Crimes of Passion
Chapter One.
As the sound of the door slamming shut reached his ears, the tall, brown-haired, former Marine lieutenant wearily threw himself upon the bottom of the two bunks in the small room. Staring at the thick, wooden slats of the bunk above him, Danny McCoy could do little but sigh and wonder how he had ended up in this particular cell inside Nevada State Prison. Folding his arms behind his head, in an effort to make the pillow beneath him more comfortable, Danny sighed again in disgust at the mere sight of the orange jumpsuit he was now wearing. He closed his eyes, hoping to drift off to sleep.
"We, the jury, find the defendant guilty." the jury foreman announced in an expressionless voice, sending a wave of activity throughout the courtroom. Sobs and cheers of joy could be heard from the upper right side of the courtroom while the left was somber and almost silent.
Closing his eyes, Danny wished that it was entirely silent as the only sounds he could hear were cameras flashing at him to catch his reaction, and the sobbing of his best friend since childhood, Mary Connell, behind him. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, McCoy looked up to see an older, gray-haired man with blue eyes standing behind him. Sympathy and anger were both clear on his face.
"I didn't do this, Ed." Danny said quietly, standing to face his boss and mentor. "You know that I didn't do this."
"Relax, kid," a quiet Ed commanded, "I know that you didn't." He gripped Danny's hand in a motion of support. "I promise that come hell or high water, I'm going to clear your name and get you out. I want you to keep that in mind, okay?" A smile appeared on his face. "No matter what happens, you keep that in mind."
"I'll remember that, Ed." Danny whispered, opening his eyes as he'd rather not relive what had happened that same afternoon. The grief on his friends' faces, the sound of Mary sobbing, and the anger he felt at being both wrongly accused and convicted of a murder he didn't commit hadn't left him; he had only managed to block those things out for the time being.
The sound of the cell door opening roused Danny from his thoughts. As he sat up on his bunk, he noticed an older, dark and gray haired man with a moustache and beard had walked in. Like himself, this new man also wore the orange jumpsuit of Nevada State Prison. As the guard shut the door behind him, he smiled at Danny.
"So," the man said calmly, walking over and sitting down next to Danny. "I presume that you're my new cellmate?"
"Ye…yeah." a nervous Danny nodded, every horror story of prison that he had ever heard beginning to play in his mind.
"Relax, kid!" the dark-haired man laughed, clapping Danny on the back. "I much, much prefer the female side of the species to the male." With a smile, he offered Danny his hand. "Antonio Malocchio."
"Danny McCoy." Danny replied, shaking the man's hand.
"Oh, yeah." Antonio nodded in recognition. "You're the security guy from the Montecito who slept with that woman and killed her husband. I've…"
"I didn't kill him." an angry Danny spat, looking at the ground. "I don't…didn't even know the guy."
"Course not." Antonio smiled before getting to his feet. "Ed Deline's not the type to hire adulterers or murderers."
"You know Ed?" Danny asked, raising his head.
"We were in the Company together." Antonio nodded, looking out the cell door at the many cells in front of them. His brown eyes watching every move the prisoners across the hall made.
"How does a former CIA agent land in a place like this?" a curious Danny asked, watching the man.
"Let's just say that Ed stuck to a higher road than I did when we got out." Antonio replied, glancing back at the younger man. "Not everyone who worked for the company was or is a saint, you know."
"I know." Danny nodded, thinking mainly of Jack Keller, Ed's former CIA protégé who would seemingly do anything to make a quick buck. "So, what exactly are you in for?"
"Assault and a few other things." Antonio answered quickly, giving Danny the distinct impression that he didn't want to talk about it. Turning on his heel, the older man looked once more at Danny. "Anyway, seeing as how I owe Ed a favor from those days, I'm going to keep my eye on you while you're in here." He crossed his arms across his chest. "I've got some pull around this joint, so I'll make sure that no one gives you any trouble."
"Thanks." an appreciative Danny smiled, "That's really nice of you."
"Don't mention it, kid." Antonio replied, climbing up onto his bunk. "I mean, if you really are innocent," Looking at Danny, he paused for a moment. "And if I had to wager, I'd say that you are, you don't deserve to be in such a hellhole as this anyway."
"I shouldn't be in here long." Danny remarked, lying down in his bed. "Ed's promised me that he's going to work around the clock to clear my name."
"Well," Antonio chuckled as the footsteps of the guards approaching could be heard. "You couldn't be in better hands."
"We got anything yet, Mikey?" a bad-tempered Ed asked as he marched into the surveillance room of the Montecito. Directly after the trial, he had called Mike Cannon, one of his employees and Danny's friend, and told him to drop anything and everything he had been doing. Between the pair of them, Deline knew that they would find something that would prove that Danny was innocent.
"Nothing yet, Mr. D." Mike sighed, rubbing his bald head. "I haven't located the smoking gun yet." He handed some computer printouts to Ed. "The only thing that I have been able to find is that Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hewitson, at least, are and were real people." Knowing Ed's next question, the black man looked at his boss. "Both have clean criminal records too."
"Damn." Ed muttered, stroking his chin. Sighing, the gray-haired man waved his hand towards the computer screen. "Keep digging, Mikey. There's got to be something that would drive these people to frame Danny."
"I don't know, Ed." Mike replied, shaking his head. "Without him having a rock-solid alibi, it's going to be very hard to prove that Danny didn't do this."
"Shouldn't be too hard to prove the truth." Ed remarked before going into his office and closing the door.
To be continued...