DEA

Alburquerque- New Mexico- USA

07:00 AM

Tuesday 14 July 2009

Bright sunlight colors the streets of Alburquerque. His overwhelming heat slowly creeps with invisible fingers between the slits of the closed shutters and curtains.

A warm soft breeze plays with the white curtains of the small Hispanic one-bedroom house. The sleeping woman moans softly and opens her green eyes. It was already hot in her bedroom. Almost insufferable, as is expected on a typical hot summer day in New Mexico. She blinks hesitantly, trying to remember what woke her up. It wasn't the heat alone...

The repeating sound of the doorbell echoes in her ears. So that was it. With a sigh, she stands up and leaves her bed, which just begs for her to come back.

Since her husband died, she no longer wanted to leave her bed. This morning was not much different. But the constant banging on her front door had made her curious. She hesitantly puts a beige robe over her slim body and walks into the surprisingly cool living room. Her house wasn't big. Just a standard one-bedroom condo. But it was beautifully decorated. With a large number of photos and most of all, love. The soft orange walls gave it a warm feeling, while the wooden floor evoked a classy impression.

She opens the front door while sighing and pinching her eyes at the bright light of the sun. It took a few seconds before she could observe the two men. Both are neatly dressed with a badge dangling around their necks ... DEA. An invisible fist squeezes her stomach as she looks at the bald, plump man in front of her. "Mrs. Esposito?" She nods nervously and looks at his Mexican accomplice. His lips are shaped in a wry smile as a warm breeze plays with his dark hair.

"I'm Officer Schrader, this is officer Gomez. May we come in?" "Sure" she replies and then flips the door open. Nervous, she starts to make coffee while the man sits down at the round brown table in her kitchen. "Coffee?" "Yeah, thanks," both officers say and look at each other.

"Mrs. Esposito" starts Schrader, but she interrupts him. "Please, call me Esmeralda." "Okay, Esmeralda," he says. "Is it correct that you have a daughter, called Savannah Esposito?" "Yes," she answers doubtful and places the cups on the table. "Thank you" Gomez whispers. Esmeralda smiled. It wasn't a sincere smile. More a worried smile. She just attempted to stay friendly. But her heart sank in her shoes. She sits down hesitantly and stares into Schrader's deep gaze. "Officer Schrader, what's the matter? Please do not tell me that something happened to my little girl?" Schrader shakes his head. "Hank is my name" he starts and continues; "I am going, to be honest. I have no idea." He sighs and looks at Gomez. "Wow, this is great coffee" Gomez utters. Hank rolls his eyes with a sigh. "Secret family recipe". Esmeralda smiles and winks. Gomez gave Hank an apologetic look.

"So, like I said, let me start at the beginning. I guess you know your daughter works at that roadhouse; Pinky's place. "Esmeralda nodded. Oh, yes. Despite the fact that she can be so much more." "Not happy huh" Hank scoffs. Esmeralda shakes her head. "Only a mother really knows what children can or can't do" answers Gomez. Esmeralda smiles and nods. Hank swallows and opens his little notepad."She can be so much. I really believe that she can change the world if she wants." Hank nodded. "I say the same about my daughter" answered Gomez proudly. Hank scrapes his throat. Gomez looked down, understanding his partner's signal. He forgot a moment, there was not much time. They are racing against the clock...

