Cuff Me, Sheriff

by Douglas, Katie

  “There’s no need for the cameras,” Bob said, and waited for them to be switched off and put away. “I’m the local sheriff, of Snake Eye, the town down the road, and we need to ask you all some questions.”

  “We’re here legally,” said a young man in a T-shirt with a cartoon design.

  “Irrelev—” I began but Bob cut across me.

  “That’s neither here nor there, son. I’m here about the party y’all had last night.”

  A couple of people looked uncomfortable.

  “That kid... what happened wasn’t our fault,” a young woman in a strappy pink top said.

  “What’s your name, miss?” Bob asked.

  “Tania.”

  “Well, Tania, that young man is in a coma in the hospital. His parents are worried out of their minds. And we need to know anything that might help. Did anyone see him, here?”

  There were several seconds of silence.

  “I did.” Cartoon T-shirt man said at last.

  “And you are...?” Bob asked.

  “Danny. I invited Jimmy. We’re Facebook friends. He follows my YouTube channel.”

  “Danny, could you talk me through the evening?” Bob asked.

  “Sure. Jimmy arrived about seven fifteen. We all sat around talking for about an hour. When the sun went down, someone got a fire going and the beer came out. Some of the other vanlifers got rowdy. They started dancing. And Jimmy took something. I was a bit shocked. He offered it around.”

  “I took it off him and told him drugs are stupid,” Tania added. “He wasn’t happy about that. We were... we were arguing when he went very red and collapsed.”

  A likely story.

  “Did he mention where he’d gotten them from?” Bob asked.

  “No.”

  “This is bolloni,” I remarked. Bob gave me a glare that was obviously intended to silence me but I ignored him. “Do you all take us for idiots? C’mon, you all took the drug, just admit it. We probably need to get you checked over at the hospital.”

  Tania looked taken aback. She looked back to Bob.

  “What she said, it’s just not true. Here.” Tania went to a storage box near where we stood, and when she came back, she held something out to Bob.

  “These were Jimmy’s. I didn’t know what to do with them.”

  Bob smiled and took them. “Thank you, Tania. Now, I’m willing to overlook the underage drinking—”

  “That wasn’t us!” Danny said. “We’re straight edge. It’s our brand. No meat, no animal products, no smoking, no drinking, and no drugs. It’s not worth losing our brand image over.”

  “Your brand?” Bob asked.

  “Yeah, we have a YouTube channel. Our new videos get about two hundred thousand views when we upload them. We have brand partnerships and a good stream of revenue. We’d lose it all if we were associated with anything negative like underage drinking,” Tania explained.

  “This YouTube channel, what’s it about?” Bob asked.

  Danny extended a hand toward all the vans. “Van life. We’re vanlifers. Our brand is built around traveling from place to place in our van and making videos about it. Not all the people here have the same level of commitment that we do, though.”

  Bob seemed to process this, and he nodded. “Do you have any footage of Jimmy? If he bought his drugs here, there might be something on camera.”

  Tania sighed. “Everyone here was filming the party. That’s about fifty vanlifers. It’s going to take you a week to go through all that footage.”

  “I can send it off for analysis,” I said to Bob. For once, he didn’t silence me.

  “Know what? That’s the first sensible thing you’ve said since I met you, Agent Frost. Okay, we’re gonna round up all that video footage and get the FBI to look at it.”

  The kids helped. They really did seem keen to stay on the right side of the law, and I was surprised by that.

  Chapter 4

  Mariella

  By the time we got back to the Sheriff’s office with a box containing USB pen drives and SD cards from cameras, his deputies had gone home for the day.

  “Put ‘em on top of that filing cabinet by my desk,” Bob said. His voice was gruffer than it had been earlier.

  “So I’m still on the case?” I teased him.

  “That depends on you, Agent Frost.” His answer surprised me. He ambled to a cupboard and opened it.

  “I won’t do anything stupid.” Was that what he was prompting me to say?

