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“What?”
“He didn’t give a damn about anything we said, about any of our warnings—”
“That’s bullshit!” Mick’s defense punches the thick air. “If you had calmed the fuck down I would have explained things to you.”
“And if you had told me in the first place, I wouldn’t need calming.”
“Right. You would have gone ballistic.”
“So, you just did whatever the hell you wanted.”
“Enough!” Exasperated, Isabelle cuts them off. “Both of you need to take a breath, stop yelling, and start listening to each other.”
They separate like boxers after going a round; exhaling roughly and taking to opposite ends. In that moment of hostile reprieve, I process their fight and home in on the most crucial piece of information.
He found Joyce. Beyond the shock of that news is the disillusionment and hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Mick meets my gaze with apology. “I should have. But I knew you all were against the idea, and saw no point in upsetting everyone if nothing was going to come from it.”
“But something did come from it.”
“That’s why I’m telling you now. Despite what you and Victor may think, I did not go about this recklessly. I was clear with Stiles on one thing—he was not to make any contact if he found her. And I was not planning to pay Joyce for evidence or take it any further without your involvement.”
“At least that’s something,” Victor grants, though the anger still winds through him. “Where is she?”
Mick shifts his gaze from my mutinous stare to Victor. “In jail.”
“Guess that figures. What’s her story?”
“Up until recently, she’d been outrunning the law. Skipping out on court appearances for repeat offenses of assault and prostitution in Ohio, Indiana, South Carolina, and Georgia. It finally caught up with her in Louisiana. She was arrested on three counts of luring men to a motel room and robbing them at knifepoint. One guy got cut pretty bad. Herlawyer pleaded it down to two counts of aggravated robbery. She’s currently serving four years.”
Victor makes a pithy sound of disapproval.
“The point is she’s in jail,” Mick emphasizes. “Now that we know where she is, locked up and far away from Dwayde, we have the opportunity to talk to her.”
“Like she’s going to give a shit about helping us.” Victor shoves a hand through his hair. “Look, I want to know what Dwayde’s hiding too. I want to find out what the hell the Franklins have done as badly as you do. But I dealt with people like Joyce when I worked in Vice. It’s dog-eat-dog survival on the streets…it makes them hardened; they only care about serving their own interests.”
A frown broaches Mick’s face. “You might be right. But shouldn’t we at least try?”
Victor shakes his head and Isabelle’s hand goes to his shoulder. Her voice is gentle yet no less imploring. “Mi cielo. If there’s any chance at all that we can get information that could help us keep Dwayde, no matter how small, no matter how offensive or distasteful asking her for help is, we have to take it.”
“Isabelle, we are talking about pinning our hopes on a violent offender who abused her son.”
“I understand that. I do.” She shudders. “It makes me sick to think of what she did to Dwayde. But I’m desperate.”
“I know, Bells…I know.” He puts his arm around her and looks over at me. “Is there any possibility at all that Joyce could reassert her parental rights and lay claim to Dwayde? She might try that if she thinks there’s money in it for her.”
“No,” I allay that fear. “The court terminated her rights. In or out of jail, there is no provision for her to have them reinstated.”
He breathes a sigh of relief but his brow remains furrowed in pleated lines of conflict. “Tangling with Joyce just seems like a no-win situation.”
“Like you, I was not in support of finding her either,” I say. “It seemed too far-fetched to believe it was possible. And even allowing for the chance, the risk of bringing her back into Dwayde’s life was just too big. But that risk is now mitigated by her being in jail for the next four years.”
“So, you’re on board with this?” Victor asks with visible consternation.
“Yes, under these circumstances.” And despite Mick’s deception. “To Isabelle’s point, if there’s any chance at all that Joyce could give us something useful, we should take it. But, legally speaking,” I add with caution. “Jackson will have a field day shredding whatever shemight say based on her history of drugs, child abuse, and now being a convicted felon.”
“Meaning we could go through all this and not be able to use it.” Victor’s mouth twists with uncertainty.
