February 4, 1998

Dear Tori,

I head back to school in a couple of days. Wow, I’d have a lot of work to catch up on. It’s going to be weird because I haven’t really spoken to any of my friends ever since… you know. But you’re way better than all of them, even if you are a girl. They didn’t visit me at all during that time and I know you would have if you could.

Oh right, I forgot that you had a brother. How is Tate? And your mom and dad? Is your dad almost done with the case? I hope he is. You sound really worried about him in the last couple of letters. He’s just stressed, Tori but he’ll be back to normal soon. Remember what he said, you’ll always be ‘his little princess’ hahaha

Love, Tony

PS. Challenged accepted, Holt. Don’t cry when you are defeated :P


February 10, 1998

Dear Tony,

You’ll be fine, Tone. Like, school is school and it doesn’t last forever. And it’s almost summer so you can do this! Really? That sucks. They suck as friends if they’re not there for you when you need them most. I want to tell them how much they suck for not being there for you. Just you wait. One day when I visit you in San Diego, I’ll give them a piece of my mind. I hope that you always know that I’ll be there for you when you need me, even if you are a boy. Now this is getting really cheesy…

Tate’s fine and all he ever does when he’s at home is play on his Xbox. Sometimes dad joins him when he’s taking a break. He hasn’t spoken about it much but I think he and his team are really close which is awesome. I know I’ve said this but I really do miss him. It’s like he’s here but not here. I guess that what happens when you get too involved in your job. But his job is cool and he does it because he wants to protect us and the city. He really is a hero. And mom is okay as well. Whenever I get a new letter from you she gives me this smile and asks how you’re doing. She’s really sorry about your dad and I think she sent your mom a letter too. Maybe they would have gotten along!

Love, Tori

PS. Just come over here and we will see who the true winner it. Better bring some tissues, Perry. You’re going down.



February 16, 1998

Dear Tori,

School hasn’t been that bad. The teachers are going easy on me. At first it was fun and I thought it was cool but now I wish that they treated me like everyone else. Maybe I’d have to cause some trouble or something hahaha. My friends – or who’s left of them – are talking to me. They watch me as if I’m going to start crying because of my dad but I’m not and I wish they knew. Even though things have changed for me, I’m still normal. I’m still me. Why can’t people see that? I know you can. Why can’t people be more like you?

I think the case has to be really important and he was the one chosen to do it so he’s probably one of the best out there. And I’m betting that he must miss you too but he still loves you, Tori, don’t forget that. And yeah, my mom did get a letter from your mom. I think she sent one back on the computer. My mom does the smile when I get a letter from you too! What does it mean?

Love, Tony



February 21, 1998

Hey Tori,

I know you haven’t replied and it’s okay. You’re probably busy. I just felt like talking to you. You probably know it’s my birthday soon and I really miss my dad. It’s going to be weird, like it’ll be the first birthday without him. He and mom would plan this big day for the three of us and we’d go to the zoo or SeaWorld or anywhere cool and then the day will end with a dinner at my house and all the cousins and aunties and uncles will be invited. My birthdays were awesome because of him. Now I feel like it would be less fun without him. I know mom’s going to do her best and I love her for it but it’s just not going to be the same you know? But that’s enough feelings for one day. Thanks for listening. Or, well, reading. You’re a great friend, Tori.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon :)

Love, Tony

February 25, 1998

Dear Tori,

Wow, what a day. Heaps of things happened and I’m super tired but I want to tell you everything that happened.

Thankfully today is a Saturday so there was no school but my mom still woke me up early. The sun wasn’t even up. She made me these awesome birthday pancakes that were shaped like turtles and after that we headed off. The sun was still not up. We headed out of the city and towards the coast. This is when I realized my mom woke me up so early. To see the sunrise. We took some pictures of it and if you were there with us, you’d be taking out your sketch pad and try to capture it. I can’t really describe it properly but it was awesome and there were all these colours that lit up the sky that you couldn’t even imagine. Well maybe you can because you’ve got an artist’s eye. Anyway, as me and mom were watching the sun turn the water, purple, pink, orange and blue, she told me that dad used to take her there back when they were younger before I was born. That place now has a special meaning to me as if there’s still a piece of dad still here with me. I guess he’s not really gone. I want to take you there one day. This sounds pretty goofy but I hope when I do take you there that you’ll like it.

Then after that we went around driving around the city. Before reaching there we went to this Mexican side shop. They served burritos! They were so good! We were looking through the store and there were heaps of things like maracas, ponchos, sombreros- basically anything of the Mexican culture, they had. Mom thought it would be a good idea to dress up like one for the whole day so I joined her. We had matching everything, including mustaches. We didn’t even take them off while we were looking around the city. Dad would’ve laughed and joined us if he was still here. Maybe he was laughing when he saw us, wherever he is. Mom asked the store owner to take a photo and it is so funny. I’ll send you the pictures soon.

