A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(66)

He seemed to be growing tenser by the moment. “I guess. But I wrote it really fast. It’s stupid.”

The teacher grinned knowingly. “I don’t think you could write anything stupid if you tried.” She took a sheet of paper off her desk and stood in front of the classroom. “Okay, class. I want you to really think about the words here. What is the author saying? What is he feeling? Who is he talking about?”

Cruz’s head whipped up when she asked the last question, but she didn’t notice. She cleared her throat and began.

MELICACENT: A Love Story

She was something other

The girl

Something not entirely human

A song perhaps

Created to be sung, not touched

Heard, not looked upon

But listened to as a series of notes that twist your spine

That crack your skull and bleed your feet

That hum with every breath you steal from her world

The only constant keeping her in check

Keeping her from shredding the flesh from your bones

Is the rhythm she dances to

The pulsing beat of your heart

A heart she would gladly stop

Should you dare look away

And then she would laugh

And set the galaxy on fire



Mrs. Ontiveros filled her lungs and then folded the paper and looked at the class. Auri would have as well, but she was too busy being hypnotized by his words.

After a long silence, the class erupted in applause. Most of the class, anyway. The boys that could reach him pushed and slapped him on the back, because that was what boys did. But the girls seemed just as impressed as Auri.

Lynelle, however, only had eyes for her. She sat with her arms crossed over her chest, her dark hair styled to red-carpet perfection, and her gray eyes set to stun as she stared at Auri.

But Auri couldn’t seem to find the strength to care. She watched Cruz, his head bowed, clearly unused to receiving such praise, and realized her heart was so very, very much in danger for the first time in its life.


Sun planned her day all the way to the station, so for about three minutes, after she dropped off Auri at school. As the county sheriff, she needed to get out to the search site and make sure things ran smoothly, but she also needed to interview Forest St. Aubin, Sybil’s dad, about his daughter.

She needed to know his whereabouts when she went missing and his list of possible enemies. If she absolutely had to, she could let Agent Fields handle the interview alone, especially since their strongest lead was Jimmy Ravinder.

The fact that both kids went missing on the same day at the same time pushed her tolerance for coincidence way over the line, despite what Auri said about her being the girl he’d been seen with. It was simply a lead she couldn’t dismiss.

The search had to take precedence that morning. Once she made contact with the state police field coordinator of the SAR team and made sure everyone was where they needed to be with safety the top priority, she would think about going back to town and sitting in on the interview with Mr. St. Aubin.

She parked her cruiser and walked into the station. When she saw Quincy’s face, however, she stopped and looked herself over. If she forgot her pants again, she was going to be livid.

She patted her legs. Nope. Pants were a go. She’d even showered and French braided her hair, but apparently, it hadn’t been enough.

Quincy eyed her, then handed her a cup of coffee without saying a word. Good decision.

“Okay, guys, the SAR team is already on-site. Let’s get out there. And be safe.”

Price walked up before she could head out. “Hey, boss. Mr. Hughes didn’t see anything suspicious.”

“That’s too bad. Who’s Mr. Hughes?”

“The guy in the surveillance video? The one buying the energy drink at the Quick-Mart?”

“Right. The receipt found at the scene. Do you think he was targeted? Specifically set up?”

“We can’t rule it out, but I really think this guy just took the opportunity to throw us off his trail. To keep us busy with a wild-goose chase.”

Sun agreed.

He handed her a report of what he’d found, which was basically nothing wrapped in another layer of nothing. “According to the clerk, Mr. Hughes goes in every day about the same time and buys the same energy drink.”

She perused the report quickly, then grabbed a photocopy off her desk and handed it to him. “You gave him a ticket. Do you remember him?”

Surprised, he scanned the photocopy. “Seventy in a fifty-five.” He looked at the photo of Mr. Hughes again and thought back. “Wait, I do remember him. He’d just gotten off work. Said he was in a hurry to get home because his wife was making his favorite. Lasagna.”

“I can hardly blame him, then,” she said with a grin.

“Right?”

“Did he seem sketchy in any way when you asked him about the receipt? Evasive?”

“Not at all,” Price said. “He seemed genuinely surprised. Said he always throws his receipts away in the same trash can.”

“Okay, good job on this.”

Price gave her a curt nod, clearly unused to compliments.

“So, why the new look?” Quincy asked.

She looked herself over again. “What new look?”

He gestured to indicate her overall appearance. “Hell in a handbasket.”