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The second week in December had arrived already and now the streets were filled with the sound of Christmas bells. But there was one wrong thing. In the early morning, there was a shock as the Nativity Scene that was in the town’s park went missing. The Nativity Scene included the baby Jesus, angels, the three wise men, the shepherds, and the farm animals of cows, goats, sheep, and chicken. This was quite disturbing that even the mayor came on the scene. Mayor Dixon along with the town’s police officers was on the spot seeking evidence and clues. The people who visited the park like the police wanted to know why anyone would consider stealing the Nativity Scene from the park. How on earth did they get the time to steal it? The park was always lit up with Christmas lights and other lights from the streets. Jimmy on his way early to work saw that the Nativity Scene was missing and that the police and other personnel including the Mayor were there on the spot. Jimmy knew that this mystery of the Nativity wasn’t just a mere occurrence to his imagination. He knew that someone wanted the Nativity Scene for something or someone. He decided within his mind that he should help the police as he often admired such grand design. He saw that the designer of the scene was there in bewilderment. Certainly, the designer could make another, but the mystery of the stolen one would still be right there. Jimmy knew what had to be done and he went off to work. He knew that word would be on the streets about some possibilities of the missing Nativity Scene even if they were just speculations. However, he knew that not every word on the street was speculation, but some were true words which people added and took away from. He knew where to gather evidence. There he was as a detective in the police force for years. At least, he had to transform his mind like a detective. Jimmy though was just following his feelings to what he believed. He had a day off from work the next day and that came in handy for him. He was glad that he and Jessica got a Christmas tree on the Friday of the previous week. Destiny was still on his side, though. All these things played out in his mind like before. He decided that he would take his time and gather evidence from the park on his day off. Wherever the evidence was he would follow. Jimmy didn’t know where it may have the lead, but he knew the people of his town were quite upset the police didn’t have any leads as yet. That Monday evening he stopped and got a notepad and a new pen to document everything he would have found from the crime scene. He didn’t truly move off the evidence the first day from work, but only faith. When he reached home he told his family about the Nativity Scene, but he didn’t tell them of his plan to play detective the next day. He knew Kathrine wouldn’t have liked the idea of him playing such a role when real policemen and women were in the streets. Some things he thought were left better unsaid until facts could be discovered like hidden gold in the earth. The gold he thought wasn’t always seen from the top, but to get it, one would have to dig the earth, but the mystery of this crime was more than gold or even silver to him. After he ate supper, he brushed his teeth and went straight to bed because he was determined in his heart. It wasn’t like him to just eat and then go off to bed, but he was the type to usually read the daily paper or watch television, however, he already knew what was in the paper and on the television. After all, the town was not that huge, so somebody knew something. He finally fell asleep after just reflecting a bit, not more than three to five minutes. Morning came and he woke up quite early, however, he ate breakfast as usual and told his wife and child that he had to run some errands. His wife had to go to work, but luckily Jessica was to go with her for the day. Kathrine thought it was in the best interest of her daughter to see that there were people worse than they were in life. Jessica packed a bag her mom had bought for her with a lot of stuff. Kathrine told her not to pack so much stuff since they were not going to move into the shelter. Things were starting to turn around for the better though since both Jimmy and his wife got a job. Jimmy was clad in a jeans pants and a regular long-sleeved shirt and a thick jacket on. He also had on a baseball hat for the morning was very cold. The notepad and the new pen was also in his pocket. This time he drove due to how cold it was and where the evidence may have led him. The car hadn’t let him down for weeks now and he was happy.
Jimmy walked out of the house with confidence and down to the street to where the park was. When he arrived at the park everything looked in order, and some men were on the street lying in the park wearing thick jackets. These people were homeless, broke, and must have been lingering on sorrow. Jimmy sat on a bench at the park and observed the scene. A homeless man then said to him, “Sir, can you spare a few coins?”
Jimmy looked at him and replied, “Do you know anything about the missing Nativity scene?”
“No, not really. I just stay in the park for some nights. Otherwise, I’m usually at the shelter on North Street.” replied the homeless man.
Jimmy then took out a few coins and gave it to him. Then, the homeless man said to him, “You know, I’m not surprised the Nativity Scene went missing, I overheard some men talking about it the other night.”
Jimmy looked at him and said, “What did you hear the men say about the Nativity Scene?”
“Nothing much. Just how valuable it was or something like that.” replied the man as he looked on the coins Jimmy gave to him.
“Okay, thanks. But do you have any idea where these men you are talking about are hanging out?” said Jimmy.
