by Jack Parker
We were silent for a while.
"This is a lot of information." Officer Parker said. "A lot more than expected, thank you."
"Officer Parker?"
"Yes?"
"That guy that's claiming to have mugged me, I think they set that up. Please don't believe it."
"I am not an advanced officer, I'm not really equipped to say anything, and as much as I'd love to stay on your case, I believe that my superiors will be interested in this. We'll definitely be looking into this much more closely, and the man that came forward will be reevaluated."
After that, the officer left. I laid back against the hospital bed, my side hurt, my head hurt. I felt stiff. I felt around and saw bruises forming. I didn't want to do this. It's exhausting. I don't want to think about these people.
The nurse came in. "Sweetie?" she called
I opened my eyes and smiled at her. I like this lady.
"Your mom's back." Hmm. Maybe not so much. "Want me to tell her I have to do a few things and that you're sleeping? I can make her go away so you can get some rest." Scratch that. I love her.
"That would be amazing." It came out a lot happier than it should have. I turned on the T.V and began channel surfing to find something mindless that would help me think about anything else.
The next day at the hospital, when I was starting to get really bored, Emma and Lauren came and visited me, while Katie pulled some strings and snuck in a bunch of yummy gummy worms for me. We always needed to sneak food because my mother… once again, likes to interject herself into my life whenever she see's me eating junk food. Not good for my figure, apparently.
It was a really nice break from the pressure of both of my parents, and the doctors and nurses poking and prodding me. It should have felt almost normal, but I felt detached from it. Almost like, is this really happening? I'm here; listening to the latest on celebrity gossip, while the people that attacked me could be doing that to someone else? Or worse?
"Everyone's been so worried." Emma said, moving over so Katie could sit on the bed too.
"Yeah the whole school was freaking out." Lauren said with a grin. Lauren always made me laugh a little; she was cute, she had beautiful grey eyes, and flawless skin the color of mocha. She was half-black, so of course she was gorgeous. Emma was her opposite, pale, blonde, and preppy, while Katie had light brown hair that was always done in a perfect way. "You should have heard them," she continued, "Making up a bunch of bull on how it was the people from the lock down that jumped you or something."
They were all quiet.
Until Emma looked up and said in her sweet voice, "Was it?"
"As far as I know, no." I shook my head. There was no way I'm telling them anything. We don't get personal like this, it stays strictly on the topics of shallow drama, clothes, and cool things to do on the weekend. "It was all so confusing, it's hard to sort out." I waved my hand like it was nothing.
"Ohhh. I see. I bet it was. We don't have to talk about it." Katie threw me a lifeline. "But you know there are a bunch of True Religion Jeans I found at this one outlet store that's not too far away. We should totally check it out when you get better," She suggested.
I smiled, my mind wandering. "That sounds…nice. Oh! You know that really cool pink Indian style shirt-slash-wrap I got last month when I went to Cali? Totally trashed."
Emma gasped, "That sucks! I loved that shirt."
"Are you kidding me?" Lauren said, "I have a date next week, I was definitely planning on taking that from you."
"You have a date? And you didn't tell us?" Katie shouted in mock anger, "With who?"
She grinned, "Andrew Donohue."
"Oh my god." I laughed. "No. You are not allowed to date him."
"Why not?" Lauren's eyes widened.
"Helloo?"
"Check out his name."
"He is cute…" Emma offered weakly.
"No." Katie and I said at the same time.
We continued to pick apart Andrew Donohue, and I slowly slipped from thinking about all the confusion involved with police offers to stupid day-to-day girl world. A world I wish I could go back to, but I knew as much as I tried, I would never be able to go back to how I was completely.
After I got released from the hospital, my mom luckily went back to her own life, and I got time to myself again. Officer Parker set up an appointment for me to go to the police station, and I drove over, having never been before. It wasn't the cleanest building I'd ever seen; definitely nothing I'd ever been in. I walked in, and was surprised to see the guy who worked at the laundry mat.
