Page 61 of All You Want
“Like a love letter or two?” She sets the box on her coffee table and tiptoes to kiss my cheek. “Thanks, Sheriff. You’re a hero.”
I’m not much of a hero when I get to the station.
Shane frowns and checks his watch. “Where were you all evening? Folks said you were at the town square, but no one saw you.”
I’m not about to answer to him, so I interrogate him instead. “Anything happen worth reporting?”
He shrugs and leans back with his feet on the desk. “Nothing but lost children which we reunited with their parents and teenagers letting goats loose from the petting zoo. Other than that, the festival went off without a hitch.”
“How about across the creek? Get any calls?” I stand over him in a position of authority with my hands on my hips.
He gets the message and takes his feet off my desk. “You mean ATC where Tami’s having her big hoodoo? A fender bender and a disturbing the peace by your deputies.”
“What did they do?”
He tilts his chin toward the holding cell. “Threw them in the drunk tank.”
“Al Norman one of them?”
“Al, Dillon, and Justin.” He waggles his eyebrows. “Surprised?”
“Al and Dillon, I expect, but Justin? He claims to be the smart one. Why would he get rowdy?”
“Beats me. They’re your buddies, not mine.”
While it’s true Justin was the class valedictorian, for some strange reason, he never went to college. Instead, he made do by fixing computers, printing flyers and church programs, and doing websites for local businesses.
Shane shrugs, because he doesn’t know the local boys or their roles in high school.
“I’ll talk to them. Anything else?” I flip through the stack of incident reports.
“Definitely not the crime wave we have in San Francisco. No smash and grabs, no one defecating on the sidewalk, no thefts, assaults, stabbings, and shootings. I’d say it’s about the tamest night before Halloween I’ve ever experienced.”
“Good thing,” I concur. “Tomorrow’s the door-to-door trick or treating. It’s traditional to go through all the phases. Children before dusk, then teens right after the sun goes down, and adults up to midnight.”
“People still go door-to-door around here?” Shane throws up a disbelieving eyebrow. “Seems unsafe.”
“It’s a neighborly thing to do and gives people a chance to visit and one-up each other’s costumes and decorations.”
“Wish I could participate,” Shane says. “We’re always on duty. Now that you’re here, you mind if I head over to the fireworks show?”
“Sure, go ahead. Just keep your phone on in case I need you.” I dismiss him and head to the drunk tank to check on Al, Dillon, and Justin.
“Boy, am I glad you’re here.” Justin sweeps his sandy hair over his forehead and flashes me an apologetic shrug. His costume is dirty and torn, what’s left of a mummy’s rags over black sweats. “We weren’t making trouble at all. That Officer Donnelly’s so strict. We were just having fun.”
“Doing what?” I glance at Shane’s notes. “Drunk and disorderly conduct.”
“Someone stole my costume,” Al says in a dull voice, the only kind he has. He’s wearing gray sweats and a hoodie, his usual attire.
“What was it?” I ask.
“My coal bin ghost costume,” Al says. “But I didn’t want to dress up anyway.”
“All these years, I try to get Al to play along, you know, and he finally agrees, and some punk had to go swipe his costume.” Justin’s always righteously indignant on Al’s behalf.
“Where was it stolen from?” I ask, wondering if they misplaced it.
“I don’t know,” Al says.
