Tale of an Honest Citizen

Tale of an Honest Citizen

or

How I Ended Up In Witness Protection

“Isn't it a bit unusual for an US Marshal to be asking a question like this? I thought you had all the information on me that you ever needed to know.”

“Yes, Maam, I have information. But it just seems so far-fetched that a woman your age would be going into the program alone. Your file says you are married.”

“I am. But it appears that on top of everything else, I got a double whammy when it came to my husband. Seems he's been dawdling with a mutual friend of ours and would much rather stay behind with her. As he says, he didn't get himself into this mess.”

“That's cold.”

“That's kind.”

“How did you get into this mess? I know that we're protecting you from people who would prefer you dead. And they feel that way because you ratted on them. I'm just quoting one of the defendants. You did your civic duty and reported a crime. But how did you get into that position? Our file says you worked for one employer for nearly two decades.”

“I guess we have the time. Are you sure you want to hear this? It's really rather stupid.”

“Please. Taking you off to another state and saying 'here you go, good luck' is like taking my Mom out of her comfort zone and asking her to survive happily ever after.”

“it surprises me you feel that way.”

“Being a US Marshal doesn't make me inhuman. I've been a Marshal for nearly twenty years and have never felt quite so torn by relocation as this time.”

“What is your first name, Marshall Smith? I am not used to telling personal things to people I don't know.”

“Steve. Steve Smith. And yes, Smith is my real name.”

“Okay, Steve. Once upon a time I worked for an advertising agency. It was an old established firm with two principals. When I had been employed there fourteen or fifteen years, they hired an account executive. He came with impeccable references. His name was Jack. Jack was kind of distant but, at least, he wasn't hanging out at my desk making jokes. He did an admirable job. In the next two years, the agency grew quite a bit. Jack was good at bringing in clients. So the principals hired another account executive. His name was Howard and he was a 'good old boy'. Knew everybody the minute he met them. I was the office manager and accountant. It was a one-girl office. There was a 2-man production staff that had been there almost as long as I had. It was a good working unit. For a couple years.”

“But the file doesn't mention an advertising agency. Was that your long-term employer?”

“You asked how I got into this mess, didn't you? Well, I'm getting to that.”

“Sorry. Would you like a cup of coffee? There's always fresh here at the office.”

“Thank you. I would appreciate that. Black, please.”

“I'm locking the door. It's policy. Back in a couple minutes.”

“That was quick, Steve. Coffee smells so great. It's been a helluva morning. But I guess you know that. Now back to wherever I was. Oh, yes. The agency was good for a couple years before Jack and Howard started making waves. We did too many things the old fashioned way, etc., yada, yada. Finally the principals came to me one evening as I was closing the office. They have decided to sell the agency. They were going to offer it to the dynamic duo – as they called Jack and Howard. Could they assure them I was part of the package? I said no. I like doing things the old fashioned way. That's kind of what they thought. Did I think production would stay on? I thought probably – both guys are too set in their ways to look for something else. They keep up on new procedures so they aren't old fashioned anyhow.. True, true. The DD growled about our marketing our own business and the way we handled clients. Never said anything against production.”

“So how long before you were out of there?”

“I started looking for another position the next day. By the time they'd been to an attorney to get an agreement written and money changed hands, I was gone. I'm an accountant, CPA, notary, and good secretary. I worked for a temporary service for a few months – usually week long jobs for vacations and such. I could have stayed there but there was no health insurance or paid vacation/holidays/sick days. The last position was open-ended. An attorney, sole practitioner. He said his “girl” just took off. The first week I was there made me wonder how long she'd been gone. He didn't have housekeeping at his office and the place was a mess. There was filing piled up for at least a month. He hadn't done any billing in several weeks. After my second week, he offered me a permanent, full-time job. I said I'd like to think about it.”

“Think about it because why?”

“I think he lied about how long the previous secretary had been gone. Well, that was one thing. I wanted to check him out with the ABA. I went to the library and then talked to friends who work for attorneys. There was nothing filed against him and no one had heard anything about him. Nothing. That should have been a tick...he'd been in that location several years but no one really had ever heard of him. One attorney friend said the guy probably didn't do much trial work so it wouldn't be unusual. We talked money, hours, and he didn't have health coverage but would pay for mine. It wasn't ideal but I've quit jobs before so decided to take it. The office was close to where I had been working – which was a plus downtown. I knew where I could park and that sort of stuff.”

