Chapter 7

The booking area of the police station was full that night, with both men and women. It was a plain and bleak room, illuminated by fluorescents. Long rows of plastic chairs bolted to the floor were the only fixtures, and almost all of them were occupied. On one wall was a counter where two officers were working: one taking fingerprints, the other taking mugshots. Several others stood by watching the rest of us. They almost seemed eager for someone to cause problems. I sat uncomfortably with my hands now cuffed in front of me, a measure taken to prevent further violence on my part, I was told. I swallowed hard trying to quell the fear within me.

Shortly after arriving I had been taken to a room where a man in scrubs had asked me medical questions and about my mental state. I was then taken back out to the main room and seated in one of the plastic chairs. A man was brought in and set next to me. He was left cuffed as well. He sat muttering words I couldn’t hear and punctuating them with an occasional shouted curse. When he would raise his voice one of the guards would yell, “Keep it down!” or “Knock it off!” He was dressed in grimy jeans, a ripped and bloodied polo shirt, and cheap flip flops. After ten minutes he looked in my direction with bleary eyes and said, “Hey girl, why you here?”

Startled I only managed to say, “Me?”

In a churlish tone he replied, “No bitch, the other girl sitting next to me. Yes you!”

Something told me that I didn’t need to discuss my crimes with this man, so I simply replied, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You too good to talk to me?!” he began to shout, causing me to cringe away from him, looking to any guard I could find.

One of the officers tasked with watching us, a young man, looked in our direction and practically yelled, “Pipe down or I’ll put you in the tank!”

He then walked over to me and said, “Stand up.”

Doing as I was told, I rose from my seat, as best as possible with my cuffed hands, and the young guard said, “Come on.”

As I followed him across the room, he gently held my arm, guiding me to a solitary chair next to where he was standing watch. He motioned for me to sit down and I silently obeyed.

Looking down at me he quietly said, “I’m sorry about that.”

I gave him a curious look and said, “I’m not in trouble?”

The guard chuckled and said, “No, you’re in plenty of trouble. Just not in trouble for getting yelled at by him.”

He looked at me again, sympathetically, and said, “I heard the chatter on the radio a few minutes ago. That boy you punched is fine. They’ve already released him from the ER. I can tell you’re not like these other people. You’re a scared kid. I don’t know why you punched that guy’s lights out but let me give you some advice. After they book you, they’re going to take you to another part of the building to get a statement. Don’t say anything except “lawyer.” Don’t discuss your case with anyone in holding. Do you have anyone you can call?”

I shook my head dejectedly. “My brother, I guess. But he’s in Iowa.”

The young man nodded and said, “Just as soon as you get a phone call, call him. And tell him to hurry. All females are taken to Red Creek Women’s Facility. Once they get you settled in there it’s going to be hard for your brother to get you out before arraignment.”

I couldn’t help cracking a smile. “Red Creek? That’s a hell of a name for a women’s facility.”

The young guard grinned as well and said, “I know, right?”

He then said, “Try not to be too scared. I have a feeling you’re going to be alright. Just remember what I said, don’t say anything without a lawyer.”

From the counter the fingerprinting officer said, “Nowak, Harmony K.”

I felt a wave of anxiety pass through me as I said, “Here?”

He looked in my direction and the guard with whom I had been speaking said, “Okay, your turn.”

He walked me to the counter where I had all ten fingers rolled over an inkpad and then pressed onto a form with little boxes for my prints. The other officer then stood me in front of a white background with feet and inches marked on it.

“Stand up straight and look at the camera,” he said, and then snapped a photo of me facing the camera, followed by one in profile. I noticed that the marks on the wall indicated I was five foot eight and one half.

After this I said, “I’d like my phone call now.”

The photographing officer looked at me and smirked, saying, “And I’d like a latte and a vacation.”

He turned to the guard who had been so kind to me and said, “Take her to 604.”

I was taken to cell 604 which was already occupied by four other women. One appeared to be passed out on a bench at the back of the cell, one was pacing back and forth visibly shaking and crying, and the other two were leisurely talking on the only other bench in the holding cell.

I leaned back against the cell wall and closed my eyes. The night had already been long, and it appeared that it was just going to get longer.

Sometime in the middle of the night two officers came to my cell door and told me they were taking me to an interrogation room to take my statement. I immediately responded. “Nope I want a lawyer. I watch a lot of TV; I know how this works.”

One of the men said, “It will go better for you if you cooperate.”

“Lawyer,” I said, drawing the word out for several seconds. I heard one of the women behind me snicker.

Shaking his head, the man said, “Have it your way.”

I sat down hard on the floor and laid my head on my knees. Somehow, I managed to drift off into a fitful, dreamless sleep. I’m not sure how much time had passed when another officer appeared at our cell door and said, “Nowak, Harmony K.”

