This Is My America(45)
“I’m going to cut right to it.” He leans forward. His face looks serious, and he nods as he speaks. “I’m taking your dad’s case.”
“What do you mean, you’re taking my dad’s case?” I touch my temple, shaking my head. “Who are you?” I repeat his words, but they’re not pulling together to make sense. Did he just say what I think he said?
“Let’s start over.” He clears his throat. “I’m Steve Jones from Innocence X.” Steve sticks his hand out. “I’ll be representing your father.”
WELL, I’LL BE DAMNED
“You’re Steve Jones?” I squint my eyes at him.
“Yes.”
“From Innocence X?”
“Yes.”
“Bullshit.”
“I—” Steve pauses. “My dad is Stephen Jones, founder of Innocence X. I’m his son.”
“Oh.” It finally clicks. I couldn’t put his young face together with the man I’ve been writing letters to for the past seven years.
“Innocence X is taking his case?” My mouth hangs open. I have to repeat what he said, over and over again. This is impossible. Years of writing, believing, sometimes it felt like I was writing a journal to myself instead of letters to Innocence X.
I’m heaving in and out, crying in joy. Steve pats my shoulder, and I throw my arms around him in a hug. He fumbles around like he don’t know what to do, either. When he realizes I finally get it, he hugs me back.
“Does my mama know?”
“After all your letters, I thought you deserved to know first—well, after your dad, of course.”
I pause to catch my breath.
“You’ve met with my dad?”
“A few exploratory phone calls. Met with him in person this morning. He agreed you should hear directly from me. Then I’ll contact your mother.”
“Can I call her?”
“Yes.” Steve laughs. “Let’s do that.”
When Mama answers, I put her on speaker and blurt everything out, ending with “He’s taking Daddy’s case.”
Mama wails on the other side of the phone.
“What’s happening, Mama?” Corinne’s excitement bounces through the phone.
I wish I was there to see my little sister. I know she always feels left out because she wasn’t born when things turned bad. Her present is tied to a past that she was never a part of.
“Daddy’s got a good lawyer, baby,” Mama says.
“Daddy’s coming home? Jamal too?” Corinne’s voice cries out. The pain rocks me because this doesn’t mean much for Jamal’s situation.
“What about Jamal?” I ask Steve, hoping Corinne’s questions can be answered with a yes.
“I’ve been following what’s going on with Jamal. We might be able to lend some research, although he’ll need to have his own attorney. We focus on conviction repeal cases, not ongoing—”
“But Jamal.” My voice goes weak.
“Get him to come home. It doesn’t help your father’s case if he has a missing son as a suspect in another crime.”
“How long before my husband is free?” Mama doesn’t even touch getting Jamal home. We want him back, but not if it means they’ll take him away from us.
“This is a long process, ma’am. I won’t lie to you, one in forty of our cases ends up in exoneration. It’s a big commitment to take on a case, so we maximize as many as we can in the area. I’ll be positioned here for a year, focusing on a handful of cases.” Steve pulls the phone closer to him. “James is my first priority. I have a small budget, and I’ll need to fund-raise to get everything set up for an investigation and find an office space to work out of.”
“I have a few ideas for office space.” I hide my own doubt. I can persuade Mr. Evans to rent out the loft space above the antiques store, but Mrs. Evans…I’m not sure.
Every ounce of hope that Daddy would be freed was riding on Innocence X. With Jamal gone, I dug deep to keep that belief. Inside, I feared I wouldn’t have the stamina. I wouldn’t have enough to give Daddy and Jamal. Now I no longer have that fear. No longer have that burden of doing it alone. I stand straighter. My ancestors’ strength pouring into me, fully armored so I can fight to prove their innocence.
OUTLAWZ
I leave the Evanses’ store happy to have gotten Mr. Evans to rent the loft space above the antiques store as a temporary office for Steve. I dip out as Mr. Evans shows Steve around the space, a convenient alibi for Mama that I can use as I sneak out to meet up with Quincy at Herron Media.
I finally feel like we’re catching a break. I text Jamal before I meet Quincy.
Innocence X came through.
They can help you too.
Going to HM with Quincy.
Come home.
I weave my way through the streets; evenings are fairly quiet, as storefronts close early. When I reach the store before Herron Media, I zip a right to walk down the alley.
I turn the corner, and a low whistle rings. I almost take off running when I see someone by the back door. Then I realize it’s Quincy, in all black. He lifts up his hood, whistling “The Farmer in the Dell” like Omar from The Wire.