Page 140 of Fall Into Temptation
Donovan marched five suspects into the Blue Moon High School under a sign welcoming them to jail. It had been a tight squeeze in his cruiser. Slim Felderhoff, who had shown the poor judgment to stick a wad of gum in Donovan’s hair, had to sit on Kathy Wu’s lap in the backseat. Velma Flinthorn, caught egging the police station, rode shotgun. He’d gotten tired of flipping off the lights and sirens that she repeatedly turned on, so they came in hot, lights blazing and tires squealing into the parking lot.
The gym lights were on, and he spotted Eva sitting at a table behind a laptop with Huck Cullen. There was a glittery sign attached to the front of the table that read Processing.
Willa beamed from a second larger table labeled Hospitality. It was stacked with bottles of water, chocolate milk, and snacks that looked as though they had been pilfered from the school’s cafeteria.
“Welcome,” Willa called out warmly. “Please begin your incarceration journey at Processing and then come see me for your welcome package.”
Donovan pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers to ward off the headache that was threatening. “You heard the lady, go on,” he said, nudging Rupert the beanpole waiter who had made the poor decision to take up residence on his on-again, off-again girlfriend’s front yard in a tent.
They shuffled forward, lining up in front of Eva and Huck.
“What’s your full name?” Eva asked politely.
“Rupert Meadowlark Shermanski the third.”
“Of course, it is,” Eva said under her breath.
Donovan turned to survey the gym. The entire floor had been cordoned off with tape in six-foot by four-foot blocks. Each block was neatly numbered by a small sign.
“Okay, Kathy,” Huck said. “What’s your offense?”
Kathy shot Donovan a dirty look. “Sheriff Goody Two Shoes over there didn’t think I should be riding bike in the bike lane. He’s the one who’s gone crazy. He should be getting arrested, not me!”
Donovan sighed. “Kathy, you stole little Casablanca Taylor’s bike.”
Kathy snorted. “So?”
“So, she chased you for six blocks, and you threw all her Halloween candy out of the basket.”
“You have no case! I was riding in the bike lane!”
“On astolenbike!”
Kathy glared at him. “I want a lawyer.”
“I’ll call Beckett,” Eva offered.
Donovan was more than happy to dump Kathy Wu on Beckett. “Sounds great. Next!”
“In the meantime, you’re in meditation spot twenty-five,” Huck said, handing Kathy a sticky note with the number written on it. “You can go on over to Hospitality. We hope you enjoy your stay with us.”
Donovan rolled his eyes. If ever he’d wished for a more normal legal system in Blue Moon, this was the moment.
He ducked behind the table and dropped a kiss on Eva’s head. “I owe you so big,” he murmured against her hair.
She beamed up at him. “As in ‘let me take you on a first date’ big?”
“As in, I’m taking you on vacation somewhere tropical where bathing suits are optional.”
Her eyes widened.
“Excuse me. I’ve been waiting at least an hour to be processed,” Slim whined. “I want to get my chocolate milk while they still have some.” He looked desperately toward the hospitality table.
“Slim, you got here five seconds ago,” Donovan reminded him.
“If my blood sugar gets too low, I start to act up.”
Donovan pointed at his own head. “You start to act up by putting gum in an officer of the law’s hair?”
