“Mr. Hook, my son still hasn’t been found, has he?” the crying on the other side of the phone grew louder with each of their conversations. Arthur felt awful about not being able to comfort a woman with good news… and a lie would be even worse than the bitter truth.
“Sorry, we’re doing our best to find him.” Arthur rubbed his sore temples. Fatigue and age left a mark on his face. The wrinkles on the once-handsome face seemed more noticeable than before. The investigation was exhausting him. “Ma’am, I promised to let you know if we would find anything interesting. Our police staff is working really hard to collect as many clues as possible. Unfortunately, at this stage, we do not have enough of them to take further actions." In response, he heard a malicious snort. It gushed with hatred and anger. The woman was fed up with the police… but Arthur wasn’t surprised. He knew what it meant to lose a child. But he had to be professional at work. “Please, ma’am, let us know if you remember anything else from… that night. Every, even the smallest detail, may turn out to be important to the case. Please trust in our skills." he added. “Goodb-” beep. End call sound. Arthur softly sighed as he put the phone down.
They had been looking for the woman’s son for a week now, and to make matters worse, more children went missing last night. The police bent over backwards to find them, but the kidnapper left little to none traces behind. Something that seemed important sometimes turned out to be just a random detail found at the crime scene.
“I need something to drink… some alco-… no… coffee would be good enough,” he muttered under his breath. He left his office. He quickly put on a long black faux leather jacket and headed towards the door. Before leaving, he told his crew that he should be back in a moment.
His legs guided him to a nearby cafe. On his way there, he noticed a group of protesters. He read about them in today’s paper, so he knew what they were fighting for and against whom. He could feel their eyes on him, and the words they shouted became more powerful and personal as he strolled by them. He just hoped they won’t get too involved in the case. It could end badly for either party.
“Good morning. Plain coffee, please. To go.” He smiled and approached the woman standing behind the counter. The barista gave him a doubtful look and proceeded with the order without saying anything. Arthur had seen a face like this many times. There were a lot of rumors about him, and he knew everyone hoped they wouldn’t get back to him. But a policeman’s ears are more sensitive to everything that is being said around. Earlier, the inhabitants spoke about his deteriorating appearance and the genesis of his malaise. Now there were also speculations about his role as a policeman.
Shortly after, Arthur was given hot coffee with cream on top. Without the heart-drawing that could be visible on other customers’ drinks. With a sad grin that was barely visible beneath his thick beard, he paid the barista and left the cafe, slowly making his way back to the police station.
APPROACHABLE
@angelic ~ here’s Arthur’s post!
""
See @unsungcheerio and @liyahsdiamond? I posted in time! You have nothing on me! Hahaha!