CHAPTER 4

The morning passed by with agonizing slowness until two officers appeared outside of the jail cell just after lunchtime. The little angel had only been able to pick at the lunch tray she had been given, mostly moving the food around the plate, her stomach too in knots to feel like she could keep anything in it. She knew that if Andrew were here, he would have insisted she try to eat, but without his calming presence, she felt as if her emotions were dangling on the precipice of shattering into a million pieces. It was all she could to hold herself together.

Now, gone was the elderly police officer of this morning to be replaced with two other officers, one male and one female and neither of them looking particularly friendly. As she was being taken downtown to the courthouse, Monica managed to stand as bravely as she could while they handcuffed both her hands and feet, leaving only enough chain between her ankles to allow her to walk. She bit her lip so hard it hurt in order to hold back the tears.

The ride downtown was in absolute silence which was fine with Monica as she spent the time in silent prayer, pleading for a miracle that would get her out of this situation sooner rather than later. She longed to know why she was here in the first place but those pleas were only met with silence. The knowledge of God's love for her was very much present but the answers were simply not forthcoming.

Andrew looked up sharply as the doors to the small courtroom opened and he saw two officers leading Monica inside. The angel's heart nearly shattered when he realized she was handcuffed and his desperation only mounted when their eyes met only briefly before she lowered hers in shame. Despite their both knowing she was innocent, he could so clearly feel her humiliation and he longed for nothing more than to hold her tightly in his arms, if only he could.

As she was led over to him and she took the seat beside of him, Andrew reached over and gave her knee a reassuring squeeze, silently begging her to look at him, though when she did, the pain and grief that was in her eyes did little to calm him.

"It's going to be all right." He whispered softly to her as they waited for the judge to arrive, but he could feel her doubt almost as clearly as he could feel his own.

"All rise."

Andrew helped guide Monica to her feet with a hand at her elbow as the judge entered the courtroom. As they sat back down, they listened as the charges against the little angel were read and Andrew managed to steel himself against the single tear he watched slide down her cheek.

Monica tried to pay attention when the judge asked how she was pleading and Andrew stood and answered for her that she was not guilty. Andrew then went on to explain how his client had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but as he continued talking, Monica could barely wrap her mind around the fact that she was who they were discussing. It all felt strange and foreign and she kept wondering if perhaps she would simply wake up and find out that this had all been a terrible dream.

As Andrew sat back down, the prosecuting attorney rose to his feet and started talking about her fingerprints being on the gun, and how blood had been on her clothing. The judge than asked if there had been any witnesses to the crime and the prosecutor, who Monica thought they had said was named Keith something, denied witnesses.

At that moment, the door to the courtroom opened and a young woman hurried inside and handed Keith a note before she departed. The two angels watched as the man smiled and turned back to the judge, "Correction, your honor. A witness has just come forward and said she was there last night when the defendant shot Mr. Nowels. Witness apparently gave an accurate description of the defendant, but of course, I will need to speak to the witness directly."

The room suddenly felt as if it were closing in on the little angel as she shook her head, unable to believe what she had just heard, "No!" She cried out, unable to help herself, "That's lie! No one was there! I shouldn't have even been there!"

"Order!" The judge looked at her sternly before turning his attention back to his notes, "Due to the nature of this crime and the fact that a probable witness may have just come forward, the defendant will be held without bail. She will be held at the women's detention center in Brownsville to await trial."

As the gavel descended and the judge left the courtroom, Andrew, who was trying to come to his own senses with that last bit of information, instantly became aware of just how badly Monica was now trembling. Shooting a pleading glance to the officers and watching as they nodded their heads and faded back a bit to give them some privacy, he grabbed her hands. They were ice cold.

"Angel, listen to me. We will work this out. The Father has a plan. You KNOW that-."

"Why is this happening? Why are they doing this, Andrew? I didn't do anything wrong!" The hot tears flooded her eyes and rained down her pale cheeks, "No one else was there! No one! Why are they lying?"

Her questions were so anguished and Andrew felt powerless to soothe her, but he knew he had to try, "Baby, I don't know, but I'm going to do all I can to find out. You have to trust me."

"But they're sending me away…"

The reminder of that frightened child he had seen this morning was present once more and his heart broke. Wiping at the tears on her cheeks even as new ones replaced them, he managed to speak past the tightness in his throat, "And you know I will be there." Seeing one of the officers indicating his watch, Andrew knew he didn't have much time, "Angel. My beautiful, sweet angel, I love you so much and the Father loves you so much and I need for you to trust in those two things right now." Holding her face in his hands, his eyes, filled with such great love for her, met her teary eyed gaze steadily, "Baby, I need you to stop crying," He felt horrible for even asking such a thing, especially as he knew his asking was more for his benefit than hers; there was no way he could pry himself away from her while she was this upset. But he continued to hold her gaze as she swallowed back tears, "You can do this, sweetheart, and I will be there as soon as I can, either as your lawyer or as the angel who loves you more than anyone other than God."

Monica managed a slight nod, not trusting herself to speak; it was taking everything she had to not burst into fresh tears and she could tell how upset he was as well. She didn't want to make this any harder on Andrew than it had to be.

"That's my girl," With absolute agony, he gave a nod to the officers who began to approach them. Not wanting anyone but himself to help her, Andrew tenderly guided her to her feet, his green eyes never leaving hers, "I will be there as soon as I can."

x

The ride to the detention center was long though Monica's exhausted brown eyes remained fixated out the window of the detention center van. Though her tears were gone, inside, she felt absolutely hollow and horribly alone. She knew that Andrew would be with her as soon as he could be as he had promised, but right now, all she could feel was abandoned. Deep in her heart, Monica knew that wasn't really the case, but it was still how she felt. Yesterday, she'd had an assignment that was nearly completed and now all of that had changed. Now, not only had she been unable to finish her work with Mrs. Lancaster, but she had no idea of what was going to happen next.

