A Visit in Prison

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Chapter 10

The jail bar door slammed behind Carisi during prisoner visiting hours. Across the lone table in the room sat Laura McMasters, dressed in an orange jumpsuit. She looked miserable. Carisi noticed how swelled up her eyes were. She had obviously been crying.

"Hey, you okay?" Carisi asked her, a concerned look on his face.

She meekly looked down and nodded.

Her older brother, Larry Huntington, sat next to her. From what Carisi could observe, Larry must have gotten his looks from the other side of the family's gene pool. He was not considered good looking in the least, with seedy eyes, a balding head and a slight paunch.

Larry explained his reason for being here.

"My sister has named me co-counsel on her case," Larry informed Carisi, "and just so you know, I advised her not to discuss the case."

"I just wanna know why I'm here," Carisi stated, looking from the brother to the sister.

Laura turned towards her brother, as if asking for approval. He gave a slight nod.

She looked Carisi's way.

"I-I'm not sure if you heard, Detective Carisi, but I've changed my plea to guilty."

"Yeah, I heard that," Carisi acknowledged, "so you're admittin' to shootin' your husband."

She nodded, "Y-yes."

"You don't sound certain," Carisi observed, "you sure your brother here didn't collude you into pleadin' guilty?"

"The hell!" Larry blustered.

"What?" Laura asked in disbelief, "No, no...Larry didn't..." she shook her head, "no, of course not," she held her head high, "The decision was my own."

Carisi looked bothered, "The way you're actin', I don't think you'll be able to convince a jury of your guilt."

"Who cares what you think?" Larry rudely interjected.

"Larry!" Laura shot an angry glance at her brother.

"I thought you said he was a friend!" he barked back, "some friend!"

"Pay no mind to my brother," she murmured to Carisi.

Carisi was losing patience, "Is that it? Cuz if it is, I'll be headin' back to the precinct. Detective Rollins and I plan to follow up on some leads. There's still some unanswered questions we've got with this case, whether you plead guilty or not."

"Oh...Detective Rollins," Laura mumbled under her breath, " I should have known."

Larry looked confused, "What? What is this all about?"

She shrugged "Nothing, forget it, " she looked desperate when Carisi began to get up, "Wait! Detective! Please!" she begged, "There's more I want to say!"

Carisi sat back down, "What is it?"

Before Laura continued, she turned to her brother,, "Listen, Lar...you mind leaving for a bit?"

"What? " Larry looked confused, "Why?"

"It's just that..." Laura struggled to explained, "... I want to talk in private with Detective Carisi."

Larry scowled, "As your brother and your co-counsel, I highly advise against it!"

"Can you go, please? I won't talk about my plea or the case, if that's what you're worried about," she assured him.

"Leaving you two alone is ill-advised!" Larry told her "I think the best thing to do is-"

"-LARRY, JUST GO!" she decisively yelled out, effectively cutting him off.

The room was filled with tension as Larry's jaw dropped. Obviously he had never heard this take-charge tone from his sister, but it was obvious she was not backing down.

Recovering, Larry closed his mouth and nonchalantly stated, "Yeah, sure I'll go, but I'm only giving you FIVE minutes with this so-called detective" he bitterly announced, "and I'm warning you, you better not say anything to jeopardize the case!"

"Good-bye, Lar," she simply stated, purposely not looking at him.

"Fine!" He indignantly stood.

He called out to the guard, who was located just outside the door. No one acknowledged his leaving as the door shut behind him.

"I'm sorry about my brother's behavior," Laura apologized after he left, "He's usually not so rude. At least not until after you've known him awhile!"

Carisi half-smiled at her attempt at a joke, and then his expression became solemn again, " Actually, I think his rudeness is due to the fact that he was probably caught off guard."

She tilted her head, "Off guard? Over what?"

"Over how you stood up to him. You were in complete control of the situation when you told him to leave."

"You think so?" For the first time her eyes seemed to brighten, "I'm glad I ordered him out then!" she definitely appeared more animated now, "It was a lot easier than I thought it would be!'

"Yeah, and maybe you'll be more incline to go up against him in the future!" Carisi encouraged her, "it just goes to show that you can be strong when you want to be!"

"I like that I can be strong!" she looked proud and then her eyes turned sincere, "And I owe that success to you because of your help and support."

"No, you've had it inside of you all this time," Carisi stated with certainty.

They chatted a few minutes about how the prison conditions and how well she was holding up. She looked tired, and at times she was scared, but she insisted everyone left her alone because she kept to herself, giving no other prisoners a reason to bully her because she had no reaction except misery. After a little more small talk, Carisi decided to switch to a subject where he wanted an answer.

"So," Carisi stated, "Let's talk about your guilty plea."

Her face suddenly fell as her confidence began to ebb again.

"My guilty plea?"

"Yeah. So were you lyin' then or are you lyin' now about shootin' your husband?" he bluntly asked.

She looked scared, "I-I told my brother that I wouldn't talk about the case."

"You promised him that, not me," he stated, "And, personally, I think you're making the wrong decision in pleadin' guilty."

"But I did shoot Jack, I-I did!" Her voice only slightly quivered as she looked at him with uncertainty, "Why don't you believe me?"

"Because you've changed your mind so suddenly with no cause," he reasoned, "What else am I suppose to think? You're either protectin' someone or someone coerced you to make that plea."

"No, nothing like that," she dropped her head in defeat as she mumbled, "My mother was right. I deserve to be in here."

"You need to stop with the pity party thing, too."

