A Night in the Desert

Chapter VI

The guard came in and told her to stand up as he took hold of her arm. They left the interrogation room and headed down a hallway to some elevators. They got in as the guard punched in the top floor. The other people in the elevator car looked at her oddly as she stood next to the guard, her hands shackled behind her back and his hand wrapped around her upper arm. No doubt they all thought she was a drug pusher or baby kidnapper. Sue Ann shrugged mentally; at the moment it looked like she was going to become a career criminal in record time.

Everyone else got off before the top floor. As the door opened at the top there was a small alcove with a single heavily barred gate. A jail guard sat behind a thick bulletproof glass enclosure. He buzzed open the gate and they entered. "Hi Joe, one more pre-trial for tonight. You got the paperwork?" her guard asked the man sitting at the entrance.

Joe nodded and held out a plastic bracelet, similar to the ones used in hospitals. Sue Ann's guard wrapped it around her left wrist and sealed it. "That's your ID bracelet. Take it off and you get an automatic thirty-day extension to your stay here. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand. I won't take it off." Sue Ann still held out some hope she would be exonerated. The last thing she wanted is to get off on the felonies and then get thrown back in jail for something trivial. A door opened and a female guard came out. She walked up to Sue Ann and took hold of her other arm.

"Okay Pete, we'll take her from here. All the paperwork complete Joe? Pete, who do the cuffs go back to?" The female guard had already started back to the open door with Sue Ann.

"Paperwork's in order, send the cuffs back to Littleton in the Detective Bureau. See you later Judy." The guard who had escorted her up here, Pete as she now knew his name, headed back out the gate to the elevator.

"C'mon sister, we have a lot to do. I hope you ate, supper was an hour ago. This is women's pre-trial, so we assume you just might still be innocent," Judy, her new guard, laughed. "Don't take it personal, it's just that everyone who shows up here is innocent. Really a shame the cops never catch anyone who's guilty.

"This is the procedure. First you take a shower. I don't care how clean you are, all overnight guests get one. Then you get issue clothes. No street clothes allowed. Whatever you have on now goes in with your personal property. Everything is contraband unless we give it to you. We find drugs, weapons, money, anything like that and you get extra time. Give us a hard time and you get solitary or worse. You don't want that.

"I order you to jump, you start hopping till I tell you to stop. You do whatever any guard in here tells you to do. Fail to obey an order and we come down on you hard, understand?"

Sue Ann nodded, all that was about what she expected. Jail wasn't meant to be a vacation resort.

"Good. After the shower and new clothes you get a room assignment. You are lucky tonight; we still have a few vacancies. Unless it gets busy later you will have a cell to yourself. Lights out at 10pm. The day starts at 7am, you get breakfast in your cell. If you are scheduled for court you will be transported to the courthouse some time after 8:30. For arraignments and non-jury trial days you wear issue clothes. Your attorney will bring some street clothes if you are appearing before a jury.

Wherever you are you will get some lunch around noon. Supper is at 6:30 again in your cell. We don't have work details or recreation; you won't be here that long. If you behave you can watch some TV at night. Clear on all that? Here's the showers. This late you get it to yourself."

They went into the shower area. Sue Ann expected the wide-open showers so common in prison movies, but to her surprise there were individual stalls. Judy removed her handcuffs and pointed to a nearby table. "Everything off. Put it on that table and into the shower. When you get done, dry off with a towel," she gestured to a rack full of towels, "and then go to the door at the far end. You will get new clothes there. Now go!"

Sue Ann unzipped her skirt, dropped it and stepped out. She carefully folded it and set it on the table. Next she unbuttoned her blouse, took it off and folded it too. Her underwear and shoes followed, forming a neat pile on the table. She went into the nearest stall and turned on the water. There was some soap in a holder. Noticing her guard Judy was watching, she used the soap liberally, scrubbing herself all over. She rinsed off the soap, turned off the water and stepped out, looking at Judy.

"Good enough. Go over to the window for some clothes." Sue Ann walked over to an open window where another guard asked her size. Sue Ann listed her clothing sizes; she got a pile of clothes handed to her. "You can dress here first," Judy told her. Sue Ann put on the scratchy underwear, followed by a blue denim knee length skirt and sleeveless blouse. The words Detention Center were stenciled on both the skirt and blouse. Slippers completed the ensemble.

