Page 41 of Fall Into Temptation
Beckett pointed at him. “We do have a purpose. A couple of them.”
“Beckett and I were wondering if there’s been any progress tracking down Reva and Caleb’s mom?” Jax said, his eyes on the door.
Damn it.
Jax and Joey had been granted emergency guardianship over Reva and Caleb when the kids’ mother abandoned them that spring. The Pierces were ready to make it permanent. But without Sheila Flinchy signing away her parental rights, custody was temporary and tentative.
Donovan shook his head. “I had a hit on her in the system ten days ago. A speeding ticket and driving unregistered in Oklahoma but nothing since then. This week it kind of got away from me.”
Everything this week had gotten away from him. And now he was letting friends down. He was the asshat.
“We know you’ve got your hands full right now. Which is why we were thinking it’s time to hire a P.I.” Jax told him.
“I’d be happy to work with an investigator in whatever capacity I can to help,” Donovan said, still kicking himself.
“Joey and I know you would, and we appreciate it. We’re ready to make this official, and the sooner, the better. Jojo woke up in the middle of the night from a nightmare thinking Sheila stole the kids back. I had to wrestle the Nerf gun away from her and talk her down.”
“We’ll get this figured out, and we’ll make it legal, make it right,” Donovan promised.
“Great. We’ll put the investigator in touch with you,” Beckett said, making a note on his cell phone.
Carter tickled Meadow. “Business concluded. Who’s ready for lunch and interrogating Cardona about a certain redhead?”
Meadow’s hands flew up in the air.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Donovan wasn’t at the station when Eva stopped by. But the ever-helpful and all-knowing Minnie directed her to the high school where he was dealing with “an issue”. She wasn’t sure what the issue was, but Eva wanted to make sure he’d accepted her apology, and the best way to ensure that was with food.
She’d seen the police reports that had taken up the entire first two pages ofThe Monthly Moonand knew he was running himself ragged trying to keep up with town-wide mischief.
This particular police issue appeared to involve the entire Blue Moon High School marching band hosting a sit-in on the school’s crosswalk. A beside-himself band director was flailing his arms with an invisible baton, and the band was ignoring him.
Donovan, tall, sexy, and weary, was consulting with teachers and parents on the sidewalk.
Eva spotted Evan with his trumpet sitting cross-legged next to the blue-eyed, blonde-haired junior high temptress, Oceana.
“Evan! What the hell’s going on?” she demanded.
“Oh, hey, Aunt Eva!” he said cheerily. “We’re protesting.”
“Oh, sweet Jesus, this town got you too,” Eva sighed under her breath. “What are you protesting?” she asked, picking her way through the students to kneel next to Evan.
“The band director is insisting that we play this stupid song that no one likes at the football game tonight.”
“What do you want to play instead?” Eva asked.
“Anything but his song.” Oceana rolled her pale blue eyes heavenward.
“Mr. Burke is getting a divorce, and he wrote this song about it. He calls it ‘Getting Taken to the Cleaners by a Wench’. It’s a lot of brass and drums, and everyone else is just supposed to march and frown.”
“Oh boy,” Eva muttered. “And when did he spring this divorce and angry man song on you guys?”
“Yesterday. He made us practice for four hours last night just so we’d get it exactly right because his wife is going to be at the game tonight. She already came to see Beckett about drawing up papers.”
“If I get him to agree to let you play another song, will you stop blocking traffic?” Eva asked.
“Yes, please.” Evan nodded. “But good luck. We tried being reasonable with him, and he was not open to it.”
