“YOU REALLY ARE in a whole world of hurt,” said Ronzoni, as he paced before me. I sat on a dock box, sans towel, shivering in the twilight. Ronzoni prowled like a toddler in need of the bathroom. He wore his trademark wrinkled Sears wrinkle-free suit, and a tie covered in the kind of paisley I hadn’t seen since the seventies. He was thin and wiry, except for his belly, which was a bulb that pushed at his tie. He was enjoying himself.
“See, Jones, it’s simple math. Two against one. These gentlemen say you attacked them, and seeing as you don’t have any witnesses . . .” He smiled at the thought. We both knew there was nothing that could stick, but he’d enjoy putting me in the lockup for the night.
“You do that math yourself, Zamboni?”
“It’s Ronzoni, meatball, and even you can’t harsh my mellow. This is too good.”
“Those guys were sent by Elroy Hoskin. It doesn’t worry you that he’s bringing New York action to Palm Beach?”
“Mr. Hoskin is a guest on the island,” said Ronzoni. “What’s your excuse?”
“Same, pretty much. But Hoskin thinks this is how you do things here. Is that right? You going to let this kind of thing happen on the island? Don’t think the residents will be very pleased with that.”
“No, I am not going to let that kind of thing happen on the island. I am going to put you in lockup, and tomorrow I am going to escort you off the island as far as the bridge. You can walk to the impound to get your car from there.”
“My car’s not in impound,” I said.
“Not yet,” smiled Ronzoni.
Touché.
I couldn’t have wiped the smile off his face with an electric sander, but then his phone rang. He took the call with his back to me. “Yes, Chief. Aha. Yes, sir, he’s here.”
Ronzoni glanced over his shoulder, and as he did, I saw the bubble deflate. “But, sir,” he said.
He spun and took several steps away from me. “Yes, but sir. There are witnesses. Yes, sir, they are together. No, sir, they have no reason to be on the dock. No, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.” He ended the call and stood slack-shouldered, then took a deep breath, then slowly turned back to me.
“Three bags full?” I smiled.
“You have more lives than a rabid cat,” he said. His suit suddenly looked too big for him. “That was the chief. Seems like the dock security that called in the disturbance also called the owner of the yacht you were on. Seems she was at a party at your friend Lady Cassandra’s, and when they heard you were in custody they called the chief.”
I smiled. “Some days you’re the Louisville Slugger, some days you’re the ball.”
A modicum of joy came back to Ronzoni’s face. “Chief said to let her dock boy go. So you can go, dock boy.”
I considered giving some cheek back but thought better of it. He wasn’t a bad guy; he was just a poorly paid cop doing his job in one of the ritziest places in the country. Having your face rubbed in it like that everyday could give you a real Upstairs, Downstairs mentality. I patted him on the shoulder as I stood.
“Maybe you’ll win the next one,” I said.
He nodded.
“Just don’t bet on it.” I smiled as I walked away into the night.
I dried off in Cassandra’s bathroom and then joined the impromptu party I had planned on skipping. I regaled everyone with details of events, then the conversation drifted away as people added their own anecdotes about the time they did this or the time they saw that. I was okay with it. The spotlight wasn’t my favorite place to be. Despite years as a professional pitcher, I never coveted the bright lights. On the mound I was in a cocoon, a bubble where I blocked out the noise and crowd and chitchat coming from the batter and just did my thing. But win or lose, after the game, I would take to the shadows and let the other guys tell the stories about the games, to girls in bars or guys in trucks, or just to each other. As the conversation flowed I drifted outside onto the massive deck. There was a breeze coming in off the ocean, and it was as cold as it gets in South Florida. I could almost have gone for pants. Almost. I heard the door slide open and closed, and Ron appeared at my side. We stood looking at the waves breaking on the beach in the moonlight.
“You okay, Kemosabe?” asked Ron.
“Just fine.”
“Interesting evening.”
“You could say.”
Ron sipped his drink, then looked at me. “Why is Hoskin so twitchy?” he said.
