Vedder City Municipal Police.
My mouth goes dry.
Darlene reaches for it. “I’ll answer.”
“No.”
“Evie.”
“No.” I pick up the compad with fingers that feel numb and accept the call. “This is Evie Mercy.”
A bored male voice comes through, flattened by poor signal and worse manners. “Calling regarding an individual who listed you as a contact.”
My heart slams once, hard. “Who?”
“Kauss. No surname listed.”
I grab the counter. “Is he hurt?”
“Ma’am, the individual is in custody at the Lark Street precinct following a disturbance at the abandoned Halo Zoological Park.”
“In custody.” The words come out wrong, thin and stunned. “He’s alive?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The room sways with relief so violent it nearly turns into anger. “Why are you calling me?”
“He requested that you be notified if charges required bail processing.”
Darlene closes her eyes. “Dumb bastard.”
I press the compad harder to my ear. “What charges?”
“Mischief, assault, destruction of property, resisting dispersal order, suspected gang-related disturbance. Formal charges pending review.”
“Gang-related? He’s not in a gang.”
“Ma’am, officers arrived to find multiple injured individuals and significant property damage.”
“At the abandoned zoo?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Was anyone dead?”
“No confirmed fatalities at this time.”
At this time. I breathe through my nose and try not to scream at a man who is probably underpaid, bored, and not personally responsible for the collapse of reason.
“What do I need to do?”
“If you intend to post bond, report to Lark Street precinct reception. Bring identification and verified credits. Processing may take several hours.”
“I’m coming.”
“Ma’am, visiting hours?—”
“I said I’m coming.”
