by Elle Casey
“I’ll meet you out there,” said Candi, running out of the bathroom.
Sarah shook her head. “Sugar Lump’s gonna go kick some butt. Bad guys better look out.” She pushed on Gretchen’s forehead. “Tip your head back, boyfriend-stealer. I need to get this liner on right.”
***
Kevin sat in a chair in the emergency room, Candi in his lap. She was turned sideways, leaning against his chest. He could smell her shampoo and familiar perfume. It made him want to gather her closer to him. Her earlier comments about him ending up in the emergency room were kind of freaking him out a little. Sarah and Candi had just told him and Jon about a rumor that his tophat had something to do with Barry being the one shot. The concept that someone might want to shoot him for wearing it was blowing his mind. Candi was right. It was a stupid hat.
Kevin’s eyes wandered over to the coffee machine where a guy wearing black jeans and silver-tipped cowboy boots was waiting for his cup to drop. The guy glanced over at Kevin and then looked away quickly, retrieving his drink and moving away to stand in the corner of the room, his eyes roaming around but never coming back to Kevin.
Before Kevin could consider whether a cup of coffee was a good idea or not, the smell having tempted him, a man in a suit walked over and stood in front of them. Candi sat up, looking directly at Kevin, fear in her eyes. Kevin stood, putting her on her feet and his arm around her shoulders.
“Kevin Peterson?” the man asked.
Kevin nodded.
The man held out his hand. “Agent Charles Caffey, Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Kevin shook it. The guy had a really strong grip. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Likewise. Can you follow me, please?”
Candi’s grip around his waist got tighter. Kevin tried to detach her, but she was like a spider monkey, refusing to let go.
“You can stay here, young lady.”
Candi shook her head. “I’m going with him.” She looked up at Kevin, tears in her eyes. “Don’t you dare leave me out here.”
Kevin nodded, his protective instincts going into overdrive. “She’s coming. Jonathan and Sarah too.” They had walked over to stand next to him, Sarah looking more tired than she should have.
“Let’s go,” said Mr. Caffey, his voice giving no indication of how he felt about them all sticking together. He left the waiting room and went down a hallway, leaving the emergency room area of the hospital entirely.
They all followed behind, shooting each other questioning looks but saying nothing. Candi was texting someone, probably her mother. Kevin felt slightly less stressed, knowing someone besides them and this guy knew where they were. Hopefully, whatever this guy had to say wasn’t terrible news. Kevin considered why the FBI might want to talk to him, and the only thing he could come up with was the fact that Barry had taken his hat. It was stupid, but nothing else made sense. Without the rumors the girls had heard, he never would have guessed his hat could have been involved.
The man stopped in front of a door that was open, gesturing for them to enter. There were two other people in business suits inside what turned out to be a conference room with a long blonde-colored wood oval table and several brown leather chairs around it.
“Please, take a seat.” He shut the door behind Sarah, the last one in.
They all sat in a row, Jonathan on one end and Kevin on the other, the girls in the middle. The suits gathered at the other end of the room, facing them.
“Do you know why we’ve brought you here?” asked Agent Caffey.
Kevin shook his head, his face getting instantly flushed. He felt guilty even though he had no idea what he could have possibly done.
“You were wearing a tophat to the dance earlier, is that correct?”
“Yeah. So? What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Was anyone else at the dance wearing one that you’re aware of?” Agent Caffey looked at each of the teens in the room individually.
They all shook their heads no.
Then Sarah spoke up. “No one has the guts to wear such a ridiculous hat.” She looked over at Kevin and winked. For some reason it made the pressure on his shoulders lighten just a little.
Candi’s phone buzzed. She looked around in a panic before pressing the green button. “Hello?” she whispered into the mouthpiece.
“Please put your phone away,” said one of the other suits. This guy had really dark hair and a pockmarked face, and he was about four inches shorter than Agent Caffey.
Candi ignored him, which obviously pissed him off. He made as if he was going to come around the table towards her.
