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In February 2006, right after Michael White's bail was revoked, I went on the air with some of my findings during a live interview with Dave Rutherford of the Corus Radio Network.

The interview would prompt a frantic phone call from a detective. He said we had to meet "right away."

"Right away" turned out to be 3:00 p.m. sharp. We agreed to meet in a bar located above a Tim Hortons restaurant, just west of Kingsway Garden Mall.

I arrived shortly after 3. The pub was nearly empty, save for some guys chatting it up with a waitress.

But no detective.

I sat down at one of the tables alongside a north window, ordered a beer and waited for the officer to show.

Waited and waited.

I spent the down time updating my to-do list on my Palm Pilot, all the while wondering what the officer had on his mind.

He finally arrived – half an hour late – took off his coat and sat down.

"You're two beers late, " I told him.

"I'm not late," he shot back.

"I was in the parking lot when you pulled in," he said looking out the window and pointing to where I had parked my car.

"So why didn't you come up?" I queried.

"I wanted to see if you were being followed."

I figured the detective either heard the radio interview or heard about it. Turns out, some of his buddies at EPS heard the broadcast ... and they were ticked.

If I had been working for CBC French News it may have taken months, maybe years, for police to find out.

The detective said police were upset because I (allegedly) had undermined the credibility of their investigation by poking around where Liana's body was found.

I said I didn't think it was unlawful to feed the animals.

He went on to give me some free advice: watch your ass (and he wasn't talking about what I should do in the shower).

The detective went on to tell me that my cell phone would be monitored and my home phone tapped.

To this day, I can't say if that happened or not.

He also warned that I'd get hit with a police search warrant.

The detective had more predictions than psychic Sylvia Browne.

He went on to say police would get in touch with my radio station, and that I might get called in for a chat.

I told him that had already happened. I was told to lay off on experiments (like putting meat in the ditch).

"There you go" he said without missing a beat.

I asked the detective how was it that a good part of Liana's hair was left behind in the ditch. He said that definitely should not have happened.

For a while he railed about sloppy police work. He explained how work at the crime scene should have proceeded, soil samples taken, all that.

The meeting was over in about twenty minutes. I wasn't sure why the cop even bothered to take his coat off.

Essentially he told me what was on his mind, slapped some cash down for his beer and left.

We walked out together and shook hands in the parking lot.

On the drive home, I checked my rear-view mirror more often than I normally would.

The detective's underlying message was this: he was worried I'd get in trouble.

I liked him. He was honest and decent.

An old RCMP friend stationed at K-Division in Edmonton thought highly of the officer. He described Mr. X (not his real initial) as a "cop's cop."

I got the sense the man had principles and had not sold out in life.

I erased all my cell phone messages and made back-up copies of documents in case somebody arrived with a search-warrant.

The pep talk with the detective plus being called in to a meeting only made me work harder on the Michael White case.

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deadmonton - michael white - the untold story - 14