"zelphur" (serial novel) -- episode 5

8/10/2019 "Zelphur" (Serial Novel) -- Episode 5

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Uncle Jeb told Clarissa, Trevor, and Kimba about my arrest. They

were shocked and told Uncle Jeb that Deanna was telling a lie and

that I would never do anything like that.

When Uncle Jeb told reg o! the mis!ortune that had !allen u"on

me and how it would be a great hel" having an older brother testi!y to

his younger brother#s integrity should the need arise, reg snickered.

$%h, theperfect little man is in trouble, is he& 'ow do I know this

woman is not lying& (!ter all, no one was there but the two o! them.$

"I know you have your issues with us, but can you !orget about

yoursel! !or a while and think about your brother&$ Uncle Jeb said to

him.

"Well, since he is so smart he should have !igured out how not to

let this ty"e o! thing ha""en,$ reg answered smartly.

"Well, would you be willing to su""ort your brother by testi!ying

on his behal!&$ Uncle Jeb asked reg again.

"I don#t know. I mean we really don#t know what took "lace) it#s

her word against his,$ reg re"lied smiling to himsel!.

"Will you at least stay home more to be an encouragement to

your younger siblings at least until *el"hur has his day in court&$

Uncle Jeb "leaded. $The younger ones need you to be there !or

them,$ Uncle Jeb continued.

"I guess I can,$ he said. $+ut don#t hold me to that.$


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%ur neighbors, ister +i-ley and his wi!e, Dorothy, came over to

check on the children. They assured Uncle Jeb they would hel" him

watch over them until things cleared u".

I was "laced in a holding cell with !ive other inmates who were

being held !or "etty crimes.

%n my !irst evening in "rison, a heavy set man, Cole ranklin,

and a rather austere looking man who said his name was +rogan

Crocker, struck u" a conversation with me as we sat down to eat our

evening meal.

"(re you sure you#re su""osed to be here&$ +rogan asked in a

dee" hoarse voice. $/ou look out o! "lace. /ou#re nothing but a kid.

What did you do wrong& 0teal your sister#s Twinkies&$

'e chuckled and I could not hel" but laugh.

"1eave the kid alone,$ Cole said. $ive him time to ad2ust be!ore

you "ick on him.$

"0eriously, what are you in here !or&$ +rogan asked.

I "ushed my tray aside. y mind was on my younger siblings and

how they were !aring. $alse charge o! ra"e,$ I re"lied.

"/ou don#t say,$ +rogan said leaning back as !ar as he could on

the backless bench. $/ou don#t look like you could hurt a !ly much

less a woman. What ha""ened&$

'e ke"t eying my "late as I talked. (!ter hearing my story, Cole

said, $Don#t worry. Things will work out. (re you going to eat&$

"3o. I#m not hungry. /ou can have it.$

"Wanna share this with me, +rogan&$ Cole asked as he reached

!or my dinner roll. Turning back to me, he said, $I ho"e the system


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treats you better than it has treated me. I#ve been in here !or a !ew

weeks. I don#t have a lawyer. I miss my wi!e and children. I lost my

2ob and things got tight and I needed to !eed my !amily. I stole some

!ood !rom the corner store. I#ve been waiting !or my day in court.$

"%h, really4$ I said !earing the worst !or mysel!.

"5etty thievery& (t least you have a chance o! getting out,$

+rogan said to Cole. $e. I#m in here !or killing someone. It was sel!6

de!ense, I swear. It was a!ter twelve midnight and I was waiting !or

the bus so I could go home. There wasn#t but one other shady6

looking "erson waiting at the bus sto". Well, I was attacked by two

boys and I wrestled the gun !rom one o! them and I !ired) it was either

me or them. (ll I know is I was not going down without a !ight. +y the

time the "olice got there, I had shot one o! them. I was still holding

the gun in my hand. The "olice had to go by what they saw. 0eeing

the gun in my hand they automatically thought I had committed

murder. y only witness7the other "erson who was waiting at the

bus sto"7disa""eared. I#ve been in here about the same time Cole

has. I have no lawyer and I have no ho"es o! getting out.$ 'e

seemed to take his anger out on his "iece o! chicken as he devoured

it.

