The Conundrum
by Shelley Janze
Her evening shift finally over, Beth entered the 24-hour diner where she relaxed into the relative comfort of her usual booth.
Thank god for a quiet night, she thought. She was still processing the events of last week, and needed things to return to normal.
Melanie, the diner’s matron, saw her, and promptly bristled over with a pot of coffee and the local paper. She couldn’t wait for Beth to see this.
“Congratulations, Beth, you’re a hero. Maybe now the Chief will give you that promotion you’ve been yearning for. He can’t ignore this.”
Beth glanced at the headline and winced as she put her hand over the picture. “Of all the pictures to choose from, they print this one?”
She was standing beside a tree, holding a kitten, 10 years ago. The headline read, “Local Hero Constable Beth Wilson Thwarts Jewel Thieves.” She just wanted the whole thing to die a proper death.
“Come on, Beth. Don’t be so humble. You did the right thing.”
Beth put her hands around the coffee mug, bowed her head and stared into the abyss of the caffeine. “If only doing the right thing didn’t come with so many repercussions. Look, Melanie, can you keep a secret? I need to get something off my chest.”
Melanie sat down across from Beth. “Of course you can, sweetie. You know you can tell me anything.”
Beth took a long sip of coffee and started to recount the events leading up to the arrest of her former lover.
“Jerry had been acting strange ever since his ex-con brother showed up wanting to “reconnect.” Late night calls, missed dates, never leaving his cell phone alone. My suspicions were aroused, but I stuffed them away in the corner. I was giving Jerry one last chance at making our relationship work, so I didn’t listen to my intuition. Our precinct was alerted to the other jewelry heists and we stepped up our patrols at Linka Jewels here. I even went in and warned Mr. Hintz to report anything suspicious. He reminded me that my father came in every anniversary to buy my mom some sparkle.”
Beth laughed at the memory and, racked with guilt, continued. “Melanie, I woke up one night. Jerry wasn’t in bed. I went downstairs and saw the light on in the garage through the window. He was switching the license plate. It was then I knew he and his brother were behind the heists. But, I didn’t tell anyone. I knew they were going to hit Linka’s, so I just made sure I was in the right place at the right time. I’m no hero.”
Melanie let out a big sigh. “Aw, hun, quit beating yourself up. Life is all optics. In the end, you did the right thing.” She patted Beth on the hands, and got up to serve other customers.
Sitting there, Beth removed her badge, held it.
Does the end justify the means? Hero or coward?
Flip a coin.