Wrongful Convictions, page 18
In the end, Joanne’s curiosity won out. She wondered exactly what these two kids had gotten into. She assumed they learned about that greasy fuck Carmody, the original prosecutor in the case. Northbird had told her he was a corrupt son of a bitch who got taken off the case, and Joanne knew him by reputation.
“Yeah come on over, can you be here by six?” Joanne looked at her watch. It was four-thirty now. She wondered what time her package would arrive and then her mind came back to the present.
“Yeah I think so.” Shannon didn’t hesitate.
“Okay, you like Chinese? I will order up dinner.”
“Yeah, love it,” Shannon responded.
“Anything in particular?” Joanne continued.
“I don’t like the really spicy stuff,” Shannon responded.
“Sounds good, see you in a bit.” Joanne hung up the phone having no idea that Shannon had more than one motive for coming over that night. Her mind had already wandered back to the drugs, like that was a surprise. It was where her mind was most of the time. An idea had formed somewhere deep inside her mind on her way out of the prison. The idea that Marcel would make the delivery had been the plan all along. But maybe, just maybe, it would be Shannon that would deliver the package to Marcel. That would give her an added layer of insulation.She admitted to herself that the plan was a little diabolical, but she wasn’t interested in prison herself. She thought about Marcel; she thought he was the type of guy who could get this shit done for her. Joanne had always viewed Marcel as a bit of an oddity at St. Stevens. She had gotten to know his reputation during his first year. She had been on the admissions committee. She had read his essay, and she had been the one who brought him up to the board. He had lived a unique life, although he didn’t mention having been the witness to his brother’s murder. She was sure that outside herself and the principals involved in the trial, no one knew that fact about this young man. She believed that even Shannon hadn’t known about that facet of his life until now. Marcel was a kid who had lived a hard life and thrived even in the most difficult circumstances. She knew that he could succeed amongst the sharks here at St. Stevens, and at bare minimum, provide a different perspective than the rich twits that filled her classes on a usual basis.
Joanne hadn’t paid a lot of attention to the relationship Marcel had with Shannon. She often didn’t pay attention to such things. Shannon had talked highly of Marcel last year, and Joanne had wondered if it was because she was banging him. After recent events, she didn’t think that was true. Shannon certainly talked highly of Marcel because he was a talented thinker, not because of any sexual relationship. Joanne doubted very much if a sexual relationship existed. Joanne saw Shannon as being much too cold to have a relationship with a classmate. In fact Joanne was pretty certain Shannon was a dyke. Definitely a lipstick lesbian, but a lesbian all the same.
Joanne had considered taking Marcel on as her own pet project even before Ken made his participation a requirement. She kept tabs on his progress from afar. She listened to Shannon’s updates and she checked grade point averages. Joanne knew that he was near the top of his class after first year; good enough to grade onto the law review all though she also knew that he hated the idea of writing for it as well. Joanne could tell that Marcel danced to the beat of his own drum. He wasn’t in law school to earn accolades and score a high paying job when he got out of school. He was doing it just to prove to someone somewhere that he could do it. She knew that was powerful motivation. She believed that if he ever looked deep into his soul, he would realize he was trying to quash his own self doubt not the doubts of anyone else. Joanne had known that no matter what Marcel had put his mind to, he would find success. She saw that in his work on the first assignment, and she knew that he was the right person to be working for the American Innocence Institute. She just hoped that things would go well for him in this endeavor and he could continue on with his life uninterrupted. She was happy that he was in her class this semester. No one could accuse Joanne of being an altruist, however. Although she was glad that this was happening for Marcel, her bottom line was that he was a tool for her success. She wasn’t about to fail; she had a retirement to start planning for.
46
Chairman Banks sat in his office contemplating his next move. Antonio was on his way back from Duluth with a report on what he saw. Banks figured he would be in his office within a couple minutes.
There was always a danger of getting into bed with an addict like Joanne but the deal was exactly what he needed. Though he knew everything about the vending business he had gotten into bed with, he was sure that they, Joanne in particular, had no idea who he was. The money from the prison racket was exactly the investment capital he needed to expand his operation and take the pharmacy legit. They had been producing prescription drugs for a few years now and selling them illegally, all the while working for FDA approval. Once the Leech Lake people were in the pharmaceutical business, the sky was the limit to what their economic infrastructure could become. His plan to give stock options to every enrolled member was a chance for them to obtain some financial autonomy. Having a company like that owned and operated by the tribe would give the people another source of pride that the state mouthpieces down in St. Paul would have a hard time deriding like they did the casinos. The beauty of white people was that they had very little shame when it came to the jealousy and contempt they had for the natives. There was a small group who couldn’t stand for the Mdewakanton Sioux to be getting wealthy off of their casino and them not to be able to get their piece of the pie. It made him sick. But he did admit that casino’s certainly had morally objectionable drawbacks. Pharmaceutical companies on the other hand developed drugs that saved lives. Hell what if the Leech Lake people’s company was the one to develop a cure for cancer? Well that would be a feather in his cap.
