The Tale of Love & Racing: Sarina's Story

Chapter 8: "Are you saying I'm crazy, Chase?"

January 18, 2018 – North Carolina

Sarina takes a deep breath as she tries to relax, playing another round of TriPeaks Solitaire on her phone. Except, she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling.

Since the conversation with Shelley just over a week ago, her mind continued to wonder about her brother and the situation there. She found herself rehashing Shelley's words about trying to do something else, never being done trying to help, and angry that in her mind, Sarina had just thrown away the key.

She knew Shelley was the type to never give something up, always willing to do whatever it took, and find any loophole possibly. It was why Shelley had gotten along well with Sammy, using Sammy's intuitive and detective skills to her advantage at times. She found herself wondering if Shelley had called Sammy about Chris, and whether a plan was in motion.

As soon as the thought entered her mind other days, she'd take a deep breath, remind herself to not give Shelley the power to control and manipulate her thoughts, before focusing back on something else. But so far today, solitaire just wasn't cutting it.

Knowing she couldn't have herself questioning this every single day from here on out, she exited the game and went into her contacts, making a conscious phone call.

"Hello?" She hears the lawyer at the other end.

"Hello," she speaks as calmly as possible. "It's Sarina Ott calling. I had a question for you." She hadn't spoken to the lawyer since last October so she could only wonder what she was thinking now. She just hoped the conversation went smoother than the thoughts in her mind right now. 

"Hello Sarina, it's nice to hear from you. What's the question?" Sarina closes her eyes, taking a deep breath, almost not prepared for the possible answer she could receive.

"I reconnected with a family member – Shelley Dryer. She made a point about how she was unhappy about how things went down with my brother Chris, saying she was unhappy about my lack of efforts and the fact that I had just given up. Now, I know Shelley and she can sometimes be really determined, set to do something on her own. I was wondering if she had gotten a hold of you at all." It seemed ridiculous now calling to ask, because if Shelley had called, she would've heard something, right? That was part of the full disclosure agreement they had as victims in this case. 

"To this point, nobody has called regarding Chris or Bethany, and I have not seen any problems with Allison's actions as she follows the terms of her release. Furthermore, being you were one of the victims of the Chris' actions, you would be notified if there were any gains made towards a possible release or change in his terms." Sarina almost wanted to kick herself in the butt for even calling now, but it was nice to have a firm peace of mind in hearing assurance of nothing. However, there was now a new concern floating through her mind. There were certain words spoken she knew would be the source of her new nightmares if not addressed.

"You just mentioned a possible release or change in terms for Chris. I thought that wasn't possible by the judge's ruling and the measures we placed based on Chris' past behavior." She remembered sitting in the court room, hearing how Chris could not use mentally unstable reasons for an early release, or get any chance of bail due to his escapes before. Now hearing that was possible, it was like everything was a lie. It was one thing to worry about 60 years from now; it was another to worry about the near future.

"The judge's ruling was pretty clear in what Chris is allowed or not allowed, and on the majority of circumstances – 99%, it would solely keep him behind bars. However, if Shelley or someone else wanted, they could file an appeal against the decision. You would then face an appeals court, and it could possibly be overturned or changed – say a 5% chance. I did not make you aware of this due to the very slim chances of this being possible." Slim chance or not, it sent a worry through Sarina. What if her nightmare wasn't fully over?