06

Part 1: The First 48 Hours.

Written by Mandingo1234

Edited by kenjisato

Prologue

"Governor, have you begun investigations into the alleged scandal within the District Attorney's office?"

"Has there been any leads on the corrupt officials that orchestrated this conspiracy?"

"Will there..."

"Everyone. Please settle down. All the questions will be answered in an orderly fashion. Yes, we are committing all of our resources to the investigation of former DA Zachary Stromsburg, and his associates. We will also be investigating the arresting officers and former Houston Chief of Police. At this time, DA Stromsburg, Officer Derek Jackson, and Officer Lilian Gomez, are in federal custody. As for former Chief of Police, Willemer Davis, he is in the wind, but the FBI and the US Marshals are on the case for the fugitive.

"Will there be any investigations into the Carlile family and their involvement within the coverup, and false accusation of one Jason Solace?"

"We will be looking into all avenues during this investigation."

"Will the victim be seeking restitution, for unlawful imprisonment, and the misuse of justice?"

"That will be all, at this time."

"Mr. Governor. Mr. Governor. Mr. Governor..."

***

"And that was Governor Bardot, standing on the capitol footsteps in Austin, Texas. We are still trying to get information on the investigation of DA Stromsburg, but the investigation is still ongoing. FBI officials have conducted search warrants into Stromsburg's residence, and all of his associates. Still no word on former Chief of Police Willemer Davis. Sources say he was in the wind when the arrest warrants were being issued. An investigation will be opened for all of DA Stromsburg's convictions, including having every case re-examined for any tampering. Many convictions could be overturned.

Now we take you to our field reporter, Tracey Takanawa, in Livingston, Texas. Tracey.

***

"Thank you, Doug, this is Tracey Takanawa for CNN news, down here at the main entrance of the Allan B. Polunsky Penitentiary, in Livingston, Texas, about an hour north of Houston. We are currently waiting for the release of Jason Solace, who as of this time, is in the process of being released. Jason Solace was tried and convicted by DA Stromsburg, for the rape and murder of Victoria Reyes, and was sentenced to life in prison, back in 2013. And, as you can see, there are just waves of reporters, waiting for his release. Back to you, Doug."

***

"Thank you, Tracey, and for those of you who don't know, Jason Solace was accused of the rape and murder of Victoria Reyes, CTO of Carlile Industries, during a Christmas party back in December of 2013. Jason Solace was working at Carlile Industries, as a middle-level IT consultant who worked under Ms. Reyes. She was found in her office dead on her desk, by an employee, during the party, while James was passed out in the men's bathroom due to intoxication, on the same floor. Police on the scene believed that Solace, in a drunken rage, accosted Ms. Reyes in her office and proceeded to rape and then strangle her to death. Emails provided by Carlile Industries showed that Solace had an unhealthy obsession with Ms. Reyes, and with evidence by the rape kit, showed that Jason Solace was the culprit."

"He was arrested and due to heavy pressure from the victim's family, and the state, his arraignment, and trial, were immediately fast-tracked. DA Stromsburg was the prosecutor, and with the mountain of evidence provided by Chief of Police, Willemer Davis, the jury found him guilty of all charges. Stromsburg went for the death penalty, but the presiding judge, Judge Hastings, during an election cycle, opted for life without parole in a supermax penitentiary. Stating that it was a fitting punishment for a man like him. That was back in early February 2014."

"For eighteen years, Jason Solace was behind bars, with the worst of the worst. That was until evidence exonerating Mr. Solace was anonymously sent to the Innocence Project. The evidence showed that the former CEO of Carlile Industries, Alister Carlile, who passed away earlier this year, falsified the emails and bribed DA Stromsburg and Chief Davis. He also orchestrated the fast-tracking of the trial. With evidence in hand, the Innocence Project put pressure on the State Supreme Court and the Governor, to overturn the conviction, and exonerate Jason Solace. To which he is..."

A loud buzzing could be heard in the distance, which caused Lila to shut off her phone and was now facing the side-door exit. Lila Williams was standing outside the side entrance of the Allan B. Polunsky Penitentiary, which was only accessible to staff and the warden. Figuring that they didn't want a media circus at the front of the prison, the warden opted for the side entrance for a more discreet exit. She had been waiting outside on a cold October morning for almost an hour.

