The steps climbed by the inspector seemed as high as mountains and the corridor that divided them from his front door seemed to last an eternity. It wasn't the first time he'd been in trouble, coming back home hanging like a salami from the inspector's hand. But it had never happened before that he would sneak out of the house at night, without any warnings. Ordinarily he would have been confident that the matter would be settled in a few words, with a short complaint from the inspector and a slight scolding from his mother. This time he wasn't at all sure how things were going to go and it made him nervous. Not to mention that the last time this happened, Jake had had a nasty argument with his mother that was never fully resolved. What if his mom decided to confiscate his skateboard? What if she would forbid Jake from seeing his friends?
Ted knocked on the way too familiar wooden door and waited in silence. Jake didn't dare to squirm or give the inspector any sassy remarks, waiting with bated breath for a reaction on the other side of the door.
No reaction. The inspector knocked on the door once again, with a little bit more vehemence. An indistinct sound came from the inside of the apartment and a faint glimmer of light appeared from under the threshold.
"Who's there? What do you want?"
A muffled, feminine voice harshly greeted them behind the wooden door. The inspector felt a little uneasy, considering that she sounded clearly alarmed. Last thing he wanted was to disturb a woman in the middle of the night. Before he could give an answer, the peephole became dark for a short moment.
"Inspector? What are you doing here?"
"Ma'am, I am terribly sorry to bother you so late at night, but I couldn't leave your son alone in the streets at this hour..."
Ted got interrupted by the young boy, who smiled and waved awkwardly at the closed door.
"Hi mom... I am sorry, I messed up."
The door immediately emitted a loud clicking sound before opening wide open to reveal a clearly confused lady on the threshold. Her light brown hair was tied in a messy and short ponytail, with small strands of scattered hair sticking out of her scalp. Dark, gentle eyes were frantically darting between the inspector and her son.
"Jake! Why aren't you in bed? What were you doing outside?"
Her gaze focused on the inspector and immediately her eyebrows arched in a desperate expression.
"Oh no... please don't tell me that he started to become a criminal! Did my baby do some serious crime? Is he hurt? What happened?"
A river of questions overwhelmed Ted, leaving him speechless for a couple of seconds. He shook his head and gently let Jake down and the boy immediately ran to hug his mother's legs. Suddenly, that difficult child seemed much more innocent and delicate, like a shy toddler hiding behind their parents.
"No, he didn't commit any serious crime. He is fine. He was vandalizing my yard, as usual. But... Miss Bressler, may I have a word with you? In private. It's important."
"Oh my! I am terribly sorry, inspector. I really don't know what's going on in my child's mind these days. He has always been an angel, he wouldn't have sneaked out of the house without a good reason. I swear. Are you sure that he is the one who vandalized your yard?"
Oh man. Again with these excuses. No wonder why that kid was the way he was, with this attitude! For the respect of that woman's confusion, he decided to let it slide. But it was incredible how that woman could always find excuses for her son's behavior!
"I understand, ma'am. That's why I would like to talk to you for a moment."
Connie sighed deeply and looked down at Jake, gently caressing the boy's head. "Jake, could you leave us a moment? We will talk later. Can you please wait for me in the living room? You can also take a cookie from the kitchen if you are hungry. Just a moment, sweetheart."
Jake glared briefly at the inspector, but decided to play it along. "Okay mom."
As soon as his mother closed the door, Jake ran into the kitchen to grab an empty glass and of course, a cookie too. He would never miss the opportunity to eat a little dessert. He sat down on the entrance's carpet with crossed legs and gently placed the glass on the door, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation. Sadly, he soon realized that the cookie had to wait since the crunching noise coming from his jaw completely covered any bit of the conversation he was trying to hear. Too bad, such a tasty chocolate cookie!
The inspector took a deep breath before starting to speak. He accurately chose the words to say in order to not sound rude, but at the same time he wanted to really open Connie's eyes on the situation. His dog sat down on the floor and slowly let his whole body lay down on the cold surface of the corridor with a low grunt.
"Miss Bressler, I think you understand that the situation is getting out of hand. I may agree with you that vandalizing an old yard isn't a big crime, for a child. But if he keeps doing this when he is older, he might get into serious troubles with the law. Vandalism is a crime."
"I am sure my Jake will not do that! He has a heart of gold, he just wants to draw some attention to himself! He has always been a well behaved kid before the divorce. I think he felt abandoned, not fully cared of... you know what I mean, right?"
"I understand, my intentions aren't to judge him as a person. But I think you understand that it's not safe for a child to roam around the city at night, without the supervision of an adult."
"Are you saying that I am a bad mother?!" Connie's voice was slowly becoming more and more high pitched. She blinked a couple of times, trying to hide away the tears that were starting to cloud her vision.
The inspector raised his hands and shook his head, as if he was trying to physically shoo away that concept. "Absolutely not, ma'am. I am not belittling your parenting skills. I know that it's difficult to raise a young boy alone. Trust me. I raised a rebellious son alone too. I know the struggle. Please believe me, my words have the sole purpose to guarantee your and your son's safety. It's my duty."
The woman's shoulders relaxed and her face visibly softened. "Really? You have a son too?"
The inspector nodded and softly smiled. "Yes. After my wife died, I had to raise a little rascal too. Spike loved music, he wanted to become a rock guitarist. I was against it, I wanted him to not drop out of school, to get a degree. He didn't listen to me. Now he has followed his dream, but he doesn't speak much with me anymore. As you can see, I have made my mistakes too." The smile slowly became more melancholic before completely fading from the man's face.
Connie mimicked the inspector's sad smile and nodded slowly. "I see. I am so sorry."
The inspector gently shrugged. "It's okay. The point is that, Miss Bressler, that this city is full of shady people. Especially at night. I don't think I have to explain that to you. I have spotted a suspicious looking man where I have caught Jake. I know it sounds absurd, but please if you see anywhere a well dressed man with a bunny mask on his face- a white mask with red eyes, contact me immediately."
Connie slowly opened her mouth and hid it behind her hand "Oh my god. A man with a bunny mask? Oh my god that's so creepy, what was a grown man doing close to my child, with a bunny mask... in the middle of the night? Was he a serial killer or something?"
The inspector shook his head "I don't know. I don't think he was interested in Jake, because he seemed focused on something else. But you never know, it's better to be safe than sorry, right? I will report him to the police. We will see if we can track him down and ask him some questions."
The woman looked down at the dog and nodded "Thank you, inspector. I will talk to Jake. Sorry for the bother. You are a good man."
"I am just doing my job, Miss Bressler." He gently pulled his dog's leash before nodding at Connie. "Goodnight, stay safe."
"Will do." The woman smiled softly. "Goodnight, inspector."
Jake immediately understood that it was time to go. He rushed to the living room and jumped on the couch, improvising a random sitting position to look as less suspicious as possible. He heard the door gently closing and the footsteps of his mother approaching.
"Jake? Darling, we have to talk."