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“Mr. Winslow, I’m inclined to give you another chance. But I must warn you. This is the last one you’ll get from my court.”
Billy nods and I say, “Thank you, Your Honor.”
“I’m dropping the charges against you.” He bangs his gavel, then looks at Billy. “I don’t want to see you again, son.”
“No, sir. I mean, yes, sir.”
I take Billy’s arm and we head down the aisle. When I look at Link, he’s shaking his head. I walk by him, hold up my hand, and wave my ring finger.
“Size six.”
Billy and I go back to the office so he can get his things. He’s overwhelmed by the judge’s decision and keeps thanking me.
“I just did my job, Billy. The best way to thank me is to stay out of trouble.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
He leaves, and just as I’m about to call Link, he shows up at my door.
“Allyssa pulls it off.”
“I told you I would.” I glance at the pom-poms. “Thank you for my present. And the kind words of encouragement.”
He grins. “Turns out you didn’t need any.”
“Will you buy a brilliant lawyer some lunch?”
“I’d love to. But I need to get back. I left Rosie with the desk sergeant.”
“Rain check?”
“Yeah. And if I don’t see you before, I’ll see you on Saturday.”
I laugh. “I can’t wait. Send me a selfie after you get your haircut.”
“Never going to happen.”
“A deal’s a deal, officer. You can’t back out now.”
He shoos away my words with a wave of his hand before leaving. Grinning, I lean back in my chair. I’m suddenly very excited about going to my ten-year high school reunion.
12
Link
Ilostthebet.I can’t believe I lost the bet.I drive slowly through town and think about how impressive Allyssa was in court. It wasn’t a big case or a big win by any means. But she was good, and she had a bright future ahead of her.
I put a hand on Rosie’s head. “I lost the bet, girl.” Rosie thumps her tail. “I know. You knew all along.” I rub a hand over my chin. I’ll honor every part of the bet, of course. Even though I’ll hate it. I try to remember the last time I was clean-shaven—probably high school.
The rest of my day is slow with only a couple of calls, and I head back to the office at six. I’m on until seven, but I have a pile of paperwork to catch up on. I go into the station and settle down at an unoccupied desk. Rosie lies down at my feet and rests her head on my boot.
I feel like I’m getting some odd looks from my fellow officers, but no one approaches me and I conclude it’s just my imagination. My bet with Allyssa isn’t public knowledge. I’m just being paranoid. I try to concentrate on the task at hand. But I really hate paperwork and it’s the only thing I regret about not having a human partner. I don’t have anyone to share the paperwork with. I tap my foot under Rosie’s head and she groans, then wags her tail.
“It seems to me you’re smart enough to figure out how to fill out a D241.”
Henry, the desk sergeant on duty, comes up to my desk, and I figure maybe I wasn’t imagining the looks I’d been getting. Perhaps he’s somehow gotten wind of my ongoing bet with Allyssa and is going to tease me about it. But he doesn’t even bring it up. He gives me some updated information on a case that had come in. He spends a few minutes talking about the unseasonably warm weather, then starts to leave. But then he stops and turns back to me.
“Some of us are getting together tonight at Freddie’s if you want to stop by.”
