Wrongly Accused

by Erin Wade

  “Nooo,” Lillian said. “They’re transgender. Transitioning from male to female.”

  “And we get them because?”

  “Lawsuits.” Lillian couldn’t stand it any longer. She burst out laughing. “This just isn’t your week, Warden. Read the file.”

  Passion Flower’s given name was Tyler Duncan. Tyler had decided to change his name and referred to himself as a transgender woman. Although Passion had not had sex reassignment surgery, she behaved in a feminine manner and identified as a thirty-year-old black transgender woman. She was slight—five-six—and weighed 125 pounds.

  In Texas, transgender prisoners are housed according to their sex at birth. Passion had filed a lawsuit claiming that the State of Texas had failed to protect her from sexual and physical abuse while incarcerating her in all-male prisons.

  After she filed charges naming her molesters, she was told to “stop being so swishy and asking for it.” She was returned to general population in the same cellblock as the attackers she had identified. She was gang raped and slashed across the face several times with a razor.

  According to the lawsuit filed by an action group, Passion had been in general population the fourteen years she had served in prison. Only after the lawsuit was filed did prison authorities move her to secure housing to stop her abuse.

  My God, Val thought. What took them so long?

  Val made notes to discuss with her staff how to handle Passion Flower, who was up for parole and would probably win her multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the state.

  Now for Daisy Darling. What’s her story?

  Val rubbed her eyes as she read Daisy’s story. Daisy was a twenty-eight-year-old male who identified as a transgender woman. He’d also had no sex-altering surgery. Because of Passion’s lawsuit, the State was rethinking its policy of assigning transgenders to prisons based on their sex at birth and had decided to assign them according to the gender they identified with.

  Daisy had been assigned to a women’s prison where she had been housed in a pod with three women. The three women had filed a lawsuit claiming that Daisy had raped, or tried to rape, each of them.

  And there’s the uglier side of this, Val thought. We’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

  She decided to house each of the transgender women in a private cell until the lawsuits were settled.

  She leaned her head back, and visions of Dawn Fairchild flooded her mind. I’d give anything to share a cup of coffee with her and discuss the madness going on in my life, she thought. Maybe Java. She dialed the blonde FBI agent and left a voicemail.

  Chapter 51

  Dawn gathered her clean clothes and headed for the shower while the nurse’s assistant changed the linens on Niki’s bed. She took the fastest shower of her life and returned as the woman finished her task.

  Niki’s vital signs weren’t as good as Dawn wanted, and she hadn’t regained consciousness. Her breathing was becoming more labored. Sometimes, Niki would cry out or whimper during the night. Dawn would carefully slide into the redhead’s bed and hold her until she slept peacefully.

  Dawn hadn’t left her side for the past five days except to dash into the bathroom for a quick shower. She read to Niki. Told her about the new car Flint had brought to the hospital for them. Discussed the future they would share.

  She stood when Dr. Bartlett entered the room. “How’s our patient?” he inquired as he opened the computer to peruse Niki’s chart.

  “I’m concerned.” Dawn frowned. “Her vitals have dropped a little below normal, and she seems to have difficulty breathing.”

  Bartlett scowled as he read the information on Niki’s chart. “You’re not going to like this, but I think it’s time to put her on life support.”

  Dawn nodded. She had already arrived at the same conclusion.

  “You know she had severe chest trauma,” Bartlett continued. “If not for you, she would have died in the emergency room. The pain of breathing is causing her body to take small, shallow breaths. I’d like to put her on a ventilator. That will force her to take deeper breaths. It will be good from the breathing standpoint and to increase the strength of her lung muscles.

  “We’ve been feeding her intravenously, but it’s time we stepped up our game. A gastric feeding tube is called for, so I’ll order a G-tube for nutrition and hydration.

  “I’d suggest a tube directly into her stomach since we’re putting her on a ventilator. As you know, it’s a minor surgery that takes about twenty minutes.”

  Dawn stared at the woman who was more important than anything in her life. “Whatever it takes,” she mumbled.

