Free Lost Innocence: The Accused. Part One by John Daysh

family.”
    “ I’m glad you’ve
found a friend, but don’t get too close….How you doing for
money?”
    “ Not good. I owe John
a lot.”
    “ How do I get money
in?”
    “ You need to pay a
guard. He would get it in.”
    “ Could we trust
him?”
    “ No, but if you tell
him there’s more coming, he’ll get it in, minus his
commission.”
    “ I want you out,
Mike.”
    “ If they can’t charge
me in twelve days, they’ll have to release me or extend it for
twelve more days.”
    “ What if they do
extend it?”
    “ The evidence is
false. They won’t….I’ve come this far. Let me wait it out. Trust
me, I can do this.”
    “ You think you can
you handle a few more days?”
    “ I know I
can.”
    Nigel raised his
eyebrows. “All right, we’ll try it your way. In the meantime I’ll
track down the girl who’s accused you and send you some
cash.”
    “ I’d appreciate
that.”
    “ Will a hundred
thousand be enough?”
    “ That’s too much.
John warned me about that. You give too much, the guard may do a
runner and where would I keep so much cash safely in
here?”
    “ How much do the
guards get paid?”
    “ Between four and
eight thousand a month.”
    “ So how much should I
give him?”
    “ Five thousand. Then
another five next time.”
    “ Is that enough?
That’s nothing.”
    “ It’s enough in
here.”
    “ Where did you find
the last girl you sketched?”
    “ At the same bar
where I found all the girls. Her name is Mia.”
    “ So it was Mia who
accused you of raping her?”
    I nodded.
    “ Your mother said she
was a working girl .”
    “ She was, but I
didn’t touch her.”
    “ She said you never
slept with any of the girls, you only sketched them. Is that
right?”
    I lowered my
eyes.
    “ I wouldn’t blame you
if you did, Mike. There are some real beauties here.”
    I nodded my head. “I
thought about it but never did. What can I say - the art took
over.”
    “ I can
imagine.”
    “ I never raped Mia.
You believe me, right?”
    “ Of course I believe
you. I’ve been to the studio and seen what you’ve done. Great work,
but right now I need the name and location of the bar.”
    ‘ Bald Guard’ leaned
in and rapped his knuckles on the door. I quickly told my
grandfather what he needed to know, then watched as he was escorted
back to what I used to know as freedom.
     

 
    THIRTEEN
     
    STAN
WAS lying in bed like a dead cockroach.
His left leg was raised and his right arm was up while a nurse
wearing a tight white uniform and a tantalizing perfume checked his
blood pressure.
    “ How are you
feeling?” she asked as she bent over, showing a bright orange bra
stretched over a couple of cupcakes.
    “ A little better now,
thanks.”
    She finished her
routine, smiled then left. Stan thought of his father. He was
embarrassed at what had happened on his night out, but nobody
needed to know the truth about that. He had to think of a less
incriminating story.
    He flicked through
the channels on the small television, but the only English options
were BBC World News or MTV, neither of which grabbed his interest.
He was about to check his email, when a short Thai man wearing
tight trousers strolled in.
    “ I think you’ve got
the wrong room.”
    ‘ Tight Trousers’
stepped out, checked the number on the door and returned, “You Mr
Stan?”
    “ Is that for me?”
Stan asked, catching sight of a bulging plastic bag.
    “ Have fruit,” the
Thai replied, handing it over.
    “ From my
father?”
    He nodded as he
watched Stan pull out an apple and take a bite. “…Where is
he?”
    “ He at
hotel.”
    “ Why doesn’t he
come?”
    “ I not
know.”
    Stan removed a
magenta-coloured fruit. “What?”
    “… That Thai
fruit.”
    Stan held it under
his nose. “And you are?”
    “ I am
Pang.”
    “ Pang... Sounds more
like a noise effect from the old Batman TV show. How did you get
that name?”
    “ My father give
me.”
    “ Fair enough. Are you
from the hotel, Pang ?”
    “ No, I