“Hartgrove.” Adam was surprised Daniel was keeping up with his case from afar.
“Yeah they’ll testify on your behalf.”
“They will testify I had a drug addiction. That’s not really on my behalf. That’s just the facts. Vincent filled me in yesterday.”
“Good.” Daniel bobbed his head up and down.
“Daniel, why are you here?”
“I want you to know that I support you. You’re my little brother. I just want you to know, you know, I’m here for you.”
“I appreciate it.”
“I can’t be there in court everyday when you go to trial but I will testify on your behalf. I’ll be at your sentencing.”
“Okay thanks Daniel. Thanks for coming to visit. This place is, well rehab is like a day spa compared to this.”
“I can imagine.” But he actually couldn’t.
“I never apologized to you.”
“For what?”
“For being such a dick, the lies, the grief. I’m just sorry. I can’t even recognize that asshole I used to be.”
“It’s in the past.”
“Please let it be. You and Mother are all I have left. I just wish I understood that before I landed myself in here.”
“I wish you could have been at my graduation.”
“I would have liked to see that. Are you going to work at dad’s company?”
“Yeah, I was groomed to take over, architect or die.”
“Funny, I’m still calling it dad’s company when it’s mother’s company now.”
“Yeah.”
“Is everything going okay over there?”
“Yeah everything is great. Mother made Uncle Dave part owner. She gave him twenty-five percent so he is really happy with that.”
“I’m sure he is. Dad wouldn’t have given him anything.” Adam snickered.
“Yeah, dad was a hard ass and you are just like him.”
“He never would have ended up here.” Adam had to make that clear. Their dad was too smart to end up on heroin and to end up in jail.
“Well, you know Mother promised me twenty-five percent of the company after five years. I know she wanted to give you a quarter also.”
“Well that doesn’t matter now. I can’t run anything from inside a jail cell.”
“No it does matter. I don’t know how long you’ll be in here. But I do know that when you get out, there is a life for you. Mother has always looked out for us. This is a setback but it’s not the end. It may seem like it. Brother it’s not the end.”
“What an optimistic way of looking at my upcoming prison sentence.” Adam sarcastically spewed. “Are you ready to have a convicted criminal in your family.”
“No not really but when that time comes. We will deal with it as a family.”
CHAPTER 8
It took a little over a year for Adam’s case to go to trial. Opening arguments made Adam look like some crazy, deranged, murdering accomplice. The prosecution presented their case first then it was attorney Vincent’s Boyd’s turn to present a defense.
Every day Adam sat calmly behind the defense table with his attorney Vincent Boyd and Vincent’s assistant Nadia Petrova. Adam was tense. He was always a ball of nerves in the courtroom.
The trial was taking a toll on Adam. Reliving every single detail of the robbery that resulted in the death of the store manager was difficult to hear. Seeing the man’s grieving wife and children in court brought Adam to his knees. No matter the outcome he vowed to change his life.
Vincent Boyd was a highly respected criminal lawyer. He was a fifty something white man with glasses. He wore expensive suits and pricy Italian shoes. Vincent’s assistant was a younger version of Vincent minus thirty pounds and the glasses.
The female assistant District Attorney Jackie Burris was seated at the prosecution table with her two colleagues.
The backbenches of the court were filled with the press, the store manager’s family, friends and a few spectators. The foreground was filled with the judge, bailiff, stenographer and the jury. Adam was deathly afraid of the jury and he tried to refrain from giving them direct eye contact.
The judge was a slightly overweight African-American man in his late fifties with glasses and a gray streaked mustache. As strange as it seemed, there was something about the judge that reminded Adam of his father.
All the long days in the courtroom blurred together. Many of those days Adam dreamed of how different his life would have been if he made wiser choices. Most days in court were the same. Only one day was drastically different.
This was the day that his entire case could possibly go up in flames. It was the day he would be reunited with his old drug buddy Tony Demarco.
Adam was deep in thought when the judge’s voice snapped him into the pure reality of the situation.
“Defense call you next witness.”
Vincent Boyd stood. “Your honor the defense calls Anthony Demarco to the stand.”
Adam’s old friend Tony entered the courtroom with his wrists cuffed in front of him. He walked his cool walk down the center aisle escorted by two uniformed officers of the law. He was wearing a dark suit that made him look like a member of the mob. The entire courtroom was silent when Tony made his descent to the witness stand.
There were two days of testimony from Tony. Two days where Adam was forced to candidly and vividly relive the horrible day that had changed his life forever.
No matter what happened in court he would never be the same. This prospect was frightening. He was different now, changed. He could never go back to the person he was before heroin took over his life.
Finally things had come to the end. The case had gotten its fair share of publicity. When he was lead into the court for the verdict and sentencing he thought he might have a heart attack. Cardiac arrest would solve many of his problems. It reminded him of the many times he thought he would die of an overdose. How he wondered if he would be reunited with his dad.
The courtroom was extremely quiet. The atmosphere looked stressed. If stressed air had a look. Adam glanced back from his chair to look at his mother and brother. They both looked worried. He was the reason they looked this way and he hated himself for it.
The judge shuffled a few pieces of paper around then stared directly at the defense table. Attorney Vincent Boyd glanced over at his client Adam and reassured him with his calming manner.
The judge spoke. “Madame clerk, will you accept these verdicts please.” The judge handed multiple documents over to the court clerk. She took them in her hand as Adam watched.
