Dana Mentink - Dangerous Testimony

“I feel like I’m being punished.”

“Not punished, protected.” Marco got up. “Let’s talk about a schedule, and we need to know everything you have on Jay Rico.”

They clustered together with phones and notepads, as if Candace was no longer even in the room.

Bullied. That’s how she felt about this five rings business. Like she was back in junior high, being bullied by the boys who refused to let her take a seat on the bus. She remembered sitting on the sticky floor in the rear, trying to ignore the jeers from her classmates, wishing one person might make a space for her.

All she’d needed was a single brave soul to be her ally, but no one wanted to stand up to those bullies.

No one.

And Candace had resolved, after she got off at her stop on that long-ago day, never to be the subject of bullying again. The next day on the bus, she had elbowed her way to the front of the line, sitting down on the very first seat and announcing to the boys that she wasn’t moving.

“And if you lay one finger on me,” she’d shouted, “I will show you how I earned my black belt in karate.” They’d believed her, even though she’d never set foot in a karate studio, and though they teased her relentlessly for the remainder of her school year, no one ever dared take her seat again.

Candace remembered how Rick had laughed in delight when she’d told him that story early in their marriage. “That’s my girl,” he’d said. “Don’t ever let anyone bully you.” He’d tossed an eighteen-month-old Tracy into the air until she’d giggled with delight. “And my baby girl is going to have her mama’s tiger stripes, aren’t you?”

And now here Candace was, a fully grown adult, being bullied by Jay Rico and his pack of thugs. Where were her tiger stripes now?

“I want to go home,” she said quietly.

There was no response from the cluster of adults.

“I want to go home,” she said louder.

Still no response. No one seemed to notice she’d said a word.

“It’s not enough,” Marco was saying. “I’m going to bring in some more guys if I can get them.”

“Civilian help is dangerous,” Ridley said.

“They aren’t civilians, they’re SEALs.”

“This isn’t their purview. They have no rights to act on domestic soil without orders.”

Marco glared. “Try telling them that.”

“I said,” Candace called in a near shout, “I am going home right now.”

They all turned to her. She realized at that moment that Tracy was standing in the doorway.

“Why are you yelling, Mommy?”

She plastered a smile on her face. “Because Mommy is tired, and it’s time for us to go back to our own house.”

Marco, her sisters and the two cops looked at her in surprise.

“If you could wait another hour or so...” Ridley suggested. “Until we get things in place...”

“Now,” Candace said, in what she hoped was a calm, confident voice. “I am going back home now. With all of you looking out for us, I’m sure we’ll be fine. Will someone give us a ride, or should I call a taxi?”

* * *

Candace sat in stony silence in the front seat of Marco’s truck while Tracy prattled on in the back next to Bear. Marco had no idea what book Tracy was describing, something about a time-traveling pony, but he listened attentively and put in a “wow” once in a while at what he hoped were the appropriate times.

“And I’m gonna have a speaking part in the pioneer play we’re doing just before Thanksgiving break. The practices are super fun. I know almost all my lines.” She reached over to scratch Bear’s tummy.

Anger edged up from Marco’s stomach toward his chest when he considered that Tracy was going to miss out on the next few weeks of school. It was possible she wouldn’t be in the show at all. No one had the right to strip away her childhood. When Jay Rico had sent his guy to interfere in Tracy’s life, he had made himself Marco’s enemy. Though he didn’t know it yet, he would, and soon.

Marco realized he had the steering wheel in a death grip. He forced his fingers to relax. Clearing his throat, he shot a glance at Candace. “Got a guy coming tomorrow to watch your place.”

She didn’t answer.

“His name’s Dev. You won’t even know he’s around.”

“What about tonight?”

“That’s me.”

“Don’t you think the cops are enough?”

“No.”

“Why not? Because they aren’t SEALs?”

He shrugged. No, because they’re not me, and no one cares about the two of you more than I do. Again the out-of-the-blue thoughts kept sparking in his mind like tracer fire. “Dev and Lon are the best. They have skills that cops don’t.”

“Like what?” She closed her eyes. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

The strain in her voice was pronounced. On impulse he took her hand. “I know your independence is important to you. This is just for a while.”

“But I...”

She looked in the rearview at Tracy, who was engrossed in singing a song.

“I feel like I’m being a coward, letting them win,” Candace whispered.

She clutched his hand, her skin satin soft against his callused fist. “Rick said I should never hide from anything.”

“You’re sheltering in place, not hiding.”

“But Rick...”

Marco squeezed her fingers. “Rick would want you safe. Period. Don’t doubt that.”

Tracy sat up. “Mommy, are you talking about Daddy?”

“Yes, honey. I was just saying that Daddy was a brave man.”

“Because he fought for our country?”

“Yes, that, and because he always, always tried to do the right thing, even when it was hard.”

The respect and adoration he heard in Candace’s voice awakened something sad inside Marco. Had Gwen ever thought anything like that about him? As their marriage disintegrated, she’d seen him as her enemy, a man who thwarted her plans and desires, put her second after the navy. What would it be like to have a partnership based on deep respect like Rick and Candace had had? If he had a woman like Candace in his life, he’d spend every day making sure she knew how much he loved her.

Unsettled, he eased his hand from hers and she returned to her silent perusal of the quiet Coronado streets as they drove to her cottage.

Had he done wrong speaking out about Rick? Probably. Marco bit back a sigh. Another situation that called for a penknife and he’d used a machete. Typical.

He waved to the cop parked in front of the house, and directed Bear to stay in the truck. Marco walked them to the door, took the keys from Candace and unlocked it. He asked them to stay on the tiled entry of the house and did a quick perimeter check.

“Looks good,” he said.

“What’s going on?” Tracy demanded. “Why are you acting all weird?”

Candace knelt down to look in her eyes. “There are some bad people who don’t want me to go to court. They are trying to scare me out of testifying.”

Tracy twirled a strand of hair around her finger. “Are you scared, Mommy?”

“A little bit.”

“Are you going to testify, anyway?”

“Yes.”

Tracy nodded. “Good. I’m glad you’re going to be brave...” She trotted toward the bedroom. “Like Unco.”

Like Marco? She was supposed to say like her dad, like Rick.

Marco saw the discomfort on Candace’s face and quickly looked away. What had he done to cause this? He didn’t know, he wasn’t sure, but now Candace was walking toward the kitchen.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” she said, voice strained.

“I...” I’m sorry? I will fix it, somehow? I’ll leave you two alone? None of those things seemed like the right thing to say, especially since he had no intention of taking his eyes off them until the Jay Rico threat was neutralized.