Chapter 14

"Getting arrested can be a very humbling experience. Getting told your being arrested, even though your not and getting dragged to a police station to answerer questions without a parent or guardian present can be outright terrifying. Lucky for me I could sense the police's motives when the squad car pulled in beside me. I was cooperative as they cuffed me and attempted to humiliate me because I was only in my boxers. Once we arrived at the station I was placed in a small, probably deliberately, cold room. They refused to let me call my mom, and told me I would not get a blanket unless I cooperated.

What happens when you try to take a stubborn animal and shove them into a small cage? They rebel, doing everything they can not to cooperate. I sensed the frustration from the police also. It seems Hope would not tell them anything about what happened in the woods. So here I was trapped, nowhere to go and no way to call home. I was badgered for four and a half hours about what went on. They started by asking if I did anything to Hope. Why was I in the woods? Where were my cloths? They even went as far to say they knew what I had done and asked me who my accomplices were. I refused to answerer any of their questions because I knew Hope hadn't name me as one of the persons who attacked her. They were just trying to scare me but it backfired.

Once they finally figured I was not going to speak, they decided calling my mother was all they could do. I learned on the way home that no charges had been placed. My father was irate at the way I had been treated. I guess we could have sued the police for the way I was treated, considering the laws that require a parent or legal guardian be present during any questioning. Looking back on it now, I'm glad we didn't. It had allowed Hope and me to remain under the radar for just a while longer. Ah, but that's getting ahead of the story. You will learn about the corruption we uncovered a bit later.

Almost as soon as I got home I received a phone call from Hope. It seems the police tried the sweetness tactic with her. Telling her repeatedly that she was a victim and even though she had never named me they asked her about me. At the exact time they were questioning Hope they were arresting me. There was no way they could have known about her story before I was picked up. I had a lot to think about and I needed to figure out what to do next. I told Hope I loved her and we got off the phone. It had been a long day and I drifted to sleep easily enough, though sleep was fitful and I awoke several times through the night. Nightmares suck..."