The young men remained separated in different interrogation rooms. Ed was put in a room two doors down from where Wade was being questioned. Wade was in a small double-locked room with an old oak conference table and two straight chairs. He was alone for perhaps 45 minutes before he heard loud voices from down the hall and his friend Ed, screaming. It was clear Ed was being beaten. Ed’s interrogation went on for more than an hour. Wade sat in the room alone knowing he was next. Wade’s thoughts about what he would say were racing through his mind. He knew his family would become involved, his school would be notified, and his whole future would be in shambles.
Wades future life passed before him as he continued to hear the beating and yelling coming from the hall. After an hour, he could barely hear Ed’s faint voice. Wade felt ashamed for what he had done and somehow guilty for what Ed was going through. His guilt was based on his just going along with the stupid plan and not standing up to Ed. He could have talked Ed out of doing this. He could have been a better friend. They could have found another way to get Ed his hubcaps.
Finally the screaming stopped, and Wade could hear footsteps of several people and what sounded like a body being dragged in the hall just past his door.
Wade’s hands were sweating and shaking as he anticipated what would be next. Finally, the door to his room opened, and a large barrel-chested cop about 6'3" stood in front of him. He had in one hand what appeared to be a short black Billy club. The officer’s first words were, “Be smart, son. Your friend is on his way to the hospital. He had to be constrained for resisting arrest. We’re not going to have the same problem with you, are we?”
Wade stammered, “No, sir.”
“Good. You’re very lucky. Do you know why I say that?”
Wade replied, “No, sir.”
“Your friend is part of a major car theft ring in the city — one that we have been trying to break for several years. Before he tried to escape, he gave us all the key information we needed about the ring and its leaders. Do you know what else he did?”
“No, Officer.”
“He convinced us that you were not part of the ring but were only a driver tonight. That you’ve never been involved in any part of the ring’s activity and were only a buyer of some parts your friend was selling. That he asked you as a personal favor to help him tonight. Is that true?”
“Yes, Officer,” Wade said, almost eagerly.
“That doesn’t mean you’re not in trouble. You were part of a crime that carries a long prison sentence. Do you know what it’s like for a young boy like you to be in prison?”
Wade lowered his head. “No, Officer.” He could feel, more than see, the officer looking at him. He didn’t dare raise his head.
“Well it’s not fun being the girlfriend or wife of some of the prisoners we have. We’re not interested in punishing you for making one stupid mistake if your story checks out. We want the rest of the ring, and we need people who can penetrate that ring and provide us with information. We’ve decided to hold off officially booking you and your friend tonight until we can check out everything your friend told us.”
“All we need tonight is your personal information so we know where to find you. Your friend will be getting out of the hospital in a few days, and we’ll want to speak to both of you soon.”
“You’ll be free to go after an officer comes in and takes down your personal information. Your car was searched and taken to the station lot at the back of the building. You can pick up the keys at the front desk when you leave. Do you have any questions?”
Wade replied, “No, Officer. Thank you, Officer.”
A younger man came in, and Wade gave him all the information he requested, including his home address and phone number, parents’ names and occupations, names of teachers, garage personnel, and even the name of his football coach.
Wade’s mind was racing, and he was shaking all over as he drove home slowly. Halfway home from the police station at a stop light, he suddenly became sick to his stomach and pulled over in an open parking spot to his right. At the stoplight, Wade had suddenly realized he had forgotten that he still had his .45 pistol hidden under the dash in the drop-down compartment. Wade remembered the officer saying “They searched the car.”
If they’d found that gun, he would also be guilty of carrying a concealed weapon. Wade slowly reached back to find the hidden button just between the seat and the covered trim piece which runs around the side of the driver’s seat. He pushed the button and the secret hinged trap door dropped, exposing the handle of the .45 pistol. Wade took a deep breath and looked around before he pulled back onto the street and slowly resumed his drive home.
When he arrived, Wade removed the pistol from the car and hid it in the house. He went straight to bed because he was exhausted. But he couldn’t sleep that night. His mind raced from thought to thought, What will happen to me? Will Ed survive his beatings?
A few days later, he called Charity Hospital and asked about his friend’s condition, without giving his own name. He was told that Ed Langer was still in “critical condition.” Wade went back to school and continued working at the garage. He heard nothing from the police. Two weeks passed, and Wade called the hospital again and the attendant said Ed had gone home.
Wade felt some relief but didn’t know whether to contact Ed or not. At this point, Wade really didn’t want to know anything more about Ed or his gang activities. He decided not to call him. Wade tried to keep to a normal routine as he was instructed. He attended school but had no contact with his football coach, and he kept a distance from his teachers and friends. He avoided his football teammates because he didn’t want to relive his injury and explain why he had stopped playing or what he had been through. He certainly didn’t want anyone knowing anything about the theft. He became noticeably cautious at school and at the garage.
One day at the garage, Jesse’s uncle mentioned, “I haven’t seen your parts friend, Ed.”
Wade replied, “I haven’t seen him either. I think he’s on a trip with his parents.”
Not having heard from the police or Ed, Wade felt, as he went to school and worked at the garage that he was just going through the motions, waiting for bad news. Something ominous was about to happen. He feared the cops were everywhere. Wade also feared Ed’s gang may have heard about the police incident and would be looking for him. Wade wished he could simply disappear. He became nervous every time he saw a police car. In one instance, he almost had a wreck trying to make a turn to avoid a patrol car on regular duty.
About two months had passed since the arrest, and a call finally came from a detective at NOPD. The detective called his home, and when his mother answered, she was told, “According to witnesses, your son scraped a car in a parking lot while he was pulling in. I just want to talk to him about it.”
Wade’s mother told him a detective had called and wanted to know if he remembered scraping a car.
“I’ll give him a call, and if there is a minor scratch on the bumper or something, I’ll take care of it at the garage next week.”
That satisfied his mother. Soon after getting the detective’s message, Wade went to a payphone near the school and called, asking for the detective by name, “May I speak with Detective Jake Pisano?”
Wade was relieved that the call had come, and that the detective was willing to keep his parents in the dark about all that was happening. That gave Wade some level of comfort.
The conversation with Detective Pisano was brief. The detective asked Wade if he’d had any contact with his “parts friend,” and Wade said no. The detective said he was going to try to reach Ed and set up a meeting. He told Wade to call back in two days. From the way Detective Pisano talked, Wade knew he was not one of the arresting officers or from the police station where he had been taken when he was arrested. After two days, as instructed, Wade called and a meeting was set up at the “Ole Grille” for 2:00 pm on the following Saturday.