A Trip to the Sheriff's Office

Milan lifted a brow. “She wanted to kill herself. If she feared a little blood, why was she on the railing? Are her parents suing me?”

Silence conquered the table after Milan spoke. Corbin didn’t know what he should say; Florence only stared at Milan just the same. After a few seconds, Corbin cleared his throat and just attended to his coffee as if it could coach him on how to go about it.

Then he found his answer. “Milan, I know you’re not worried about her, but the Cliffords somewhat run things here. Their little princess complained about your treatment of her, and it would be hard to deflect their rage. I can’t help you. I have no power, nor can I afford to put Corey in a bad spot.”

“It’s fine. I don’t lack firepower.” Milan only hummed, uncaring of the situation. He just ignored how Corbin continued to stare at him.

“Are the muffins not done yet? I can already smell them!” Corey called out from afar, dispelling the awkward and tense air at the dining table. She then jogged into the kitchen to check on what was being reheated. That was also Florence’s cue to get up and help Corey with their food.

Milan watched his sister, but he paid more attention to the man who scooted closer. He turned to Corbin before the other guy could say something. “Is it really that dangerous? Did they buy the island?”

Corbin shook his head. “No, but they owned every business here. It’s like they were hoping to build a rest island while managing an empire outside. They are very generous, too. Moreover, they have control over taxes. They pay for everyone’s taxes here, but they can also drop support if you miss a step.”

“With an island village like this, you probably wouldn’t be a priority,” Milan murmured and only sipped on his coffee. “So, what do they want me to do about this disgraceful, I mean disgraced, little princess?”

“What happened to you, man?” Corbin frowned. “I met a lot of mainlanders before, but none of them talk like that. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Milan only pulled on the corner of his lips. “It’s always so dark here in Lasair. How can I live in a place full of sun? I also mentioned how my stepmom is a real psycho, right? How can she afford to be a maniac if she doesn’t know a lot of people?”

Corbin frowned and didn’t understand a word Milan said. However, since the women arrived, he just kept it to himself. It was not like he couldn’t keep a good eye on this Milan Sheppard that returned from the mainland. He just hoped Milan would let him stay close.

…

Milan changed into a different set of clothes, knowing he wouldn’t run out of things to wear with the sheer volume of clothes Corey collected for him. Moreover, Corey could sew to alter most of those clothes to fit him. However, his white-beige ensemble didn’t affect Corbin as much as that guy’s police uniform affected the newcomer.

No wonder the jumper’s brother was with Corbin that night. Corbin was working on a day off, just to look for a missing girl.

“I didn’t realize you were a police officer, Corbin.” Milan wore an amused smile and checked out the uniform that bore their village’s seal, a pair of black and white rag dolls.

“Stop checking me out. You’re making me nervous.” Corbin frowned and waved a hand to make Milan stop. “I hope you don’t mind riding a police mobile. You’re not being arrested or detained. I will just take you to the Sheriff’s Office through that car.”

Milan laughed and waved goodbye to the two women who stayed home. Florence stayed there to keep the house for a living, while Corey’s shop was located next to their house.

The trip to the Sheriff’s Office was a short one, considering the proximity of the two places. Milan alighted from the car when Corbin did, and he looked around the small office that was enough for a small village like Lasair. When Corbin held the door open for him, he only smiled at the officer before walking inside. The interior was as simple as Milan expected.

However, the supposed empty standing room in front of the Sheriff’s desk was filled with four people. Two of them were the people Milan met last night. The brother had a permanent glare in his eyes, while Esperanza had nothing but disdain for Milan. Still, the newcomer smiled as if provoking them.

“Mr. Sheppard, welcome back to Lasair.” The sheriff was a man in his late fifties, but his face was devoid of a lot of lines, making him look too handsome for someone his age. His hair had white roots, but the black and brown dye worked wonders on it. He held a hand out. “I’m Boris, but the appreciative people call me Sheriff Bloodworth.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Sheriff Bloodworth.” Milan shook the hand that gave a firm shake. When he stepped back and glanced at the other people in the room, he asked, “Sheriff, are they complaining about me? Corbin said you wanted to talk to me about what happened to Esperanza last night.”

“Yes, she did incur injuries.” The look on Boris’ face grew stern. “Would you like to narrate your version of the story? Don’t spare any details, please.”

Milan lifted his brows and glanced at the woman before giving his version. He started from his ride breaking down to running into her on the bridge. However, the look on the sheriff’s face didn’t grow any softer. The newcomer figured she said something different.

Boris glanced at the family at the side. “Uh, Mr. Sheppard, Ms. Clifford mentioned how you… grabbed her and threw her back to the bridge.”

“I did catch her. I didn’t mean to drop her on the ground. The railing was slippery, so I didn’t manage to keep her in place.” He glanced at her. “She should know how slippery it was since she fell when she tried to stand.”

“I wouldn’t have fallen if you didn’t sneak up on me!” Esperanza huffed.

“Oh? I didn’t sneak up on you. You just didn’t hear me approaching because of the rain.” Milan shrugged his shoulder. “If I sneaked up on you, I would have not yelled at you outside of arm’s reach.”

Boris and the others watched the two argue, the sheriff not happy at all.

The man holding his phone finally pocketed it. The father then smiled. “It’s good for things to be cleared up. We were really worried someone might have harmed our daughter.”

Milan turned to face the father, who took the time to offer a hand to shake. The father said, “Thank you for saving my little girl, Mr. Sheppard. I’m Martin Clifford. You can call me Martin.”