Responding to a construction accident call in Coquina Sands, I found a backyard pool cage collapsed and three workers checking themselves for damage. All were wet, having landed in the pool. Asked if anyone was injured. The consensus was they were okay. Called the PD and advised that no ambulance was need, then asked who was in charge.
A hefty middle-aged guy stepped forward and said he was senior on the job. Said his name was Lamar. Asked him what'd happened.
Lamar cleared his throat, scratched, blinked, and generally looked like that Governor that got caught with the hooker.
I told him I wasn't leaving until I got a story so he might as well cough it up. He thought about that a bit, shrugged, then said this:
"We had the frame up and were startin' with the screen. LeRoy was on top, I was feeding him the fabric. Then, all of a sudden LeRoy stops, whispers be quite, and waves me up. He's lookin' across the fence in the neighbor's backyard. I figures he's seen somethin' good so I heads up. Sure enough the lady next door is out there sunbathin' in nuthin' but 'er good intentions. An' she's a looker, I wanna tell ya."
I nodded and he went on.
"Well, not wantin' to be selfish and knowin' two of our guys was doin' a job just around the corner, I goes to the truck and gives 'em a call on the radio. They shows up real quick with two others they's called. Then purty soon the boss shows up--guess he heard it on the radio,too--and some other folks I didn't even know. If I hadn't been so interested in that lady next door, I'd never have let 'em all up there. But she do get your attention. So, we're all tuned in and before you know it the cage starts groanin' and there we went. We build 'em strong but. . ."
"How many you reckon were up there?" I asked.
He started counting on his fingers, then said, "Hard to tell. Soon as it give in, most of 'em skedaddled. We must've had eight or ten of ours."
"Of yours? There were others?" I said.
"Oh, sure. There was the guy from next door, and ,uh, the mailman, and, oh, yeah, that Jehoviah's Witness feller, pool's full of his flyer things. . ."
"Got it," I said, "anything else?"
"Yeah, there is," Lamar said. "You know when that cage come down and we headed for the drink I swear I could hear that woman over there laughing."
Sometimes you find out more than you need to know. I told Lamar to never mind, no one was hurt, no need for a report. He breathed a sigh of relief. I went back on patrol.
Had I known they were going to be on the cage that day I could've warned them. The lady next door was famous for her nude sunbathing and, like the man said she was a hottie. I answered a bogus call at her residence once and she answered the door in a towel that , like our budget ,was experiencing a shortfall.
Cops see these teasers a lot. And over the years you almost get used to them.
A hefty middle-aged guy stepped forward and said he was senior on the job. Said his name was Lamar. Asked him what'd happened.
Lamar cleared his throat, scratched, blinked, and generally looked like that Governor that got caught with the hooker.
I told him I wasn't leaving until I got a story so he might as well cough it up. He thought about that a bit, shrugged, then said this:
"We had the frame up and were startin' with the screen. LeRoy was on top, I was feeding him the fabric. Then, all of a sudden LeRoy stops, whispers be quite, and waves me up. He's lookin' across the fence in the neighbor's backyard. I figures he's seen somethin' good so I heads up. Sure enough the lady next door is out there sunbathin' in nuthin' but 'er good intentions. An' she's a looker, I wanna tell ya."
I nodded and he went on.
"Well, not wantin' to be selfish and knowin' two of our guys was doin' a job just around the corner, I goes to the truck and gives 'em a call on the radio. They shows up real quick with two others they's called. Then purty soon the boss shows up--guess he heard it on the radio,too--and some other folks I didn't even know. If I hadn't been so interested in that lady next door, I'd never have let 'em all up there. But she do get your attention. So, we're all tuned in and before you know it the cage starts groanin' and there we went. We build 'em strong but. . ."
"How many you reckon were up there?" I asked.
He started counting on his fingers, then said, "Hard to tell. Soon as it give in, most of 'em skedaddled. We must've had eight or ten of ours."
"Of yours? There were others?" I said.
"Oh, sure. There was the guy from next door, and ,uh, the mailman, and, oh, yeah, that Jehoviah's Witness feller, pool's full of his flyer things. . ."
"Got it," I said, "anything else?"
"Yeah, there is," Lamar said. "You know when that cage come down and we headed for the drink I swear I could hear that woman over there laughing."
Sometimes you find out more than you need to know. I told Lamar to never mind, no one was hurt, no need for a report. He breathed a sigh of relief. I went back on patrol.
Had I known they were going to be on the cage that day I could've warned them. The lady next door was famous for her nude sunbathing and, like the man said she was a hottie. I answered a bogus call at her residence once and she answered the door in a towel that , like our budget ,was experiencing a shortfall.
Cops see these teasers a lot. And over the years you almost get used to them.
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