The GreyHatter (Completed)

Chapter 16

The police station was extremely crowded. The sound of calls bounced over from one person to the next. The ruffle of papers and the smell of stale coffee reminds me of my father's tedious afternoon at Computer Tech.

A group of police officers were swarming around me, like bees hovering over a flower. As I walked up to the front desk. The same policeman with a coffee stain on his red  polka-dot tie.

"You again," he said grimly, not looking up from his computer. "Are you visiting your grandfather?" I was about to tell this grouch everything I did wrong, but I didn't.  Instead, I cleared my throat and asked him to release my father.

"Isn't he your grandfather?" When I did not answer him, the policeman sighed. "Sorry kid," the policeman laughed bitterly. "I'm afraid I can't do that." I took a deep breath then laid a photo on his desk. He looked at the photo then swallowed a big gulp.

It was a photo of him, beating up a shopkeeper. "Where did you get this?" he demanded.  "I was able to hack into the security cameras and print it." I explained coldly.

The policeman crumbled the photo then tossed it into the trash can. "Don't worry," I reassured. "I have unlimited copies of your "sacred duty"." "What's do you want from me?" he whispered.

"Release my father," I threatened. "Or, I will post it on the internet where everybody, including your family can see." "Sure," the policeman nodded. I pull out the wad of cash then slammed it on the counter.

He took the cash then led me to the "Prison Room" where my father was kept. "Sir," the policeman said shoving the key into the lock then twisted it. "You are free to go." My father  looked at him as if he was crazy.

"I'm free?" he repeated. "Your "grandson" insisted on your release."the policeman  explained. Ignoring his taunt, I pulled my father up to his feet then led him out of the police station. As soon as we got out, my father asked me how I got him out. "I paid your bail," I replied, not filling him in the details.

"Wyatt," my father began. "Why did you bail me out of jail?" I didn't look at him in the eye, but I did tell him that he and Mom need to get out of Chicago. "Wyatt," he repeated. "What did you do?" I reluctantly looked at him then told the truth.

When I was finished, my father buried his face with his hands. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" he whispered urgently. "What was I supposed to say?" I whispered back. " 'Hey Dad, nice to meet you, I am going to prove that Clarence is a phony?'"

My dad took a deep breath then let out a huge sigh. He finally asked, "Does your Mom know about this?" "No," I admitted. "I gave her a package and a letter to let her know that I'm fine." "What was in the package?" my dad asked.

"It was the five grand I stole from Clarence's safety deposit box," I explained. "Mom was struggling to pay the bills, so I tried to transfer Clarence's account-" "Why did you steal his money?" my father interrupted. "Clarence stole nearly ten thousand dollars from Mom's account." I answered.

My father looked at me with disbelief. It is going to take a miracle to explain the whole thing to him without him lecturing me.