A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(105)

“That doesn’t matter. We don’t look at motive until afterward. First, we follow where the evidence leads us.”

He nodded in agreement, but added. “Okay, let’s check his DNA before we ask for the electric chair, though. Yes?”

Tears burned the backs of her eyes. “Fine. Just get him in here.”

She walked to the restroom and leaned against the cool door. Three days on the job and she’d had at least two panic attacks and had behaved stunningly unprofessionally in front of a group of kids.

She thought back, trying to figure out how many panic attacks she’d had before moving back to Del Sol.

Oh yeah. None.

She could not do this. It was the town. The crazy, erratic, messed-up town that she’d loved so much growing up. And she could keep telling herself that until the stars burned out. It still wouldn’t be true.

It was him. Her emotions went haywire anytime he was near, like he emitted some kind of electromagnetic field that kept her and her alone off balance.

And now this? Would he . . . could he do something that heinous?

This was not going to work. She’d known it since she’d first stepped foot into the station. This whole thing, her being the sheriff, them moving back. None of it was going to work.

Auri would be devastated, but she could not live here. Not anymore. Maybe the old saying was right. There was simply no going home. And the town deserved a sheriff that didn’t have a panic attack every five minutes or throw hissy fits in front of children.

At least the mayor would have plenty of ammunition when it came time to have her position rescinded.

Sun would have to figure out how to tell everyone eventually, but for now, she had to solve this case. It was right there in front of her. The pieces of the puzzle were there; she just had to link them together. She was missing something. Some oddly shaped piece that would make the whole picture make sense.

She forced herself to calm down. To breathe slowly. To take control.

If Levi was innocent, he had nothing to worry about.

If not, well, he was about to have a very bad day.


“I think I’m in love with your mom.”

Auri gaped at Cruz, pretending to be appalled. Then she gave up. “It wouldn’t be the first time my boyfriend fell in love with my mom. Nor the second. Sadly.”

“So, I’m your boyfriend?”

She sucked in a sharp breath and turned to him. “What? No. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay. But if the position opens up, I’d like to put in my application.”

Her mouth imitated a goldfish for a few seconds before she caught herself. She unfolded from the chair and started for first period. “Okay, well, what are your qualifications?”

Cruz said goodbye to his dad as the principal explained how the school would not be suspending his son due to extenuating factors. “I’m good at hitting things with rocks. And I can write with a pencil and a pen, but not at the same time.”

She winced. “That’s kind of a deal breaker.”

“And—”

Auri was enjoying the conversation so much, she didn’t realize he’d stopped both talking and walking. She turned back to him, then pivoted around to see what he was looking at. The hall was lined with students three kids deep on either side, all gazes locked in her general direction.

Her eyes rounded, and she looked behind her. No one. They were definitely looking at her.

For a moment, she’d forgotten where she was. Del Sol High. Land of the Vicious and the Depraved.

Humiliation burned through her as Cruz gestured for her to go first through the throngs of students. Was she about to be tarred and feathered? Because she’d heard that sucked.

As they passed, however, the kids offered her their hands or patted her back or flat out introduced themselves.

“I’m Jeff,” one kid said, shaking her hand.

“I’m Auri.”

He laughed. “Yeah, we know.”

Another girl held out her hand. “I’m Heather.”

And another. “I’m the other Heather. The cool one.”

Then someone patted her back and said, “Welcome to Del Sol High, Auri.”

“We’re glad to have you.”

“Is this like a Del Sol thing?” she whispered to Cruz, who was receiving his fair share of high fives.

He whispered back, “No, this is like an Auri Vicram thing.”

“I’m Sarah.”

“I’m Caleb. We have geometry together.”

On and on. Student after student. Until she had to keep her mouth pressed together to keep her chin from trembling.

“I’m Sammy.”

“I’m David. I look forward to getting to know you better.”

“Hi, I’m Carla, and you and your mom are kind of amazing.”

Auri took her hand and laughed softly through a sob. Some faces looked familiar. Most didn’t. But all of them, each and every one, now held a special place in her heart. She totally took back the vicious-and-depraved thing.

She hid her face when they came to their classroom. The hall went silent, then in one uproarious cacophony, they erupted with applause and cheers.

Auri tried and failed to smile, as she asked Cruz, “Why are they doing this?”

“Because it needed to be done.”