It was late in the evening in the early spring and people were out walking together enjoying the long twilight . The colours of life had returned in some of the gardens and life was almost stood still for a brief moment .
Suddenly a young man came running along the road shouting.
"Does anybody know the truth ."
People who saw him crossed over the road . They looked at him as if he were mad . Again the young man shouted .
"Will someone answer me . What is the truth ?
A police van pulled up on the side of the road and at least a dozen armed police got out . A man who seemed to be in charge approached the young man and grabbed him . He instructed the passers by to move along and informed them not to worry everything was under control . As the crowd dispersed the police officer looked at the young man and said .
" You have been well paid for information . Now tell us where he is Dude. "
Dude replied ,
" I don't know if I am doing the right thing anymore . "
The police officer replied ,
"It's a little late for that don't you think . Where is he ? "
Dude pointed to an area near the Skate Park and said .
"He's over there in the park with the others ."
"Ok Dude then ,lets go . Point him out to us ."
Dude led the way as the squad of police walked close behind .
They crossed over the road and made there was into the skate park . A group of street kids ran off . The police were not interested in any of them . They came to a hole in a fence and entered the domain of a large public park . They marched down path way until they came to a tall tree . A man was sitting there alone by the tree . Near the tree was a band stand . Inside the band stand there were about a dozen men . They seemed to be asleep there on the benches and on the ground . Dude took the police over the tall tree and pointed to the man sitting there alone .
The man stood up and looked Dude in the eyes and said ,
"Is everything all right Dude ? I was wondering where you went ."
Dude looked away and said to the police officer ,
"That's him . He's the ringleader ."
At once he was handcuffed . The scuffle awoke the men from the bandstand who ran over and rushed at the police . A fight developed and some of the police were injured . Dude ran away into the shadows .
The ringleader of the gang called for an end to the violence .
"That's enough . All of you stop ".
There was an authority about the way he spoke . It had an immediate impact and when the confusion and chaos ended the leader of the gang helped one of the police men to his feet . The police man was bleeding from the side of his head . As soon as the ringleader placed his hand over the wound it stopped bleeding . The police man was astounded and said .
"Who are you ?"
"I am who I am . Those who know me have heard the truth . Those who have heard the truth know me . "
The ringleader replied .
The police man smiled and answered him back ,
"Are you a true man ?"
"I am ."
The police officer in charge approached and said ,
"Can you show me some ID ."
"No .
Came the answer .
The officer then said ,
"Have you a drivers license or a credit card ?
"No.
"Surely you must have something with your identification on it ."
The police officer said ,
The ringleader replied ,
"What is it that identifies you with anything . Is it a name or where you come from ? Is it what you believe in ?
The police officer punched and kicked him to the ground and said .
"Listen Truman you're a criminal not a politician . Don't lecture me on ethics .
"You say I am a criminal because you don't know the truth . I know what is in your heart and it is you who have broken the law many times before today . "
The police officer took out his baton and began to bash him around the head and body . Again the ringleader of the gang fell to the ground . He got up again with a smile on his face and said .
"Violence is what is in your heart . Those who live by it shall die by it . "
The police office seemed frightened and shouted back ,
'You have the right to remain silent if you wish . You have the right to an attorney . You are under arrest for organizing revolt against the state , trespassing on private property , destroying a taxation office , recruiting an army to stage a coup and we have an eye witnesses who saw you smash up tables in a local church . We don't like trouble makers in this town and we are going to teach you a lesson Mr Truman . "
"The lessons that you are speaking of only teach violence and destruction but the lesson's I speak of teach about love and understanding ."
The police officer seemed lost for words . He turned to his men and said ,
"Take him away and lock him up in the cell at the station until his court hearing . Arrest any of his gang that are not out of here in ten seconds ."
At this everyone of the gang ran away .
It was a long dark night back at the police station . As fate would have it there were a few crooked cops on duty at the station . The prisoner who they called Mr Truman had been handcuffed to his bed and beaten up . After that he was dragged into town in the middle of the night and humiliated in front of all those who were gathered there . They took photos of his naked body and placed cardboard signs around his neck . They continued to bash and whip him like a beast of burden him they made him carry people on his back through the town until he fell unconscious to the ground . Before the long night had passed the crooked cops brought him back to the station . Before the dawn the prisoner had died . Trying to cover up their crime they put the body in a bag and buried it . Then they invented a story about how the prisoner had escaped during the night . Everyone seemed to believe their story except for a certain police man who had been miraculously healed in the park by the touch of a hand .
He questioned the police report and began an inquiry .
With the help of forensics and some eye witness reports a lot of new facts were discovered . The police who had been on duty on the night in question were interrogated extensively .
In the end they had a result .
One of the crooked cops cracked and confessed to the murder .
He took them to where the body bag was buried .
The crime scene was sealed off and the police began to dig up the bag .
When they brought the bag up to the surface they were astonished to find the bag was empty . All that was left inside the bag was a note that said ,
You Can Never Bury The Truth .
A body was never found and the case still remains a mystery today.
The End (Or just The Begining)
By Paul McCann
