Vindication- Ties That Bind

by Patricia Kasdan

  “I’m not trying to stick my nose where it doesn’t belong, but, what’s going on?”

  “The conspiracy, fuck head was talking about.”

  “Oh, so now he went from weirdo, to fuck head.”

  Krista’s jaw muscles tighten as she spoke through clenched teeth, “Yeah, fuck head, he knows nothing about what happened.”

  “Apparently, I know nothing, because I don’t have a clue to what you are talking about.”

  “If that were true like I said before, you’d be the only one in the East Coast law enforcement that doesn’t.”

  “It IS true.”

  “What the hell, is dementia setting in already? I told you the whole ugly story just yesterday.”

  “That’s what got you bent?”

  “Yeah, I hear the whispers, how they stop talking when I enter a room, and they wonder why I don’t go out and have a drink with them.”

  “I don’t pay attention to ‘whispers.' Just for the record, I never knew you didn’t believe your dad was guilty or that the hit and run was intentional thought that, before yesterday.”

  Krista’s eyes flashed with anger they burned so brightly. “I don’t think, I know, and I intend to prove it.”

  “Calm down, that’s not what I meant.”

  “Calm down, really, calm down. This is exactly what I have been up against since the beginning. I’ve had to investigate on my own time and under the radar. Kane told me if I couldn’t get a handle on the facts, I’d be up for a psych eval. I’ve been trying to sift through the muck and to dig up the facts, and now with everything going on with Evan, I have to put it all on the back burner.”

  “You need to take a breath, figure out what is more important to you, or you’ll drive yourself crazy.”

  “Family, that’s what’s important.”

  17

  Brooklyn, NY 1978

  Nikolay kicked at Ivan’s door, with his arms full he couldn’t open it. When he heard the door unlock, he kicked again. Ivan yanked the door open, his jet black hair standing on end, looking like he hadn’t shaved in weeks. His tee-shirt stained yellow with small holes stretched across his massive frame. Just the sight of him would have sent a lesser man running. Nikolay didn’t blink; he just threw half of his load at Ivan as he walked in and slammed the door behind him.

  Nikolay was from in Rostov Oblast in Russia, a town as we know it. He had to get out, life there was strangling him. While at Rikers Detention Center, he discovered that Ivan was also from Rostov. They had talked for hours about how even being in jail was better than being back home. The prisons here were a party in comparison.

  A few weeks into Nikolay’s sentence he was working in the laundry with Ivan when another inmate tried to shiv Ivan. Nikolay jumped in the way of the shiv and took it through his arm. When the officers broke up the fight, Nikolay ended up in the infirmary and had another year added to his sentence.

  Ivan didn’t take any of the heat for the incident. When Nikolay got back to his cell after getting sewn up, Ivan made it a point to keep him in smokes and anything else Nikolay wanted.

  Stupid bastard, does he think for a minute, I did that for him? I didn’t even see the fucking sticker, if I did, I wouldn’t have gotten in the way. Let him think I took a stick for him. Now he owes me, and he owes me big, he thought.

  He figured everyone owed him everything anyway, so this just sealed the fact that Ivan owed him.

  “What scheme do you have cooking now?”, Ivan asked.

  “I need cash to get in on the card game down at the docks. Winning there is the only way I’ll have the dough to pay off my debt.”

  “Are you crazy man? It’s a fifty-thousand dollar buy-in. How the fuck do you think you’ll raise that kind of dough?”

  “I got it all figured out,” Nikolay said.

  “Just like last time when we almost got popped?”

  Nikolay was losing his patience, “Screw you, if you don’t want in, I’ll do it myself.”

  “Just lay it out, what are you thinking?”

  “I’m sure you heard about the Bratva’s potato con they have going. They say they have gold, Russian rebels for sale at pennies on the dollar, they set up the meet, take the money, and when the marks open the bags, there are only potatoes in the bag. It's going around that they get ten large for each bag they sell. If we undersell them by half, we could make a killing.”

