Sucker bet - James Swain [27]
“Then I’ll take up shuffleboard and start complaining about my hemorrhoids.”
She giggled into the phone. “Sorry, boss.”
He started to say good-bye, then remembered his manners.
“Thanks for chasing my friend down.”
“You think I could be a bona fide detective one day?”
“I sure do,” he said.
Mabel hung up feeling giddy. Tony didn’t toss out compliments very often. And he hadn’t even scolded her for telling Jacques he’d give the money back. So it was working. He was getting out of his bad mood. Finally.
How she detested Kat! Couldn’t Kat see that Tony’s heart hadn’t mended from losing his wife? As a result, he fought with his son, said nasty things to strangers on the phone, and told off clients when it suited him. He was depressed, and didn’t need a big-breasted woman in leotards in his life. What he needed was someone who could look after him and run his business and get into his head when it was necessary. He needed a friend, and Mabel considered herself the prime prospect for the job.
She heard the doorbell ring and walked into the living room expecting to see the blue and white FedEx truck parked in the driveway. Only, it was a hot-pink Mustang that took up the spot. Mabel put on her best brave face and opened the door.
“Mabel,” Zoe yelled.
The twelve-year-old hugged her. She looked different, and Mabel realized Zoe had washed the hideous black dye from her hair. Kat followed her in and kissed Mabel on the cheek. She wore stonewashed jeans and a tight sweater. Mabel gritted her teeth. Did every piece of clothing have to cling?
“Boy, is it good to see you,” Kat said.
Mabel swallowed hard. “Where have you been?”
“It’s a long story. Is Tony here?”
“He left yesterday.”
“I’ll bet he’s mad at me for not calling.” Kat put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders and rubbed her head affectionately. “They gave me only one phone call, and I used it to call my lawyer.”
“One phone call? What do you mean?”
Kat continued to hug her daughter and took a deep breath.
“I was in the Orange County jail,” she said.
Kat had driven straight from jail, and neither she nor Zoe had eaten. Mabel brewed a pot of coffee, then got out eggs and bread and made French toast, all the while feeling like a shit. She’d once spent a couple of days in jail because of a classified ad she’d run, and had found it the most degrading experience of her entire life.
Kat sat at the kitchen table, staring into the depths of her cup. She did not open up until they heard Zoe turn on the TV. “Ralph, my ex, came by after the show and tried to serve me with papers so he could stop paying alimony. I sort of snapped.” The TV had gone mute, and Kat glared at the wall. “Zoe! You know the rules. No channel surfing.” The volume came back on and Kat relaxed. “Where was I? Oh, yeah, beating up Ralph.”
Mabel turned from the stove. “Did you really?”
“Yeah. I got him in a hammerlock and started pulling out his hair. He had these implants put in, looks like tiny cornrows. No more!”
It was a delicious image, and Mabel took a plate into the next room for Zoe, then returned to the kitchen and slid a second plate Kat’s way.
“You’re an angel,” Kat said, smothering the food with maple syrup and digging in. “Ralph had me arrested for battery. Thank God for Zoe.”
“What did she do?”
“She saved my ass,” Kat replied, the syrup dripping off her chin. “Ralph got custody of her while I was in jail. He made her wash her hair out, then threw away all her clothes and bought new stuff at Kmart. Just to get back at me, I guess.
“Zoe’s always been a little snoop, and she looked around Ralph’s apartment and found a batch of summonses in a drawer. Seems Ralph’s bounced checks up and down the East Coast since leaving me. Zoe realized her dad was on the lam, so she called me in jail. I told my lawyer, and this morning, Ralph got hauled in front of the judge.”
“A happy ending,” Mabel said.
Kat wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Not yet.”
“How so?”
“I’ve got to find Tony. We’ve got a show in Memphis next week.”
Mabel picked up Kat’s plate and took it to the sink, rinsing