“No, something else,” Shawn said, still looking back where they’d last seen the mime. “Something I noticed but didn’t register until after we left.”
There was a long moment of silence. Then Gus spoke quietly. “You mean like he had a gun pointed at my head?”
“I think I would have noticed that a little quicker,” Shawn said. “No, it was-”
“Shawn!”
“Yes?”
“The mime has a gun pointed at my head.”
Shawn turned back to his partner. The mime stood in front of Gus, his white-gloved hand leveling a gleaming pistol at Gus’ forehead.
“Please,” the mime said. “Don’t make me kill you.”
Chapter Six
There was another long, silent moment.
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk,” Shawn finally said.
“Put your hands up,” the mime said through clenched teeth. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
“Absolutely.” Shawn’s arms shot up in the air. Gus’ followed quickly.
“Now turn around and walk towards the bathrooms.”
Shawn and Gus turned around, their hands high in the air. Shawn waved his back and forth, trying to attract some attention.
“You’re never going to get away with this,” Gus said. “There are dozens of witnesses.”
“And they’re all staring right at us,” Shawn said, waving his hands wildly. With each wave, another few people turned towards them.
Gus and Shawn exchanged a look; then Gus shouted to the throng of parents, kids, and gardeners who were staring at them from the snack bar area. “Help! He’s got a gun!”
Gus didn’t know what to expect. Best-case scenario would be a squad of beefy, well-armed security experts descending on them. Second best might be dozens of cell phones dialing 911 at the same instant. He would have settled for one irate mom with a canister of pepper spray on her keychain.