It began when a man discovered a hole in his trousers.

 

A bullet, a burn, an assault? The police were baffled;

They had no answers, only theories.

A suspect was arrested, then released.

Discontent rumbled in the town.

The victim made a tearful public appeal.

Vigilante groups were mobilised.

Journalists probed, going door to door;

An on-line team led a large-scale exposé,

With dark mutterings of ‘high-up involvement’.

In the end a culprit was found, confessed, was jailed.

Out early on parole, he writes a best-selling book;

‘Redemption of the soul’ is the working title.

He then settles back to a suspiciously lavish

Private-island lifestyle in the Caribbean.

Soon, there is talk of a cover-up, a new trial,

But evidence goes missing and witnesses are scared.

Meanwhile the trousers languish, unrepaired.