Several houses marched far away on the right side. They looked dark and creepy. Neither their front nor indoor lights were on, except for one house at the very end. It was the only one that had a sparkly front light, also the only inhabited one.
"Should we stop here?" Jimmy asked.
"No. We're not thieves," I replied. "Just park in front of it."
Jimmy continued driving. He stopped his car in front of the lighted house. He turned off the engine.
The house looked small and cozy. It had a shady tree beside. It wasn't new in our eyes. We'd even entered that house several times.
I moved my butt to the right. I held the car door handle.
"Wait!" said Amanda. "Let me talk to him. Stay here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm the one started this plan. Just let me do this all."
"Okay then."
I let go of my hand. I canceled getting out of this car.
Amanda looked confident. She opened the car door and left this car. She walked to the front door of that house. Every motion and sound she did could be easily noticed from here.
I had a bad feeling about Amanda. Her confidence wasn't enough to convince me, since she lacked patience.
Amanda rang the doorbell. She stood waiting for a householder to open the door.
The thinnest hand of my watch had done one full turn. Finally, a man opened the door.
"Hi, Galton!" Amanda greeted the man.
The one we needed his help with right now was him, Galton Cleame. No wonder Amanda disagreed with my suggestion earlier.
Galton didn't say anything. He just slammed the door.
"What the hell!" Amanda snapped. "Do you always do this to your guest?!"
"You damn Cavergon," he spoke behind the door. "You're not welcome. Get away from here now!"
"What the—"
"I said 'Get away'!"
"Can you listen to—"
Sound of a gunfire appeared from inside the house. It shocked Amanda and stopped her from speaking.
My feeling was right, even worse. It was hard to believe Galton used a firearm to drive us away, although he just shot the ceiling.
Amanda stepped back. Her anger started heating up.
"You son of..." she turned back. "Argh!"
Amanda moved away from the house. She stood beside the fence with a cranky face.
I chuckled, "I knew it."
"She won't be able to do that," said Jimmy. "Lemme try."
Jimmy got out of the car. He approached Amanda and calmed her down. He ambled to the house door.
"Hey, Galton!" Jimmy called. "Are you still there? It's me, Jimmy Lench."
Galton reopened the door. His face was different from before. It contained wrath now.
"What do you want?" Galton asked.
"We need your help," Jimmy replied.
"No, you don't. Just take your girlfriend and go away!"
Galton stepped back and slammed the door, again. He did look annoying tonight since he still remembered the last time incident. In all conscience, it wasn't simple to forget that all.
"Oh, c'mon!" Jimmy insisted. "You don't listen to me."
"You're the one who doesn't listen to me!" Galton asserted. "Go Away!"
"Could you—"
Another gunfire existed. Galton shot the front door this time. Its bullet didn't hit Jimmy. It just pierced the door on the left side where he stood right now. Yet, that warning was very awful to stop him.
Jimmy was stunned. He put his hands on the head and grabbed his hair for a while. He turned back and walked to Amanda.
"What the heck with that guy!" he babbled.
"He still gets mad at us," said Amanda.
They both looked resentful. At least, Jimmy was quieter than Amanda.
I understood the reason for Galton doing this. The only thing we had to deal with was the responsibility. It wasn't easy, since forgiving others is harder than forgiving ourselves.
I opened the car door and got out. I approached Amanda and Jimmy.
"I'll try my best," I reassured them.
I walked to the door. I stood in front of it and took a deep breath. I rang the bell.
"Mr. Cleame!" I tried to speak in gentle manner.
No answer showed. Galton didn't want to say anything.
"Mr. Cleame, don't you mind listening to me?"
He remained silent. But, I could feel his anger through his breath sound behind this door. No matter whether it could solve or not, I spent the entire best attempt.
"Look," I slowed down my words. "We all are so sorry that we messed up your house at that time. We feel embarrassed and ashamed of the way we acted. I know we hurt your feelings, especially your wife's, many times. I'm sure these made you angry, since we'd broken your expensive furniture and stolen your food. We feel guilty at having done those things."
Every word came out of my mouth fastened my heartbeat. Either remorse or fear clung to me now.
I continued, "I don't want you to forgive us. I just wanted to say how sorry we are. I'll give you my promise that it won't happen again."
Galton opened the door. His angry face vanished. But, he stared at me with cold sight.
