Tomi
The D.P.O wiped sweats from his brow, sighing heavily.I was sure the poor man was already fed up with the whole drama and sensation we brought to his station in the last couple of days.
“My son is not himself” She said, wiping tears from her cheeks with her handkerchief.” He shouldn’t be locked up, he might hurt himself”.
“Your son murdered a man and he tried to hurt three innocent women and a little girl” The D.P.O said,“ Your husband was a very good friend of mine and i tried to warn you of the possibility that your son, Richie, could also have what killed his father but you shunned me.”
“I took him out of the country. I tried to get help for him” She replied. She turned to me. “That was why i was so cold to you the day he brought you to the house; i was afraid he would go into one of his spells and hurt you and so i wasn’t pleased with your relationship with him.. i wanted to keep you out of harm’s way but i didn’t know how to tell you without revealing our secret.”
I swallowed hard. “Sickness is not something to be ashamed of. If you had told me about Richie’s………condition i would have known how to deal with him and i wouldn’t do anything to trigger it”.
“I felt relaxed when he told me everything was going on fine and i asked him to invite you over. When i saw you i couldn’t….. i couldn’t bring myself to tell you he was suicidal and that he could also get so violent at times. Please i don’t want to lose my son” She cried to the D.P.O
“How long have you known that your son had bipolar affective disorder?” Linda asked.
“Since when he was fourteen. His father also suffered from it and i had my hands full with him so i didn’t detect it on time and when i realized it i was busy trying to get help for his father, i couldn’t get help for Richie on time .When he was 20, he intentionally drove his car into an electric pole and it was just………a miracle that he survived the crash. I kept him on close watch and i got medical help for him. He seemed alright for a while and he returned back to his studies oversea. One morning, i got a call that he had shut himself in his room, crying, for a whole week. I had to move abroad for his sake and we were getting along fine.” She replied.
“The best thing to do is to sign him into a mental institution with quality medical attention and he would be under Surveillance 24/7” Kelvin said.
“That is a good idea. He has refused to eat, he stares into space all day and he doesn’t speak when spoken to. I will have a doctor check him to confirm his mental state and declare him mentally unstable before we move him to a state mental institution.” The D.P.O stated wearily.
“I brought some of his medications” Richie’s mother said. “They are here, some Benzodiazepines and antimanic agents.” She brought out a white carrier bag filled with medications and placed them on the D.P.O’s desk.
“I have decided to drop the charges against him” i said, Kelvin squeezed my hand gently in a supportive manner.
“Well that aside, he killed a man so he also has a case with the Federal Government and he is still a danger to the society at large. He has to be locked up” The D.P.O replied,” But as he is mentally unstable he would get a lenient jail term, i am sure”.
“We will help you in every way we can” Linda said, to Richie’s mother.
“Thank you” the older woman said sadly.
To be continued..
