A Bad Day for Sunshine--A Novel

by Darynda Jones

  “No idea. A hoodie and a semiautomatic rifle obstructed my view.”

  Her “What!” came out more as a screech than she’d planned.

  “Just kidding. You need to learn to lighten up, or that job’s gonna kill you. Of course it was Rojas. But he’s probably long gone by now. I tried to get ahold of you this morning.”

  “Oh, damn. I was out of cell range.”

  “I heard, but good news on the kid, huh?”

  “Yes. Very. Okay, I have to find a missing girl today if I can.”

  “Any leads?”

  “No solid ones.”

  “Chin up, Sunny Girl. You’ll get there.”

  She hoped his faith in her was not unfounded.

  21

  Need an alibi? Spend $50 or more on mixed drinks

  and you were here all night, no questions asked.

  —SIGN AT THE ROADHOUSE BAR AND GRILL

  A sweet voice Auri loved more than coffee whispered into her ear, “Hi, Auri. Don’t scream, okay?”

  She giggled and turned to see Jimmy Ravinder standing on her porch. In boots, a winter coat, and a hospital gown.

  “Jimmy!” she shouted.

  He slammed a hand over her mouth again. “If you scream, your grandpa will come out and make me leave.”

  “Okay,” she said, but it was muffled because his hand was still covering her mouth. She peeled it off. “Jimmy, what are you doing here?”

  “I escaped.”

  “Clearly. And you turned into a Smurf.”

  “Really?”

  If one didn’t know about his disability, Jimmy would seem like a normal kid taking a walk in a hospital gown. He didn’t talk any differently, really. He just had routine issues. He did not like his routine messed with, so the hospital thing was probably freaking him out.

  Jimmy looked like most Ravinders—besides his uncle Levi, of course—except his eyes were a little too far apart. His nose a little too wide. But he had the requisite dirty-blond hair and boyish features of the Ravinder clan.

  Hints at his autism were subtle. He had to think a little harder to get out what he wanted to say, and eye contact was a constant challenge, but the kid could play chess like he was born on a chessboard.

  “You are very blue. It’s concerning.”

  He laughed as she opened the door.

  “Come in, and I’ll call your mom.”

  “No way, OJ. She’ll make me go back.”

  “Because that’s where you need to be.” She took off her jacket, tossed it onto the couch, then turned on him. “What were you thinking, anyway? Why would you go that far into the mountains alone?”

  “There was a hurt deer.”

  “Then you get your mom or your uncle Levi. You don’t go that far alone.”

  “I’m sorry. Are you mad?”

  “Completely.” When he didn’t catch on that she was teasing, she grinned.

  After a moment, he grinned back.

  “Okay, let’s call your mom.”

  She took out her phone, but he practically tackled her for it. They landed on the sofa, her giggling, him yelling, “Nooooooooo!”

  “Okay, fine. I’ll call your uncle.”

  “Not him, either. Mom said I almost killed him, and he’s at home resting. Do you think he’s mad at me?”

  They sat up on the sofa. “Of course he’s not mad at you.”

  “My mom said you got upset today at school. That someone was mean to you. You aren’t going to try to jump off the cliff again, are you?”

  “No, sweetheart. That was a long time ago. I would never do that again.”

  “Can you come live with us? My mom said it’s okay.”

  “I would love to,” she said, smoothing back a lock of hair. “But who would take care of my mom?”

  “She can come, too.”

  Auri threw her arms around him.

  He let her hug him for all of eleven seconds, then pushed away from her. Not in a bad way. Not to be rude. But to survive. He could only handle so much affection and Auri knew that.

  “That was good,” he said, showing her the wrapper of some kind of fruit bar. “Do you have any more?”

  She giggled. “I have no idea where you got that, but—”

  “He got it from me.”

  Auri swirled around to a male voice. A male voice coming from her bedroom. Or, more precisely, her bedroom window. She stood and crept toward the door to her room. The light was on, and she saw Cruz De los Santos standing at her open window.