She looked at the top document. “Members of the jury please stand.” She began to read from the paper. “Members of the jury your foreperson has returned a unanimous written verdict in the state of Michigan against Adam Winchester Hardwick as follows. In the case number 06745382, we the jury unanimously find the defendant Adam Winchester Hardwick guilty of second degree murder under the felony murder rule with the underlying felony of armed robbery.”
The judge spoke. “Adam Winchester Hardwick you are remanded back into the County jail until sentencing which will take place a week from now, at 9am on the ninth day of February.”
Every thing after that was a blur. Adam knew what he was in for. He knew he would be convicted but somehow the actual words were like a punch to the gut. He was guilty of murder, second instead of first, but murder nonetheless.
***
The hearing for his sentencing was crucial. This was either his chance for a second chance at life or a death sentence. If the maximum were imposed then Adam would leave prison and old man. If the minimum was imposed Adam could have a life after prison. That’s if he survived in prison.
He heard prison was a bit different than county lockup and every prison was run differently depending on the warden.
Adam was back in court but this time he was restrained in handcuffs while he sat behind the defense table. It was customary because this was when a lot of convicts went off the rails. Being convicted was one thing but being sentenced was the final bullet.
Adam sat and listened as the deceased store manager’s wife, mother and siblings berated him and explained the severity of the loss they were feeling.
It was the store manager’s twelve-year-old son that brought Adam to tears. In the boy he saw himself.
Adam had his fair share of character witnesses. He didn’t pay much attention to them as some were honest and some exaggerated his good character. Then it was his turn.
“Adam Winchester Hardwick please stand.” The judge requested. Adam slowly stood with his eyes downcast and his hands cuffed in front of him. He was ashamed. He was remorseful. His heart raced with a plethora of emotions.
“Before I impose my sentence is there anything you would like to say on your own behalf?”
“Yes your honor, I am very deeply sorry for my crimes. I hope the conclusion of this trial brings the family some form of peace. I hope and pray that one day they can forgive me for my part in this tragedy. I’m sorry. I wish I could take it all back. Thank you your honor.”
“Remain standing.” The judge glared at Adam. “Adam Winchester Hardwick the jury has found you guilty on the charge armed robbery and accessory to murder in the second degree. Mr. Hardwick this was a tragedy that didn’t have to occur. While coming to the conclusion of this case, I have weighed the defense and the prosecutions arguments equally and have taken into account all the testimony that has been given here before the court. It is my finding that there are mitigating circumstances in this case that cannot be overlooked. Young man your saving grace is the fact that you have no past criminal history, your documented history of drug abuse and your seemingly genuine remorse for the crimes committed. You are one of the few young men I feel can be truly rehabilitated but that in no way excuses the severity of the crimes committed. A hardworking family man lost his life. A woman lost her husband and children have lost their father because you wanted to steal to get high. Therefore I impose the sentence of ten years for the second-degree murder charge and two years for the armed robbery charge, the total sentence of twelve years in Chippewa Correctional Facility. All time served will go toward the sentence handed down today.”
“NO!” A voice bellowed out from the rear of the court. The crying was notably audible. It sounded like the store manager’s wife. He had recognized her cries from the past.
The judge had been lenient. Adam knew that much. He could have given him thirty years plus another five for the felony robbery charge. Adam had served over a year in county and it seemed he had less than five years to go. That was if he could get his time sliced in half for good behavior. Vincent had explained to him that whatever the judge imposed would more than likely be cut in half because of prison overcrowding.
Could Adam really survive five years in the pen? He sure hoped so. He survived over a year in county. He wanted a life. He wanted to make amends to his mother. He had hurt her beyond repair.
As Adam stood there he heard the cries of another woman. He turned his body to look back over his shoulder. It was his own mother.
Tears ran down Jane’s cheeks. He couldn’t bear to see the pain in her face. He had to turn away. There was no way he could see his mother go through this. If only he had took the help she offered. If only. His life was filled with a long list of if onlys.
“Bailiff, take the defendant into custody. Court is adjourned.” The judge slammed his gavel down one time and darted from the bench and into his chambers.
CHAPTER 9
Life had been kind to Roxanne. She didn’t have a problem finding a good paying job. She had to only live with her mother for little over a year before she found a great apartment in the suburbs not far from her old college.
Morgan was a delightful child. Roxanne’s mother said that Morgan shared the same temperament as her mother. After work on Wednesdays Roxanne picked Morgan up from her ballet class. She gazed through the clear glass window at her three-year-old daughter and six other girls practicing ballet in pink leotards as the ballet instructor monitored the class. Seeing Morgan dance was the highlight of her Wednesdays after work.
Roxanne hadn’t been as lucky in love as she was a mother. She had a few relationships that never lasted more than a year. There was always something missing or the men had pretended to be something they were not. Roxanne was a lot of things but stupid weren’t one of them. She would eventually see through the lies. She had the wherewithal to distance herself from them before they became irrational and possessive.
After her last breakup with a boyfriend Roxanne looked forward to being single again. As the years passed, Roxanne was becoming a better parent and wiser when it came to dating. She feared Mr. Right just wasn’t in the cards for her.
***
So many years in an iron cage had paid a toll on Adam. He was hardened by all the years locked away upstate. He did his best to act and behave softer when his mother came to visit him in the Chippewa Correctional Facility. He sat at a table and waited for her to enter the prison visitors area.
The last time she was here an inmate attacked his wife. He choked her almost into unconsciousness while the prison guards tried to pry his huge hands off the woman’s throat. Adam was sure his mother would never come back after that but here she was a month later. He couldn’t believe how his mother stuck by him throughout these trying six hellish years.