12 Hours - 3. Chapter 3

"Why bother?" Gene asked.

“OK,” Jessica replied, calmly.

“Why bother to say anything?”

“The pictures are being taken?”

“Yes.”

“Has anyone told you you were under arrest?”

“They’re turning my head. ‘Get in there... Get over here... Sit down.’ Turning my head. All the directions. I’m out.”

“All right, Gene. Has anyone told you that you were under arrest yet?”

“No. It’s not formal. Nothing is formal.”

“Have you been read your rights yet?”

“No.”

“OK. Go ahead.”

“I’m... the... fingerprints... fingerprints are first. And then inside the... there’s a tank... a holding tank. It’s all bars except one wall. And there’s a telephone on the bars. And there’s a sign. And there’re benches attached.. I’m trying to talk... I want to use the phone. I... I’m asking for... change.”

“Has everything been taken out of your pockets?”

“Everything except... they gave me a receipt... a booking receipt... I’ve got... I’ve got the key for my car... I’ve got two dollars they handed me through the bars. Two dollar bills.”

“Uh-huh.”.

“I’ve got two dollar bills, a receipt, and the key.”

“All right. Were you in there to call your attorney?”

“Yes. You can call. I... I need some change. Can’t make any change. I... John... John’s here.”

“He’s in there with you?”

“Yes.”

“Is he calling anyone?”

“I use the phone. I don’t think so. There’s no conversation.”

“Between you and him?”

“On the phone... there’s no conversation. I’m calling and... there’s an answering service. ‘I’m scared,’ I say. ‘I need some help. The whole thing’s a nightmare.’ It’s an answering service, but he understands. He sounds... interested.”

“The answering service?”

“Yes. He’ll try to contact my lawyer. And... he asks for the booking number.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And I reach into my pocket to find the receipt. And as I’m reading it... he comes.”

“Who?”

“The jailer. He comes over and says, ‘Let me have that.’ I say, ‘Why? I’m trying to get some infor...’ ‘Gimme that!’ ‘Why?’ ‘Just gimme that!’ And he takes it away, and he comes back and gives me another one. And he tells me this is, “Because of what you did in that cell.’”

“Was it different from the first one?”

“Yes.”

“What was different about it?”

“There was no bail.”

“On the first one?”

“Yes. I wanted to read it completely. I remember there were areas that were blacked out... that you can’t read. I wanted to read it through... to find out what was blacked out. I tried... I was trying... the first time I looked at it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Because I didn’t know what they were handing me. ‘This is a receipt for your property,’ and then they took it away.”

“What color was the first one?”

“Pink.”

“What color was the second?”

“Pink. The five hundred dollar... the bail was five hundred dollars. I didn’t believe it. It says, ‘You are being charged with malicious mischief.’ And I said, ‘Why?’ I said , ‘Why?’ ‘Because of what you did in the cell in there.’”

“Who said this?”

“The jailer.”

“OK.”

“He’s the... he’s wearing glasses. He’s... and khakis.”

“All right. Did you finish your call to the answering service?”

“Yes and... then I then tried to call home, but there wasn’t any answer. I tried calling again. I kept trying to call. I wanted someone there. I needed someone there.”

“OK.”

“To see me. I needed someone to see what was happening.”

“What happened after you didn’t get an answer?”

“There was no question as to... ‘How are you doing?’ “Did you get your call through?’ Nothing. No interest. No interest by anyone. John... John says, ‘If you... when you get to your lawyer, can you... can you get me out, too? Get bail for me?’ He was concerned.”

“So you think he was charged bail?”

“I don’t know if that’s the word. ‘Do you think you can help me?’”

“I see.”

“‘Can you get me out?’ He was concerned. I said., ‘Yeah. I’ll try and help because...’ He was so much younger than me.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And I thought... I didn’t know what the warrants were. That he said. ‘There were two warrants.’ I didn’t know what they were for, and I didn’t ask. But he... the jailer... says I’m being charged with malicious mischief. ‘Why? Why am I being charged? Because, he choked me,’ I say. ‘I didn’t do anything. They did it to me.’ He says, ‘I don’t know why he choked you, but I guess what happened is you lost control of your bladder.’ That’s what the jailer said.”

