Page 15 of Justice

Justice took the envelope, running her thumb under the sealed flap, the ripping sound filling the quiet room. Adam sat back, his amused eyes focused on her fingers as she pulled the official check from the envelope.

Eighteen-hundred dollars; she knew exactly what it really was, hush money from the Department of Corrections. Justice knew she could use this money to hire an attorney, sue the socks off the state and make a name for herself, but she had other plans.

“I’d like a copy of my file.” Folding the envelope in half, tucking it inside her sock.

“I thought you might,” Adam said, pulling a legal-size envelope from the briefcase beside him. “I’ve also included my card, if you have any questions in the future.”

Adam’s smile was genuine, the first one she had seen in longer than she wanted to remember. She learned early on how smiles can be masks for deceit, a trick used to lure a victim in. Justice Hart was many things, but a victim was not one of them.

“Thank you, Mr. Kenner.”

“Please, feel free to call me Adam.” He spoke warmly, the dimples on the side of his cheeks able to melt the coldest of hearts. Too bad for him, Justice had one made of steel.

“Thank you, Adam.” Justice still needed one last piece of information from the man seated across from her, and she wasn’t above flirting her ass off to get it. “I appreciate how wonderful you’ve been, but I do have one more question I hope you can help me with.”

CHAPTERTWELVE

“So this is it?”Molly hated goodbyes, the finality of them and the implication they held. She’d heard of people who believed the word was just a bunch of letters stuck together to form a sentiment, an assurance there would be a next time.

“No,” Justice drops the shirt in her hand, the white fabric a gift from a church organization she never received, courtesy of Veronica and her bullshit. “This is…” waving her hand around the small cell, “I’m getting my own place, and you can visit when your lease is up.”

Molly held back the tears burning behind her eyes. She had grown to consider Justice the sister she never had, treasuring their friendship as it was the one constant she could always count on.

“Thank God, because you are such a fucking slob.”

Molly watches as Justice cleared the distance between them, wrapping her arms around her without hesitation. Life in prison meant more than living inside the four walls of the facility; it also meant building a fortress of mistrust around yourself and keeping people at arm’s length, no matter how much you wanted to trust them.

“No matter what happens out there, we will always be friends.”

For the first time since passing through those gates, Molly allowed her eyes to close and her walls to fall, letting Justice in. Pulling away before the tears began to fall, she steps forward, picking up the shirt Justice discarded.

“You better believe we will.”

“And in three months when you get out, I will be standing outside waiting to take you to the first dinner where you can use a knife and not get tasered.”

Molly hadn’t been surprised when her meeting with the State Attorneys had revealed all the parole board hearings she, and all the other women on this block, had sat through with fingers crossed and prayers to any God who was listening, only to be turned down, again and again, weren’t actual boards. Instead, they were a lie made up by the former warden, using the wives and girlfriends of the officers. Veronica had filed fake reports with the Corrections office in Atlanta, failing to report on girls who were killed or died of natural causes. The logs filed with the state were as fake as a three-dollar bill.

“Hey, I’m just jealous you get to take a shit behind closed doors and wipe your ass with something softer than sandpaper.” Molly joked, at least in part, as she had never gotten used to whatever it was they tried to pass off as tissue.

“Seriously, though. What is the first thing you’re going to do on the outside?”

Justice joined her on the edge of the bed, a new softness on her face since the news of her release finally hit her.

“I’m going to fill a bathtub up with the hottest water I can stand, toss in as much bubble bath as I can find, and soak until I prune and the water turns to ice.”

Something told her Justice was telling her what she wanted to hear. She had been too focused on her stepfather and his club to simply crawl into a tub and ‘let Calgon take her away’. Even with the dreamy face and fake smile, Molly could smell bullshit a mile away.

“What about you? Ninety days will be over before you know it.”

While Justice was off getting her walking papers, Molly sat before a parole board, a real one this time. They asked her a million questions, laughing when they found her answers funny. In the end, they gave her time served, allowing her to leave for good once the confusion cleared and the correct paperwork could be filed.

“Oh, thought I’d move Cora and Matilda in here, have one last party before they tear down the still and burn the pot.”

Less than twelve hours after Veronica Howard was taken out in a body bag, the board had a new warden sitting in her chair and cleaning house. All the Officers, including Stone, had been arrested. Mouths dropped when Miguel Sanchez, who, as it turns out, worked for Senator Graham, placed Stone in the back of the police van. He led the authorities to Area Sixty-Nine, and the landfill where Veronica had buried Mandy and several other girl’s bodies.

“Awe, sorry to ruin your party plans, but Matilda’s family came as Adam and I were finishing up.”

“Adam? Who the hell is Adam?” Wiggling her eyebrows as Justice’s face reddened, and moved from the bed to resume folding her clothes.

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