Jennings asked smugly, pouring himself a cup of freshly brewed tea.
“Two bicycles and a satchel are hardly urgent matters. That case is now closed. We caught the perpetrators and recovered the stolen property, including your money.” The Inspector smiled proudly, seeming victorious in front of his police guards. He then took off his black hat and shook the raindrops onto Jennings’ luxurious carpet.
“It most certainly is not closed. I am still missing three of my boys,” Mr. Jennings snapped after he gulped down his cup of black tea. “One of whom never registered with us here at Gatesville. He’s totally off the books, no trace…like a ghost. Explain that.”
“Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector said calmly, “whomever you allow to slip under your nose is ultimately your responsibility by law. What we can do for you is draw up a missing children’s report and–.”
“Those reports don’t amount to a hill of beans,” Mr. Jennings interrupted, jumping upright from his chair.
“Nevertheless…it’s standard procedure, Mr. Jennings,” sighed the Inspector as he fixed his black hat back onto his head.
“Once we have a legitimate lead, we’ll let you know,” said one of the policemen whilst the three headed for the exit door.
“Don’t bother…I’ve saved you the trouble,” Mr. Jennings sniggered, throwing a crumpled piece of paper across his desk at the Inspector who grappled to catch it in one attempt.
“What’s this?” asked the Inspector, unfolding it.
“One of my runaways you brought back had this in his possession. It’s a map. I think that’s lead enough for you, don’t you think?” Mr. Jennings boasted.
“We’ll take this to the station for review,” the Inspector concluded.
Mr. Jennings’ expression suddenly changed from a boastful grin to an angry disgruntled frown. “What? That’s it? That’s all you’re going to do?”
“I would mind my tone if I were you, Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector said coolly. “There are hundreds of runaway cases to be dealt with every day. We have to first run a check on these areas to know for sure they exist. For all we know they could be meeting points that have elapsed by now,” he continued.
“Or they could be at any one of these spots,” Mr. Jennings interrupted.
“Let us check it before we use up any manpower and the people’s taxes on a widespread manhunt. We’re just making sure this will not turn out to be a wild goose chase. Then we can proceed. I’ve had more experience in these matters than you have, Mr. Jennings, and many cases like this prove unsuccessful…however, if I find these areas to be habited by the boys, I will certainly contact you in due course, when and only when I have the available staff to do so,” the Inspector added bluntly, turning his back on the old man to exit the office.
“Ridiculous,” Mr. Jennings hissed. “Lucky for me I have made an extra copy; get to the bottom of this myself, I will,” he rambled, muttering under his breath.
“I strongly advise against taking police matters into your own hands…or you’ll be the one we’ll come back for,” one policeman threatened. Mr. Jennings screwed up his face in disgust when the Inspector motioned for his men to leave.
“Good night, Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector sighed.
“Oh forget it, you good for nothings!” Mr. Jennings yelled back once his office door slammed heavily behind them.
The flickering of the Victorian lamps at the front gate dimmed for a few seconds, then glowed brighter. Neither bobby seemed to notice it at first until the Inspector pointed out the random change in the flame’s color. The normal ember radiance suddenly turned ice blue then changed rapidly to an earthly green and back again. The flame eventually faded to a light gray as if it had been drained of all its color before burning out.
“That was strange, don’t you think?” one policeman tittered at the Inspector.
“It has stopped raining too,” the
“Two bicycles and a satchel are hardly urgent matters. That case is now closed. We caught the perpetrators and recovered the stolen property, including your money.” The Inspector smiled proudly, seeming victorious in front of his police guards. He then took off his black hat and shook the raindrops onto Jennings’ luxurious carpet.
“It most certainly is not closed. I am still missing three of my boys,” Mr. Jennings snapped after he gulped down his cup of black tea. “One of whom never registered with us here at Gatesville. He’s totally off the books, no trace…like a ghost. Explain that.”
“Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector said calmly, “whomever you allow to slip under your nose is ultimately your responsibility by law. What we can do for you is draw up a missing children’s report and–.”
“Those reports don’t amount to a hill of beans,” Mr. Jennings interrupted, jumping upright from his chair.
“Nevertheless…it’s standard procedure, Mr. Jennings,” sighed the Inspector as he fixed his black hat back onto his head.
“Once we have a legitimate lead, we’ll let you know,” said one of the policemen whilst the three headed for the exit door.
“Don’t bother…I’ve saved you the trouble,” Mr. Jennings sniggered, throwing a crumpled piece of paper across his desk at the Inspector who grappled to catch it in one attempt.
“What’s this?” asked the Inspector, unfolding it.
“One of my runaways you brought back had this in his possession. It’s a map. I think that’s lead enough for you, don’t you think?” Mr. Jennings boasted.
“We’ll take this to the station for review,” the Inspector concluded.
Mr. Jennings’ expression suddenly changed from a boastful grin to an angry disgruntled frown. “What? That’s it? That’s all you’re going to do?”
“I would mind my tone if I were you, Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector said coolly. “There are hundreds of runaway cases to be dealt with every day. We have to first run a check on these areas to know for sure they exist. For all we know they could be meeting points that have elapsed by now,” he continued.
“Or they could be at any one of these spots,” Mr. Jennings interrupted.
“Let us check it before we use up any manpower and the people’s taxes on a widespread manhunt. We’re just making sure this will not turn out to be a wild goose chase. Then we can proceed. I’ve had more experience in these matters than you have, Mr. Jennings, and many cases like this prove unsuccessful…however, if I find these areas to be habited by the boys, I will certainly contact you in due course, when and only when I have the available staff to do so,” the Inspector added bluntly, turning his back on the old man to exit the office.
“Ridiculous,” Mr. Jennings hissed. “Lucky for me I have made an extra copy; get to the bottom of this myself, I will,” he rambled, muttering under his breath.
“I strongly advise against taking police matters into your own hands…or you’ll be the one we’ll come back for,” one policeman threatened. Mr. Jennings screwed up his face in disgust when the Inspector motioned for his men to leave.
“Good night, Mr. Jennings,” the Inspector sighed.
“Oh forget it, you good for nothings!” Mr. Jennings yelled back once his office door slammed heavily behind them.
The flickering of the Victorian lamps at the front gate dimmed for a few seconds, then glowed brighter. Neither bobby seemed to notice it at first until the Inspector pointed out the random change in the flame’s color. The normal ember radiance suddenly turned ice blue then changed rapidly to an earthly green and back again. The flame eventually faded to a light gray as if it had been drained of all its color before burning out.
“That was strange, don’t you think?” one policeman tittered at the Inspector.
“It has stopped raining too,” the
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