Then at dinner, everyone came over, including some of my friends from school. Most of them got me video games which we played most of the night. I think that you would’ve been better than some of them though haha. My grandma baked me the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had and she even decorated it to look like Raphael the Ninja Turtle. It would’ve been even better though if she decorated it like Terry but I think you would have to do that since you’re the one who created what he looks like. I’m not so good a drawing. Playing the guitar is easier. Hey, did you ever get to asking to take lessons? I reckon you’d be a rockstar artist!

So overall, I really enjoyed today. The only thing that would make it the best day ever was if you were actually here. I hope everything’s okay. I haven’t heard from you in a while. Reply when you can! I’m sorry if I’m bothering you. I kinda miss hearing from my best friend.

Love, Tony

March 1, 1998

Hey there.

Is everything okay? I don’t want to sound clingy or anything but I can’t help it. I haven’t heard from you in a while and I’m sort of getting worried about you. Like, I guess you could be busy or have something else on which is cool. But you’re not ignoring me, are you? No, stupid thing to even think about. You wouldn’t do that. If anything’s wrong Tori, you know that you can tell me. I’ll always be here to listen/read. You’ve said before that when I needed you, I’d always be there but don’t forget it’s the same thing when it comes to you. That’s what friends are for. But yeah, you’re one of the people I don’t want to lose.

I’ll be practicing the guitar and my video game skills until you talk to me. That is if you’re ever going to again.

Tony

March 6, 1998

Dear Tony,

Firstly, I want to say that I am so so so so so so so SOOOOOOOO sorry for not replying so quickly! I feel really bad about it and it’s like I’ve missed so much. So I’m going to send this really big one to make sure that I don’t miss out on anything you’ve written. I’m so sorry, Tony. You’re right, I was busy (I’ll explain later) but I would never in a million or billion years ignore you. You’re my best friend, Tone, and I don’t want to lose you either. Do you know how boring my life would be if I never started writing to you? So get comfy because here I go…

The reason I was away and didn’t reply so quickly was because I went on this two week field trip for art. My art class in school won this award thing and we went to an art camp upstate. This place was amazing – even the ground looked like a painting. It was like this diffrent new world I was stepping into, sort of like Alice in Wonderland. Everything was so calm and peaceful which was totally a nice break from all the city rush (not to mention school). I had a great time and I learnt heaps of new things that would hopefully make me be a better artist.

So that’s enough of what I did and I want to start off with A SUPER BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You’re almost a teenager! Do you feel older? It sounds like you had an amazing day and I so wished that I could’ve been there to celebrate with you and your family. The place your mom took you seems wonderful and I would love to see what it’s like there. I really want to meet you. When I become a world famous artist who had sold her masterpiece for billions, I will hope on the first plane to San Diego, first class of course, and find you. Then you can take me there and I can paint the sunrise. I can’t wait to see it! I kind of feel silly for sketching this picture of the sunset for you… I still hope you like it. And of course it would be special, you dad used to go there so his spirit or something would still be there. You’re dad’s always watching over you too, Tone, you and your mom. Like, I don’t know if you believe in God but I do and I think that your dad’s like your guardian angel and he’ll always be looking out for you. Love is stronger than death. But don’t worry, I won’t go all preach-like haha.

Oh, I can’t wait to see those photos of you and your mom dressed up as Mexicans. It sounds like you had an awesome time and really enjoyed yourselves. I wish I could’ve been there! I would’ve dressed up as one too :) have you actually been to Mexico? I’d love to go there one day. There’s so many pretty beaches and there aren’t any here. All there is the desert and so much sand. What else did you get for your birthday? (And I hope you really like the one I got you too. Sorry it’s late.)

Your birthday sounded so fun and busy – you must’ve been really tired. At least it is almost spring break and you’ll be able to sleep as much as you want. Was your grandma’s cake really nice? My favourite type of cake is red velvet and my mom’s really good at making that. I only know how to make cookies. I guess I’m better at art than baking. I haven’t really asked them yet if I could take lessons but I will right after I send this. I think you’d play it better than I do though. I still wear the guitar necklace you gave me every day. I don’t even take it off when I sleep, even though my parents tell me too. It means a lot to me and I wish that I could tell them how important it is. So I guess what I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t matter if I learn to play the guitar or not. I’ll always have the one you gave me :D It would be awesome if you were in a band when you grow older! You’d see the world, meet heaps of people, make lots of money, send me free tickets to concerts… it would be so cool! I could tell all my friends that my best friend is famous and that would make Melissa even more jealous hahaha.

So it was a while ago when you sent this letter about going back to school and how everyone was treating you: don’t worry about them. Just show them you’re fine because you’re a strong person. Well, there’s nothing wrong with missing your dad but you know he wants you to be happy. It’s like a thing Dr. Seuss once said, ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.’ So be happy and thankful for the time your dad was with you. He never really left you anyway. Like I said earlier, he’ll always be looking out for you, even though it doesn’t feel like it sometimes. And you should always be you. If people don’t like you for who you are then they’re not your real friends. Friends like they’re friends no matter what they like, what they look like, who they like. For example, you’re really weird, you have these really big eyes like an owl’s and you really like turtles. Like, dude, come on. What’s so special about turtles? Haha, I’m just kidding. Being your friend has taught me how cool those little critters are!