Kevin stood, making his intent clear with the look he shot in the agent’s direction. But just in case the guy was an idiot and couldn’t read body language, he elaborated. “Dude. Take one more step towards her, and you’re going to be sorry.”
Jonathan stood suddenly too, nodding. Kevin could see that he was shaking.
The guy put his hands up, frowning like it was no big deal, but his casual demeanor didn’t reach his eyes.
Kevin sat down slowly. Jonathan tried to do the same, but his chair had swung sideways a bit. His butt hit the arm of the chair instead of the cushion, sending him down in a crooked half-fall, half-sit. Sarah leaned over and threw her arms around him, kissing him loudly on the cheek. He worked to right himself as Candi finished her call.
She sat up and said, “Our parents are on their way. They told me to tell all of you that we aren’t going to answer any more questions without a lawyer.”
“You can’t speak for the others,” said the pockmarked guy.
“I’m not talking to anyone without a lawyer,” said Sarah, staring him down mutinously.
“Me, neither. I want an attorney. I’m asserting my constitutional rights to remain silent,” said Jonathan, nodding firmly.
“I guess you guys will have to wait to get any answers from us, then,” said Kevin, feeling extremely confident with his family next to him and on the way. “I want a lawyer too.”
The third agent, a lady, rolled her eyes. “Way to go, Pete.” She looked over at us. “Listen, you don’t need attorneys, kids. You’re not in trouble. You’re not suspected of doing anything against the law. We had an appointment to meet with you tomorrow, anyway. We talked to your mother today, Candi and Jonathan. Do you remember taking Mr. Caffey’s call, Candi?” This lady was obviously much nicer than the other two guys. Or at least, less intimidating.
Candi nodded. “But I’m still not talking to you until my parents get here.”
The others nodded as well. Kevin took Candi’s hand and squeezed it, letting her know how proud of her he was. You can take the girl off the island, but you can’t take the island out of the girl.
The lady held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. “That’s fine. We’ll wait.” She dropped her hands and just held her palm out in a friendly way. “Anyone want anything to eat? Chips? Coffee?”
“Oh, some chips would be awesome,” said Sarah. “I’m feeling a little woozy, actually.”
The lady turned to the mean guy. “Pete, please go to the machine down the hall and get some snacks for the kids. Their parents are at least twenty minutes out.”
“Add a few sodas to that list, if you don’t mind,” said Jonathan. “Water for Sarah, though. She’s not allowed to have caffeine or refined sugars.”
She whacked him on the shoulder. “Hey, hard butt. I’m allowed to have a little.”
He shook his head, refusing to agree.
Kevin smiled. He was sitting in what was essentially an interrogation room with three FBI agents, and his sister and adopted family were by his side, going on with life like this was just no big deal. The island experience had made them all tougher, more confident. He took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Everything was going to be fine. They just needed to find out who hated tophats so much they’d shoot a guy wearing one.
Chapter Two
Witnesses
FRAN
K PETERSON WAS STEAMING MAD. “What are you telling us, then? That someone’s got it out for our kids? That’s ridiculous … they’re teenagers for chrissakes!”
His wife put her hand on his arm in an effort to calm him down, but he just shrugged her off, probably more forcefully than he should have. He was the only one in the room who didn’t realize it. Angie Peterson backed away, shrinking in on herself. Candi’s mom reached out and put her hand on Angie’s shoulder, but Angie didn’t even look at her.
“Please calm down, Mr. Peterson,” said Agent Caffey. “We don’t have all the facts yet, but what we do know is that we have an active investigation going on that’s been in process for over a year; and at this point, your kids are the only material witnesses we have who can not only identify some of the participants but who can also verify that the island they were trapped on was covered in illegal drugs.” He sighed, staring from one face to another. “We need their testimony to put these guys away.”
“Our appointment wasn’t until tomorrow, though,” said Candi’s mother. “How is it that some person out there knows about our children being witnesses before we do? And they know enough to shoot at someone they think is Kevin Peterson?”
