"So you're really about to try and get this man out of jail? Girl you bout crazy as fuck." Savion shook his head at his sister before taking a bite out of his hot wing.
It's been two months since Sonni started looking into Xavier's case, putting us at the end of November. She finally mustered up the courage to express her feelings to her brother after compiling the case file in the order of his birth, the first murder, and his time in prison.
Sonni shrugged. "There might be some truth to that, but it's just the fact that I know he's innocent, you know? Swear I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. The only reason I really know he's innocent is because of his behavior. What he's in jail for? Is on the psychopathic scale, and he doesn't show signs of being a psychopath. You know, crime has been my thing since I was a kid, so with my prior knowledge and my studies, I know what I'm talking about."
Savion stared at his sister as he munched on his wings. He figured if he wanted anybody to have her back while she went down this rabbit hole, then it should be him.
"Ahh, what the fuck." He threw his wing into his plate, throwing up his hands.
"You're gonna help me?" Sonni eyes lit up with excitement as she looked at her big brother.
"Yes, but don't get us in no bullshit now Noonie. We can't fuck our careers up." He picked up his thirty-two ounce raspberry lemonade and took a big sip from the straw.
Sonni hopped up from the couch, running down the hall to her mini storage room. She pulled the cork and white boards from the corner and rolled them down the hall, back into the living room. She placed them adjacent to her loveseat because she didn't want to block the television.
"Girl what the fuck! Where you get these big ass boards from?" Savion exclaimed.
"Amazon."
Savion shook his head and picked up a slice of chicken alfredo pizza, taking a bite. He sat back and watched his sister work her beloved criminology magic. His eyes bounced around as Sonni moved around the living room, pinning papers and pictures to the board. A smile stretched across his face as he realized how passionate she was about this. He knew she was going to do well in her line of work after graduating.
"Okay bubba, this is the first step and this is how I'm going to show his innocence. You have to build a case file around his life first, and the next step is a psychological case file, which is also the crime. Being that the majority of the information I needed was public records, I put both files together myself." Sonni stood by the board facing Saivon while holding a manila folder in her hands.
"So, first is the family tree right?" Sai pointed at the board before standing. He grabbed one of the folders and began reading.
"The grandparents are Willard and Gladys West. The parents are unknown, hence why the parental information is blank in his file. Next would be siblings, but since we don't know his parents, we can't determine if he has any.."
Sai spoke as he read the file. He moved to the board and pinned the pictures of West's grandparents, placing a label at the top. He and Sonni went back forth pinning and correcting information as they "worked" the case.
Sonni was working on the psychological file while Sai was working on the personal case file. Xavier is accused of being a violent sadist based on the nature of the crimes. As she looked over the claimed evidence against him, she nibbled the top of her pen and shook her head. It would be difficult to prove his innocence, but she was determined to succeed regardless of the obstacles. She also realized that the further she went down this rabbit hole, the more she'd have to tell West about it.
Breaking away from her thoughts, she grabbed the file of the first victim and read it over. Grabbing the picture she printed, she tapped it onto the white board. She grabbed a pink expo marker and wrote the girl's name, the age she died, and the birthday.
ranyia jackson. 16. march 23, 1995
She repeated her steps until she had all sixteen victims up on the board. Sixteen lost souls were taken against their will, killed and dismembered. Only someone with no heart could do such a thing. As Sonni surveyed and analyzed the victims, her eyes grew wide.
"BUBBA! Look at the victim's board and tell me what you see!" She jumped on her couch and snatched up her Macbook, quickly going to the safari.
"Oh shit! Noonie you see this shit?!" Sai exclaimed while walking up to the board. He shook his head, because how the hell did the criminalists miss this?
"The pattern is evident. All the victims were 16 and they looked alike, meaning they were surrogates for someone in his life. This is a sophisticated killer we're dealing with. Most serial killers aren't this consistent and precise. His work is almost...perfect."
Sonni shook her head with excitement running through her veins as she beat the keys to her keyboard. She had a theory on who the surrogates were in place for, but she didn't wanna jump to conclusions just yet. She needs to talk to West's grandparents but she's needs to talk to him before she makes another move.
Sonni was making her way through the prison gates exactly two days later, on the day after Thanksgiving. She was exhausted and all she wanted was to return to her bed. Between school, work, and Xavier's case, how does she fit it all in? She's beat, but she'll do everything she can to exonerate this innocent man. Too many innocent black men and women are victims of the system, which is unfair. Our skin color has always played a role in our daily lives, but when it's presented to the system, we don't stand a chance.
As she displayed her badge, Sonni went sluggishly through the main door. She rushed into the locker room, quickly taking off her pink Moncler jacket and stuffing everything into her locker. She put on her uniform before getting to work because she didn't have class today. Her jet black waist length box braids were pulled into a high pony with the help of a black pony tail holder from her bookbag. After finishing the task at hand, she placed vaseline on her lips and locked her locker. Mani had the day off today, so her shift would be a little dull.
Before leaving the locker room, she made sure she had everything on her belt and clocked in. She put her phone on silent and did a radio check before proceeding down the hall. It was a little after noon, which meant that the inmates were eating lunch.
She needed to talk to West, but she didn't know how she was going to do so. She didn't want to risk anything with Anderson still lurking around. She could go to the warden, but she wanted to talk to West first.
"Buchanan!"
Spinning on her heels, Sonni was faced with her captain meeting her halfway.
"Yes sir?" She asked, with a little confusion laced in her voice. It was rare that she saw the captain in the halls.
"I need you to make your way to the infirmary. That will be your post and assignment until I relieve you." He flipped a few papers back as he held the clipboard in his hand.
