Ray drove straight to Tammy's office as she instructed. When he stepped from his car outside her office, bursts of lights struck like lightning around him. Police appeared from nowhere and rushed about yelling, pointing guns and shining lights in his face. More blue and white cars screeched up. Slamming doors, flashing lights and crackling police radios jammed his head.
The confusion in his mind matched the chaos in the street. He had expected a police officer would come around, ask about how he knew Loraine and jot down a couple of things in his little notebook. Not an armada like this. Did they believe he shot Barner? His head was feeling full and warm, and a knot was forming in his stomach.
The uniforms parted for a man in plain clothes. He displayed no gun but flipped his badge and stated he was Detective Goddard.
"Is this about the shooting?" Ray could think of nothing else to say.
"Sir, I'm going to ask you to lean over, place your hands palms down on your vehicle and spread your legs. Do you have any weapons on your person or in your vehicle?"
Ray answered of course not. The detective frisked him and turned him around face to face. The detective was tall, in good shape and stood board-straight. He didn't appear too mean, yet was absolutely intimidating. Ray's hands were shaking. He fumbled handing over the requested driver's license.
"New in town, how long have you been working down here?"
"Almost a month now, I guess."
"You had ten days after obtaining Florida employment to get those Pennsy tags off your vehicle," the detective recited calmly. "That's a violation, sir. As of right now, consider your vehicle impounded. Please give me the keys. Do you mind if we talk down at the police station?" It didn't sound like a question.
Ray was beginning to sweat and could feel his heart pounding. The multiple colored lights from police vehicles continued to spin in his eyes. He leaned over against the car door and tried to get enough breath to speak. "You're taking me to the police station to talk about my license plates?"
The detective didn't answer. He opened the rear door of a nearby vehicle and motioned for Ray to get in the back behind the webbed steel dividing screen.
Saturday evening in the Park Beach police squad room was busy and noisy when they entered through a side door. However the room became stony silent, and all heads turned as the detective led Ray to a chair beside his desk. A uniformed officer walked by and patted the detective on the back.