I had to smile at that. “Thank you, guys, for giving me a chance. See you in court tomorrow.”
After leaving the police station, I went home, to my parents place instead of the dorm. I let Major know where I was if he needed me. Mom and dad were just getting ready for the day. I told them what I’d found and my visit with the detectives. Then I went to my old room and crashed.
Chapter 37
Karma
Monday night, I sat in my cell thinking about the future and hoping that an orange uniform wasn’t in it. I wanted so badly to believe that Bodie was right and that the judge would let me go, but it was hard. Even though it was only my fourth night in jail it felt like I’d been here a month. If I got out of this, I was going to be a better person. The selfish Karma was gone.
Tuesday, I watched as new people came and went from different cells. I think I was the only one to have been kept here for more than a day or two. The guard who’d given me the note from Bodie gave me a book yesterday, which I was grateful for. Passing time in a jail cell with nothing to even look at was terrible.
Besides missing my friends and family, I really missed diving and I wondered how the meet had gone on Saturday. I know Kayleigh said she’d talked to Coach Everett but that was a few days ago, she could have easily changed her mind and wanted me off the team.
“Karma Webster,” a guard said, interrupting my thoughts. “Move to your door with your hands in front of you.”
I did as I was told. The door opened and I put my hands out, waiting to be cuffed. When that didn’t happen, I was relieved. Once again, I was taken to the interrogation room. Bill was waiting for me.
“Karma,” he said, “the detectives are going to ask you more questions. If you’re unsure of anything just let me know.”
“Okay.”
A few minutes later, Detective Martinez walked in with a folder in her hands.
“Miss Webster,” she said. “In light of some new information, we need to ask you more questions.”
“Alright,” I said.
“Where were you on Saturday, February 19th at 1:00 in the afternoon?”
“I was at a diving competition at Cannonhill College.”
“And you’re positive about that?”
“Yes. The competition started at 9am and went until 3pm. We got to the top of the points standings for our division that day.”
“What about Friday, January 21st at 6:30 in the morning?”
“I would have been at practice. We have practice every weekday morning from 6-8am and Monday to Thursday from 4-6pm, as well as Saturday morning from 8am to noon.”
“So, that would account for your whereabouts on Thursday February 3rd at 4:16pm and Tuesday, February 21st at 7:58am?”
“Yes.”
“Have you ever missed a practice?” she asked.
“No, not until yesterday morning,” I told her.
“Do you have access to a phone or computer during practice?”
“No. Our phones are to stay in our lockers until we’re done for the morning or afternoon.”
“I’m sure you or your teammates have snuck in your phones a time or two.”
“No ma’am. If you’re caught with your phone you’re out of the next competition. That would affect my standing on the team and I’d never let that happen on purpose.”
“You seem to take this diving thing pretty seriously.”
“I do. It’s allowing me to get a college education and I hope to make it to the next Olympics.”
“You’re on a scholarship, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, if you had some extra money that scholarship wouldn’t matter then, would it?”
“I guess not, but you can’t get to the Olympics with money. The best divers come out of the college circuit and I want to be one of them.”
I could tell she was thinking about what I said and trying to figure out what to ask me next. Finally, she spoke again.
“Did you get scholarship offers from other colleges?”
“Yes.”
“Why did you choose Bay State?”
“It has a state-of-the-art swim complex and a team that’s consistently at the top of their game. Their swim and dive teams are one of the best in the country. Who wouldn’t want to be on one of the best teams around?”
“Fair enough,” she said.
“One more question, are you in love with Anthony Pagano?”
I wasn’t ready for that question and I wasn’t sure what to say.
Bill looked at me. “Just tell them the truth Karma.”
“He was hot, we had fun and he treated me well, but no, I wasn’t in love with him.”
“Thank you. Karma. That will be all,” she said and gathered her papers.
“What happens now?” I asked.
“You go back to holding and then to court tomorrow,” she said. “I don’t normally say this, but you don’t deserve to be here and with the new evidence we got, I can almost guarantee you’ll be free of all of this tomorrow.”
With that she left the room, and I could feel a smile forming on my face.
“Karma,” Bill said, “Your hearing is at 1:00 tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”
My guard came and took me back to my cell. This was the best I’d felt since class on Friday morning. I had real hope that this was going to work out for me.
****
Bodie
I slept all morning and spent the rest of Tuesday at my parents. I hadn’t been to class since they took Karma Friday morning. Class didn’t matter when Karma’s freedom was at stake, and I was sure I’d be able to catch up on any work I missed.
When I came downstairs, I found mom in the kitchen baking.
“You bake now?” I asked.
“A little,” she said. “How are you doing honey?”
“Okay, I think. Have you heard anything from dad about the case?”
“I know Karma was questioned and the detectives were at the school,” she told me. “I also know that your dad is having Anthony followed.”
“Dad must have talked to the detectives too. They didn’t want me anywhere near Anthony.”
“I don’t blame them,” mom said. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
“Probably staying here. I don’t trust myself to not go find Anthony and beat the shit out of him for what he did to Karma.”
“Then staying here is a good idea. You can help me then.”
I’d never baked a thing in my life, so I was sure it was mom’s way of distracting me. She passed me the bowl and told me to stir as she added things to it.
“So,” she started, “you haven’t said why you’ve been working so hard to get Karma free. I know you’re friends, but it’s more than that, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“How long have you felt like that?”
“A while.”
“Does she know?”
“If she was able to get the letter then she does.”
“Letter?” mom asked.
I told her about the notes we wrote and how I managed to get a guard to hopefully get it to her.