“All I know is that there were just two of them. A tall guy and a short one. They had on thick coats and they were drinking some vodka and whiskey. Probably, you may find them at a bar.” replied the homeless man.
Jimmy thanked the man for the information he received. He got up off the bench and walked towards the place where the Nativity Scene was kept. The police line was there, although it wasn’t a murder investigation, they seemed to treat it like that was the case. Jimmy looked around since he couldn’t cross the line due to the yellow tape of the police all around. But he observed that a cigarette was covered in the snowy ground. It wasn’t that much snow on the ground, however, it was evidence. ‘Could this cigarette have belonged to the men the homeless man was talking about?’ He wondered as he observed the scene again. Luckily, the park wasn’t that busy that particular day. There was one other clue that he saw. At least it seemed to be a clue. He saw that a bush nearby had a cord of a blue ribbon. These things that Jimmy discovered were not concrete, however, it was a start to the investigative process. Jimmy journeyed to the bar a few chains away. The bar wasn’t that crowded since it was now in the afternoon. He observed that there was a mixture of street folks and rich folks. The town wasn’t all that poor, however, they didn’t mix too much unless it was in the bar and club. Jimmy looked around and he sat pretending to be a regular customer. He didn’t feel like drinking anything because getting drunk and behaving boisterously wasn’t his mission. As he looked, he saw on bar stools a short man and another tall man drinking away. He saw that the tread he had in his possession seemed to be the exact color and texture from that of the short man. He looked at them with a determined face as if to say, ‘I’m going to find the truth.’ Jimmy didn’t know who these two men were or what they did for a living. The men were just drinking away and laughing loudly to be heard. The town bars were known to behave in such manner, however, Jimmy knew that he had to get a word or two from these two men. Then, an idea came to him. Jimmy went over to where the two men were and bought a glass of whiskey. Then, he offered the two men a shot the finest whiskey. The two men accepted the offer. After all, the scent of heavy liquor was on their breath. Jimmy started a conversation with them about just loving to come to this bar and having a drink. The shorter man replied as he sounded delusional, “We aren’t from here. But far out of town.”
The taller man then said in an angry tone, “Shut up Gary, you talk too much.”
“I was just telling the kind stranger that we aren’t from around here, but from out of town.” answered the shorter man as he continued to drink whiskey.
Jimmy stayed in the bar for a while longer observing the men without them knowing about it. He watched as they got up feverishly drunk and headed towards the front door of the bar. It was now in the evening and it was quite chilly and windy. This trip to the bar had paid off for the most part. He learned that the short man’s name was Gary and he loved to talk. Both men were from out of town. So they were strangers to this town and its people. There was an old car parked outside on the other side of the street. The two men went into the car half drunk. Jimmy got in his car and trailed the men. It was now just six-thirty p.m. and the sun was down. The car that the men were in drove fifteen minutes the most out of town where a church was located. Jimmy knew that he had seen the church before when he usually trod that street. The church wasn’t that old in structure. In truth, it looked to be just under a decade old. The men got out of the car and headed towards the back of the church. Jimmy parked his car a little distance from where the men’s car was. The church seemed to be in some sort of session. The lights were on and singing could be heard from the outside. Jimmy wondered why they were singing so loudly. There was only one way to find out and he went into the church. When he walked inside there were a lot of people inside. However, the people looked quite poor and they all had ragged clothes. There were children as well from ages five and up. The people seemed to be quite happy as they sang the Christmas carol, ‘Joy to the World.’ Jimmy stood at the back of the church and when the people sat down he sat down. Moreover, to his surprise, he saw that the Nativity Scene from his town was right at the front. ‘What the hell?’ he thought as he couldn’t understand. Anyway, the church was in session and he didn’t know these people. He listened as the priest said to the congregation, “Brothers and sisters, we must thank the Lord for sending us these two men Gary and Chuck to bless us with this lovely nativity scene.” The two men then stood up so that the congregation could see them. Jimmy knew that these men were the suspects who stole the nativity scene from his town. The two men looked not that crooked now as they were in church. The people seemed happy as well to have seen the great nativity scene. Some looking on as if they had seen a nativity for the first time in their lives. ‘Could these men be honest?’ wondered Jimmy. The priest then continued, “The Christmas season is one that reminds us of the spirit of giving just as how our brother Gary and Chuck have done for us this Christmas.” The two men stood up once again as the people cheered. ‘There must be more to this case, but what is it?’ Jimmy thought. He looked at the structure of the church once again and he realized that maybe just maybe the Nativity Scene was what brighten the place. But he couldn’t just assume or jump to conclusions because for one the Nativity Scene was stolen and here it was. It couldn’t be a different Nativity Scene because it was the same height, structure, design, and color. Jimmy observed closely again and this time the priest invited the children’s choir to sing. A group of twelve children went up and sang as the church cheered. The church ended shortly after with the Lord’s Prayer. Jimmy’s work wasn’t finished he wanted to know why the two men were credited with the Nativity Scene. After the service, people greeted each other with a hug and shook hands. Most people even had a smile on their faces. The two men known as Gary and Chuck were fully sober now and they even shook hands with each other. Jimmy walked up together and shook hands with them. The men were shocked because they seemed to have remembered him from earlier in the bar on the opposite end of town. The men staggered a bit and said, “Sir, we didn’t expect to see you here.”