Then once the buzzer sounded, she stood up from the car where she was leaning and straightened herself out. She was wearing a soft-white blouse that clung to her body, in just the right way. Not too tight, but just enough to show that she kept herself in good shape, especially when she was carrying a modest set of D-size tits. Following her blouse, she slid her hands down to her narrow pencil skirt, something only a secretary would wear, since that was her job. Once she was done, she found her blazer that was on top of the hood of the 2030 Tesla models, executive edition.

It was a car that her employer liked to use when she was transporting clients. With her, was her boss's private chauffeur, Renaldo, who was presently, starting up the car, and waiting for its esteemed guest. As she slid on her blazer, she took one last look in the side-view mirror and made sure she looked ready. She made sure that there were no stray hairs that might have escaped her tightly-knitted bun. Normally, she would let her scarlet hair down because it was her best feature, and it made her look sexy. But today, she didn't want to be sexy, not for the man that she was about to meet.

The metal door swung open, and two guards walked out with someone right behind them. Once they were outside, both guards stepped to the side and gestured for the third person to walk right on by. It was Jason Solace, but he looked a lot different than his courtroom picture from his trial. Instead of a clean-cut-looking man, his hair was long and unkempt; instead of being clean-shaven, he had a beard that went everywhere. The only reason she knew it was him was that he was wearing the same drab-brown suit he had worn during court. Only this time, it didn't fit him quite right. The length was right, but it hung from his body, awkwardly.

As he made his way to the car, the only thing he only carried was a single manila envelope. Everything Jason ever had or owned, was now inside a ten-by-thirteen-inch piece of folded paper. Lila stood there as Jason approached the car. With every passing step, the nervousness in her belly only grew deeper. By the time he was right in front of her, her stomach was doing backflips. They stood there in awkward silence, all the while Lila was looking into James' hardened eyes. While his appearance looked fitting for a man who lived under an overpass; his eyes told her that this was a man that was not to be messed with.

Clearing her throat, trying to hide the uneasiness within her voice, Lila spoke up, "Mr. Solace, my name is Lila Williams, and I have been instructed to escort you to my employer."

Again, total silence filled the air, as he did not reply. The only thing that could be heard was the blowing wind and the occasional stifle of sound from the reporters that camped out in front of the prison. All the while, he was staring her down with his cold, hardened eyes. Even with her sensible three-inch stiletto heels, she still had to look up at him. James stood at an imposing six foot two, while she was an average five foot six, five-nine with the heels. It made his gaze look even more menacing.

"Ah, would you please walk this way and please enter the car, we have a long drive ahead of us," Lila said, realizing that James wasn't going to say anything. Hearing this, Renaldo pressed a button from the driver's side and the gullwing door started to open. Lila gestured for Jason to enter, and while he did give her a slow back-and-forth with his gaze. He complied and entered the car. Once the door closed, Lila made a quick dash for the front passenger door. Normally, she would ride in the back with clients, but she wanted as much space as she could from Jason.

Chapter 1

The next hour of driving was nerve-wracking for Lila. They sat in total silence, not one word was spoken by anyone inside the car. Lila contemplated whether or not to turn on the radio, but was afraid that Jason would not like the noise. Even Renaldo was starting to sweat from the tense car ride, even though the A/C was on full blast. As for Jason, all he did was stare outside the window, gazing outside at the passing landscape. Every once in a while, Lila would glance back to see how Jason was doing, but every time he made eye contact with her, she immediately looked away.

After an hour had passed, Renaldo pulled up to their destination. Lila's employer's family estate. They were about thirty minutes outside of Houston, which is a newly-developed land, for the ultra-rich. Since billionaire, now trillionaire, Elon Musk moved his business to Texas, other wealthy investors followed suit, especially after Elon bought NASA for a steal. That caused a healthy boom in the Texas economy and new reforms to their tax laws. Even though the land was being developed, her employer's family had built and lived in this house since the 1980s.

Renaldo opened the car door, and Lila got out at the same time, waiting for Jason to get out.

"Will you please follow me," Lila said to Jason, to which he just followed along, still not saying a word.

Lila was still unnerved by Jason's presence. It felt like she was standing right next to a wild dog, who could snap at any time. They made it to the grand, double-door entrance and standing right inside was a professionally-dressed woman. She walked right up to them, stuck out her hand to the brooding man, and said, "Hello, Mr. Solace. My name is Veronica Lambert, I am an attorney who represents the owner of this estate. Pleased to meet you."