Deals with people like Joanne were short term solutions to allow him to realize long term goals for his people. The one thing he held firm on was that none of the drugs produced in his lab would be sold to anyone on the streets, especially on the reservations. His drugs were designed for the sole purpose of easing the pain of those incarcerated in prison, or killing the white devils in the suburbs. The vending business had the perfect distribution setup. It was a major cluster fuck when that jackass Milton had put himself in a coma. Banks was now scrambling. Joanne’s current moves were making him very nervous.
A knock on his office door yanked his thoughts from his scheme to the present time. It was Antonio.
“It’s open.”
The fireplug of a man who had scared the hell out of Shannon in Duluth walked through the door.
“It’s not good, boss.”
The report irritated Banks.
“What do you mean?” He asked, pushing the man for the details.
“Wright and the woman are working on Northbird’s case. The woman was at the public defender’s office. Carmody’s name certainly came up.” That was the last thing Banks wanted to hear.
“Any idea where they came from?” Banks asked
“Secretary at the US attorney’s office said the Innocence Institute, they gotta be working for Joanne,” he responded.
“Good.” It wasn’t good news per se, but Banks never tipped his cards. If they were in fact working for Joanne, he might be able to have some influence over her. Especially since she was expecting a delivery of a hundred thousand dollars worth of pills that had not yet arrived.
Having Marcel Wright involved in this shit storm meant he had to be extra careful. Marcel knew things, that was a problem. If Joanne and the Innocence Institute got going on Northbird’s case, there was sure to be press. A story like this was sure to go viral. That would in turn bring scrutiny to the reservation he absolutely didn’t want right now, and quite frankly, Carmody was not a name he wanted to ever hear again. Marcel Wright had also struck him as a bit of a loose cannon after the fight. People like Joanne were simple to deal with. People like Marcel on the other hand, were much more difficult. Maybe it was time Tess got more involved.
Banks had learned that Wright was back in town only weeks ago from Tessa Whitebird, a woman whom he had had an affair with some years ago. He still saw her from time to time but after she had discovered his wife, the sex had stopped. He liked Tess and as such provided for her however he could. In return she would make some deliveries for him here and there. He was certain she didn’t know what she was delivering; she thought she was shuttling used cars to their new owners. The car dealership was owned by a holding company he had set up out of the Uintah reservation in Utah. The Uintah provided the necessary protection for owners of the corporations so their identity could be kept secret. Even if someone had dug deeper into the corporation they would find that the controlling interest was held by the Leech Lake tribe. The car dealership was a legit business that masked something a little bit more sinister and it was untraceable.
“What do you want done about Wright and the woman?” Antonio asked.
“Keep an eye on them, we first have to figure out what their game is. If it looks like they are going to be a hindrance...well, then you get to do what you do best.”
“You want me down in the Twin Cities?”
The thing that Banks liked about Antonio was his unquestioning devotion, it was why he had Carmody help out Antonio when he got into a jam. Antonio was about his business. He got done what needed to get done with a yeoman’s work ethic. He was robotic in that once he was set on a task he wouldn’t finish until it was over and he never questioned a directive.
“No, I am going to send our little honeypot in to handle this. If Wright’s thinking with his dick we might be able to kill two birds with one stone, grab him as an asset and get rid of the woman all at the same time.”
47
After everything that had happened over the last week, Marcel needed to unwind. The only place where he was free to do so was the gym, and that was exactly where he was headed. He hadn’t worked out since the fight and there was a voice in his head begging for a grueling workout. There was something about an intense workout that cleared his mind; he supposed it had to do with the pain. The burning muscles, the heaving lungs, and the desire to go a little bit harder prevented him from living anywhere other than the moment.
Marcel wrapped his hands and went right into warm ups, not really looking around to see who else was at the gym. His warm up usually started with three rounds of jumping rope, at three minutes per round. During the one minute rest period he would drop in ten pushups. After the rope jumping, he went through an intense dynamic stretch. High knees, sprints, butt kicks, sprints, lunges, sprints, Frankenstein's, sprints, then more sprints. By the end of the sprints he had a good sweat going and he was catching his second wind. He grabbed a quick drink from the fountain and began getting his gloves on. As he was gloving up, an enormous black man walked through the front door. He had a gregarious smile and his eyes caught Marcel instantly.
“What up, Champ?” The man extended two gargantuan fingers in a victory formation.
“Hey, fam.” Marcel nodded back.
Big Will was the guy at the gym whom Marcel was most fond of, though he hadn’t seen much of him this summer.
“Congrats on the belt, man, that was a great fight.” Will wrapped two arms around Marcel and bear hugged him off the ground.
Big Will got his name because of his stature; it was not an ironic name by any means. Big Will was a big guy. At six foot three and close to two hundred fifty pounds, he moved with a grace antithetical to his size. Will fought in the amateur division as a super heavyweight. He wasn’t as skilled or as conditioned as Marcel but when Big Will hit you, you knew you had been hit. Marcel had sparred a few rounds with Will in the past to get him used to big punchers. Their first time in the ring had left Marcel with a black eye when he failed to slip a huge right paw. Marcel had overestimated his own quickness in comparison with the hulk of a man. Normally he was able to move enough to at the very least deflect the brunt of the punch. He had learned a hard lesson about humility that night. And defense. Since then the two had become close friends. Will had always hosted viewing parties for the big fights, and Marcel had been to his house a couple of times.
