“I was hoping to find, well, evidence, I guess, of his ability to pay. That’s what he keeps telling me, that he can’t afford it because of his mortgage and his new family and everything in Oak Brook.”

“And you needed a gun for that?” Miniver said derisively.

“He’s threatened me in the past. Maybe it was foolish of me, but I didn’t want to be beaten up again.”

“He’s a terrible man, terrible,” Mr. Contreras confirmed. “How he could treat a sweet girl like Vic here so mean I’ll never understand.”

I could see neither Arlington nor Miniver’s heart was going to break over this. They seemed pleased to think Dick was clever enough to evade his obligations. They asked me a series of questions about our decree and how Dick had managed to avoid paying me anything for years.

In the end, Arlington whistled admiringly. “Guess all that legal education gets you something after all.… Too bad you didn’t spend your money on a lawyer sooner, girlie, instead of breaking in here. Because you’re sure going to have to come up with the dough for one now that we’re arresting you.”

“Why don’t we call Richard Yarborough first? He’s the one who has to press charges in the end.”

“Yeah, but a guy who won’t pay child support sure isn’t going to be very understanding about you digging through his personal papers,” Arlington said.

“Let him decide that. The one thing I know about Richard Stanley Yarborough is that he hates other people making up his mind for him.”

It was four-thirty now. They felt they couldn’t possibly bother such an important lawyer in the middle of the night. Anyway, they were panting to take Mr. Contreras and me to the station and stuff us in holding cells for the remainder of the night.

“I do get the one phone call,” I said. “And I don’t have any scruples about bothering a big man at home. So I’ll call him. You can listen in on the extension, but your watch commander won’t have to know you disturbed him.”

Before either Miniver or Arlington could object I went to the phone standing in the corner and dialed his home. It’s one of those mental perversities that I know Dick’s number by heart.

He answered on the fifth ring, his voice thick with sleep.

“Dick, it’s V.I.”

“Vic! What the fuck are you doing calling now? Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Four-thirty-five. I’m down at your office and a couple of cops want to arrest me for illegal entry. I thought you’d like to put your two cents in first.”