"I forgive you all," he said. "Now, go away!"
"But, I need your help, Mr. Cleame," I demanded. "Please."
He exhaled. "What kind of help?"
"It's about Steven. He hasn't been at home. We're afraid he's arrested right now."
Galton shook his head. "It's simple, you just go to the office."
"No, it's not."
He entered his house back. He closed and locked the door.
"Wait, Mr. Cleame," I begged. "I know you hate him. I know how jerk he is. But, he's still my uncle, my family. I believe you know what family does. I really hope you would like to help us now, since we're nothing in the office."
The sound of Galton's footsteps appeared. It was getting smaller and disappeared at the end. He walked away to leave this talk. He definitely refused my request.
I breathed out. I should believe this had no possibility. It is impossible for an angler asking fish to provide him a bait.
I left the door. I walked back to Amanda and Jimmy.
"Sorry," I said.
"It's okay," Jimmy spoke with his smiling face. "At least, we've tried."
"What're we gonna do now?" Amanda asked.
"We go to the office," I answered.
"Let's go then," Jimmy agreed.
We left the house and went back to the car. Everyone got in. Jimmy started the engine. He set the rearview mirror
"Wait, Jim!" I commanded.
"What happened?" he turned his head to me.
I pointed to the front door of the house. "Look!"
The house door was open. Galton came out wearing a police uniform. He closed the door and went to the garage beside his house.
"Just a moment," I said.
I got out of the car and walked to Galton.
He unlocked the garage. His police car looked clean inside it. He pressed his car key. The headlight of the car flickered.
Galton saw me. He said, "Let's move! Get back to your car!"
"Thank you, Mr. Cleame."
I went back to Jimmy's car and got inside. We waited for Galton to start his car. He drove his car out of the garage. He got out of the car to close the garage. He got in his car again and moved it to in front of this car.
"C'mon," he said.
Jimmy stepped on the accelerator. He drove following Galton. We left this place and headed to the police office together.
I was so happy. My plan was successful. I couldn't imagine how it worked. This began to put an end to our problem.
The wet road soiled all the wheels of both cars. As a cop, Galton's driving skill was very good. He could maintain the high speed of his car on the slippery road.
The cars had made many turns. We'd passed several traffic lights and cut in a number of vehicles. Our last stop wasn't distant anymore.
A small building seemed at the far left. Its windows were luminous. It had a yellow neon box that said 'POLICE' attached in front. That building turned bigger while we were getting closer to it.
We finally arrived at the police station. My watch showed 8.40 pm. It was near bedtime, but this place was still crowded. Its outdoors was full of cars.
Jimmy found trouble searching for a place to park his car. It wasn't like Galton who could easily stop his car in a special parking area for officers. However, this difficulty vanished after Galton told us to park Jimmy's car next to his. We felt like VIPs of sudden.
We got out of the car and walked following Galton to enter the building. Many people occupied this place. Some of them sat on the provided chairs, some walked around, and the others did their own business. It was so teeming.
"Take a seat, all of you," Galton commanded us. "I'll go to check every report about Steven."
"Very well then," I said.
Galton left us. He walked to a large room that had dark glass as its window and a word written 'OFFICE' on its door. He went into the room.
Amanda, Jimmy, and I sat on an available bench. We waited while watching people stand inside a prison cell. They looked gruesome. Some of them were holding its steel bars. The cell was quite extensive. It formed the 'U' letter that almost surrounded our view.
"Have you ever gone here before?" Jimmy asked.
"Once," I replied.
"Sometimes, when it's needed, like this now," said Amanda.
Jimmy chuckled, "He's very troublesome."
"That's true," I agreed.
Amanda looked depressed. Her hair was wet with sweat.
I turned my head and watched every prisoner in the cell. I couldn't recognize anyone there. Some of them didn't seem to be citizens of this town.
A familiar voice came from the left side, the tone and the accent. It tempted me to change my sight to the source of that sound.
"Look!" I called Jimmy and Amanda.
They were surprised after they looked in the direction I was pointing. A messy drunk man stood inside the cell. He was holding the steel bars while debating with an officer beside a desk. We surely identified that person. It's Uncle Steven.
"There he is," said Amanda.
"Let's go," I demanded.
We got up and walked to Uncle Steven. He didn't notice us.
