5/1 17:15

Hugo got back into town and, from a distance, saw a massive unicorn head lying in the middle of the road. The long, pointed horn on the unicorn's head pointed straight down the road leading out of the shopping strip. Hugo pulled over and walked up to it — it was much bigger than he'd imagined, a good third the size of the storefront beside it. He ran a hand over it; the thing was solidly built. Lying there on the ground, the horn jutted up about a foot off the pavement, looking oddly menacing even though it hadn't been sharpened to a point. Just then he heard raised voices arguing behind the statue. He walked around it and found the bar owner arguing with a man in work coveralls.

The moment Hugo saw the owner, it clicked — the Magic Unicorn. Crude and unsubtle, that name.

"Heh, heh, what's going on here? Somebody want to tell me what happened? A unicorn head this big, blocking traffic?"

"Hugo! Officer Hugo!" The bar owner put on a very salesman-like smile and came walking toward him.

"Hey, boss. Think you can get this thing moved?"

"Officer Hugo, you must be joking, this is the symbol of my establishment! It's a signature feature!"

"Boss, if I remember right, this place used to be called the Naked Lady Lounge. Wasn't there a nude bust out front before?"

"Hugo, the mayor made me take that down last week. Something about wanting a clean, wholesome image, said it'd be bad for the town's reputation otherwise."

"So you changed the name and the decoration both? Then can you not leave it lying in the road?"

"Officer Hugo, that's exactly what I was just discussing with this man."

Hugo glanced at the man in coveralls.

"What happened."

"Officer Hugo, this guy's crane was lowering the statue down and the cable snapped. The backup line isn't long enough, so we can't hoist it back up." The owner shot the man in coveralls an angry look.

"Isn't there another crane, or some other way, to lift this thing or haul it off?"

"Officer, mine's the only crane for miles around here. I could go borrow some heavier rope, but there's no telling when I'll get hold of it." said the man in coveralls.

"Fine." Hugo sighed. "Lucky for us not many people use this road. Go find some cones and rope the statue off so nobody runs into it. And then — do me a favor and get it moved out of here as soon as you can, all right?"

"Sure, sure, sure."

The owner said this with a face full of smiles, but Hugo knew in his heart it was the kind of smile people put on just to get rid of you. He turned, walked back to his car, and drove back to the station.