Page 34 of Hello, Summer
“Y’all still got a paper over there?” He chuckled at his own joke.
“Just the oldest weekly newspaper in the state,” Conley said. “And I’d like to see that incident report. Please.”
“I’d have to ask the sheriff if that kind of thing is authorized,” DuPuy said. “You can check back tomorrow.”
“Police reports are a matter of public record in Florida,” Conley said. “The sheriff’s office is required by law to make them available—and in a timely manner.”
“That so?” He raised one eyebrow.
She was doing a slow burn, trying not to let him bait her. “Look, we both know the law here. Why do you want to hassle me? I’m like you. I’m doing my job.”
“How’d you hear about the congressman?” he asked.
“It was on the radio. And as it happens, my friend and I were the first ones on the scene. We called 911 and tried to get him out of the car, but it was already smoking when we got there.”
That piqued his interest. “What’d you say your name was?”
“Conley Hawkins,” she repeated. “From theBeacon.”
He began typing on the computer’s keyboard. After a moment, he nodded and silently read the document on the screen.
“Okay. I see here that the patrol officer interviewed you and your friend. Kelly?”
“Yes. Sean Kelly.”
“Three fifteen in the morning? What were y’all doing out running around that time of night?”
She chewed the inside of her cheek. “What was the congressman doing out running around at that time of night? He’s what, in his seventies?”
“The sheriff’s looking into that,” DuPuy said. “Now what about you?”
“What’s that got to do with anything? I’m a member of the media, and I’ve requested that report. Which you are obliged to hand over to me.”
“You got any ID? I mean, how do I know you’re who you say you are?” Deputy DuPuy was really enjoying himself now.
Conley passed her driver’s license through the small slot in the window.
He studied it like it was a blood-spattered knife instead of a laminated driver’s license. “This says you live in Atlanta.”
“I did. Until this week. Now I live in Silver Bay. Can I get that incident report, please? I’m on a deadline.”
He gave her a stern look. “You’ll need to get yourself a Florida driver’s license, you know. Now that you’ve moved here.”
Haven’t had a Florida license since I was twenty-one, and I ain’t getting one anytime soon again,she thought.
“I won’t be here that long, but thanks,” she said impatiently. “This is sort of a… temporary arrangement. I really need to get back to work now. Okay?”
“Says here your name is Sarah,” DuPuy passed the driver’s license back to her.
“It’s my first name, but I go by my middle name.” She looked over at him. “How about you, Deputy DuPuy? What’s theJstand for?”
Jerk? Jerkwater? Jerk-off? she wondered.
“James. Not Jim or Jimmy. Just James.”
“Okay, James. I really need that report.”
“It’sDeputy DuPuyto you,Sarah.”
