ONE SMALL VICTORY (24 page)

Alicia’s door was open, and Jenny rounded the
doorway and stopped. The sight of Ralph sitting on the bed with
Alicia snuggled next to him stole her breath away. The girl was
turning pages in her painting tablet, sharing treasures she most
often kept private.

The scene was so poignant, Jenny felt tears
warm her eyes, yet her heart hardened at the thought of how hurt
Alicia would be if Ralph’s interest waned and things went back to
the way they used to be.

Or could this truly be a new and improved
version of the father who had been so sorely missing all these
years?

Watching him caress their daughter’s arm,
Jenny hoped the latter was true. Otherwise she might have to kill
the bastard.

Her husband and daughter looked up, and for a
second Jenny was afraid she’d voiced that thought out loud. But
Alicia smiled. She wouldn’t be smiling if Jenny had said something
so awful. “I’m showing Daddy my pictures.”

“I see.” Jenny stepped into the room. “But
now it’s time to go to bed. You can finish sharing your art another
time.”

She held Ralph’s gaze in a silent plea for
assurance that there would be another time. And soon.

After Alicia was tucked in, they went back to
the living room. Jenny motioned to the drinks on the table, and
Ralph took his and settled in the chair.

Silence reigned for what seemed like days,
and Jenny could feel his eyes on her as she wandered through the
room, adjusting a couch pillow, straightening a picture, sighing
often.

“Could you light somewhere,” he asked.
“You’re making me tired just watching.”

Jenny walked to the sofa and perched on the
edge of one cushion. Maybe they could continue with small talk
until they both fell asleep from sheer boredom. “How is work
going?”

“Talk to me, Jen.”

God. He hasn’t used that pet name since— She
stopped the thought, not wanting to remember those early years when
she thought she’d been living every woman’s fantasy. “We are
talking.”

“You know what I mean.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“Whatever it is that prompted your friend to
call me.”

Jenny stood. “She shouldn’t have done
that.”

“Too late now.”

Jenny walked to the window and lifted the
curtain to look out. Between the streetlamp on the corner and the
moon, there was almost as much light outside as in. She counted the
cars parked across the street. Somebody must be having a party.
Then she turned and faced Ralph, waiting for his control to snap.
Waiting for the old Ralph – the one who pushed and shouted and
pressured her – to come back. But this new guy just sat, so still
he could have been sewn to the fabric of the chair. That calm made
her decision.

“I have to call someone,” she said.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Ralph didn’t say anything as they headed
south on I 75; destination I-Hop in Plano where they’d meet Steve.
It was so quiet in Ralph’s rental car; Jenny could hear the tires
hum on the concrete.

She’d been surprised when he hadn’t protested
her phone call or pushed for an explanation. She hadn’t told him
who she’d called or why, and he seemed to accept that this was the
way it needed to be handled. He waited without a single question
while she made arrangements for Scott to watch out for Alicia.

Now the silence was beginning to grate. Jenny
glanced over, studying Ralph’s profile. “You’re different,
somehow.”

“We all are since...”

She waited a minute for him to finish, but he
didn’t. “Since Michael died,” she said. “As painful as it is, it’s
better to say it aloud.”

“Better for whom?”

The note of belligerence backed her off. It
sounded too much like the old Ralph for comfort.

“Never mind.” She turned to look out at the
concrete and steel landscape streaming by.

When they got to the restaurant, Jenny
spotted Steve in a U-shaped booth in a far corner. Good choice. It
was fairly private, and it gave each of them their own space.
“We’re with him,” she said to the young, blonde hostess, before
leading the way to the table.

“Ralph, this is Lieutenant Steve Morrity.
Little Oak PD.” She bit back an urge to laugh. God, I sound like
I’m on some cop show on TV.

Steve stood and shook hands, then slid to the
middle of the booth. Jenny stepped aside so Ralph could go in next.
She took the opposite end of the bench. Good neutral set up.

Ralph glanced at Jenny, then back to Steve.
“Why the cops? Is this about Michael’s accident?”

“Loosely.”

Again Ralph studied the two of them for a
moment. “And does it have something to do with this nonsense Jenny
is mixed up in?”

