Confidential (5 page)

"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 correct?"

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."