We do more police work than the police

Having been spent for weeks because of major activities, I lay wasted on my bed in Batuan waiting for a much needed sleep to come. The Sandugo trade expo and our batch reunion a week before the Sandugo had me literally dying for sleep.

But just as I was about to enter the REM stage, my sister suddenly turned all the lights on and asked me to come out. Everyone was shouting.

It turned out, my sister in-law saw someone other than his husband inside their home, a burglar perhaps, somebody unwelcome courtesy of her alcoholic husband who also happened to be my brother. My drunk brother went out of the house without bothering to close the doors and some alien saw the opportunity. In a small town like Batuan, it is not rare if everyone knows someone is selling her fat pigs. Fat pigs mean fat cash. My sis in-law sold three.

Equipped with flashlights, Tatay and I went around the vicinity and searched for the intruder. We scanned the backyard, noticed the bags taken outside and did not touch them for fear of tampering evidence. We even scan the neighboring houses to see some unusual activities going around. Our neighbors saw someone running like hell. We know it was the intruder. Although we know that he has been long gone, we wanted everyone to feel secure.

We interrogated our sis in-law when we came back. From the time she heard the doors in the rooms being opened and closed to the time she saw the man about to enter the master bedroom. She told us she could not remember the face but she was sure the man wore a camouflaged shorts and a sleeveless shirt. In the backyard a red slipper we believed was owned by the intruder was placed along with the bags and the make-up kit that looked like a secure cash vault he rummaged around before fleeing. I took pictures.

The police arrived, an interesting event since it was already past one in the morning. Knowing Batuan is just a small town, police presence in the wee hours is very rare. My sis in-law told us she texted the police. Wow.

But the “wow” moment faded right when they went inside the house. They just asked a question or two, looked outside and said they will resolve the matter during office hours. That was all.

I was expecting a more CSI approached. But they did not even bother searched the place. They looked at the bags like they were useless evidence of the intrusion. No poking, no searching for clues. It was Tatay who pointed the flashlights on the scattered things because they did not bring any. They did not ask if my sis has a clue on the identity of the intruder. They did not ask details. It was my sis in-law who was guilty of babbling some unsolicited review of the events that happened. They neither said a yes or no or whatever. I wondered if they listened at all. The police was gone in less than two minutes.

The police did not make us secure. One of them was wearing a pair of camouflage shorts and a sleeveless shirt.