James Grippando - When Darkness Falls

“I also have some questions about the woman he married.”

“You’re going to insult me now, too?”

“The birth certificate. It said I was two years old when I was really just two weeks old.”

The older woman covered her ears. “I don’t have to listen to this.”

“That means Papi knew it was false.”

“I’m leaving now,” Graciela said as she started toward the door.

“And so did you.”

Alicia’s final accusation stopped Mrs. Mendoza cold in her tracks. She stood there for almost a full minute, saying not a word, her back to Alicia.

Alicia said, “I went all the way through school wondering why I was the oldest kid in my class, thinking I’d been held back. I was actually the youngest.”

Her mother refused to turn around.

Alicia said, “You don’t have an answer for any of this, do you?”

Graciela started to turn around, then stopped. It was as if she couldn’t face Alicia. Or perhaps she simply didn’t want Alicia to see her tears of shame.

“I didn’t think so,” said Alicia. She rose and walked right past her mother on her way to the double doors.

“Alicia!” her mother pleaded, but Alicia opened the door and kept right on walking.

The house was filled with guests, scores of people grouped into smaller clusters of conversations. They held drinks or plates of food with one hand, and, in the time-honored Latin tradition, spoke with the other hand. Several guests tried to catch Alicia’s eye and engage her as she cut through the crowd. Alicia made a beeline past everyone, exited through the French doors that led to the patio, and found a little privacy in the backyard near the tall ficus hedge.

She dialed Jack Swyteck on her cell phone.

“Hey, it’s me, Alicia Mendoza,” she said.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise.”

“I wanted to ask you a favor.”

“Sure. What is it?”

Alicia glanced back toward the house. Through the French doors, she could see her mother inside the family room, working the crowd with the skill of a seasoned politician. She had managed to compose herself completely, as if nothing had happened-just like the last twenty-seven years.

Perhaps she and the mayor had been alike in more ways than Alicia could imagine.

“Tell my grandmother-” she started to say, but a wave of confusion and conflicting emotions washed out her voice.

“Tell her what?” said Jack.

She drew a breath and said, “Tell her that her granddaughter would like to meet her.”

J ack never really expected Sergeant Paulo to show up.

At the height of the hostage standoff, Paulo had asked Jack how he could defend the guilty and still live with himself. Jack had suggested that they have that discussion over beers someday. That was not an offer he extended casually. Life was too short, and Jack would sooner call his college roommate in Chicago and do shots by long distance than waste time drinking with people he didn’t like. Paulo was definitely one of the good guys, and when they finally parted ways, Jack mentioned that he could be found at Sparky’s Tavern on just about any Friday night, if ever Vince wanted to have that beer.

It took a few weeks, but Paulo actually showed up. The even bigger surprise was that he’d brought Alicia with him. Apparently, she’d finally reached the turning point and could go out in public without the media hounding her about her father. That was the great thing about Miami. There was always a bigger scandal to come along and take you out of the limelight.

Theo showed them to “the best table in the house,” which for anyone who knew Theo meant the one that happened to be available at that particular moment. They talked over drinks. Fortunately, Theo exercised relatively good judgment by waiting for Alicia to break for the restroom before offering a couple of toasts. The first went to Sergeant Chavez, who, according to the newspapers, was demoted from head of SWAT pending the outcome of an internal investigation into whether his determination to take out Falcon was purely a favor to the mayor. The second was to Felipe, who (through Jack and Theo’s cooperation with the grand jury) would soon be indicted for taking his job as the mayor’s bodyguard way too far.

When Alicia returned to the table, Theo got up and played “a special set for some special guests,” which, of course, meant the one that he had been planning to play all along. Vince and Alicia sat extremely close to each other as Theo played out his set, and seeing Alicia in this setting gave Jack a fuller appreciation of what a captivating woman she was. He was trying not to eavesdrop, but he was only human, and it was a scientifically proven fact that fifth wheels were cursed with excellent hearing.

“Do you remember that dream I told you about?” Paulo said to her. He was speaking loudly enough to be heard over the music, but Jack had to presume that it was intended for Alicia’s ears only.

“Which one?” she said.

“The one about the little girl who sits in my lap.”

Okay, it’s the kinky cops, thought Jack, but he soon realized that he had it wrong.

“Yeah, I remember,” she said. “You and I were married, and this little girl comes up to you in the park and sits in your lap. But she doesn’t say anything, so you can’t tell if she’s our daughter or somebody else’s child.”

“Right. And I’m afraid to ask her who she is, because I don’t want our own daughter to know I don’t recognize her. So I just sit there, waiting for her to say something, so I can hear her voice. Do you remember what you told me about that dream?”

“Yes. That the little girl would never speak to you until you decided what you wanted to do about us.”

“Well,” said Vince. “Guess what. The little girl spoke to me last night.”

Jack couldn’t hear the rest. All he knew was that they were up and saying good night to him before Theo even finished his set. Paulo reached for his wallet, but Jack told him to put it away. “On me,” said Jack. “Just promise to come back sometime.”

“We will,” said Alicia. “Maybe when I get back from Argentina.”

Jack had been dying to know how Alicia’s conversation had gone with her grandmother. Now he didn’t have to ask. It made him smile, but not too much. He knew it would be an emotional journey for her. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“See you around, Jack,” said Paulo, and they headed for the door.

Jack was alone at the table when Theo returned. He saw the empty chairs and shot Jack a look of disbelief. “I leave you alone for one lousy set and you scare away the new customers?”

“They had to go somewhere.”

“Where?”

Jack didn’t answer. He hadn’t even heard the question, really. “Theo?” he said in a philosophical voice. “Do you think it’s a sin to be jealous of a blind guy?”

“Jealousy is always a sin. In fact, it’s one of the seven deadly ones. Even worse, it’s a terrible waste of time and energy.”

“Yeah, I know. But look at me. I’ve fallen for two women since my divorce. One of them dyed her hair, changed her name, and fled the country. The other one would rather live in a hut in West Africa than with me, except for the few times a year she plants herself in my bed and tries to cram six months’ worth of sex into a weekend.”

“Okay, now you got me jealous. You happy?”

“No, I’m not happy. That’s my point. When it comes to women, I’m starting to feel like the guy who didn’t get the memo.”

“Dude, please don’t tell me this is going to turn into one of those nights when I have to tackle your ass to keep you from running up on stage and doing your pathetic rendition of Rod Stewart’s ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck.’”