The Witness
Chapter 11
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco was standing outside of Cole's room talking to the guard that had been posted there. Detective Thompson wasn't taking a chance on the boy disappearing again. Cole heard him talking and joking with the man outside.
"Yeah, well I think Sehorn's doing a great job. I'll talk to you later," Bosco said as he looked in the room and saw that Cole was awake. He walked in, taking a sip of the coffee he'd just gotten from the cafeteria.
"Hey. You're lookin' a lot better than you did last night. How're you feeling?" Bosco asked the young man before him.
"I'm okay. What's gonna happen now? I see I'm not free to leave," Cole said with attitude.
"Well, I don't think you're in any position to be givin' me attitude, my man," Bosco said, walking around the bed to look at his face. "Now, how about tellin' me how you found me last night."
Cole shrugged then said, "It was easy. I followed you home from work."
"Okay. Now, why? Why didn't you just call me? I told you I would've come if you called," he said.
"I had to get out of here. People were coming for me," Cole finally admitted.
"Yeah, I got that impression by what you were mumbling last night. Who's coming for you?"
"Mumbling? What'd I say?" Cole asked, alarmed that he'd said too much.
"Nothing much. Just that you couldn't talk to the cops and that you were dead," Bosco told him, waiting for some kind of reaction from him that never came.
Bosco put his coffee cup down and leaned on the bed rail. "Cole. You obviously want me to help you or you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of following me to my apartment. Now, are you gonna let me help you or not?"
"Why should I trust you?" Cole asked him and Bosco could see by the look in his eye that he didn't trust anyone but himself.
"Because I'm here. I don't see anyone else here, do you?" he replied. As soon as he'd finished talking, Bosco and Cole heard a light rap on the door. They looked over to see Detective Thompson in the doorway.
Bosco said, "Good morning, Ray. Can you give me a couple of minutes here?" Ray nodded and backed away from the door to talk to the guard, out of earshot of Bosco and Cole.
Bosco lowered his voice and said, "Cole, it's crunch time. You gotta tell me what's going on so I can help you. That man out there you've met before. Detective Thompson is his name in case you don't remember. He's been giving you the benefit of the doubt while at the same time trying to do his job. Any other suspect would have been sent to jail long before now. He's doing it partly because he's a good guy, but mostly he's doing it for me."
"So, what's gonna happen to me?" Cole said, some of the wall he had built around himself breaking away.
"Well, that all depends on what you tell me about what happened at that store the other day. Now, I don't think you were involved to the extent that the evidence and witness is showing, but I gotta hear it from you," Bosco said calmly. He'd made his speech. It was up to Cole now.
After a moment, Cole looked at Bosco and quietly told him the story. "You gotta believe me," he said, tears coming to his eyes.
"Okay. That's a start," Bosco said, "I'm gonna go talk to Detective Thompson. It's good that you told me, Cole. It's real good and I'm gonna do everything I can to help you. Do you believe that?"
"Yes, Officer Boscorelli. I do," Cole said.
"Alright. And, you can call me Bosco. All my friends do," he said, stepping around the bed to go out and talk to Ray.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"I believe him, Ray," Bosco said to the other man. "This kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. I think I can get him to cooperate and testify. We just gotta keep him safe."
The detective thought for a moment and finally said. "Okay. We move him to the jail hospital ward and keep him isolated until we can grab this Raven guy up. You better get his P.D. in here too."
"Thanks, Ray. This is the right thing," Bosco said, turning to go and tell Cole what was going on.
"Boscorelli. He needs to understand that this is serious. These guys play for keeps. He needs to cooperate all the way or don't bother," warned the detective.
"I know," Bosco said simply and walked into Cole's room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bosco and Faith had gotten their radios and were heading to their RMP following roll call.
"So, you got the kid to talk finally?" Faith said to her partner as they got into the car.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy and he's plenty scared. Can't say as I blame him. I ran this guy Raven through the computer and he's one bad-ass," Bosco told her.
"But you got him to open up to you, Bos. That's good," she said.
"Yeah. He's in the jail hospital ward right now. He's cooperating and Jenkins is with him. They're trying to work out a deal to get him out of jail for cooperating and into a rehab program," he told her.
"That's good, but he's gonna need a lot of support. Are you ready to do that? You're all he's got right now," Faith asked as Bosco pulled away from the police station to start their shift.
After a minute he said, "Yeah, Faith. I think I am. This is a good kid who's had a lot of bad luck, starting when he was born," Bosco said as their radio came alive with their first call of the shift.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...
