just beginning.

      It took another hour for Ellington to meet with the bondsman. Joanna put her home up as collateral. Arrangements were made for her to be fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet. She struggled not to cry again as an officer explained the restrictions. When they were finally done, Ellington guided her to the front of the building where Simone and Mingus stood waiting to take her home.

       Chapter 3

      Women

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