Page 30 of Kevin's Destiny

“How much time did she get?”

“Eighteen to twenty-five.”

“What happened recently? The reason why she might not be charged for the murder of another inmate?”

“First, the last time I saw her was the day she was sentenced. Until two months ago, when my boss called me into his office. That’s when I learned what she had done. She did do one thing smart.”

“What was that?”

“As soon as the guards got to her, she refused to say anything except for my name. She said to get me there, then she would talk. The warden thought it would be best to put her into solitary confinement until I could be there. The DA went with me.”

“Was that legal? Did she have her own counsel?”

“She refused, and signed the waiver.” He went on to tell her what Karen had told him, and how they had handled it. He finished his tale with a grin.

“What?”

“I called Ryan and told him about the threat against my life. He didn’t hesitate to grab some former SEAL buddies and drive to Seattle to help me. From the day I told them, to the day they knocked on my door was three days. That very night several men attempted to break into my house. It was the men who Strokes contacted. All seven of them had warrants out for their arrests. Due to the nature of the warrants these guys weren’t getting out of jail anytime soon, bail had been denied, even if their threat against me didn’t stick. Forgive me if I forgot, but I believe five of them already had three felonies, and had slipped through the three-strike law’s cracks.”

“Damn, and they’re not getting out now, are they?”

“No. The other two already had two felony convictions. They had only been out of prison for less than three weeks when Strokes contacted them.”

“What happened to Karen after she told you why she killed Strokes?”

“She was transported to a different facility two hours outside of Seattle. It wasn’t a maximum-security prison. More like medium.” He finished his coffee, set the mug on the table, and sighed. “Ryan and I went to see her, and she apologized to him for her treatment of him over the years. The entitled bitch was gone, and she didn’t even want to get off easy for killing Strokes. She openly admitted she did it, and why. When I left that prison, I looked her dead in the eye and told her I was glad she finally decided to be a decent human being, but I was still done. Not that she asked me for anything. She even refused when I asked her if she wanted anything put in her commissary.”

Yvonne studied him for several moments in silence. She didn’t know him well enough yet to know if the answer to her question was genuine. “Do you think she’s playing you?” At his confused look, she clarified. “About being a different person. I don’t know her, so I don’t have anything to judge, but you said she didn’t act entitled any longer, did she really change her spots, or did she just cover them? Maybe thinking that if she saved your life, you’d forgive her and take her back when she gets out.”

“First, she’s not getting out for at least another twenty years. Second, I was done with my marriage years before I severed all legal ties. I only hung around for Caleb.” He chuckled and shook his head. “He later called me an idiot for doing that.”

Yvonne nodded. “Like I said, I don’t know either of you enough to make any decisions that I have no say in. I will say this though. Thank you for telling me about your past. Now, I have a serious question for you.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you think any of those gang members that tried to break into your home have connections on the outside that might still try to come after you?”

“Honestly, I have no clue. I do know that I didn’t tell anyone where I was going. I didn’t even tell HR at my exit interview. Not even the DA. I just call him every couple of weeks to see what’s going on. I have no clue if I’ll be called back to testify if they decide to charge her.”

“I understand, one more question, then I should be done.”

“What’s that?”

“How bad of a person was Strokes?”

Kevin leaned forward to place his forearms on the table as he snorted a laugh. “Karen was the Mother Superior compared to Strokes. She was doing life for her crimes, and according to the prison, she was Queen Bee, and let everyone know it. I’ve seen the records, she put several people in the infirmary over the years, including Karen.”

“So, with her gone, I’m assuming no one in the prison is missing her? What about her family, because they could go after Karen for a wrongful death charge.”

“The only family on record was the gang she hung out with. The very people she contacted after reading Karen’s letter and telling them to come after me to mark off a square on some bingo card. Or some shit like that.”

“Shit,” Yvonne said as she sat forward quickly. She jumped to her feet, refilled their coffee mugs, and told him to wait, that she would be right back, before she walked away.

CHAPTER 11

Yvonne hurried to her room,grabbed her old laptop, and hurried back out. She had only been gone for less than three minutes, and paused when she saw Kevin had cleaned up from their breakfast dishes.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said as she laid the laptop on the table. “Come join me.”