I taped him on the shoulder. He turned around and looked at me. His eyes went wide, like many did. I still had a black eye and a pretty swollen face.
"I just wanted to thank you, you really helped me out." I stuck my hand out for him to shake.
He was sweet looking, I couldn't help but notice, at least in hi s early fifties. He had leathered skin, probably from being in the sun his whole life, and definitive wrinkles surrounding his warm brown eyes. He looked a little frightened, and I stared at him curiously.
"Look," He whispered harshly, "I don't know what you got yourself into, but leave me out of it."
I frowned, "What are you talking about?"
"I helped you, I don't regret it, but stay out of my life. Don't talk to me again." He looked at me sternly and turned and walked away.
"Hey, wait a minute!" I called "What's your problem? I'm only trying to thank you."
"Oh you've thanked me enough, trust me. You dragged me into this whole mess." He walked back to me and pointed a finger in my face, "I had to quit my jobs, I'm moving out of the city-"
"Why?"
"Because. I can't go anywhere without being followed. I come home and my apartment is destroyed, they know where my family lives…" His voice started to crack. I stared at him in horror.
"Are you serious?"
"Apparently, the people you messed with are dead serious." He sounded like he was going to cry, completely desperate.
"I am so sorry-"
"Don't." He put a hand up "Do me a favor, don't tell the police, don't tell anyone. I'm leaving tomorrow."
I stood and watched him leave in disbelief. What was going on? I was still standing in shock when an older man approached me. "Are you Heidi Van Dauson?"
"Yes I am."
"I'm Detective Kaiser. Step into this room right here, we have a couple more questions to ask you."
I nodded, coming into a cold room.
Detective Kaiser followed me in, with a bunch of folders and papers, after him another man came in as well.
"Hello," He introduced himself. "I'm Detective O'Connor." Definitely Irish, younger than Kaiser but still probably in his mid 40's. He wasn't bad looking either, he had salt and pepper hair with light blue eyes, while Kaiser reminded me of a stern, stiff, traditional, hard core Russian or something.
I sat down in a chair across from them, the place was a little intimidating, apparently reading my mind, Detective O'Connor reassured me, "You're not under questioning at all, but you're welcome and even suggested to have a parent or lawyer present. "
"No," I shook my head, "It'd be much easier without one."
"Unfortunately, your parents don't see it that way," A stern voice interjected. A lady dressed in a classy suit came and sat next to me, "Hi Heidi, my name is Joan Johnson, I'll be representing you," shaking my hand, "your mother called me." she offered at my confused look.
Ah. Mother. Of course. Needed to spend an extra grand. Couldn't waste all that time not giving it a go while I was in the hospital.
"Don't worry detectives, I won't be interfering with anything you have to say, just making sure she knows her rights."
Detective Kaiser did not look pleased, but continued forward, "We need you too look at a few things here and see if you can identify your attacker, now lets clarify from you description: There was a white male, dark features such as hair, and darker toned skin, around the height of 5'2-5'4 corr
ect?"
I nodded.
"Its better if you say it, for the record." Detective O'Connor nodded encouragingly at the tape recorder.
"Yes. That's what he looked like." I spoke over it, feeling a little silly.
"And…" Detective Kaiser shifted through the folder and put down a piece of paper with a bunch of pictures on it. "Could you identify if any of these men are one of your attackers?"
I looked over it, some faces blended together, they were all similar, but I could easily find the man. That stupid short son of a-
"Do you see him?" Joan asked, interrupting my nice thoughts.
"Yes." I said pointing to the picture, "This one, second row, last on the right."
"Are you sure?" the Detectives asked.
"I'm positive." I said, my voice coming out dead and cold.
"And the second attacker," Kaiser said, pulling out a sheet of paper, "Another white male, height of around 6'3 or taller, with blonde hair, and blue eyes. Can you identify him here?"
I looked over the sheet, and saw immediately. He's such a weird looking guy. There's that hair again.