Chapter 11
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bosco was standing outside of Cole's room talking to the guard that had been posted there. Detective Thompson wasn't taking a chance on the boy disappearing again. Cole heard him talking and joking with the man outside.
"Yeah, well I think Sehorn's doing a great job. I'll talk to you later," Bosco said as he looked in the room and saw that Cole was awake. He walked in, taking a sip of the coffee he'd just gotten from the cafeteria.
"Hey. You're lookin' a lot better than you did last night. How're you feeling?" Bosco asked the young man before him.
"I'm okay. What's gonna happen now? I see I'm not free to leave," Cole said with attitude.
"Well, I don't think you're in any position to be givin' me attitude, my man," Bosco said, walking around the bed to look at his face. "Now, how about tellin' me how you found me last night."
Cole shrugged then said, "It was easy. I followed you home from work."
"Okay. Now, why? Why didn't you just call me? I told you I would've come if you called," he said.
"I had to get out of here. People were coming for me," Cole finally admitted.
"Yeah, I got that impression by what you were mumbling last night. Who's coming for you?"
"Mumbling? What'd I say?" Cole asked, alarmed that he'd said too much.
"Nothing much. Just that you couldn't talk to the cops and that you were dead," Bosco told him, waiting for some kind of reaction from him that never came.
Bosco put his coffee cup down and leaned on the bed rail. "Cole. You obviously want me to help you or you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of following me to my apartment. Now, are you gonna let me help you or not?"
"Why should I trust you?" Cole asked him and Bosco could see by the look in his eye that he didn't trust anyone but himself.
"Because I'm here. I don't see anyone else here, do you?" he replied. As soon as he'd finished talking, Bosco and Cole heard a light rap on the door. They looked over to see Detective Thompson in the doorway.
Bosco said, "Good morning, Ray. Can you give me a couple of minutes here?" Ray nodded and backed away from the door to talk to the guard, out of earshot of Bosco and Cole.
Bosco lowered his voice and said, "Cole, it's crunch time. You gotta tell me what's going on so I can help you. That man out there you've met before. Detective Thompson is his name in case you don't remember. He's been giving you the benefit of the doubt while at the same time trying to do his job. Any other suspect would have been sent to jail long before now. He's doing it partly because he's a good guy, but mostly he's doing it for me."
"So, what's gonna happen to me?" Cole said, some of the wall he had built around himself breaking away.
"Well, that all depends on what you tell me about what happened at that store the other day. Now, I don't think you were involved to the extent that the evidence and witness is showing, but I gotta hear it from you," Bosco said calmly. He'd made his speech. It was up to Cole now.
After a moment, Cole looked at Bosco and quietly told him the story. "You gotta believe me," he said, tears coming to his eyes.
"Okay. That's a start," Bosco said, "I'm gonna go talk to Detective Thompson. It's good that you told me, Cole. It's real good and I'm gonna do everything I can to help you. Do you believe that?"
"Yes, Officer Boscorelli. I do," Cole said.
"Alright. And, you can call me Bosco. All my friends do," he said, stepping around the bed to go out and talk to Ray.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
"I believe him, Ray," Bosco said to the other man. "This kid was in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people. I think I can get him to cooperate and testify. We just gotta keep him safe."
The detective thought for a moment and finally said. "Okay. We move him to the jail hospital ward and keep him isolated until we can grab this Raven guy up. You better get his P.D. in here too."
"Thanks, Ray. This is the right thing," Bosco said, turning to go and tell Cole what was going on.
"Boscorelli. He needs to understand that this is serious. These guys play for keeps. He needs to cooperate all the way or don't bother," warned the detective.
"I know," Bosco said simply and walked into Cole's room.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Bosco and Faith had gotten their radios and were heading to their RMP following roll call.
"So, you got the kid to talk finally?" Faith said to her partner as they got into the car.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy and he's plenty scared. Can't say as I blame him. I ran this guy Raven through the computer and he's one bad-ass," Bosco told her.
"But you got him to open up to you, Bos. That's good," she said.
"Yeah. He's in the jail hospital ward right now. He's cooperating and Jenkins is with him. They're trying to work out a deal to get him out of jail for cooperating and into a rehab program," he told her.
"That's good, but he's gonna need a lot of support. Are you ready to do that? You're all he's got right now," Faith asked as Bosco pulled away from the police station to start their shift.
After a minute he said, "Yeah, Faith. I think I am. This is a good kid who's had a lot of bad luck, starting when he was born," Bosco said as their radio came alive with their first call of the shift.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TBC...