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I ended the call and sat back in my chair. Ryan had been listening to the conversation, and I realized he was watching me, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.
“What was that?” he asked.
“She doesn’t need me to watch the baby.”
“No way. After you found the nanny?”
“The woman I hired is going to stay down at that tiny apartment for six weeks. I’m sorry, but I find that hard to believe. I wonder if she’ll be taking baby Yasmine up to the Bronx to hang out with the rest of the Perez family.”
“I know you must be so disappointed,” Ryan said.
“Actually, I’m free. I’m going to apply to the police academy now and hopefully get into their January class. I’m fine. I feel liberated.”
“Wow, you recover fast.”
“It’s from years of experience,” I said. “Tackle the problem and then move on.”
“That sounds like a good skill to have.”
“I kind of knew it was too good to be true, to tell you the truth. I was in danger of getting too attached to that baby.”
He watched me, listening. “Do you want to take a walk?”
“Yes.”
Taking a walk after dinner was a New York ritual I looked forward to. It was too cold to stop for ice cream, but the donut place was open all night. In honor of the harvest, they served an apple-pie-filled donut. I could smell cinnamon and apples mixed with the metallic odor of snow in the air waiting to fall.
“I think tonight is donut night,” I said. “Are you up for it?”
“I’ll eat a dozen. I’ll need it. I don’t like Chinese food, and where I’m going, that’s what they serve.”
“Get out of here! You might be the first person I’ve met who doesn’t like Chinese food! Randy said Taiwan has wonderful food. Supposedly, it was one of the reasons he wanted to go there.”
“Yeah, six weeks of it leaves a lot to be desired.”
“Why’d we eat Thai food tonight, then?”
“Completely different beast,” he said, slinging his arm over my shoulders.
Up ahead, Christmas lights twinkled on brownstones. The year was moving at a faster pace than I’d ever known. It would be New Year’s soon, and the trip to Taiwan would be over. Ryan was talking about the upcoming trip when I saw a dark sedan with some official-looking lights pull over to the curb. It was an unmarked police car, and Mark Spinoza was behind the wheel. I detected a hint of what might be anger in his eyes.
“Hey, Laura, I thought I recognized you,” he said, not looking at me but at Ryan.
“Mark.” I moved out of Ryan’s grasp and bent to look into the car. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. Who’s your friend?”
“Oh, Ryan Maddox, meet Mark Spinoza, one of New York’s finest.”
Embarrassingly, Ryan didn’t respond but just watched Mark with a smirk on his face.
“Okay, then,” Mark said, “I’ll let you get back to your walk. I can tell by the smell of apples that Donut Heaven has apple pie donuts tonight.”
“Ha! Yes, that’s where we’re headed.”
“Lucky you,” he said, looking at Ryan again. “Take care, Laura. And be careful.”
“Thanks, Mark. You as well.”
