“Man, he just pulled a piece out and shot Kendrick. Just like that. Me and Leon, we were shocked as hell. I mean, it's one thing kicking a guy's ass, but it's another thing you know, freakin' shooting a kid with a gun.”
“So, what happened after that?” I questioned.
“Mr. Mask was real calm about the whole thing. He just reached down, took Kendrick's phone, and put it in his pocket. It was like, for him, shooting this kid meant like, nothing, like nothing at all.”
“And what did you and Leon do?” Ben inserted.
“We freaked the hell out, man! I've seen some crazy stuff before, but I'd never seen anyone get shot, and man, it happened just a few feet away from me! There was so much blood. I... I thought Kendrick was dead. We both just ran like crazy. And that was it; I don't know what happened after that, we only stopped running when we ran out of breath. And after that we made plans to skip town, to get to LA where we have some friends to stay with.”
“I see,” I said. “Well, I guess you'll be relieved to know that Kendrick had surgery and that he's gonna make it.”
A look of relief came over William's face. “I'm uh... I'm happy to hear that. Neither of us wanted that kid to get shot, you gotta believe me. We were just gonna rough him up a bit and make him delete the video off his phone. That's all, man, seriously. We didn't wanna hurt him bad or anything.”
“I believe you, and I'll take that into account when figuring out your punishment,” I said to him. “I do have one more question for you, though.”
“Sure, go ahead,” he said.
“Was Mr. Mask wearing his mask that day?”
William shook his head. “No, he wasn't. He wouldn't have been able to get into the school if he'd been dressed like he usually dresses.”
“So, what was he wearing? What did he look like?”
“He was dressed like a janitor. I guess he figured like that, nobody would have given him a second glance when he was walking around school grounds.”
“Good disguise, appropriate,” I grudgingly admitted. “But what about his face? What can you tell me about what he actually looks like?”
“He's uh, I guess he's maybe your age?” he said. “And he's actually a pretty good-looking guy. I'm saying that as a straight guy, yo, I'm not gay or nothing, but yeah, he's got that pretty boy look. Blond hair, he's real neat and clean and stuff. Pretty big, strong dude as well, I guess he pumps iron regularly, coz he's pretty jacked. I wouldn't want to get in a tangle with the dude; he looks like he could kick some ass if he needed to. But yeah, he looks way more like a respectable businessman or something than a, uh, a drug dealer.”
“Okay. Would you be able to pick him out of a police lineup?” I asked.
“I would, yeah.”
“And you would be willing to identify him in front of a judge, and testify under oath that he was both selling drugs and that he shot Kendrick Green?”
“And if I agree, you'll let me and Leon off?” William said.
“You won't get off completely, no,” I said. “But I'll make sure you're treated leniently. And you will have to go to rehab to get off the substances you're hooked on. There's no getting around that, I'm afraid.”
He bit his lip as he thought deeply about it.
“And you're sure that, like, Mr. Mask couldn't, you know... get us... if we testified in court against him?”
“We would make sure that you two were completely safe. I guarantee it,” I assured him.
He nodded. “Yeah. In that case, yeah. I'll testify.”
I looked at Ben and saw the same triumph that was now glowing inside me reflected in his eyes. We were just one step away from putting this piece of crap behind bars for a very, very long time. We had a key witness who would testify against him and that, coupled with Kendrick's testimony, would be enough to put the man away for a very, very long time, and hopefully end the scourge of the drug problem that was plaguing my school. Now, we would just have to catch him, and that would be no simple feat.
“Excellent. Alright, William, thank you for your cooperation. You'd better stay at home from now on. And call your friend Leon – I assume you know where he is – and tell him about what we've just talked about, and let him know that he should come back here as well and stay home. Can you do that?”
He nodded.
“Good, thank you, William, and thank you, Mr. Stevens,” I added.
“Don't mention it,” he growled. “I'll do whatever it takes to keep this punk out of prison. I hope he's learned his damn lesson.”
“I believe he has,” I smiled reassuringly at William who nodded back at me. It seemed we had an understanding. He was going to keep his nose clean. “Alright, Ben, you ready to go?” I asked.