Scott hugged her again, with his arms holding her tightly. “Sounds to me like he’s manning up and doing the right thing,” he said. Remi knew he wasn’t wrong in that assessment. “I don’t like the guy, but he put his life on the line for you, along with making sure you aren’t charged and keeping you out of jail, makes him okay in my book,” Scott said, kissing the top of her head. She thanked him because that few minutes of conversation and a friendly embrace was the perfect antidote for her aching heart. Suddenly his phone beeped. “Damn, I gotta get back to work,” he said, checking the time. Remi understood but thanked him again for the ear and shoulder. He told her if she ever needed anything just to give him a call. She kissed him on the cheek and whispered, “Right back at ya!”
When she got down to the lobby, her mom and Melanie asked about the session. Remi explained that it went okay but that she didn’t want to talk about it. And hoped they would respect that. She did mention that she ran into Scott and that it was nice seeing him. On the ride home, she stayed mostly quiet. However, she asked if she could borrow one of their vehicles for a while. “For what?” her mother questioned while Melanie had no qualms about letting Remi take hers. A half-hour later, she handed Remi the keys while her mom told her to be careful.
Driving herself, with no train, no taxis, and no one carting her around, felt liberating. She wondered why she had delayed buying a vehicle, and how she regretted not doing it with Liam when she had the chance. She thought about how he could have helped her choose the right one. Then she remembered about him giving her his Ford F-150 and she just sighed while pulling into an empty parking space at the police station. As soon as she entered the building, she immediately sought a female officer sitting at a centralized desk to ask about visiting Liam. And much to her chagrin was promptly informed that it wouldn’t be possible. Remi pleaded with the unsuspecting woman, attempting to convey why it was important she speak to him. Unfortunately, the words were falling on deaf ears, as it was apparent the officer had heard it all before. Therefore, Remi was on the losing end of that battle. Not one to give up that easily, she went for the jugular by revealing her trump card also known as Detective Weston. She stepped away from the desk and called him. No sooner had he answered, Remi told him she was downstairs and wanted to see Liam. “You aren’t allowed,” he said, reiterating what the officer had already told her. She begged but he told her that he couldn’t give her preferential treatment. “I just need five minutes; please,” she said, her voice full of desperation. He released an enormous audible sigh, part sympathy and part frustration. “Okay, okay,” he said, placating her. Remi nervously fidgeted while observing the action around her. Officers were rushing in and out, and people frantically seeking answers about missing loved ones to stolen goods or just to argue about an annoying parking ticket. When Weston appeared, not wanting to waste time, she hurried to him. “Hold on; I’ll take you up, but it’s going to be different than when you saw him before,” he warned. As they stepped into the elevator, Remi cautiously asked, “Different how?”
He explained that the visit would not take place in an open room, it would transpire with a glass partition between them. That didn’t make Remi happy, but she was still glad to be at least able to see him. He also informed that she’d be thoroughly searched before going inside to the visiting area. Once she complied, Weston escorted Remi to one of the booths where she took a seat. “Sit tight; I’ll get Liam,” he said. Remi instantly looked at the grimy looking black phone perched on the right side of the booth. Lots of hand sanitizer came to mind, but then she stared at the thick glass in front of her, and she was mad. However, all of the negative thoughts rapidly faded the moment she spotted Liam shuffling towards her. His eyes looked heavy, with a hint of dark circles underneath, something she’d never seen on him, even when he’d had a lack of sleep. A true sign, things weren’t good with him. Though his smile showed pleasure at seeing her, his tense posture displayed apprehension. Weston cautioned them both that they only had five minutes and that their conversation would be recorded. Remi and Liam nodded in unison as they both picked up the receiver of their respective phones. Remi quickly uttered a sweet hello, but there was no reciprocating pleasantry back. “What are doing here?” he asked, exhaling loudly, sounding exhausted. “I needed to see you,” she replied. “You shouldn’t have come,” he chided. Knowing their time was brief, she questioned, “You aren’t happy to see me?”
Liam glanced at an officer standing a few feet away then replied, “Of course, I’m happy, but being here is not good for you.”
“Yeah well, let me be the judge of that.”
Liam grinned, unable to curb the lightheartedness that she managed to bring out even in the shittiest of situations. “How are you?” he asked, taking note of how tired she looked as well. Remi shrugged but told him about her session with Dr. Layton. “I’m sure that pleases you,” she said.
