by Estelle Ryan
The destruction to the warehouse had been extensive. One of the GIPN trucks that had been parked close to the door had also been damaged quite severely by the flying debris. All the officers that had taken cover behind the vehicles were unharmed. As were Daniel, Manny and Vinnie.
It had been an immense challenge to get Caelan into a hospital room. Not even Francine or Phillip had been able to calm him when they’d arrived at the hospital. His hoarse keening had become too much for me and I’d left my room to admonish him.
But his tear-streaked cheeks had caused a heavy weight to rest on my chest. So I’d sat with him and given him incorrect geographical facts until he’d calmed down enough to admonish me. Francine had laughed and cried at the same time.
She’d been affected by François’ death as strongly as if she’d been there. The horror on her face had been severe when she’d recalled seeing the video footage blink out when the bomb had exploded. Vinnie had suggested she go to the therapist at GIPN. Daniel’s whole team were going for sessions to deal with leaving someone behind, the bomb squad as well.
I took another bite of Nikki’s unsalted pasta and allowed the bickering to wash over me. I needed this. I needed the normality of having dinner with the people who had become my family.
Knowing that the man who had killed Caelan’s friends was free caused me great distress. Even without any resources, he would not have any financial problems if he managed to sell the heroin in the wine bottles he’d taken from Adèle.
“Okay, wait.” Nikki wiped Eric’s chin and turned to Francine. “What happened with François’ lawyer?”
“He’s gone. His legal firm hasn’t seen him since the meeting at Rousseau & Rousseau. And he’s cleaned out his personal accounts.” Pink took the cloth from Nikki, frowned at her, then cleaned Eric’s cheek and neck as well. I found it most repulsive to watch the little one eat. He’d recently insisted on feeding himself with his plastic spoon. A large percentage of his food didn’t make it to his mouth, but had to be wiped off his tray and his body.
“Huh.” Roxy pulled the serving dish with grilled vegetables closer and added two heaped spoons to her plate. “Do you think he’s with Shahab now?”
“We don’t know.” The dark shadows under Francine’s eyes were mostly gone. But they’d been replaced by a new tension—the kind observed in victims of violence. I decided to encourage her to see that therapist. After I vetted him. She sighed. “I’m looking for him. And for Shahab.”
Roxy put her knife and fork down. “He’s a... a... monster.”
“And that’s putting it lightly,” Francine said.
“What about Claire?” Roxy asked. “Will there be any legal fallout for her?”
“No.” Pink helped Eric scoop food onto his plastic spoon. “Dan and Fabien worked with the prosecutors on this. Claire and her husband will tell the prosecutor everything they know and also give them access to all Adèle’s accounts. Claire no longer needs or wants the drug money.”
“Wow.” Roxy shook her head. “What a crazy case. I’m just glad you’re all safe. Car chases. Bombs. Scary stuff.”
Both had been terrifying. The bomb squad had confirmed there had been explosives in the SUV that had exploded and had told us we’d been lucky.
Francine sighed loudly, then frowned. She shook her head as if to stop an internal process and straightened in her chair. Then put one fist on her hip and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Okay, that’s it. If no one’s going to say it, I will.” She looked around the table, then rolled her eyes and looked back at Roxy. “I don’t like your hair like that.”
Roxy’s eyes widened. My groan came out louder than I’d intended. I’d become quite familiar with the fake shock. She put her one hand over her chest. With the other, she played with her long straight hair. “You don’t like it all neat and tidy? I look just like you.” She moved her chair back and waved both hands over her body. “Look. Designer jeans, a gorgeous blouse just like the one you bought last month. And my new boots are standing there by the door.”
Francine’s lips thinned. “That blouse looks nothing like mine.”
“But look.” Roxy’s eyes widened even more. “It has the same cute little buttons like yours does.”
“Bloody hell.” Manny muttered a few more rude words under his breath and pushed his plate away.
“See?” Roxy looked at Manny as if he’d given her a beautiful gift. “Even Manny loves my new look.”
“Well, it doesn’t work.” Francine crossed her arms.
