REDEMPTION

This story is a follow up to the 2nd season episode SENTENCED in which Peter Gunn is convicted of a murder/robbery he didn't commit. Sometimes getting over it can be worse than living through it.

The regular characters of Peter Gunn, Edie Hart, Lt. Jacoby, Mother and a few others belong to the estate of Blake Edwards. I make no money off of them but love having fun with them. I'd take Pete in a minute if he were available. All other characters belong to me.

Rating T

Eight weeks.

Peter Gunn had been behind bars for a total of two months talking little, reading a lot and trying not to think too much. His attorney had assured him he would be found innocent on the murder charge and the private investigator had clung to that hope. Lieutenant Jacoby was not only one of the finest cops Pete had ever known but he was also his friend, and he knew he would do his best to clear his name.

At first the policeman would come to Pete for help, asking precise questions of what, where, when and how. "The banker says you came to the door and knocked. He let you in because he recognized you even though they were closed."

"I wasn't there, it wasn't me. I don't even bank there. They charge a nickel for every check you write." He still had a sense of humor at that point.

"Then where were you that night?" Jacoby asked. 'If you tell me you were at Mother's or even with one of your strange friends, we have something to go on."

Pete could still remember how his heart had sunk. "I was alone that night. I wasn't working; Edie's cousin and her husband were in town and they had taken her out for dinner. I had been at Mother's earlier but then I went home and fell asleep reading a book."

"What time did you wake up?"

"Around 1:30 I think. I made sure everything was locked up and I went to bed."

"Did you call Edie first maybe?"

"No, it was late."

"You aren't helping."

The conversations with his lawyer were pretty much the same. The PI tried to stay positive but sometimes he thought he was the only one.

Visiting hours were something he loved and loathed at the same time. Edie never missed one; always there with an encouraging smile and telling him it would all be over soon, she just knew it. She brought books and newspapers, crossword puzzles, sometimes cookies or cupcakes from the bakery beside Mother's. Inside the books were notes and occasionally a letter telling him what she might have overheard from Jacoby or one of his men when they came into the club which seemed to be often. At the end of every one she always signed 'I love you no matter what.'

Because he was a murder suspect a guard stood behind him the entire time he talked to her through the partition, gun ready in case the detective should try something. When it was time to go, he'd point the .38 to the back of Pete's neck and tell him to get up slowly and Edie would watch as they marched through a door and away from her.

Pete would go back to his empty cell, also because of his status, and listen as the same guard shut the bars behind him. Any thing she left had to be inspected first and if approved were brought with his dinner. So far every item had been allowed.

"Was she there?" Toddy Martin would ask every time. Toddy was in the block next to Gunn's and he talked to Pete whether the private investigator answered back or not. The man was charged with domestic abuse and his trial was going on at that time. Pete couldn't remember what the outcome was.

"Yes, she was there." He answered.

"Next time she won't be. She'll get tired of coming, of waiting, they all do."

After the fourth week she asked if it was all right with him if she stayed at his place. "Of course." He answered through the glass. "It's our place. Keep the bed warm for me." She held up her hand to the barrier between them and he did the same. He just needed one touch, one feel of her fingers entwined with his.

"Gunn." The guard nudged him in the back of the neck. "Time to go."

He had asked his attorney to tell Edie she couldn't come back after that. "I don't care why make an excuse, I pay you enough." He couldn't stand to see her anymore, to put her through this mess. The whole case was becoming more laughable by the minute. Jacoby came less and the news he brought was far from hopeful. At night Pete would toss and turn on the narrow bunk his body aching to sleep but knowing if he relaxed his dreams would be of Edie. He had never realized before that what you saw while you slept could be so real—the softness of her skin, the odor of her perfume, the sound of her laughter in his ears, the feel of her lips on his, the cry of her voice when they made love.

Phone calls were allowed but limited to one a week. His first one had been to his attorney, the others to his father in Seattle. Samuel Gunn a retired police detective assured him it was a misunderstanding and he'd be set free before he knew it. "If you need me to come, I'm there." He told his only son. But after the fourth week, Pete stopped calling him as well. For two weeks he lay on his bunk and stared at the bars, trying to think this through, what he would do if he just had the chance. He knew he could get to the bottom of this charade but no one was listening to him.

His lawyer asked him if he had life insurance and did he have a beneficiary? He was brought a form to fill out in triplicate that asked questions such as his burial plans if any and church affiliation.

"It's routine." Jacoby assured him when he came to give an update. The policeman had given him a sealed envelope and said he'd see him later. Inside were cards and letters from Mother and Barney, Emmett and some of the guys. He had appreciated it more than he could say. He knew Edie was still coming even though she had been told not too. The guard marched him and Toddy and one other man out every day for a run around the compound and he could see her through the door, talking to one of the officers on duty, Jacoby if she was lucky, and there was always something for him.

He had seen her the first day of the trial sitting in the back by the door, her eyes on him the entire time. She had brought him a freshly pressed suit and other essentials and he wanted to thank her but he hadn't a chance. The guard was always there, controlling his movements with the gun at the back of his neck like he was one of the most wanted.

Today Barney and his waitress friend Wendy were half way back even though he had requested that none of his friends come, and had heard the sentence passed down by the jury. He was guilty, he would be executed. Everything he had always wanted in life, a home, family, a woman to love and grow old with were ripped away from him and he hadn't done anything! How was he going to tell his father? Who would let his special group of friends know that he was gone? What would Edie do? He couldn't just let this happen, he HAD to do something.

What followed was worse than a nightmare but now less than six hours later he was sitting in Jacoby's office, waiting for the cop to come back. As soon as the lieutenant took off the cuffs he would be free to do whatever he wanted. He had his life back!

"Sorry it took so long, Murphy filed the forms in the wrong drawer." The policeman rolled his eyes. "Pete, before I let you go, I just need to say this one thing. I'm very sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

"What choice do I have?" Pete kept his voice light. "You have the key for these things!"

"Very funny." He knew they were back to being friends.

Slipping the key into the lock, the cuffs came off and fell to the floor. Pete stood up, trying to rub the feel off his wrists, wondering if it would ever go away. "Did you need me to sign something?"

"Just this form that states you are innocent of all charges made and no longer a suspect. That way if you would happen to get stopped by an over eager cop you have proof."

Peter Gunn scribbled his name on the bottom line folded the copy Jacoby handed back to him, placing it in his suit pocket. "Sorry to run lieutenant but I've got some things to do."