The smile spread over her face. “That’s very flattering, but I’m hardly a kingpin. I have five employees and we move a fraction of what real drug dealers do. But that’s their weakness. They’re greedy. They have no business plan.” She waved her hand around the beautifully decorated interior like she was a model in a home show. “And we don’t flaunt our money. That breeds jealousy. That gives people incentive to snitch on us. We’ve really thought this through. I hope you’re not going to screw it up for us.”

“I’m only worried about my assignment. I have no idea what I can tell your mother.”

“Don’t bother. We’ll drive up to Marlboro this afternoon. I’ll show her I’m safe and healthy. I’ll just tell her I’m living with Eric. That should be enough to keep her away.”

I liked her mischievous smile and attitude. She clearly had a head for business.

My phone rang and I noticed it was my brother. A former drug dealer. At least that’s what he told me while he was in paramedic school. I answered it quickly.

“What’s up, Natty?”

“Meet me at the hospital in Newburgh. Mom’s been hit by a car. It looks serious.”

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I raced through the front door of Saint Luke’s Cornwall Hospital. The hospital is on DuBois Street, about a mile south of where I-84 crosses the Hudson. I slid to a stop in front of a uniformed Newburgh police sergeant. It took me a moment to realize who it was.

“Hey, Mitchum. You got here fast.”

“Bill, how’s my mom?”

Bill Jeffries was a sergeant with the Newburgh police department. He also dated my mom occasionally. He had the kind of naturally calming voice you hoped you’d hear when things went bad. The look on his face told me everything I needed to know. Nothing I wanted to know, but that’s how bad news usually hits you.

Bill said, “She’s still in surgery. She’s got a broken left hip and possibly some internal injuries. They’re also worried about the way her head hit the curb. We’re waiting up on the third floor. I thought it might be best to catch you down here before you stumbled into the situation.”

He calmly led me to the elevator and up to a waiting room where my mom’s best friend, Dolores Hackmacher, sat next to my brother. She held Natty’s hand like he was a fifth-grader. I wondered if I sat on the other side of her, she’d hold my hand, too.