Nikki’s loud laughter startled Eric for a second. Then he looked at his mommy and also started laughing. That set Nikki off even more until everyone around the table was smiling.
“What’s so funny, Nix?” Francine looked perplexed, yet was smiling. Some of the weight on my chest lifted. It was good to see Francine’s smile.
“You... oh... I can’t.” Nikki laughed harder.
“Nikki helped Roxy do her hair.” I’d heard the giggles coming from their side of the apartment for more than two hours before Francine and Manny had arrived for dinner. “I think I overheard Nikki say that she stole that blouse from your wardrobe.”
“You little minx!” Francine glared at Nikki, but there was no malice in her micro-expressions. “You betrayed me. You stole from me. I thought we were in this together.”
“Nah.” Nikki wiped laughter-tears from her cheeks. “I’m in it with the one who gives me the most wicked fun.”
Roxy raised her fist and bumped it against Nikki’s. Then she turned a fake loving smile towards Francine. “At least now I know you love my curly, messy hair and my unique sense of fashion.”
“Oh, man.” Francine leaned back in her chair, looked at the two women, then nodded reluctantly. “Well played, ladies. Well played.”
“What’s happening at Interpol?” Colin’s question put an immediate damper on the atmosphere around the table.
Manny stabbed at his food, then put his utensils down. “They’ve agreed to put the blame where it belongs. Three of the officers who ordered the op took responsibility. I think they’re also making this out to be a teachable moment so everyone can see that even the higher-ups are willing to take responsibility for their screw-ups. Bloody hell. Anyway, the two team members who survived will receive full pension with benefits when they leave.”
“They’re leaving?” Colin frowned. “Do they want to or are they being asked to?”
“They want to. These poor buggers are badly hurt. It will take months of physio before they’re able to get around. I doubt they’ll ever pass another physical that would get them into the field.” Manny’s lips thinned. “They are also emotionally banged up. That might take years of therapy before they’re okay. If ever.”
“That’s rough.” Colin looked at Francine as he said this. He had been more concerned about me and Caelan than François’ demise. He’d told me he hated how that situation had ended, but knew and accepted that none of us could have prevented the outcome. I agreed. I wished Francine looked at it the same way.
“Yes, those two are taking it hard.” Manny sighed. “I can’t remember the last time I was that bloody angry. I was going to get the big guy to go and beat up those idiots in charge.”
“Aw.” Vinnie tilted his head. “You know I would’ve done it for you, old man.”
The doorbell rang. Vinnie’s light-heartedness disappeared. He and Pink both got up, their hands going to the backs of their pants where their guns were hidden under their shirts. At the door, Vinnie looked through the peephole, then relaxed as he opened the door. “I hope you don’t mind, but we got started without you.”
“No problem.” Phillip came in, took off his winter coat and hung it on the hanger next to my coat.
Daniel followed him and smiled when he looked at the table. He walked towards us, his eyes on Eric. “How’s the little man doing?”
“He’s loving his mommy’s food.” Nikki got up and kissed Phillip on his cheek. Then she wrapped her arms aro
und Daniel and gave him a long hug before pushing him towards the table.
“Good evening, everyone. My apologies for being late.” Phillip sat down in his usual place and looked at the dishes on the table. “I won’t be eating. We had dinner with Caelan.”
Daniel nodded. “I’m surprised that white food can be tasty and filling.”
“How’s he doing today?” I had visited Caelan the first two days after the explosion. Today, I’d needed to be away from his intensity.
“He’s struggling.” Phillip nodded when Vinnie held out a bottle of red wine. He took it and slowly poured it into his glass. Phillip was back to his usual composed self. He’d told me he had long ago accepted that François would never live up to his potential. Phillip put the bottle down. “His legs are still hurting from the bruises.”
“The dude really did a number on himself.” Vinnie shook his head. “I saw his legs at the hospital. Scrawny little sticks, but he managed to beat the shit out of himself.”
“Vinster.” Francine opened her eyes wide and tilted her head towards Eric. “We want his first words to be ‘Mommy’ and ‘Francine is fabulous’.”
