Anne let the air out of her lungs and her chest flooded with warmth. Tears rose up behind her eyes. Still holding her hand, Vince gave her fingers another reassuring squeeze.

Judge Espinoza nodded and placed his palms down on the tabletop, pushing up out of his chair. “Then, as far as I’m concerned, it’s all over but the paperwork. Anne will be appointed guardian. When the little girl is released from the hospital, she’ll stay with the Leones. We’ll revisit the issue if a relative turns up.”

Chapter 25

25

“Guess who’s babysitting on date night?” Vince said.

Mendez grimaced. “I volunteer. I know you’re pissed. I don’t blame you.”

They had met up at the SO and were driving through a beautiful old neighborhood near the college. A pricey part of town, Vince knew. The streets were lined with big mature trees. The houses were a mix of styles and sizes, built mostly between the thirties and forties with excellent craftsmanship. The house he and Anne had settled on was in this neighborhood, just a few blocks away.

Vince sighed. “I’m over it. I’m trying to look at it from a different perspective. It might actually be a good thing for Anne. She’s pretty passionate about helping this little girl because they share the experience of having been victims of violent crimes. That might help her as much as it helps the child.”

“If that happens, do I get a big pat on the back?”

“Don’t get greedy. I could still kick your ass.”

“You kind of did that this morning,” Mendez pointed out.

Vince laughed. “You think I was hard on you?”

“You made me look like an idiot.”

“You did that on your own by not being prepared. You present a case at the Bureau, you had better have those fucking ducks lined up beak to tail.”

“So you were just trying to toughen me up,” Mendez said, clearly not believing a word of it.

“Hell, no,” Vince chuckled. “I was pissed. I wanted to punish you.”

“Just so we’re clear on that.”

Vince dug a prescription bottle out of the pocket of his sport coat and shook out a colorful variety of pills. One for pain, one for nausea, an antidepressant ...

“You should have seen her take on that horrible woman from CPS,” he said, glowing with pride. “She’s a tough little mouse. She’s got a lot of spunk.”

“I wouldn’t want to cross her,” Mendez said. “She sank her teeth into me a couple of times over her students last year.”

“She stands right up to me,” Vince said, a sudden wave of love swelling through him.

“You’ve got a good thing going, man,” Mendez said. “Look at all the marriages that fail and fall apart these days. People have no sense of commitment anymore.”

“You really think Steve Morgan was having an affair with the vic?” Vince asked.