Damaged

7

They didn't get a chance to talk in the morning. The sheriff had gotten dispatched at the break of dawn for a burglary. Which was odd, giving the town had a very low crime rate. When she arrived to the scene, the woman reported her jewelry and credit cards stolen by an assailant in a mask. Demi wrote down the woman's report, as her officers canvassed the area and talked to neighbors. She had a pretty good idea who took the jewelry.  After all, this was a small town, people still had their struggles. One person in particular, more so than others.

"Leroy!" Demi shouted, waving her officer over as she reassured the victim they would find who did this.

"Yes, boss!" Leroy had been on the force for two years now. He was a sweetheart, and she considered him like a son. He was fresh out of college and wanted to dedicate his life to this line of work when he had many other fields of interest. She was also very familiar with the boys father. He was a local mechanic who worked on all the cruisers in the department.

"Can u bring Johnny in for questioning about this burglary? I have a feeling he might know something." Leroy grinned, already knowing how this was going to go.

Whenever a crime like this happened, the officers would make bets on who got to bring Johnny in. He was known for giving the officers a run for their money on a normal day.

Later that morning, Johnny was brought in, thrashing in two of her officers' arms.

"Hey! Let me go. I ain't do nothing!" Johnny shouted his southern accent  coming into play. When he caught wind of the sheriff's gaze, he straightened up a cool expression, taking over his features. "Oh, hey there, pretty lady, if you wanted me to come visit you all you had to do was ask."

Demi scoffed as Johnny was thrown down into the chair in front of her desk. Opening the bare file in front of her.

"You been keeping out of trouble?"

The bored expression on his face answered her question for her. They  went way back. She used to encounter him alot when she worked the beat. They quickly formed a bond, and he became her informant.  They worked many drug trafficking cases together. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

"I don't know anything. I ain't see nothing. How many times do I have to tell you?" He shrugged his shoulders, the ceiling suddenly becoming very interesting to him.

Demi slid Johnny a fifty dollar bill across the table, and his eyes bulged just thinking about the quick fix he was going to get with that kind of money.

"I didn't do it! But I heard a few of the guys talking. I can give you their name if you throw another fifty on that, " he bargained, leaning forward as if they were playing chess and he had the upper hand.

"How about you give me the name, and I won't send you to state for drug possession. I can see the meth baggies in your pocket."

Johnny's eyes froze with fear as he realized he'd been caught.  When the officers came across the trailer park, he didn't have enough time to flush it.

"They call him DD he's at the park."  Johnny's shoulders slumped as Demi slid him the money and sent him on his way.

Although it was a close-knit  town, it had its good and bad side. She had been aware of a drug ring that was surfacing around the park, which was the most poverty-stricken part of town filled with low income housing. She had been trying to work with the mayor to get a center built that offered rehabilitation and safe injections sites. They were still trying to crunch the numbers to make it work within the budget they were given by the council. Which reminded her she had a council meeting tomorrow.

She typed up a report and sent a few officers over to the park to pick up DD, hoping he didn't sell Ms.Wartons things before they were able to retrieve it. She did promise her they would get everything back, and she wasn't keen on breaking promises.