“Yes?” I replied, rising to my feet. I was sore all over from having slept in such an awkward position.

“Your turn for the phone. You get three minutes. A recording tells you when your time is getting close. And in case you were thinking about trying it, it won’t dial 900 numbers.”

“Yes sir, okay,” I said.

Meekly I asked, “Do you have the time?”

Looking at his watch he replied, “7:08 AM.”

He walked me down the cellblock to a doorway, and we stepped through. On the other side was a non-descript phone on the wall. Pointing to it he said, “Dial 9 to get a line out. Remember, no funny business.”

I picked up the handset and pressed the 9 button. After a series of tones, I received a dial tone. I quickly tapped the numbers for our phone in Iowa and waited. After many rings Mira’s voice spoke from the other end of the line.

“Hello?”

“Mira? Has Lyric left for work yet?”

“Harmony? Where are you? We’ve been worried all night about you.”

A recorded voice interrupted us and said, “You have two minutes remaining.”

“I don’t have time to explain,” I responded hastily. “If he’s still home I need to speak to him now. It’s an emergency.”

“He just walked out the door. Hang on and I’ll see if he has left.”

I heard her sit the phone down and I could almost feel the seconds ticking by.

Again, the voice broke in and said, “You have one minute.”

“Oh, please Lyric! Hurry!” I said aloud.

From the other end of the line Lyric spoke. “Harmony, thank god! Are you ok?”

“I’m fine, but I only have about thirty seconds. I’m in jail in Duluth, I…”

He cut me off. “You’re what?”

“Please just listen. I’m so sorry, I’ve really fucked up Lyr, but I need your help.”

“What did you do?”

“I punched this kid that’s been stalking Erica. I’m at the main precinct, downtown.”

“Ok, ok, just hang on,” he said. “I’ll…”

With a final series of tones, the line went dead.

“No! No!” I shouted tapping the switch on the phone base.

“Ok, Nowak, back to your cell.”

I just hung my head and walked back to the holding cell.

***

Deep dread had set in inside me as the day passed, and I prayed that somehow Lyric would arrive before I was sent to the women’s facility. At two o’clock that afternoon Our cell door was opened, and a female officer said, “Okay, ladies. Time to get ready for your road trip.”

“Nowak!”

“Yes?” I croaked, looking beyond the cell door. Another female officer was standing there.

“Congratulations. You hit the lottery. Some kind soul bonded you out.”

I thought I would collapse right there. A warm feeling of relief filled me as I stepped out of the cell and was taken to the jail lobby.

Standing there waiting on me was Lyric. I could tell immediately that he was seething with anger. I looked down, ashamed, as I walked from the building with him. Glancing around the parking lot I asked, “Where’s your car?”

“It’s not here,” he responded. “I flew here and got a cab from the airport.”

I simply nodded and neither of us spoke for a long time.

Finally, Lyric broke the uncomfortable silence. “Dammit Harmony, what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about Erica, Lyr,” I said, desperately. I then told him of the whole situation, starting with Erica’s stay at spring break, up to Remi’s betrayal the previous night.

He simply shook his head. “How the fuck do you get yourself into these situations, Harm?”

“I wish I knew, because I’d make sure it didn’t happen again.”

Angrily he rounded on me. “You know how you keep shit from happening again? You keep your fucking nose clean and learn from your mistakes. Do you know how much money I had to put up to get you out? Ten thousand dollars, Harm, because we’re from out of state. I had to try three bonding companies because no one wanted to touch you. Aggravated assault, Harm. Aggravated assault.”

“Furthermore,” he continued, “Why was my register short ten dollars yesterday?”

“That would be why I got charged with a felony.”

Lyric looked at me confused, and I said, “I took a roll of quarters from the register, and I wrapped my fist around it last night before I cold cocked that kid.”

“Ah Jesus, Harm. Really? That’s pretty chicken shit. I didn’t teach you to fight like that.”

Shaking his head in disgust he said, “Come on, let’s get your car out of impound and find a motel. You’re driving us home tomorrow. When is your arraignment?”

“Three weeks from now.”

“Well, you damn sure better make it, because if I lose this bond money over more of your stupidity then they’re going to have to lock me up.”

All of the events from the previous twenty-four hours finally became too much for me to contain and I broke down in tears right there in front of the police station. Lyric looked at me with a scowl before wrapping his arm around my shoulder and pulling me into an embrace, and saying “It’s okay Harm, we’ll figure this out.”

An hour and a half later Lyric and I were sitting in a room at the same motel where I had stayed while visiting Erica weeks earlier. Lyric had stretched out on one bed, watching TV, and I was sitting on the edge of the other.

