Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:23 — 14.8MB)
A 9 year old boy is missing, and foul play is suspected. Joe Friday is working the Homacide department with partner, Frank Smith when he gets the call. After a stop at the crime lab, the cops hit the trail in looking for clues. When a neighborhood search is organized, only a patch of blood stains can be found.
Mom seems to think her boy could be going through a phase of independence, and is just playing harmlessly somewhere. That still doesn’t mean she isn’t worried. When Joe suspects that guns are involved, a Christmas present is found missing, a .22 calibre rifle.
Details keep unfolding, and the matter goes from bad to worse. The boy is found, and his story of his rifle puts a damper on any Christmas cheer. A story of safety, and appropriate gifts for kids.
Note: Guns and weapons aren’t known as deadly force for no reason. Guns aren’t toys, and need to be handled with responsibility. The irreversible deadly consequences can’t be undone. . In other words, it’s OK to play dead, but when you’re dead for real, you’re dead forever.
This episode was a recurring Christmas show, and ran a few times at other times in the year. Rather than being transcribed, and reran, it was done as a new production each time, and simply used the same script. It serves as a reminder that not all Christmas stories end happily.
Bonus Track:
Solomon Keal – Angels We Have Heard On High.
