“If you have the money, I could get it across and post it for you?” Victor suggested.
I sighed. “I have some money saved up,” I nodded. “But not enough. I would need at least a thousand five hundred more in order to meet bail.”
“Then a Bail Bondsman is your best bet,” he suggested.
“I’m not using a bail bondsman.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve come across a few in the past and they can’t be trusted,” I said. “I’m not going to get mixed up with any of them.”
Victor looked at me in frustration. “You’re not working with me here.”
“I guess the only thing you can do right now is prove that I’m innocent,” I said. “Starting with finding proof that Brent framed me.”
“Trust me, I’m working on it,” he assured me. “Hang in there.”
I smiled. “People keep saying that to me.”
That night I was lying in my hard cot in my cell when the door opened. Munch woke with a start by the grating sound of the door opening. He cursed loudly, rolled over, and fell back into sleep. I sat up and realized it was Manolo. Grateful to see a friendly face and happy for the distraction, I pushed back the scratchy covers and swung my legs down to the ground.
“Come with me,” Manolo gestured me to follow him.
Uncertain where this was going, I followed him out and down the corridor. “Are you breaking me out?” I asked.
Manolo smiled. “Unfortunately, not today,” he said. “I’m just moving you to your new cell.”
He stopped outside an open jail door and gestured me inside. This cell was exactly like my first one, except that I didn’t have a cellmate here.
“My own private cell, huh?” I said. “Wow… I never expected to feel lucky in this place.”
“It’s the best I could do for you right now,” he said, stepping into the cell with me and leaned against the wall while I sat down.
“Thanks, Manolo,” I said. “I really do appreciate it. I have to admit; I was half scared Munch would kill me in my sleep.”
Manolo smiled, but t
hen his expression ironed out into seriousness. “I spoke to Megan this morning.”
I tensed immediately, and I couldn’t ignore the stab of pain in my gut. “What did she say?”
“I’m not at liberty to disclose that information to you right now,” Manolo said. “I just wanted you to know I’ve spoken to her.”
I nodded. “Well, can you tell me how she was… Did she look okay?”
“She looked…sad,” Manolo said softly. “She looked like she’d been crying.”
I supposed it would be tear-inducing to find out that your boyfriend was a drug dealer…except that I wasn’t, and I felt as though she should have known that.
“Any leads on Brent?” I asked. “Or are you not at liberty to disclose that, either?”
Manolo gave me a small reassuring smile. “I’ve done some digging, and I’ve passed on any information I’ve gotten onto the drug task force. If there’s anything to find, they’ll find it.”
“Before I’ve spent a year of my life in this place?” I asked desperately.
“Hang in there, Phil,” Manolo told me.
He was the third person to say that to me. I thanked him and watched as he exited my cell, locked me in, and walked away with a nod. The funny part was that I might have been better able to handle all of this if I knew that Megan believed me. If I knew she was there to support me, if I knew she was by my side, in the metaphorical sense, then it would have been easy to “hang in there.”