“I’ll tell you what this is about,” Captain Langston thundered. He reached for something on Amy’s desk that was lying face down and thrust it at me. I had to scramble to catch it before it fell.
It took a moment for my brain to fully register what I was looking at. It was a photo. A grainy, zoomed-in picture. Of me. Tits out. Head back. Legs wrapped around Luke’s waist. Water covered the lower half of both of us as we tore down the last walls between friends and lovers.
“Where did you get this? Who took it?” Heat crawled over my skin. I couldn’t even imagine how bright my face was right now, but it wasn’t embarrassment at having been caught in a sexual act—well, not entirely that—but the violation that someone had witnessed us, thought to take a picture, and, worst of all, sent it to my boss.
“It doesn’t matter where it came from. You engaged in public nudity and indecent exposure, on a town beach, no less. You acted with blatant disregard for the laws of this town and everything we stand for.” Captain Langston shook his head. The look of pure disappointment on his face was a kick to the gut.
“It was just supposed to be fun. It was stupid of us. I’m sorry.”
“Well, it isn’t clear who the man in that photo is, and although I can probably guess—” He shot me a look that said he knew exactly who was in the picture with me. “—there isn’t enough evidence to back that up.”
I looked at the photo again. Luke’s face was in quarter profile. The lines of his back, the muscles in his arms as he held me to him, pulled any focus away from his face. I put the photo under my thigh so I wouldn’t be tempted to lookat it again. The picture was kind of hot, honestly. If no one else saw it but us, that was.
“So, what happens now? Am I getting written up?” It wasn’t like we got caught at work. The police didn’t happen upon us during the act. Sure, there was photographic proof that we’d behaved recklessly, but how much could they really do after the fact?
“No, Scarlett,” Amy piped up. She had been sitting quietly at her desk while Captain and I talked. “Unfortunately, we have to let you go. The evidence of wrongdoing is clear, and breaking the law isn’t something that this department will tolerate. Not by anyone.”
What?I was fired? Because I went skinny-dipping in the dark? When someone else in this department may have been implicit in withholding evidence and threatening me? I was completely flabbergasted.
I blinked back my reply before I found my voice. “I’m fired?”
“Yes,” Captain said at the same time Amy responded, “I’m sorry, Scarlett.”
“This is ridiculous. It was just skinny-dipping. No one was hurt. No one was even around—Lu… the guy I was with made sure of it.”
Captain Langston had already made up his mind. There was no saving my job at this point. I didn’t even know why I was trying.
“Clearly, someone was around, or we wouldn’t have received that picture. I’m going to need that back, by the way. It isn’t a souvenir for you to keep.”
Any chance I had at diminishing the blush in my face disappeared. I never said I wanted to keep the photo as some weird memento, but I didn’t want to give it back to him either.The idea that he could look at me… at us… in a moment of intimacy and ecstasy made my insides roil.
I squared my shoulders and handed him the photo anyway, getting to my feet. “I have a few items I’d like to collect from my desk, if that’s okay.”
Captain opened his mouth, but before he could say a word, Amy was there. “Of course, Scarlett. I’m truly sorry this had to happen, but I know you understand our position. Let me walk you to your desk.”
She stood and waited for Captain to step aside so she could round her desk.
“Do you need a box, hon?” she asked.
“No. There isn’t much.”
Chuck Brimley stood from the desk as we approached.
“Scarlett, are you okay?” he asked. He must have been called in specifically to take over my shift today, Captain filling him in on the details while they chatted this morning, I was sure. Did Langston show him the picture of me and Luke?
“I’ll be fine. Thanks, Chuck.” I tried to smile. My eyes filled with tears, and I could feel a tickle in my nose. I wouldn’t lose it here. I couldn’t.
Two ChapSticks, a hand lotion, a sweater, a notebook, and two pictures—me and Aurora at her college graduation and an old family photo that had been on this desk for the past four years. They could keep the Flour Power napkins, extra ketchup packets, and little sachets of salt and pepper.
Lieutenant Polenski watched me being escorted out of the building with wide eyes. He was a nice guy, and I had liked working with him—and everyone else on the force, mostly—but I held my back straight and my tears in check as I left the police station in silence.
Just as I reached to push the door open to the outside, it disappeared. I had to stop myself from stumbling out, my momentum carrying me forward. Matt stood before me on his way into the building. He looked me up and down, confusion lacing his features.
“Scarlett. Is everything alright?”
“Ha,” I laughed. “For you, maybe. I’m sure you’ll be thrilled to hear that I am no longer employed by the Calla Bay Police Department. Now, if only getting rid of Luke was so easy, right?”
“What are you talking about?” he asked. I didn’t bother to dignify that with a response. I strolled past him toward my car.
