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It’s been a tightrope walk, making sure not to mention any names as we stuck to general questions around the workings of the board, the scheduling of the voting, and what types of things the board is asked to vote on.

It got a little tense with Carlos when I asked if he’d ever dealt with people trying to sway him into voting one way or another. His response was interesting, to say the least.

“No way in hell I would ever respond to palm-greasing or pressure, not by anyone, I don’t care who they are or what office they hold.”

It was that last comment that had me wonder if Merrick had actually made an attempt to buy or force Carlos’s support on an upcoming vote. I didn’t want to push it at that point and risk blowing open the investigation, but it’s definitely something to discuss with Mancuso and follow up on.

Our talk with the lawyer was a bit different, in that he immediately began asking us questions rather than responding to ours. I guess it’s inherent to Crombie’s profession to want answers, but made for a real minefield for us, so I made up a reason for our visit. I told him we’d been alerted to a credible threat issued against the board of commissioners members by a disgruntled citizen, as a result of a vote that did not go in his favor. That seemed to appease him, and gave me the opening to ask if he’d ever been approached, threatened, coerced, or pressured by anyone either before or after a vote.

In typical lawyer fashion, Martin’s response had not been a response at all. He weaved together a paragraph-long reply that didn’t commit either way to having or not having had that occur to him. I tried to get him to answer with a simple yes or no, but had no luck.

The question is, does that make him a suspect or simply a lawyer?

It’s one of the things Tessa and I came back to the station to look into, when I was interrupted by Dana’s call.

“Your mother is here,” she repeats, her delivery terse.

“What the hell is my mother doing there?”

“She tried calling you but you didn’t answer, so she came to look for me at the hospital instead. Anyway, I’m just calling you to let you know I am on my way home, and your mother is following behind me.”

I grind my teeth. I should’ve known Ma wouldn’t be able to stay away after our last conversation, but for her to just show up at Dana’s work I didn’t see coming. I know I had some missed calls, I was going to give her a ring back this weekend, but I never got the chance.

“I’m leaving right now,” I inform her, getting to my feet.

“Trouble?” Tessa asks when I end the call and gather my things.

“My damn mother decided to show up unannounced and ambush Dana at the hospital,” I grumble as I struggle into my coat.

“Uh-oh. Remember though, she loves you and you won’t have her forever,” she calls after me, as I stalk out of the office.

As pissed off as I am, her words curb some of the steam I was building. My mother is bullheaded and at times invasive and frustrating, but I know she’s ultimately motivated by love.

Losing our father young, she’s always been vigilantly protective of my sisters and me. I remember her instant dislike of Chelsea, my ex. She cautioned me about her, but I was blinded by looks and lust, and couldn’t distinguish those from love. She was more right about my ex than I care to admit.

She scrutinized my sister’s boyfriends too, but seemed more willing to trust their judgment than she did mine. Perhaps that was deserved back then, but that was a long frigging time ago.

I can’t be much more than maybe ten or fifteen minutes behind when I pull up to Dana’s house, parking next to my mother’s little SUV out front.

I hear my mother’s voice coming from upstairs as soon as I walk in the front door.

“…so spacious! My entire apartment fits in this room.”

I shrug out of my coat and kick off my boots, but the moment I close the front door, I hear movement coming from the floor above.

Dana is first coming down the stairs, some strain remaining on her face, but not quite as stressed out as I’d expected to find her. I meet her at the bottom, pulling her in for a hard kiss and a whispered apology.

Then I catch sight of my mother, halfway down the stairs, a little smirk I recognize as a challenge on her lips. My mother doesn’t suffer fools. She knows damn well that I know if I blow my stack in front of Dana, chances are I’d have her get pissed at me.

“Mi hijo,” she coos, rushing the rest of the way down. “So happy to see you.”

Dana moves aside to make room for my mother, who immediately wraps her arms around me. Her head barely reaches my chin, but don’t let that fool you. My mother is far from the frail waif she can present as, and more a force to be reckoned with.

I limit myself to, “Ma, this is a surprise,” as I offer my cheek for a kiss.

“Why don’t you make your mother a cup of tea?” Dana suggests. “I’m just going to hop in the shower and change. You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you, Theresa?” she asks as she heads back upstairs.

Ma throws her hands up. “Oh, I don’t wish to be a bother.”