"Don#t worry) things have a way o! working themselves out.$ I

said this more to com!ort mysel!.

"(re you sure you don#t want your !ood& This chicken#s mighty

good even i! it#s "rison !ood,$ Cole said.

I shook my head. 'e divided the rest o! the !ood between him and+rogan. Cole ate slowly glancing at me every now and then. $/ou

don#t seem too worried about being here. Why not&$

"I wouldn#t say worried) but I am an-ious to know what will take

"lace. I didn#t do anything wrong,$ I said. $5lus my !aith is in od.$


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"/eah, right,$ +rogan said. $I have been asking od to get me out

o! here ever since I#ve been here, because like I 2ust told you I did not

do anything wrong. I 2ust ha""ened to be in the right "lace at the

wrong time. /ou !igure that one out.$


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I had not heard !rom Uncle Jeb by the time the lights were turned

out. (s I laid on my cot, I tried not to 8uestion od, but could not

understand why 'e would let this ha""en to me as I had tried to do

the right thing each day. I thought about 5salm 9: until I !ell o!! to

slee";

Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O

Lord.

Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul:

let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my

hurt.

Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say,

Aha, aha

make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my

deliverer;

O Lord, make no tarryin!.

Cole stayed close to me throughout the ne-t day. $What kind o!

!amily are you !rom&$ Cole asked.

I told them a little about mysel! and the !amily.

Cole seemed to think over all I shared with him. $Do you really

believe od will get you out o! here& I don#t know i! od will get me

out o! here, because I#m not innocent like you say you are.$


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"Why don#t we begin "raying !or od to hel" you get out o! here

soon so you can return to your wi!e and children& 0ometimes, od

2ust wants to see how long we will trust 'im be!ore 'e answers our

"rayers.$

"I! you think od will hear you, "ray !or me too, I guess,$ +rogan

said.

We "rayed at least two other times together that evening. I was

2ust as much o! an encouragement to Cole as he was to me. +rogan

only listened when we s"oke about od and to od.

I heard !rom Uncle Jeb in the a!ternoon. 'e had s"oken with

someone at the "rison and Deanna was still "ressing charges) that#s

why I was still in 2ail. I s"ent the rest o! the day encouraging my !ellow

inmates, es"ecially Cole. $Just have !aith in od,$ I re"eated to him

throughout the day) but I think I was mostly trying to kee" my own

s"irits u".

%n my third day in "rison, I didn#t see Cole when I awoke or !or

hal! the day. I got worried. $'e#s having a hearing with the 2udge and

a court lawyer,$ +rogan told me when I asked about him.

When Cole returned he had the biggest grin on his !ace that I had

ever seen. $reat news,$ he said. $or some reason the 2udge was

looking over my case and they are talking about letting me go within

two more days. That#s where I#ve been this morning7talking with one

o! the court lawyers and the 2udge. I don#t know what#s going on.

Things are ha""ening so !ast.$

I smiled as Cole gave me a !irm handshake. $That is a miracle.

Thanks !or renewing my ho"e in od again, *el"hur. /ou#re a good

man.$

"od still answers "rayer,$ I said as I remembered my mother#s


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words; $God may have you here for such a time as this."

I was in!ormed a cou"le hours later that my court date was set !or

ten in the morning the !ollowing onday.

+rogan listened 8uietly as I shared the news with him and Cole

over dinner.

"I#ll be "raying that od will grant you the same !avor 'e#s

granted me,$ Cole said. $< and to you too, +rogan.$

"Just "romise me this; that you will not !orget the od we "rayed

to !or your release,$ I said.

"(!ter what 'e 2ust did !or me4 3o, son, I will never !orget od. I#ll

be in church somewhere my !irst 0unday out o! this "lace and I#m

going to bring my !amily with me,$ Cole said.

I watched as my !riend le!t the "rison !or good two days later.

$/ou and your wi!e will be in my "rayers each day,$ I assured him.

Things were not going well !or +rogan. The 2udge looked over his

case also, but he did not receive good news like Cole did. +rogan

was going to "rison.

