Another pause.
“That’s impossible, sweetheart.”
Vic snapped his fingers and held up his finger to keep Beth from talking.
“There’s no way that could happen.”
“But it did! It hurts really bad and my mom saw it and asked me what happened. What am I supposed to tell her?”
“Tell her you did it brushing your teeth.”
“She won’t believe me. I don’t want to tell her about us, but I need to tell her something. I think she’s taking me to the doctor tomorrow.”
“Oh my God… Okay… listen. There is no way you could have a sore on your gums from me. It doesn’t work like that. It must have been something you ate.”
There was nothing else written on the notepad. Beth looked up at Vic and he frowned for a moment, then he leaned forward and scribbled something on the paper. Beth stared at it, then back up at him in confusion.
Vic tapped the paper and gave her the thumbs up.
Beth read the line on the page and said, “Do you think I might be pregnant?”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Can I get pregnant from that? Suzie Berkman said that’s how girls get pregnant.”
“No, silly goose. It has to go in somewhere else for you to get pregnant. You’re fine.”
Vic gave Beth two thumbs up and nodded, signaling for her to end the phone call.
“Okay, Uncle Petey.”
“Hey. I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me. Are you alone right now?”
Beth looked up at Vic. He shrugged.
“Honey? Is someone else listening to this?”
“Yeah.”
A pause. “Who?”
“The police are, you dirty piece of crap! I’m sending you to jail!”
Vic hit the terminate button on his recorder and ended the phone call. He started chuckling to himself as he made notes about the call. “How did I do?”
“Amazing,” Vic said.
“I’m sorry I said a bad word.”
Vic smiled at her. “Sometimes I say them too.”
Frank looked up as Vic returned with Beth and her mother. “Where were you two?” Paul said.
Mrs. Lamia put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders and set her jaw, taking a deep breath before she said, “We called Pete. Beth talked to him and I heard every word. It’s all true, Paul. He did this to her.”
“No,” Paul said, shaking his head. “No, there’s a misunderstanding that these bastards are twisting around to make it sound like something it isn’t. Why did you do that?” he whined. “I wanted to talk to the two of you first so that we could sit down as a family and figure out what to do.” There was betrayal in his eyes, lashing his wife like whips.
Vic turned to Mrs. Lamia and said, “We’re all done for now. How about you take Beth outside and wait, so I can talk to your husband for a minute, okay?” Vic put his hand on Beth’s head and said, “I’ll see you soon kiddo.”
He waited for them to leave, then shut the door. Paul Lamia was sitting on the table with his arms folded. Petulant. Injured. “You people are sick,” he hissed. “You forced a little girl to set up an old man who probably won’t live another two years.”
Vic ran his hands through his hair, feeling the sweat gathering on his brow. “I’ve seen some amazing things on this job, Mr. Lamia, but you take the cake.”
“I want to know what you’re going to do now.”
“I’m not going to tell you.”
“I demand you give me an answer!”
Vic smiled malevolently and said, “Too bad.”
Paul got up and headed for the door when Vic shot his hand out in front of him and said, “There’s a surveillance unit at Uncle Petey’s house, and we’re tapping his phones. If you try to alert him in any way to this investigation, I will arrest you for obstruction. Do you understand me?”
Paul Lamia grunted and pushed his way past, following after his wife and daughter at a near-run. “Think he bought it?” Frank said.
Vic shrugged and said, “Don’t know. Don’t care. We’re arresting Uncle Petey tonight either way.” He looked at his watch and said, “I have to go take care of something for a little while. Can you get started on the criminal complaint and when I get back, we’ll get the warrant?”
“Sure. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine. I just need to go see somebody.”
There was a light on inside the house. Through the curtains he could make out the shape of a small figure sitting at the dining room table. He reached for the door handle, thought better of it, and decided to knock. Fast footfalls of tiny feet came racing across the floor.
“Who is it?”
“I’ll give you a hint,” Vic said. “I’m the guy that loves you more than anybody else does on the whole planet.”
The door flew open and Vic’s daughter Penelope smiled so brightly at him it shined. He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her on the face. She kissed him back and they made silly noises at one another with their noses until Vic saw his wife come out of the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see my little girl,” Vic said. “Is that so wrong?”
“You didn’t call,” she said. “You’re supposed to call first before you come over.”
Vic bounced Penelope in his arms and said, “Daddy knocked though, didn’t he? That should count for something. I didn’t just come in, right?”
“Did you bring that hundred dollars?”
“Jesus, can I walk in the door first before you start hitting me up for things?” He put his daughter down and said, “No, I didn’t. I don’t get my overtime check until next week. I’ll give you what I can then.”
“I need that money for her school, Vic. I can’t afford to pay for the things you’re supposed to take care of.”
“I give you three hundred a week, Danni! I’ve barely got enough to live off of after I’m done paying the bills. Why can’t you take it out of that?”
Danni grunted and said, “Maybe you should have thought of that before.”
Vic looked at her for a moment, and then bent down to Penelope and said, “I missed you. That’s why I came over.”
The little girl took his hand in hers and led him toward the table, “Want to see what I was drawing?”
Vic looked at the swirl of colors on the paper and gasped, “That is the most beautiful drawing I’ve ever seen.”
“I made it for you.”
Vic picked it up and pressed it to his chest, “I will hang it up on my refrigerator the second I get home.”
“What are you doing Friday night?” Danni said.
“Probably working.”
“I need you to watch the kids.”
“So you can go out?”
“I have things to do.”
“I work five days a week and have the kids every weekend, Danni. Somehow, I still manage to get things done.”
“Weekends are my me-time,” she said.
“When do I get me-time?”
“You lost that when you decided to abandon your children, Vic.”
He snatched her by the arm and pulled her around the corner into the kitchen. She punched at his hand and yelled, “Get off of me! If I have any bruises so help me God I will call the cops on you.”
He let go of her arm and said, “Good! Call them! And if I get locked up, I lose my benefits and money and so do you and the kids, genius.”
“You are a piece of shit!”
He leveled a finger at her face and said, “Don’t say I abandoned my kids one more time. Not one more time.”
“Or else what, Vic?”