  “Hmm. She doesn’t appear to have insurance,” Bartlett said, looking at the computer.

  “I’ll get with finance and sign whatever is necessary to show that I’m responsible for her hospital bills,” Dawn reassured him. “Just do what needs to be done to make certain she walks out of here under her own steam.”

  Bartlett nodded and began typing instructions into the computer. “Everything should be in place within the hour.” He patted her hand. “I’m sorry your friend has to go through this, but we need to give her all the help we can.”

  “I agree,” Dawn said. “I’ve always hated tubes down patients’ throats. It’s so uncomfortable. You know the pain from the increased muscle use will cause her body to respond to protect her, so it could extend her coma. We’re now calling it a coma, right?”

  Bartlett nodded as a team of nurses and specialists rolled machinery into Niki’s room.

  “You go on rotation tomorrow,” he said, his conversation taking Dawn’s mind off the intubation process.

  “Yes, I have a surgery in the morning.”

  “Would you like to perform the gastrostomy?”

  “Yes, I would,” Dawn answered.

  In a matter of minutes, the team had connected Niki to a ventilator.

  Dawn fought back the thought that Niki was deteriorating.

  Bartlett left, and a few minutes later she received her first visit from Father Anton Garza.

  Chapter 52

  “Good morning,” Java Jarvis said as she sauntered into Val’s office. “I heard your message this morning and decided a visit would be better than a phone call.”

  “I’m glad you made that decision.” Val beamed. “I was just about to have coffee. Would you like a cup? It’s fresh.”

  Val poured the coffee, and they sat on the sofa to visit. She told Java about the two new inmates.

  “Wow! Your job is no float down the river, is it?”

  Val laughed at Java’s expression. “No, it’s not, but I suspect that yours isn’t either.”

  Java set her cup down. “As a matter of fact, our jobs are about to get more difficult. We’re serving warrants on forty people involved in the VitaMaxPro scheme.”

  “I wondered when that would happen,” Val said, shrugging. “It was inevitable.”

  “You and your dietician will have to testify.”

  “We will,” Val promised, reaching for Java’s hand. “I know you have our backs. Right now, I desperately need someone I can count on.”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Java reassured her. “You’re squeaky-clean on the VitaMaxPro thing. Do you wear a gun?”

  Val grimaced. “No, should I?”

  “I think you should. A lot of people will be gunning for you. You’re authorized to carry. You should get used to it.”

  “I will,” Val promised.

  She continued to hold Java’s hand. It was a good, strong hand. The kind of hand that made one feel safe.

  “Val,” Java said, gently pulling her hand away, “I’m in a very committed relationship.”

  “Oh, of course.” Val looked at the ceiling. “A woman as beautiful as you would be in a relationship.”

  “I’m sorry if I misled you in any way,” Java added.

  “You didn’t, Java. You’ve been very kind and helpful. I overstepped the boundaries. I owe you an apology.”
<
br />   “I’d better go,” Java said. “I’m serving the warrant on Buddy Craft and some of his staff. My team will be calling any minute.”

  As if on cue, Java’s phone rang. She headed for the door. As she listened, a pink blush colored her cheeks. “Honey, I’m in a meeting with the warden right now.” Java waved goodbye to Val as she walked toward the door. “Love you too,” Java said into her cell phone.

  I’ve got to get out more, Val thought after Java left.

  ##

  “Your ten o’clock appointment is here,” Lillian announced through the intercom.

  Val stood to greet her childhood friend Bobby Joe Jones. She hugged him and motioned toward the chair in front of her desk as she settled into her own.

  “What a pleasant surprise,” Val said with a smile.

  “I hope so,” Bobby Joe said. “Did you know that someone attempted to kill Dr. Fairchild and Niki Sears?”

  Val’s lips moved but nothing came out. She finally managed a breathy, “No!”

  Bobby shifted in his chair. “They made a mistake and just got Niki. It was a murder for hire. We have the culprit, but he has no idea who hired him. Everything was handled through that damn dark web.”

