Page 9 of Rascal

“Fuck off, Hallie,” I ordered.

“What, no sorry for the girlfriend you set up? Not a single ounce of guilt?” Hallie demanded. I looked at her cheek. “Yep, some bitch in jail did that. Four held me down, and she carved my face. That’s what you did to me, Shane. When I locate the cunt you protected, I’m going to do a lot worse. I promise you that.” Hallie leaned forward, and I stepped backwards. “And when I find her… she’ll beg for the end. Just like you will.”

Hallie stared at Jinx. “He’s a fuckin’ good liar. Watch your back, kid. You think you know him; you don’t. His true nature will soon show.”

“I’ve seen his true colours,” Jinx shot back.

Hallie laughed, and it grated on me. “Nah. Check the news tonight. It’ll be interesting viewing.”

With that, Hallie turned and walked away. King flowed out of the shadows, making me jump.

“I’m going to dig yours and that cunt’s grave. They’ll never find you,” King promised and followed Hallie.

“Shit,” I hissed, shaken. Hallie wasn’t even bothering to hide her crazy anymore.

“Watch the news? That’s what she said?” Chance asked.

“Yeah. Hallie’s playing the long game. She’s gonna try to destroy me piece by piece,” I responded.

“I’ll make some calls, see if we can get the footage,” Chance stated.

“Thanks. I can imagine what Hallie is going to say,” I replied.

No, I couldn’t. I sat stunned several hours later as Hallie did a complete hatchet job on me. She wore the same clothes as this afternoon, but her hair was tied back and her scar was dominant.

“So, you’re saying the police worked with Mr Morris to make you look guilty?” the presenter—Jenny—asked.

Hallie looked sad and shrugged. “I would love to deny that, but I can’t. My lawyer found the evidence. It had been completely logged wrong. There’s no chain of custody either to identify who collected it. Why isn’t there? Everything they used to prosecute me was bagged and tagged, but anything that proved my alibi? Mishandled and misplaced. Worse, where is the missing hour? I told them exactly where I was, so where is the footage? Did they destroy it but forget about this clip?”

“Do you really think that?”

Hallie leaned forward. “I absolutely do. Because my lawyer located two witnesses that the police had conveniently overlooked. Shane Morris can stand on his head and swear on the Bible that it was me. He’s a liar. Shane’s protecting someone. He chose her over me, set me up to take the fall for her, and I want to know why.”

“Your DNA was on him,” Jenny indicated.

Hallie laughed. “Why don’t you ask where my DNA was found?”

I stiffened. What? I’d not heard this; I just assumed her DNA was discovered near my wounds. Hallie pointed at her crotch.

“Oh!” Jenny gasped.

“Yes. We were in an active relationship, and the night before we’d had sex.” Hallie ducked her head as her cheeks pinked a little. “That’s where they discovered my DNA.”

“Shit,” Chance murmured. “Prospect. This isn’t going well for you.”

“No,” I ground out.

“The man I loved sent me to prison. The police helped him, and they all covered up for someone. My missing alibi and these two witnesses prove that. Now I’m scarred. Because of Shane, this happened to me,” Hallie pointed to her face. “The women who did it told me they’d been paid to do it by Shane. It was a warning to keep my mouth shut.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Jenny asked, appalled.

“My entire hometown believed him; my own family turned against me and accepted every lying word Shane said. Who did I tell? Everyone thought I was guilty, and even though they’d known me never to lie, he convinced them. I was a good person: I contributed to the soup kitchen every week, helped with charity drives, and raised money. I looked after my elderly neighbours, and I did so much more.

“Yet, Shane claims I tried to kill him, and none of that mattered. Only four people ever believed in me. My grandpa, uncle, my lawyer Harry Lynch, and my best friend Kingston. Now their belief has been vindicated. It was a frame job, and I was their fall guy.” Hallie ducked her head as I ground my teeth.

“Fuck, if I didn’t know the truth, I’d believe her,” Rooster stated.

“This doesn’t look good for you.” Tiny shook his head.