“That’s ridiculous!” growled Frank. “Beyond belief! You must think we’re complete idiots!” He jerked his head towards the door. “Come on, Angela. We’re going. Kevin! Let’s go, son.”
He didn’t mention Sarah, but that was probably for the best. Candi didn’t relish the idea of his cruelty being advertised to the FBI anymore than it already had.
Kevin didn’t move. If anything he hung on tighter to Candi’s shoulders. She smiled up at him as best she could, but knew it had probably come across as more a grimace than anything else.
“I’m not done talking to these guys,” said Kevin. “Dad, can you just sit down and hear them out? I really don’t want someone putting a hole in my back.”
Frank stared at everyone, his nostrils flaring. “Fine. You want to stay? Stay! I’m going home!” He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
An awkward silence ensued.
Then Sarah said, “Ladies and Gentleman … Frank Peterson has left the building.”
Candi snickered just a tiny bit before she caught herself. The stress from the night was causing her to lose her mind or something. Kevin leaned down and kissed her once on the top of her head, making her feel very relieved to know he wasn’t mad about her kind-of laughing about his dad. Sarah looked over and winked. Jonathan was staring at his watch, probably calculating if Frank actually had left the building or if he were still inside somewhere.
The female FBI agent looked to their mothers. “Mrs. Peterson … Mrs. Buckley … we’ve spoken to our superiors, and it appears as if there is some support to the theory that someone knows we intended to approach the kids about being witnesses and are working at eliminating them or at least scaring them into not participating. That being the case, we are currently doing the paperwork to put them into protective custody … ” She lifted her hands at the obvious disapproval and worry about to be launched by the parents. “… Just until we know who is responsible, so we can take care of the problem.”
“But … that could be months. Years, even!” exclaimed Candi’s mom. “They’re in high school. They’ll ruin their GPAs, they’ll miss graduation …” She looked to Mrs. Peterson. “Right, Angie?”
Angie nodded. “Yes. I agree. This is unacceptable.”
Candace continued. “I haven’t been able to reach my husband, but I know he’d agree with me.”
“No, it shouldn’t be that long. And we have authorization to have tutors for them, online learning, so they will be able to keep up with their classes, and there should be no effect on their GPAs at all. They’ll have basic internet access just for the classes, and it will be routed through the FBIs network for total security. They may miss graduation, but there’s nothing we can do about that. It would be too risky to allow them to be out in public like that.”
The other two agents were nodding their agreement.
“Will we go with them?” asked Candi’s mother, looking over helplessly at her two children.
“No. They will be monitored at all times by our personnel, but they will be cut off from the outside world. We will deliver recordings of them talking to you, personal messages, but that’s all. No email, no phone calls, no texting … nothing. No contact until they testify.”
“And after?” asked Angie. “After they testify will they be safe?”
Agent Caffey answered. “The hope is that after the trial, they will be able to return to life as before. We will use their testimony to put the guilty parties away for a long, long time. Hopefully, forever. We should be able to add attempted murder to their already very long list of charges, based on their activities tonight.”
“And what if we say no?” said Angie. “What if we don’t agree to have our children subjected to this kind of treatment or even to being witnesses?”
“Then there is nothing we can do to protect them. And the fact is, they have sensitive information about the crimes committed by these drug traffickers, and the criminals know it. They will not stop until they’ve made sure the information cannot come out against them. It’s a race to the courthouse, essentially.”
Candi felt the blood drain from her face. “Oh my god … that’s just … awful times a million.” Tears sprang to her eyes. “Do we even have a choice, then?” She looked from her mother to her brother and then her friends. “We have to do this, right? I mean, we can’t walk around town or school constantly waiting for a bullet to hit us.”
“Actually, most of the witnesses we’ve lost in this case have been killed by being stabbed … multiple times,” said the pockmarked agent.
Angela gasped and then shrieked. Candi’s mom put a shaking hand to her lips in silence, her eyes bright with tears.
