The blond bombshell of the Spokane bail bonds biz poses a question: "Wouldn't you rather have me coming through your door than one of my guys?"

Marci Davis of Marci's Bail Bonds Unlimited has a point

Especially when you consider that if Marci must bust down your door, she'll do it with a battering ram with a large yellow happy face stuck to the business end.

"We call it Mr. Happy," Marci adds cheerily.

Marci is a feminine and photogenic contrast to the male fugitive-chasing goons of reality TV.

Like millions of boob-tube watching Americans, I find myself hooked on HBO's "Family Bond."

The weekly series follows the trashy exploits of the rude, crude Evangelista clan. The foul-mouthed Queens, N.Y., bail agents and their kin drink too much, smoke too much and bicker too much.

Over on the A&E channel is "Dog the Bounty Hunter." The star of that series, Dog Chapman, is a mullet-wearing lowlife, who heads a bounty-hunting operation in the Hawaiian Islands.

These shows are like watching midair collisions. I should know better, but I just can't turn my head.

One day last week found me driving near the courthouse. I looked up and saw Marci's fetching face smiling down at me from the sign outside her office at 709 N. Monroe. I thought to myself, "Now there's a mug that deserves a reality show."

I can see it now: "The Bounty Huntress."

Marci certainly seems up for more exposure. The woman does drive a flashy red T-bird convertible with a vanity plate that reads: "BAIL QT."

Thats just one of the fascinating tidbits I learned when I dropped in on Marci for a Monday morning interview.

Not knowing a lot about the bail system, she graciously filled me in.

Essentially this is how it works:
Say you've been jailed for (fill in the heinous crime). Some time after your strip search, you will face a judge who will set a bond.

You can either 1.) Pay it and go rob another liquor store or 2.) Continue to play house with a cell mate nicknamed "Knuckles McCrack Pipe."

Funny. Most people want out.

For some mysterious reason, jail often attracts people who don't have enough cash to pay their bond.

Enter the bail bonds business.

Marci's enterprise is not the only game in town. Spokane has at least a half-dozen bail firms.

A bail agent will pay your bond for 10 percent of the total. Sorry, pal, that's non-refundable.

These professionals aren't boneheads. The want collateral. That's why you - the felon - must find a sucker (excuse me, I meant co-signer) who, if necessary, has the means to satisfy your entire bond.

Conning mom into putting up her house is an old standby. That way, should you tire of the judicial process and decide to hide out in Pasco, momma can be tossed out in the cold.

Nobody, of course, wants to see that unfortunate event happen.

Which is why bail bondsmen are legally empowered to DRAG YOUR SORRY ASS BACK TO JAIL.

With the exception of weekly TV shows, this extreme scenario doesn't happen very often.

"Most of the people we deal with are not criminals," says Marci's husband, Dan. "They're just normal citizens who do something stupid. This might be the only time they deal with us in their lives."

At 6-foot-4 and 295 pounds, Dan Davis is the muscle behind Marci. It was also Dan's idea to feature his wife's good looks as a marketing tool back when they opened Bail Bonds Unlimited four years ago.

Smart. I'm not saying Dan isn't a handsome lug. But putting his kisser out on a sign could have the opposite effect.

Dan says that though violent encounters are rare, it does happen.

Marci and Dan tell a story about taking down a "skip" (the trade name for those who run) at a motel several years ago. The known gang member went for a gun. Dan was able to keep him from using it while Marci soaked both her hubby and the crook with enough pepper spray to open a chain of Cajun restaurants.

"It's not a game. It's no joke. It's not TV or the Movies," says Dan. "You can be dead in a heartbeat."

This is not a trade for those who enjoy their leisure time. "Holidays are wonderful times for catching bad guys," says Marci.

This Thanksgiving, for example, Bail Bonds Unlimited employees will be focused on trying to nab a skip with a $15,000 bond hanging over his noggin.

Hoping the felon might be brain-damaged enough to head for a drumstick, the bail agents will be watching.

If he does show, my advise would be to not resist.

As Marci notes, "If my size 7 foot won't open the door, Mr. Happy will."