For about 30 seconds, there was mass pandemonium.

Becca’s eyes kept swiveling between Paul and Jameson, unsure of where she should rivet her attention. Her hands were clenched, and she kept saying, “Oh no, what have I done…”

Sassy’s eyes kept checking out Mrs. Milo, she of the teetering red stiletto heels. To Sassy’s utter glee, Mrs. Milo’s eyes were checking her out, too. Both women were oblivious to the pandemonium.

Officer Milo was deeply disappointed when his beloved taser connected with the wrong person, but then he got over it.

Prandi was standing protectively between Officer Milo and Jameson, all ferocious five feet of her positively bristling with indignation.

Paul squirmed in a ball of pain, his hands and legs twitching as the last of the spasms overtook him. He kept pleading in a high voice for his “mummy.”

And Jameson stood at the center of the storm, blissfully unaware of nothing save the slip of a girl at his side.

He held her with his eyes. “Thank God you’re still here,” he whispered.