Chapter 18 #2
“Oh, my God!” said Odelia, right above our heads. “Kurt is right, babe. The Germinator has caught another crook!”
“He’s encroaching on my domain!” Gran shouted from next door. She was also leaning out of her window and didn’t look as pleased to see the Germinator enjoying such crime-fighting success as her neighbors.
“See?” said Dooley. “Gran isn’t happy at all.”
Before long, people were hurrying out of their houses, dressed in pajamas or dressing gowns, and making their way across the fence to assist the Germinator.
And since cats like to have a front-row seat to everything that happens in the neighborhood, we had an excellent view of the Germinator pinning the burglar to the ground with one knee pressed into the man’s back. The burglar’s hands had been bound.
“Look, Max,” said Dooley. “It’s the Germinator’s twine! Just like Spider-Man shoots webs, the Germinator shoots twine!”
“I think that’s rope, buddy,” I said.
“Looks like twine to me,” he insisted.
“Well done, Germinator,” said Kurt Mayfield, who had been the first to come to the superhero’s assistance.
“Anything I can do to rid this town of crime, Kurt,” said the Germinator in his deep, gravelly voice.
Kurt seemed overjoyed that the superhero knew his name and held up his phone. “I’ve already called the cops.”
“I am a cop,” Chase reminded him.
“And I’m a cop in training,” said Odelia.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” said Kurt. “Arrest that man already!”
“What did he do?” asked Chase, who seemed to harbor a certain reluctance to communicate with the Germinator.
“He broke into one of the houses next door,” said the Germinator.
“No, I did not!” said the burglar. “This is a gross miscarriage of justice, and I demand to see a lawyer!”
“You can see my fist,” said Kurt, who seemed to have found his inner vigilante now that the Germinator was taking charge of crime-fighting in Hampton Cove.
“Now, now, Kurt,” said Chase soothingly. “There is no need for violence. I will take this man down to the station. And you can all go back to bed. And you,” he added as he pointed a finger at the Germinator. “You will come, too. To make a statement.”
The Germinator planted his hands on his hips and laughed a booming laugh. “Me! Come down to the station? As if! Batman never comes down to the station, Detective Kingsley. Or Superman. Or Spider-Man. And the same goes for the Germinator.”
“Tough luck, buddy,” said Chase with a shrug. “You made a citizen’s arrest, and you’re coming down to the station to make a statement. Standard procedure, I’m afraid.”
The Germinator thought about this for a moment, then finally nodded. “I understand.” But then, instead of coming quietly, he suddenly turned and broke into a run.
“Hey!” said Chase. “Come back here, you!”
“I’m the Germinator, and crime-fighting is in my blood!” the superhero declared as he quickly put some considerable distance between himself and the long arm of the law. “I respect what you do, Detective Kingsley, but you and I work in different ways!”
And then he was gone, much to Chase’s disappointment.
“Why did you have to go and threaten the Germinator, man?” asked Kurt, who seemed unhappy with the way Chase had handled things.
“Yeah, why did you have to try and arrest the Germinator?” asked Ted Trapper, who had also joined us. The accountant looked a little sleepy.
“You’re late to the party, aren’t you, Ted?” asked Tex, who wore a dressing gown that featured the logo of Turbo Heartthrob. Coincidentally, Marge was dressed in the same type of dressing gown.
“I came here as fast as I could,” said Ted with a touch of haughtiness. “Unlike you, I’m not a rubbernecker, Tex. Or one of those people who love the sight of blood and gore.”
“There was no blood and there was no gore,” said Tex. “Just this hapless burglar who was caught by a guy dressed like a bumblebee.”
“Hey, the Germinator is not a guy dressing up,” said Kurt. “The Germinator is a true superhero, and we’re lucky to have him!”
“Right,” said Tex. “Of course, Kurt. If you say so.”
In due course, the burglar was arrested by Chase, who still seemed sore that the Germinator had managed to get away, and the show was over.
Everyone returned to their respective homes and respective beds, and Dooley and I, as we trailed behind the rest, speculated on the identity of this Germinator fellow.
“I think he must be from around here, Max,” said Dooley. “Otherwise, how would he know Odelia or Chase?”
“You’re right. He must be one of our neighbors.”
“I think he’s Uncle Alec,” said Dooley. “He’s tired of failing to put all of the criminals behind bars, so he has decided to take the law into his own hands.”
“Uncle Alec is the law,” I reminded my friend. “So he doesn’t have to take the law into his own hands, because he already has the law in his own hands.”
“You know what I mean, Max,” he said, even though I didn’t. “Though he probably should have picked a different outfit. This bumblebee persona doesn’t really strike fear in the hearts of criminals. Maybe if he had picked a wasp costume? Or a spider?”
“There already is a Spider-Man,” I reminded him. “And probably a Wasp-Man, too.”
As we entered our backyard, I was glad that the hullabaloo was over. Looked like it was time for us to go to bed. Tomorrow, a long day was ahead of us, with several potential couples to break up, and the murderer of Harley Glad to be unmasked.
Though something told me that Chase wouldn’t need us.
Looked like things really were changing in Hampton Cove, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.