“Uh-huh.”

“That’s the first time I realized what happened. I didn’t realize what had happened.”

“OK. What... How much time had elapsed between then and when it happened?”

“Quite a few minutes. Seems like a lot. A lot of things... seem to have happened. The being in the jail. Being in the cell. Being fingerprinted and booked.”

“Had you been read your rights up to that time?”

“No, the only time... the first time... was in the court. When the judge read them. That was the first time.”

“Was that the same day?”

“Yes... but in the morning.”

“The morning?.”

“It’s... it’s three AM now. It’s the next morning... at eleven. But in the court.”

“What happens after you talk to the jailer?”

“I’m... I’m saying... I’m trying to... I can communicate with him. I’m not completely certain, but at least he’s giving me some information. There’s communication... words going back and forth. He would hear what I said, and he’d answer.”

“All right. Where were you put then... or taken?”

“Then I... John was taken.”

“He was taken first?”

“Yes.”

“Out of the holding tank?”

“I think... yes. I think... I was alone. ‘Cause I could see when they were walking him. Into the other cell.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I think that’s where he went.”

“OK. Then what happened to you?”

“‘Do you?’ the jailer asks. ‘Do you want to take a shower?’ ‘Yes. Please.’ I had given up telephoning. I couldn’t... I called the answering service again, and they couldn’t find Ben.”

“Your lawyer?”

“Yes... and I was taken to the shower. I was happy to take my clothes off. I went in the shower, and I felt so good. Just... just to be in the water. And then... I don’t know if there was a towel ‘cause I put my clothes on wet. I washed my shorts. There was water on me. And then I was taken to another... a couple of doors... a cell. Past another cell and into the cell. There was... a toilet. There was a sink. There was a bunk bed. The felony tank. ‘Put him in the felony tank,’ they told him. ‘You’re going in the felony cell.’ Number 5. Number 1? Number 2. Number 2, I think.”

“All right. Then you were taken there?”

“Yes. I was put in there. And there... there was a mat... a plastic mat lying on the bottom. And there was someone across the jail... on the other side. There was a cell with two people”

“Could you see them?”

“I didn’t want to talk to anyone.”

“Could you see John from where you were?”

“Umm... no. I tried... tried to... I tried to look out. But I couldn’t see where he was, and I went... went to lean on the bunk.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And there were... there were names written all over the walls. And on the... metal slabs of the bunk. There was only a thin plastic mattress, and I didn’t want to lie down. I just kept walking. And leaning against the bunk.”

“Did you finally go to sleep?”

“I didn’t want to. Didn’t want to sleep.”

“Did anything happen before you did?”

“There was... I wanted a cigarette. I had cigarettes but didn’t have any matches. And I asked across the cell if... if they had a match. They threw me a book and asked for a cigarette. And I threw a cigarette, and I lit a cigarette. And I smoked it. And I sat on the bunk... shaking my head. and thinking, ‘Oh, my God. Why? What in the hell have I done?’ I’m trying to think, ‘What to do? What do I do now?’ I can’t get my wallet... my numbers. I can’t call other people. I’m... And I was having trouble swallowing because my throat hurt from the choking. It was like... like pushing together in the middle... like two bones rubbing. Very sore. And I was concerned what was possibly wrong.”

“With your throat?”

“Yes. And I asked the jailer, but... breakfast came. That early.”

“You didn’t sleep at all?”

“I don’t think so. I didn’t want to. I couldn’t sleep.”

“All right.”

“I think I tried, but I was... I was still worried because I couldn’t contact anyone. No one knew I was there except the answering service. So breakfast came and I... I couldn’t eat. Couldn’t swallow.”

