The barrel of the gun was menacing, especially with Judith’s fierce demeanor, intimidating everyone present.
The one-eyed beggar and his group stopped in their tracks, exchanging glances but not daring to move.
Darnell had no choice but to stand still. Who knew if Judith might take personal revenge and shoot him?
He turned around with a harmless smile. “Captain Meech, it’s great to see you again. I need to call the police.”
Hearing this, the one-eyed beggar’s group felt their blood boil. Call the police? This scoundrel had stolen money and still had the nerve to call the police?
The one-eyed beggar shouted in grievance, “Officer… Please help…”
Judith ignored the one-eyed beggar and just stared at Darnell with a cold smile. “It’s a small world. You’re really restless. What mischief are you up to this time?”
Darnell felt a chill in his heart and turned to shout at the one-eyed beggar’s group, “Seeing a police officer, aren’t you going to drop your weapons? Do you want to go to jail?”
The one-eyed beggar’s group flinched and quickly dropped their knives, sticks, and bricks. Pointing weapons at an armed police officer was suicidal.
As the knives and sticks clattered to the ground, the one-eyed beggar instinctively moved forward, trying to grab Darnell.
Darnell quickly stepped forward a few paces.
Seeing the scene still somewhat chaotic, Judith shouted, her face stern, “Everyone stand still. No one moves without my command.”
“Anyone who makes a suspicious move will be shot.”
They instantly quieted down. No one dared to move.
Judith still tightly gripped her gun, her pretty face cold. “One by one, explain everything clearly.”
She had other matters to attend to tonight and didn’t have much time for such a minor case. She wanted to resolve it on the spot, arrest the guilty, and let the innocent go.
The one-eyed beggar swallowed hard. He had a lot to say but didn’t know where to start. Moreover, he could see Judith’s domineering attitude and dared not speak rashly.
Judith’s gaze fixed on Darnell as she commanded, “You first!”
“Officer, tonight wasn’t any serious incident. It was actually a good deed.”
Darnell took out his phone from his chest pocket and played a video that restored the previous scene.
“Officer, look here. I was sitting on the stone bench by the flower bed waiting for a ride when my wallet fell out, leaving me penniless.”
“This one-eyed fellow saw my predicament and came over with a bowl, offering me money from it.”
The one-eyed beggar was anxious. “Who offered you money?”
“The video clearly shows you shaking the bowl at me. I ignored it at first, but you kept pushing it towards me.”
Darnell continued earnestly, “I felt troubled because I know it’s not easy for you either. You have disabilities in both hands and feet and can’t speak.”
“But you insisted, shaking that bowl at least four times. I had no choice but to ask if I could take two dollars. You refused and even got upset, insisting I take more.”
“I then said twenty dollars. You still insisted I take more.”
“I finally said two hundred dollars. Only then did you nod happily.”
The one-eyed beggar felt like having a heart attack.
His companions were also furious, wishing they could strangle Darnell for his nonsense.
Even the officers struggled to hold back their laughter. Even Judith bit her lip, trying not to show her emotions.
“Seeing your sincerity in doing good deeds, I reluctantly accepted two hundred dollars from you.”
Before the one-eyed beggar’s group could refute it, Darnell walked up to the one-eyed beggar.
“It’s strange. After I accepted his kind offer of two hundred dollars, his legs and hands healed, and he could speak again.”
“He was so happy that he wanted to give me more money and even got his friends involved.”
“I felt too embarrassed to accept it all, so I ran away. They chased me down, trying to give me money, which led to this situation.”
“They took up knives and sticks not to harm me but to force me to accept their money out of goodwill.”
Darnell sighed towards Judith, “Captain Meech, this isn’t a fight. It’s an act of kindness between a good Samaritan and beneficiaries.”
“Sir, isn’t that how it happened?”
Darnell patted the one-eyed beggar on the shoulder and added, “They took up knives and sticks just to force me to accept their money out of goodwill. They shouldn’t be punished for that.”
“They’re all kind-hearted people who respect the law and understand the consequences of wielding weapons. How would they do anything against the law?”
Judith’s gaze was sharp as she asked the one-eyed beggar’s group, “Tell me he’s lying!”
“It’s… true.” The one-eyed beggar was almost in tears. Should he admit he was pretending to be disabled while begging? Should he admit he chased Darnell with a knife? That would land him in jail for months. He had no choice but to go along with Darnell’s story if he wanted to walk away tonight.
“What this gentleman said is entirely true.” His heart bled as he added reluctantly. “We didn’t intend to harm anyone. We just wanted him to accept our money.”
After hesitating for a moment, the other beggars also chimed in, “Exactly We didn’t want a fight. We were acting out of goodwill.”
“Yes, we never intended harm.”
“We’re law-abiding citizens. Why would we attack anyone?”
Judith’s face turned cold. She hadn’t expected this outcome. She had hoped to use this opportunity against Darnell but now found that evidence and statements wouldn’t hold up in court.
“Since it was a misunderstanding, I won’t take you back to the station. But consider this a warning.”
“No more chasing people with weapons on the streets. If I see it again, you’ll all spend months in jail. Understood?”
The one-eyed beggar’s group replied weakly, “Understood. We won’t dare next time.”
Judith gave Darnell a hard look, as if saying he got lucky this time.
“Good.” As Judith turned towards her squad car with her team ready to leave, Darnell suddenly shouted and walked towards the group of beggars with open arms.
“Wait a minute. I’ve thought about it.”
“I want to complete your good deed.”
The one-eyed beggar trembled. “What do you mean?”
“Weren’t you chasing me down, trying to give me money?”
Darnell looked helpless. “Rather than letting you go through all that trouble, I’ll just accept it now.”
“You’ve chased me for three hundred meters. If I don’t accept your money now, I’d be letting down your efforts.”
“And if I don’t accept your money, these officers might think you were chasing me with knives, intending harm, a serious crime.”
“I don’t want you wrongfully imprisoned, so I’ll reluctantly accept your generosity.”
As he spoke under Judith’s watchful eyes, he emptied each beggar’s pockets of cash before moving on to another.
Each person had quite a bit of cash, some five or six hundred dollars, while others had up to two thousand, all quickly transferred into Darnell’s pockets along with any coins.
The dozen or so beggars watched helplessly as their money disappeared while feeling heartbroken.
Finally, standing before the one-eyed beggar again with his fingers beckoning, he urged, “Come on. Whatever amount, you hand over.”
The one-eyed beggar clutched his pocket, dejectedly saying, “I’ve got no more.”
“No worries. Don’t spare my feelings.”
Darnell pried open his fingers, extracting eighteen hundred dollars and stuffing them into his pants pocket, saying, “Next time when you want to do good deeds, call me.”
He took out the one-eyed beggar’s phone and entered David’s number into it.
The one-eyed beggar collapsed onto his knees, feeling his life hopeless.
Judith, witnessing this scene, felt sympathy towards these professional beggars for the first time ever.
After collecting all the cash, Darnell climbed into the patrol car, calling out, “Captain Meech, give me a lift.”
Judith’s eyes turned icy cold. “Get out of the car now!”