THE THIEF OF DREAMS - Chapter 4

So it went....as the police denied and stonewalled....I set about uncovering what had happened. As it was, I happened to locate a witness who was working at an adjacent gas station the night of the theft. She was able to correctly identify my truck as the one she observed that fateful night. It seemed odd to me that the police never bothered to canvas the area for witnesses. She remembered the incident with clarity. This is her story of what happened......

She was waiting to be picked up after her shift about 10:30pm the night of the theft. It was then the she noticed the cars pull out of the small strip mall where my truck was parked. There were 3 vehicles all together. It was like a procession. One gray sedan....then my truck.....then another sedan behind. She observed 5 male hispanics....2 in the front car, 1 in my truck and 2 in the second car. 4 of the men were described as about 20 years old and well groomed. She said it appeared as if the 5th male, about 40 years old and well groomed, was directing the operation.

They had tried to get some gas into my truck, but were initially unable to open the locking cap. She thought it was rather strange because one of them was holding what appeared to be a screw driver...trying to get the cap off. She also thought it unusual that it took them over 15 minutes to get $5.00 worth of gas. There were plenty of people out that night, yet they did not seem to be in any hurry. She was even able to locate a copy of the original gas receipt for the fuel they bought. She gave me it. The time was clearly printed as to when the crime occurred. I asked her if she would mind relaying this information to the police. She stated that she would if she were contacted. I called the Perris PD and was unable to speak to officer "Sage". I spoke to the desk sergeant, who told me the information would be relayed. It apparently never was.....as the witness was never contacted.
I called them back several weeks later and was told that the investigation had been closed. No reason was given. I asked for a copy of the police report they had....and was told I would have to get it in person. I arrived at the station and had to sign several forms first. It was then brought out, several pages long. I was told that it could not be released to anyone outside of the criminal justice system. The report was so stamped..."Sensitive, not to be released to anyone outside of the criminal justice system".
The summary of the report was minimal....no suspects...no leads.

I was told there was nothing more they could do. I received a similar story from the Riverside County Sheriffs Department. About a week later....I had requested that the evidence be returned to me. The Perris PD stated that they no longer had it, nor did they know what happened to it. Well......I thought.....was this just some wierd coincidence....or was there more. I came to the conclusion that most likely.....there was more. I was never able to identify who the 5 hispanic males were who were involved in the theft....it was like they did not exist. The more important question was how did my truck get used by 2 separate(?) groups with apparently nothing in common....in less than a week. Why wasn't anything stolen from it other than the shell and the contents of the bed....and why was it located only 6 miles from the place it was stolen? Mysteries that remain to this day. I conducted an extensive search of the area surrounding the theft location....and the recovery location. Every dumpster, garbage can, trash pile, ravine and illegal dumping sight was checked. I never found one shred of anything that was stolen that night. Not one paper, document or item was ever found.....and there were boxes. I checked numerous times with the Perris PD and the Riverside Sheriffs office over the years.....and nothing has ever been recovered.....at least that is what I am continually told. To what extent had this latest twist of fate meant? I did not know......
but, whatever it meant.....it could not be good. Fate had not been kind to me....and I had seen no reason for it to start now.

I could only guess at the reasons for the theft....to get their hands on documents that could incriminate the ruling elite. To foil my plans of getting the settlement invalidated and to avoid sanctions for fraud. Lastly....to try and exterminate my identity....and break my will once and for all. Throughout this period...my hatred simmered.... and I would not back down. Not this time, not this way and not in this manner. I had taken enough abuse at the hands of the empire. Enough shame...guilt and repentence. I would continue the war...as they had done to me.
With that....I drew from my inner strength, my soul and my love of "Anna", the will to carry on the fight. It was my love for her that provided the spark of life....for without that spark....my life would have been as empty and useless as last weeks newspaper.
And again...I would think of the crimes and misdemeanors that my superiors had committed.....while they rejoiced in my downfall....my failure and my persecution. They thought I was as weak as a feather....that I had finally been beaten down. But, they were wrong in their premature assumption. There misdeeds and continued persecution only increased my anger and will to fight. This was America....damn it......not the Soviet Union, or NAZI Germany! I knew my chances of victory were slim against the endless might of the empire.....whose pockets of wealth were never ending. At least I would go down fighting...as a patriot of the ideals of the founding fathers. So it was then that I used my own "secret weapon"......the fruit of the mole.....the gift she had given me weeks earlier. They would feel what it was like to squirm under the scrutiny of judging eyes.....as had been done to me for so long. How was their perfection? Were they not human? I was soon to find out......as the war carried on.

To be continued.................