  “Or they could kill us," Ivan stated.

  “No, we move fast and under their radar. I have fifteen bags here, and enough ten-pound bags to hide these little shit potatoes in. I figure we slice up the small one, dry them out ’til they are hard as a rock. Put them in these purple bags and stuff them between the seventy-five potatoes in the ten-pound bags. Selling them for five thousand a pop, we’ll rake in seventy-five thousand big ones. As you said, the buy-in for the game is only fifty-thousand. It’s a win-win.” Nikolay said

  Ivan’s glare tore through Nikolay as he yelled, “Fifty large for you and half that for me. Should I bend over now or wait ’till later?”

  Nikolay could feel his face growing hotter, as he spoke through gritted teeth. “I came up with the idea, I bought the shit needed to pull it off, and dickhead, if it weren't for me, you would have taken your last breath at Rikers.”

  Ivan hated the fact that he owed Nikolay, but what’s right is right. He may not be a model citizen, but he had honor. He exhaled slowly, raising his hands in the air and said, “Okay man, okay!”

  18

  Fix This

  Jeff opened the door, getting hit in the face with the odor from old, sour bar rags and long ago split drinks. To his right sat three pool tables and in the far corner was a dart board. From lack of upkeep, the floors were scarred, and the carpet runner at the entrance was worn bare. He spotted Evan’s attorney, Doltz at the end of the bar, nursing a beer. As he made his way through the dimly lit space, the two guys playing pool stopped to eyeball him until he took a seat.

  The bartender ambled over and placed a coaster on the bar in front of Jeff. “What are you having?”

  Jerking is head towards Doltz and said: “Whatever he’s drinking.”

  The bartender pulled a beer from the cooler, as he put it on the coaster said, “We don’t run tabs here.”

  Jeff just wanted him to go away, he threw a twenty on the bar and said, “Keep the change, and keep your distance.”

  Nodding his head, being aware all too well, what you don’t know, can’t kill you. “Got it, thanks.”

  Jeff looked at Doltz saying, “Nice place you found here.”

  “It’s under the radar. I had a client a while back that insisted we only meet here. What’s up?”

  “I need you to keep Evan in jail as long as possible, the longer Krista is all wrapped up with Evan, she won’t have time to dig into her father's case. The timing of his arrest was perfect. I spoke to the private investigator you turned me on to. He said she’s doing everything in her power to exonerate her brother. She hasn’t been working her parent's case at all.”

  “I’m not going to have to do anything to keep him in jail. The prosecutor is Philsin. I’ll have Evan plead not guilty, his arraignment is tomorrow, but everything points to him.”

  “What about bail?”

  “I have to request for bail to be set. Any Joe Blow would know something was up if I didn’t. It’s possible with the solid evidence the District attorney has will cause him to be held over without bail.”

  “Maybe him getting released wouldn’t be such as a bad idea. If he were out, that would keep Krista busier.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “She wouldn’t have time to poke around in her father’s affairs. The last thing I need for that little bitch to do is to get his case reopened. Until Evan goes down for Nelson’s murder, she’ll be busy trying to get him out. Once he’s convicted, that’s when our problems become bigger. I got Even hooked on “H,” so she had her hands full with him, if he’s in prison there’s not much to keep her
busy. She’ll be pulling every string she can get her hands on.”

  “There’s no way she can trace anything the FED’S found back to you. The guy I used was THE black hat of black hats. He doesn’t leave an electronic trail.”

  “All the same, I have to figure out how I am going to end this once and for all, by whatever means. She is in a dangerous profession after all. I spoke to Gerry; he’s stalled the testing of the second bullet, doing everything he can to hold off. If it is traced back to the shooting, that will leave reasonable doubt, even with the evidence. He’s pulled through for us before, with any luck he’ll make it happen again. To fuck with her, he put a call into her director, making a complaint. The more she has to deal with the less time she’ll have to dig.”

  “You need to tread lightly. Too much, too soon and everything can come tumbling down.”