  “Cruz!” She rushed forward. “Did Jimmy open the window for you? Why didn’t you just come to the door?”

  “You tried to kill yourself?” he asked, his expression guarded.

  It surprised her. “You heard that?”

  “Please answer.”

  She lowered her head and nodded. “I’m sorry. It was a long time ago.”

  “Fuck you,” he said softly. He stepped away from the window, raked a hand through his hair, thought a minute, then came back. “Don’t try it again.”

  She held up her pinkie. “Pinkie swear.”

  “This isn’t funny. After that shit with Lynelle and her cronies today—”

  “Cruz, I’m okay.” Without thinking, she took his hands. His glacial hands. “Oddly enough, this was one of the best days of my life.”

  He stared at her in doubt, but his fingers threaded with hers.

  “How did you get here? I thought you were grounded.”

  “I was. I rode my bike. And I am, but my dad also understood my side of things.”

  “And what side would that be? Did you get in a fight with Liam?”

  He looked at their fingers. Ran the pads of his over the length of hers. It caused warm, tingling sensations in the strangest places. “Sure. We’ll call it that.”

  She took a hit off her inhaler then crawled onto her window seat. Jimmy walked in and sat on her bed.

  “Would you like to come in?” she asked him.

  “Nah. I don’t want to get you in trouble. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Oh, right. No phone. When will you get it back?”

  “I have it back. I just wanted to make sure you were okay in person.”

  If fireworks had burst from her chest, she wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised, her elation was so powerful. “You know, you’re making my room ice over.”

  “I know. I have to get back, anyway.”

  “You have to go?” She rose onto her knees.

  “Yeah. I promised my dad I’d only be gone thirty minutes. Can I come by tomorrow when you get out of school?”

  “Yes. Please do. How long are you suspended for?”

  “Don’t know yet. We’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Let me know.”

  “Will do,” he said, still studying their fingers.

  She leaned closer. “Thank you. For today.”

  He shook his head as though embarrassed. “I’m so sorry for what they did to you.”

  “I’m not.” When he looked at her in surprise, she said, “It was really a setup to reveal who my true knight in shining army jacket was.”

  “Ah. So, it was a setup.”

  “Yep. Sorry I had to go to such extreme measures.”

  “Was it worth it?”

  “Every bit and then some.” As her grandpa always said.

  “Are you guys gonna kiss now?” Jimmy asked. “I can leave.”

  Laughter erupted out of both of them, but before she could change her mind, Auri leaned out the window and brushed her lips across the corner of his mouth.

  He let her, then ducked, got on his bike, and took off.

  “That was a good kiss.”

  She giggled and turned to Jimmy. “The best I’ve ever had.”

  * * *

  Sun was on her way home with a boxful of file folders and reports—she was going to go through every tip and every piece of evidence herself—when her phone rang.

  “It’s Mom,” Elaine said.r />
  “Yes, I figured that out when your title popped onto the screen.”

  “Right, well, you should know there’s a boy at Auri’s window. What do I do?”

  “Are you kidding me?” She groaned aloud. “Okay, tell Dad to go to the kitchen—”

  “Yes.”

  “—grab a steak knife—”

  “Yes?”

  “—and make you a sandwich, because holy cow, Mom. I don’t care if there’s a boy at the window. Now, if there’s a boy inside the house, yeah. That’s when you take the steak knife and pay the guy a visit.”

  “Oh, well, there’s one of those, too.”

  “What?”

  “Do you want me to keep an eye on them?”

  “With every fiber of my being.”

  Elaine breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m on it.”

  Hell yes. Definite advantages to living in your parents’ backyard. Auri didn’t stand a chance, poor kid. Sun couldn’t have stopped the giggle that bubbled out of her if she’d tried.

  “Oh, wait, the boy at the window left. And the boy inside is wearing a hospital gown.”

  “Jimmy Ravinder.”

