A Web of Lies

Chapter 12

Trevor returned to the museum to a scene of chaos as police investigators tore through Dr. Codsworth’s office.

            “Unhand me, you brutes!” Dr. Codsworth shouted. “This is injustice! Harassment! Unnecessary force, I say!” He struggled against the two officers holding him by the arms. The others tossed around the contents of drawers, rifled through books, and threw just about everything else into evidence bags.

            “Be calm, sir, or we shall charge you with resist of arrest.” An officer said.

            The rest of the museum staff crowded around the edges, peering with their hands over their mouths in shock of the scene. Ever since the investigation started, the museum closed itself to patrons, so at least there were no small children to bear witness to Codsworth’s many curses. In that way, the museum could save some face, but the reality and drama of the events certainly had its effect on the rests of the staff.

            Several men stood with there arms folded, looks of distain etched upon their features. They slowly shook their heads muttering, “dreadful, dreadful.”

            “It’s unlawful to arrest an innocent man!” Codsworth bellowed. His protests were interrupted by a cry of pain as an officer twisted his arm behind the man and slammed a handcuff over his wrist. The other hand joined shortly after, and the officer pulled Codsworth away from the desk he had been slammed into.

            “Rather violent for taking in an old man, wouldn’t you say?” Codsworth shot back. “This is police brutality! I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ve never seen that bat before in my life! This is all a conspiracy, I say. All an attempt to soil my name. You can’t hold e for a crime I didn’t commit! This is madness!”

            The two officers pushed him out of his office door. Mrs. Stuckfold’s purse struck against Codswroth’s lower jaw, stunning the man into silence.

            “You foul villain!” She called, slapping him again. “Murderer! Murderer!” she cried, attempting to strike again, repeatedly. The officer on Codsworth’s right side intercepted the old woman’s attacks, while still holding Codsworth, who flinched with every attempted strike.

            “Please, ma’am.” The officer said. “He’s ours to deal with now.”

            “I tell you, woman, I didn’t do it!” Codsworth cried.

            “Liar! Is there nothing in your mind but hatred and deceit?”

            “You’ve got the wrong man!” Codsworth shouted to all the others. His eyes searched the stunned crowd with fervor, pleading with each person he saw, desperately seeking a slight glimmer of hope. His gaze found Trevor.

            “Trevor, please, you must know I didn’t do this. You’re quite the clever boy, you must know this isn’t true!”

            Inspector Longshod came beside Trevor, placing his hand upon the young man’s shoulder. Though Trevor didn’t exactly feel like he was being attacked, the gesture was appreciated.

            “Get that man out of here!” Longshod barked at the other two officers. They gave immediate, stiff nods, and shoved Codsworth along, who had now gone into hysterics and was practically being dragged along by his shoulders as he had lost the ability to walk.

            “You’ve done a fine thing, Trevor.” Longshod said. “Your instincts about the cricket bat were right. Turns out it was the murder weapon all along. And if we hadn’t checked the security cameras with a careful eye, we may not have known where to look for it.