The Journal of Officer John

Family Problems

September 8, 1925.

It has been four days since the Amber Incident. I was sitting on my sofa, drinking a nice cup of tea, while reading a newspaper. Excitement filled my body, It was a day off; finally a break from the constant investigations, and I could continue reading my favorite novels. But before that. My first desire in the morning was to read up on the news; see what's going on.

Opening the first page, there was a headline that caught my attention. It goes like this. "Mayor Avgust has recently announced plans for an emergency food stockpile for winter". Well, that's dreadful, flipping to the next page; there was a headline that gave me surprise and joy. "SHOCK!! Man suspected of involvement in the Amber Incident, caught by police". There was a pause in reaction as my brain processed that information. Then my mouth opened up and released a very soft giggle, apparently someone forgot to bring their money. Reading it further, it says that the station was given a tip from an informant on a possible lead. They tracked the man down to his house and raided it. I wouldn't go into detail what he was doing, but let's just say that... they had to call in an animal expert.

After finishing the read, my body was filled with delight. It seems that the case would be over sooner than previously expected; finally, things could go back to normal, and I could return to being a slack in the office. But all of that was drained away, as I turned over to the next page, a headline struck my attention in the worst way possible. "Horror!! 12 people were found dead inside a decrepit house". After I read those lines, there was a sudden urge to vomit boiling inside my stomach, and that image... that horrible image was swelling up in my head. Dropping the newspaper, I put my hand on my mouth to at least ease my nausea. 

There was an urge to stop reading any more of it and to just grab a novel from the bookshelf, but curiosity got the better of me; so even with my stomach screaming not to, there was still a part of me wanting to know what happened—picking up the newspaper, and shifting through it again. It says that they found them inside an old building in Oldstone when the locals reported a rotten stench coming out of it. The officers present broke in and saw the same thing; jars of blood stored, but this time they were found in boxes.

Finally, after finishing it, I put away the newspaper. Clenching my fist and putting it in my mouth, I sat immobile; there were hundreds of questions swirling inside my mind, why weren't we informed about this, how couldn't we know, why didn't anyone report this, are there more? my body recoiled at that thought. No, I shouldn't think about that. Calming down, my mind stopped itself from further probing. Worrying about it now would be useless, besides it was my day off.

Standing up, there was like a heavy object strapped on my back, pulling me down, and the air in the room didn't feel right. I was in no mood to read any of my novels. I was thinking of something to ease my mind. Maybe fresh air would do,  perhaps going to the park would be nice. After that, I put on my coat and went outside.

Walking over there was a delightful experience. The breezing morning wind wrapped around me like a cold blanket, and the chipping of birds dancing in the sky made strolling down the once busy and smoky streets now replaced with such quietness and fresh air; even more pleasant. With such tranquility, I almost forgotten what paths I had taken. But not all.

While walking, I stumbled around a factory. It was a large rectangular building. Passing by the gate, something there caught my attention. Glimpsing inside, it contained enormous foundries filled with molten metal pouring into large machines, gigantic blast furnaces heating iron and coke, and droves of workers toiling, hammering, and shaping the steel. There was a large crowd with a familiar face among them. It was difficult to know with all the workers there and he was talking with someone else, so only half his face was showing. But squinting a bit, I realized who it was. It was that boy again, he was wearing a skanky white shirt with raggedy brown pants, and that same news cap of his.
"Hey, Tim," I shout at him
he seemed to listen and turned around. But when he did, my eyes instantly gaped at his face. He has bandages covering his left eye, nasal bridge, and forehead. With only his right eye showing. 
"good morning Officer, I never thought of seeing you here," he replied
"Me neither. Say, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"What happened to you," I pointed at his bandaged eye.
"Oh, this..." he touches it with his left arm. "fell down some stairs. Nothing to worry about."
I gazed directly at his intact eye. "... OK then, but just be careful next time, OK."
"I will sir."
after that, I looked next to him and noticed the man that Tim was talking with was a teenager. If my memory's not mistaken, he was 15 years old by that year.
"Say, Tim. Can you tell me who's you talking to?"
"oh him, he's my older brother, Matthew."
"nice to meet you officer," Matthew cheerfully said.
"nice to meet you too Matthew. I hope you're proud that your little brother helps our investigation."
"Definitely Officer."
"Mr. Officer,  Mr. Officer, how did you find us?" Tim asked.
"a funny coincidence, I was going to the park when I stumbled into this lovely place."
"If you wouldn't mind, can you bring Tim with you?"
"eh..."
"his shift just ended and I can promise you, he wouldn't cause any trouble," he insisted.
looking at him, I took a moment to think. I wouldn't want to leave the kid behind, that's for sure. It's always important to keep up your good reputation, and the kid did help us on the Amber case. Besides that though, I wouldn't want him even near his house.
"Sure! He could come along if you insist."
"Really, thank you very much, Mr. Officer," Tim exclaims.
"don't try anything dangerous, alright Tim," Matthew said.
"I will." |
"right then, let's get going now," I said.
Tim turned around, excitement on his face. He vibrantly rushed past me leaving only a blur; he then stopped mid-rush, and gave me a friendly gesture, before continuing running. Before I could catch up, Matthew grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"look after him," he said, looking tense.
"don't worry, it's my job after all,"  I replied with a wide smile.
with that, I parted with Matthew and walked calmly after Tim.