HIs and Lows - the end for now...

Cassie always liked visiting her uncle at work. The Hungry Iguana was traditionally more of an adult venue but the early evening of a weeknight was generally family friendly. Her Dad, Gerry would often take advantage of the proximity of the establishment and the timing of his big brother Scott’s shift to sometimes let Cassie sit at her uncle’s bar while he attended to errands at the General Store or Post Office and this certainly was the case on this evening.

Cassie got out of the Land Rover and sprinted into HI past the stand where the hostess would generally greet her with a smile and some after dinner mints. On this occasion, the hostess was crowded against the far wall with the rest of the patrons and wait staff as they were witnessing the exit of the two thieves who appeared to be looking to move out of the restaurant through the kitchen brandishing their weapons for emphasis. Cassie’s sudden appearance caused a minor distraction and for a brief moment it seemed everyone forgot the roles that they were supposed to be playing. The thieves were startled at this little girl’s fearless dash almost into their arms. She was of course heading toward her Uncle’s expected station at the bar area in the far left hand corner of the floor past where the evening’s entertainment would be setting up in the next hour or so.

“Hello,” Cassie said to the female thief “where’s Uncle Scotty?” She asked.

Bonnie just barked out that she should get her butt over against that wall “with the others”.

Cassie puzzled (but not sensing any real threat yet) paused her progress towards the bar area and seemed to notice the crowd of folks now grateful that the attention of the thieves was focused on the little 8 year old girl.

“Move it you little bitch” Bonnie yelled. It was at that moment that I knew I needed to intervene somehow. I fumbled out of the door to the kitchen into this scene carrying what appeared to be a case of booze and some packages of paper napkins.

My appearance took the thieves out of their stride. I paused for a brief moment and then handed Clyde the box of napkins with a comment “hold on to this for a moment”. He dumbfounded complied dropping his weapon in order to accommodate the box that I was handing him. At that point, I produced the shotgun that Karl always had stashed in the receiving area and trained it on the startled thieves. Bonnie cast an admonished look at her partner and then a menacing look at Cassie. Her body language then relaxed and she seemed resigned to defeat. Her partner was already giving up. I continued to keep the shotgun trained on the woman because she hadn’t dropped her weapon yet.

I barked at her to drop her weapon but, instead she whirled on me and instinctually I fired my weapon catching her in her left shoulder. She dropped at the same time I heard screams from several folks within the restaurant and her partner dropped to her aid. I quickly (still moving most on an adrenalin rush) moved to kick her pistol out of her reach.

Fortunately for all concerned, the wound was far from fatal and the outcome was that the robbery attempt was foiled and all in attendance that day were allowed to proceed with their lives.

It seems the two would be thieves were looking to grab some easy money and then make their getaway in their powerboat docked at the marina. They were likely looking to sail over to one of the Cayman Islands where they would be out of reach of the local law enforcement’s jurisdiction.

My efforts that day were lauded locally for all of about 48 hours. The oncoming weekend holiday soon overshadowed my hero worship. HI owner, Karl was very appreciative. He offered me a nice little reward for the deed and the local law enforcement folks gave me an honorary key to the city/island. The plaque is still prominently displayed in the galley of my boat.

My brother was also quite impressed with these events but, more importantly, Cassie now looks at her uncle as the bravest, most handsome guy in the planet… supplanting even her dad.

I learned that anyone has the capacity to achieve remarkable events when presented with the right combination of fear and panic. I knew that if I didn’t act, Cassie was in danger. I had no preconceived notions that I needed to protect my employer’s investment and thwart crime. I only wanted to get out of a bad situation with my head on my shoulders and my niece safe.

---Jim