The Clown (NETFLIX SHORT STORY CONTEST)

6)Wrong Man

"Every breath you take" by Denmark and Winter
***

The next blistering cold winter day passed by uneventfully. Alan and his siblings went to school and did not encounter anything strange. At the end of the day, Shirley picked every child up before heading home. After that, she prepared coffee while shooing the younger kids to their upstairs bedrooms as the officer from the night before arrived. After an initial introduction of pleasantries that Alan spied on, the cop sighed.
"They caught the man suspected of murdering those kids, Mrs. O'Hare."
"Who is it??"
"A man by the name of Gil Hascomb."

Shirley glanced around to make sure no other child than John was listening in on this. Alan remained silent against the kitchen door, not moving a muscle as he listened in. "Is it him? The clown...?" she whispered as to not be overheard from her children upstairs.

"They caught Mr. Hascomb just a few days ago. It's yet to hit the papers, but they got the son of a bitch. He's a homeless man who lived in a nearby park."

"No disrespect officer, but how do you know this Mr. Hascomb is the killer??"

"I can't divulge too much information, ma'am."

"I understand that," Shirley sighed. "But my husband and I have been losing sleep over this. Now please tell me, how can the police be certain they have the right man who took and killed those children??"

The officer sighed before nodding. "They found a dress of one of the dead girls wrapped under the bums blankets. They also have a bloody knife. I'm no lawyer, but it's a slam dunk case."
Shirley released a deep breath. "So this Dr. Morgan isn't a child killer?"
"No, ma'am. Probably just your garden variety pervert  who saw your kid at a park one day. It doesn't provide much comfort, I know."
"But that doesn't make sense!" Shirley groaned. "How does this Dr. Morgan know our names and where we live??"
"Easy," the officer answered. "He probably followed your daughter home from school or a park one day and then he got your address. With that he could just look your house up in the yellow pages. It has your address and telephone number in it, you know"
"You don't understand, officer," Shirley pushed. "He knew who was home."
"I don't follow, ma'am,"
"The day that Dr. Morgan tried taking my daughter, he told my son Alan he knew who wasn't at home. Now, how on earth would that man know such a thing if he wasn't watching our house??"
"It could've been a lucky guess, ma'am."
"A guess? He just guessed that my teenage son, myself, and my husband weren't at home?"
"Yes. It was during school hours. It could have easily been a tactic to make your kids believe what he wanted them to believe. It was probably all just a ploy to get your daughter into his car."
"So what now?" said Shirley while looking exasperated. "My husband is coming home early. What am I supposed to tell him? Nothing is being done to find this sick man who threatened our daughters life because unless he physically does something, none of what he's done is a crime??"

"I'm very sorry, ma'am. I wish there was more we could do. Unfortunately, stalking isn't a criminal offense. Maybe one day it will be."