  “I’ll be the judge of that. Do you consent to me spanking the snot outta you?”

  There was that word again. He wanted to spank me. Like a naughty girl. Did he know that I was the member of a BDSM club near my hometown? Had he figured out that I was a submissive?

  “I don’t understand,” I lied.

  “Yeah, you do. You’re gonna bend over my desk and I’m gonna take my belt to your ass. You get into trouble, your safeword is ‘elephant’. You and I both know this ain’t your first rodeo, sweetheart.”

  My mouth fell open. “You... what tipped you off?”

  “You have cuff marks around your wrists.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “The way I see it, Agent Frost, you got two options. Go home, or work with me. And if you’re going to work with me, we need to square things up. You’ve been rude to me, you’ve ignored my orders and you punched me. I won’t accept that behavior.”

  “You weren’t exactly thrilled when I showed up on this case,” I pointed out.

  “No, I wasn’t. And I still don’t want you here. You’re getting under my feet. Now, are you going to take a punishment and behave yourself, or are you going to call your Captain and get someone else out here?”

  I sighed. Going home would be boring. Anyway, Bob looked like the sort of man who might know how to give a good spanking. I didn’t have to like him. There were plenty of doms at my club who I didn’t like, but I still played with them because they were good at what they did. Dating was for people I liked, and I hadn’t met anyone to date in years.

  “Fine. Do your worst.”

  He shook his head and chuckled. The sound vibrated through me.

  “Not my worst, Agent Frost. You ain’t been anywhere near naughty enough for that. Bend over my desk.”

  I was in a Sheriff’s office, being made to bend over a desk for a spanking. It was one of my personal fantasies. How hard would he go? Would he wave his belt at me or really punish me for punching him and undermining his investigation?

  I bent over, being sure not to mess up his paperwork, and leaned onto my forearms.

  “Pull your pants and panties down, I want to see what I’m doing.”

  I looked around the airy office in horror. “I can’t! Someone might see!”

  He shrugged like he didn’t care, but he went to what I thought was a set of light switches and pressed a button that closed all the same.

  When he returned, he took a minute to look at me in position.

  “Push your bottom up higher,” he told me.

  I was stunned. He didn’t seem like the type to be a stickler for form and ritual. I guessed it was all protocol, and at his heart, he was a man who played by the rules. I usually did, too, so I obeyed him.

  “Better. I get a nicer view of the curve of your ass, now. Makes aiming easier.”

  I heard his belt unfasten, and I knew we were about to start. The fizzing in my veins had already started. This was no longer a professional situation. We were now in a scene, and I needed him to spank me hard, or I’d never be able to respect him.

  “You’re going to get twelve.”

  He brought his belt down hard on my ass and I yipped in surprise. He had a mean right arm. The belt burned against my bottom in a fat line, its edges clearly defined.

  It landed again, directly under the first one. One of my legs twitched, knee buckling, foot trying to kick up behind me. I held it steady and my shoe stayed on the floor.

  “Seems to me like you nee
d to learn some respect,” Bob said, but from the tone of his voice, it was clear he wasn’t angry.

  The belt slammed into me a third time and I balled my hands. The stinging heat from the first two strokes felt like sunburn, while the third one was still a loud, sore thud of pain.

  “So here’s some rules. First, you’re going to do as you’re told.”

  The belt hit low, straight across my thighs, this time, and I was thrown forward against the desk.

  “Yeoooowwwwwwwwww!” I yelled. It felt four times worse there than it had when he’d caught me higher up.

  “No, the correct answer is ‘yes, sir.’” Bob remarked.

  A thrill of heat exploded through my core. My face began to get hot.

  “Yes, sir,” I said quietly.

  Crack.

  “I can’t hear you.”

  “Yes, sir,” I added, a little louder, but through gritted teeth this time.

  “Better.”