  “The dark web?” Val raised a questioning eyebrow. “I don’t know anything about a dark web. I’m not very computer literate. You’ll have to explain.”

  “You access it using Tor, a browser favored by the military, journalists, whistleblowers, the government, police, and criminals.

  “The Tor browser guarantees anonymity. The dark web is commonly referred to as the secret internet for drug dealers, assassins, and pedophiles. There are a few murder- for-hire sites. Money transactions go through PayPal, usually using Cayman bank accounts that can’t be traced to anyone.”

  “That’s interesting,” Val said.

  “The perp had $10,000 on him when we arrested him. That’s the price of a life nowadays.”

  Val looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry to hear that. Niki was a former inmate here. I believe she lived with Dr. Fairchild.”

  Bobby Joe slid a photo in front of Val. “Have you ever seen this man before?”

  Val studied the picture. “No.” She slid it back across the desk.

  Then Bobby Joe played his ace. “He was a prison guard here until a few months ago.”

  Val was appalled. “Bobby Joe, surely you don’t think I had anything to do with the murder of Niki Sears?”

  “I didn’t say—”

  “You’re questioning me. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

  “He was a guard here when Dawn and Niki were inmates, but you don’t know him?”

  “Bobby, I don’t know half the people who work in this prison. Do you have any idea how many guards we employ? No, I don’t know him. I’ve never seen him.”

  “What about Lucinda Juarez?”

  Val gave Bobby Joe a blank stare and shook her head.

  “Lucky. She was one of your trustees until you transferred her to Huntsville.”

  “Ah, yes. What about her?”

  “Didn’t she blame Dawn and Niki for her problems here?”

  “Yes, but she’s in violent criminal lockdown.”

  “Could you make a phone call and verify that?”

  “Of course.” Val pushed the speed dial on her phone and waited while she was shuffled between departments. She finally spoke with someone who provided the information she needed.

  “Lucky escaped six weeks ago,” she told Bobby Joe after ending the call. “How is that even possible?”

  “Would she go after Dawn?”

  “Yes. She blamed Dawn for her takedown, and Dawn took Niki away from her.”

  “Your therapist, um . . . Edward Merrick, is he incarcerated?”

  “Out on bail, awaiting trial. Dawn and Niki will be the state’s chief witnesses.”

  Bobby Joe sighed. “My list just keeps getting longer.”

  “Surely you marked my name off your list,” Val said, scowling at him.

  “Of course.” Bobby Joe chuckled.

  ##

  The visits from Java and Bobby Joe made Val uneasy. She pulled her shoulder holster from her gun cabinet and slipped it on. After checking to make certain it was loaded to capacity, she snapped a clip into her Glock. She put the gun into the shoulder holster and pulled on her suit coat. She checked herself in the mirror. The gun and holster were invisible under the jacket.

  Chapter 53

  Dawn was consulting with Dr. Bartlett when Zeb entered Niki’s room. “How’s she doing?” he asked.

  “She’s holding her own,” Bartlett said. “For a little thing, she’s a fighter. We should start seeing improvement by the weekend.”

  Dawn asked the question she had been dreading. “If she hasn’t improved by Monday, what other course of action can we take?”

  Bartlett glanced down at his feet and then looked back at Dawn and shrugged.

  “That’s what I thought.” Dawn turned her back to the men and stared down at Niki. This can’t be happening. God, please don’t let this happen, she prayed silently.

  “I’ll check on her this afternoon before I leave the hospital,” Bartlett said as headed from the room.

  “Are you okay?” Zeb touched Dawn’s elbow.

  She wiped her eyes and turned to face him. “Yes, it’s just difficult to see her this way. She looks so frail.”

  “It’s hard when patients don’t respond the way we’d like,” Zeb said.

  “You’ve been a busy doctor this week. Three surgeries per day, sometimes more. That’s pretty impressive.”

  “I have to work twice as hard,” Dawn said, a slight smile softening her face. “I’m a woman.”

