No good deed goes unpunished

Sturgis police department mugshot of Jim after he's been arrested. — **I’ve been arrested plenty of times, but never for something this serious. (Photo courtesy Midjourney/Depositphotos)**

Here I am, sitting in a cold jail cell in Sturgis, my jaw throbbing.

Yesterday, I took a stand in that dive bar, thinking I was doing the right thing. Now, I’m facing charges of felonious assault, and I can hardly believe it.

The woman I thought I was protecting now claims her man wasn’t abusing her. How could that be? I saw it with my own eyes. But she’s singing a different tune, and now I’m the one in trouble.

The whole situation stinks, and I can’t shake the feeling that something fishy’s going on. I replay the scene in my head, over and over, looking for clues. Was there something in her eyes? A hidden plea for help, maybe? Or did I read the whole thing wrong?

My thoughts are interrupted when the cell door clanks open, and a heavily tattooed guy with a wild beard is tossed in beside me. His ink marks him as a one-percenter, and I immediately sense trouble.

“What’re you in for?” he growls, sizing me up.

“Felonious assault,” I say.

He laughs, a harsh, gravelly sound. “You’ve got it easy, man. They just captured me on an outstanding warrant for first-degree murder.”

I’m taken aback, but something in his eyes tells me he’s not joking. He’s lived a hard life, and this is just another chapter.

“I thought I was doing the right thing,” I say, more to myself than him.

He leans back, eyeing me with a strange mixture of curiosity and contempt. “Right thing? Wrong thing? Doesn’t matter. What’s done is done.”

His words hang in the air, heavy with truth.