“Got her,” Rick said, flipping on the lights for their seventh ticket of the day. People always thought they could get away with a surreptitious text or a quick call. Like it wouldn’t be totally obvious they were staring at something in their lap rather than the road. And with the size of most phones nowadays, it was pretty obvious when one was on your ear or in your hand.
“Shit,” he muttered, once he got behind the girl on the phone and got a better look at the car.
“What?” Joe asked.
The woman pulled over…into the marked-off space in front of a fire hydrant. “She’s killing me,” Rick muttered.
“Who? You know her?” Joe asked.
“That’s one of my sisters.” Rick parked behind her and got out, ignoring the sound of Joe’s laugh.
Jenny was already half hanging out the window when he got up to her.
“Oh good, it’s you,” she said, her voice thick with relief. “Thought I was in trouble there for a second.”
“You are.” He put on his best stern adult face and glared down at her.
She blinked up at him through her lashes, oozing angelic innocence. “Come on, I was only going a couple miles over the limit.”
“You were on your cell phone.”
Her mouth dropped open like she was going to protest, but he cut her off before she could.
“And you are currently parked in front of a fire hydrant.”
“Hey, that is your fault,” she said, no longer smiling. “You made me pull over and this was the only spot open. I didn’t want to drive up the street for blocks or double-park. I was trying to be safe.”
He held his stern face a moment longer and then sighed. “Fine, I’ll give you that one. But you were on your phone while driving. I’m not letting you slide on that.”
“Oh, come on! What’s the point of having a cop for a brother if you can’t get out of a ticket now and then?”
His frown deepened. “License and registration.”
“Are you serious?”
“License. And registration,” he repeated.
She sat back and folded her arms with a huff. “You know my info.”
“I don’t know all the information that’s listed on those documents. So hand them over or I’ll have Joe over there cuff you and bring you in.”
Jenny’s jaw dropped and she stuck her head out the window to look at Joe. He threw his hands up.
“Don’t look at me! I’m not getting in the middle of this little family squabble.”
“It’s not a family squabble,” Rick said, sticking out his hand to get his sister’s forms. “It’s a traffic violation.”
Jenny slapped her papers in his hand and slumped back in her seat.
Rick stomped back to his squad car and started running her info. Joe climbed in beside him.
“Are you really giving your own sister a ticket?”
“Hell yeah, I am. Driving and being on the phone is not only against the law but dangerous. She could have been hurt or she could’ve hurt someone else. She doesn’t take anything seriously. Maybe a hefty ticket will make her wise up.”
“Ah, I get it. You’ve got a little less pissed-off cop going on and a little more brotherly concern happening, eh?”
Rick shook his head and finished writing out the ticket. “There’s plenty of pissed-off cop, too. I hate when people think they can disregard the law and everyone else’s safety, especially over something as trivial as a phone call or text that could wait a few minutes.”
Joe shook his head. “You’re like a driver’s ed video, or a car insurance commercial.”
Rick ignored him and got out of the car to hand his sister her ticket.
“I can’t believe you are giving me a ticket. I’m telling Mom,” she said.
Rick snorted. “Go ahead, I dare you.”
She glared and he laughed. There was no way she was telling their mother she’d gotten a ticket for being on the phone.
“Can I go now?” she asked.
“Sure. Be safe, please.” He leaned into the window and stared right at her until the angry pucker of her lips relaxed a bit. “I’ve only got three other sisters. Can’t really afford to lose one.”
“Oh, shut up.” She pushed him out of the window and started up her car.
“Love ya, Jen,” he said, winking at her.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll love you when I’m done hating you.”
He laughed, and she gave him a mischievous smile as she drove off. He’d always felt responsible for his sisters. Losing any of them was not an option. If that meant he had to piss them off now and then…well, that was just a bonus.