  “Oh yes. He’s so sweet. Shouldn’t he still be in the hospital with that gown and all?”

  “I’m thinking yes. I’m stopping at the Roadhouse, then I’ll be home.”

  “Okay. I made stew.”

  “Thanks, Mom. You know you don’t have to cook for us.”

  “Stop it. Take your time. I’ll keep an eye on them.”

  Sun couldn’t help it. She texted her daughter. “Knock, knock.”

  “Who’s there?”

  “A boy at your window.”

  After a long—very long—pause, Auri called. “Grandma?”

  “Grandma.”

  “He’s gone now.”

  “Great. What about the one in the house?”

  “Mom, don’t get mad.”

  “Auri…”

  “I’m putting you on speakerphone. It’s Jimmy.”

  “I actually figured that part out. The hospital gown gave it away.”

  “Oh, my god, does she have binoculars?”

  “Eagle eyes, baby. She sees all. Also, the house is probably bugged. You have to remember your grandfather was in military intelligence. Now why is Jimmy there? In a hospital gown?”

  “He escaped.”

  “I figured. Does his mom know where he is?”

  She heard Jimmy yell in the background, “No, she doesn’t!”

  “I’ve texted her,” Auri said, then she lowered her voice. “Have you heard anything?”

  “No, sweetheart, but I’m on my way home. I’ll be there in a bit.”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too,” her daughter said, followed by Jimmy, speaking way louder than necessary.

  “Love you, too!”

  She laughed before hanging up and going inside the package store for a bottle of wine. It had been a long day and promised to be a long night, and she didn’t keep alcohol in her house as a general rule.

  An older man was working the counter. Tall. Lanky. He’d clearly lived a hard life. There was no one else in the package store, but there were two young men who looked barely legal in the hall that led to the cantina. They were waiting for the restroom as she was perusing the tall shelves for just the right bottle of Moscato when she overheard them talking.

  “Hey,” one said to the other. “I’ve decided to go to the sun. Want to come?”

  “Dude, you can’t go to the sun. It’ll burn you alive.”

  “No, no, no. You don’t get it.” He chuckled and leaned forward to whisper to the guy, but a drunk whisper sounded strangely similar to a shout. “I’m going at night.”

  Sun walked past them and into the cantina to seek out the bartender.

  Twelve civilians, including two males, sitting at opposite ends of the bar.

  The bartender just happened to be a gorgeous American Indian with long black hair and biceps that rivaled the statue of David, if the tight tee were any indication. Not that she was looking.

  “Hi there.”

  He lifted his chin in greeting as he wiped down the bar. “What can I get you?”

  “Nothing for me. I just want to make sure you’ve stopped serving those two.”

  He scoffed. “Like three hours ago. They must’ve snuck in some booze. Happens all the time. I hear you found a dead body.”

  “Well, not me personally, but…”

  He stopped wiping and regarded her with a serious demeanor. “You can’t talk to it, can you?”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “The dead body? You can’t talk to it, right?”

  “The … the dead body.”

  “Yeah. I knew a chick who said she could talk to dead people. She was crazy. I worked at a bar her dad owned, but things got really weird. That’s when I decided to move here. You know, peace and quiet. Less conversing with the dead.”

  “Wow,” she said thoughtfully. “If only I could. Can you imagine how much easier my job would be?”

  “You’d think, but that chick was bat shit. And trouble followed her like a fly follows, well, bat shit.”

  “Sorry to hear that. I’m Sunshine.”

  He held out his hand. “I’m Donnie.”

  “Awww,” the male sitting at the end of the bar said. “Ain’t that sweet.”

  She thought about ignoring him completely, but that could cause an even bigger scene. She turned to Clay Ravinder, acknowledging his existence.

  “The Apache’s never gotten over you.” He tapped his temple with a dirty index finger. “Don’t got no sense. No marbles where it counts.”

