Wrong Chance
Page 28
“The gun that killed Marcus was found in your apartment with your fingerprints on it. Your fingerprints were also on hundreds of other personal items in the apartment.”
“I’d planned on committing suicide, so I bought the gun off the streets because we didn’t own one. That’s how my prints are on it. I left that gun in Denver along with all my belongings that were found in that apartment that I never stepped foot in a day of my life. Chance murdered Marcus, and he transferred all that stuff from Denver to Cleveland.”
“You were the last person seen with Yancee Taylor and Leon Page while they were alive.”
“Chance disguised as me was last to see Yancee. Unfortunately, I was the last person to see Leon alive. But the woman on tape entering my office wasn’t me. That was Chance in disguise.”
“Yancee’s urine and fecal matter was found in the trunk of your Infiniti.”
“A car that I hadn’t seen or thought twice about since October sixteenth twenty-ten when I walked away from Denver. I started my life over in Cleveland after the accident as Scenario Davenport. With that came a new everything, including a car.”
“The killings in Denver stopped when you showed up in Cleveland.”
“Chance followed me here.”
“You assaulted Janice Carter for abusing a cat when you were thirteen. Each of your Denver victims was animal abusers.”
“Chance hates people who harm animals. He protests against it. He became a veterinarian because of it.”
“Your DNA was found at two of the Cleveland crime scenes. Leon’s blood was found on an outfit in your closet.”
“You mean planted by my husband. And I told you that wasn’t my apartment.”
“Coins with your fingerprints on them were found in the pay phone you used to call the police tip line.”
“Ms. McGinnis, you mean coins that my husband took from my piggy bank in Denver and used when he called the hot line.”
“You falsified documents with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association to practice law in Ohio. Then you engaged in misprision of a felony and prosecutorial misconduct when you attempted to try your husband for the murders you committed.”
“I. Did. Not. Kill. Anyone, Agent McGinnis. But, yes, I was trying to get my husband acquitted.”
“Cashmaire, you volunteered for this interview under the pretense you were going to tell the truth. If you’re going to combat everything I say with a justification, then why am I here?”
“You’re here so that for once in my life, I can tell the truth and have that truth studied in order to save my life.”
“And what is your truth, Ms. Fox?”
“That I have Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. I’m a female outwardly, but I have the chromosome pattern of a male. I don’t have ovaries like you. I’ve never had a period. I have undescended testicles. Because of that, Agent McGinnis, I became a liar. A selfish habitual liar to conceal my freakishness. Those lies are the real reason I’m sitting here on death row.” She paused. “So if you want to study something, study AIS. Study low self-esteem. Study what it feels like not knowing if people will see you as a woman or the mutation of a man if they discover your secret. Then maybe you, as a complete woman, can understand why I became a liar. So I’m guilty of being a liar, but that’s no more. I’m guilty of deception. I’m through with that too.” Cash turned to the camera and gave it a no-nonsense stare. “But I’m not guilty of murder. My husband, Chance Fox, set me up.”
The End
Everything that deceives may be said to enchant.
—PLATO
AUTHOR’S EXIT
Writers know that some stories should wait to be born. Wrong Chance gestated within the deepest part of my mind for five years, a safe distance from a premature birth. But now it is time, my creative water has broken. Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome captured my attention during an episode of House. An accidental viewing, I must admit. Researching the subject further fascinated my creativity. Research (a headache word) revealed that 14 percent of the world’s women live with this rare condition and the challenges it presents in their day-to-day journeys. AIS + “What if this were to happen?” = Wrong Chance.
It is not my intention to propagate any medical or terminology misrepresentations associated with AIS. Also it is not my intention to offend any person(s), any organizations, or any advocacy groups for women or couples living with AIS. It is my belief that all people are created exactly how they are supposed to be—perfect. So-called flaws are relative. My sole intent herein is to create compelling fiction with a fresh premise for my audience’s enjoyment. Everyone, the key word here is “fiction.” I’m clueless about half the real stuff I write about. So if something rings true and correct, trust me, I did it by mistake. And I take full responsibility and blame for whatever is incorrect and whatever police procedures, law practices, and medical situational rules I bent to make the plot work. It is not an oversight of any authority named below.
On that note (DRUM ROLL HERE!), the following individuals have been instrumental with their contribution to Wrong Chance. It is my honor to give my infinite thanks to the following:
My wife, Javenna, who has learned that dealing with the everyday life of a career writer is a difficult and sometime stressful undertaking. But she straps her pom-poms on and cheerleads for me through it all.
Brenda Hampton, my agent, the ride continues. No one else can ever roll shotgun with me but you.
My team, the entire staff at Strebor Books/Atria/Simon & Schuster for your encouragement and support.
My editorial guru, Docuversion. You’re an integral part of the writing process. I’d be a hack without you.
I’m indebted to Alice Smith for all that you do for my projects. You’re the world’s unsung wonder.
Other important contributors: Charles Allen, K. Jones Bey, and Troy Cleveland, my no-nonsense test readers. Fernard Strowbridge, my human informational vault. My source inside Cleveland’s law enforcement who wishes to remain anonymous. Officer A. Maresca, who schooled me on police procedures while I was locked in the hole of Fort Dix Correctional Institution. Antoinette A. Lakey, my infallible legal eagle. Thank you all for lending me your knowledge in order to make Wrong Chance a plausible tale.
I am deeply humbled by the family I’m surrounded by. Eric Jr., Rashaad, Rasheed, Braxton, Brooks, Brendyn, Brandyn, Linda, Alice, Mary, Billy Sr., Autum, Billy Jr., Walter Sr. (RIP), Bertha, Charlene, Marie, Jakhai, Terrance Sr., Ashley, Jamillah, Mokey, Jeanette, Betty Jean, Zabree, Jordan, Jessica, Jasmine, Austin, Renee, Mikey, Terrance Jr., Mellisa, Carmallita, Lisa, Freedie, Lil’ Ronny, Silence, C-Mack, Eric Downs, and the most precious of them all: my adorable granddaughters, Khloei and Kaliyah.
Credit: Courtesy of Javenna Myrieckes
E.L. Myrieckes, under the pseudonym Oasis, is the author of Duplicity, White Heat, the Mahogany award-winning author of Push Comes to Shove and the ebook Eternal Flame. He is the CEO of Docuversion, a full-service editing firm, and an expert creative writing instructor who lives with his wife between Cleveland and Maryland where he breeds champion bloodline Presa Canarios. To learn more about the author, visit him at elmyrieckes.com and oasisnovels.com.
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ALSO BY E.L. MYRIECKES
(WRITING AS OASIS)
Eternal Flame (original ebook)
Duplicity
Push Comes to Shove
(WRITING WITH MRS. OASIS)
White Heat
Strebor Books
P.O. Box 6505
Largo, MD 20792
http://www.streborbooks.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely c
oincidental.
© 2014 by E. L. Myrieckes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.
ISBN 978-1-59309-560-4
ISBN 978-1-4767-5863-3 (ebook)
LCCN 2014931190
First Strebor Books trade paperback edition July 2014
Edited by Docuversion
Cover design: www.mariondesigns.com
Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders Photos
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