'Who're you?' he asked.
The tall one flipped open a badge wallet.
'FBI,' he said. 'My name is Agent Pat Greer. This is Alan Seitz.'
'Thank God,' said Walter. 'Listen, I need you to ... '
'We're looking for an Arthur Herk,' said Greer.
'That's him over there,' said Walter, pointing toward Arthur. 'But listen, I need you to ... '
'Not now,' said Greer.
'But my partner is ... '
'I said not now,' said Greer.
Walter almost lost it at that point, but he decided that, what with him being handcuffed, and this being an FBI agent, he'd shut up for the moment.
Greer moved over to Arthur, who was still staring at Roger, who, having snorked up the last subatomic particles of kibble, was reverently licking the place on the patio where it had once been.
'Mr. Herk,' said Greer.
Arthur slowly turned his head to look at Greer. His pupils were the size of dimes.
'Mr. Herk,' said Greer, 'I'm with the FBI, and I need you to tell me where the suitcase is.'
Arthur opened his mouth, releasing a streamer of foamy drool, which dribbled down onto his collar.
'Mr. Herk,' said Greer, 'did you hear me? This is very important.'
Arthur slowly closed his mouth, then opened it again and said, 'She wants my soul. Don't let her take my soul.'
'Don't let who take your soul?' asked Greer.
'Her,' said Arthur, pointing at Roger. Roger wagged his tail.
'The dog r asked Greer.
'He thinks the dog is Elizabeth Dole,' explained Walter.
'Jesus,' said Greer, rubbing his face. To Seitz, he said, 'Whaddya think?'
Seitz peered into Herk's deranged eyes. 'He's gone,' he said, 'and I don't think he's coming back anytime soon.'
Greer said to Walter, 'Listen, we have reason to believe that Mr. Herk had a suitcase, probably made out of metal, very heavy. Did you see that suitcase?'
Walter thought for a moment. 'Yeah,' he said, 'they had a suitcase. They took it.'
'Who's they?' asked Greer, although he was pretty sure he knew, from what John had told him.
'Some scumbag, goes by 'Snake,' ' said Walter.
'Him and another scumbag was here when we got here, me and my partner. He had a gun, which is how I got ... I mean, they surprised us. They took this guy's daughter'—he gestured toward Arthur—'and some little guy with a beard. The little guy carried the suitcase. They took our car. My partner went after 'em with this guy's wife.'
'Where'd they go?' asked Greer.
'Airport,' said Walter. 'MIA. The scumbag said he was gonna catch a plane.'
'He say where to?' asked Seitz.
'No,' said Walter. 'Fact is, Monica, that's my partner, was just guessin' it was MIA.'
Greer and Seitz looked at each other.
'Whaddya think?' said Greer.
'I think we go to MIA,' said Seitz.
'Me, too,' said Greer. To Walter, he said, 'Keep this man in custody for us, will you?' He turned to go.
'Hey!' said Walter. 'You can't leave me here like this!'
'I'm sorry,' said Greer, 'but we gotta go.'
'BUT I'M A POLICE OFFICER,' said Walter.
'I know that,' said Greer. 'I know you're an excellent police officer, because I can't think of any other explanation for the fact that you're handcuffed to an entertainment unit that's handcuffed to a man who thinks a dog is Elizabeth Dole. But we really gotta go.' With that, he and Seitz went back into the house.
'COME BACK HERE GODDAMMIT!' yelled Walter.
Arthur was still watching Roger. 'She's gonna get me,' he said. 'I can feel it.' He turned to Walter. 'She's gonna get you, too.'
'Herk! Herk!' said Elizabeth Dole.
'Turn right!' shouted Snake. 'You can't see the fuckin' sign?'
The stolen police cruiser was northbound on Le Jeune, in the far left lane. Eddie, who had been too busy watching the road right in front of him to notice the Miami International Airport sign, yanked the wheel to the right,
