By: Alan Berger 

He didn’t want to go to the police but he did anyway.

“Hey, look who’s here”? The cop at the front desk said to the other cop at the front desk.

“Let’s let Irene take his statement”

They called on the inter-com for Officer Sanchez to come to the front desk, and when she got there they explained that they were helping homicide, and even thou this was her first week here, and still getting her panties wet, would she mind taking a statement?

“Not at all sir, thanks for the opportunity”, was her reply. All that was missing was a salute habit she had to break from her year in the Army except for police special occasions and this was not one of them. Not even close.

She was pretty and from a military family. She was the first one who left the service to become a cop. All the rest stayed in forever and then some. They laughed when they saw out of shape cops. Donut dopes they called them.

Army girl Sanchez was just as pretty as cop Sanchez, and she was nice.

The guy she was going to marry who was with her and met her in the Army died in a mid-east engagement and was never found.

It was that, that made her quit. She could not forget what she had to forget staying in there.

This was going to her first statement solo experience even thou being watched, and taped, and listened to, especially by those two at the front desk, it was exciting, and she was excited.

Their coffee tasted a lot better and their donuts sweeter, watching Officer Sanchez play policeman.

Officer Irene Sanchez found that there was something touching about her subject, but, she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch him, or him touch her, but oh of course she did. It has been a long season without any rain, Irene was thinking.

The subject told his side of his story.

That’s where the word history comes from you know?
“I’m a vet. I don’t get around much and a while ago I met a girl on the inter-net. It was like we knew each other all our lives and we talked and talked for days and days and nights and nights and we met and had coffee and she was as wonderful there as she was in my ear all those times on the phone and we made plans to see each other again and she never showed up and her phone sounds funny and she isn’t returning my calls or my E mails or anything and things just went too good to turn out this bad. I want to file a missing person report. She must be in danger”!

Officer Sanchez heard the boys laughing thru the door.

Is this your first missing person report? She asked.
No, it isn’t, unfortunately. He reported back.

I see said Irene.

Would you like to go for coffee some time? she said to him.

Are you going to show up? He asked.

We can go right now. She said.

Can we take your police car and put on the siren? He asked.

Officer Sanchez laughed.

He said, I’m glad you’re laughing because I was kidding. I may be nuts but I’m not crazy.

I know you’re not, she said to him as they walked out of the station after crossing the front desk.