'POLICE!' he shouted, yet again.
'That's correct,' said Monica, putting her hand on his chest and gently pushing him back a step, which nearly caused him to fall down. 'We are the police. And who might you be?'
'They were gonna shoot her!' said Pendick.
'Who was?' asked Monica.
'Perpetrators!' explained Pendick. 'They took her back there with a gun and ... Hey! That's one a them!'
Pendick was squinting at Andrew.
'That's one a the perpetrators!' he said.
'It was a squirt gun, dork,' said Andrew.
'And so you ... what's your name, please?' said Monica.
'Jack Pendick,' he said.
'So, Mr. Pendick,' said Monica, 'you saw these people with the gun, and then what?'
'I tailed 'em,' said Pendick, proudly. 'I was gonna be in lawn forcement.'
'Good for you,' said Monica. 'Did you have a gun with you?'
'I got a gun,' said Pendick. 'Need it for my line a work.'
'And that is?' asked Monica.
'Sunglasses,' said Pendick.
'Sunglasses?' asked Monica.
'I got fired,' explained Pendick.
'I see,' said Monica, rubbing her temple. 'And where is your gun now?'
'I lost it back there,' said Pendick, gesturing toward the alley and almost falling down as a result.
Monica got the .38 out of the cruiser and showed it to him.
'Is this your gun?' she asked.
Pendick squinted at it.
' 'At's it!' he said. 'Can I have it back? I need it for my line a work.'
'Not right now,' said Monica. 'So, so you followed the perpetrators into the alley, and then what?'
'He was gonna shoot her!' said Pendick. 'The perpetrooter! He was pointin' his gun at her!'
'His squirt gun,' said Andrew.
'An' so I, I yelled, 'FREEZE!' ' said Pendick.
'And then what?' asked Monica.
'And then ... ' Pendick paused. For the first time, in his small, alcohol-drenched brain, he began to sense that perhaps he should be careful about what he said.
'And then what?' asked Monica.
'I don't remember,' Pendick said.
'You don't remember?' asked Monica.
'No,' said Pendick, shaking his head hard enough to make himself stagger. 'No no no no.'
A dozen or so tourists, lured by the flashing lights of the police cruiser, had drifted over from Coco Walk to watch the action. One was shooting video. Cops, criminals, guns—this was the Miami they had heard so much about. This would be something to tell them about, back home.
A Human Barbie Doll with long legs, tight shorts, and a tiny halter top being overwhelmed by exuberant, 94 percent silicone breasts came up to Walter and said, 'Officer, what's going on?'
'We had a little shooting,' said Walter, in a tone of voice intended to convey that he could not count the number of times he had been around shootings. 'But we got it under control.'
'Is that the one who did it?' the Human Barbie Doll asked, pointing to Pendick.
'We're trying to ascertain that now,' said Walter.
He made his biceps as big as possible without audibly grunting. The Human Barbie Doll gave him a look that clearly indicated that she understood and appreciated the effort he was making. She thrust her twin balloons at him. Love was in the air.
'Officer Kramitz,' said Monica.
'What?' he said, reluctantly tearing his eyeballs away from the HBD.
'Do you think you can keep things under control here while I take a look in the alley?' asked Monica.
'I can handle it,' said Walter, his eyes back on the balloons.
Monica and two other officers went through the alley and spent ten minutes looking around the parking lot. They found one fractured car windshield with a bullet-sized hole in it; they found another car with what looked like a bullet hole in the door panel. They found no people.
