Ring of Lies (55 page)

‘
I
’ve
only
been
gone for a
few
minute
s
.
’
Her gaze drifted to the clock
above
the sink.

‘
Don’t
lie
to me
,
’
Jack
murmured, keeping his voice down for the baby’s sake.
‘
It’s been
a whole lot longer
than that
.
’

‘
Thirty minutes—an hour
maybe
,
I’m not sure.
She was
asleep
when I left.
You’re making a big deal out of nothing.
’

Jack placed the empty
bottle of formula on the table
and
then rubbed Emilia’s back until she burped.
‘
Bullshit.
Anything could have happened to her.
She could have choked,
or
died from crib death.
’

Rosa gave an impatient shrug.
‘
She’s all right, isn’t she?
All’s well that ends well.
’

He shot her a withering glance.
‘
Ends well.
Aptly put.
What kind of mother are you, anyway, Rosa
?
You think you can just put a baby to
down
sleep and go out to do
God knows what?
You make me sick.
’

‘
You can talk, you bastard!
’

‘
Stop
shout
ing, Rosa.
The baby—
’

Rosa kept howling.
‘
Three days!
Three days you left me with that screaming, snot
-
nosed
little shit
.
You
don’t have a phone?
You
can’t
call me?
You make me sick!
’
She turned on her heel and lurched toward the family room.

Jack stood, but rather than follow
Rosa
, he carried Emilia into the nursery and
settled
her down in the crib.
Despite Rosa’s
yelling
, the baby’s
eyelids fluttered drowsily.
He covered her with a blan
ket then crept out of the room.

‘
Where have you been, Rosa
?
’
he
aske
d as he
shut
the door to the family room.

Rosa sat on the sofa, a half smoked cigarette dangled between her bright red fingertips.

‘
Like you care.
I needed to get out, get away from
her
.
’

He reached out and hauled
her off
the sofa.
His fists shook with rage as he clamped them around her wrists.

‘
Emilia
’s your
daughter. S
he’s not something you can put down when it bores you
.
You
have a responsibility
.
Where were you?
’

‘
Let go of me, Jack
.
’

‘
Not until you’ve told me the
truth about where you’ve been.
’

‘
I needed a drink, so I went to
a bar in
Little Havana.
Hung out with a few frie
nds, where’s the harm in that?
You’re hurting me!
’

Jack
pushed her away
. S
he landed in a heap on
the sofa.
‘
You’re not fit to be a mother.
’

‘
That’s probably because
I never wanted
the damned
baby in the first place!
’

‘
So w
hat did you want?
’

‘
I wanted
an abortion, but my brothers
told me to keep it, that you’d
give me a
home
, nice clothes,
money
, maybe a car
.
’

‘
So now the truth comes out.
Y
ou assumed
I’d owe you a bunch of stuff
.
’

Rosa raised her chin and
glared at him
.

‘
You callous bitch.
’
Jack slammed one fist against the other.
‘
God knows what I ever saw in you
.
’

She leapt to her feet.
‘
Jodete y aprieta el culo!
I don’t want to be fat and old before my time.
I’m pretty, Jack.
But who ever sees it?
Not you.
You’re never here.
I’m young!
I want to have fun
.
And
—
’

‘
And
what, Rosa?
’

She bit her lip.
‘
Nothing.
’

Jack grasped
her shoulders
and pulled her
toward him until
her face was inches from his.

‘
Tell me.
’

‘
Jorge
said
having the baby
would be good for business.
’

‘
What sort of
business
, Rosa?
’

She flattened her palms against his chest
and push
ed hard.
Nothing came of her effort.

‘
Family business.
Importing, exporting,
you know.
T
hat sort of thing.
’

‘
Importing what?
Drugs, cigars, people?
’

‘
Y
ou figure it out
,
Mr
.
FBI
!
You know
ever
ything, anyway, don’t you?
’

Rage overwhelmed
Jack
.
He fought the urge to slug her.
Instead he relaxed his grip.
She
staggered backwards.

‘
You used me, Rosa.
You used my child.
You’re nothing more than a whore.
Pack your bags and get out.
’

‘
You can’
t throw me out of my own home. I’ll call Child Services.
They’ll arrest you. I’m the kid’s mother
.
’

‘
You f
orget who you’re dealing with.
I can
arrest you
myself.
Right here, right now for
child neglect,
’
Jack
said.
‘
Or you can leave.
Your choice.
’

Rosa
stiffe
ne
d at the challenge, a sudden icy contempt flashed in her eyes.
‘
I’ll go. But b
e careful, Jack.
The next bullet
could
have your name on it
. You never know.
’
S
he
stormed
out the door.

Twenty minutes later, Jack
lifted Emilia and the baby carrier
out of
his car. He
shouldered his gym bag full of
her
paraphernalia
and
climbed
the steps of the
Cutler
Inn.
For the first time in his life he felt unsure of his welcome.
He turned the brass hand
le
and pushed
open the door
.
Frank
and Maisie
Davis sat wa
tching the evening news on TV.