“Dream on, girl.” Roxy winked at Francine. “He’ll say ‘Roxy rocks’. Then he’ll say ‘Mommy’.”
Francine stared at her for a second, then both women burst out laughing. I sighed.
“We missed you, Rox.” Nikki handed Eric a slice of red pepper. “Don’t leave us again for so long.”
As Nikki said this, my eyes narrowed. I pointed at her face. “What was that?”
“What was what?” She looked up, then fell back in her chair. “Dammit. You saw that? Why did you see that?”
Manny jerked at the worried sound in Nikki’s voice. “What did she see? You’re not pregnant again, are you?”
“What?” Nikki’s shock was evident in the high pitch of the word. “No.”
“Oh, little punk.” Vinnie crossed his arms and shook his head. “What the... something have you done?”
Nikki laughed. “Something? Really?”
“Hey, I didn’t have enough time.” He lowered his chin and stared at her. “Whassup, little punk?”
She swallowed, then looked at Pink. My eyes narrowed even more. I was watching her inner conflict playing across her face. She inhaled deeply, pushed her shoulders back and lifted her chin. Then her shoulders dropped, her voice low. “I don’t know how to say this.”
Pink reached out and put his hand over hers. “Do you want me to do this?”
“You motherfucker.” Vinnie jumped up and shook his fist at Pink while staring at their hands. “What’s that? Huh? What’s that?”
“Oh, keep your panties on, big punk.” Nikki rolled her eyes. Then she turned her hand and interlaced her fingers with Pink’s. Her fingers tightened around his until her knuckles turned white.
I could no longer watch her discomfort. This was extremely difficult for me, but I knew how important it was for her. “Nikki.” I waited until she looked at me. “Ignore the posturing. Tell us about your flat and about Pink.”
“Huh? What?” She stared at me, everyone else forgotten. “How do you know?”
“Really?” I gave her a look that she had once said is my ‘are-you-really-that-dumb’ look. “Your nonverbal cues the last few months have been increasingly obvious.” I looked at Pink. “As have yours.”
Colin winked at Nikki. “So are you going to let us tell everything or would you two like to say something?”
“You were right.” Pink squeezed Nikki’s hand and blinked a few times. “This is much harder than I thought.”
“They see and know frigging everything.” Nikki inhaled slowly and cleared her throat. “I bought the flat downstairs. I signed the final sales agreement yesterday. Pink and I... well, we’ve kinda hit it off and he—”
“I care deeply for Nikki and Eric.” He looked at me. “I know you can see it.”
“I do.” And it reassured me. Even though it didn’t make this easier.
“Then you know that I’ll be okay to move into my new flat, because Pink will be with me.”
I stared at Nikki. “You will be okay because you are you. Being with Pink will enrich your life.”
Tears gathered in Nikki’s eyes.
“Now just wait a bloody minute.” Manny slapped his hand on the table. “Why are you moving?”
“Um, because I’m an adult? Because I want to build my own life.” She sniffed and looked at me. “Like Doc G did.”
“Well, I don’t know about this.” Manny rubbed his hand over his head. He jerked when Francine took his hand and held it against her heart.
“Well, I know about this.” She winked at Nikki. “Nix is fabulous because she’s a part of us. She’s smart and she’ll be just fine.”
“And I’ll most likely be here every night to eat,” Nikki added.
“I second that.” Pink glared at the pasta on his plate. “We might both need to take some cooking lessons before we’re really ready to fly the coop.”
“Oh, I’ll miss you.” Roxy wiped tears from her cheeks. “You’ll be just downstairs, right?”
“Nikki will keep her keys for our apartment.” I looked at her. “This is your home and you’re always welcome here.”
“Oh, Doc G.” Nikki got up and walked to me. “I’m going to hug you.”
“I wish you wouldn’t.” This time I didn’t mind so much when she leaned over and rested her head on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me.
“I thought you would be so mad.”