He grinned. “Yes, it does.”
“It go okay?” he asked.
Remi nodded then blurted, “I read your letter.”
“And?”
“And umm, gotta admit you kind of threw me for a loop there,” she said, nervously laughing. Liam tried to envision her reaction while reading it. “What do you think?”
“I think giving me a house and a truck is way too much.”
“I wanted you to give a fresh start.”
“But if you’re sent to prison,” she said. Liam quickly interjected, “Not if—when.”
Hearing that was a punch in the gut, and she could feel the vomit inching its way up her throat. “Okay, when you go to prison, how would I come visit you if I’m living in Miami?”
Liam suddenly shifted his gaze away from hers, and declared, “I don’t want you to come see me; I want you to move on and live your life, and not be burdened by any of this.”
“Burdened?” she echoed, sounding disheartened.
“You’re 23-years-old and have your whole life ahead of you, the last thing you need is to waste your time going to a prison visiting your boyfriend the inmate.”
“Isn’t that my decision to make?” she countered.
“Yes you’re right, everything is your decision, whether or not you want to visit me in prison for the next twenty-five years or possibly life, or if you want to accept the house and truck; it’s all up to you, but please think with your head and not your heart.”
“That’s easy for you to say, you don’t have one, remember,” she teased, smiling. Liam made a gesture with his index finger and thumb and said, “I might have a half of one.”
Remi laughed just as Weston came back in. “Time’s up.”
“One more minute, please,” she begged. The detective raised his eyebrow and grudgingly gave them another minute. Liam thanked him but no sooner had he walked out, Remi announced, “Olivia fired me!”
Liam offered his sympathy, but Remi said she had seen it coming. Liam thought all the more reason for Remi to get away and start over some place else. He wasn’t necessarily pushing for her to go, he just felt her life in Philly was slowly unraveling, and unfortunately, he was helpless in stopping that from happening to her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said before he asked again. Liam grinned at her astuteness. She quickly changed the subject and asked how he was doing. He responded the same way she did, with a melancholy shrug. “I’m worried about you,” she whispered. “I know, but don’t, I’ll be okay,” he said. Remi placed just the tips of her fingers up onto the scratched glass while releasing a frustrated sigh. When her hand flattened against the partition, Liam’s hand joined hers. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked, annoyed by the barrier between them. Before she could answer Weston, interrupted and told them no more extensions. Liam had to go back to the holding cell. The attending officer barked at Liam to hang up the phone and to stand up. Liam wisely obeyed as his gaze never left Remi’s eyes. She watched in horror as the man handcuffed Liam’s wrists together then kneeled down to check the shackles on his feet. Liam
remained stoic, but Remi sensed it was solely for her benefit. While she stood there, she felt chilled, as if the concrete walls surrounding the booth were closing in, which in turn made her wonder what it must be like for Liam stuck inside that tiny cell. Her claustrophobia suddenly surfaced, but more so as if she were the one trapped like an animal in a steel cage, not Liam. But that wasn’t the case, and she knew it. In about one minute, she was free to leave on her own accord, thanks to the man standing on the other side of the plexiglass. If she ever doubted just how much she loved him, at that very moment, she probably couldn’t love him anymore than she did. He could have taken off and never looked back, but he stayed, knowing full well he’d be giving up his freedom in the process, all to keep her out of prison and keep her record clean. Just then, the officer shoved Liam to get him moving, so Liam produced a half-smile at Remi and before she had the chance to mouth, ‘I love you,’ he was gone from view. There she was left alone, suddenly feeling like a lost, empty soul. It took a good minute for her to find her footing and that’s when Detective Weston offered to escort her out. “Are you okay?” he whispered as they exited. Unable to find her voice, she just nodded. Not quite believing her, he remained by her side through the precinct all the way across the parking lot, until they reached the white Volkswagon. She thanked him then asked if he had been keeping an eye on Liam. The detective didn’t answer but placed his hand protectively on her shoulder and tapped it twice, signaling confirmation. Remi smiled while again thanking him. “Take care of yourself,” he said, in a very familiar paternal tone. “You too,” she countered, teasingly. Once inside the car, she waved goodbye but didn’t pull out right away. She needed a minute to regroup. “What am I going to do?” she murmured as her head tipped back against the seat. She then smirked along with shaking her head at how preposterous it all seemed. Liam in jail, him giving her his truck and the house, she might not now know what she was going to do, but the one thing she did know—she had one hell of a decision to make.
