Quiet afternoons made Officer Lincolnton bored and lonely. And maybe even a bit sad. In Spark Harbour, with its population of 500 people, these dull days were often the norm and so he made his way to The Crueller Stop at exactly 3:25 in the afternoon like he did every day. 

The Crueller Stop had been the meeting place for the town for many years. Uncle Stan had opened it up on a whim in 1974 when he won $8,000 at the bingo and didn’t have any other ideas on what to do with the cash other than he wanted a doughnut and the closest place to get one was 2 hours away. Since that day, he’s perfected his doughnut recipe but the décor hasn’t changed a bit. Yellow-striped, but faded wallpaper, folding chairs and plastic tables that have somehow survived since 1974. 

Officer Lincolnton pulled up in the parking lot and noticed the black ford focus with the License plate BZW 8L2. Not from around here, he thought. Officer Lincolnton knew all the license plates and their associated owners in town. It was a fun game that the handful of local kids would play with him when they saw him, they’d yell out “Hey BYLJ 2MN!!” and Officer Lincolnton would holler back “Arnie Stevens. 235 Amber Road North!”.  

Officer Lincolnton strolled up to the front of The Crueller Stop and opened the door. 

Inside, the stranger was wearing black Doc Marten boots, a black Adidas tracksuit set and a black Stetson hat. It was a real mish-mash of fashion choices. The stranger sat at the folding chair eating a Boston Cream doughnut, a dollop of cream slowly falling out and landing smack on the plastic table. Uncle Stan was behind the counter his hands clenching the edge of the countertop and his eyes were darting back and forth from the Stranger to Officer Lincolnton. Officer Lincolnton wanted to have his double chocolate doughnut in peace. He walked slowly up to the counter, put his order in and noticed that Uncle Stan’s brow was sweating furiously, strange for someone who had never exercised a day in his life, and his knuckles were slowly getting whiter the harder he gripped that counter.