Runners Beware!

“Take a good look at him fellas. What started out as fun and games ends up almost on the front page of the paper.” Said Sergeant Williams as he flips through the picture slide show of a blurred mystery jogger at night. The other officers in the room are taking notes while some study the picture up on the screen. Sergeant Williams continues,

               “As you can see, several complaints have been made in the past few weeks of our new found friend, but no one has ever been able to track who this guy is. We were able to get a witness report from an older lady who was driving her truck on county highway 138. She said that she rolled down her window and was yelling at him for being reckless and all he shouted back was ‘No thanks, I don’t need a ride’. He finishes with a grim tone. As the lights come back on with the projector shutting down, he goes for his mug.

               “Look, he’s dangerous to others as well as to himself. All of you are to keep an eye for this guy in your patrols, but I’m placing Miller and Hernandez on special surveillance for that county road. Your dismissed.”

Chairs moan and creak as the early morning brief concludes. Some crowd around the doorways with spurts of loud laughter while others move past. “Eh, did you watch that game last night?” Hernandez asks while smiling.

               “Shutup, yeah he practically pitched him the ball for crying out loud.” Miller says annoyed.

               “Eh man, those are my Seahawks for ya.”

               “Tell ya what, breakfast is on me. How bout that?” Miller says with a grimace.

They head down to the garage guard shack to dispatch a squad car. Hernandez conducts radio checks while filling out the daily checklist. After breakfast, they drive up to a nearby street overlooking highway 138. A couple of street lamps dot out the highway.

               “What time do you have?”

               “3:44,”

               “This guys an early bird.”

               “Yeah, no kidding.”

Hernandez looks through his phone, checking his emails while Miller dims down the computer screen. The radio buzzes with static from other reports.

               “Did you ever hear about that one car chase over in Garden City where the trooper was on him, and he was chasing him for a while, but then went off the road through a fence and kept going? Miller asks while shifting in his seat to get more comfortable.     

“What do you mean, the car went through the fence, didn’t the trooper go after him?”

“No man, the fence was untouched, the car went THROUGH the fence as if he was a ghost or something. The trooper stopped at the fence.”

“What? No way.”

“I kid you not my friend. He had it all on his dash cam.”

“I don’t mess with that stuff, man. No sir.” Hernandez says dreadfully.

Miller sits up as movement is spotted in and out of the street lighting along the highway. Hernandez calls it in as Miller starts up the car and proceeds to follow the distant jogger. “This could be our guy.” They drive up and stalk the runner. Hernandez gives out the description of what he is wearing. Miller turns on his lights and uses the spotlight on him outside his driver side window. “Here we go,” Miller and Hernandez leave the car while Hernandez stays back near the passenger door.

               “Excuse me, hi. How are you this morning? Just keep your hands where I can see them. Can I see some I.D.?” The jogger quietly cooperates opening up his backpack and retrieves his wallet. He hands him his driver’s license and then resumes having his hands seen at waist level. A few cows start to move up to the barbed fence beside the highway.

               “Look, we’ve been getting complaints that you have been jogging alongside this road and…” Miller is distracted by more cows joining by the fence.

               “…and you are dangerous to the…”

All of the cows start to moo – almost angrily. Some now start to push against the fence. Hernandez looks over to Miller.

               “Hey! He’s getting away!” The jogger continues on the highway disappearing into the darkness as the cows start to walk over the fence. Flashes of red and blue strobe over the moving cattle as the policemen hurry back into their car. Miller slams the brakes now blocked by the cows breaching through the fence and flood the road up ahead.

               “Beautiful, just beautiful” Hernandez says under his breath as they watch them crowding near their hood. Miller goes into the computer and types in the licensing information. “So, who is this guy?’ Hernandez asks. Miller sits back and almost turns pale. “What?” The computer screen indicates that the jogger entered in has a deceased date dated five years back.