Page 10 of Justice for Samara

“No, but we carry them in the shops for measuring circumference of things.”

“Grab one and measure her for a uniform so you can order them.”

“Uh, yes, sir.”

Samara was fighting laughter. The look on his face told her that Edwards was grossly uncomfortable with the idea of measuring her. The thought crossed her mind to fuck with him a bit, but she shut it down. She had to get along with this guy, and he seemed really nice. Fucking with him wouldn’t be nice at all.

When he came back, he had a tape measure in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. As soon as he laid the paper on the desk, she could see it was an order form from the uniform supplier. “Okay, we need a chest measurement, waist measurement, hips, sleeve, back length from top of spine to waistline, and inseam measurement.”

Samara stood and took her jacket off. “Okay. Hand me the tape.” She curled it around herself across her breasts. “Looks like… thirty-nine inches.” Edwards marked it on the sheet. “Waist… twenty-nine inches. Hips…” She drew it around her hips. “Is it where it’s supposed to be?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Can you read it?”

She watched as he looked at it. “Yep. Thirty-five inches. Okay, give me the tape.” She handed it to him and held one end while he drew the other up to her shoulder. “Thirty-one.” She could feel him holding the tape at the top of her spine, then running it down her back. “Twenty-eight. And last but not least, inseam.” Handing her the loose end, he waited while she pressed it on her thigh just below her crotch, and then he dragged it down the inside of her leg. “Thirty-one. I think that’s it. Do you want short sleeves?”

“Yes, please, for summer. I wear longs in winter.”

“Me too. That should do it. Oh, they have two choices, tailored or relaxed fit.”

She had no idea what that meant. “Which are you wearing?”

“I wear the tailored shirts. They just look more professional. But I wear the relaxed version of the pants in case I have to run. Makes it a little easier.”

She smiled at him and watched his cheeks pink just a little. “Sounds good to me. Hook me up with your special combo there.”

“Will do.”

A minute later, she could hear the fax machine going, and she assumed he was sending the form to the uniform company. As soon as she finished filling out her paperwork, she stepped over to Carter’s door. “I’ve got the paperwork filled out. Anything else you want me to do?”

“Yeah.” He took the stack of papers she held out to him, looked everything over, and handed it back to her. “I want Edwards to take you to the courthouse to give them to the clerk over there so they can put you on the county payroll. Then he can take you to the jail, city hall, bank, post office, places like that, so you can get familiar with the area. While you’re out, go ahead and have lunch. As soon as that paperwork is filed, it’ll register your duty weapon, and you’ll be available for duty. And when you get there, they’ll want this.” He handed her a black presentation box, and she knew what it was. “You’ll need to put the number on the paperwork when you get there. Welcome aboard, DeputyFutrell.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Edwards! Assignment! Futrell will tell you.”

“Yes, sir,” Michael’s voice called back from somewhere up front.

The hallway spit her out at the front desk again, and there was a deputy standing there, one she hadn’t met. He turned and eyed her up and down, then stuck out a hand. “DeputyJustin Watson.”

She took his hand and shook it, making sure to give him a solid grip. “DeputySamara Futrell. Pleasure to meet you.”

“And you too.” Then he turned and went back to what he’d been doing.Uh-huh. There’s something going on there, Samara told herself. She didn’t know what, but there was a good chance she could get it out of Michael at lunch.

About that time, another deputy walked in. “Damn that Mrs.Bloodworth. She called me about her cat again. I swear… Oh, hello. I’m GrayLewis. You must be DeputyFutrell.” When she took the hand he extended, she felt something pass between them, and she knew what it was. It was a knowing that she recognized.

“I am, but you can call me Samara. Just not on the radio,” she quipped and he grinned.

“Not in a million years! Oh, wow. Cupcakes. Edwards, you do this?”

“Nope. It was her,” Michael said with a grin as he pointed over his shoulder, never looking up.

“I keep eating like this, I’ll never fit into my wedding dress,” Gray said as he took a cupcake from the box. She heard Michael chuckle, but she also caught the look that passed over Justin’s face?pure fury.What the hell is that about?she wondered.

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll look great. Uh, DeputyEdwards, SheriffMelton told me to take this paperwork over to the courthouse and said he’d like to have you show me around. Do you have time to?”

“I’ll make time. Let me finish this report and we’ll go. Won’t take but a second.” She watched as he went over the form again, then pointed at something and turned to show her. “See this box? Yeah, I didn’t for a long time. SheriffMelton didn’t either. I got in trouble for not checking this on a document, so make sure you do.”

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