  “I’m sure no one would ever argue that point.” Zeb gave her an admiring glance. “The nurses tell me you watch over this patient whenever you aren’t on duty. That you haven’t left the hospital since she arrived. You even perform the needed physical therapy to keep her limbs from atrophying.”

  “She’s important to me,” Dawn admitted.

  “I’m sure she is. Your first operation in this hospital and it was pretty dramatic. Isn’t this your day off?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “No buts accepted.” Zeb grinned. “I’m taking you to lunch. You need to see some sunshine.”

  Dawn was tempted. A breath of fresh air sounded good, but a glance at Niki changed her mind.

  “I can’t,” she mumbled. “My brother is bringing me some legal papers I need to sign.”

  “Oh.” Disappointment covered Zeb’s face. “How about dinner tonight?”

  “Honestly, Zeb, I’m exhausted. I just want to veg out in that recliner and read a good book.”

  Zeb smiled. “I understand. Can I bring you anything?”

  “No, Flint is bringing me lunch, but thank you for your kindness.”

  “Maybe another time,” Zeb said. “Let me know if I can do anything.”

  ##

  Dawn rubbed her eyes, opened her Kindle, and began to read. It wasn’t long before she dozed off.

  “I am her mother!” a high-pitched voice shrieked in the hallway. “I demand that you let me see my daughter.”

  Dawn jerked awake and rushed to the door. Willard and Renfro were standing in the hallway behind a woman who was an older, harder version of Niki. She was bundled in a fur coat.

  “Dr. Fairchild,” the police guard said as he rolled his eyes, “she says Miss Sears is her daughter.”

  Dawn had no doubt the woman who reminded her of a mean Chihuahua wrapped in chinchilla fur was Niki’s mother, Sylvia Sears.

  “Miss Sears is in a coma,” Dawn said. “She can’t have visitors. She is also under police security. Someone tried to kill her. I’m her attending physician, Dr. Fairchild. I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have.”

  Sylvia stood up to Dawn as if she were a foot taller than the blonde instead of three inches shorter. “I have a right to see her. I’m her mother!”

  “Y
ou may see her,” Dawn acquiesced, “but they can’t. She informed me she was afraid of them. Willard and I have met before.” She smirked as she looked at the cast on Willard’s hand.

  “You! You were at the university,” Willard growled as he backed away from Dawn.

  ##

  Dawn observed as Sylvia looked at her only daughter. There was no emotion. The woman’s hair was an excellent beauty-parlor red with highlights. Not as fine as Niki’s or as soft-looking. She had the same beautiful, delicate face as Niki and perfect cupid-bow lips. She had none of Niki’s softness or sweetness.

  “How’s she doing?” Sylvia barked.

  “She’s responding to treatment. She’ll be fine,” Dawn said with more confidence than she felt.

  “You’re keeping her alive through artificial means,” Sylvia declared. “A machine is breathing for her, and you’re feeding her through a tube.”

  Dawn fought the anger rising in her. “She was in an automobile accident. She had severe chest trauma. The ventilator helps her breath until she can breathe without pain. Obviously, the feeding tube is needed to provide nourishment and hydration.”

  “If you took her off the machines, would she die?”

  “Possibly,” Dawn choked out.

  “What is she to you?” Sylvia demanded.

  “She’s my patient.”

  “Hmm.” Sylvia shook her head. “We’ll be back to check on her tomorrow.”

  “Mrs. Sears, Niki led me to believe that she hasn’t seen you in several years. Did you know she was in prison?”

  “Of course I knew. That’s why she hasn’t seen me in several years. Unlike my sons, Niki has never been a child I could be proud of.”

  Dawn bit her lip to push back her sharp retort. “Why are you here now?”

  “That, Dr. Fairness, is none of your business.”

  Dawn didn’t bother correcting the woman’s distortion of her name. She wasn’t worth the effort. She just wanted Sylvia and her spawns gone.

  ##

  Flint arrived with lunch and the papers that needed her signature to register the new car in her and Niki’s name.

  Flint frowned as he looked at Niki. “Is she doing okay? I mean—?”