Page 34 of The Other Side

Tim sank lower in his chair.

Drum decided he’d made his point. He didn’t fancy Tim’s chances with his mother. She was a dragon. “Mr Breakwater isn’t pressing charges.”

Relief flashed across all of their faces.

“This is your lucky day,” Drum said.

“Yes.”

“But luck runs out.”

Tim nodded.

“Be careful.” Drum headed for the door. He was not leaving his number with Stan Motson or his wife.

“Officer?”

He turned.

Mr Motson looked genuinely uncomfortable. “Thank you for dealing with this sensibly.”

His wife harrumphed.

“Thank Mr Breakwater,” Drum said. “Sheep are tricky animals. They’re easily stressed. Frightening events can trigger fatal heart attacks. Sudden changes in diet, for example too much clover, can cause rapid bloat which presses on their heart and lungs.” Thank you, Google. “If the sheep had died, I’m not sure Mr Breakwater would have been so reasonable. I don’t want to hear your son’s name again.”

Drum left the house almost feeling sorry for Tim, and carried on down the street. A call came in on his radio and Drum pressed the PTT, press-to-talk, button.

“India-Sierra-four-six from Control. Radio check, over.”

“Control, India-Sierra-four-six. Loud and clear, receiving you five-by-five, over.”

“India-Sierra-four-six, control reading back. Respond to an incident at 24 Hopewell Road. It involves geese. You are State 5.”

“Control, India-Sierra-four-six. Acknowledged. En route. Out.”

Bloody geese? Drum turned and hurried back to his vehicle. It had been washed and the boys had done a good job. He knew five pounds wouldn’t go far but maybe they’d take him up on his idea.

When he reached Hopewell Road, he updated his radio to State 6, meaning he was at the scene. And the geese were still there. The address was a café and Canada geese had completely blocked the entrance. Unsurprisingly, no one was sitting at the outside tables. When Drum approached, they hissed at him and he backed off.

“Get rid of them,” a woman shouted from inside the café.

How the hell was he supposed to do that? Geese could be vicious. Drum moved closer and again and tried his ‘police’ voice. “Come on, guys. Move on.”

He was hoping they’d move en masse. They did but towards him with a lot of aggressive hissing and wing flapping. He was tempted to beat a tactical retreat but instead, he slipped between them and the café, except now he was trapped.

The door opened behind him and he found a loaf being pushed at him. “Try and lure them away.”

“Not bread. Do you have lettuce?”

Turned out they did.

Trying but failing to ignore the painful pecks at his legs, he moved through the middle of the gaggle and dropped pieces of lettuce as he went. When he glanced back, they were all following him.

“River Derwent is that way,” a man shouted from across the road and pointed in the direction Drum was moving.

By the time Drum reached the river, he’d almost run out of lettuce. But now the geese seemed more interested in the water and they peeled away. He watched them for a while until he was sure they were going to stay where they were, then threw the rest of the lettuce into the river and made his way back to the café. On the way, he updated Control that the incident was now closed.

The lady that had handed him the lettuce, opened the door and beckoned him in.