Veronica wore the same attire as Lila, except her clothing was a bit sexier. Veronica's blouse was cut in a way, to where it showed more of her womanly figure and a bit more cleavage. Her skirt was a little tighter around her waist, which in turn, showed more of her round, plump ass. It all ended with her legs encased in sheer, black pantyhose that contrasted well with her creamy-white skin. Then to cap it all off, her dainty feet were encased in a very expensive pair of Louboutin four-inch, red-sole pumps. When it comes to being a young female lawyer, you used every asset at your disposal, including one's sex appeal.

Veronica just stood there with her hand out, waiting for Jason to reciprocate the gesture. Unfortunately, Jason just stood there, looking at Veronica's outstretched hand like it was something he had never seen before.

"Okay... why don't we move this along, I am sure you are probably wondering why you are here," Veronica said, as she drew back her hand. "Will you please follow me."

They ascended the grand staircase to the second level of the mansion. Then from there, Veronica guided them to a double-door entrance.

"Please keep in mind that she is not in the best of health," Veronica stated, just before she opened the double doors.

Once inside, Jason saw a grand room with a vaulted ceiling, large windows to see one's own estate, and a decor that was fit for royalty. But that was not what Jason was seeing. What he saw was a large four-post king-size bed in the middle of the room. Alongside it was a series of machines and monitors that made beeping sounds that filled the room. Wires were strewn out all over the place, but they were mainly concentrated on one central area; right in the center of the bed. They were connected to a frail old lady who at the moment was propped up on pillows, waiting for her guest of honor to arrive.

"Hello Mr. Solace, it is a... cough, cough... pleasure to meet you. Forgive me for my present state, as you can see, I've seen better days. Cough, cough, cough, I can assume you are wondering why you are doing here, especially after your recent release from prison. So, let me introduce myself, I am..." but she never had time to finish her sentence, before she was interrupted by the only male figure in the room.

"You are Elanor Carlile, married to the late Alister Carlile, and mother to Patrick and Ellice Carlile," Jason spoke, for the first time since being released, in a gruff voice.

That sudden outburst caught Lila and Veronica off guard, since they hadn't heard him speak since they first met him, but Mrs. Carlile didn't even bat an eye.

"Good, you are well informed, Mr. Solace. Well, since we are well past the introduction phase, let me get to the reason why you are here. Eighteen years ago, you were accused of murder for poor dear... cough, cough... cough, cough... " Mrs. Carlile spat out, with every cough sounding like it could be her last.

"I'm sorry for that, Mr. Solace, as you can see, I am not long for this world. I don't know which is worse, the tumor in my pancreas, or the poison these so-called doctors pump into my body. "

"Can we move this along, I didn't come here to see an old lady die," Jason shot out, which caused a gasp to be heard from the back of the room.

"Mr. Solace, I would ask you to be respectful to the madam right in front of you," Lila spat out, having no idea where she got the nerve to speak up to him.

"It's okay, Lila, Mr. Solace is right. He didn't come here to see an old woman die a slow and painful death. The reason why you are here, is so that I can explain why my family, but more importantly, my late husband," that last part she spat in disdain, "framed you for the rape and murder of that poor girl, Victoria. You see he did it to..."

"To protect your son, Patrick. Because Patrick was the one who raped and killed Ms. Reyes," Jason cut her off, once again.

The room was deathly quiet. The only thing that could be heard from the rapidly increasing beeping, was from the heart monitor that was connected to Mrs. Carlile.

'That isn't probably good for her health,' Jason said to himself, with a bit of a smile.

"How... how did you know?" Mrs. Carlile asked, showing for the first time, that she was shaken up.

"You didn't think that I would spend almost two decades of my life rotting in prison, and not figuring out who framed me and why," Jason said, almost with a little smugness in his voice, but his appearance was still stone cold.

Clearing her throat, and trying to get her heart rate under control, she finally spoke up, "Lila, Veronica, would you please leave the room. Mr. Solace and I have some things to discuss."

Lila tried to say something, but one look from Mrs. Carlile, and she knew that she should do what she was told. Once they both left the room, Mrs. Carlile spoke to Jason once again, "How did you figure it out?" she asked.

"It made the only sense. Who would have the power, and the influence to rig a trial. Have the ability to bribe high-level city officials to falsify police evidence, and had been working at my old job and knew Ms. Reyes. All answers point to your husband, Mrs. Carlile. Your husband helped fund DA Stromsburg's, and Chief Davis's, re-election campaigns. They also went to the same country club that your husband owned. Your husband had the money and the connections to make evidence disappear, or rewrite them to go any way he sees fit."

