IMAGINATION'S PLACE
FICTION

FRUSTRATING CALL
By; Gerald A. Polley

All rights reserved.

    The police chief of Harborside sat staring at his phone.  He knew he had to make this phone call.  But he also knew it wasn't going to do a damn bit of good.  Being the police chief of a satellite community of a city like Riverview had its problems.  But the ones that he was having lately he wished he could get rid of.  Finally he picked up the phone and dialed it.  The voice of a pleasant sounding man answered.
    "Hi, Bill!" the police chief began, "Got a couple minutes?"
   The man on the other end of the phone cleared his throat and remarked. "Sorry, nobody named Bill here."
    The chief moaned and shook his head. "Sorry," he answered, "William.  I keep forgetting you people don't use nicknames. Look, I've really gotta talk to you.  Dr. Hutchinson has called three times in the last two days.  He says you have to stop interfering with his patients, disturbing their private lives."
    "If you mean the fact that Father Murphy," William answered, "has been warning families that the individual trying to get friendly with them has a very bad habit of doing nasty things to children, we will continue to warn people of this fact.  You can tell the good doctor, and I say that sarcastically, that the neanderthal with sexual ideas from back in the dark ages does not want him calling him any more!  I have no interest in his kind of counseling and if he does not desist I will file harrassment charges."
    The chief sighed again. "I'll tell him!" he moaned.  "Again I've got to ask you to ease up on the Hope boy.  His mother's terrified, now that your boss is getting into the fray."
     William laughed.  "I wasn't the one that killed my neighbor's cat," he answered "and hung it on my door with a note that said 'You're next.'  I didn't sick his two football buddies on me, I didn't throw a Molotov cocktail at my car and nearly burn up the boss' car.  It's a simple matter. Tell the bitch to get her animal under control.  I don't care how influential she is, I don't care how rich she is. Get her animal under control.   I can do absolutely nothing about my boss. He's his own man.  Even though he isn't active with his family they don't take kindly to people  throwing Molotov cocktails.  Anything else?"
    The police chief sighed again. "The district attorney," he began, "would greatly appreciate it if  you and  your friends not interfere in ongoing cases."
   "Well," William answered "you can tell that fat, ignorant ass that as long as he's making false accusations against family members of people that he's trying to get to cooperate, we will continue to expose it and defend those people.   When somebody is accused of a crime that occurred when he was with us so it was obvious he didn't do it, we will defend him, or, her!  We won't take part in false accusations for political gain!"
    "He means well," the chief muttered.
    "I don't give a damn!" William snapped.  "Anything else?"
    Again the chief sighed. "We made it clear to that bill collector that you weren't responsible for the debt he bought and he was not to harass you again."
    "Thanks!" William snapped, "Appreciate that!  I've got things to do if there's nothing else."
    "No," the chief answered, "no."  He hung up, waited a moment, then dialed another number.  An irritated woman's voice answered.  "Mrs. Hill? This is the chief of police," the chief began.  "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do to protect Bobby any more.  The people he's going up against are just too influential."
    "An ex con," the woman screamed "is influential?"
     "That ex con," the chief answered, "has very powerful and very nasty friends. Your son has gone too far!  You have to get him in control before we have to!  If there's another incident there will be nothing we can do but arrest him. I'm warning you!  I'd like to help, but the people he's messing with won't cooperate.  So take my advice, get him under control.  That's all I can do. Don't bother me any more!"  The chief hung up.  He sat there for a couple of moments thinking he should call the district attorney when the phone rang.  He picked it up and snapped "Yes?"
    "Chief!" came the secretary's voice, "There's a woman on the phone that says she believes a man the priest warned her about has sodomized her son!"
    "Oh, crap!" the chief moaned.  "Get her name and address.  Send an officer over to get the complaint."
    He hung up the phone and stared out the window. "Please?" he moaned, "Let the rumor be true? Please move across the river!   Please?"  He turned back around and went back to work.  There was a lot of it.  

THE END

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