“I’d hardly call it nonsense.” Steve smiled
into Ralph’s glare, and Jenny noted the stark difference between
the two men. The smile was nice. She cut her own off when she
noticed Ralph giving her another speculative look.

Before he could voice the question that had
raised one of his eyebrows, the waitress, a tall woman with
almond-colored skin and a controlled mass of dread-locks, stepped
to the table, order pad ready. “What can I get you folks?”

“Coffee all around?” Steve glanced at Ralph
and Jenny, who nodded.

“No dinner? Dessert?” A flash of white teeth
accompanied the questions and Jenny realized this woman should be
gracing the cover of a top women’s magazine. Not pushing
pancakes.

She also realized that the tightness in her
stomach was triggered by hunger as well as nerves. But she didn’t
want to stall things by placing an order. “Maybe later.”

The waitress brought back tall glasses of
water, cups, and a thermal pot that she set in the middle of the
table. “I’ll leave you folks to visit,” she said. “Just holler when
you’re ready for dessert.”

Steve poured for all of them.

Watching the bluish sheen of acid swirl on
top of the coffee in her cup, Jenny’s stomach rebelled, so she
softened the coffee with a touch of cream and sugar.

Ralph did the same, then set his spoon down
and faced Steve. “Tell me what’s been going on with Jenny.”

“She’s been working with us,” Steve said.

That stopped Ralph in the middle of taking a
swallow of coffee. He shot a quick glance at Jenny, then turned his
attention back to Steve who continued, “Part of a drug task
force.”

Ralph’s cup clunked against the table.
“You’re shitting me.”

Steve shook his head. Ralph looked over at
Jenny, eyes wide with amazement.

“Guilty as charged,” she said.

He sat back as if the revelation was too
heavy to bear. “And just what is it you’re doing? Baking cookies
for the guys?”

Jenny was almost glad to hear the old
needling tone in his voice. She’d been growing weary of the ‘nice’
Ralph. Something about his recent actions had been ringing false,
like watching a performance by the kid who got the part in the
school play because he was the only one to audition. She bit her
lip to keep from saying something nasty.

Steve looked at Ralph for a moment, seeming
to take his measure. “She’s been a valuable asset to the team.
Haven’t seen a single cookie.”

It pleased Jenny to see Ralph back down. He
fiddled with his spoon, twirling it in circles on the Formica
tabletop.

Steve continued. “We’ve been working about
two months now. She’s made inroads into the local drug business,
and we’re about to take down the big guy.”

Now Ralph looked at her again, his expression
vacillating between disbelief and something she couldn’t quite
name. She tried to see the moment from his point of view. It had to
be mind-boggling.

He finally found his voice. “This is
unbelievable.”

“What?” she said. “You don’t think the little
woman had it in her?”

“There are lots of things I don’t know about
you, Jen.”

“Because you—” She shook her head, not
wanting to engage in this verbal battle in front of Steve. She took
a sip of coffee, which had cooled to perhaps a degree above
tepid.

“Didn’t you even give a damn about the
danger. The kids?”

“Hold on, there.” Steve grabbed Ralph’s arm,
but Ralph shrugged out of the touch.

“It’s all right, Steve.”

He looked at Jenny. “You sure?”

She nodded.

Ralph glanced at her, then at Steve. “How
could you let her?”

He smiled. “She’s a force to be reckoned
with.”

“You think this is a joke?”

“Do I look like someone who would joke about
something like this?”

Jenny leaned forward and touched Ralph’s hand
before hostilities broke out. “This is something I wanted to do.
Something I needed to do. They’re selling drugs at the school for
God’s sake.”

“Couldn’t you just step back and let the cops
do their job?”

“That’s part of the problem, Ralph. Everyone
expects the cops to handle it. But it’s too big for that. It’s like
pissing into the wind.”

Jenny saw Steve smile again, and she hoped
the tension would ease all around. Ralph shot a glance from her to
Steve, then back again. “What is this? Fucking Comedy Central?”

“Ralph.” She waited until the flush of anger
receded from his face. “You need to keep your voice down.