"Right here. The one in the middle."
"Where exactly?"
"Third row, three in from the right and left, directly in the middle."
The detectives made some markings. "We may need you to identify them in a line up as well."
My head jerked up instantly, "Do you have them?"
"No, unfortunately not yet. But it helps to know who we're looking for. The men you have identified are Christopher Greco, often referred to as "Greco" and Joseph "Joey" James." Detective Kaiser pulled out more papers, articles, and files, all on the men. "They've been involved in drug trade and trafficking for several years now. They've come up quite high in the ranks, and it is surprising to us that they are even in the United States, many of our sources have been looking for them in Mexico, or Costa Rica."
I stared at some of the photos, many blurry, but undoubtedly one of the two, or even both, partaking in some type of activity. On the phone, walking to their car, talking to someone, there were pictures of everything.
"This information is normally kept very quiet, almost classified, but we're telling you so you know how important you have become to the case." Detective Kaiser explained.
"Hold it." Joan said. "Exactly how important? And to what cost of my client? You honestly think you could trick her into doing something," she stood up in outrage, "because you assumed she wouldn't have a parent or lawyer present!"
"No, stop." I said, putting a hand on her, "Let them finish talking."
"Heidi, " Joan sat back down "It is crucial that you make your own decision. It might be better if you brought both of your parents in here before continuing with this meeting." she said with a sneer.
"We actually haven't finished with her." Detective O'Connor said, "There is still a lot to go over-"
"Oh this is over when I say it is."
"Or its over when I say it is. I'll keep answering questions." I told her with a glare.
Joan sat with tight lips, clearly angry.
"We might need you in court. Now, luckily, your testimony will be accompanied by many when it comes to Joseph James and Christopher Greco. When we catch them, we'll have enough evidence to put them away for a very, very, long time." Detective O' Connor was kind and sincere or at least, I hoped.
Kaiser cleared his throat, turning our attention to him, "We do, however, need you specifically for one thing: Mickey."
"Mickey? The red-headed women?"
"Yes." Detective Kaiser confirmed. "You are officially the only person who has seen her, or even been able to get a description of her. In fact, we didn't even know she was women until you talked to one of our younger Officers."
I stared at him in disbelief. Is that why Officer Parker was so shocked?
"You have to understand, Mickey has been profiting from illegal drug trade for over 13 years. All this time we have been looking for a man. He- I mean, she," the detective corrected himself, "has been the central drug lord of not only Arizona, but the entire country, completely unattainable; none of her men would give her up, mostly because hardly anyone has been trusted to see her. Not only that, but you heard information on what they were doing."
"Not really." I said "All I knew is they collected something, and where going to trade it."
"That's all we need to know, now we know that several of the top drug lords in the country will be in one place at one time. The only question is when and where." Kaiser looked pleased, "Its perfect."
"So…" Detective O' Connor continued where Detective Kaiser left off, "You'll need to work with a sketch artist, and need the support of the police. If you become a source of danger you may need to go into hiding."
"Hiding?" I exclaimed.
"Only if it's absolutely necessary," He assured me.
"I have moved around a lot, and I am so done with it. I'm graduating from this high school. I am staying here. I will have a normal life." I asserted.
"We will have an undercover police officer near you at all times, for your protection. We will, of course, get the rights from the court." He nodded his head towards my trusty lawyer Joan. "But you have to know that once you get a part of this, your life is in danger. You need to see this through for any hope of a normal life."
Talk about pressure, I definitely wasn't as enthusiastic about this as they thought. From the looks on their faces, they expected me to be excited. Excited for what? Contributing to society? Making the world a better place? Not likely.
"Heidi." Joan said, sensing my discomfort. "This is all optional."
"Actually," Detective Kaiser said, "We can get a court order for you to testify." Both Detective O'Connor and Joan glared at him.
I remained silent for a couple moments before I spoke. "I need a couple days to think all of this through."
