Chapter 7 - Confessions

This was the last thing Kenzie had expected to hear. When did the lies end and the truth begin? Apparently, not even with her best friend's invitation to spend the summer with her.

"My help?" she asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You're one of the best detectives out there. You're also my best friend. Who else would I call?"

"Call for what? You're not making any sense."

"I...oh I'm so scared, someone could be spying on me! I'm afraid to even tell you anything!"

"What in the world has you so scared?"

"He does."

"He? You mean, Drake?"

Jillian just nodded.

Kenzie stared at her friend and her brow furrowed. "What in the world did he do to you?"

"He didn't do anything to me. It's what he just...did. In general."

"Meaning?"

Jillian heaved a sigh. Then, she leaned in to whisper in Kenzie's ear.

"Drake and I dated for about a month, but when I found out what he did, I left him."

"What did he do? And you can stop whispering, no one's around."

"How do you know that?"

"This guy really has you paranoid. I'm surprised you were able to act normal at all these past few days. But fine, I'll go stake the place out and make sure."

"Please be careful."

"I will, don't worry."

Kenzie went outside and suck around the premises, looking for any signs of anything, or anyone, out of the ordinary. She saw nothing and no one, so she went back inside. She found Jillian sitting on the couch.

"The coast is clear. No one and nothing out there."

"Good. I didn't want to tell the whole story whispering."

Kenzie sat down next to Jillian on the sofa and braced herself for the worst. Part of her wanted to know the full story, but another part was afraid to.

"All right, let's hear it," she finally said when Jillian said nothing.

Jillian took a deep breath and began her tale.

"Like I said, I dated Drake for about a month until I realized what exactly he did for a living. Then I dumped him. And I was telling the truth when I said he didn't take it well. But it wasn't because he loved me. He was afraid I'd turn him in."

"Turn him in?" Kenzie asked.

"Yeah, as in to the police. See, how he makes his living isn't exactly...legal. He's a member of the crime syndicate. He's the leader of a local gang. And they steal things from people's houses and sell them, some on the black market, in order to make money to live."

"And you found out about this?"

"Yeah, but it was an accident. I was meeting Drake one day and I saw him go into the criminal warehouse on 66 Sunnyside Boulevard. I guess you're rubbing off on me, because I followed him there, wondering what the heck he was doing. There was a broken window so I could hear everything he was saying. And he was talking to some other people about which houses they were going to rob next and where everything was going to be sold and how much money they'd make."

"Why didn't you tell the police then, when you had the chance?"

"Because I didn't get the chance. Some lookout found me peeping in the window and drug me in there. Drake, like an idiot, said I was okay and that I wouldn't tell because I was 'his girl'. Well, I told him we were through and that I was going to the police. That didn't go over so well. They all threatened me, and told me that if I told anyone, I'd be sorry."

"They're paying you off, aren't they?"

Jillian looked down to the floor. "I only dig into the money for emergencies. I don't use it every day, I only use it if I need to make a house payment and I ran out from my pay check. I keep it in a safe place where no one can find it, not the bank, so there's no way it can be tracked."

"So they're paying you off to keep you quiet about their little gang activities?"

Jillian nodded as tears began to cascade down her face again.

Kenzie shook her head. "Jill, I have to say, I thought you were smarter than that."

Jillian looked up and frowned. "What am I supposed to do? They might kill me if I tell the cops! They're already mad you're here!"

"Yeah, explain that to me. What do I have to do with it?"

"Kenzie, you're one of the best detectives around! Everyone knows your face from the papers! You found that out last night when those two girls started talking to you. I think someone might sometimes stake my place out and they probably saw you were here. That's what the fight in the consignment store the other day was about - Drake was warning me not to tell you anything or the deal is off."

"The deal as in you getting your money."

"That, and the whole gang would come after me and make me sorry for telling anyone in the first place. And he reminded me again at the beach party."

"No wonder you were drinking that night."

Kenzie had mixed emotions. Her best friend had been indirectly involved with a gang specializing in robbing people and selling their property for money. And they were paying off her best friend to buy her silence in the matter.

