"Do we at least have the phone with the evidence on it?"
Ben sighed and shook his head. "No. The dealer got away with it. We've got nothing."
"What about the kids who were buying the drugs? Surely, they saw something? They must know who this dealer is, where to find him. Was it Mr. Mask himself, or just one of his lackeys?"
"The buyers fled the scene. Kendrick says he recognized them. They are students at our school, but older than him. He says he knows everyone in his grade. But he doesn't know their names, so we're going to have to get some yearbooks to him in the hospital so he can look through the photos and ID the kids who were involved. As for the dealer, it didn't sound like Mr. Mask. From the description, it could well be an accomplice of his."
I could sense that Ben didn't want to go too in-depth with this, at least not with this cop present. Maybe he thought we would get into trouble because of our little "independent" investigation we were conducting on the side, or maybe he just didn't trust this cop. Either way, I decided not to push the issue for the moment. Instead, I decided to see what I could find out about this cop.
"So, Captain Smith," I said to him. "What are your thoughts on this? You got any leads?"
He frowned. "Right now, until we have an official statement from the witness and positive ID on the kids who were buying the drug, there isn't much I can do."
"Official statement? But what about everything Ben just said?" I asked.
"Kendrick said that stuff to me," interjected Ben.
"So? Why does that matter?" I glanced back at Ben, noting the expression on his face before returning my attention to the cop before me.
"We need to get an official statement on paper from your witness. Until then, this is all hearsay, and we can't act on hearsay," Smith said.
I stared at him coolly for a few minutes, quietly assessing him.
"Alright, Captain Smith," I said coldly. "Well, don't worry, you'll have our full cooperation with everything in this investigation."
"Good," he replied. I detected a hint of latent aggression in his tone. "Because we expect nothing less from you."
"Don't worry, Smith. We want to catch these guys just as badly as you do," I assured him.
"Excellent. Well then, gentlemen, I'll be on my way. If you have any leads, and when your witness is ready to make an official statement, get hold of me." He handed us each a business card.
"We will," I said. "We will. Goodbye Captain Smith."
"See you later, gentlemen."
He stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled casually off. When he was out of earshot, I turned to speak to Ben.
"Something doesn't seem quite right with that cop," I remarked.
"You're telling me, Ev. He's done nothing useful for the whole six or seven months he's been on this case."
I raised an eyebrow. "That's how long he's been working this case, and nothing has come of it?"
Ben shook his head. "Nothing at all."
"That seems a little too suspicious to me. We've got these dealers selling to kids in the open, operating brazenly in this area, selling a life-threateningly dangerous drug – and this guy isn't doing anything about it?"
"He's not doing much at all. That's why we needed to get someone like you in on this," Ben reminded me.
I nodded. "I understand. Yeah, I get it now... Look, I'm not making an official accusation or any
thing, but do you think he might be working with the dealers? Taking bribes to look the other way? Getting kickbacks from their profits in exchange for protection."
Ben scratched his chin. "It's a definite possibility. I don't know how else to explain his inaction or his lack of interest."
"Well then, we better not let him know that we're investigating this on our own," I added.
"No... but word is gonna get out that we are. Maybe he already knows."