Page 57 of I Am Sin

I heard her screams. I went to her room. I saw the bloody knife. I picked it up. Everything became a blur after that.

I’m not actually in jail. I’m in a holding cell at the police station.

After I got here, they took all my information from my driver’s license and fingerprinted me.

Apparently, for certain misdemeanors, including soliciting prostitution, the City and County of Denver has preset bail amounts based on the severity of the offense. They gave me a paper, showing me the schedule.

Needless to say, I couldn’t afford it, which is why I had to call Diana.

Not only is she giving me a place to stay for free, but now I’m going to owe her for this bail money.

Of course, I’ll get the bail money back, once I either cop a plea, have a trial, or, in the best circumstance, get the charges dropped altogether.

But they won’t release me from custody until someone pays the bail.

At least the person I’m staying with is an heiress with unlimited cash funds.

Man, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d told me to get fucked.

I gave that hooker all my cash. All because she reminded me of Griffin.

What Griffin might look like today.

Fuck me.

I’ve thought about Griffin a lot. Especially during rehab. I didn’t have a choice. I had to face some shit about my life that I had stuck on the back burner for far too long.

Now that I’ve faced it? I wish I could shove it back into the corners of my brain.

This tiny holding cell smells like cat piss. There are only three of us in here, and I’m pretty sure the stench is coming from the guy with no teeth. The other guy is thin and agitated. He’s pacing the cell like he’s waiting for a bomb to drop.

I’m sitting on the bench, rubbing the ache in my forehead.

I guess I need an attorney. I can’t afford an attorney, but what the hell? Diana’s brother is a lawyer, but he’s on his honeymoon. Not that he’d represent me anyway.

I jerk upward when an officer unlocks the cell. “Locke?”

I rise. “Yeah.”

“Let’s go.”

Thank God. Diana must have paid my bail.

The officer leads me to a small room where he gives me back my wallet, my phone, and my jacket. Then he makes me sign a paper guaranteeing I will come back for my court appearance in two weeks.

“You understand if you don’t appear, your bail will be forfeited, and we’ll issue a warrant for your arrest.”

I sign my name. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know how these things work.”

“Good.”

He rises. I follow him out into the lobby, where I see Diana standing with a man I don’t recognize.

“Hey,” I say.

“You ready?” Her voice is far from friendly.

I look the man up and down. “Who’s this?”