Judy took hold of her upper arm and they headed back out the front door of the shower room. Judy took her around a corner in the corridor to another barred gate. The guard opened it with a key from her belt, gestured for Sue Ann to go through first, then closed and locked the gate. They went past several occupied cells then stopped at the first empty one. She used another key on her belt to unlock the cell door. "In you go. No talking after lights out. Guards will come by several times at night for bed checks." Sue Ann stepped across the threshold into her cell. As she turned back to Judy the door swung shut. She could hear the door lock engage with a mechanical click. "Keep your hands and arms inside the bars. Don't grab at anyone passing by. We expect you to keep the place neat and clean. Like I said before, give us a hard time and you do hard time. That's it till morning." Judy turned and walked away.

Sue Ann's accommodations were somewhat less than a five-star hotel. A bed, a toilet and sink combination, and a wall shelf she could use as a table. Three cinder block walls and a set of bars summed up the interior decoration. She pushed against the bars on the door; they felt solid and did not move. She didn't really think the door would be unlocked. She grabbed the bars of the door in both hands and pushed as hard as she could. All her strength did not move the door. She was as securely confined as if she were in close bondage. Some times at home she would place the keys at one end of the house, and then go to the other end and place herself in a tight bondage, legs tied together and behind her back several sets of handcuffs on her wrists. She would link the cuffs to her ankles with rope or chain, a position called a hog-tie, then make her way across the floor to the room with the keys. Here she had no mobility past the limits of the bars.

She sat down on the bed, looking at the confines of her small jail cell. She had seen cages on the Internet sites. They were just big enough to hold one person. Her cage had a few amenities but in principle it was the same. She had to stay here until someone else opened the cage, or cell, and let her out. The cages she had seen were much smaller since the intent was to be as restrictive as possible. The jail cell was bad enough; she could not imagine what it would be like to spend an entire night in one of those tiny cages.

She had to make some kind of decision about her arraignment tomorrow. On the negative side, she looked guilty; had she been on a jury hearing the same evidence she would have voted guilty without hesitation. On the positive side, well on the positive side she was safe from her stalker. Otherwise there was no positive outlook. If by some miracle she did make bail she would be out of a job by tomorrow morning. There weren't going to be many offers coming her way either. She doubted she could even get a menial job at a fast food place. There were no close friends or relatives to help. Her casual friends at the office would avoid her in fear of their own jobs. Or freedom for that matter, no one would want to be accused of being an accomplice.

Sue Ann fell asleep on the cell bunk with thoughts of her case rolling around in her head. Again and again she went over how it could have happened, looking for some small detail the actual thief had missed. She awoke the next morning to a loud bell ringing in the cellblock. Another female guard walked past her cell, stopping to look Sue Ann over for a moment before continuing along the row of prisoners. About ten minutes later a cart stopped in front of her door. A guard unlocked a small slot in her door and passed through a Styrofoam carton. "A recent arrival? This is breakfast. Here's your coffee too." The guard handed her a Styrofoam coffee cup with a lid on it. "Cream and sugar are in the carton. You are scheduled for court today; we'll come for you in about an hour, be ready to go." The guard closed the food slot and proceeded to the next cell.

Sue Ann opened the carton to see what she had. Eggs, probably from powdered, a strip of bacon, a slice of toast, a small cup of orange juice with a foil top, and packets of creamer and sugar for the coffee. There was a plastic fork and spoon included along with a paper napkin. It looked like the two-dollar breakfast special at McDonald's. She ate all of it anyway. The guard last night, Judy, had told her she would get lunch at noon. There would be no midmorning coffee break with a banana muffin today.

She finished the bland meal, even to drinking all the coffee, though she tried to stick to tea. She placed all the trash inside the container, mindful of Judy's warning about keeping the place clean. Next to the sink were a comb and toothbrush wrapped in plastic, and a small tube of toothpaste along with one of those hotel sized soap bars. Sue Ann cleaned herself up as much as possible, hoping to make a good impression when she got to court. She wasn't obsessed with her appearance but she did try to look nice at work or in other more formal social settings. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her blouse and skirt as best she could. She would have preferred to wear one of her tailored business suits but she had to make do with whatever her custodians chose to allow her.