  The leather belt came down three times in quick succession. I wanted to scream, but I was worried in case anyone outside heard me. There was no more skin on my ass that hadn’t felt the belt already, and the whole thing felt swollen and blistered. He never relented, never went easy on me, never slowed down, not even for a moment. He might look like a shoo-in for Santa Claus, but beneath it all, he was a hard man.

  “Three left,” he breathed into my ear. “It’s your choice whether they’re low or high.”

  I wasn’t sure which would be worse right now. The rounded part of my ass was burning and felt swollen from being belted so hard, but my thighs were delicate, and getting more licks down there would make it hard to sit tomorrow. Or walk. Or do my morning run.

  “High, please,” I said.

  He chuckled. “You misunderstand me, Agent Frost. Your behavior will be the decider. I want you to apologize, and if you do it real nice, I’ll spank you high. If I don’t like your apology, all three will be low.”

  Oh, that was harsh. Sadistic, even. I took a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry, Sheriff, I didn’t mean to punch you or undermine you.”

  He chuckled. “Apology accepted.”

  Crack. The belt caught both my cheeks at the same time, and I yelped from the sudden, intense pain.

  The burn set my nerve endings on fire, making me shudder and shake my head while I tried to process it. I hadn’t quite gotten a handle on it when the next one landed on my hot, punished cheeks. I cried out again, knowing better than to reach back, but desperately wanting to, all the same. Anything to make the pain fade away.

  The third one was low, and I yowled like a strangled cat as the belt attacked the indentation between my rounded cheeks and long thighs. It wasn’t quite as low as he’d threatened if I hadn’t satisfied him with my apology, but it was low enough that I knew he meant business.

  His fingers moved through my hair, fisting the strands, then he pulled my head back before speaking in a low growl.

  “What happens next is up to you. You can pick up your panties, straighten your skirt and wiggle out of this sheriff’s office right now, or you can stay put. Your pussy is dripping, and I’ve got somethin’ here that could fill it.”

  My face burned as blood rushed to the surface of my cheeks. He was making me decide? Oh, boy, that wasn’t fair. I was definitely turned on right now, but we had to work together on this case, so wouldn’t this make things awkward?

  Yeah. It probably would. And I had a job to do. A case to close. I couldn’t give myself over to this. Had to stay strong.

  “I gotta go,” I said in a strangled voice. I pulled up my panties and hurried away, knowing I was making the wrong decision. He didn’t call me back, which was disappointing.

  * * *

  Bob

  Whew, that girl was hell on heels. I didn’t want to wait to get her consent before fucking her hard, but somehow I did. Surprisingly, instead of agreeing, she straightened up and left. Good thing I asked first. I knew she’d felt the same about me. That spanking had turned her on, so why had she gone?

  I shook my head and went to the restroom to get some relief for my aching shaft. When I was done, clear-headed, I sat down and reviewed the case notes.

  Jimmy left for the party at seven. He arrived at seven fifteen. Not enough time to stop off anywhere on the way. That meant he’d already got those pills. It was a weekday, so he’d been at school earlier. Tomorrow’s task was to talk to his school friends.

  I got up to go home for the night, and I realized Agent Frost had left the box of video footage on my desk.

  Chapter 5

  Bob

  There was only one place to stay in Snake Eye, and that was Mrs. Womack’s guest house. I headed on over there and rang the bell on the counter.

  “Bob!” Mrs. Womack greeted me. “I hope we’re not in trouble for rowdiness!”

  I chuckled and shook my head at the idea of Mrs. Womack causing any kind of disruption. “No ma’am, I’m here to visit one of your guests. Mariella Frost around?”

  Mrs. Womack riffled through some papers then put her glasses on. She looked again and nodded.

  “Room eight. Second floor. Ordinarily, I’d tell a gentleman caller to conduct any business in the sitting room, but since you’re the sheriff, I’ll let you go on ahead.”

  The old lady’s notions of what was appropriate were sweet if misplaced. All the same, I touched my hat and nodded to her.

  “Thank you kindly, ma’am.”

  I think she knew I was sending her up slightly, but she appreciated the gesture all the same.

