Free Irrefutable Evidence by Melissa F. Miller

here may have come across evidence suggesting the existence of a criminal conspiracy. She ’ s going to need some protection or confidentiality — something. ”
    Charlotte nodded gravely. “ Of course. If the information you provide is credible, the Department of Justice will provide reasonable protection. ”
    Yim, who had neither moved nor made a sound up to that point, exhaled loudly, in clear relief.
    “ Hang on, stop right there. We ’ re bringing this to you personally, Charlotte, because we want your personal involvement in taking care of Ms. Yim. You may have heard that the Justice Department ’ s view of reasonable protection nearly got me killed. ”
    Yim gasped and swiveled her head to stare at her. Charlotte pursed her lips and the skin around her eyes tightened. Careful, Sasha thought, all the pricy wrinkle cream in Saks Fitfth Avenue isn ’ t going to get rid of crow ’ s feet. She immediately felt ashamed for even thinking such a thing. She wasn ’ t usually so petty, but something about Charlotte ’ s golden perfection brought out her inner alleycat.
    After a short, but charged, silence, Charlotte smoothed her expression into a reassuring smile and said, “ I don’ t know the details about your … mishap … other than what I read in the press, of course. But I can say this. One, I think you ’ ll find I ’ m a little more hands on than my counterparts at Main Justice. And, two, I tend not to avail myself of WITSEC. I don ’ t find it to be the best means of protecting a witness while enabling her to continue to lead a somewhat normal life. In other words, I ’ m not a fan. ”
    “ That makes two of us. But what would you propose instead? ” Sasha pressed.
    Before Charlotte could respond, Yim found her voice. “ Wait — what ’ s WITSEC? ”
    “ WITSEC is the formal federal witness protection program run by the Marshal ’ s Office. It ’ s what you see in the movies — when someone, usually a mobster, turns state ’ s evidence and is relocated and given a new identity —“
    “ Relocated? New identity? I don ’ t …” Yim trailed off and gave Sasha a helpless look.
    “ Right, none of us wants that for you, ” Sasha soothed. “ Let ’ s hear what Charlotte ’ s proposing instead. ”
    “ While WITSEC does serve a purpose, in my view, it ’ s a very limited purpose. It ’ s just one tool in the arsenal available to prosecutors to protect witnesses and victims. It ’ s hardly the best one. If you provide information that can support a prosecution and it ’ s clear that your doing so has placed you in danger, we can do one of several things. I can order round-the-clock security for you and round-the-clock surveillance of the individuals you implicate. That ’ s really the best practice, I think. It ’ s a sort of belt-and-suspenders approach. We ’ ll know from both details if someone makes a move against you. ”
    That approach seemed to mollify Yim, but Sasha wasn ’ t convinced. “ What if someone simply orders a hit against her? There ’ s no guarantee a named defendant would get his own hands dirty. ”
    Charlotte ’ s left eyebrow arched toward her hairline. “ Ordering a hit? Are we being just a touch melodramatic? ”
    “ I don’ t know, you tell me. Her employer designated her as the 30(b)(6) representative in a plain vanilla insurance coverage case. The deposition was today. Yesterday afternoon, someone etched ‘ SNITCHES DIE ’ into the side of her car. ”
    “ Oooooh. ” Charlotte drew out the syllable mournfully. She turned toward Yim, “ Where did this happen — here in town? ”
    “ No. At my lawyer ’ s office in Jersey. ”
    “ Wait. Isn’ t Sasha your lawyer? ”
    Yim cut her eyes toward Sasha, who leaned forward. “ It ’ s a little more complicated than that. I deposed her. ”
    “ Oh, come on. You represent her opponent? You can ’ t represent her. Good Lord, even you should know better than that. ”
    Sasha blinked. Even her ?