Melanie moved closer and began to stroke Amanda’s shoulder. “I hate my mom,” Amanda choked out. “She had my dad killed, I know it!”

“Amanda, you’re distraught, and you’re on painkillers. You don’t know what you’re saying. Gang members killed your father. It had nothing to do with your mother.”

“You’re wrong. Why do you think she won’t let you talk to me? It has nothing to do with protecting me. She’s afraid I’ll blab.”

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Get away from her!”

Melanie spun around. A large man in a rumpled suit loomed in the doorway. She hadn’t heard him come in, so intent was she on Amanda’s words. He advanced toward her, his features contorted with fury, tiny red veins popping out on his nose and cheeks. The smell of alcohol rolled off him in waves, filling the room.

“I’m from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This is official business. Who are you?”

“I’m her bodyguard, and I don’t give a shit if you’re the queen of England, lady. Nobody talks to her without my permission. Now, get outta here!” He closed the gap between them and grabbed Melanie’s arm. Amanda cowered in her bed.

“Get your hands off me, or I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a federal officer!” Melanie shouted, trying to twist out of his grasp. His fingers closed tight as a vise, pulling her toward the door.

“Yeah, just try it and see how far you get. I got friends in high places.”

“Get your hands off her, Flanagan!” Dan yelled, charging into the room.

“Fuck off, O’Reilly. This is my gig.”

“I said let her go!” Dan lunged for him and shoved him hard, pinning him against the wall next to Amanda’s bed. Melanie leaped out of the way, rubbing her throbbing arm. The two men were about the same size, but Dan was much stronger. As Flanagan struggled, Dan slammed him back against the wall.

“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” Dan said, his voice shaking, holding Flanagan immobile until he stopped thrashing and went limp in Dan’s grasp.

“All right! Jesus Christ, I wasn’t gonna hurt her or nothing. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn’t listen. Let me go already-I won’t touch her.” After a second, Dan released him and backed away, saying nothing, breathing hard.

Flanagan brushed off his jacket angrily. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for my gun,” he said.

“You carry? That just shows how fucked up our system is,” Dan said.

Flanagan jerked his head toward Melanie. “What is she, your girlfriend? Nice tits, but she’s a snotty little bitch.”

Dan made a move toward Flanagan, but Melanie grabbed his arm. “It’s okay,” she told him. “It doesn’t matter.”

“You’re right. Who cares what this scumbag says? He was a disgrace to the badge until they booted him, and now he’s hanging around like some disease,” Dan said.

“A self-righteous prick just like your old man, Danny Boy,” Flanagan spat.

“Please, enough already!” Melanie said. “Let’s start over, okay? Let’s just pretend this never happened so we can get something accomplished here. Mr. Flanagan, is it? Melanie Vargas, U.S. Attorney’s Office. So now that you know who I am, I’m sure you won’t object if I speak with Miss Benson.”

“Fucking right, I object! I work for Nell Benson, and she told me nobody talks to her daughter without going through her first. That’s why I was hired.”

“Really? I thought you were hired to protect Amanda from her father’s killers, not to obstruct a federal investigation,” Melanie said.

“Show me a subpoena, lady. Then we can do business.”

That stopped Melanie cold. She hadn’t planned to come here, so she hadn’t brought a subpoena with her. There was no way she could force Flanagan to let her speak to Amanda without one. As an ex-cop, he knew that.

“I hoped we could resolve this without resorting to a subpoena,” she said coolly.

“Talk to my boss. If she says it’s okay, it’s fine by me.”

“Where is she?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“She left her daughter all alone here, without giving you so much as a phone number?” Melanie didn’t believe him for a minute. He could get in touch with Nell if he wanted to.

“What am I, Child Welfare? She hired me to sit here, I sit here. I don’t question how she treats her kid.”

“Amanda, how can I reach your mother?” Melanie asked, turning to the girl.

“Don’t answer that!” Flanagan shouted, flushing an even deeper shade of crimson. He turned to Melanie. “You don’t listen too good. I said nobody talks to her. Now get out, the botha youse. You got no subpoena, you got no right to be here, and I’m instructing you to leave. You don’t listen, I’m going straight to Mrs. Benson. Then, I can promise you, you won’t get within a hundred miles of this girl ever again.”

“Mr. Flanagan, please,” Melanie said, “can’t we work this out? I understand you’re trying to do your job and follow Mrs. Benson’s wishes. If we could just get in touch with Mrs. Benson and-”

“Mrs. Benson doesn’t want to get in touch. Mrs. Benson just wants you to stop harassing her daughter and get your snotty little ass out of here.”

“I’ll get a subpoena and be back here in an hour. Let’s see how happy Nell Benson is with you then.”

“Fine!” Flanagan said.

“Fine!” Melanie shot back. Then, having painted herself into a corner, she had no choice but to march defiantly out of the room, leaving Dan to follow.

“YOU’RE SOME HELLCAT!” DAN SAID, SMILING, as he caught up with her. “I’m very impressed.”

“Oh, come on, I completely screwed that up. I lost my temper when I should’ve just swallowed my pride and backed down, so we could get what we needed.”

“And let that drunken bum Bill Flanagan walk all over you? I wouldn’t stand for it.”

“You know him?”

“My dad was the lieutenant who took away his gun.”

“No kidding, your father’s a cop?”

“He was. He’s retired now. I’m from cops on both sides. My father and grandfather were on the job, a bunch of uncles on my mother’s side, some cousins. Everyone else is a rubberman.”

“Rubberman?”

“Fireman. Firefighter I guess is what you say now.”

“Wow. You must have felt so solid growing up with all that behind you,” Melanie said wistfully. How cozy, to come from a nice middle-class background, and just stay there. Unlike Melanie, who’d come up so far in the world that she didn’t fit in her own life.

“I guess. I liked that I could walk into any precinct in the city as a kid and find somebody to buy me a Coke anyway.”

“Speaking of, I could sure use one right about now. Do you have a dollar? Because I only have a twenty,” Melanie said as they walked past the soda machine.

Dan dug into the pocket of his khaki pants, pulling out two crumpled dollar bills. He smoothed them between his fingers and handed them to her.

“Here. Get me one, too, wouldja?” he said.

“Is this all the money you have?”

He grinned sheepishly. “At the moment, but I get paid Friday.”

“It’s only Wednesday.”

“Yeah, but you’re thirsty now.”

She shook her head and gave the bills back to him. He walked right over and fed them into the soda machine. “Regular or diet?” he asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Diet.”

Two sodas plunked out. Dan came back and pressed an ice-cold can into her hand.

“You shouldn’t walk around this town with no money in your pocket, you know,” she said.

“What do I need money for? I got a gun.”

She smiled, popping the top and taking a sip, aware that he was watching her.

“I’ll never be a rich man, but whatever I have is yours, sweetheart,” he said.

“What is that, a marriage proposal?”

“Is it too soon?” he asked with an easy smile, looking down into her eyes.

“No, it’s too late.” She waved her left hand at him. She’d forgotten she wasn’t wearing her rings. The empty space on her finger was conspicuous because of the tan line.