Sonni was now definitely confused. She put a few words together in her head before speaking, because she didn't want to sound smart or question the authority. "May I ask why?"
"The warden asked for you specifically. West, Xavier West got jumped pretty badly this morning. Footage showcased that it was a setup, so until further notice, he will be in the infirmary until we can decide on what to do. Everything you and West require will be delivered to you. You will not leave your post for absolutely nothing. Is that understood?"
At the sound of West's name, Sonni's heart almost leaped out of her chest. Her mind was racing and she didn't know what to think, but she regained her composure and nodded her head. "Yes sir."
She signed the required documents before making her way to the infirmary. She took her time because she didn't want to rush.
Things between the two have changed since September, and let's just say.. If you let him tell it, Sonni is Xaiver's future wife and the mother of his kids.
It's evident that they both feel something for each other, but, of course, neither will act on it because of the circumstances at hand. Whatever Xavier is feeling for our beloved Sonshine is about to grow stronger once she reveals what she's doing.
Finally making it to the infirmary, Sonni released a big, deep breath before stepping inside. She didn't have to say anything because the doctor and nurses knew she was coming. She entered the secluded room, her mouth wide open when she saw West, and she closed the door behind her. She walked over to him and sighed.
Her brown eyes bounced all around his body, and her facial expression softened once they locked eyes. His ribs were wrapped, his left arm was in a cast, his shoulder was wrapped in gauze, and two of his right hand's fingers were wrapped with a busted lip. She knew West could hold his own, but this time he was outnumbered. This was the last straw for her. She's about to get West out as soon as possible.
"Hi, Sunflower." He spoke through his teeth as he tried to sit up.
It took everything in Sonni to not run over there and touch him. She didn't care about her job, but she knew in order to free him she had to stay. She closed her eyes before stepping back from the bed, to the door.
"Sincere! What the fuck?!" She whispered yelled.
Xaiver sighed. "I know, mamas, I know. It was Anderson and his boys. And Anderson and I went at it for a little while until his boys noticed he was losing. They jumped in and I fought back as much as I could, but they hit me in the dick, bringing me to my knees and I laid in the fetal position until I passed out."
Sonni was fuming with anger because she was sick of Andersen and his shit. He has always caused trouble, but it was never this bad. She knew it was only because she was paying attention to West and not him. Anderson made a pass at her the first year she started working there. He thought she was another dumb, naive CO that'd do anything for a taste of some convict dick.
Good plan, wrong woman.
Sonni wasn't for the bullshit, so she set him straight and that was it. But then West came in and even a blind man would say he was for Sonni and she was for him. Anderson didn't like that. He vowed to make his West's life a living hell, which was dumb on his part because he was eligible for parole, but this time he got caught in the act.
And another reason Anderson doesn't like West is because of their first interactions when he got his ass beat in front of everybody in the yard.
"You know what, this is it! I've had enough of you being mistreated the way you are, from the guards down to the inmates. West, I know you're innocent and that's what pains me the most because you don't deserve what you're going through. I'm getting you out of here." She shook her head and leaned up against the door.
West's eyes grew wide. "The hell! You finna break me out?"
Sonni stifled her laugh. "No boy. I know you didn't tell me that secret for nothing when you were in the SHU. You've been on my mind ever since. After that, I've been doing some research and, with what little is posted, you have an interesting life. For the last two months, I've been building a case on you and your allegations. The way the bodies and your statement are described is on the psychopathic scale. You're not a psychopath, and that's why the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with you, because it's not in you."
Sighing. West closed his eyes and Sonni gasped as she saw tears rolling down his face.
"You figured out the pattern, didn't you?" He asked as he stared into her eyes.
She pouted because her stank was crying. "Yes, my brother is helping me with everything, and we figured it out last night."
"Mann, mamas, you just don't know how hard I tried to fight my case against this bullshit. No matter what I said or how much I pleaded, everything went unheard. From day one, I knew I was innocent because that type of behavior is not even in me. My grandparents are rich, but they're ghetto and bouji rich. I was raised in a stable environment. Bible study every Wednesday and church every other Sunday. Good grades. A high ass IQ, everything and anything you could think of. Once I was presented in front of the judge, none of that stuff mattered. I was just your average nigga. The more bodies popped up, the more evidence they had against me, and I just stopped caring because I knew I was going to prison. I was a asshole and had a nonchalant attitude through the whole investigation because what I said definitely didn't matter."
Sonni's heart ached for him because she knew he didn't deserve any of what he went through. "Who's framing you?"
They locked eyes again, not even knowing their heartbeats were in sync.
West shook his head before speaking. "You want the truth?"
She nodded her head. "Anything to help you because it's obviously they missed a lot of stuff."
He nodded his head and began revealing the truth. And that's how they spent the rest of Sonni's shift, talking about his case. With the new provided information, Sonni knew that she couldn't back out now because she was in too deep. It was honestly now or never, and she was choosing now.
"And that's who did it. I figured everything out in court myself. Once I recognized the pattern, I knew exactly who and why they did it." West stared off into space, wishing things were different. He wasn't putting on a tough guy act, his whole demeanor was him, and he can thank his grandfather for his strong head. West was a through-and-through kind of man. Yes, he was raised well, but he was also black in a white man's world.
His grandfather taught him everything from fighting in the streets to fighting in meetings. The Wests weren't your average black rich people.
Sonni rasied up from the wall, and without thinking, her feet moved, guiding her to his bedside. She caressed his face, and he automatically leaned into her hand, almost like they were magnets.
"Do you trust me?" Sonni asked, as they made eye contact, one thing she loved about their newly found relationship.
He nodded his head. "Yes ma'am."
"Then I'm about to get you out of here."
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