Lost(32)

My mom walked toward me with a big smile on her face. “Well, what do you think? Aren’t you proud of your kids?”

I hesitated. “Yes, I am.” I waited a moment. “Mom, it’s me, Tom. Tommy. Your son.”

She looked at me. Confusion swept over her face. She wiped a tear away from her cheek, and I wrapped her up in a hug. Even when I was twelve years old, I was bigger than anyone else in the house, and my mom used to say my hugs were like bear hugs. Now she felt particularly tiny as she wrapped her arms around my waist. She said, “I’m sorry, Tom. I don’t know what came over me.” She slipped away and hurried into her bedroom.

A few seconds earlier, my sister had walked in from the patio. She was wearing a tank top and shorts, and sweat dripped off her; she’d been doing some kind of exercise outside. “Hey, Tom. Welcome back.”

I looked at her and said, “That was weird, right? I mean, even for Mom.”

Lila shrugged. She said, “You handled that just right. The doctor says we should try to ground her in reality, that we shouldn’t play along if she gets confused about who we are or what year it is.”

I shook my head, then looked toward my mom’s bedroom.

Lila clapped her hands together and said, “So, how was Amsterdam?”

“You know it was just part of the job.”

“Really? No fun at all?”

“I didn’t say that.” I couldn’t help smiling a little, thinking of Marie.

A grin crept across my sister’s pretty face. “A girl? Did my brother finally start to chase women again?”

“If I was chasing, I didn’t catch. But I did meet an interesting woman.”

“Pretty?”

“Beautiful.”

“Then you shouldn’t let something like the Atlantic Ocean get in the way of seeing her. You deserve it. You’re a great guy, and between Mom and your job, you don’t have nearly enough fun.”

It was the nicest thing my sister had ever said to me.





CHAPTER 46





THE NEXT DAY, I slipped into the task-force offices early. I said a few quick hellos and settled at my desk to get my shit in order. I wanted to hit the ground running, and I started by calling some of my contacts in the Department of Homeland Security. They’d help me keep an eye on ships coming into the South Florida area.

Steph Hall stepped into my small office and gave me a playful little slap on the back of my head. She plopped into the chair by my desk and said, “Rough trip? You look like shit.”

“You don’t look so sharp yourself,” I said. But that wasn’t true. She always looked sharp, if a little tired today. This was just how we busted on each other.

“That noticeable, huh?”

I immediately apologized. “I was just kidding.”

Steph said, “I’m not. I’m exhausted. My mom came down from Riviera Beach to watch the baby.”

I said, “Baby up late? Is she sick? And what about Chaz?”

She waved off my questions. “You know the DEA. If they wanted you to have a family, they’d issue you one. Besides, he’s not the most attentive father in the world.”

I had to wonder what she saw in the conceited DEA agent she’d been living with for two years. “What about his parents? Don’t they ever help out?”

She shrugged. “They’re still coming to grips with the fact that their precious only child is shacked up with a black woman. They’re a little old-fashioned.”

“You mean racist.”

“Either way, they’re no help.”

I knew Steph wanted to marry the bozo, but the guy couldn’t see the gold that was right in front of his face. That was enough to convince me that Chaz was an idiot. The fact that he wouldn’t help out with his own kid sealed it for me.

Steph said, “I’m glad you’re back. The boss tends to focus on me when you’re not here. He had me running around doing all kinds of stupid shit that I’d much rather you would do.” Her laugh positively lifted my spirits. She stood up and said, “What do you think about lunch today?”

I nodded and smiled as she walked out of my office.

Two minutes after Steph left, a new visitor surprised me. I heard someone say, “What’s happening, Anti?” and I looked up to see Alvin Teague’s grinning face.

“What the hell are you doing here, Smooth Jazz?”

“Just checking out the office I intend to move into once I replace you.” Then he straightened his tie and added, “I was also hoping to run into Lorena Perez.”

That explained it. “Look, Jazz, the only way she’d talk to you is if you literally ran into her with your car.”

“Since when do you know so much about women?”

That was a good question. I pivoted. “I know about smart women, and smart women aren’t impressed by a Brooks Brothers suit—”

“Armani.”

“Or that shit you call flirting.”

Teague looked unfazed. “Tell that beauty I was looking for her and that I said hello.” He winked and was gone.





CHAPTER 47





I NEVER LIKED doing briefings in front of my own squad. Cops tend to ignore any information that comes from someone they know. That’s why a lot of agencies use outside trainers. To paraphrase Jesus, you can’t be a prophet in your own hometown.