I s"oke with Uncle Jeb the night be!ore I was scheduled to go to

court.

'e shared with me how he and Trevor stumbled into Walter one

day when they had gone to the store. $'e was a mess. 'e looked like

a homeless "erson. 'e had a cou"le "acks o! beer in his hands.

(lcohol has taken over his li!e. I begged him to come home,$ Uncle

Jeb said. $I told him how much we loved him and missed him, but he

would not listen. 'e only "ointed a !inger at me and said, =I blame

you. /ou could have overridden reg and given Wilkinson#s over to


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me.# With that he turned his back on us and walked o!!. I did not even

bother to tell him that you were in "rison.$

"%h, don#t worry about him, Uncle Jeb. 'e#ll come around.$

>heba should have returned home months ago, but according to

a letter she sent that week, $Doors are o"ening u" in modeling big

time.$

"What do you think will ha""en&$ I asked Uncle Jeb.

"%h, don#t worry about it. =od sees and knows the truth but 'e

always waits.# I have been working on some things behind the

scenes,$ he said with a chuckle.

"Thanks, Uncle Jeb. Did you secure a lawyer&$

"3o need !or a lawyer,$ Uncle Jeb said. $%ur lawyer is Jesus

Christ. e and the children have been doing a whole lot o! "raying) I

ho"e you have been "raying as well.$

"That#s all I can do behind bars,$ I chuckled.


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The rest o! the !amily s"ent much time in "rayer about this !alse

charge. %n the court date, Uncle Jeb, my siblings, and two workers

!rom Wilkinson#s arrived early at the courthouse. Deanna, two o! her

!riends, and a man were sitting in the second row o!! to the le!t. 0he

glanced u" at me when I walked into the courtroom between two

o!!icers. ( smug look crossed her !ace as she !ollowed me with hereyes as I took my seat between the two o!!icers.

( ta" on the shoulder caused me to turn around. Deanna turned

around also. 'er eyes almost "o""ed out o! her head when she saw

r. Costello, >aynaldo, and ichael taking their seats behind me.

There were others in the room also, some with issues o! their own to

be resolved) others were 2ust s"ectators as the hearing was o"ened

to the "ublic.

When our case, #t. $lair vs. %ilkinson, was called, Deanna was

the !irst to take the stand. 0he gave her version o! what had taken

"lace on that night. 0he gave a very moving but somewhat dis2ointed

story. 0he even "ulled the clothes, now torn, that she had been

wearing on the night o! the altercation out o! the bag she had with her

as evidence to su""ort her claim. $'e le!t so 8uickly a!ter the assault

that he le!t his 2acket,$ she said wi"ing tears !rom her eyes. $The

"olice should have it.$

Judge aynard asked !or the 2acket as evidence.

'er sister testi!ied on her behal!. $/our 'onor, Deanna#s a good

"erson, very kind, always thinking o! others, and I know she would

not lie about something so serious. I do not know her to be a "erson

to "ut hersel! in these ty"es o! situations. (s !ar as I know, she


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always carries hersel! in a ladylike manner. 3ow I do not know this

man and there!ore I can not accuse him o! anything, but i! he did

indeed harm my sister in any way, I want to see him brought to

2ustice.$ ( close !riend o! hers, a !ormer co6worker, also testi!ied in her

!avor.

The "olice o!!icers who !iled the re"ort were called to the stand.

They told what they saw and identi!ied the 2acket "resented as the

one Deanna gave them.

"Do you have a doctor#s re"ort, s. 0t. Clair&$ Judge aynard

asked.

Deanna#s eyes !lew wide o"en. $I < I < was given one when I

went down to the hos"ital the same night,$ she said while !ishing

around in her "ocketbook !or the doctor#s re"ort.

y heart started to beat !aster. %hat kind of a report is she !oin!to show to the &ud!e.

Deanna con!idently handed a sealed envelo"e to Judge aynard.

'e o"ened it u" and read its contents. I tried to read the e-"ression

on his !ace, but he held a blank look. Deanna looked straight ahead.

