This is the first time he's talked to somebody who didn't know.
"I used to own a bar," he says.
I am in this moment.
"With this guy. We grew up together. Tom. His name was Tom Seybolt. And he had a wife. And a daughter and a son. And they called me Uncle Charlie. And I had a wife. And I was a cop most of the time. Most of the time." His voice is even. It's coming with obvious effort.
"Tom, and his wife, and their son were murdered. Their daughter -- I haven't found her. Not yet. And I -- "
He makes himself take a breath in, and out.
"I need a drink. Is what I need. But I better finish it because I started it and so it goes like this. Twelve years. Maximum security prison. State, not federal. Solitary. Cop put away for a triple murder, I don't know what else anybody was gonna expect, and it wasn't behavior, you know? It was me being a target. And then -- after I --
"Constance. She -- looked at my case, and she -- she saw the, the discrepancies -- and. DNA evidence. It didn't match. She got it reopened and I got out. After twelve years. Divorced, after the first four. Mom's dead. And I got my job back. Part of the settlement. Only I got the promotion and now I get to fight crime."
Before Simon says anything: "There was some Zen in there, too. Is that still around?"
no subject
This is the first time he's talked to somebody who didn't know.
"I used to own a bar," he says.
I am in this moment.
"With this guy. We grew up together. Tom. His name was Tom Seybolt. And he had a wife. And a daughter and a son. And they called me Uncle Charlie. And I had a wife. And I was a cop most of the time. Most of the time." His voice is even. It's coming with obvious effort.
"Tom, and his wife, and their son were murdered. Their daughter -- I haven't found her. Not yet. And I -- "
He makes himself take a breath in, and out.
"I need a drink. Is what I need. But I better finish it because I started it and so it goes like this. Twelve years. Maximum security prison. State, not federal. Solitary. Cop put away for a triple murder, I don't know what else anybody was gonna expect, and it wasn't behavior, you know? It was me being a target. And then -- after I --
"Constance. She -- looked at my case, and she -- she saw the, the discrepancies -- and. DNA evidence. It didn't match. She got it reopened and I got out. After twelve years. Divorced, after the first four. Mom's dead. And I got my job back. Part of the settlement. Only I got the promotion and now I get to fight crime."
Before Simon says anything: "There was some Zen in there, too. Is that still around?"