"As to why he did it, well I had to think, who, in Ms. Reyes's sphere of influence, would rape her. It couldn't be your husband, he would have done it in his office, where he had control over everything. So it had to be someone he knew. Who would he protect, to warrant framing an innocent man? The answer is your son. Patrick was working at Carlile Industries at the time. He only had a fancy title, but he was there. I believe your husband made him go to work. Patrick was at the party, doing what every rich, spoiled boy does--party hard, and do drugs. I also remember him harassing Ms. Reyes once or twice, while I was working with her, but like a fool, I thought nothing of it."

"So I wager, your son, in a drunken, drugged-up state, confronted Mrs. Reyes, while she was working in her office. She was always like that, a true workaholic. I told her that she should take breaks every now and then, but she never listens, always saying that she had the energy of twenty men." Then Jason took a long pause, figuring what he should say next. "I often wonder if she did take my advice, then she would have been at the party that night, and she might have been alive to this day. But what's done is done, you cannot change the past. As for Patrick, after he killed her, he probably freaked out and called dear old daddy to come and clean up his mess. He called his buddy, the Chief of Police, and had him send a few of his crooked cops to the scene, and as for me, I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I left the party to get some air and decided to go to my desk, which happens to be on the same floor as Mrs. Reyes's office. Then someone whacked me on the head, and the next thing I knew, I was in handcuffs and accused of rape and murder by the police, and well, you know the rest. Does that sound about right, Mrs. Carlile?" Jason asked, showing that he didn't care what she thought.

"I must say, Mr. Solace, I am impressed, and I am not an easily-impressed woman. But tell me, if you figured all of this out, then why haven't you said anything?"

"I did, but no one believed me. No one could believe Alister Carlile, captain of industry, would do something like that, or the fact he had high-ranking officials in his pocket. I had no evidence to prove their guilt or my innocence. I will say this about your late husband, he was completely thorough. He left no loose ends for me to dig, and I'm sure he had the reach to reject all the appeals I submitted over the years. Now there is one question that I want to ask you. Why did you do it?" Jason asked.

"Do what?"

"Why did you send the evidence to the Innocence Project?" Jason clarified.

"I must say, Mr. Solace, you are surpassing every single expectation I had of you. How did you figure it out?" Mrs. Carlile asked, while trying to hold back a cough.

"When the Innocence Project came to my aid, they showed me the evidence that would exonerate me. I went through every piece of paper, and I knew that they came from Alister's private files. As I said, your husband was a shrewd man, he would need something to keep those greedy bastards in line. So he must have kept a copy of every wrongdoing that they ever did. Mutually assured destruction, if you will. Now the question is, how did the Innocence Project get it; your husband is dead, and your son can't be that stupid. That just leaves you and your daughter, who is right now the new head of Carlile Industries. Frankly, it was a fifty-fifty split, but as soon as I saw you, I knew that it had to be you. So, back to what I was saying, why did you do it, why did you free me? Your husband covered his tracks, and I exhausted all of my appeals. Your family was in the clear. Why did you do it?" Jason asked, his temper was starting to boil.

"In truth, guilt, and among other things... cough, cough... Just so you know, I had nothing to do with your incarceration, or the cover-up, that was all Alister and Patrick. Still, though, I became an accessory after the fact. After your trial was over, my husband and son were having a huge argument. They didn't know I was home, but I walked in on them and heard everything. You were right that my husband framed you to keep Patrick out of trouble, but he only did it to protect his family name. If Patrick went to prison for rape and murder, then the Carlile name would be ruined. Not only... cough, cough... that, but to also secure a partnership with Victoria's family. Ms. Reyes came from a powerful family in Latin America, and with her connection, Alister could have taken Carlile Industries to the international level. That was why he needed to frame you, with your incarceration, Alister could show that he was the one who brought their daughter's killer to justice. All so that he could keep the Reyes family on his side, and help expand his empire. It was so appalling, but what could I do? I could have stopped him, I could have gone to the police, I could have told the Reyeses, but I did what I always do. I protected my family. So I kept quiet. Ever since then, I kept my mouth shut, and Alister would keep a watchful eye on Patrick. We swept you and Victoria from our memories... cough, cough."