thrilling
Starsky and Hutch
maneuver, a feeling you'd pay money for at an amusement park. No one was hurt, but by the time Cockroach got us backed out and pointed in the right direction, the lifeguard had vanished. Zirko pounded the seat in frustration.
A grim silence prevailed as we resumed our manhunt, prowling methodically along the nearby streets. I pretended to be upset, but deep down I was relieved. I'd lost my stomach for revenge.
“Wait,” said Zirko. “Go back.”
Cockroach glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
“Back where?”
A thoughtful smile broke the tension on Zir-ko's face. He shook his head in disbelief, amazed at his own blindness.
“To the snowman,” he said.
The way Zirko had it figured, we'd caught the kid in his own driveway. All we had to do was go back and wait. He'd have to show up eventually, and then we'd nab him.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It's obvious. He was
in
the driveway.”
It wasn't obvious to me, but I didn't argue. If it was my driveway, I would've dropped the bike and run like hell for the front door. Still, I didn't want to underestimate Zirko. He seemed to have a sixth sense about tracking people. It amazed me that we'd found the kid in the first place.
He was smart about the surveillance too. There were lots of empty spaces on the street, but he ordered Cockroach to parallel park in a tight spot between a van and a pickup, across the street and a few houses down from the driveway where we'd spotted the lifeguard. He'd have to be right on top of us to know we were there.
Cockroach passed the dead time lighting matches and extinguishing them with a hiss between his spit-moistened fingertips. Danny took a fake nose and glasses out of the glove compartment and sent Cockroach into hysterical giggling fitswith imitations of people I didn't recognize. Even with these diversions, though, the air inside the car quickly grew stale with boredom. Cockroach ran out of matches. Somebody farted, and we all rolled down our windows. Danny turned around, staring at Zirko through the vacant frames of his joke glasses.
“Hey Andy, we gonna sit here all day?” “Yeah,” added Cockroach. “I'm starving.” Zirko rubbed his stubble. I thought he was going to snap at them, but he kept his cool.
“Me and Buddy can handle this. Why don't you guys go to McDonald's and come pick us up when you're finished. If you don't see us, honk the horn.”
Despite the crowbar in my hand. I felt relaxed and nearly cheerful standing with Zirko in the middle of the windswept street, watching the Monte Carlo fishtail around the corner and out of sight. The worst seemed to be over. I didn't think the lifeguard would be coming back and couldn't see Zirko lasting very long in the cold without a coat.
“Hey Andy,” I said. “Want my mittens?”
He blew on his hands and shook his head. We were the only people in sight.
“Come on,” he said. “Let's check out that snowman.”
Zirko slapped me on the back as we headed across the street. Now that no one was going tobe hurt, I could appreciate the morning for the incredible chain of adventures it had been—a fist-fight, a car chase, a near accident, even a stakeout. Neil was going to be jealous when I told him what he'd missed.
“Jesus,” said Zirko. “Look at this fucking thing.”
We'd passed several snowmen on our search of the neighborhood, but none of them even came close to this one. It was taller than we were and lovingly constructed, the kind of thing you'd definitely stop to admire if you happened to pass it on your bike. It had charcoal eyes, a carrot nose, even a jaunty bowler hat. Its smile was a crescent of bright pennies and its buttons a row of Oreo cookies running down its chest. The most striking feature of all was the snowman's heart: a silver valentine of Hershey's Kisses, inside of which someone had set a snapshot of a Labrador retriever, a pudgy black dog with a sad, intelligent face. The picture was wrapped in
Starsky and Hutch
maneuver, a feeling you'd pay money for at an amusement park. No one was hurt, but by the time Cockroach got us backed out and pointed in the right direction, the lifeguard had vanished. Zirko pounded the seat in frustration.
A grim silence prevailed as we resumed our manhunt, prowling methodically along the nearby streets. I pretended to be upset, but deep down I was relieved. I'd lost my stomach for revenge.
“Wait,” said Zirko. “Go back.”
Cockroach glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
“Back where?”
A thoughtful smile broke the tension on Zir-ko's face. He shook his head in disbelief, amazed at his own blindness.
“To the snowman,” he said.
The way Zirko had it figured, we'd caught the kid in his own driveway. All we had to do was go back and wait. He'd have to show up eventually, and then we'd nab him.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“It's obvious. He was
in
the driveway.”
It wasn't obvious to me, but I didn't argue. If it was my driveway, I would've dropped the bike and run like hell for the front door. Still, I didn't want to underestimate Zirko. He seemed to have a sixth sense about tracking people. It amazed me that we'd found the kid in the first place.
He was smart about the surveillance too. There were lots of empty spaces on the street, but he ordered Cockroach to parallel park in a tight spot between a van and a pickup, across the street and a few houses down from the driveway where we'd spotted the lifeguard. He'd have to be right on top of us to know we were there.
Cockroach passed the dead time lighting matches and extinguishing them with a hiss between his spit-moistened fingertips. Danny took a fake nose and glasses out of the glove compartment and sent Cockroach into hysterical giggling fitswith imitations of people I didn't recognize. Even with these diversions, though, the air inside the car quickly grew stale with boredom. Cockroach ran out of matches. Somebody farted, and we all rolled down our windows. Danny turned around, staring at Zirko through the vacant frames of his joke glasses.
“Hey Andy, we gonna sit here all day?” “Yeah,” added Cockroach. “I'm starving.” Zirko rubbed his stubble. I thought he was going to snap at them, but he kept his cool.
“Me and Buddy can handle this. Why don't you guys go to McDonald's and come pick us up when you're finished. If you don't see us, honk the horn.”
Despite the crowbar in my hand. I felt relaxed and nearly cheerful standing with Zirko in the middle of the windswept street, watching the Monte Carlo fishtail around the corner and out of sight. The worst seemed to be over. I didn't think the lifeguard would be coming back and couldn't see Zirko lasting very long in the cold without a coat.
“Hey Andy,” I said. “Want my mittens?”
He blew on his hands and shook his head. We were the only people in sight.
“Come on,” he said. “Let's check out that snowman.”
Zirko slapped me on the back as we headed across the street. Now that no one was going tobe hurt, I could appreciate the morning for the incredible chain of adventures it had been—a fist-fight, a car chase, a near accident, even a stakeout. Neil was going to be jealous when I told him what he'd missed.
“Jesus,” said Zirko. “Look at this fucking thing.”
We'd passed several snowmen on our search of the neighborhood, but none of them even came close to this one. It was taller than we were and lovingly constructed, the kind of thing you'd definitely stop to admire if you happened to pass it on your bike. It had charcoal eyes, a carrot nose, even a jaunty bowler hat. Its smile was a crescent of bright pennies and its buttons a row of Oreo cookies running down its chest. The most striking feature of all was the snowman's heart: a silver valentine of Hershey's Kisses, inside of which someone had set a snapshot of a Labrador retriever, a pudgy black dog with a sad, intelligent face. The picture was wrapped in
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