The lights and sounds of the police vehicle disturbed the peace of Montgomery street. Usually, it was a quiet, peaceful environment which was only rowdy particularly during weekends or during holidays or family celebrations when kids and grandkids came around to spend time with their grandparents.
As you might have guessed, the inhabitants of this particular street were mostly old ladies and gents and their pets, caregivers, and helps. So the scene unfolding in the Mason's house was quite intriguing to the other residents who stood outside their lawns barefoot trying to guess what was going on.
A screech of tires turned their attention to a car racing down the lane and stopping at the Mason's house. Their son Jake alighted the vehicle, looking barely awake and disheveled. He ran up to his parent's house, tripping on the stairs and nearly falling over. Cursing under his breath, he walked into the living room to find his parents and a female officer sitting there. His father had an ice pack on his head.
“What happened Ma? Dad, are you okay?” Jake asked worriedly.
“We're fine, baby. Your father just had a nasty incident with the burglar” his mother replied casually as if commenting about the weather.
Jake stared at her dumbstruck, trying to figure out if she was joking, or he was having a silly dream.
“Hello, Mr. Mason, I'm Faye, a police officer. Your parents returned from dinner and came face to face with a burglar. I think your Dad tried to stop the person and was hit with something. The medics have examined him, and he'll live”.
Mason stared at the officer confused and in awe, she was gorgeous and if he wasn't so successful as an investment banker he would be seriously considering joining the force because of this beauty before him. He shook his head and remembered that his parents had almost been harmed.
“Yeah, call me Jake” he replied, clearing his throat. “Thanks for sitting with my parents and for asking them to call me”.
She smiled, and Jake nearly passed out because he'd stopped breathing.
“It's nothing, so my guys are trying to get fingerprints and fix the back door. Surprisingly, your mum confirmed that nothing was missing, but the burglar apparently had a large black sack. That was what was used to hit your father”.
Jake sat down and tried to think. The thief might not have taken anything from the house, but maybe he'd stolen elsewhere and filled up that black sack.
“Did any of the neighbors report anything missing or seeing anyone?” Jake asked.
“No, we've asked, and your parents couldn't identify whoever it was either”.
Faye excused herself and went to discuss with the other officers. Jake spoke with his parents who were still in shock, he hugged them lovingly and put a blanket over them, then headed to the kitchen to make them coffee.
He had just filled the machine with coffee beans when he figured out a solution. He ran back into the living room.
“Ma! Did you tell that lovely officer about the hidden CCTV cameras in the house?” he asked excitedly.
“No, Jake, I didn't. I thought you said you took those things down ages ago?” she snapped at him.
He had lied about removing the cameras because his mother had complained she felt uncomfortable and that their street was one of the safest in the city. But now it was finally going to help them catch a thief.
“Officer Faye! I think I have something you'll like” Jake said running towards the porch.
“Jake, why is your girlfriend stealing my dishes?” his mother asked in surprise.
“I can't believe my eyes!” his father exclaimed, then winced in pain and held his head.
“Those dishes have been in my family for generations, they're priceless. I ask again, why is she stealing them?!” his mother shouted.
Faye and the other officers looked on in amazement. At least the thief had been identified. Jake looked up then down, he bit his lips and wished the ground would open up and save him. The other officers asked him the address of his girlfriend.
“The truth is, she's not my girlfriend” he mumbled.
If the neighbors weren't awake before, he was pretty sure his mother's screams had woken them up now. His father decided he'd had enough excitement for one day and was led to bed by his wife, who promptly returned to get an explanation.
“Ma, I'm sorry, okay? It's just that you kept on pressuring me to meet my girlfriend. And I didn't want to hurt you because I know how sick you've been” Jake replied remorsefully.
“Pfft, I'm not sick. I lied so you could hasten up and get married. Talk to these officers, and get me my heirloom dishes back!” she decreed and went to the bedroom.
He stared in shock at his mum. Then slid down further into the chair. The thing was that he didn't know Sheila that well. All he knew was that she works as an art consultant, and they saw almost every day at his favorite coffee shop. Over the years, they had started talking while waiting for their orders. He didn't know her home or work address or any other thing about her.
He'd foolishly invited her into his parent's home just to please his mother, and now she had hurt his dad and made away with his mother's heirloom dishes. Jake told the police every information he could think of, and with the video from the CCTV where she'd removed her mask in the kitchen during the robbery they left promising to apprehend Sheila.
Two days later…
It was with joy that Jake drove from his office to his parent's house. Officer Faye, who had been on his mind since he set eyes on her, had called to give him the good news. Sheila had been apprehended and the dishes recovered. Faye was returning them to his parents and had wanted him present.
He didn't even care how she'd gotten his details, all he knew was that all was right in his world again. He drove up to find her standing outside with the sack. Jake relieved her of the burden, and they went into his parent's house.
“Dad, tell Ma her dishes are back!” he shouted from the bottom of the stairs. His mother came rushing down happily and thanked Faye profusely, pretending not to see Jake staring angrily at her.
“Well Mrs. Mason, you were right, your heirloom dishes are special and priceless. Sheila as an art consultant recognized these heirlooms and became greedy” Faye told them.
“I don't understand dear” Mrs. Mason replied, moving to a cushion.
“Well, these dishes of yours are actually made of real gold underneath all these designs. Furthermore, the jewels on the covers are not just decorations. They are real rare jewels that cost a lot of money” Faye said.
“Wow! I didn't know. No wonder she was so interested in them and kept asking me questions when we were doing the dishes during her visit” Mrs. Mason replied.
“Well, we found history books and pictures of it in her house. Your forefathers were part of a group who found some jewels during their time and considered this method to be a way to hide them in plain sight” Faye told them.
They all exclaimed in shock, and Mrs. Mason replied that a memo should have been passed through the generations warning the inheritors of their importance. She was still pondering about new places to hide them apart from building a safe in the kitchen when Faye stood up to leave.
“Thank you so much, Officer” the elder Mr. Mason said and shook hands with Faye. Jake offered to walk her to her car and as they headed out, he heard his dad whisper to his mum, “You need to apologize to our son, love. You lied to him”.
On the driveway, Jake and Faye were talking and smiling sheepishly.
“So…” Faye said, opening her car door.
“Do you think we can have dinner sometime? I really want to see you again” Jake blurted out.
“Um…of course, I would love that” she replied happily. Apparently, she hadn't been able to forget about Jake, either.
With a farewell peck and a wave, Jake, the happiest man in the world at that moment, forced himself to turn his smile into a frown. He stormed back into his parent's house to have a very long-overdue conversation with his unrepentant mother.