53

THE WOUND ON MY LEG was more of a puncture than a bite. I was shivering in spite of the heat and the blanket I was wrapped in. One of the EMTs speculated that when the alligator hooked onto my pants, its tooth pierced my leg. He dressed that wound and the scrapes on my arm.

“The bleeding is stopped, but you’re in for a round of some potent antibiotics. Their mouths are a breeding ground for filth,” he said. “You’re probably going to have a nasty scar on that leg.”

“I may get a bullet hole tat to cover it.”

Max rolled her eyes.

He wanted me to go to the hospital in the ambulance. I refused and Max said she would drive me.

A D.N.R. officer came over. He looked out to the river where divers and deputies in boats searched the water.

“Is Major Johnson out there? What happened?” His tone was accusatorial.

“He jumped overboard,” I said.

He looked skeptical. “Your name?”

“Al DeSantis.”

“Where were you at the time?”

“On the boat with Johnson.”

“You didn’t try to stop him?”

“He jumped into the water twice to save the man,” Max said. “What more would you expect him to do? Listen, he needs stitches and antibiotics.”

The deputy didn’t seem moved by my plight. “Your name?”

“Max Brophy.”

“So, you were on the boat as well?”

“I was on the shore for most of it.”

“This is your boat?”

“Listen, this man is injured. Are you going to let him get fixed up or are you going to keep up this nonsense?”

Good for you Max, avoid the question about the boat.

“I wish I had been able to save him,” I said.

“You saved him once. That’s more than any other dude would have done. Why the hell did you jump in again? He obviously wanted to die.” Max’s voice was a mixture of anger and relief.

“He called for help. You were yelling to me about the alligators and I wasn’t thinking straight. Maybe I could have done something else.”

“You are blaming me?”

“No. That came out wrong,” I said. I was confused.

The officer grabbed my arm and started to march me along.

“Hey, watch the arm. It’s bleeding.” He didn’t care about my protest.

I thought he was going to make me get into an ambulance but instead he opened the door to a white SUV with a map of Georgia on the door.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I knew better, but I protested anyway and tried to break loose of his grip.

“Get in the vehicle until I find out what’s going on with the rescue.”

Rescue? Was he kidding me? If they were lucky, they would be doing a recovery and even that wasn’t going to be possible without finding that alligator and opening its stomach.

“What about my injuries?”

“You’ll live. The EMT stopped the bleeding and he cleaned it. I have a few questions. You can get further treatment after that.”

You get a whole new perspective when you see a situation from the other side of the badge.

“I didn’t do anything. You have this all wrong.”

Man, if only I had a buck for every time someone I arrested said that to me. I got in the car without giving him any more trouble.

Then he turned to Max.

“Okay, you too. In here.” He touched Max on the elbow to bring her to the door.

“Why?” Maxine pulled away.

“For your own safety. In!” By this time, the deputy was in no mood to put up with any more backtalk.

“What do you mean for my safety?” Max asked.

“There is an angry alligator around here in case you didn’t notice, ma’am, and a man was attacked. Right now, I have to deal with a rescue. I’ll question you later.”

It must have been the first time that Max was referred to as ma’am. She seemed stunned when she looked into the vehicle. I gave her a huge grin and patted the back seat of the SUV. She didn’t see the humor in the situation.

“Not with him. Put me in another car. You never put two prisoners in a car.”

“You are not prisoners. This is for your safety. I don’t have time to argue. Get in.”

The officer guided Max into the car with his hand on her head.

“You never know who you’ll meet in the back seat of a cop car,” I said.

Max pawed at the door even though there were no door handles or window controls in the back seat of the SUV. Maybe she had never been in a police car before. She slouched against the door fuming in silence. All of a sudden, she slammed her fist against the window.

“Damn!”

“What?”

“Just being around you is bad luck. You’re a jinx.”

“If you feel better blaming me, go ahead.” I didn’t see why I should be blamed, but I would take the high road.

“So, what are we supposed to do now?”

“Wait.”

“For how long?”

“As long as it takes. Why were you out here anyway?” I asked her.

It turned out that Max had more faith in me than she had admitted to.

“Even as bad as you are, I decided that you wouldn’t have left Big Al to go fishing without a good reason. I dropped Greenleaf off at the hospital and made an excuse to leave so she wouldn’t insist on coming along.”

“She probably would have wrestled the alligators.”

Max scoffed at my joke. “I knew the boat ramp was the only public access to the river around here, so I came out to see what you were up to.”

“And what would you have done if I was only fishing?”

“I’d throw you in with the alligators. Oh wait, you were in there with the alligators, and I saved you. And then you tried to blame me for distracting you.”

“I told you that I misspoke. I suppose you’re waiting for me to say thanks.”

“It would be nice,” Max said.

“I’m not good with words. And I’m not nice.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I’m better with actions.”

I pulled her toward me and kissed her. And then I kissed her again.

“What are you doing?” Max asked.

“I’ll bet you always fantasized about having sex in the back seat of a police car.”

“I have not.” She thought a minute. “Have you?”

“Only since I’ve met you. Forgive me?”

“Apology accepted,” she said.

*****

There was banging on the window. It was the deputy. Max and I laughed like high school students.

“What’s going on in there?” He opened the door as the radio began to crackle.

“Carry on,” the dispatcher said.

Max’s face turned bright red. I was embarrassed only because I should have known the radio was on.

“Get out. I have a few more questions,” the deputy said.

“You knew the radio was on,” Max told him.

“I guess I forgot.” The deputy’s face was dark and he was clearly nervous.

“Did you find him?” I asked.

The deputy took a deep breath. “An arm.”

“And?”

The deputy just shook his head. He didn’t have to say any more. There was probably nothing left to find.

A park ranger headed our way. I prepared myself to defend Max’s actions in taking the boat.

“I was upriver and saw the man taunting the alligators. Before I knew it, he was over the side,” the ranger said.

“See. I told you he jumped.”

The deputy was practically in my face. “Do you think he might have slipped?”

“No, he jumped,” I said.

“Did I hear you say he was pushed?” The deputy was an inch from my face now.

“Who could have pushed him? There were only two of us on the boat and I certainly...”

“That’s what I thought you said,” the deputy said.

“No, he jumped in,” my voice was emphatic.

“You were both in the water when I got here. Are you saying he jumped in to save you and lost his life in the process?”

I realized what he was saying. The explanation of how the Ava Island police major died would be so much cleaner if Johnson jumped off the boat to save me. No embarrassing questions. No long drawn out investigation.

The officer turned to the other ranger.

“From your vantage point, could the major have jumped off the boat to save this man?”

The ranger didn’t hesitate. “It looked that way to me.”

“And you, ma’am. Is there any chance that the major could have jumped in to save this man? From your vantage point, I mean.”

Max looked from the officer, to the ranger, to me. She gave a heavy sigh.

“I suppose. I was on the shore.”

I guess she finally got the idea.

My impulse was to let the world know what a scumbag Johnson had been. But I knew that for all practical purposes, it was probably better that he died a hero. The cops were happy with the explanation and they wouldn’t hassle us with more questions.