Her troubled mind kept going back to that horrible time that she had been in the wrong place and had wound up in a mental institution. Was that what this was? Just another bad timing situation that had to play out and she wouldn't even be able to know the reason until the end?

Prison. The thought was foreign to her and if her night spent in that horrible cell was any indication of where she was going, she wondered how she would ever survive. The isolation, the coldness, the pain of untrue accusations, it was all more than she felt she could bear. What made it all even more difficult is that she couldn't tell them she was an angel and therefore not even capable of committing such a heinous crime.

The van came to stop in front of a tall electric fence and the driver conversed with the guards at the gate. As the gate opened and the cold, impersonal building loomed ahead, the little angel became aware that the horrible trembling was back. Monica shrank further back in her seat as the stone cold reality hit her full force and she was sure that had there been anything in her stomach, she would have been sick by now. Closing her eyes as the van came to another complete stop, she forced herself to take deep breaths to try to calm her racing heart, so that somehow, as the van door was opened, she was able to stand up and carefully make her way out of the vehicle.

The chain between her ankles was awkward and as she stepped down, she nearly stumbled, but a female officer caught her before she fell.

"Thank you," Monica murmured, but her gratitude went unanswered as they led her through another security gate and then two heavy steel doors that were only accessed with a code. Her papers were handed off to another woman, Officer Hanna, who signed off on Monica's arrival.

"Okay, Monica, let's go." The woman's face was hard, and the angel had the presence of mind to wonder if it was because she worked in such a cold, hopeless place, "You'll be checked in by the head warden, and she's a tough ole broad, so if you know what's good for you, you'll just shut up and cooperate."

The angel's throat went dry and she was only able to give a nod of her head once more. It seemed that with every new situation in this horrible nightmare, she trusted herself to speak less and less. It wasn't like anyone other than Andrew listened to her anyway.

Officer Hanna slid her card through a reader and another heavy steel door slid open, revealing a small holding area with a few steel chairs, "Sit. She'll be with you shortly."

Monica watched helplessly as the officer turned and left, sliding closed the door with an echoing slam that shook the angel to the core of her being. There were again, no windows, and Monica felt her heart begin to pound erratically and her breaths again coming in short gasps, even as the trembling infected every part of her small body. It was all she could do to keep from breaking down into tears.

Staring down at her cuffed hands, Monica struggled to calm herself once more, not even sure what was happening with her human form. She felt almost lightheaded, and she just couldn't seem to stop shaking. Her current emotional state kept her from feeling the sympathetic gaze that had fallen on her.

"I think you need to calm down a little bit, baby."

As Monica's head shot up and her eyes came to rest on her dear friend and supervisor, the tears would no longer be contained, "Tess!"

The older angel immediately came closer and pulled Monica to her feet to lead her into her office, so they could talk privately. She noticed how heavily the young angel leaned against her, as if the weight of the universe was on her tiny shoulders, "C'mon, Angel Girl, settle down or you're going to make yourself sick, baby."

"I'm just so glad to see you," She managed to utter.

"You know the Father would never leave you all alone, baby," Tess replied matter of factly, though her heart ached at the pain her charge was in at the moment. Her dark eyes travelled to the cuffs on Monica's hands and feet and with an annoyed "Hmph" Tess fished the key out of Monica's file and unlocked them. But the angel was further concerned when the simple act of kindness caused another sob to escape the younger angel.

"I know you have questions, Angel Girl, and I wish I had the answers but I don't. None of this was supposed to have happened and though you did nothing wrong, this thing has been started and it has to play out."

If Monica was disappointed with this bit of news, she didn't show it as nothing in her expression changed as she tried to wipe ineffectively at the tears in her eyes. She was drained and physically exhausted and yet she wondered how she could possibly sleep in a cell one more night.

"You know I'll be around and so will Andrew and no, this is not the nicest place to be, but even in a dark place like this, there is room for the love of one of God's angels." Again, Tess noticed her words seemed to have little impact for the Irish angel and she struggled not to worry about the toll this was taking on Monica. The little angel had always been a sensitive one and right now, Monica just looked positively terrified.

Letting out a soft sigh, Tess reached for Monica's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'll need to show you to your cell, baby," Feeling something against her fingers, the angel glanced down at the ring Andrew had given Monica a few months ago and the next words she stated were difficult ones, even for her, "Angel Girl, not everyone here is as frightened as you are, and some are just so filled with anger and hatred because of the hand life has dealt them. This ring, baby, is going to be a source of trouble for you, I'm afraid. Now, you know it will be safe with me, but you want to keep it, well, I just don't know what might happen to it."

Monica felt as if her heart were being ripped from her chest as her throat became unbearably tight. Yes, it was a material possession, but Andrew had given it to her and right now, it was all she had to hold onto physically as a reminder of his love for her. Yet at the same time, the thought of someone stealing it or taking it from her was also more than she could bear.

Closing her eyes to ward off more tears, Monica reached with her right hand to pull the ring off her left ring finger and then she held it tightly in her hand, close to her heart. The smallest sob sounded as two tears escaped from underneath her dark lashes. Then kissing the ring tenderly, as if she were kissing the one who had given it to her, she then handed it to Tess without a word.

"You know I'll take good care of it for you, baby."

But again, all the little angel could do was nod.