Part 4- Lonely Soul by Unkle
I was at the police station with Detective Wallis, staring through the one-way window at the man who had helped kill Delia and who had killed another man himself. He was young. Only a couple of years older than me it seemed. He had a slight and tall form with short, maroon colored hair; his natural dark-brown left untouched on the sides of his head. A couple of tattoos marked his neck. There were several other men lined up beside him who all looked haggard and wild, but I remembered his face all too clearly.
"Number three," I said to her.
"That's Joe Darley. He's only twenty-two and very dangerous."
"It's him…," I whispered to myself. I needed to know everything that I could about him. That's where helping Detective Wallis in finding him came in. She could give me vital information that I needed in order to carry out my plan. The more I knew the better.
"What more do you know about him?" I asked her, hoping she wouldn't find me suspicious.
"Well, he's been in and out of jail since he was old enough to be convicted. Shoplifting, possession and solicitation of drugs, drug paraphernalia, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and now hopefully for first-degree murder."
"What about the gang he was with that he killed to get into?"
"They are one of the most notorious gangs in Columbia along with several others. They've had multiple crimes committed by them and for them, most of which we were unable to convict them for. A few we have locked away; at least for now. They have caused us the most trouble the past couple of years."
"So, was it kill or be killed? That's why this Joe… Darley guy felt compelled to hurt another person, just to be in this gang?"
"Possibly, but I doubt they would have killed Darley if he hadn't have killed that man at the gas station. The Darley's own that gang"
"The Darley's?" I questions, finally tearing my gaze away from Joe and focusing on the detective.
"Two generations of men: Bones Darley and his sons Billy and Joe Darley. All of which are worthless pieces of shit."
"So, he didn't even have to… They didn't even have to…," I couldn't finish my sentence. The prospect that this boy could have easily been a part of this gang without the inexcusable necessity of killing someone had me reeling. I felt like I just had been hit again by this Joe Darley himself, knocking the breath out of me. I sat down heavily in a chair close to the one-way window, hugging my good arm around my chest and taking deep breaths.
"Hey, take it easy," Detective Wallis put her arms on my shoulders, leaning down to look at me.
"I can't. I can't testify. I can't, I won't."
I shook my head furiously. I wasn't going to let him or any of his other asshole gang members get away with what they had done. Especially after learning this; this had been the deal breaker for me.
"If you don't, this monster will be out on the streets again tonight! Do you want that?"
"I'm sorry. I just can't," I began to stand and make my way towards the door. Detective Wallis grabbed my upper arm and spun me to face the window again. My eyes instantly went to Joe Darley, standing there with a smug smile on his face, looking around. He seemed relaxed, laidback; like he didn't have a care in the world.
"If you choose to walk away from this, you will be walking away from Delia, the man that he killed and the store owner who all lay dead because of him and his friends. Are you sure you want to do that? To let him know that he can get away with doing something this inhumane? Do you want to live with that?"
"I'm not walking away, detective," I said taking my arm from her, but keeping my glare on Darley. "He'll get what's coming to him."
"So, you're the type to believe in what goes around comes around? Let me tell you, things don't always work that way, Miss Stone. If you want to do something about this, then testifying will be the only way."
"Testifying to what!?" My temper had flared now. "That Joe Darley killed a man so he can be sent to jail only to have him say a while later that he's found God, that he feels redeemed and to have his case repealed out of sympathy!? Are you asking if that's what I'd want because if you are that delusional to think I would even begin to want that for him...? You'd have to be about just damn near fucked up as the rest of them."
"I'm not saying it will end up that way," the detective began in a softer tone now. Mine was still full of pent up anger and hurt.
"Yeah, but you're not saying that it won't end up that way either!"
"It won't."
"It won't? You're standing there, telling me, detective, that Joe Darley will spend the rest of his life in jail if I testify against him? That he doesn't have the influence to buy himself less time? Take a look at that badge you carry around all day and tell me that this is true."
My eyes were red, I knew. Tears spilled down my cheeks openly and I didn't try to hide them. That night, he had first looked at me with hesitancy, but when I had pleaded to him with fear and desperation in my eyes he had seemed to grow from feeling reluctant to confident. It was impossible for me to let Darley walk away from this feeling superior. I couldn't even consider it.
"What are you planning, Mona?"
I hadn't expected a retort like that. I assumed that maybe she had been a little suspicious of me wanting to know about Darley and his gang, but not enough to have to question me about it.
"Nothing," my voiced dropped back down, sounding defensive in my moment of being caught red-handed.
"Mona, I want you to look me straight in the eye and say that."
I didn't turn to her. If I did, she would know right away that I was hiding something from her. I continued to stare through the window. She waited for me, but when she finally realized that I was just as stubborn as she was, she took a step closer.
"Don't try to convince yourself on what you think is right or wrong. I know living through what you are right now is very difficult, but it's not worth getting hurt over again for. There is law for a reason. It's here to protect and serve and by putting Joe Darley away you will be aiding everything that this country stands for. Don't turn your back on it for something you think you are tough enough to handle. You will realize soon enough that you're still at the edge of his knife if you do."
"I'm sorry, detective. I'm not feeling well right now, so I'm going to leave and hope that you will let me make my own decisions on what I believe to be right or wrong. I don't need your insistence on the matter. You asked for my help in finding Joe Darley, and I did, but I'm afraid that that's as far as I can go. If you can find anyone else that witnessed…"
"You are our only witness and you know that!"
"Well then… I guess you know who wins the case."
I quickly turned around and exited the dark room. I felt bad leaving Detective Wallis on such bad terms, but I prayed that if indeed I needed her help in any way she would still be there for me. As of right now, though, I had more important matters than if I had hurt my only succor in my situation. I wanted to find out more about the Darley's and their gang, but first I needed to heal and become strong again. I also didn't want to go into that side out town, hunting for the biggest gang in Columbia without some experience in self-defense first. I just hoped my motivation was enough to help curb my eagerness until I was ready.