  “Fuck off, tread lightly, if the Northeast operation is in jeopardy the Russians aren’t going to tread lightly. The shipment from Thailand is due at the end of the week. We need to get her the fuck out of Jersey and back to Manhattan, taking the DEA with her.”

  The bartender looked over to see if they wanted another beer, Jeff just waved him away. Looking back to Doltz he said, “Fix this. Keep Krista’s ass busy with her brother and out of New Jersey, until I can figure out what to do with her. I need to find out where everything was stashed before she gets too close.”

  19

  The Arraignment

  Tossing and turning all night and realizing the peacefulness of sleep was not to be hers, Krista threw the covers off her and went to the kitchenette to make coffee. As it brewed she headed to the bathroom for a hot shower, hoping the two would ease the stress that had grabbed on to the muscles in her shoulders, radiating up her neck and creeping its way to her head.

  She stood under the blasting hot water and didn't want to move. Thinking that all she had tried to accomplish, was a bust. She was unable to dig up anything that would help Evan in court today. She turned off the water, and as she stepped out of the shower, she could hear her phone ringing. Grabbing a towel from the plush pile sitting atop the towel warmer, she wrapped it around herself and ran to the phone, almost losing her footing as she slid across the marble tile floor.

  Looking at the caller ID she recognized her sister's number, “Dana, is everything okay?”

  “I'm fine, just wanted you to know that Tom and I decided to make the trip, even with the weather, so we’ll be in court this morning. Tom is arranging to pay the bail. He has already talked to his accountant. He’s having him contact the bank and get the process started.”

  “That man is worth more than his weight in gold. By the way, What are you doing up so early, couldn’t sleep either?” Krista asked as she poured herself a cup of coffee, taking a sip, the rich dark liquid made its way into her system, she closed her eyes and let out a long, slow breath.

  “Am I interrupting something? I can let you go.”

  Krista was surprised to hear herself laugh out loud, “No I am just having my first cup of coffee.”

  “It must be one good cup, she said with a laugh. I haven't had any yet; I was hoping after I called you, to try and nap a little. I tossed and turned last night, to answer your question.”

  “Yeah, me too, I feel like I’m just spinning my wheels. I can’t seem to get answers one way or the other.”

  “Are you now thinking, Evan shot Nelson?”

  “I have to look at both sides Dana, if I do a one-sided investigation with my eyes closed to anything I don’t like, what kind of agent does that make me? I don’t believe Evan is a killer, but I do know how high he was when I found him in Camden. Drugs wreck a person, I just hope they haven’t wrecked him beyond repair.”

  “I know you’ll dig until you come up with answers, that’s an undeniable fact. I just don’t want this to consume you the way mom and dad did.”

  “Did? It still does. Do you think for a moment I would stop investigating until I find the truth? Nothing I have seen with their case makes any sense; I won’t stop until it does.”

  “Just be careful. If what you say is true, and someone murdered mom and dad, they went to great lengths to cover it up and keep it buried. Besides you have enough on your plate, with Evan, you don’t need to make yourself crazy.”

  “I know, that’s why I put their case on the back burner for the time being. As soon as I have Evan situated, I will be back on top of it.”

  “One thing at a time, sis. I’m going to try and get some sleep while I still can, you go do what you have to do and we'll see you later. Love you.”

  “You too.”

  Krista took her coffee and curled up on the sofa in the sitting area. Her brain would not shut down. She went over every step she took in the past couple of days. She felt that there was something else she could have done. She wanted to get her brother out of that prison. I can’t let Evan down. I must have missed something.

  She made another cup of coffee and decided to get ready to leave. As she placed it on the side table, she almost knocked it over. The guy in the hoodie, I didn’t tell Travis about him. I didn’t mention it to anyone besides Jeff. There was someone else in the building with Evan.

  She threw herself together and left the hotel. She didn’t even remember driving to the courthouse, her mind was elsewhere.

