14
Dillon worked through much of the night. Olivia returned at some point, he wasn’t sure when. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair and clothes dripping wet. The brilliant light was back in her gaze, along with a smile that looked for reasons to spring into view. Like so many grand times they had known together. Back in the day.
Dillon granted himself a single moment to remember, and another to speak with her when she emerged from the showers. She was dressed in police sweats with a towel wrapped around her hair. Olivia spoke of a good day spent trying to take photographs of Porter’s family despite the rain and fractured season. Dillon wasn’t sure of what exactly he said in response. But it must have been the right words, because later she brought him a plate of food and smiled and said he looked happy as well. Which he was. Very.
There were any number of missing components. Which was mostly what took him so long. There was a great deal of guesswork and estimations to be included. But he needed to remain within the boundaries of reality. These state auditors were no fools. They might be sitting on a pile of money, ready to dole out their version of a Christmas bonus. But these auditors knew the difference between hard-fought costs and pure fantasy. So Dillon checked and rechecked, and argued with himself, and prepared the best he could.
When he was fairly certain the required documents were as ready as they would ever be, he shared them with Maud. For once, her grouchy bark remained silent. Instead, she heard him out, phoned Porter, spoke too quietly for Dillon to hear, then reached for a pen and signed.
Just the same, Dillon spent hours reviewing his work. For the sake of his former hometown, he had to get this right.
When he finally emailed the forms to Sacramento, the station was silent. A lone duty officer leaned back in her chair, watching the rain. She offered a casual wave in response to Dillon’s weary goodnight.
The corridor back to his lonely cell seemed endless. Dillon stopped by Olivia’s cell and spent a long moment watching her sleep. There was a distinct comfort in sharing this moment with his oldest friend. Finally he entered the drunk tank, stripped down to his boxers, fell onto his pallet, searched in the dark for his blanket, gave up, and was gone.