"Let me out!" Uncle Steven yelled. "I didn't do anything. I'm innocent."
"Shut up, you Old Drunk!" the officer snapped.
Uncle Steven repeated his words. The officer didn't respond to him anymore. But, it didn't stop Uncle Steven from prattling. He started hitting the cell bars and making a fuss.
It raised the anger of the officer. He took out a black baton and hit Uncle Steven once.
"Be quiet!" the officer cautioned.
"Screw you!" Uncle Steven scolded.
He stopped speaking and stayed away from the cell.
"Hey, Dad!" Amanda shouted.
Uncle Steven looked at us. He was taken aback.
"Hey, you all!" he said. "Get me out from here!"
We stood facing him. He didn't look entirely drunk, yet he looked silly inside this cell
"What are you guys doing here?" the officer questioned.
"He's my dad," said Amanda. "And, we came here with Galton too."
"Galton Cleame?"
"Yeah."
"Well, you guys, have some talk with your father," said the officer. "I have to leave. I can't stand him any longer. He's such annoying. Make sure he doesn't do any trouble."
The officer left us. He went to the room where Galton entered before.
"How did you know I'm here?" Uncle Steven queried.
"Instinct," Amanda said.
He chuckled, "You can't judge it like that."
"What are you talking about?"
"I know what you're thinking. I didn't do anything. You, I, we all are not criminals."
"How can you say that? Look at you now!"
"I know. But, this... this is a misunderstanding."
"You're in the cell now!" Amanda snapped. "How can it be a misunderstanding?!"
"It's just a cell. It explains nothing."
"Nothing? You're officially under arrest!"
"Calm down, Dear," Jimmy soothed Amanda while rubbing her shoulder gently.
Amanda breathed out. "Tell us what you did today."
"What? I didn't do anything!" Uncle Steven reiterated.
He was really a stubborn old man. Nothing we could obtain from this talk.
"He won't tell us," I said.
"Because I didn't do anything!" Uncle Steven yelled.
"Is it hard for you to confess in front of us?" asked Amanda.
"It's easy. I... didn't... do... anything!"
Jimmy moved away. "We just need to wait. I'm sure he did crazy things this day."
"Of course, he did," someone spoke behind us.
It's Galton. He was holding a brown folder. He walked here with an officer that talked to us before.
I never expected Galton would come here so early. Officers commonly loved to linger when citizens asked for their assists. He put the folder on the desk. He took out some document papers inside and placed them beside the folder.
Galton pointed to some sentences on one of those papers and said, "He was drunk this afternoon. He left a place called Pack-In Bar after he smashed someone's head with a glass bottle and gave some punches. Then, someone from the bar called the police. And, he ended here. Luckily, it's not a huge trouble since the victim only suffered a small injury and has already been handled by the hospital. Well, what do you think, Steven?"
"That guy started the fight," Uncle Steven explained. "I never like anyone who mocks my family in front of my face. I bet if you were me, you'd do the same thing."
"At least, I never send any innocent guy to hospital."
We knew the case now. In fact, it was a small case since Uncle Steven didn't kill the victim. Yet, the law couldn't accept that.
"Very good, Dad," Amanda quipped. "Now, you bring us a special present."
"That person started first," Uncle Steven defended himself. "You should know how men solve something."
Amanda gulped. She had no word to speak.
Galton tidied up the files on the desk. He opened the drawer and took out handcuffs. He gave those to the officer beside him.
"Get him out," Galton demanded.
"Seriously?" the officer doubted.
"Yes. I'll be in charge. Take him out and put him in my car."
"Alright. But, don't bring me in your charge."
"Fine. I'll be back soon."
Galton placed his car key on the desk. He walked back to the office with the document folder in his left hand.
The officer opened the cell door. He put handcuffs on Uncle Steven's wrists. He pulled out Uncle Steven from the cell and closed its door back.
"Let's move!" the officer commanded.
We left this room. We ambled to the corridor and got out of this office through the main double door. We kept walking to reach the area where Jimmy parked his car.
The officer opened Galton's car door. He put Uncle Steven in it.
"We just need to wait for Galton," said the officer.
"Okay," I responded.
"I'll warm up the car," Jimmy demanded.
He went to his car. He opened its door and started the engine. He closed the door and met us back in here.
Galton came out from the building after ten minutes. He approached us. The officer returned his car key.