“When did things start to bug you? I know you couldn't have gotten into this mess in a month.”

“Oh, Steve, you are funny. First – but it took a couple weeks – documents came back from court, filings, deeds, and stuff that had been recorded. I realized that those that were notarized were notarized using the prior secretary's name and seal. But dated recently – since she's been gone. I'm a notary. I don't leave my seal and record book just laying around. It's under lock and key. I bring it to work but have never left it even overnight as I'm not satisfied with security. I was going to ask him abut it and then, at the last minute, decided not to.”

“Would all of this other happened if you had asked?”

“Frankly, I don't know. But by this time I was getting the idea that he thought he could talk his way out of anything. So I made copies; filed the originals if they were to stay in the office; and intended to mail what belonged to clients to clients. However, when I asked if he sent a form letter with recorded documents he said to give him the recorded documents and he'd write a note and give them back to me.”

“How did that work?”

“Well, he never returned any of the deeds to me for mailing.”

“Did you ask about that?”

“Oh, yes. He would see most of those people and just hand them the document. Not to worry.”

“But that didn't satisfy you?”

“No. Maybe it would have but then one of the people died; one that had a notarized deed. I'm not sure why I got suspicious but checked the copy I had made, and took home, and found that while the tax bills would be sent to the person filing the deed, the property was actually deeded to the attorney.”

“You're saying that he was defrauding his client? Do you think that he expected them to never ask for the deed and he was waiting for them to die?”

“I truly don't know. But I stashed those copies at home under the mattress of the bed in the guest room. I didn't mention this to my husband. He has a temper and I was afraid he'd end up hurt.”

“Why would you think that?”

“A client came in one day to check on the progress of his case. I couldn't even find a case in the files for him. I buzzed the attorney on the intercom. He came out of his office with a revolver in his hand and told me to sit down and get out of his way. I was standing between he and the client – not deliberately; I just happened to be standing there. He aimed the gun and said, “John, when your file is done, I'll call you. Now get the hell out of my office.”

“Didn't the client call the police? Or make some fuss?”

“No. I have no idea what kind of case he had going even. The attorney then told me that I was to never go into his office unless he was there and had asked me to come in. I buzzed him on the intercom; I hadn't gone in. So I don't know what that was all about.”

“Did you mention this to your husband?”

“Yes. He said it was probably something that's been going on between the two of them for a long time. Just stay out of the middle.”

“Very supportive spouse.”

“Yeah, very. This is taking longer than I thought. Are you sure we have time?”

“We do. If this is too unsettling, forget I asked.”

“That's not it. I was stupid and stuck around and in the next month accidentally found out he was dealing drugs after hours. That's a very long story which I'm sure you have in your files. Anyhow, I had lots of files now at home, copied because they look fraudulent to me. I figured it was time for me to give my notice. He had a trial appearance in Superior Court on Monday. I made sure that everything was in order and left for the day. When he was in court, he closed the office. Made no sense to me but I said okay.”

“You were going to give notice Monday?”

“I already had an appointment with the State Attorney General for Monday afternoon. I wanted to check one file before going to the AG. But I walked into an gruesome smell. The power went off in the office over the weekend and was still off. There was one office in the back that I was forbidden entry to. But I followed the smell – and found the former secretary. And that's how I ended up in this mess. I kept my appointment with the AG with the file copies, notes on the drug mess and one photo of a dead secretary. The attorney showed up at work early on Tuesday and called me at home to say the power had been off and not to come in. Needless to say, I never went back. He was arrested at the office that morning. I never gave notice so I thought he wouldn't realize I had seen the body. It was several months before he came to trial and in the meanwhile I had been been in the District Attorney's office several times. I was the only witness against him. If it had been just the notary stuff and the body, it wouldn't have led to this. But the drug thing turned out to be a big deal and I had a cartel looking for me. That's how I ended up in this mess.”

“And then your husband weaseled out on you.”

“Hard way to learn he was a rat but better late than never, Steve.”

“I'll be your handler until all the bad guys have been caught. Are you ready? Here's the documentation you need to live on Planet Earth. You will have time to get familiar with it so you'll be the new you when we get to where we're going. Looks like our transportation is here. Thanks for being an honest citizen. I'm sorry you have to be penalized for it.”

“Me, too. Even knowing it might lead to this, I still would have done it. I hope you're taking me someplace I've never been. May as well make it an adventure. I'm sorry. I don't always blubber this way.”