The Forgotten Crime

Through the one-way glass the detective watched the old man. An officer walked into the room, his nose wrinkling in disgust at the sight of the old man.

'Sick old pervert.'

Sick? Yes. Old? Yes. Pervert? That was putting it lightly.

'What'll they do to him?'

'That's for the court to decide,' said the detective. 'Though I'm not sure it'll be the kind of sentence you're expecting.'

'Why's that?'

'He doesn't remember a thing about the crime. Or hardly does. Dementia will do that to you.'

'So?' said the officer. 'He still did it.'

'He did. And he deserves to be punished.' The detective sighed. 'But he won't know why. So are we punishing him for justice or are we punishing him for vengeance?'

Paddy Dobson

18th June 2023