“I don’t know. But you are right. He’s twitchy. Maybe he’s just used to getting it all his own way in Vegas, and he’s not taking kindly to Palm Beach thumbing its nose at him. I was a convenient whipping boy for his annoyance.”
We stared out at the ocean again for a time, then Ron’s phone bleeped from his pocket. He smiled at the screen and winked at me.
“Well, hello, Deputy Castle.”
I stood upright at Danielle’s name. I hadn’t spoken to her since she had left for Atlanta.
“No, his phone is a little out of commission right now,” said Ron. “But he can explain himself. He’s right here.”
Ron handed me his phone with a smile and turned to go inside. I leaned on the balcony and put the phone to my ear.
“Hey, you,” I said.
“Back at you,” she said. She sounded good. She could have worked in telemarketing and made a bundle with that voice.
“Sorry I haven’t caught you,” I said. “How’s it going?”
“Actually, it’s going pretty great.”
“Yeah? Tell me.”
“Well, I’m learning a lot. The latest theories on law enforcement, new techniques, all that.”
“Sounds like a hoot.”
“But that’s not the best part. Everyone here is pretty senior, and of course they know that I’m just filling in for the boss, but that doesn’t seem to matter. When we’re workshopping, or even just chatting at the bar, they all listen to my opinion, as if it were just as valid as any of theirs.”
“It is just as valid,” I said.
“Yeah, I guess so. But it feels like it’s validated somehow. Like I belong here. Like I could offer more than just being a deputy.”
“You could be more, so good for you.”
“Really, you think so? You never said that before.”
“I haven’t?”
In that moment I realized that it was true. I hadn’t said it, because I hadn’t seen it. I saw Danielle as my lover, my partner, a sharer of sunsets and good times. And when she left for work in her uniform, I saw her as a deputy. A damn good-looking one, for sure, but a deputy nevertheless. I knew she could be more. She was smarter than the average bear, and tenacious and caring and resourceful. But it occurred to me that I might not have said those things. That I might have assumed them to be facts in evidence and taken them for granted.
Taken her for granted.
“Well, if I haven’t,” I said, “I’m saying it now. I’m glad it’s going well.”
“How about you? Did you get anywhere with Desi?”
“It’s been an interesting few days. But yes, we found out who was behind the betting ring that snared little Desi.”
“Did you report it to the office?”
“Sort of.”
“MJ?”
“You knew we had a word with the guys who hurt Desi.”
“Yes, and I’d like to have more than a word,” she said.
“Not necessary. They sort of came after me.”
“Oh, no. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. The two idiots tried to take me down in the office parking lot.”
“That lot doesn’t seem to be very good luck for you,” she said.
“No, but this time it had its benefits.”
“Like being right across from the courthouse?”
“Exactly. The West Palm PD took down one of the guys, and the other is in custody.”
There was silence on the line, and I waited until I thought we’d been cut off.
“Danielle? You there?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “Just be careful.”
“I’m always careful, sweetheart.”
I decided to not mention the visit to El Tiburon, or the van, or the little altercation with Hoskin’s guys in Palm Beach. She didn’t sound ready to hear about that.
“Listen, I have to go, I’m meeting some people for drinks.”
“You bet. Enjoy. I’m just here, hanging out at Cassandra’s,” I said.
“No picking up some wealthy heiress,” she said.
I smiled. “I thought I’d already done that.”
Danielle laughed. “You chose poorly,” she said. “I love you. I’ll call again before I head back.”
“Love you, too. Go impress the pants off them. Well, not the pants. You know what I mean.”
“I do. See you soon.”
I looked back over the ocean, and it wasn’t long before Ron wandered back out.
“All okay?” he said.
“All good. Sounds like she’s having a great time. Networking, all that jazz.”
“Good stuff.”
I handed Ron his phone.
“I need to get a new phone,” I said. “Mine’s waterlogged.”
“Fix that tomorrow. Let’s get you a drink. Cassandra has a room all set up for you to stay.”
“That’s generous, but I have something I need to do first. Should only take an hour.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Ron.
“No, you enjoy the party.”
“Like you said, it’ll just be an hour. Besides,” he said, smiling at me, “a man should never commit breaking and entering alone.”