A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) - Darynda Jones Page 0,117
said she stole the necklace before she ran off.”
“And I’m guessing you told her cousin, Billy Press?”
Auri bit her lip as tears welled again. “I found him online and told him about the boardinghouse, but I didn’t give him the name! I would never put Mrs. Fairborn in danger like that.”
Sun squeezed her hand. “But you did, pumpkin. You almost got her killed. Not to mention Cruz.”
“Sunny,” Quincy said, admonishing her.
“Quince, she needs to hear the truth. She needs to realize there are consequences to her actions.”
“She’s right, Quincy,” Auri said, her little chin trembling. “This is all my fault.”
“That is not what I am saying,” Sun said, enunciating each word. “You tried to do the right thing.” She took hold of her quivering chin, softly guiding Auri’s gaze back to her. “I am so proud of you for that. You said we aren’t alike, but you’re wrong. I have to make these kinds of decisions every day of my life. Is the risk worth the reward? Is whatever I’m trying to accomplish, whatever crime I’m trying to solve, worth the danger to me or my deputies? To the people who might get caught in the crossfire?”
“So then if it’s too risky, you don’t solve the crime?”
“No, honey. If it’s too risky, I find another way. Take a different route. You had no way of knowing what Emily Press’s cousin would do, but that’s the problem. Why do you think people in law enforcement never give out any details during an active investigation?”
“Because it could hurt their case?”
“Often, yes, but also because others could use that information to their advantage. Again, the family was more upset about the necklace than they were about Emily. Something didn’t add up and you knew that. In your gut.”
Auri dropped her gaze as a pink hue blossomed across her cheeks. “I did.”
“Okay, then. First, I’m putting alarms on your windows with a high-security surveillance system. No more sneaking out.”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. It won’t happen again.
“Regardless. And I’m putting an ankle bracelet on you with GPS and electroshock capabilities.”
She swallowed hard. “Okay.”
Sun wouldn’t, of course. She didn’t even know where to find an ankle bracelet with electroshock capabilities. “And that’s just the beginning, hon.”
“I know,” she said with a sob, and Sun had to steel her heart. There had to be consequences. “For now, I want you to think about it and tell me what punishment you think you deserve.”
“What if I can’t?”
“I have faith.” Sun knew that no one would be harder on Auri than she would herself. Maybe even a little too hard, but maybe that was what she needed. A harsh dose of reality.
After a fresh round of tears, Auri nodded in agreement.
It took a while but they finally got the whole story from her. It demolished Sun’s heart to hear her daughter try to explain what it was like to find Mrs. Fairborn tied up. How she rushed in without even thinking, putting everyone in even greater danger. How she watched as the knife sank into Cruz’s abdomen.
Sun decided right then and there the fiery minx learned her lesson in the hardest way possible. She would’ve given anything to protect her from it, too. Still, what she did could not go unpunished. Sun saw several thousand hours of community service in her future.
Possibly worse, for Sun anyway, she had to tell Auri about Cruz’s father. Levi held the pixie for a long time while Sun stroked her hair, worried she’d broken her. They cried together and waited as they brought Cruz, barely conscious, to his room across the hall.
“What do I say to him, Mom?” she asked between sobs.
“Just be there for him, honey. That’s all you can do.”
Sun checked on her other stabbing victim, Keith Seabright. They’d downgraded his prognosis from critical to serious but stable. With that bit of good news, Sun had to get back to the office.
She took her parents aside before she left. “Okay, guys. She is connected to an IV. Her ass will show if she tries to make a run for it and that will mortify her. And she literally had brain surgery. Do you think you can keep her from sneaking out?” She had to ask.
The guilt on their faces was priceless.
“And I’m teasing you because you have to stop, too. This was not your fault. Any of it.”
Her mom’s expression told Sun she was not convinced. “We showed her the articles.”