  From what Sun could tell, Levi was one of the few Ravinders who did have marbles, especially where they counted. He and Hailey gave Sun hope for the whole family. With Levi at the helm and Hailey by his side, they could break the chain of abuse and criminal behavior that probably went back generations.

  She decided to take advantage of the situation and ask Clay about his brother Kubrick, the DB they’d found on the mountain. “When was the last time you saw your brother?”

  “’Bout an hour ago.” He walked closer and took the seat she was standing beside. “Ain’t never seen quite so much of him, though. Little disturbing, a bear chewing on him and all.”

  “Why didn’t anyone report him missing?”

  He leaned in and winked. “Maybe ’cause no one missed him.”

  “Ah. Well, that would make sense. Nice to meet you, Donnie.”

  The hottie nodded, and Sun turned to leave, but alas, it was not going to be that easy.

  “Why don’t you stay? Keep an old man company?”

  “I have work, but thank you for the offer.”

  “It was more of a demand than an offer.”

  Donnie stilled.

  Sun did not. “Yeah, not happening, Clay.”

  When he reached out his hand, she did the unexpected and stepped closer to him. So close they were nose-to-nose when she spoke again, her voice even. Nonthreatening. Her words were a different matter.

  “I know exactly one hundred nine ways to take you down from this position alone, thirty-seven of those involve breaking your thumb before you get a chance to touch me.”

  Anger exploded in his eyes, but he didn’t move. As badly as he wanted to, he didn’t. And here Sun thought Levi and Hailey had hoarded all the intelligence in the family. Maybe she’d underestimated good ole Uncle Clay.

  “Clay,” came a warning voice from a dark corner of the room.

  They both turned to see Levi Ravinder sitting in a corner booth, a glass of whiskey in his hand.

  She’d missed him. How did she miss him of all people?

  Then again, it had been dark when she’d walked in. Her eyes hadn’t adjusted. She was going to add him to her warm body count, but she completely forgot her original count when he stood and walked toward them.

  The look on Clay’s face suggested he hadn�
��t been aware of his nephew’s presence, either.

  Levi leveled a look on him that was part warning and part Go ahead, I dare you.

  Clay strummed his fingers on the bar a moment, his annoyance crystal clear, then got up and switched seats without another word.

  So, what now? She didn’t want to be the girl who needed saving, and she didn’t want to be the girl who stubbornly claimed she didn’t need saving even when she did because those girls always came across as shallow and ignorant as opposed to the first group who just genuinely did not want to be the girls who needed saving. They wanted to be the girls who lived in a world where they didn’t need to be saved from the Kubricks and the Clays and the Liams. They wanted to be the girls who lived in a world that deserved them.

  And yet here he was. Her knight in shining, majestic, rugged, panty-melting armor.

  She decided to change the subject.

  “Your nephew is at my house.”

  The once-over he was in the middle of performing from underneath thick lashes paused at her hips. “Jimmy?”

  “The one and only.”

  “Shit.” He grabbed his jacket. “He escaped again?”

  “He’s done this before?”

  “Yeah, he doesn’t like hospitals.”

  “He must like the gowns. He stole one.”

  “He does that, too.”

  “Wait! My Moscato!” she said as he started for the door.

  He made a U-turn and waited for her to buy her precious Moscato even though it clearly irked him. Oh yeah. Definitely a knight in shining, majestic, rugged, panty-melting armor. Damn it.

  22

  It’s all fun and games until

  Russia tries to hack our queso recipe.

  —SIGN AT TIA JUANA’S FINE MEXICAN CUISINE

  Levi followed Sun to the apartment where the kids awaited their return. Only they were in her parents’ house eating green chile stew and homemade tortillas. Those things were worth the price of admission right there.

  Levi took the box she was carrying and held it as they went inside.

  “Hey, Mom!” Auri said, thankfully because anyone else saying that would have been awkward.

  “Hey, bug bite.”

  Auri beamed at her for a half second before her jaw dropped to the floor. She’d spotted him.