I shook my shoulder until she giggled and straightened. “I’m not angry. I’m scared because you’re bringing change into my life. Again. But I have watched you grow. Nikki, you’re a strong, amazing young woman. You’re responsible and kind. And you deserve the life you want to build.”
“Oh, Doc G,” she said again as she swallowed. “I’m gonna hug you again.”
I sighed and nodded. Even though I didn’t like the physical closeness, I knew she needed it. And in a sense I also needed it. When I’d confided in Colin my observations about Nikki and Pink’s body language as well as my suspicions about the flat, he’d given me practical advice. Including what I should say to her.
She gave me one last squeeze and went back to her seat. “Now tell me how you knew about the flat.”
“We also received the notice that the flat was for sale,” Colin said. “I was going to buy it.”
Her eyes widened. “They told me they’d had another offer, but then that person withdrew it.”
Colin smiled. “When I found out you had also made an offer, I was thrilled. I think that place is perfect for you.”
“Did you tell Doc G?” Nikki asked.
“He didn’t. I saw how you looked at the flat every time we went past it.” It would’ve been hard to not see the longing in her expression. “I also overheard a conversation you had with what I assume was your lawyer. If you want to hide your actions, you should close your door when you’re having confidential conversations.”
“Who’s your lawyer?” Phillip’s concern was sincere. He’d been quiet this whole time, his eyes narrowed.
“I used the lawyer you suggested.” Her smile was embarrassed when she looked at me. “I told Phillip that my new boss wanted to buy a house and he needed the best lawyer available.”
“So you asked me to recommend the lawyer I would recommend if you were going to buy a house.” Phillip’s smile was proud. “I fell for your ruse.”
“Why all the lying?” Manny slumped back in his chair. “Why not just ask for help?”
“Manny, I love you, but seriously?” Nikki rolled her eyes. “How can you not see that I wanted to do this on my own?”
“Well, you still should’ve asked.”
“I’m proud of you, Nikki.” And I knew Manny was too. He was just struggling with the change. At least I’d had a few weeks to process this. “You were wise to get a lawyer to help you and you did a very good job. On your own.”
&n
bsp; Her smile was sweet as her cheeks reddened slightly.
“I’m so not done with this.” Vinnie sat down heavily, glaring at Pink. “You and I are gonna talk.”
Pink laughed. “Sure, dude.”
Vinnie’s phone pinged. He grunted when he looked at the screen. “Jen-girl, I’m being harassed and it’s all your fault.” He shook his phone at me. “You need to go get that rug.”
“Hassan SMSed you again?” Colin smiled. “I’ll phone him tomorrow morning.”
“What’s this about?” Roxy looked from Colin to Vinnie to me.
“The hawala broker sells Persian carpets.” The more I thought about this, the more I loved the layout of his shop.
“Jenny saw a beautiful rug that Hassan now wants to give to her.” Colin took my hand. “If she decides she wants it, we’ll buy it.”
“Oh, boy.” Vinnie crossed his arms. “You haven’t decided yet? Hassan’s gonna drive me crazy.”
I needed at least one more day to consider the change that rug would bring in my living space. Already there were too many changes coming.
I sat back in my chair and listened to Roxy begging Vinnie to buy an Aladdin carpet to fly on. Vinnie kissed her head, then turned to glare at Pink and Nikki. Threats ensued, then jokes, excitement and finally promises to never let Roxy help with the décor in Nikki’s new flat.
I felt conflicted. Seeing Nikki so excited made me happy. But knowing that she was going to leave didn’t. Most of all I was going to miss Eric’s warm body pressed against mine. I was even going to miss Pink’s quiet presence in the apartment. I watched him as he lifted Eric from his high chair and settled the baby on his lap. There was an ease that was unique to that man. An ease that I saw brought a balance and happiness to Nikki.
Colin took my hand and squeezed it until I looked at him. “They’ll be okay.”
“I know.”
“You will also be okay.”
I nodded. As always, I would work hard to make sure that was true. I would also work very hard to locate Shahab so he could bear the consequences for what he’d done to Jace, Adèle and the others. But for now, I was going to enjoy the company of the people around this table. The people I loved.
