Someone called in a report that she had
seen a man painting in the dark over by the pond.
A police car was dispatched to go investigate.
The two officers with their big flashlights




but found nothing suspicious. Hatcher was the
younger of the two, and he said to Johnson,
"What do you think he was painting?" Johnson
looked bemused and said, "The dark, stupid.
What else could he have been painting?" Hatcher,
a little hurt, said,




Just as many things exist in the dark as they do in
the light." Johnson paused, exasperated. Then
Hatcher added, "I'd like to see them. Hell,
I might even buy one. Maybe there's more

                                                                        

o u t   t h e r e

than we know. We are the police after all.