"Well, here's the thing. One mister Antony Pinkman. According to our information, he owns that joint. " Not waiting for confirmation from Esmeralda he sighs and says; "This morning at eight-thirty AM we found his body, not too far from his diner." Esmeralda gaps. Tears burst into her eyes. In shock, she places the cup down and closes her eyes for a moment. "Possa la sua anima riposare in pace" she says and opens her eyes again. "He was a friendly man. What is happening in this town?" Gomez nods. "It's a war we are fighting at this right moment." "One that we intend to win" says Hank, looking directly at Gomez. Esmeralda bites her lip and looks again at his badge. "But DEA, isn't that... drugs?" "Yes, ma'am" answers Gomez and looks at Hank, signaling him to continue. "Well, why are we in it? We found some specific drugs at the crime scene. And that specific drug... well let's just say that it's keeping us busy for a while already. That's why we are here. And not the Feds." "Specific Drugs?" I do not know anything about drugs", Esmeralda starts. "We know" Gomez assures. "We know" Hank repeats. "But the drugs aren't the reason we are sitting here with you. Well, a bit. But not exactly. You see: not far from the corpse, we found a shoulder bag, lying right next to it. A smartphone. That smartphone...well there is no easy way to say it so. It was registered at your daughter's name." Esmeralda closed her eyes. Tears gulfed over her jaws. Her stomach twists and turns. She takes a deep breath and places her hand in front of her nose and mouth. She sniffs and opens her eyes. "Oh my god" she whispers. "No no no, please. Not my little girl. She and my son, that"s all I have left after my husband died... You see. She is the youngest but also, she looks so much.. . My husband, they were exactly the same character. And my little Savannah. She is such a sweet girl. So innocent, so hopeful. So warm. She gives food to the homeless, she helps where she can. She lets street cats and dogs in the back so they can keep themselves warm. She would never ever interfere with drugs. I just know it. She is so good. Such a pure heart. Please Officers you are making a mistake. I tell you. My little Corazone would never ever take drugs.""No madame, I do believe you. I am not saying that she is involved. Especially not with drugs. The bag was found behind the dumpster. The body was found a bit further away in the alley, so we do not think that she was involved. At least not in drugs or murder. I am... well. We are afraid that she is a witness of the murder." "She was at the wrong place at the wrong time," Gomez says carefully. Esmeralda cried softly. She knows what this means... what could have happened to her little girl. "We want you to come with us to the office," says Gomez. "To identify the body," asks Esmeralda, afraid. "No, no not at all" Gomez says quickly. "There is no body, at least not of your daughter" reassures Hank. "The bag we found. I want you to tell me if the bag is hers for sure." Esmeralda nodded. She wipes her tears. "Another question, ma'am, you know a person called Hayden," asks Hank, looking at his notebook. "That will be my son. Hayden Esposito." "He called that cellphone four times. Four times a missed call." Esmeralda nods. "They are very close." "That is good, we asked him to come to the station as well." "Give me a moment to get dressed." Hank nods. "Oh, still one question. What is your daughter's address? There were house keys in the bag and if it is really hers, I want a team to check her apartment." "She lives in the whispering sands residence. That's 12720 Central Ave SE, Unit 108." Hank quickly writes the address down and nods. "Here are some waffles, help yourself to some coffee and I will get dressed as fast as possible." Hank nods. "That's very friendly" he greets and looks at Gomez who is already eating a wafer. "What?" He asks when Esmeralda has left the room. "These are wonderful Hank, try one. I haven't eaten yet." Hank sighs and accepts the wafer. Amazed at his taste, he looks at Gomez. Gomez nods in agreement.

Hastily, Hank swallows, wipes his hand, and stands up when Esmeralda walks back in. He opens the front door and waits for Esmeralda. "You can ride with us, don't worry." "Thank you," says Esmeralda and locks the door. "Good morning Esmeralda", greets the neighbor. Esmeralda waves hastily and gets into the black SUV.

Nervously, she walks into the police station with the two agents by her side.The airconditioning caresses her makes underarms. She walks like a death row prisoner staring at the posters adorning the pale walls."Mama" Hayden greets her and closes his arms around her. "Oh, Hayden" Esmeralda sighs and hugs her son. He hushes and rubs his crying mother's back. "It is going to be okay" he whispers.

"Whenever you are ready," Hank says and points to the interrogation room. Sighing Esmeralda takes place next to her son and looks at the camera pointing towards them. "That's just formality," says Hank, and looks at the young boy beside her. He doesn't look much older than twenty-five, well-groomed, and dressed in expensive top-brand clothes. On his right wrist shines a golden Rolex and around his neck hangs a whitegold pendant. Hank nods to Gomez. "Do you want something? Water, coffee, soda?" "No," answered Hayden. Gomez sighs softly and takes the evidence bag. Esmeralda shivers when she sees the black shoulder bag. Gomez lays the bag carefully on the table. His gaze is focused on the dreamcatcher and eagle drawing that adorns the flap of the shoulder bag. The zipper is adorned with a key ring, braided with a red, blue, and purple rope. "Dio abbi pietà" panics Esmeralda."I suspect this is her bag." Hayden nods. "This is her shoulder bag. I made that key ring when we were little" he sighs. Hank smiles comfortingly. "I am really sorry. But the fact that no body was found is a good fact." "Yes" answers Gomez and continues;" We are going to give this our priority, I promise. We will make this an official urgent missing person case." "Do you have a recent photo of her?" Hayden nods and takes his iPhone X. Hastily he scrolls through his photo gallery and puts the phone down. "Pretty girl" says Hank and takes the phone up. "Now, I need the basic information for starting. Height, weight, length of hair, and most important, when did you last see her or spoke with her? And what was she wearing? "I don't know. I just wanna know what happened" cries Esmeralda. "To be honest, we don't know what happened ourselves," Hank sighs. "There are so many possibilities."