And yet...

"You need my help for what? What can I do?"

"You're a detective. You put criminals away. You have to find some way to put these guys in jail so I can stop being under their thumb."

"You expect me to bust a gang with absolutely no physical evidence, and only your testimony, that you're too afraid to tell the cops?"

"It's your job to find evidence, Kenzie. So go find some."

"You make it sound like it's as easy as in those crime shows on TV. And you're forgetting one very important factor."

"What?"

"You're not only staying quiet, but you're keeping the money. That makes you an accessory after the fact. You're guilty too."

Jillian's jaw dropped.

"You wouldn't...you wouldn't turn me in, would you? I'm your best friend. I'm the victim here! I'm scared for my life and you're talking about putting me in jail!"

Kenzie stood up. "What am I supposed to do, Jillian? My hands are tied. It's not a one-way street. Even if I do find evidence against this gang, the cops will still need to know how exactly I got involved since they didn't call me here, which would point to you. They'd also want to know why you haven't reported it."

"Can't you just say they threatened my life? Which, by the way, isn't a lie. Kenzie, I've made a lot of stupid choices in my life, and I've made my fair share of mistakes, but this one takes the cake. It's made me determined to turn my life around and stop going after the losers. And so what if I don't get any more money? I'll just make what I have last."

"I can't let you, under good conscience. You took that money from someone as a bribe to stay quiet, and it was illegally obtained by that gang. It doesn't belong to you."

Jillian stood up too, angry.

"Fine, I'll give the money back! I'll do whatever you want! Just please don't put me in jail! Don't turn me in! Just...say you found the money somewhere! I don't know! Just please don't do this to me!"

Kenzie took a step back. Much as she hated to admit it, Jillian did have a point. She was the victim, but she still took the money illegally. But she was afraid for her life, which is why she didn't go to the police. She'd called her here for her help. And she'd never turned down a case. She wasn't about to start with turning down her best friend's.

"Jillian, I don't know what I'm going to do about you and the money," she said at last, "but I will take your case and do what I can to get this gang behind bars, or at least Drake. But that means I have to know everything you know about him and the gang. I have to find hard core proof of what's going on. And I also have to notify the police."

"Why do you have to notify them? I mean, don't you just collect evidence and then turn it in?"

"They have to be aware of what's going on. Plus, they may have records on victims whose houses have been broken into. It might give me some leads as to how to catch them. Maybe I can even catch them in the act."

"Oh, okay. Well, I don't know too much about the gang, but I did notice that all the members have the same tattoo. It's a green dragon on their left arm. They're called the Komodo Dragons."

"Oh great, more Asian stuff associated with Drake."

"I did say he liked dragons."

"All right, where is this warehouse you followed them to?"

"I think that's their headquarters. Although come to think of it, some of the guys may live there. I remember seeing a few beds and couches and stuff. Or maybe that's stuff they stole."

"It's a good thing I brought my camera. Funny I forgot to take pictures of this place with it."

"Maybe you should do that before you leave."

"I will."

Just then, Kenzie's stomach growled. How could she, or her body rather, be thinking of food at a time like this?

Jillian heard it and forced a giggle. "Guess I should get us some dinner."

She walked over to the fridge and pulled out some ingredients. Kenzie barely paid attention to what they were. Her mind was already in the case.

She finally had her answers, but nothing good came of them. She thought she could have a nice, relaxing vacation, but instead she'd been pulled into a case from the very start. And yet, she wanted to solve this one more than any other. She didn't even care that a conflict of interest may be involved. She wanted her best friend to stop being scared, and she'd sworn to get criminals off the streets.

But what of Jillian herself? What she was doing, accepting money and keeping quiet, was a crime as well. She was only doing it for fear of her life, and wasn't directly involved in the gang activities, but still. What she was doing was wrong. And yet, could Kenzie truly turn her in? She'd taken a vow to bring people to justice. But was it truly justice if the criminal is someone you love?

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