I knew I needed to talk to Erica, but I was terrified of what might await me when I did. By now Remi would have spun whatever lie she had concocted to make her appear as a victim in all of this, painting me as an obsessed lunatic. My only saving grace was that Remi thought I was still behind bars. From what she had said she didn’t plan on me making bail. I stared at the phone on the nightstand debating on what to do. Finally, I reached over and picked up the handset, and began to dial Erica’s number. Halfway through I hung the phone up.

Lyric looked over and said, “Who are you calling?”

“Erica,” I replied.

“I wouldn’t expect a warm reception if I were you. You think that Remi girl has already gotten to her?”

I nodded and said, “I guarantee it. She’s Erica’s roommate. I imagine she ran straight back to her and told her some wild version of what occurred.”

“Well, all you can do is trust that Erica can see the truth. Tell her what really happened and let her decide what to believe.”

Again, I nodded and after a few seconds I said, “Hey Lyric. Thank you for coming way up here and bailing me out. I’m sorry I’ve caused so much trouble for you.”

Rolling over he looked at me and sighed, saying, “You’re my sis. I told you last year that I would support you, and be in your corner, no matter what. I just would prefer, from here forward, that it not be some crazy shit like this. I feel responsible for this, to be honest. I was never the greatest role model to you; teaching you to fight and lie. Just promise me you won’t do something like this again. I understand wanting to defend Erica, but in the future talk to me please, and we’ll figure out the best course of action, before you beat some kid’s ass.”

I chuckled at this. Turning back to the TV Lyric said, “Well, go ahead and get it over with. The longer you wait, the worse it’s going to be.”

I nodded and picked the phone handset back up, dialing Erica’s number.

After three or four rings a voice said, “Hello?”

I felt the trickle of freezing fear and panic pass down my back with a shiver at the sound of Remi’s voice. Without fanfare I said, “Put her on the phone.”

Immediately the line went dead as she hung up on me, and my anxiety turned to seething rage as I redialed the number. Again, Remi answered, but this time she said, “Stop calling here.”

“I said put her on the phone.”

From the background I heard Erica say, “Just let me talk to her.”

After a moment Erica’s familiar voice said, “Hello?”

Both relief and nervousness filled me as I said, “Baby, oh my god, please listen to me.”

Erica interrupted me and said, “Why did you do this Harm? You promised me you wouldn’t.”

“Remi called me yesterday morning and said that Joey had assaulted you. That he had put his hands down your pants. She made it sound like I had no choice.”

I heard Erica turn to Remi and say, “Did you call her yesterday?”

“Non, I didn’t talk to her until last night at The Tilt. That’s when she said she was going to follow Joey out and kill him. Like I said, when I saw her leave, I followed them and tried to stop her, but she said she’d kill me too.”

“That’s a lie, Erica! You know me better than that. She called me with a plan to lure him out and then I was supposed to kick his ass. That’s all. She called me around seven yesterday morning.”

I could hear Remi still speaking in the background, now in hushed tones. I couldn’t make out her words and hot anger erupted within me.

“She’s lying to you, Erica! She wants to break us up so she can be with you!”

“Okay! Enough! Both of you!” Erica screamed into the phone. “How could she call you Harm? She doesn’t have your number.”

“I don’t know, but she did. She’s playing both of us.”

Erica was silent for many seconds, before saying, “I don’t know what to believe at this point. All I know is that it’s all over campus that my crazy girlfriend sent Joey Falcone to the hospital last night and got arrested. Everywhere I went today, people were staring at me.

“Look Harmony,” she continued. Her words stabbed at my heart. She never called me by my full name. “I don’t know what to believe at this point. I’ve never known you to do anything like this, yet you did.”

After another pause, she asked, “Are you okay?”

Sighing I answered, “I’m alright. Lyric made bail for me. I have to be back in three weeks for my arraignment.”

There was quiet on the other end of the line for what felt like minutes, before Erica said, “What are they charging you with?”

“Aggravated Assault.” I responded.

“Is that a felony?” she asked.

“Yes.”

More silence. Finally, she said, “Look Harm. I need time to wrap my head around all of this. I think its best if you don’t call anymore. I’ll call you when I’ve had a chance to process all of this.”

I felt hot tears of grief coursing down my cheeks now. “Erica, baby, I love you, please don’t do this. I need you right now.”

“What you need, Harm, is a lawyer. And I need time.”

Wiping my nose and eyes I said, “I love you baby.”

Erica paused before saying. “I know. Goodbye, Harm.”

There was a click from the other end of the line and just like that I was alone. I broke down, wracked with sobs. Since we had confessed our love to each other so long ago, she had never said goodbye to me. It felt so final.

Lyric walked over to where I was sitting and sat down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. For the second time today, I found myself bawling into his shoulder.

All he could say was, “I’m sorry, Harm.”