CHAPTER 24
Three weeks later…
Liam adjusted his smoky gray tie as Warren instructed him on what would happen in court. Though listening, Liam’s primary focus was seeing Remi. Only having seen her twice since his arrest, and both times too brief, getting another chance now was at the forefront of his mind. As he continued to fiddle with the tie, even after it was already perfectly straight, he thought back to their conversation about her moving to Miami, and how she couldn’t understand why he’d give her the house. Deep down, he knew she hadn’t given up hope that somehow he’d be set free or that he’d want her to visit him in prison, and he completely understood if she didn’t want to leave Philly and her family. But the reality was, he wanted her to have a great life and move on. Not wallow in what could have been. While his father told him the names of whom would be reading their victim impact statements, Liam thought about his truck still sitting in the impound lot, which pissed him off. He needed to get that released, even though Remi hadn’t informed him yet of whether or not, she wanted it.
As he finished getting dressed, Liam recalled his mother telling him about how destroyed his apartment was after the feds had gotten through with it. However, Remi had graciously gathered up his suits, clothes, and most especially his grandfather’s painting. A thoughtful gesture that didn’t surprise him, and endeared her to him even more. He glanced down at himself then turned to his father and asked how he looked. Warren nodded, “You look good.”
Liam buttoned the suit jacket then looked at his reflection in the 8-by-10 mirror that Warren had brought in just for the sentencing. “Are you ready?” asked his father, his voice uncharacteristically shaky. Liam glanced at his dad and replied soberly, “About as ready as I’ll ever be.”
A minute later, an officer handcuffed Liam and walked him outside. Detective Weston, with Penny standing next to him, was waiting by the exit to escort him to the courthouse. Though his mother was the lead attorney on the case, she was unusually flustered this morning. “Mom, you okay?” Liam asked, sensing her nervousness. “I’m fine, it’s just hard, you know,” she said, obviously holding back from becoming too emotional. Liam sympathetically said, “I know.”
Soon, he was sitting inside a police van awaiting transport to the courthouse.
Remi sat in the backseat of Melanie’s car, listening to the sound of heavy rain pounding the roof. No sun in sight midway through March and though just days away from Spring, a bitter chill had lingered in the air that particular afternoon, fitting for what was about to transpire. Chris, sitting in the front passenger side, turned around and asked when she wanted to go inside. Remi ignored him while staring out the window at the 17-story building. The thought of going in and speaking in front of a judge had her stomach twisted in knots. Knowing Jenna’s family and Wendy’s husband were going to be speaking as well didn’t help matters. She’d get to see Liam though, so that gave her the push she needed. Therefore, she quickly grabbed the umbrella, and without replying, she opened the door and stepped out. Chris uttered, “I guess that means now.”
Remi rushed towards the entrance, leaping over the massive puddles that had pooled on the sidewalk and somehow avoided the large crowd of media outlets that had congregated by the main door. “At least the rain is a good deterrent,” remarked Melanie as she and Chris ran inside behind her. Before she entered the metal detector, she shook the umbrella dry then handed it to an officer. Standing on the other side of the walk-through, were her parents, who wore the look of maternal and paternal concern like pros. “I’m fine,” she muttered as a preemptive strike. Beth immediately hugged her while Tony helped remove her black trench coat. “Did you sleep okay?” he asked. Remi replied, “If you count an hour.”
Chris and Melanie lagged in the back while the entire group trekked down the hall towards the courtroom where Liam’s sentencing would be occurring. The proceedings hadn’t started yet, so most people were hanging out in the hall, and that’s when Remi saw Liam standing by a window with his mom. Remi recognized the dark gray fitted suit he was adorned in especially since she was the one who supplied Warren with it. Liam looked sharp, with his white button down cotton shirt, it was certainly much better than the horrendous orange jumpsuit he had been wearing the last time she had seen him. She instantly noticed his hands still cuffed. Damn, she thought, as she had been secretly hoping to get a chance to hug him. Penny saw her coming and kindly stepped out of the way to allow Remi access. “Hi,” she said sidling up to him. He immediately turned his head, unaware that she had arrived. “Hi,” he said, smiling for the very first time that day. Remi got as close as she could without the nearby armed guards jumping in to nix any kind of physical interaction. She peered up at him, as he commented on how pretty she looked. He leaned into her just a little, closed his eyes then remarked how sweet she smelled too. She side-eyed the guards while whispering, “I wish I could kiss you.”