Jimmy wondered a bit if the church was a private service or a public one. Jimmy replied to them, “I’m here, and I witnessed a lovely service, however, something didn’t add up.”
“What do you mean?” replied the shorter man as he looked at Jimmy in shock.
“This Nativity Scene is from my town. It has the same design, structure, color, and height. It was in the park on the other side of town. The town bar is just a few blocks from it.”
“Oh, please forgive us, Sir. We stole the Nativity Scene from your town.” replied the taller man who is known as Chuck.
“What do you mean? And, why did you steal the Nativity Scene?” asked Jimmy as he looked shocked as for why anyone would have stolen it.
The men replied, “We didn’t want to steal the Nativity Scene, however, one evening of last week we drove on this street and our car developed mechanical problems because it’s quite old and the road was very slippery. We were fortunate to have seen this church and we went inside where some brothers helped us to get the car up and running. While we were in the church we thought of how to help the church members who had helped us. The priest then said the church would look better with a nativity scene, but since they were low on a budget they couldn’t afford it. So I and my brother Gary here said, what the hell, isn’t there a nativity scene we passed in another town decorated and all just lying around? We decided to put it in this church.”
Jimmy was happy that he was gradually getting to solve the mystery of the missing Nativity Scene. The men continued, “We overheard some of the church members talking that they would do well with a nativity scene too, so we said, ‘Sure, we can get you one. After all, we are in the business of making them.’ We said this because we just wanted to show our appreciation, however, the people seemed quite poor and the kids too. So we got the idea of stealing the Nativity Scene in the town opposite to this one.”
“How did you manage to get it over to this town?” asked Jimmy as he understood what had now transpired.
“It was easy for us because we stayed in the park for the half night and we took up the structure and tied it to our car and then drove away. It was raining, so no one saw us.” answered the short man.
Jimmy knew that it was wrong, but he understood by the look of things and how it turned up. ‘How do I now resolve this issue?’ thought Jimmy. The men then said, “Sir, please don’t let us go to prison.” Jimmy knew that the right thing had to be done. The men would have to confess before everyone including the church congregation. He told the men the only thing reasonable to do was to come with him to the mayor’s office where they could explain what they did. The men agreed and they drove to Hopeville. They reached there in a relatively short time and they asked to see the mayor at his house. Now the mayor wasn’t that bad. He listened to the men and he had the thought that if the men confessed what they did to the church congregation they could keep the Nativity Scene. The men agreed and the first thing Sunday at the church they confessed that they had stolen the Nativity Scene. The people were shocked, but they forgave them for the act. The mayor also decided to write an article in the newspaper about the true meaning of Christmas. That Monday the newspaper was released, and it sold out because everyone wanted to hear the mayor of their town and how the Nativity Scene case was solved. The mayor also thanked Jimmy for finding the mystery of the missing Nativity Scene something the cops in his town couldn’t have figured out. Chuck and Gary the men who confessed to the theft of the Nativity Scene didn’t go to prison rather they swore not to steal again even if it were for a good cause. The town’s mayor hired the designer of the previous Nativity Scene to work on another which took him no time. This one was huger than the previous and it looked great. The citizens of the town were happy that the mystery of the Nativity was solved by Jimmy, and that the mayor in his judgment didn’t convict Gary and Chuck. Little by little a light of hope was returning to Hopeville. Jimmy’s family was very proud of him. Even if the people didn’t realize it as yet, guiding lights were following them. Christmas day would be a week and a half away and the residents of the town were eagerly excited by playing music and helping each other. It wasn’t a secret that the mayor was putting on a Christmas treat for the citizens for the first time since his reign. The people liked this new road that he had trod of helping them and the town. The town was no more just a murky looking depressing place, but jobs were created and people wanted to do good things. It seemed that Jimmy’s New Year’s resolution was coming into play, although he didn’t quite see it as yet because his house was not in effect. The challenge of getting a house still played in his mind, though.
