"Uncle Peter is pulling a fast one," Joy said. "The cop's coming after us!"
I was uncertain as how to proceed now. I watched the scowling policeman approach our car while Uncle Peter got back in with the blonde Cora and drove away.
"Are you going to hang one on him, sweetheart?" Joy asked.
"What—what do you recommend?"
"I've got a hunch that if you don't, we go to the pokey and Uncle Peter will be left free to blow up everybody in town."
I don't believe the officer meant to arrest us but at the moment my mind wasn't too clear and I accepted Joy's point of view.
I doubled my fist as the officer approached. He wasted no time in getting acquainted. He said, "How come you guys are tailing those guys? You figuring a stickup or something?"
It was now or never. I hunched my right shoulder and aimed a stiff knockout jolt at the officer's jaw. It wasn't too good a target because he had a lantern jaw and it was bobbing up and down as he munched on a wad of chewing gum.
But I did not connect. As my fist completed but half its lethal orbit, the officer blew up in my face! He went pop, just as so many others had gone pop at our wedding reception; his entire anatomy flying in all directions, to turn into a cloud of sooty smoke and mix with the elements.
I was frozen with consternation. But not Joy. Instantly she dragged me back into the car. "Don't you get it? Uncle Peter gave him that stick of gum!"