“Pete, that wasn’t necessary,” said the female agent. She looked over at us. “It’s true, but irrelevant. Candi is right. You really don’t have a choice. You need to allow us to protect you, and the only way we can do that is if you agree to help us. You will be compensated for your time, within the rules of the federal government.”
Jonathan looked up from his careful study of the tabletop. “I agree to assist you with the prosecution of the criminals in exchange for your protection for me and my sister and our friends. But I really think you should consider doing something for our parents, too.”
“We might be able to fund a long vacation,” said Agent Caffey. “It will take special authorization, but we’re willing to give it a shot.”
Kevin nodded. “I agree to those terms too.” He looked down at Candi. “What about you, Gumdrop? Are you in?”
Candi thought about it and realized, there was nothing else to say. “Yeah. I’m in if you guys are.” She looked over at her mother who now had tears running down her cheeks.
“I’m so sorry, sweetie,” was all her mother could say before the crying overwhelmed her.
“It’s not your fault, Mom,” said Candi. “Life happens.” She shrugged. She wished she felt as casual about the whole thing as her words implied, but all she kept imagining was some guy in a dark trench coat whipping out a knife and attacking her with it. She wished she had one of her fishing spears from the island to carry around with her.
“I agree too, if anyone cares,” said Sarah sarcastically. “Can I go to the bathroom now? I’m about to lose it.”
“Yes. I’ll take you,” said the female agent.
“Me too!” said Candi, jumping up from the table and going over to take Sarah by the hand.
“Nervous, Sugar Lump?” asked Sarah, looking as cool as a cucumber.
“Yes. Very.”
“Come on. Tell your big sister aaaallll about it,” she said, as they stepped out of the door, following the agent into the softly-lit hallway.
***
Agent Caffey was at the wheel of the large, black SUV, driving into a neighbor
hood Jonathan hadn’t seen in a long time. Agent Booker, the lady, sat next to him. The other guy with all the acne scars, Agent Gutierrez, stayed at the hospital. The tearful mothers had been left behind, along with Jonathan’s father who’d finally shown up at the end. Jonathan felt bad that his dad had missed most of the conversation and explanation, because he looked so lost and forlorn when they drove away. It was just bad luck that he’d been working late and without any phones nearby until just before they were leaving.
“Are you okay?” he asked Candi. She looked even worse than their parents had.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “It’s just a lot to process.”
Jonathan nodded. She wasn’t kidding. His brain felt like it was getting a cramp in it from trying to put all the pieces together. He knew they’d be up all night talking about this stuff. It made him a little glad that they were all in this with him, even though it also meant they were at risk. He pulled Sarah’s hand over into his lap so he could stroke it gently. She had fallen asleep, her head on his shoulder. She’d probably drool on it too, but he didn’t care.
“You’ll only be in this place for one or two days … three max,” said Agent Booker. We just need to finish up the paperwork and arrangements to take you to the more permanent location.”
“And we’ll be there for how long?” asked Kevin.
“A month or so. The trial process is moving along nicely. The lawyers tell us you’ll be key to the whole thing, so they’ll be anxious to get you on the stand early on.”
Jonathan nodded, glad it wasn’t going to be that long. School would probably be over before they were finished, but that didn’t matter. They still had their senior year, and more importantly, Sarah’s pregnancy would still be in its early stages.
He looked down at her flat belly, trying to imagine what it would look like with a human being growing inside, getting bigger and bigger. The idea was curious and warming to him. He’d never pictured himself as a dad before, and while this was not the best timing in his life for it, he was confident he could do a good job. His dad was the best ever, so all he had to do was think to himself, What would my dad do? Plus, he could always Google stuff he didn’t know. He’d already spent countless hours researching the hormonal issues of the pregnant female, fetal development over the months, complications, and even labor and delivery. It had two outcomes for him: one, he felt more prepared, and two, he was scared to death. So many things could go wrong, and Sarah was about to deal with the most difficult and painful things she’d ever known in her whole life. And Sarah was a handful on her best day. Sarah pregnant was going to be something else entirely. Jonathan was glad he had the island experience on his side. He had a feeling he was going to need it.