The Hardest Thing and the Right Thing

The Hardest Thing and the Right Thing

Brandi looked at the detective nervously. Maybe she wasn't doing the right thing. She took a step backwards, still doubting whether she wanted to tell him or not.

"Miss?"

"Uh…I need to talk to someone." Bobby cleared his throat and motioned for her to follow him to his desk. She followed after him, looking around anxiously.

"Why don't you have a seat?" She slid into the chair he offered her and fiddling with the strap of her purse. Bobby looked at her closely. Something seemed familiar about her but he couldn't place it.

"So…what did you need to talk about, Miss…?" He paused, unsure of her name.

"Brandi."

"Ok, Brandi. What's on your mind?" She swallowed, trying not to look him in the eyes. She got the feeling he could spot a liar a mile away. He was a cop after all. Wasn't that what they did?

"I…uh…" She couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence. Brandi wanted to admit to having the drugs but she didn't want to go to jail. But if she didn't confess then she'd be letting Chuck use her. Bobby sat patiently, pen poised over paper.

"This is really hard, wow. So um...am I going to get in trouble for telling you this?" Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"That depends on what you're going to tell me."

"See I'm dating this guy…well I mean we're kind of broken up." Bobby nodded.

"Well…he wants me to do something…but I don't know if I should..."

"Why don't you start from the beginning, Brandi?" She let out a hiccup of nervous laughter.

"Right….well I came out here to visit my family, my mom and sister. I left my boyfriend in New Jersey…he's…kind of a businessman and he wants me to fly back this week…" Bobby cleared his throat and set the pen down.

"Alright, look. Just tell it to me straight."

"He wants me to bring back…a suitcase…full of crystal meth." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Brandi's head fell into her hands in embarrassment.

"And I'm so dead aren't I?" Bobby leaned back in his chair. He had to admit he was a little surprised by her confession. Before he could say anything, her phone began to ring. Without looking at the detective, Brandi fished it out of her purse.

"Hello?"

"Hi sweetie. I just wanted to remind you about stopping by the restaurant for lunch."

"Mom, I'm kind of busy right now. I'll…I'll call you later." She hung up and looked guilty as she put it away.

"Let me get this straight. Your boyfriend wants you to fly to…wherever he is to bring him a suitcase full of drugs?" She nodded.

"Mind telling me why you're telling me this?"

"I…I guess I felt guilty or something. Like it was the right thing to do."

They stayed silent for a long time. Bobby appeared to be searching Brandi's eyes for something, the truth perhaps? She shifted in the chair uncomfortably. Now that she'd admitted that she had the drugs she was even more nervous about what was going to happen to her now. The silence was interrupted by Brandi's phone ringing again. She glanced at the number and let out a small groan.

"Chico, what is it?"

"You said call when I finished. I'm done."

"I'm still doing that thing I said I had to do."

She could tell Bobby wanted to say something. She put the phone on her shoulder, directing her attention back to him.

"I'm afraid you can't leave."

"Are you serious? Look I swear I'd be back in like twenty minutes. I just have a pick a friend up from physical therapy." Bobby shook his head and she let out another sound of annoyance.

"Look, I'm going to be here for a while. Can't you catch a cab or something?"

"A cab? You sound like Mary." Brandi just rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Ok, fine. I'll catch a cab."

"Ok…bye, Chico." She hung up and toyed with her phone for a moment or two.

"So….what happens now?"

"First, I'm going to have you write out a sworn statement and sign it for the record." He stood up and motioned for her to follow him into an interrogation room. She followed at a distance. Her mind was flashing back to every campy, clichéd cop movie she'd ever seen.

"Just have a seat and write down everything you told me."

"I'm not under arrest am I?" He shook his head.

"No. Not until we find the drugs." She cringed. He left her to write out her statement. She stared at the yellow legal pad and took a deep breath. She could do this. She couldn't turn back now. Brandi picked up the pen and slowly began to write down everything she'd told Bobby, adding a few details she'd left out. Back at his desk, Bobby was finishing a phone call to the Narcotics division of Albuquerque PD.

"Yes, Sir. As soon as I have the address, we'll move." He hung up the phone and went to check on Brandi. She handed him the signed statement.

"I need for you to tell me where the drugs are."

"Uh…in my house."

"I'm going to have an officer escort you home. You're going to wait outside for myself and the other officers to arrive."

"Don't you need like a warrant or something?"

"We have probable cause that the drugs are where you say they are. As long as you give us permission to search the house, we don't need one."

"Oh…ok." She shouldered her purse and followed him back out to the bull pen area. Bobby motioned for a uniformed officer to escort Brandi back to her car and to the house.

The drive back to the house was silent. The officer kept his eyes on her the entire drive, lurching in his seat whenever she almost missed stopping at a stop sign. She could see the other police cars behind her, their lights flashing in her rearview and side mirrors.

As instructed, Brandi and the officer waited outside while the other officers arrived. Bobby pulled Brandi aside.

"Where are the drugs?"

"In the closet in my bedroom. They're in a suitcase." Brandi watched the officers walk up the front steps.

"Hey, wait. I have a key," she called as one of the officers was about to use a crowbar to force open the front door. She pulled the keys from her purse and handed them to the officer. She watched them enter the house. It suddenly hit her that she hadn't told them which room was hers. Mary was going to kill her if they tore the place apart.

The search lasted an excruciatingly long time from Brandi's perspective. She paced in front of the porch, wondering what was going on inside. She'd thought about calling Mary and giving her a heads up but the officer who had escorted her had insisted on taking her phone.

"What's taking so long?"

"They just want to be thorough, Ma'am."

"But…it's only in one room. Oh I'm so dead if they break stuff."

Inside Bobby led the narcotics team through the upper floor of the house, room by room. They turned over mattresses, emptied drawers and tore closets apart. They had found a few suitcases but they were empty with the exception some lint.

"Sir, we think we may have found something," one of the officers called from across the hall. Bobby pushed between the doorframe and the officer standing watch, leaving Mary's room. The officer that had spoken stood over a still soggy looking suitcase. Bobby donned gloves and unzipped the luggage.

"Jackpot."

"Let's get this back to the station." They traipsed downstairs to the sound of tires squealing on the pavement outside. Brandi looked over and paled as Mary's car pulled up to the curb. The police cruisers took up all the space in the driveway. The officers carrying the suitcases walked out of the house first, giving Mary enough time to climb out of the driver side door and storm up the to the porch. She barely noticed what they were carrying. The first thing she saw was Detective Dershowitz. He looked just as surprised to see her standing there as she was to see him coming out of her house.

"Mary?"

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Bobby blinked.

"Your house?"

"Yeah asshole. This is my house." He glanced over at Brandi. She had turned around, trying not to be seen. Bobby wasn't sure what to say. His mind finally clicked as to why Brandi looked familiar. She was related to a US Marshal. Mary's eyes narrowed, daring him not to give her an answer. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"We were following a tip. We were informed there was a large quantity of cocaine at this address." As Bobby spoke, one of the narcotics officers was handcuffing Brandi. She finally looked up to see Mary's eyes wide with shock.

"Brandi, what the hell did you do?"