Page 14 of Pied Sniper

“Get down,” I yelled to Lily, darting in front of her. I grabbed one of the discarded kitchen knives from the floor, brandishing it in front of me, the size far more impressive than my own smaller blade.

The men screamed at me again to, “Get on the floor!” I screamed at them to get out. The dog whined. Then a bullet whizzed past my shoulder and the men shouted at me again to drop my weapon.

“I don’t have a gun! Drop yours!” I yelled back.

Several uniformed officers crowded through the door, yelling, “Montgomery Police Department!”

At the sight of their uniforms, I immediately dropped the knife and raised my hands up. Well, one of them, anyway. The other was still clinging to the terrified dog. “Lexi Graves, Private Investigator,” I yelled through the commotion, hoping someone would hear me, or, better yet, recognize me. Surely, I had a cousin amongst this throng of officers?

“Put down the weapon!” someone yelled at me. “Show me your hands!”

“I don’t have one!” I waved my now free hand, fluttering the other one where I supported the dog. I couldn’t drop him. He’d either fall or bite me to cling on, and neither was an option.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I began. “I think a terrible crime has been committed.”

“No kidding,” said one of them, shining a light behind me. I glanced over my shoulder at Lily, squeezing her eyes shut against the bright beam, her hands smeared ominously red. “Arrest them both.”

Chapter Four

“Let me through!”

My head shot up at the familiar voice. Finally! Someone who would listen to me! Lily and I were currently pressed face first into the wall of the Montgomery Police Department processing pen with our hands cuffed behind our backs. I prepared myself to listen to the irate yelling for some time.

“Lexi? Lily?”

I half turned my head and clenched my teeth at the sight of Garrett. “Hey,” I said.

“Get those cuffs off her right now!” yelled my brother. “Uncuff both of them! Damn it, these plastic cuffs are way too tight! Who has the scissors? Is it you? How about you?” He paused, staring hard at someone I couldn’t see. “No? Then go get whoever has custody of the scissors and tell them they better damn run before I have them permanently assigned to traffic duty. What the hell have you done now?” There was a pause then, “Lexi? Lexi! I’m talking to you!”

I raised my head from the wall again to see Garrett looming above me. “Oh, sorry. What?”

“What the hell have you done?” he repeated.

“Nothing!”

“You’re wearing handcuffs!”

“I know. They’re not even the nice steel versions. Can I sit down? We’ve been standing here for a while and my back aches and my wrists hurt.” I didn’t even know how to begin to explain the small dog sandwiched at my side, his little nails digging into my skin and his wet nose in my armpit. Mostly I was just grateful he hadn’t peed on me.

“Me too,” said Lily. “We’re too young for this shit. I don’t want to suffer from backaches for at least another decade.”

“Backache is the least of your worries,” said Garrett, taking me by the upper arms and guiding me to a bench where he helped me into a seated position. He narrowed his eyes. “Why are you wriggling?”

“There’s a small dog with me.”

Garrett rolled his eyes. “No, really?” A muzzle appeared from my neckline and a warm, raspy tongue licked my ear lobe. “Huh,” said Garrett. “I thought you were joking but there really is a puppy under your sweater.”

“I told the officers at least seventeen times that someone needed to hold him, but they told me to shut my mouth and quit whining. I’m afraid he’ll pee from fear, or worse.” The tongue disappeared and reappeared in the middle of my cleavage, which was altogether strange.

“They were very rude,” called Lily. “I’m giving the service a one-star rating. Never ever get arrested by the Montgomery Police Department. They are so rude. Can I sit down too?”

“Hold on,” said Garrett, but I wasn’t sure if he were addressing me or her. With a shake of his head, he hurried over to help her. “Lily! You’re covered in blood!” he said, recoiling.

“It’s not mine,” said Lily and Garrett glanced at me.

“It’s not mine either,” I said. After giving Lily a long look, he guided her to the bench and Lily dropped onto the seat next to me and sighed. I knew exactly how she felt. All we did was try to help a terrified, most likely abducted, woman. Instead we got shot at, yelled at, and arrested. And not one cop would listen to our explanation. For the first time in my life, I wished that one of my serving family members would appear at the crime scene I attended. And just when I needed them the most, it didn’t happen. The whole thing was so frustrating and annoying. Perhaps if I were less irate, I might have even been mortified. As it was, everyone pissed me off.

“Who the hell does it belong to?” Garrett asked, scratching his head.

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