AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Danny
“Oh,no.”Mychief runs his hand over his face as he looks at the group of kids I just escorted into the building. Meanwhile, I’m boasting about getting my first nine arrests out of the way on my first night on the job.
Technically, I shouldn’t even be on the job yet, I still had one more week left in the academy, but with the NHL draft being hosted in Augusta, which was just ten minutes down the road from our small town, our inn was booked solid, houses had been rented out, and they needed all hands on deck.
It was probably pure luck that I stumbled upon a group of kids taking a drunken swim in the town fountain. But either way, I thought I had struck gold on my first try, but the look in the Chief’s eyes tell me that isn’t the case.
“Son, we can’t arrest these kids. Quite a few of them just got drafted a few hours ago, an arrest now, will ruin their futures.”
“But they broke the law, they were swimming in the fountain, and picking up the quarters.” I whisper the last part, knowing that in this small town that would be considered worse than committing murder.
“Shh,” he whispers harshly while looking around. “Don’t let anyone hear you say that, the Lighthouse Alarm will sound quicker than you can say ‘never mind,’ and in no time they’ll have a lynch mob outside waiting for these poor kids.”
“Sorry, Chief.” I say, knowing better than to do anything to set off the Lighthouse Alarm. I grew up here, I know that’s one thing you never want.
“It’s okay, son, you’ll learn that the Lighthouse Legends have our office bugged. I don’t know any other way to explain how they always know what happens around here.” He says with a shake of his head as his eyes dart around suspiciously.
Even the mention of the group of old ladies who unofficially run the town causes a shiver to run down my spine. The Lighthouse Legends have better intel than the CIA. They know what you’re going to do before you do, and while sometimes they choose to wield their powers for good, most of the time it’s to get the best gossip. They are the whispered nightmares of teenagers all over Lighthouse Landing, always breaking up a night of good fun with an anonymous tip to the chief at just the right time.
“So, what should I do with these kids, if you don’t want me to arrest them, Chief?” I ask to bring us back around to the topic at hand.
“Uh… I don’t know, call their coach? I’m sure he’s close by.”
“NO!” The big red-headed one shouts from where I have them sitting on a bench in the waiting room. “He will literally kill us all if he finds out we are here. Besides, he’s watching my daughter right now.”
“Can’t have that, could you imagine what nine murders would do to our murder statistics?” Chief says with a wink at me. “Who do you suggest we call?”
“Our friend, Jenni, is staying at the B & B down the block. She went back to her room an hour or so ago, she can come get us out. Her number is on my phone.” He points over to one of the phones I had collected earlier from the group.
Looking over at the chief, he shrugs his okay, before walking into his office. He leaves me alone to deal with the group of drunk hockey players and their girlfriends.
With a frustrated sigh, I hold up the phone, allowing him to walk over and put in his passcode. I jot down the number to the person listed as Jenni, and pick up the phone on my desk to call her. The line rings and rings, until the generic voicemail picks up, not bothering to leave a message, I place the phone back down on the cradle.
“She didn’t answer.” I tell the group sitting in front of me.
“It’s three in the morning, she probably won’t answer a number she doesn’t know.” Says the girl with long brown hair and a shirt that says ‘Future NHL WAG’ on it.
“Good point, Nikky, we should have him call from my phone.” The red-headed giant says, before turning to me. “If she sees me calling in the middle of the night, she will definitely answer.”
Picking up the phone, I let him unlock it again, and press send on the contact. Almost instantly a breathy but panicked voice answers.
She rambles barely letting me get a word in to explain why I’m calling her, before she falls asleep, forcing me to call back again. The frustrating conversation takes longer than it should before she’s finally on her way to pick up her friends.
“She’s an interesting one.” I mumble to no one, but the group sitting in front of me hears me and one of the guys responds.
“You have no idea,” he mutters.
“We just woke her up to bail us out of jail, give her a break.” The blonde with streaks of red and blue in her hair says as she elbows him in the ribs.
“Hey, Officer… um… I didn’t catch your name.”
“Officer Russells.”
“Right, Officer Russells, I’m Brayden by the way.” I give him a nod of acknowledgement and he continues. “Do you play hockey?”
“I do.” I say cautiously, unsure where he is going with this line of questioning. I already told them they would be free to go with no issues once their friend gets here. So what difference does it make if I play hockey, or not?
“Yeah?” he asks excitedly. “You got a team?”