When a pair of guards showed up at her door a short time later, she was waiting on her bunk, hands in her lap. One guard, a large man, opened the slot on her door. "We will be transporting you to the Courthouse. You are scheduled to be arraigned this morning. Stand up, turn around with your back to the door and extend your wrists out this slot." Sue Ann complied with his order, she knew what he intended. Once again her wrists were locked in handcuffs behind her back. The male officer double locked her cuffs then opened the cell door. He allowed Sue Ann to turn around as she stepped out of her cell but halted her as soon as she was in the hallway.

"You have been listed as a security risk," the female guard told her. Then the female guard knelt down and locked leg irons around Sue Ann's ankles. "Walk slowly and don't try to run or kick," the guard told her as she checked the fit of the ankle cuffs. "Don't try to walk by yourself; one of us will be with you at all times to make sure you keep your balance. It is very easy to trip or fall and injure yourself while in restraints. It's best if you don't jerk against the ankle cuffs; that will cause bruising. . Now, take a few steps, try to keep it short, just like wearing very high heels." Sue Ann smiled at the last comment; only another woman would describe it that way.

Both guards watched her carefully as the man started to lead her forward by the grip on her upper arm. Because of Sue Ann's prior experience, she had no trouble after one first step to determine the length of her stride. Compared to her desert hike this wasn't bad at all; they had used the regular full-length leg irons. Sue Ann supposed the average prisoner, especially a woman, would not be so skilled, if that was the proper word, at wearing chains. It explained the care both guards took to make sure she did not hurt herself. The guards seemed surprised she was able to move so well; the woman gave her an odd look. Maybe she knows, Sue Ann thought.

They took her down the elevator and out to the back of the building. This was familiar territory to Sue Ann now, but they surprised her by heading over to a van instead of the usual bus. Sue Ann looked over her shoulder at the other prisoners being loaded into the police bus, most handcuffed wrist to wrist in pairs, a few with both wrists cuffed together but still in front rather than behind the back. None had leg irons or waist chains. Obviously they were all low risk; Sue Ann supposed she wouldn't try to escape if arrested for overdue parking tickets either.

The man opened the van door while the woman helped Sue Ann inside. She sat on a bench type car seat while the woman buckled a seat belt around her waist. Other guards brought out another woman who was placed in the van next to Sue Ann. The male guard closed and locked the rear van door. Both guards got in the front seat. The man drove while the woman watched Sue Ann and the other prisoner through the ubiquitous metal screen separating the prisoner compartment.

Under other circumstances Sue Ann would be enjoying all this. The male guard wasn't a movie star but he was handsome. She would have preferred that he put the cuffs around her ankles, his hands on her legs; she closed her eyes for a moment, imagining what it would feel like. Better stop that, she thought to herself, this is serious business.

Out of curiosity she explored the handcuffs on her wrists. They were the high security hinged type rather than the more common chain link. Her wrists and arms were forced to stay parallel to each other. It was nearly as restrictive as the waist chain combination Sue Ann used on herself. She couldn't touch either keyhole. She had one pair of hinged cuffs in her collection. She seldom used them because they were so difficult to get off without someone else to help. She had never attempted wearing them behind her back; in retrospect it had been a wise choice. There was no way she could free herself in this position. He had used the police technique, palms facing out. Maybe if she could twist one wrist around the other way, she might do better. She didn't have a key, but it would be interesting to see if she could at least reach the lock. She started to turn her right hand but didn't get very far. These cuffs had an oval shape that fit her wrist well, but the same design prevented turning her wrist. She gave one last tug at the cuffs then gave up.

The van pulled into the rear parking lot of the Courthouse. They had arrived before the bus. The driver parked the van in a reserved spot next to the prisoner entrance. The female guard was the first out; she opened the rear door and began unbuckling the seat belts. She helped out the other woman prisoner. The two stood next to the van while the driver assisted Sue Ann. All four went into the building entrance.

They passed a guard at the door then proceeded down a short hallway to a series of barred cells. Most held men in jail uniform. They went round a corner to a smaller group of empty cells. A female guard at a desk rose and unlocked one of the cell doors. Sue Ann and the other woman were placed in the cell and the door locked. The two guards from the jail collected a receipt and left.