"s. 0t. Clair, I#m having di!!iculty reading your doctor#s signature.Can you make that out&$ Judge aynard said handing the letter to

the baili!! to give back to Deanna.

Deanna, without looking at the re"ort, answered, $(bimbola

%ka!or. Dr. (bimbola %ka!or. 'e was the one to e-amine me.$

"(nd what hos"ital was that&$ Judge aynard asked.

"The edical Center. It should be on the letterhead.$

"(re you sure this is the o!!icial letterhead o! the edical Center&

This 2ust looks ty"ed on,$ Judge aynard asked as he "eered at


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Deanna.

There was a ri""le o! whis"ers in the room as others cleared their

throats.

Deanna ke"t looking straight ahead.

"Do you mind i! I call Dr. (bimbola %ka!or to veri!y this re"ort&$

Without waiting !or a re"ly, Judge aynard handed the re"ort to the

baili!! to make the call. 'e used the "hone on the wall.

Deanna shi!ted her eyes 8uickly back and !orth and then lookedstraight back at the 2udge and said em"hatically, $The re"ort#s right

there. There is no need to disturb Dr. %ka!or. 'e#s "robably in the

o"erating room. 'e#s a really busy doctor. It was 2ust a miracle he

was on call that night.$ I noticed her voice trembling as she s"oke.

0he blinked hard and ra"idly as i! trying to hold back tears. 0he

reached u" and wi"ed her eyes and sni!!led a !ew times. $Why havevictims go through the embarrassment o! getting a doctor#s re"ort and

then not believe them when they turn the re"ort in.$

"s. 0t. Clair, "lease only s"eak when given "ermission to s"eak

in my courtroom,$ Judge aynard said.

I heard more whis"ers behind me.

When the baili!! got o!! the "hone, he e-changed a !ew words

with Judge aynard be!ore returning to his original "osition.

"s. 0t. Clair,$ Judge aynard said, $we 2ust called down to the

hos"ital and there is no Dr. < 'ow do you say his name& < Dr.

(bimbola %ka!or on sta!! there. 'e "robably does not even e-ist. In!act, the hos"ital has no record o! you getting e-amined or even

coming there. We will have to toss this out o! court until you can

"roduce a valid re"ort. I must remind you that you are under oath.

/ou may leave the witness stand now.$


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3e-t, I was called to the stand. I stated what really ha""ened that

night.

"/es, /our 'onor, that is my 2acket.$

"/es, sir, I was alone in the building while my co6workers went out

to get all o! us something to eat.$

"3o, sir, I did not touch s. 0t. Clair. In !act, I did not know she

was in the building. 0he did sto" by my o!!ice at closing time to let

me know she was leaving, and she did o!!er to stay behind and hel",

but I told her that her hel" was not needed, and that I already had

some hel" !rom others. y two co6workers who were with me that

night are sitting over there in the !irst row.

"I have no idea how she got back in the building. 0he must not

have le!t when she said good bye) she "robably hid somewhere.

While my co6workers were gone, I did hear a cough when I sto""edby the water !ountain to get some water. I did not think about it then

because I was talking on the "hone with my sister and thought

someone !rom the house coughed in the background.$

I saw Deanna lean !orward in her seat with an angry e-"ression

on her !ace. I "aid her no attention. 0he looked like she would s"ring

out o! her seat any moment.

"3o, sir, I did not touch s. 0t. Clair and I de!initely did not ri" her

buttons o!! her blouse.$

"/es, sir, I le!t so !ast I did not think to take my 2acket.$

"/our 'onor, others on the 2ob have told me to stay away !roms. 0t. Clair, which I have "olitely tried to do


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said hysterically. $+ut obviously his idea o! hel" is di!!erent !rom my

idea o! hel"4$

"s. 0t. Clair, I will not have you disru"t the "roceedings o! this

court. /ou are out o! order4 (nother outburst like that and I will have

you arrested !or contem"t o! court. /ou have had your say. I! you

wish to say more, you will have your lawyer s"eak !or you. 3ow have

a seat be!ore I 2ust dismiss the whole case right now.$

Deanna reluctantly sat down glaring angrily at me.

"zelphur" (serial novel) -- episode 5

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