Ruth exhaled, and we saw the cloud of her breath in the cold air. Like a mean-ass dragon. They stared at each other. For a second, I hoped she and Deena might start swinging.

“What do you mean by that?” said Ruth.

“I believe you owe some money to your surrogate, isn’t that right, Digger? Or do I have that wrong?” said Deena.

“Yeah, that’s right,” I said. “Cally needs the rest of that money.”

“And you are hoping to collect Cally’s money for her, is that what you’re saying?” said Ruth.

“I’m sure we can work something out,” I said, like a smooth operator.

“Are you threatening me?” said Ruth, like she couldn’t believe she had to deal with us. Like we were chumps. She looked at the white-haired man as if he’d be interested in this.

“No, we’re trying to help you,” said Deena. “Without the cops or anybody else getting in the way.”

“Very civilized,” I added, showing her I wasn’t a total idiot. Couldn’t she see this was a better deal?

Mrs. Z was peering at us from inside the house. Nosy, as usual. Then we all turned to look at the driveway when we heard the noise. The crack of car tires on cold snow.

“Who the fuck is that?” I said.

“That would be the police,” said the white-haired guy. “With your court order, Ruth.”

We stood there as a black van pulled up, followed by a dark blue car. We watched them slow down, park, and get out. “Dennis Wilkins?” said one of them, walking toward me and holding up his ID.

All I could think about was how much I hated cops. “What can I help you with, sir?” I said.

“This your vehicle?” said the cop. “Mind if we take a look inside?”

“Matter of fact, I do,” I said. I stared at the white-haired guy. He must have had something to do with this.

“All right,” said the main cop. “Wendy, can you bring me the order?”

I heard buzzing and squawks, voices jabbering from the police radio. One of the cops had left the door open. The dogs barked and howled. “Shut up!” I yelled.

There were four officers: one female and three male. In the frigid driveway, all of them showed us their IDs. All of them acted like this was a big federal case. Two cops and two caseworkers from the Department of Social Services. They had a court order and a search warrant. They gave me a copy of the papers, which I stuffed in my pocket. They took my driver’s license and ran a check on it. They asked for Deena’s ID, and she said yes, this was her property, and they said they were here to take custody of the “infant child” who was “believed to be in this vehicle and/or residing at this location.”