"This is a holding area. When you are called a bailiff will take you to the courtroom. The two of you are listed as security risks, so your restraints will not be removed. You can sit on the bench or stand. You can talk to each other but keep it down, and don't bother me unless you need to use the toilet. You get lunch at noon if you are still here." The guard sat back down at her desk and returned to filling out some paperwork. Sue Ann looked at the other prisoner, shrugged, and sat down on the wooden bench against the wall. The other woman joined her. Sue Ann noticed both of them were shackled in the same manner.

"Lou Gonzalez, that's short for Guadeloupe, excuse me if I don't shake hands," the other woman introduced herself as she sat down next to Sue Ann. "I have some sort of hearing on trial motions today. I have a Public Defender so I'm not expecting any miracles. He's trying to get a search excluded. I doubt if it will help." Lou leaned forward and stretched her arms behind her. "These cuffs sure hurt your shoulders after a while. Don't bother asking the guard to help, I've already tried."

"Sue Ann Mendel, I'm here for an arraignment." Sue Ann leaned to one side and wiggled her fingers from behind her back. "No problem with the handshake under the circumstances." Sue Ann shifted her arms side to side to try to reduce the pressure on her shoulders. "I know what you mean. Like I'm going to overpower a man twice my size." Sue Ann lifted her feet and rattled the ankle chain. "Then kick open the cell doors and run off into town."

Lou laughed along with Sue Ann. The guard looked up for a moment then continued with her paperwork. Several more female prisoners and their guards came around the corner. The bus had arrived. The holding area guard placed the rest of the women in the other holding cells; Sue Ann and Lou had one to themselves. The jail guards removed the handcuffs from the other prisoners, collected the paperwork, and left. Several women stared through the bars at Sue Ann and Lou but said nothing.

The bailiffs came through a door. Each handed a slip of paper to the guard, who selected the appropriate prisoner. Sue Ann noticed the bailiffs did handcuff the women prisoners but allowed then to keep their hands in front. One bailiff collected Lou; he left the cuffs and leg irons in place as he led her away.

Sue Ann sat by herself. None of the prisoners in the other cells seemed inclined to talk to her. Fear probably, Sue Ann thought. They must think I'm violent and dangerous. A few times she stood and walked around to stretch her legs; the other women watched her as she leaned over to stretch her arms behind her. She wasn't sure how long she waited but finally a bailiff came for her. He took her through the door to a corridor that led to each courtroom. He stopped at a door labeled Department 5 . That must be her judge, Sue Ann thought. He opened the door and led her by the arm into the courtroom. Several people were milling around; the judge hadn't arrived yet. The bailiff told her to sit next to three other prisoners in a section walled off with transparent panels. She was the only woman in the docket; the rest were all men.

Her attorney walked over and stood in front of her. "Hi Sue Ann. I just found out about the security risk thing. It's a ploy to make you give up your partner. They are trying to make you as miserable as possible, to scare you. I can't do anything about it yet, but I'll file a motion to stop it. Did you think about our conversation last night? We will be in third place today. Usually this goes quickly but it can bog down if someone wants to be stubborn."

Sue Ann knew how she was going to plead. She didn't have a real choice. "Yes, I thought about it. These are uncomfortable," she held out her cuffed hands behind her, "but I can live with it. Thanks for your help. I didn't do it, but I can't explain the evidence. I'll plead guilty and hope for the best." Sue Ann hung her head. She didn't want to start crying now.

"You do have the option to plead what is known as nolo contendere , or no contest. It's not an admission of guilt. You waive a trial. Instead you tell your story to the judge; he also looks at the evidence the prosecution has filed in briefs. You know what your chances will be, but at least you don't have to admit guilt. Your chance for appeal if new evidence is found is better if you didn't plead guilty in the original case." He sounded sincere to Sue Ann; perhaps she did have someone on her side after all.

"I want to plead that way, no contest. What will happen?" she asked him.

"Well, you still get a chance at bail. The judge will schedule a date for you to present your story. You have to do that; I'll be there to advise but I don't present evidence. Both sides can file briefs before the hearing to present evidence, but there won't be any witnesses. The judge might ask you some questions, then he passes a summary judgment. If he'd already made up his mind he might sentence you immediately. Otherwise you wait for the bad news."

The judge came in and her attorney returned to his seat. The first arraignment went very quickly, not guilty plea and bail set. The second took a while longer haggling over the bail amount. Then her attorney came over and motioned for Sue Ann to stand up. The clerk read the charges, no change from when the detective had arrested her, then the judge asked for her plea. She looked at her attorney, nodded. "No contest, your Honor. We ask for five thousand in bail. The defendant will surrender her passport," her attorney said.