Laura was speechless as she shook her head miserably, her eyes still downward. She had shut completely down.

"Hey," Carisi called out to her, but she was unresponsive now.

"Hey...Laura," he attempted again, "look at me."

She slowly brought her head up, her eyes staring in defeat at him.

"You sure you're not protectin' someone," he questioned her, "like your mother, your brother or one of your kids?"

Laura's eyes blazed, "No!" she adamantly answered.

"So why didn't you confess to shooting your husband to begin with?" Carisi asked her, "why the change of plea in a middle of the case?"

"I-I just wanted to c-come clean is all," her nervous stuttering had returned, "and I asked you here, because I wanted some support from you" Her eyes were pleading, "is that too much to ask, Dominick?"

"Yeah, it is, if you're innocent, " he told her, "My advise is that you don't allocute. Go through with the trial 'n put your trust in the system."

She met his eyes, "You really think I'm innocent, don't you?"

"You said you were innocent when it first happened," he stated, "I haven't heard anythin' to contradict that fact."

She liked the idea that he had faith in her, "Do you think there's a chance I could get out of a murder charge if I'm innocent?" her eyes looked wistfully at him.

"Our court system is not perfect, Laura, " he explained, "but it's the best we have. And we usually get it right."

"I want to believe that." Tears surfaced, "I want to get out of here!"

He nodded, "Yeah, sure, but the first step is...you gotta be truthful with the truth!"

She nodded.

"I'm innocent," she barely stated above a whisper.

He looked relieved, "Glad to hear that."

"I will trust the system," she convinced herself, "and what about you, Dominick?"

He didn't get her question, "What about me?"

She timidly asked, " Will you be there for me during the trial...and afterwards?"

Carisi shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Look, Laura," he wanted to make it clear to her, "I think you're still gettin' the wrong impression. I care about you like I care about all victims that need help. Other than that, I'm just a cop investigatin' your case, but I will fight to get you justice, whatever that is. You can count on that."

He thought it would reassure her, but instead she looked miserable.

New tears welled up in her eyes, "You're a cop and I'm the defendant in a case you're investigating." She leaned back in her chair, looked down and mumbled, "I get it."

She had totally reverted back to her defeated self. Carisi now wished that Laura's brother hadn't left. He frustratingly ran his fingers through his hair. This was getting complicated. At least now he understood how she became so timid and frightened, because how could she not, with an overbearing mother, bossy brother and abusive husband?

They had stopped communicating as they sat quietly in the prison cell. And that's how Larry Huntington found them when returned. He could see his sister had shut down again. Inwardly, he was glad; he didn't like it when Laura was speaking her own mind.

But he was wrong; she did have a mind of her own.

He had just taken his seat when his sister addressed him.

"Lar, I'm reversing my plea back to innocent," she informed him, "so you need to tell Mr. Buchanan that. I hope he hasn't gone through the trouble of going to the judge yet."

"WHAT?!" Larry stared at her in disbelief.

"I'm pleading innocent because I am!" she stated with determination, standing up to him once again.

Larry looked incredulous as he turned to Carisi, "What the hell did you tell my sister?"

"I told her to tell the truth," Carisi evenly responded.

"You talked to her about the case!" Larry accused him. He next turned to his sister, "Laura, didn't I specifically tell you NOT to talk about the case?"

Laura bit her bottom lip, refusing to answer.

"She didn't give up any new information, if that's what you're worried about," Carisi defended her, " and shouldn't you be happy that your sister is sayin' she's innocent of a crime?"

"Happy? What's there to be happy about?" Larry angrily asked, "She was ready to allocute to lesser charges and now there's going to be a long drawn out trial where our family's name will be dragged through the mud!"

"Is that what all this is about?" Carisi forcibly asked, "you want to protect your family reputation?"

"No! I'm saying I don't want my sister to run the risk of going to jail for life!" Larry yelled back.

"You sure didn't say that to begin with," Carisi pointed out.

"GET OUT!" Larry dismissively shouted at him.

"I'll leave when I'm good and ready to," Carisi firmly declared, "and come to think of it, I never did get YOUR statement the night of the incident."

"I already gave my account to the police of that night...you can check their records," Larry subconsciously straightened his jacket, "I wasn't involved. I arrived at the murder scene after the shooting.."

"Yeah, I saw the report," Carisi verified, "but they fail to ask you one very important question about that night."

Despite being indignant, Larry was also curious, "What question?"

"Had you been by Laura's house earlier that night, before the murder?"

Larry's eyes narrowed, "Surely you're not implying that I had anything to do with the murder, are you?"

Carisi shrugged, "Just tryin' get the timeline straight. You were, after all, the first one on the scene. You arrived well before the police. It was like you were in the shadows, ready to pop out at the opportune moment..."

The implication was clear.

"I DO live around the corner, you know!" Larry's eyes blazed with anger.

"That's why I need to keep investigatin'." Carisi threw him a suspicious eye.

But Larry Huntington was like every other lawyer; he would get the last jab in.

"Oh, so you think my sister is so innocent, eh, Detective?" he had a malicious look on his face, "...wellll, I guess that means she didn't tell you everything she knew about that night, did she?"

Laura looked alarmed, "Lar, don't..." she warned.

Carisi didn't like what Laura's brother was alluding to. He didn't want to, but he took the bait.

"Tell me what about that night?"

"About the gun used in the shooting of Jack McMasters," Larry Huntington had a smug, satisfied look on his face, "You know the one that went missing afterwards? Seems it really isn't missing after all, since my sister knows EXACTLY where it is!"

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