Liam’s blue-green eyes concentrated on her pale pink stained lips, silently echoing her sentiment. Just then Penny approached to announce that they needed to head inside. Liam right away sensed Remi’s uneasiness, so he assured she’d be fine. Their all too brief encounter ended the moment a guard grabbed Liam’s arm, pulling him towards the entrance of the courtroom. Liam shot Remi a grin before disappearing inside. As the doors closed behind him, she spotted Detective Weston standing nearby. He nodded his head once to her, which she took as his way of saying hello, without uttering it. She didn’t see Special Agent DeGrazerio anywhere, not that she had wanted to. Her dad walked over and took hold of her hand. She squeezed it, and with that, they entered the courtroom. However, as soon as they stepped inside, Wendy’s husband, Kenneth Rollo, glared daggers at her. That was bad enough, but even worse were the expressions that Jenna’s parents, Gerald and Susan Bowman, and her sister, Caitlyn had on their faces. Pure disgust would be putting it mildly. It was hard to believe that growing up, Remi had spent almost every weekend at Jenna’s house, and ate many dinners with them. Once feeli
ng like part of the Bowman family, the only thing she felt now from them was contempt. Steve and his wife, Judy were there as well, but thankfully her relationship with them was much more affable. In fact, Steve’s skin grafts were healing nicely, and though scarred permanently, his appearance and overall health had improved tremendously. They were surprisingly sitting on the side of Liam’s friends and family, so when she walked in, she hugged Judy then carefully embraced Steve, who whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry that I have to speak negatively about Liam today.”
She assured him that she understood. She then chatted with Judy for a few seconds before taking a seat in the row in front of them. Sitting securely between her parents and Marlene, and seated directly behind Liam, Remi anxiously waited for the slaughter to begin. A part of her was still angry with him for pleading guilty and not fighting the charges, but he wasn’t innocent, a truth even she couldn’t deny. It didn’t matter though there was no turning back as the bailiff announced, “All rise, court is in-session, the Honorable Judge Alexander Shaw now presiding, please be seated.”
The judge was a tall, fifty-something, incredibly handsome black man with an engaging smile, who instantly reminded Remi of Apollo Creed, from the iconic Philly-based movie Rocky, which was one of her all-time favorites. She desperately wanted to take that as a hopeful sign but knew that was grasping. For the next forty-five minutes, she and everyone else had to listen to Kenneth describe in horrific detail the excruciating pain of losing his wife and his children losing their mother. And the terrible nightmares those kids suffered almost every evening, believing a real-life boogeyman wearing a ski mask would kill them too. Remi’s whole body shook, having had no idea just how awful it had been for them. The entire time the man spoke, or more like shouted, he stared at Liam and swore he’d make sure that Liam never set foot outside of prison walls again. Remi couldn’t see Liam’s face, unsure how much that speech had affected him. She knew the part about the children surely would have, not so sure the man berating him would have as much bearing. Then came Jenna’s parents’ turn. Both emotionally spent by the time they had reached the front of the room, only the mother spoke. With a heavy heart and tears trickling down her cheeks, the distraught woman began by explaining the premature birth of Jenna, and how born six weeks early, the underdeveloped infant almost died from complications. At that point, Remi’s own heart was barely pumping, as survivor’s guilt reared its ugly head. Susan talked about all the wonderful times they had shared as a close-knit family, and how that was taken from them courtesy of Liam and the rest of the crew. Caitlyn’s emotions overwhelmed her, and she suddenly bolted out of the room. Seeing that made Remi feel awful, she wondered how in the world she would be able to get up there and counter all the negativity tossed Liam’s direction. And would it be enough to sway the judge? Fortunately, Steve’s statement wasn’t as scathing, but again it didn’t paint Liam in a good light either. The only good thing about his was that he recalled that Liam wasn’t the masked man that had beaten him. Didn’t exactly lessen the actions or the consequences but it was something positive. When Steve finished, the judge ordered a fifteen-minute recess before character witness statements.
UNMASKED: Sequel to Behind the Mask Page 44