The prosecution attorney, a woman sitting at the table across from Sue Ann and her attorney, stood up. "Your Honor, we ask she be remanded without bail. She poses a considerable flight risk. There is an accomplice still on the loose and half a million dollars in missing funds. We will not oppose the no contest plea." Sue Ann looked at her attorney to see what that meant; he held up his hand to her as the judge spoke.

"As long as the money is missing I agree. But I'll be reasonable, bail set at the amount in question, one half million dollars cash or property. Clerk will schedule a no contest hearing." The judge started to turn to the clerk for the next case.

"Your Honor," her attorney interrupted, "we would like to enter a motion to have the security risk status for the defendant reduced to a normal risk category. Is it really necessary to have her appear in chains?"

The prosecution attorney started to rise but the judge waved her down. "Denied. She may have an accomplice and substantial funds. It is reasonable to take extra security precautions. Next case." That was it. Her attorney looked at her and shrugged. He had tried. Sue Ann wasn't surprised. They were going to squeeze her for a name she didn't have. A half million dollar bail was impossible for her to raise. She doubted she could raise even five percent of that amount given present circumstances. A bailiff came up behind her and took her arm.

Later that day her attorney sent a message to inform her the hearing date was set for next week. Lacking the means to raise bail she had to spend the days in her cell. As she had expected the bank sent word through her attorney that she had been terminated. She had no visitors other than her attorney. During the day she could read the paper or watch some TV, but the nights she spent locked in her cell.

The nights after lights out were the most difficult. It was difficult to sleep, the lights were dimmed but still on, and worst of all was the yelling and screaming from the men's area. At least her section was quiet, but the sounds she could hear were frightening. Often she would sit on her bunk and stare at the bars confining her, almost grateful that they kept the crazies away from her, but still shaken and scared of what they represented. It wasn't so much a fear of what was coming, for she had no control over her destiny now. Her despair came from knowing she would never meet her mysterious stranger again.

Sue Ann had no problem with the jail guards. She was a model prisoner, keeping quiet and following orders. All her life, even as a little girl she had tried to meet the expectations other had set for her. In school she had always done her homework and never got in trouble. Her parents had praised her hard work and good grades at school. She was diligent at work and did her best when given assignments. Her supervisor had been a glum man with personal problems and too many beers at lunch, but the few times he did remark on how well she had completed an assignment were all the more special because of their scarcity. And now she found herself unconsciously doing the same thing with the guards, trying to please them.

A week later she was back in court. Her time in jail was uneventful but boring. Her attorney had come by twice to help her with her story and to file briefs. He had won one small concession; she was allowed to change into street clothes for her appearance before the judge. And without the chains, though there would be several bailiffs in the courtroom. She doubted it would make a difference. She had rehearsed her explanation. It sounded weak. She had seen the prosecution briefs, a simple timeline of events and copies of the audit reports, plus the account form obtained from the bank in Mexico. That one she hadn't seen before. The account cosigner name was Suzanna Mendez , with a signature in her handwriting. It was an excellent forgery. They must think she was incredibly stupid for using such an obvious pseudonym.

She told her story to the judge. He looked bored. After she finished he made a few notes but asked only one question, "You won't reveal the name of your accomplice?" Her heart sank. He didn't believe her. She answered that she didn't know his name and he wasn't an accomplice. The judge stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.

"Sue Ann Mendel, this court finds you guilty on all counts. For each count of wire fraud, you are sentenced to four year in prison, to be served concurrently. For each embezzlement count, three years concurrent, sentence to be served consecutively." Sue Ann added it up; she thought that meant seven years. Not as bad as her attorney had predicted. "Since three fraud counts were committed against senior citizens, the state mandates that the sentence for that offense be doubled." The judge stopped for a moment and looked at her. "That means you serve eight years for the fraud charge, then three more for embezzlement. If you have a change of heart and decide to cooperate this court will review the sentence. Defendant will remain in custody and will be transported to the State Maximum Security Facility as soon as possible." The judge stood and left.

Sue Ann turned to her attorney, "what does that mean?" A bailiff came up behind her and began to handcuff her. Sue Ann paid no attention to him as he took hold of her arms. Something hadn't sounded right in the judge's sentence.