On Thin Ice
Chapter Twelve: "The Arrest"
Wednesday January 12th, 1966
Detectives Jenkins and Rodgers starred at the three teenagers that sat across them in the interrogation room-Fredward, Ethan, and Zachary. All three of them were involved with the kidnapping of the Curtis boy and knew something about the murder of the Sanders boy. Those two were going to get to the bottom of it, and hopefully find Shane Whitfield. Those boys were their only hope to solving this.
"We know you were involved with what had happened to Ponyboy Curtis and with Derek Sanders," Jenkins said in the silent room. It was too quiet for him and he had to say something. "So are you going to help us out or not?"
"The Fifth Amendment states we have the right to remain silent. We don't have to talk if we don't want to, and we're not."
Both detectives stood up and left the small room as Jenkins mumbled,"Stupid Constitution."
"It's alright Jenkins. Just give them some time."
The younger officer sighed. "So what are we going to do to get them to talk then? I doubt these kids have any idea what could happen if they don't open their mouths. This is the stupidest amendment in the Bill of Rights Rodgers! How are we going to catch that murdering kid if the only people who would have the slightest idea won't talk because they are protected by the law? HOW?" Jenkins kicked the wall in frustration and anger.
"Calm down Eddie! They'll talk sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Trust me we'll get them to talk. They're just kids. They're scared of what could happen to them if the speak up. It's typical behavior of them. Don't worry about it, alright?"
o0o
"Please tell me you found him!" Darry said as he noticed the two officers in one of the hallways of the hospital. "Please tell me you caught him!"
Rodgers shook his head. "Sorry Darrel, we're still working on it. We got the other three in the station, but they won't talk. We were hoping we could talk to your brother for a second to get his to confirm these are the correct kids, if that is alright with you. If we get a confirmation it could convince them to speak up."
Darry hesitated for a moment but then sighed. "I'm not sure he's going to be up to doing this right now, but you can try."
"Thank you Mr. Curtis. I understand if he doesn't want to talk. All we really would like is just a nodded from him when we show him pictures of them. If he doesn't want to cooperate now, just call us when he's ready. The sooner the better though."
Darry opened the door and the two detectives on the case followed behind him. Pony laid still in his hospital bed and Soda was sound asleep in one of the uncomfortable chairs the hospital offered. "Hey Ponyboy, you have some guest here to talk to you real quick."
Rodgers nodded in assurance. "It will only take a moment. We were wondering if you would be up to identifying photographs of the suspects to make sure we have the right boys in custody."
Pony shook his head. His face was very pale and he looked a little thinner than he was a few days ago before he got cornered in the bathroom by Shane in his posse. Not only that but he did feel weaker and the painkillers the doctor had him on weren't strong enough. Being shot wasn't something you want to live through. It was extremely painful.
"Sorry, I-I'm not really feeling well at the moment."
Jenkins nodded. "Sorry about everything. We should've found you sooner."
Darry lead the two out of the room he shut the door behind him. "Sorry about that. Maybe I can get him to talk for you guys?"
"You sure about that Darrel?"
Darry nodded. "Of course I am. The sooner he talks the sooner you two can arrest that son-of-a-bitch for murdering that kid and nearly murdering my little brother!"
Rodgers handed Darry a manila folder. "Those are the pictures of the boys we have in custody and the one that we are still searching for." The older police man reached into his coat pocket to pull out a card. "Here's my number. Call when he says anything that could help us out. See you later Mr. Curtis!"
The two men walked away and Darry looked down at the folder he held in his hand. Inside kept the pictures and names of the kids who tried to kill his baby brother. Darry immediately hated those four boys and he gave the folder a disgusted look. Those boys didn't deserve to rot in prison. They deserved something much worse, but Darry wasn't going to do anything bad as much as he wanted to. Pony would never forgive him for that.
Now unfortunately Darry was stuck on convincing Pony to talk. He was brought into the hospital last night and had surgery done, and well he knew his brother had to be exhausted. As much as he hated having to do this to Pony, he had to get his brother to talk because Darry wanted those kids behind bars before they attempt to finish what they had started.
With a sigh, Darry opened the hospital room door, this time to find Soda awake and talking to Pony. "Hey Pony, I know you really don't want to talk about this, but if you talk they can track down Shane Whitfield much faster."
"Darry-"
"Pone," Soda said. "Darry's right. Once that kid is caught we can all relax a lot better than we are now."
"Pony, all you have to do is just look at these pictures and tell me if these were the Socs that took you. You don't have to say anything else if you don't want to, alright? It's just yes or no." Darry waved the folder in his hand. "It's a simple test that even Sodapop can pass."
"HEY!" Soda shouted in defense and Darry just smiled, but Pony didn't even acknowledge the joke and just simply ignored it.
"Fine," Pony sadly sighed. "Hand them over."
Darry did what his little brother demanded. He handed him the folder containing four pictures of four teenagers with their names typed out underneath their heads. Shane Whitfield. Ethan Tyler. Fredward Peterson. Zachary Wiles. Pony nodded as he looked at each individual headshot.
"They're the Socs but only Shane's the bad guy."
Soda shot Darry a confused look and Darry asked, "What do you mean Ponyboy?"
