Full Circle - Part 6
#6 of Full Circle
Part six.
As Otis pulled onto the street he knew what happened. He saw the sirens and the ambulances; he knew what Andy did. He pulled into the muddy driveway across from the scene of the crime and got out of his jeep. He flagged down an officer.
"What happened here, is everything all right?" The officer looked at Otis for a moment.
"I can't tell you much, sir. Someone called about a kidnapping; one of them is in critical condition." Otis nodded to the officer and walked back towards the car. He wanted to look unaffected by what the officer told him. He got into the car and shut the door. He smashed his hands against his steering wheel. His anger turned into tears as he sobbed into his hands. He shouldn't have left Andy.
He wiped his face and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a radio and plugged it in. He tuned it to a station and listened.
"EMS unit twelve arriving at the hospital. We have a male deer, roughly twenty-five years of age; suffering from a concussion and severe blood loss." He listened closely, listening if they mention anything about Andy. After ten minutes of irrelevant radio chatter, he shut it off and started the car. He backed out of the driveway and sped away.
He pulled into a diner parking lot and got out of the car. He walked over to a pay phone, dug some change out of his pocket, and dialed a number.
"I need to speak to Steve Waterman. Yeah, I'll hold." He sat impatiently as he waited on the phone.
"This is Sergeant Waterman, how may I be of service?" Otis' tone changed.
"Hey, Diesel. How's it going?" There was a long pause on the phone before the other end answered.
"Otis?" Otis shifted and leaned against the phone booth.
"Lets cut to the chase. You owe me a favor, and it's time for me to collect." There was a deep sigh before Otis was answered.
"What do you want?" Otis' tone now became serious.
"I need to know the status of a guy who was just picked up, Andy Bradford." The sergeant seemed surprised.
"Bradford? What do you want with him?" Otis was growing impatient at this point.
"What's his current status?"
Andy sat in an interrogation room again; this time he didn't care. A detective sat across from him, the same detective who was there when he was arrested for murder. This time the detective started talking before he opened the folder.
"You escape from the police, go completely off the radar, abduct some junkie, and then call 911. You must be bat shit crazy." Andy sat back in his chair as he set his cuffed and bloodstained hands onto the table.
"He's the guy you should have been chasing all along," said Andy.
Andy told the detective everything that transpired up to then, conveniently leaving out the parts involving Otis. Once Andy was done, the detective sat quietly for a while, taken back by what he was just told.
"How do I know you aren't pulling my leg?" said the detective with a serious tone. Andy sat staring at the detective.
"What do I have to loose?"
The detective picked up the folder and stood up.
"I have to make a few calls. Just hang tight in here, I'm sure we will get you back in your cell soon enough." The detective left and Andy sat in the room alone, but it didn't bother him. He felt a sense of relief flow over him. He waited patiently.
Something caught his eye behind the one-way window, he could tell someone was watching him. He knew they would have arrested him already if he was going back for murder.
The door opened and the detective walked back into the room. He sat down and held his fist to his lips as he studied Andy's face.
"You sure have stirred the hornet's nest this time." The detective pulled a notepad out and studied it momentarily. "We called a few people, compared some of the info you told us." Andy sat up as he listened to the detective. "I really don't know how you found this guy, or that you aren't connected to him, but he's a find nonetheless." Andy still stared expectantly at the detective. "He fits the description of the Linden Avenue shooter, we are having them compare his prints to the ones found on the gun. As for the Catalinas case, this is where it gets a bit messy." Andy sat on the edge of his chair.
"Messy?"
The detective let out a deep breath.
"A witness came forward and said you were at the crime scene, as I am sure you know." The detective paused. "That witness' name was Brandon Levington." Andy wished he could give Brandon one more punch for that, or at least watch Otis give him one. Andy pulled his hands back off of the table.
"So, what does this mean for me?" The detective swallowed and looked at Andy. "You are probably off the hook for the murder." Andy felt a small bit of relief, but not about what he wanted.
"What about the Linden shooting?" asked Andy pleadingly. The detective sighed again.
"That's going to be a tough case. If the fingerprints match, it will be a done deal. If they don't, it's basically dead in the water." This isn't what Andy wanted to hear, but it was the most hope he had in two years.
"So what am I facing?" Andy asked this ready to hear the charges. He knew he wasn't free yet.
"I'll be honest with you, you're in some trouble still. Currently you are facing kidnapping, assault, trespassing on a crime scene, and assault on an officer." It's a long list, but Andy knows it's what he did. "You are probably looking at a couple of years. You could end up on parole earlier though, especially if you behave in there." Andy was fine with this; everything could finally be right. The detective stood up. "That should be all for now. There will be an officer in eventually to escort you back to your cell. If you have any questions for me, ask for detective Wilson." Andy looked up at him, wishing he could shake his hand.
"Thank you."
The detective walked out of the room and shut the door.
Andy sat in the courtroom, Ronald by his side. He had his cuffed hands on the table in front of him. He had an expression on his face, almost a smile. He didn't care what happened in this room, just what lay ahead. The judge finished reading her notes and turned to make a statement.
"Andrew T. Bradford. You are being charged with the following crimes: assault, kidnapping, and trespassing on a crime scene. How do you plead?" Andy turned to Ronald, Ronald nodded at him.
"I plead guilty, ma'am." Andy leaned back in his chair, content with his answer. Nobody was moved by Andy's answer. The judge continued.
"Very well then, you are hereby sentenced to two years in prison with one year probation. Do you accept these charges?" Andy answered in the same confident tone as previously.
"Yes, ma'am." The judge smacked her gavel onto the table.
"Case closed."
Andy was escorted out of the courtroom by a police officer. They stopped just outside of the doors. Ronald stuck his hand out. "Good job, Andy. You did good." Andy shook his hand, still cuffed, and continued walking with the officer.