  She made her way through security and found Evan's arraignment courtroom.

  The warmth of the wood that was crafted for the judge's bench and covered the walls was lost to the cold. The room felt like a walk-in refrigerator. The American flag stood proudly to the left and the state of Pennsylvania’s flag to the right. A chill ran down Krista’s back as she settled down in the first row of seats behind the defendant's table. She had been in courtrooms many times before in her career, but never for such a personal matter. Not knowing what to expect was a feeling she couldn’t shake. She turned her head to the sound of heels clicking down the aisle heading towards her. Dana and Tom slipped into the seats next to her. Tom reached over Dana and grabbed Krista hand giving it a squeeze, just wanting to let her know he was there for her. The courtroom was filling up, and the prosecutor was taking their seat as Doltz entered the courtroom.

  Leaning over to Dana, in a whisper through gritted teeth, she said, “Damn, Dana, Damn. That’s Philsin, the same prosecutor that was on dad’s case. When the hell did he come down here? This isn’t good. Guaranteed, he’s figuring guilt by association.”

  “Krista, relax, you don’t know what he’s thinking.”

  “The hell I don’t Dana, he’s an arrogant jerk.”

  She was rubbing her hands over her face trying to catch her breath when Doltz tapped her on her shoulder.

  She looked up with fire in her eyes that almost melted him. He removed his hand, cocking his head saying, “What?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me the processor was Philsin?”

  “Would it really have made a difference? Besides, I only found out this morning. I figured I’d let you know I just spoke to Evan. I told him to plead not guilty, and we will see about bail. I gave him the clothes you sent to my office.”

  “How did he look?”

  “Rough, detoxing in jail isn’t pretty.”

  At that very moment, the prisoners were being led into the room, bobbing back and forth in slow motion. Their hands were cuffed in front of them with a chain around their waist, with handcuffs were attached to that. The chain ran down to their feet attaching to the ankle bracelets. Another chain connected each to the person in front of them.

  Krista’s hand flew up to the mouth, her eyes as wide as her face when she saw Evan being lead in. Dana grabbed for Krista’s hand as she gasped.

  He was in the line five men back. His eyes were set deep in his head, his face carrying dark shadows, his hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in months, the golden shine dull now. He didn’t wear the clothes she had gotten him; he was in an orange jumpsuit with sizable black DOC letters across the back.

  As h
e took his seat, he looked up and spotted his sisters and brother-in-law. The sheer look of fear that crossed his face broke Krista’s heart. Her attention was pulled away from Evan when she heard the bailiff yell out, “All rise. The Court of Eastern District of Pennsylvania is now in session, the Honorable Judge Malone presiding. Everyone remains standing until the judge entered and was seated himself.”

  Cases that had an attorney were called first. By the time they called Evans it felt like a week had past. She watched as Doltz and Evan approached the defendant's table.

  “The court calls the case of The People versus Evan Levell, docket number 64298143.”

  “Dale Philsin, prosecuting attorney.”

  “Craig Doltz attorney for the defense.”

  “Noted for the record.”

  “Are you Evan Levell?”

  “Yes, your Honor.”

  “Is that your true and correct name?”

  “Yes, your Honor.”

  “Mr. Philsin, will you please state the charges that have been made against the defendant in this case.”

  “In docket number 64298143, the people charge Evan Levell with the offense of murder in the first degree.”

  Doltz cleared his throat waiting for the prosecutor to finish. “Your honor, first degree, that was not disclosed to council until this very moment.”

  “We the people, believe Evan Levell, lay in wait for the victim.”

  “Approach the bench.”

  “Your Honor.”

  “What evidence do you have to collaborate this?”

  “We have a witness that states they saw the defendant enter the building a good half hour before the victim.”

  “Back to your seats.”

  “For the record, the charge of first-degree murder holds.”

  Someone in the back of the courtroom inhaled so loudly; it had Krista turning her head to see who it was. She could only see the top of their head; she couldn’t make out who it was.