"You can go back," Galton talked to the officer. "I'll handle this alone."
"Alright then. Good luck."
The officer walked away. He re-entered the building.
We moved to our car parking area. We were ready to leave this place.
"Meet me at Husteff Street," Galton offered.
"I got it," said Jimmy.
Galton had a simple plan. He entered his car where Uncle Steven was still locked inside. He drove first to leave us in this area. His car slowly faded.
Jimmy, Amanda, and I got into the car. Jimmy stepped on the gas pedal after we closed the car doors. We caught up Galton with at high speed.
This car moved faster than before. Mud and puddles littered every part of the tires on the road. Also, it splashed on the bumper.
We'd passed several houses and crossroads. We were close to the meeting point.
Galton's car appeared at the front end. It looked glossy under a big street light.
Jimmy stopped this car behind it. Galton got out of his car. We did the same. Everyone stood outside, excluding Uncle Steven.
Galton opened the middle door of his car. He got Uncle Steven out.
"What the hell is this?" asked Uncle Steven.
No one answered. Besides Uncle Steven, we all understood this purpose.
Galton pulled a small key out of his shirt pocket. He unlocked the handcuffs on Uncle Steven's wrists. He hung those on his belt.
"Just to make sure there's no witness," said Galton. "You can go home now."
"Thanks, Galton," Amanda spoke with calmness.
It was against the law. But, Galton didn't seem to care about that. He wasn't a person who was very bound by regulation.
Uncle Steven laughed, "You're the same jerk, Galt! No wonder we became the best team in high school."
Galton sneered. He walked back to his car. He left us here without any words.
I yawned. My eyes flickered.
"I'll oversleep tomorrow," I said.
"Let's go home!" Amanda demanded. "You can sit in the front, Richard."
"Okay."
I just followed her will, though I had a bad feeling about this.
Amanda pulled Uncle Steven. "C'mon, Dad!"
We opened the car doors. Amanda sat beside Uncle Steven. I take the seat next to Jimmy. Everyone closed the doors. Jimmy drove away from this place.
"I can't believe this," Uncle Steven sniggered. "You all relied on that crappy Galton to take me home. It's very silly. Don't you have any other way?"
"Stop it, Dad!" Amanda rebuked. "You haven't even thanked us yet!"
"Oh! Nothing to be thanked for. Screw with those officers. They don't know what guilty means. They always do some crap."
"You're the one who always does crap. You're always drunk. You always have trouble with officers. You never do anything good."
"What do you expect from an old man?"
"Find a job. Help me take care of family."
"I'm a retiree. I can't do any more jobs. Besides, you all can take care of yourselves."
"But not for Will. It's too young for him to know everything."
"Then, just wait for him to grow up."
"Well said! Now, I understand why Mom left."
"You don't have any idea about her."
"I do!" Amanda scolded Uncle Steven. "She didn't leave me, or Will. She left you because you're a damn man! You never care about everything."
My feeling was true. Lots of anger appeared behind my seat. The tone and volume in Amanda's voice enhanced. Their fight started and could be unstoppable.
Uncle Steven faced this talk in calmness. "Of course, I care. If I don't, we won't live in the same house together."
Amanda disagreed, "It doesn't prove anything!"
"Then, what proves I don't care?"
"It's too much. I can't mention those all."
Jimmy and I could only listen to them. Nothing we needed to say in their talk. Finishing their conversation by themselves might be the most effective.
"So, what do you want me to do?" asked Uncle Steven.
"Do something useful," Amanda answered. "At least, don't get involved with polices."
"What will you give if I do that?"
"Nothing."
Uncle Steven chortled, "It's not a challenge, huh?"
"This's not a game. No challenge. No prize. Just do for a favor, for all of us."
"Okay then. You'll meet a new father soon."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's see later."
Amanda was wordless. She didn't reply to Uncle Steven. She looked baffled.
I didn't expect the talk would end like this. Uncle Steven's words were abstruse. It could be the trigger for discontinuing the conversation.
No more voice was in this car, except its engine. The environment turned into silence.
I leaned my back and head against the car seat, closed my eyes, and rested along the way home. It comforted my mind from all doings on this day. Snoring inside Jimmy's car looked discourteous, but I couldn't defy it when my exhaustion had penetrated the peak point. After all, Jimmy could understand it.