  I went upstairs and made my way to Agent Frost’s room, where I knocked on the door.

  She opened it, looking surprised for a moment before she re-arranged her features.

  “Yes?”

  “You need to send these for analysis.”

  She blinked and looked down at the box of footage in my hands.

  “Oh. Of course. Sure.”

  “You okay?” I asked. She seemed a little out of sorts.

  “Uhh... fine. Why? What’s it to you?”

  I sighed. This was no good. I hadn’t spanked her ass just so things would get weird.

  “C’mon.” I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her through the door. Somehow, I’d known she was the sort of girl to wear shoes indoors.

  “Where are you—”

  “Coffee. And donuts. I won’t accept a refusal.”

  “Non-consensual donuts?” she blurted out. I chuckled.

  “They’re dubious-consent donuts, at worst,” I retorted.

  Mrs. Womack looked up at me over the top of her glasses.

  “I hope you’re not making gutter talk in my respectable establishment, Sheriff?”

  “No, ma’am. Just insisting that this young lady come out to get some wholesome, all-American donuts. She doesn’t have an escort so I’m accompanying her. For decency.”

  Mrs. Womack laughed and shook her head. “You always were full of nonsense, Bob Halsey. On with you, before I call the fire brigade to put you two out!”

  Agent Frost shifted uncomfortably beside me. “We’re just colleagues!” she snapped. “Actually, we’re not. He’s a Sheriff and I’m a federal agent. But we have this case and— I’m going to stop talking.”

  “That’s probably wise,” Mrs. Womack commented, and I had to hide a snort of laughter and pretend I was coughing.

  Agent Frost sure was a mystery. There was a spark between us that she was furiously denying for some reason. It had taken a little old lady’s smartass comment before I’d figured it out. Now, I couldn’t unsee it.

  I drove her to the donut place which was open twenty-four hours, and we were soon sitting opposite each other in a booth, with a donut each and coffee on the way. She was wiggling uncomfortably in her seat, a fact which amused me, although I was a gentleman so I didn’t comment on it.

  “Why do they play the same garbage for weeks and weeks before Christmas?” she grumbled.

  “That’s not the festive spirit.” I
was only teasing, but she took it the wrong way.

  “Not everyone lives in a twee little hick town where the whole town knows each other. Some of us treat the holidays like any other day of the year.”

  I sighed. The sarcasm in her tone wasn’t necessary. “Are you tryin’ to get spanked twice in one day, young lady?”

  She frowned and shook her head.

  “No. I’m just pointing out...”

  “Never mind.” I was tired of stepping over tripwires in every conversation. There was always something. All day this had gone on. I’d expected the spanking to help. This time, she was so focused on whatever was bothering her about December, and I didn’t think I could pull her out of it long enough for us to have a meaningful talk.

  I ate my donut in silence, except to thank the waitress for coffee when it arrived.

  “I’m sorry,” Frost said at last.

  “What for?” I wanted to accept her apology and go back to the sort of conversation we’d been having earlier, but my hackles were raised by the way she’d spoken to me.

  “Sorry I snapped. Christmas... it’s not my thing. I like to stay home, read a book, maybe go to the club and work off my energy...” she fidgeted with the coffee stirrer between her fingers.

  “I get it.” I didn’t elaborate. She was clearly not receptive to hearing other people’s stuff right now.

  “You probably have presents, family time, a big tree and all that, don’t you? You seem like the type.”

  I sighed. “I might have been.” If Marcy hadn’t been killed around this time of year. I’d learned over the years that I preferred not to be around other people’s families in December. It was too painful a reminder of what might have been. I tried not to be bitter, but the best way to stay pleasant to everyone was to stay away from their dinner tables at Christmas, Hannukah, and so on.

  “You might have been? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I shook my head. “It’s not important. Anyway, back to our case. I think we should go to the high school tomorrow and see if any of the kids know anything.”

  “I didn’t see a high school in the town.”