A Good Day for Chardonnay (Sunshine Vicram #2) by Darynda Jones

Auri bit her lip. She wasn’t 100 percent by any means, but she was definitely almost bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Levi sat on the other side of her bed. He took her hand. “I can leave, Red, if that will help.”

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I almost got Cruz and Mrs. Fairborn killed. You’ll find out eventually either way.”

“Auri,” Elaine said. “That’s not true.”

“It is, Grandma. I wish it weren’t more than anything in the world, but it is. I just—” She looked at Sun. “I just wanted to be like my mom so bad.” A wetness welled between her dark red lashes. “But I’m not. I never will be.”

“Sweetheart, why would you say that?”

“You save people’s lives. I just try to get them killed.”

Levi reached out and wiped a tear streaming down her face. “How about you tell your mom what happened and let her decide if you two are alike or not? You might be surprised.”

He was right. She did tend to put people in danger from time to time. But only if other people were in danger first. It was kind of her job.

“First, I was trying to prove that Mrs. Fairborn was a serial killer, then I was just trying to prove that the drifter accused of the crimes was innocent without getting Mrs. Fairborn sent to prison because she couldn’t make a shank out of her toothbrush, then I just wanted to get the necklace back to its rightful owner, and then everything spun out of control.”

No one spoke for a few minutes, so when Auri swallowed, it seemed really loud.

Sun came around first. “I thought we talked about how unlikely it was that Mrs. Fairborn was a serial killer.”

“I know. I just thought you were wrong.”

“And as far as proving the drifter innocent, that would be very difficult at this late stage.”

“But not impossible,” she argued. “Especially after you see all the things in Mrs. Fairborn’s house. I even thought about asking her to write a confession letter that I could magically find after her untimely death to prove that Hercules Holmes was innocent.”

“Wow,” Sun’s mom said, horrified. “You really thought this through.”

She nodded. “But at the same time, I wanted to get the necklace back to its rightful owners since they seemed really upset about it.”

“I read those articles, too, Auri,” Sun said. “From what I remember, the family cared more about that necklace than they did their missing family member.”

“I agree, but does that mean they don’t deserve to get their things back? I mean, they said she stole the necklace before she ran off.”

“And I’m guessing you told her cousin, Billy Press?”

Auri bit her lip as tears welled again. “I found him online and told him about the boardinghouse, but I didn’t give him the name! I would never put Mrs. Fairborn in danger like that.”

Sun squeezed her hand. “But you did, pumpkin. You almost got her killed. Not to mention Cruz.”

“Sunny,” Quincy said, admonishing her.

“Quince, she needs to hear the truth. She needs to realize there are consequences to her actions.”

“She’s right, Quincy,” Auri said, her little chin trembling. “This is all my fault.”

“That is not what I am saying,” Sun said, enunciating each word. “You tried to do the right thing.” She took hold of her quivering chin, softly guiding Auri’s gaze back to her. “I am so proud of you for that. You said we aren’t alike, but you’re wrong. I have to make these kinds of decisions every day of my life. Is the risk worth the reward? Is whatever I’m trying to accomplish, whatever crime I’m trying to solve, worth the danger to me or my deputies? To the people who might get caught in the crossfire?”

“So then if it’s too risky, you don’t solve the crime?”

“No, honey. If it’s too risky, I find another way. Take a different route. You had no way of knowing what Emily Press’s cousin would do, but that’s the problem. Why do you think people in law enforcement never give out any details during an active investigation?”

“Because it could hurt their case?”

“Often, yes, but also because others could use that information to their advantage. Again, the family was more upset about the necklace than they were about Emily. Something didn’t add up and you knew that. In your gut.”

Auri dropped her gaze as a pink hue blossomed across her cheeks. “I did.”

“Okay, then. First, I’m putting alarms on your windows with a high-security surveillance system. No more sneaking out.”

She shook her head. “You don’t need to do that. It won’t happen again.

“Regardless. And I’m putting an ankle bracelet on you with GPS and electroshock capabilities.”

She swallowed hard. “Okay.”

Sun wouldn’t, of course. She didn’t even know where to find an ankle bracelet with electroshock capabilities. “And that’s just the beginning, hon.”

“I know,” she said with a sob, and Sun had to steel her heart. There had to be consequences. “For now, I want you to think about it and tell me what punishment you think you deserve.”

“What if I can’t?”