"Well, so you know, the police protection will begin immediately." Kaiser said, the lovely barer of all the things I want to hear.
I got up stuck out my hand for Joan, "Thank you, I'll call you later, "
"Your mom has my number, so you know where to reach me."
"Thank you detectives, I'll be in touch." I felt like a robot. I got up, I left the building, I drove home. I got something to eat. I watched T.V, I sat on my bed, and I fell asleep.
Chapter 4
It was almost unreal, looking out my window and seeing a car not parked far away: my protection no doubt.
I had hundreds of questions, hundreds of doubts, and thousands of worries. But what else could I do? I didn't want them to hurt anyone else.
"Heidi?" my dad's voice called out from downstairs. I slid off my window seat and walked down the stairs. "Hi, honey." He smiled when he saw me.
I always really liked my dad. He was a down to earth guy. I'd moved to several places as a child, everywhere from Ohio, to Illinois, to North Carolina, Virginia, and now Arizona, Phoenix specifically. I liked the city. I'd lived in a suburb outside Chicago, and it was very, very different.
Chicago was all hustle and bustle, one of the coolest places I've ever been. But it helped to be of drinking age. Phoenix, Phoenix was less touristy and therefore sketchier. And it wasn't like normal cities, where the sketchy areas and ghettos are clearly defined. You had to learn your way around it. So you knew what areas the celebrities lived in, and what areas the drug dealers lived in. It was a cool place if you learnt where to go.
I was glad my dad brought me here. He got bored easily, with his job, with the place or the scene. And he was good at what he did, so I was always fortunate to have a more luxurious lifestyle. My dad was an investor; he was good at spotting trends and up and coming ideas. When he pointed at something and said it had potential, it became successful; with his reputation, investors and businessmen alike knew everything he touched became gold.
"Hi Daddy." I sent a smile his way. "How was work?"
"Good." He took off his jacket and tie. "I heard you went down to the police
station today?"
I nodded. "No offense Dad, but I don't really want to talk about what happened."
"And I'm not asking you to. But we do need to talk about one thing, if this has become more of a situation than we believed, which your lawyer tells me it has, then next time you go down, your mother and I should be there."
"Dad," I said, in a slightly annoyed voice, "I don't want you guys to be a part of this."
"We're your family sweetie; you know we would be no matter what."
"No, it's not that." I plopped down on the couch, a little angry. "It's Mom. You know how she is, you know anything and everything I say will be everywhere in like, two seconds-"
"Your mom knows her boundaries. It might not seem like it…"
"Dad." I said sternly. "She has no idea where to draw the line." He started to speak and I cut him off. "At all. And you know it. I'm sorry, but it's really not something we all need to do together."
"Can you stop talking like a brat? I'm trying to help." I shut my mouth and remained sitting, anger boiling up, I hated getting treated like a child. "Both your mother and I will be joining you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes. I had the lawyer schedule a meeting for us."
I got even angrier until he started walking upstairs, leaving me downstairs, alone, by myself, in the dark. All of a sudden images filled my head of being grabbed, kicked, punched and pulled. My breath increased steadily while my eyes searched the room rapidly, the largeness of the space seemed to be swallowing me whole. Every corner, every door, held the possibility of someone else, someone else to finish the job, to kill me.
"Um…" My voice came out shaky and quiet. "Dad?...Daaaad?" Still no answer. "DAD!" I shouted.
"What?" He angrily came back downstairs.
"I-I- uhh. I, uh, I have a question."
He gave me the most irritated look. "What Heidi?"
"Why were they in your room?" It really was a question I wanted to ask.
"I have no idea. And it's definitely something I will be discussing with the police tomorrow. Now go to bed."
But I couldn't. Going to sleep when it was light outside was fine, but now I was by myself. Alone. All night, I couldn't sleep. At first, I would try, but I was afraid as soon as I closed my eyes that someone would come up behind me. If they got into my house before, they could do it again.
