The girl sat next to me she was silent now, the tears of fear were gone. She fidgeted in the front seat of my car. Her short skirt kept riding up on her and she was pulling them down on a regular basis.
I had caught her doing drugs. She knew there was no way out for her. I was a cop, that was bad enough but I was also a good friend of her father. A prominent judge. She was 18 now I had watched her grow up from the age of 9. Since I was once a bailiff in her father’s courtroom. I had moved up from that duty and was now a detective. We had run a drug bust at a local dealer’s house. I was shocked to see her there. Not nearly as shocked as she was when I kicked in the door and caught her sucking off the guy we were looking for. I had to take a step back when I saw her. She instantly began to cry. As agents and cops swarmed the place, arresting the lot and sticking them in the truck, I quietly walked Ann out to my car, she was cuffed to begin with but I took them off shortly after we left the scene.
“So what are you going to do?” She asked me when we drove by the station.
“I don’t know I am making this up as I go.” I said angrily.
“Won’t you get in to trouble if you don’t take me in?” She asked shyly not really suggesting and not wanting to remind me that what I was doing was wrong.
“It could cost me my badge. More than likely a suspension with loss of rank.” I said thinking of all the things that could happen to me. None of them good, all the hard work I had put in was probably going down the tubes.
“Thank you.” She said meekly. I coughed up a laugh.
“Don’t think for one minute young lady I am doing this for you!” I said with exasperation in my voice.
“Then why?” She asked looking at me with tears in her eyes.
“I owe your father more than I can ever re-pay. If this keeps him in line for his federal judge seat, well then it is worth whatever they do to me.” She bowed her head.
“So you are going to tell him?” She whispered her tears falling again from her eyes onto her hands that were folded in her lap. I looked at her in disbelief. We were at a red light waiting for it to change.
“Yea! I would say that is a safe bet!” I said laughing at her for thinking I wouldn’t. It was more of a frustrated laugh. I truly didn’t want to tell but I cared for her father, he was a good man. I also cared for her. I was 21 when we first met, I watched her grow into the woman seated next to me. I remember running checks on her boyfriends for her father, quietly of course. I remember going to basketball games she cheered in. I cared for her. I never knew the deepness of my feelings for her until I saw her on her knees that day. Her hand wrapped around that man’s shaft, her face reddened with passion and heat as her head bobbed on his cock as her hand worked the bottom of his shaft. When our eyes locked after I kicked in the door, gun drawn, rage filled them then jealously replaced it. It was all I could do to keep from beating the man.
“Any way I can convince you not too?” She asked when the light turned green and I went back to driving. I slowly turned my head to look at her. Her tear streaked face turned to me. Her blue eyes glittering with tears. She was truly scared. I reached out with my right hand and cupped her face. My thumb brushed the tears from her cheek.
“I can’t. I am sorry but your father needs to know. What kind of friend would I be if I betrayed him?” I was torn! Her eyes pleaded for my help, me with my morals defying what my heart wanted. I took my hand from her face and she began to cry again.
“They will never let me go to Florida State for sure now.” She cried. “They will make me go to State College here in town now. It only took me this entire senior year to convince them to trust me!” She was trying to convince me.
“I guess they were right not to trust you.” The statement hurt to say. An acid on my tongue. It was a bomb to her as she began to sob. We were silent the rest of the way out of town to her house. A sprawling home with six bedrooms, billiard room and more room than most police stations I was in. I had spent some time there early in my career, renting the guesthouse out behind the enormous structure. I moved out later when I was on my feet and began to make more money as a detective.
We went in but no one was home. It was getting late and they would be home before too long. Ann collapsed on the couch in the family room as I took to one of the soft chairs across from her. We were silent. She was shamed and now she would be trapped here for another four years until she finished her college. We sat silent the only sound was the tick-tock of the antique grandfather clock in the room. After about 20 minutes she got up and started toward the staircase.
“If you are thinking about leaving, don’t.” I said not looking at her. She stopped and with her back to me said,
“Would you believe I wasn’t there for drugs?”
“No.” Was my short hard reply. She shook her head and came back to me and kneeled at my feet. I slowly looked to her. Her eyes pleading for help.
“I was there for a friend.” She said not turning away.
“Looked to me like you found one.” The words slapped her harder than I could have with my own hand. She winced at them.
“I was there for Joyce.” She said regaining her composure.
“Joyce wasn’t there.”
“I know, Joyce owed Jimmy money. I was there to pay him.” I looked at her in shock.
“No not like that!” She pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to me.
“Why didn’t she pay him?” I asked. I wanted to believe her, I was begging in my mind for her to be half the litigator her father was and to sway me as I was a jury.
“Well, he beat her up really bad. She was afraid. I was just supposed to pay him and leave.” She said looking into my eyes again. I shook my head in disbelief.
“That doesn’t explain why I found you the way I did.” I said delicately.
“When I got there he told me it wasn’t enough. He said he added interest. I told him I would get more, but he said no. It had to be paid then and there. He gave me options. That was the best of the three.” She looked to the floor shamed.
“I don’t know.” I said wanting to believe. Jimmy had a reputation for doing just what she had described.
“Have I ever lied to you?” With that she I felt the last of the air leave me. She hadn’t to my knowledge. I was the one she confided in when she did a shoplifting as a dare. I was the one she called when a guy she really liked wanted to go farther than she did up at lover’s lane. He had dumped her up there and she walked two miles to a phone. She told me everything about what happened.
“You said you would do anything for a friend. You are putting you whole life on the line for my father. Do you think you are the only person who would do anything for a friend? Are you the only one who knows of loyalty?” Damn she was good. I let out a small smile of approval. She saw it and smiled back a little.
“Are we friends?” I asked her.
“More than you know.” She looked away.
“You are telling me the truth then? Because you know I can find out.” She looked at me. Her eyes strong.
“I have never and will never lie to you.” Her eyes never wavered.
“I believe you. But your father still needs to be told. There were reporters there. He needs to be prepared if someone asks.” I said.
“Let me tell him then. I will of course leave out the part of how you found me.” She said. I stood, she sat there on her knees. “Tell him tonight. Have him call me and talk to me after. Don’t make me tell him tomorrow. Because I won’t change anything!” She looked up at me then nodded. I left her there crying on the floor as I left for the station. No one asked about my prisoner. I pulled Jimmy into the interrogation room.
“Who was the girl I found you with?” I asked point blank before he had a chance to sit.