A short police story

On a normal working day, Sargent Nascimento and his partner Cadet Smith were patrolling by car around the New Heaven Place, a very pleasant and quiet district of Juju City. It seemed that it would be one of those quiet days, but the peace was broken when the radio called the vehicle:

"Attention Unit 44, copies Central".

Sargent Nascimento, was the most experienced officer, and he was in charge of responding to radio messages:

"Proceed Central", said Sargent.

"Unit 44, go to the local police station. There, you will find a man known by the name of Edson. He called us, and said that her niece has just shot by a man. According to him the offender is still at the crime scene. He requests the presence of the police. "

"Ok CENTRAL Unit 44 is going to meet this applicant," said Sergeant.

Sargent Nascimento has been a police officer for 27 years. He liked his job very much. He acted following the law strictly, he liked to attend occurrences that require a lot of action though. The things that he has just heard made him very angry and, due to this, a sudden motivating energy fill out his body. He ordered his subordinate:

"Fast Cadet Smith! Let's go to the police station to find Mr. Edson and get more information. The offender must be punished. "

Cadet Smith was a calm man. He was a new police officer in the corporation, and he was still getting experience in this job. He did not like to get into confusion. He prayed to God to not get involved in occurrences, mainly those ones that miscreants carried gun. But that day things would be different. Until then he had never attended an occurrence involving a firearm. So, a mixture of anxiety and fear gripped him, and he wondered that day he would actually act like a tough cop. He answered the Sargent, as every cop who gets a superior order:

"Yes sir!"

Cadet Smith drove to the police station fastly. In less than two minutes they got there. Another policeman who was in charge of take care of the building, got closer and asked them:

"Have you been requested to attend an event about a girl who got a shot?"

"Yes." Said Sargent. "Where is Mr. Edson?"

"He is here indoors. He is very nervous, but come in", said the other policeman.

"We need to talk to him", Sargent Nascimento replied.

As they entered in the building, Sergeant Nascimento and his partner saw that a young good-looking man was sitting on the couch. His head was down, and he had a sad look. That was Mr. Edson. In order to know more about what had happened to his niece, Sargent Nascimento asked if he could go in the car to show the crime scene. Mr. Edson nodded making a positive sign.

On the way, Sargent asked Mr. Edson how everything had happened, and why his niece had been shot. Mr. Edson tried to answer those questions, but he just said confused things.

"I do not know. I just remember that I was working... drinking a beer in front of the house. All at once, I saw my niece, she was playing on the sidewalk, then that man shot her! He could not do that! Pick up a gun and shoot a little girl!" Mr. Edson cried out, and then broke into tears.

Both cops realized that all those things that they has just heard had no sense. But, the situation demanded patient and they both understood that they were before a desperate man who could not express his thoughts very well.

When they arrived at the crime scene, another weird fact. The street seemed calm. There were people in front of their homes chatting, children playing on the street. It seemed that nothing had happened. The policemen got shocked. They wondered that maybe the fact had happened earlier, because sometimes the central report events very late.

Mr. Edson asked for Cadet Smith to pull over the car in front of a humble house without wall. He got off the car crying out for his mother.

"Mom! Mom! Where are you? I brought the cops! "

Suddenly, a very old woman came out. As she saw the car and the cops she began to complain to his son.

"Edson I told you to stay at home and not call anyone".

"But mom, you have to tell them! Say it! Tell them that I saw my niece here playing on the sidewalk and then being shot. "

The cops got puzzled. They seemed not to understand what was going on there. Sargent Nascimento asked:

"Mrs. Could you explain us what has happened here? His son has called us saying that his niece had been shot. "Edson's mother turned to the police officer and said:

"Officer nothing has happened. The problem is that my son suffers from a mental disease. He is schizophrenic; when he did not take his medicine he has hallucinations. He sees things that not exist." When the officers heard that, they got astonished and speechless for a moment. But Cadet Smith broke the silence and said:

"Ok. Everything seemed so real, and your son looks a normal person. Well, since there is nothing around here, we go away. But you have to provide to give your son his medicine. Bye ma'am and have a nice day!"

"Bye officers! And I'm sorry for all this trouble."

On the way to the police station, Sargent Nascimento looked to Cadet Smith, and they both burst out laughing. They could not resist. Sargent Nascimento has never faced such situation in twenty seven years of working, and considered it as the funniest event ever happened to him. For Cadet Smith, that situation was funny, but he has got more relieved that everything has ended up that way.

�!QK$N'