The police arrived five minutes after the last fire truck had left. Ms. Grant brought them up to the apartment. From what Mika overheard as she did, she was telling them they had to find out who had set off the false alarm. “If you don’t, I’ll have to pay a fine,” she said angrily, muttering, “And it isn’t cheap,” as she left.
“He’s the one who set it off,” Mika told the officers, pointing at Gordie. He and Buck had brought him into the living room when he came to, putting him on the sofa where he lay with his arm dangling uselessly off the edge. In the process, a loaded gun had dropped from Gordie’s waistband. Buck had gotten a washrag from the bathroom to pick it up, setting it on the coffee table.
“You’re crazy,” Gordie groaned. “These two attacked me and all I was doing was paying a