”

“What I need...” He leaned so close she could
feel his breath on her face. “Is my ex-wife to stop putting my kids
in danger.”

“So now you’re suddenly worried about—”

“Cease fire.” Steve waved a napkin between
them.

“Don’t tell me—”

Steve grabbed Ralph’s arm, pulling him
against the backrest. “I will tell you,” Steve said. “And you’ll
bloody well listen. There is no way you are screwing up this deal
for us. You hear me? No way.”

“Everything okay here, folks?”

Jenny looked up to see the waitress, concern
furrowing her perfect forehead and dark eyes carefully assessing
the group. Jenny forced a smile. “We’re fine.”

The waitress shot a speculative look to the
men, then back to Jenny. “You want that dessert now?”

Despite the rumble in her stomach, Jenny
shook her head, mentally urging the woman to just walk away. After
another hesitation, she did; but Jenny knew the woman would be back
if Ralph didn’t ratchet his emotions down several notches.

For a moment it was like nobody knew what to
say. Jenny reached for her coffee cup, then reconsidered and took a
sip of water. Then she looked at her ex-husband who had his arms
folded across his chest. “I understand your concern, Ralph.”

“Then it won’t be that hard to step aside,
will it?”

His words hung in the air like autumn leaves
stopped in mid-flight, his posture daring her to accept his
challenge

.

“That’s not even a possibility,” she
said.

Ralph shook his head. “Fucking drug deals. My
ex. The mother of my children is making fucking drug deals.”

“Why don’t we get you a microphone?” Steve
said.

“You stay out of it. This is between me and
Jenny.”

“Not exclusively. There’s a whole lot of
folks that have been busting their asses to get this guy.”

“And have they put their families at
risk?”

“The only risk here has been telling you.

”

Ralph opened his mouth, then shut it as if
words were stuck inside and couldn’t get out. Steve poured more
coffee, took a sip and then set his cup down. “I’m serious,” he
said. “We’re working her as a Confidential Informant. You know what
that is?”

“I’ve seen my share of cop shows on TV.”

Jenny caught the undercurrent of sarcasm, but
either Steve didn’t or he chose to ignore it.

“So she has this whole other identity with
the dealers. No way can they connect her with the kids.”

He’s right,” Jenny said, hoping she could add
ammunition to Steve’s assurance. “They don’t know my real name. Or
where I live. I’ve never even let them see the car.”

“So? Based on this nice little speech I’m
supposed to sit back and—”

“No,” Steve said. “You’ll keep your mouth
shut because we chose to trust you with this information.”

Ralph picked up his spoon again and made
circles in the puddle of condensation from his water glass. Jenny
watched, wondering if he would respond to the invitation to do the
principled thing. Ralph might have been delinquent as a husband and
father, but he lived by some machismo code of duty. A man stood for
justice. Had Steve somehow figured that out in this brief
encounter? That he could appeal to some sense of honor?

“It’s only for a few more days,” Steve
said.

“Is that true?” Ralph directed the question
at Jenny. She nodded.

“When exactly?”

“That’s a piece of information you can’t
have,” Steve said.

“And what do I do between now and this
unspecified date?”

Jenny winced at the goading tone in his
voice. “What do you think? Go back home. Go to work.”

“No way in hell. I’m not leaving. I’ll stay
out at the house. Be there in case—”

Jenny touched his arm. “Nothing’s going to
happen.”

He pulled away. “And you can guarantee
that?”

“Nothing in life is certain, Ralph. We both
know it.” She waited a moment for the message to sink in. “Just
go—”

“And what? Pretend that my ex is not risking
her life? And maybe our kids?”

“We’ve got her covered,” Steve said.

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
Ralph sneered and Jenny wasn’t sure if his outrage was really about
her safety and the kids, or about him. Somehow everything always
ended up being about him.

Steve took a swallow of coffee, then
carefully set his mug down. “We have enough personnel working with
us to take out a small country. And don’t discount her,” he nodded
at Jenny. “She’s an amazing woman.”

The words were almost like a caress, and
Jenny swallowed hard. If they weren’t in the middle of this
ludicrous debate, she might even take a minute to figure out just
what he meant by amazing.