“Thanks bro. You were there?” It was more a rhetorical question. If there were fights, Marcel knew Big Will would be there.
“Come on, man, you know I was there.” Big Will stepped back and looked at him “Damn man, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah, man where you been?” Will loved the gym, so not seeing him came as a surprise.
“Shit, man, I was working out of town this summer.” Will beamed.
“Where?” Marcel questions
“North Dakota on the rigs. Tough work, but shit, here I am.” He held his hands up in a whatever motion. “So I hear you know my lil cousin Tess?” The question surprised Marcel a little. He never knew that Tess and Big Will were related.
“Tess is your cousin?”
“Yeah, her dad and my momma was brothers and sisters.” Will smile widened.
“Wow. I grew up with Tess, and her dad was never around. I guess that’s why we never met?” Marcel wondered how much Will knew about him.
“Yeah, guy’s a deadbeat man, I don’t have any love for him. Shoot, I didn’t even meet Tess until this summer. We kick it from time to time now, though,” Will explained.
“See her lately?” Marcel asked.
“Yeah, we was just talking about you the other night. We went to the fight together, her and her scumbag boyfriend.”
“Yeah, I saw her there.” Marcel was delighted that Big Will thought the chairman was a scumbag.
“Hey fam, I am having some people over for the fight tomorrow if you want to come. She’ll be there, I think she would like to see you. We gonna barbeque some shit up.” Will smiled again. Outside of boxing, barbequing was Will’s passion.
“Yeah, that sounds cool. What time you thinking?” Marcel asked.
Marcel found it was interesting that Big Will thought his cousin would like to see him. He wondered what their conversation had been. Marcel had wanted to catch up with her more but things really hadn’t worked out. Now after his trip with Shannon, his involvement with Northbird’s case, and his discovery in Duluth he really did have a lot to talk with her about. He wondered what she would have to say about all of it.
“Well shit, bro, I gotta get back to my work out, but I’ll see you tomorrow night. Want me to bring anything?” Marcel thumbed the heavy bag.
“Hell no, we will have burgers, chicken, potato salad, and all the beer you can drink.” He smiled that big smile again. He held out a fist for Marcel and Marcel hit him with a pound and then headed off to the heavy bags.
48
Tess got a call from the dealership telling her to drive a car over to Minnetonka. After she dropped the car off, her cousin Will would pick her up and she would go over to his house. Marcel was going to be there. Banks had asked her to get in touch with Marcel and get an idea of what the heck he was doing back in Minnesota. She had told Banks they were old friends, but she didn’t think he knew exactly how close they were.
Will gave her a ride up to the Dealership in Blaine. The car she was delivering was a 2009 Buick Lesabre. She thought it was a pretty big car, a family car for sure. She had been delivering cars for the dealership for a couple of years. It was odd to her though, because the dealership wasn’t like any other she had ever seen. It didn’t really have any inventory. People didn’t come in off the street and test drive a car, buy it, and then drive it home. Rather they would come in, meet with an agent, and give a description of the car they wanted. The price was agreed upon, and the car was delivered to them within a couple of weeks. The concept made little sense to Tess.
The car she was delivering was a four door model that was a hideous shade of gold. Whatever happened to the days of red, blue and green? Why would anyone buy this? The new family cars all had these ugly metallic tones, colors she didn’t know the names of, nor could she describe very well. There was a GPS in the car with the delivery address already programmed in. These were a gift to the purchaser and they were always left in the car afterwards. The drive from Blaine to Minnetonka was exceptionally brutal this time of night. Tess absolutely hated the suburbs, especially the ones on the west side. There was always construction over here; the roads were always jam packed, and she didn’t really know her way around. She was thankful for the GPS but it still took her the better part of an hour to get out to the house.
The GPS directed her to take Highway 7 out through Minnetonka then turn onto Excelsior Boulevard. There were a lot of trees out here and it reminded her of home. The smell of the air did as well. It was a specific smell only people who lived near lakes could recognize. The air smelled fresher. There was an aroma of lily pads and leaves, fresh cut grass and the smell of the water that combined to contrast with the industrial smell of a city.
“I am definitely near a lake,” she said to the rearview mirror. Farther in the distance of the reflection, Will was still behind her. Will drove a 1988 Firebird like the one in that old movie with Burt Reynolds. She thought it was a little lame but Will loved it. He kept it immaculate and parked it in the winter, which was when he took out his massive Dodge Ram pickup truck.
She took a left off Excelsior and followed the directions on the GPS. It lead her to a driveway that split into two directions. The first lead to a turnaround at the front of the house; it was gated off. The second branch meandered off behind the house and down a hill. Tess wheeled down the second until it was swallowed by the garage. She saw the garage door was open, only on closer inspection she wasn’t sure it was a garage. It looked more like an underground parking lot.