Again, I feel really bad about not replying so soon. You seemed really down a few letters ago and I wasn’t there when you needed me. But Tony you have to remember that our friendship means so much to me and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Even though we haven’t met (and we will one day!) I know a lot about you and you know a lot about me. You were my first best friend which makes you the bestest. Who said girls and boys can’t be best friends? I dare them to say something about us. We’ll prove them wrong.

Oh, I asked my mom if she was sending letters to your mom and she said she is but they’re not really letters. She calls them e-mails. I asked if I could send you one but she told me I’m not allowed to until high school. It’s so unfair! And it’s so far away :(

My dad is also finished with the case! The last days of it were really… tense. I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad he’s back. I feel safe when he’s around. I sound kind of selfish but I like it more when he’s here to protect me and my family rather than when he’s in detective mode and protecting the city. It can get scary when someone you love works in dangerous jobs. You don’t know whether they’ll be coming home or not at the end of the day. I’m glad he does every day.

I hope you’re okay and that you and your mom are doing fine :) I promise that I won’t reply so late next time.

Love, Tori



March 10, 1998

Dear Tori,

YOU’RE ALIVE! Hahaha, I’m just kidding. I’m so happy to hear from you. And I’m not mad at you or anything – just glad that you’re back from camp. How was it? Did you have fun? Of course you did, no school. I wish I was that artistic so I could go to camps like yours. Were there other schools there? Did you have a camp crush? Did you kiss him? EWWWWW. But it’s a good thing that you enjoyed yourself. I hope you got heaps of inspiration!

You weren’t kidding when you said you’d write a long letter! Dude, did you hand hurt when you finished writing it? My hand hurted after I sent you that letter on my birthday but I guess I’m getting used to it because of guitar. You really like the necklace don’t you? I guess I know what to get on your next birthday.

Speaking of birthday presents, thank you so much for those CDs! I love Green Day and Blink-182. I guess I’ll be trying to learn their songs by listening to them. I want it to be spring break now so I can start! The sunset picture is still pretty cool. You’re getting better! Not saying that you weren’t good at first but your skills are definitely improving. Your painting will sell for a lot of money. Me in a band? You’re crazy. But you as a world famous artist? I can see that happening. I’ll be the one making people jealous saying that my best friend is an artist. And ugh, Melissa. Just forget about her. She’s already jealous of you. And no, I haven’t been to Mexico but I have some cousins there. I want to go there. When you go to San Diego we’ll take a trip there and buy all the maracas and ponchos and sombreros in the world :)

And thanks for what you said about my dad. You always know what to say, Tori. I guess it’s comforting to know that Dad really is watching over me and mom. That’s what she says too but it’s nice to know that she’s not the only one who says that. Who are you calling weird? You’re weirder with your bunnies and blonde hair and brown-grey eyes. But yeah, I really like how we’ve been friends for a long time. If you think about it, we’ll be friends for half our lives in September. Creepy. But it’s also cool.

And don’t worry about it. I’ll make sure that the first email I send is to you when I get one. Mom won’t let me get one either until I’m older.

Love, Tony

PS. That’s awesome about your dad! He must be the closest thing to Superman hahaha


March 15, 1998

Dear Tony,

Haha, yes, I’m alive. There was one other school that came to the camp from Las Vegas. And camp crush… as if I’d tell you!

My hand did hurt a lot after I finished that letter. But it was worth it. You’re already thinking about what to get me for my birthday? Haha I’m excited! I know it’s going to be awesome :)

Tate really likes those bands and he told me to get those CDs for you.

You’ll be in a band and I’ll be an artist. The future’s looking bright and I like it. And you should also visit me in Phoenix when you’re in the band but aren’t touring around the world.

Whoa, half our lives? Well, it’s been good so far and I hope that we’d still be friends when we’re super old.

Love, Tori.

PS. Okay, I’ll tell you my camp crush but it’s a secret. His name was Noah. I don’t kiss and tell though hahaha



6 MONTH INVESTIGATION DRAWN TO A CLOSE

The Phoenix police have finally closed an investigation to bring down the Perez drug cartel in the city’s underbelly. The operation took almost six months to bring down, but the wait was worth it, says Detective James Holt who led the operation. “The time spent on this investigation took its toll on us, both mentally and physically, however I believe that this has taught us to remain strong in our weakest moments.” Holt, father of two, had been working closely with a group of profilers and detectives from the city who have been watching intently the moves of Marco Perez, the cartel leader.

Perez and his associates were arrested on the 23rd of February and his assets and accounts were frozen and his properties repossessed. He will be trialled for a sentence of 30 years in prison with the charges of the possession and dealing of heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine and kidnapping.

Notes

whelp, i got carried away. sorry guys! anyway, I hope you're enjoying the story so far and we're loving the feedback :) anyone want to predict what's going to happen?

keeping the comments coming in lovelies and also vote and subscribe if you haven't already! :D

love. Precious <3 xx