“Young man, what are you doing here at this time of night?” Detective Mambo asked, puzzled.

He recognised Taku as a friend of the thief of the shop. He held a pile of papers in his hands, switching to his left hand because his right hand was getting a bit cramped.

Taku looked at the time, it was already past 3 a.m. It was no longer night, it was already morning. He saw the sky was getting bright.

“I have some information … I mean, I found the thieves who stole from Mr Dube,” he spoke, coughing twice.

“Mbatha, why didn’t you help this boy? Okay, follow me,” he said, looking at the Constable angrily, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

She frowned but Taku teased her with facial grins and followed Detective Mambo into a corridor. The Constable pointed him with her middle finger and a sly grin. They entered an office at the end of the building. The two policemen remained at the reception with Constable Mbatha to help her with paperwork, they left because of patrolling.

Detective Mambo put the papers on the desk and sat down. Taku sat facing him.

“Sir, you need to go to the place where they hid the stolen goods,” Taku said with a serious expression.

“Where is that place?” he asked breathing heavily.

“I will go with you…” Taku said standing up.

“Woah …young man, what makes you think we believe you?” he stopped him with his hand.

“If we go now we will find it there… Please let’s go,” he said grabbing his hand. “If I’m lying, then you can arrest me.”

Detective Mambo called two officers to accompany them. They drove to the abandoned house, but parked the van a few metres behind a tree in case the thieves came back. Taku gave them instructions and Detective Mambo saw it a great idea.

“You should have been a detective,” he exclaimed.

“My parents wouldn’t agree. They say you have too much work and it’s also dangerous,” he whispered.

“Yes, it’s tough being a policeman,” Detective whispered, rubbing his shoulder.

They were cautious. They waited to check for sounds but only heard the rustling from the trees. A chirping sound made them freeze, but Taku waited for a few seconds to check if it was an alarm. They found the stolen goods right where Taku had said they were.

“How did you know this?” Detective asked, examining everything in the room.

The two officers also observed the goods. They started to pick used cans and used cigarettes on the floor, placing them in see-through plastics.

“Don’t … We have to catch them first. If you pick up the evidence, they will disappear,” he whispered.

“I don’t know why you decided not to become a detective. We need someone like you in our team,” Detective Mambo praised him.

Voices echoed in the corridor. The police didn’t hear but Taku alerted Detective Mambo to listen to it.

“Drop it! Listen … Let’s hide.”

They both ran the other way. They heard footsteps entering the house and Detective Mambo held out his pistol and alerted the policemen to hold their guns and watch out. Taku stood behind Detective Mambo, frightened because he didn’t want to get harmed.

***

Tell us: Do you think they will catch the thieves?