The young policeman is feeling his forehead with his 1ngertips. He has a lump the size of a baby’s 1st there.

“How did you get that?” the real estate agent asks, looking like she’d really prefer to ask Hom’s tvicbs? again.

“I got hit on the head,” the policeman grunts, then looks at his notes and says, “Did the perpetrator seem used to handling 1rearms?”

The real estate agent smiles in surprise. “You mean… the pistol?”

“Yes. Did he seem nervous, or did it look like he’d handled a pistol plenty of times before?”

The policeman hopes his question will reveal whether or not the real estate agent thinks the bank robber might have a military background, for instance. But the real estate agent replies breezily: “Oh, no, I mean, the pistol wasn’t real!”

The policeman squints at her, evidently trying to 1gure out if she’s joking or just being naive.

“What makes you say that?”

“It was obviously a toy! I thought everyone had realized that.”

The policeman studies the real estate agent for a long time. She’s not joking.

A hint of sympathy appears in his eyes. “So you were never… frightened?” The real estate agent shakes her head.

“No, no, no. I realized we were never in any real danger, you know. That bank robber could never have harmed anyone!”

The policeman looks at his notes. He realizes that she hasn’t understood. “Would you like something to drink?” he asks kindly.

“No, thank you. You’ve already asked me that.”

The policeman decides to fetch her a glass of water anyway.