Corpse Suzette

the phone back onto the dash
and chuckled. Elbowing Dirk in the ribs, she said, “You’re right, big boy.
Today’s your lucky day. You’re not gonna believe what that moron just bought.”
     
    Fifteen minutes later, they
were still sitting in the car, but this time they were parked at the outer edge
of a convenience store’s lot. Roco was standing beside his car, fumbling with
the small orange bag he had carried out of the Emporium.
    “He’s going to do it,”
Savannah said. “He’s crazier than I thought. He’s actually going to try to
knock over a Quick Stop with a toy gun.”
    “I guess he’s got some
urgent bills to pay and can’t take time to score a real piece on the street.”
Dirk shook his head and laughed. “Fine with me. Now I can let him go through
with it and hang himself good before I have to intervene. Hell, he can’t even
give a clerk a decent pistol-whipping with a toy gun.”
    Roco tucked the plastic
pistol into the front of his jeans, pulled his shirttail over it, and strode
toward the store’s entrance. Savannah and Dirk checked their own weapons in
their shoulder holsters and got out of the car the moment he disappeared
inside.
    In seconds they were at the
front door. They looked through the glass, ready to duck if he was facing their
way. Having arrested him before, they were sure he’d recognize them on sight,
and this was one crime they didn’t want to interrupt... at least, not at first.
    Timing was everything.
    They slipped inside
unnoticed and made their way along the wall that was lined with soda-filled
refrigeration units. Savannah glanced down each aisle they passed, but other
than Roco and the elderly lady behind the counter the store appeared empty.
    Roco was hanging out by the
candy display, making a show of choosing some gum. With a couple of packs in
hand, he made his way to the front.
    Weapons drawn, but pointed
at the ceiling, Savannah and Dirk followed him.
    He approached the clerk and
slapped the gum onto the counter-top. “Gimme these,” he barked.
    The clerk was a petite,
silver-haired woman with bright blue eyes that narrowed at hearing his rough
tone. “And will that be all?” she asked with forced courtesy as she rang up the
sale.
    “No, that ain’t all.” He
reached into his waistband and pulled out the toy weapon. Pointing it at the
woman’s head, he said, “Gimme the money in that register, too, while you’re at
it. And hurry up about it, too, or I’ll blow your fuckin’ face off.”
    For a moment, Savannah had
a horrible thought: What if the old lady died of sheer fright? What if she had
a heart attack and dropped dead then and there?
    Maybe they should have
intercepted him before he’d gotten this far!
    But over Roco’s shoulder
she could see the woman’s face and the hot fire of anger that leapt into the
elderly lady’s eyes. Savannah decided not to worry about this one. She had seen
that look in her own Granny Reid’s eyes, and she knew this woman wasn’t one to
be scared to death... literally or even figuratively.
    She felt Dirk tense beside
her. He was ready to make his move.
    She lowered her gun and
trained it on Roco’s back.
    She wouldn’t take the shot.
Not with the clerk also in her line of fire. But Roco wouldn’t know that.
    In her peripheral vision
she saw Dirk do the same. In another second, he would announce and then they
would—
    Boom!
    The explosion shook the
store, and Savannah felt its reverberations throughout her entire body. Her
ears rang as her brain tried to process. Instinctively, she dropped to one knee
and ducked her head, her Beretta still pointed at Roco.
    A gunshot.
    She knew the sound all too
well.
    She did a split-second
mental check to see if she had fired. No. She hadn’t put her finger on the
trigger yet.
    A quick, sideways glance at
Dirk told her that he hadn’t fired either. He looked as confused as she was.
    Roco had fired a shot?
    With a plastic gun?
    Roco. She looked back at
him and saw an ugly, dark red stain appearing on the back of his thigh. He was
starting to shake, violently. Then he dropped to the floor like a sack of
flour.
    Now Savannah had a clear
view of the old lady behind the counter... all of her... including the Colt .45
in her hand that still had smoke curling from its barrel.
    “That’ll teach you!” the
clerk said as she slowly lowered the weapon and laid it on the counter. “Try to
rob me will you! And with a toy gun?! You oughta be ashamed of yourself.
I’ll bet