Page 42 of Fall Into Temptation
“Excuse me, Evan’s aunt?” A boy with a tuba waved at her. “Could you make it quick? I really hafta pee, and I’m not going in the sewer drain like Willard did.”
“Give me a minute,” Eva said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
She stepped over kids and musical instruments and hurried to Donovan’s side.
“Ma’am, I don’t think arresting forty kids is going to help,” he explained to a harried teacher dressed in a lavender jumpsuit.
“We need to set an example,” she said, her shrill voice carrying far and wide.
“Excuse me, Sheriff. Do you have a moment?” Eva tugged on his sleeve.
She saw relief in his tired eyes. “Excuse me, Ms. Friendly.”
“Ms.Friendlywants to arrest half the high school?” Eva whispered as Donovan led her a few steps away.
“Usually she’s much more like her moniker,” Donovan sighed. “Everyone is insane.”
“You look exhausted. When’s the last time you slept?” Eva asked.
“I don’t know? Tuesday? What day is it?”
“My poor, handsome sheriff. It’s Thursday, and I brought you dinner. Baked ziti from Villa Harvest. My dad sends his compliments.”
“I love you, and I love your dad,” Donovan said, shoving his face in the bag to sniff. “I know we’re taking things slow and all, but I’m going to marry you, and we’re going to serve baked ziti at our reception.”
“I think Uranus is getting to you, too.”
Donovan yawned mightily. “I don’t care what Uranus does to me as long as you’re with me. As soon as I get this situation cleaned up, we should have a date. You can watch me eat the dinner you brought me.”
“Whatisthe situation here?”
“I have no fucking clue. The band director is melting down and won’t talk. Just keeps muttering about going to the cleaners. Every time I try to talk to the kids, some teacher freaks out on me and tells me to arrest someone.”
“How about this? You sit down and eat some ziti. Give me a minute, and I’ll see if I can broker a truce.”
“Good luck,” he said, his mouth already full of fresh baked roll.
Eva took her chances with the band director. “Mr. Burke?”
He cut off his silent symphony mid-slice. “What?”
“The band will play tonight if you let them play another song.”
“No! Absolutely not! It must be that song!”
She patted his shoulder. He wore a worn tweed jacket with patches on the elbows. His hair hadn’t been combed in about a week. “I understand you’re going through a rough time, but the fastest, safest way to get these kids out of the street and stop them from using sewer drains as urinals is to let them play a different song.”
“How else am I supposed to stick it to my wife so she knows she’s being unreasonable?” Dejected now, Mr. Burke shoved his invisible baton inside his jacket.
“Have you considered the possibility that all of this is because of the planets crossing?” Eva suggested gently. “Maybe she doesn’t mean anything she says right now.”
He perked up. “Do you think that’s true?”
How the hell was she supposed to know?“Yes,” she said firmly.
Mr. Burke scuffed his toe on the sidewalk. “I don’t know. She said some pretty mean things,” he said, sending a pouty look over his shoulder at Ms. Friendly.
“Ms. Friendly is your wife?” she whispered.
