Dawn answered the call on her bedroom extension. "Hello."
"Dawn, this is Gloria Stafford. I hope I did not call too early."
"Please don't be concerned. It must be important for you to call me on a Saturday, "Dawn replied.
"Yes, it is important. We have wonderful news. An eyewitness to your attack has surfaced. He is doing so at great personal risk."
"Why now after all this time?" Dawn inquired.
"I don't have all the details. The important thing is that he insists that his identity is not reveled. We agree for obvious reasons. We have requested an emergency hearing before the court today. I think when the judge reads his sworn affidavit he will grant the condition. If so he will be known as Joe Smith."
"So he saw what happened and can identify the culprits?" Dawn was incredulous. "Why now?"
"It's a sad story." Gloria said.
A MAN CALLED JOE SMITH
Carl Edwards, an unemployed teacher, is married and has two children. He lost his job due to budget cuts. His wife Julia was a stay at home mom. The couple never dreamed that Carl would loose his job and find it impossible to land another job that paid the bills, the mortgage, car payments and a host of other costs that had long taken for granted.
The house soon added to the growing list of foreclosures sweeping the nation. Julia was forced to separate from Carl and move back east with the kids to stay with her lesbian sister and her partner. The kids missed their father. They proved resilient, made new friends, and attended a good school.
Carl had a van and enough money to get by for about one year. He lived in the van. A kindly janitor at the school allowed Carl to use the locker room showers and the athletic department washer and dryer.
He drove the van as little as possible and avoided dangerous areas of town. He knew there were drug gangs and militant thugs roaming the streets. Killings and brutal beatings were commonplace. He never dreamed that parking near Loving Angels would lead to a dramatic change in his life.
He observed a steady flow of beautiful lesbians come and go. Like all men, he fanaticized about viewing lesbian sex. His longing for the companionship was frustrating and was not immune to masturbation. He found the lesbian scene provided perfect for arousing his sexual desires.
He had just finished getting off when she saw a beautiful African American walking by his van. Tinted windows prevented Dawn from seeing Carl.
A man approached Dawn. He asked her "How much?"
Dawn was in no mood to put up with any crap. "I'm not a hooker. Even if I was you couldn't afford me."
She started to walk away when the man spun her around and raised his hand to slap her. Dawn caught him off guard and kneed him in the nuts twice,
She turned to run and never saw the baseball bat hit her midsection. Out of breath and unable to move a second blow to the back of the head knocked her unconscious. It proved a blessing and disguise. She never felt the thugs break her leg, fracture her jaw or drag her over broken glass. The surely would have killed her had Randy not noticed three women coming their way. Kurt, Derrick let's get the hell out of here. "Hold on Randy. I'm giving this black bitch something to remember me by." Kurt ordered, and shoved a nightstick up Dawn's ass.
Carl saw it all including her friends rendering first aid until the ambulance arrived. He thought long and hard about what his next actions.
He knew the attackers were members of a neo-Nazi skinheads group suspected in several murders of blacks, Jews, gay men and women. The intimidated witnesses by threatening their families and even if arrested never made it to court. He heard of an FBI undercover agent who was hacked to pieces after his cover was blown.
With this in mind, Carl decided he would come forward only after all three were in custody. He agreed to finger all three only if his identity remained unknown to the defendants and their lawyer. He insisted on an electronic voice modifier and a hood that covered his face except for his eyes, nose and mouth.
Gloria and Richard stashed Carl in a safe house Friday night and enlisted US Marshals to protect him around the clock. The three worked until daybreak to prepare a sworn affidavit to present to the defense and the judge at his home.
The judge and the defense counsel were stunned when the read the affidavit.
"Your motion for identity protection is granted," the judge ordered.
The duty of all attorneys is to their clients no mater how much they turn their stomach. The defendant's lawyer had to ask for a plea deal. He was not surprised at Richard's response. "Only if they save the judicial system time and money and throw themselves to the mercy of the court."
The trail was over before the jury took their seats. Randy, Kurt and Derrick read the affidavit and knew they would fry or spend the rest of their life and jail.
Every seat in the courtroom filled with Dawn's friends and local and national media, plus a number of heavily armed guards. All of Dawn's Angels filed though the court doors. The included Jason and Nikki, Sheri and Laura, Janet and Jennifer, Sandy and Jade, Candy and Cindy, Holly and Stacy, Pixie and Joan, Professors Peggy, Cindy and Mary and most of the CETI administration and staff.
The defendants entered pleas of "Not Gutsy."
