“I think we lost him,” Janice said. Alec looked up to see Janice and the waiter staring at him.
“What did I miss?” he asked, turning back to the phone in his hands. How should he reply?
“Are you ready to order?” Janice asked, laughingly.
“Enchiladas, the chicken enchiladas,” he said, glancing at the top of the menu to make sure he got the name of the dish correct before his eyes went back to the phone in his hand. He erased his words and decided to go more generic, not to put undue pressure on Key. “If it’s not too late, and you feel like driving, come home.” Alec liked the use of the term home for Key. It felt natural and right, and what he wanted his lover to think when he thought of Alec, so he kept it there and continued. “Be safe in whatever you’re doing. Now, I’m very glad I did a drive-by. At least I got to see you.” Alec pushed send and started to put the phone in his back pocket when he looked up to see Janice staring at him with a big giant grin. “What?”
“Who is he?” she asked, knowingly.
Alec didn’t even try to hide his infatuation. He was smitten, head over heels in love, and if he could shout it from the rooftops, he would. Instead, he went with a more sedate, “No one you know,” while reaching for a gooey cheese-covered chip to put on his plate, pushing the full platter toward Janice.
“But it’s serious?” she asked, reaching for the plate.
“Oh yeah.” Alec grinned, leaving it right there as he scooped the fallen toppings with his cheese-laden chip, putting it in his mouth. Oh man, he wasn’t disappointed. With his mouth full and a second bite prepared, he nodded toward the folder she’d brought. “What’s that?”
Her face went from excited to solemn in an instant as she opened the folder. “I know you won in court today, but I kept digging around on Donald Cummings. He’s got so much that just didn’t add up or connect.”
Alec lifted his eyes to hers as she grew silent for a moment then shook her head.
“I know I’m not making sense. I found something that’s a bit alarming, and the best I can tell, no one knows. I’m unsure what I should do with the information. I’m genuinely torn.”
“Okay,” Alec said, watching Janice turn several sheets of paper in the folder until she pulled out one page and slid it across the table to him. Alec quickly added a third bite of cheesy goodness to his mouth then reached for his napkin, wiping his hands before he took the sheet.
“I’m sending all this with you. It’s got everything the criminal side will need when they prosecute this guy. I was as thorough as I could be and decided I’ll stick with the case if they allow me to.”
Alec scanned down the page, looking for anything obvious before starting from the top as the waiter placed a wine glass in front of him. This looked like a poorly scanned handwritten police report from one of the several times Camille Doreen Cummings, Donald’s wife and Rosa Daly’s daughter, had called the police on her abusive husband. The penmanship made it hard to read, but Alec’s eyes narrowed when he came to a line stating Donald had been spending significant time with the Disciples of Havoc motorcycle club. Per the officer, Camille said he’d become a prospect for the gang.
To quote Key… Motherfucker.
Alec lifted his concerned gaze to Janice. “Who knows this?”
“As far as I can tell, me, you, the arresting police officer, and Keely’s mother who’s still on the run. This was never connected to any official police report against Cummings. I stumbled on it only by accident, but it makes lots of sense. Cummings behaves like a gang member,” she explained, crossing her arms at the edge of the table. Alec’s mind raced over the possibilities. “I’m torn, Alec. My first thought was this guy’s dangerous to his child.”
Alec nodded. That was an understatement. He continued reading, making sure he didn’t miss anything more in the report.
“If I make this known, I can see Twiford offering Cummings a plea deal or worse for information on the club.”
“Exactly my thought. She’d grant him immunity on unrelated crimes to get him talking. He’ll terrorize his daughter and her grandmother.”
“Right.” Her hand moved papers around on the table until she lifted another one. “With this rap sheet, if Cummings gets immunity, I can’t imagine what he’d do.”
Alec took the multi-page stapled document Janice handed over. He’d seen a lot of this information before, but this particular form listed each offense, one right after the other. Dammit. He’d met Keely and her grandmother on several different occasions now. They were fresh and honest…and very frightened. Rosa and Keely played a large role in doing what it took to keep Donald behind bars until his criminal trial, and Donald’s ugly outburst in court today, stating clearly his intention to exact revenge on Rosa, didn’t hurt their case either.