“Not at all?”

“Not without hurting. I tried to eat the applesauce. I couldn’t. I smoked another cigarette. I washed my face with the water. I drank water for my throat. And when the jailer came... ‘I want to use the telephone,’ I said. ‘I want to call my lawyer.’ ‘You used the telephone once.’ ‘But I have to talk to my attorney.’ I was insistent and...”

“Did they let you call?

“No. ‘No, you made a call.’ And then they picked up the breakfast. ‘I want to talk to my attorney, and...’ ‘All right. All right.’”

“So they let you?”

“In a little while.”

“And?”

“He came back... the jailer. And I went... went back to the holding tank. And there was someone else there. With long hair and a... dungaree jacket. And paint on his shoes and glasses. And smiling. Not really smiling, but... there was no hatred. It was very... It wasn’t an old friend but... It was nice to have someone around.”

“Did anything happen? When did you find out what time your arraignment was?”

“It was... I heard nothing about the arraignment. But when I was using the phone... ‘Don’t worry... we’ll get in touch with your lawyer.’ I went back. I didn’t want to go back. I wanted to stay there. I spoke to the jailer, and I was talking with... Joe. I think his name was.”

“The painter?”

“Yes. The painter’s Joe.”

“Uh-huh.

“And I was talking with him. ‘What are you in here for?’ I asked. And he says, ‘Traffic. Jaywalking warrants.’ And he asks, ‘What did you get busted for?’ And I say, ‘Malicious mischief.’ And he says, ‘What?’ And I told him and told him about... ‘Yeah,’ the jailer says. ‘He rubbed his crap all over the walls.’ And I said, ‘But after I was choked.’ And Joe laughed. And I said, ‘I guess I’m the new low man here.’ And the jailer says, ‘What do you mean? You’re not short.’”

“Who said that?”

“The jailer. Well, I looked at Joe. And we looked at each other. And we laughed. And he said to the jailer, ‘Well, look, man, don’t you understand what you’re doing?’ And the jailer says, “I’m doing my job. I get paid to be here eight hours. I’m doing my job.’ ‘But don’t you see what’s going on around you?’ Joe says. ‘All around you. Don’t you care?’ ‘If... if... if you guys weren’t here,’ the jailer says, ‘I wouldn’t have a job.’ ‘That’s strange reasoning,’ Joe says. And then he was taken away.”

“The painter?”

“Yes. He was. He was talking with the jailer... and he told him he’d taken some LSD. ‘How much did you take?’ the jailer asks. ‘Half a hit.’ ‘How much is half a hit?’ ‘I don’t know... it’s half a hit.’ And he... the jailer... becomes concerned about whether Joe was going to OD. And he went out to ask someone what the effects would be. And they brought in a sergeant with two stripes. Heavyset. Young. A young rookie. And they went... I could hear them. I couldn’t see, but they went back to... where they had taken the painter. And they took him out. And they took him back. I could hear this. They took him to the shower to take off his clothes. And they checked to see if he had any more drugs. And they decided everything was all right, and they put him... they put him in the cell across and to the left from mine. Across to the left and over. And they were talking all the time... the other people in the jail. About different things. About this crazy guy up there that takes drugs. Or if he’s tripping... this guy’s tripping. Conversations were going on all over. Back and forth from one end to the other.”

“What happened to you then?”

“I was... I was put back in the cell. And I figured... well, there’s nothing I can do but sleep. So I lay down, and I tried to sleep. But it was very difficult. I just kept sitting up and lying down and trying to sleep. And it was cold because I didn’t have much on. It wasn’t freezing, but it was cold. And I could hear... Well, I could hear everything.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And when I went out to use the phone after breakfast, I could see... I saw John lying down in the jail. In the big jail.”

“Uh-huh.”

“With... I saw his shirt, and I saw the...”

“The what?”

“The pants. I think the pants. I think the pants were khaki.”

“OK.”

“And I could... I saw him lying face down.”