"Shane killed the Sanders kid-Derek. Derek was finally standing up to him and he didn't like that so Shane killed him. The other three were afraid that would happen to them if they didn't follow Shane's orders. It was either help out or die. They had no choice. They helped me out when Shane was gone. Untied me, fed me, and everything. Those three are innocent, Shane's the bad guy."
"Is that everything Pony?" Soda asked,and Pony nodded.
"Yes, now can we just forget about his for now? I don't want to talk about it."
Darry nodded. "For now, but you will have to talk about his Pony when you get better."
o0o
"Rodgers!" Jenkins hollered out for the chair at his desk, placing the phone back on it's cradle. "That was Darrel Curtis. He got the kid to talk. Ponyboy confirmed that those were the boys who took him, but the kid claimed Fredward, Ethan, and Zachary are innocent."
"Innocent?" Rodgers sat on his partners desk. "How many drugs do those doctors have him on?"
"Mr. Curtis says that the kid said that Shane killed Derek Sanders because Derek didn't want to hurt the kid and was trying to get out of the mess. All four of them wanted out and Sanders was the one who spoke up. After Whitfield killed him the other three were scared they'd die to if they went against him. You think that's true?"
Rodgers shrugged. "It could. I believe it, but let's go have another talk to those kids."
o0o
"We know what happened." Rodgers folded his hands on the gray table. "Ponyboy Curtis decided to open up his mouth. We understand you were technically working for Shane Whitfield, frightened if you didn't he'd kill you?"
No answer.
"Well if it's true we'll let you three go free with no charge on one condition at least. So is what Ponyboy saying right? Did Shane Whitfield kill Derek Sanders because he didn't want to hurt the kid?"
Freddie gulped, and then nodded. "It's true. Shane Whitfield killed Derek Sanders. I was there, all three of us were there. If we didn't obey Shane's orders, we were going to end up like Derek. We didn't want to hurt the kid but it was either his life or ours."
Rodgers nodded. "We get that. Now we could press charges, but I don't think you three will like that. You know where Shane Whitfield is headed. Tell us where to find him and you guys will be out of here and hopefully never see our pretty faces again."
"He's headed to Owasso. He's got a cousin there that he was planning to crash with. I think he said something about taking the bus there. Didn't say which one."
Rodgers stood up and Jenkins followed his partner's move. "Thank you boys. You've been a big help."
o0o
Thursday January 13th, 1966
After figuring out that there were only two buses that went to Owasso during the time periods that Shane would have likely picked. Sadly it took longer than they wanted to to track down that bus schedule they did it. It might have been three in the morning but the two detectives were on the road for the twenty minute drive from Tulsa to Owasso.
It didn't take long to find the house. Mrs. Whitfield happily gave them the address. His cousin lived in a rich, easy to find neighborhood. Money probably ran in their family blood. Detective Rodgers had his gun in his hand ready to use in case of an emergency and Detective Jenkins held the arrest warrant in his hands. This was going to be an interesting morning but the two cops wanted to get this kid locked up as soon as they possibly could.
They knocked on the door and waited a little bit, after all no one ever knocks on someones door at such an early hour. Shane's cousin opened the door with messy bed hair and wearing only a white tank top and a pair of boxers.
"Can I help you? If you haven't notice the sun doesn't rise until another three hours."
"Where's Shane Whitfield?"
"Wha-"
"Answer the question or you will be arrested for being an accomplice to both murder and attempted murder. Where is Shane Whitfield?"
The cousin ran a hand through his messy hair. "He's upstairs man, sleeping like every normal person does at this time. Shane's wanted for murder?"
"Move over and take us to him."
"Sure man, whatever. Some manners would be nice."
Ignoring the last statement, Rodgers and Jenkins followed the cousin up the stairs, down a hall, and to a door. Shane's cousin was about to knock but Rodgers grabbed a hold of the door knob and opened it right away. Shane Whitfield had one leg swung out the window with a backpack slung over his shoulder. He was escaping.
Rodgers point the pistol at the teenager. "Get back inside the house and put your hands where we can see them."
Shane Whitfield shockingly did what he was commanded to for once. With Rodgers still pointing the gun at the kid, Jenkins walked over and handcuffed his wrist. "Shane Whitfield you are arrested for the murder of Derek Sanders and attempting to murder Ponyboy Curtis. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be held against you in court."
Not that long of an update, right? Just about five days-ish... Anyways, thanks for reading. One chapter left! You excited? I hope to get it out by the weekend. Sorry the chapter's a little on the short side and I'm afraid that the very last chapter is going to be a little on the short side as well, but just get over it. Also sorry about grammar/typo errors throughout this whole story. I don't pick up everything when I proofread my own work. Sometimes they just skip over me because I already no what's happening and such. I know the differences in the to, two, too, and their, there, they're, and you're and your but I just skip over those when I reread my own work sometimes. I don't know if any of you relate to that, but I'm just saying sorry about my mistakes I forget to correct.
Please don't forget to review. It means a lot to me! I makes me feel like you actually like what I do, so please make me feel good about myself. Aslo follows and favorites are appreciated and welcomed too!
-MLC99
