“Hope I’m not disturbing you, but I came by to see Mimi and I thought I’d stop in and find out how the rest of last night went.”
“Last night? Why? What do you know about last night?”
Zeke blinked. “I was there, remember?”
“Oh! You mean Rachel running away.”
“What else did you think I meant?” He looked at her strangely.
Jenna laughed, but it sounded more like a duck quack than anything human. She cleared her throat. “That’s really nice of you to check up on Rachel.”
“I’m not being nice, Jenna. It’s my job. Tell me, how well do you know Harrison?”
I know he has a little scar along the inside of his left thigh…
“Earth to Jenna,” Zeke said.
“Sorry.” She shook her head to clear the image in her brain. “What was the question? Oh, yeah, how well do I know Ben Harrison? Let’s see… Not much, really, I’m afraid. We were at the University of Miami together, but I haven’t seen him in thirteen years. Not till he showed up here in town. Why?”
“He seems like an okay guy, but I want to cover all my bases.”
Jenna stilled. It finally occurred to her what Zeke was really getting at. “Are you asking me if Ben is a good guardian?”
“He gave me some of the little girl’s background. Pretty rough if you ask me. I just want to make sure I’m not missing anything here.” If it had been anyone but Zeke asking the questions, she would have told them to get the hell out of her office.
“Are you implying that Ben is somehow responsible for Rachel running away?”
“Not at all,” he said. “But when a little girl is unhappy at home I want to make sure I can identify what the problem is.”
“I’ll tell you what the problem is, or rather, what it was. It’s called the Wicked Witch of South Florida, and thanks to Ben she’s on a broomstick back to Miami. Did you know that Ben’s mother is formally adopting Rachel and that Ben is helping her? Both financially and emotionally? And as for Ben, you should ask your wife about him. Or better yet, Google him! Besides being one of the top lawyers in this state, he’s a vet. He served two tours in Afghanistan and has a Silver Star for bravery. Does that sound like someone you should be investigating?”
Zeke put his hands up in the air. “Whoa! I didn’t mean to hit a nerve. I thought you barely knew this guy.”
“I… I’m sorry, I guess I got a little carried away, but believe me, Zeke, you’re totally barking up the wrong tree here.”
“I hope you’re right, but I still need to put a call in to Child Protective Services.” He took out his notebook and jotted something down. “Afghanistan, huh? Any signs of PTSD?”
“What? No!”
“Not everyone with PTSD is homeless and on drugs. As a matter of fact, that’s a stereotype. Most are regular people with jobs and strong ties to the community. Anyway,” Zeke said, putting away his notebook, “I’m sure everything will check out all right.”
Jenna nodded woodenly. What else could she say to that?
Zeke’s gaze drifted around the room. “Weird. Last time I was in this office Wentworth was behind that desk.”
Doug Wentworth wasn’t her favorite subject, but Jenna was glad they weren’t talking about Ben anymore.
“I’m taking steps to exorcise his ghost pronto. I’m getting a new desk, chair, the works. It should all be in by next week.” She looked at Zeke sitting across from her in his police uniform. She hadn’t said anything to anyone, but he was the most logical person to have a discussion about this. “How well did you know him, by the way?”
“Wentworth? More than I wanted to.”
“Sounds like you didn’t like him.”
“The asshole had the nerve to make a play for Mimi.” When Jenna raised a brow, he went on to explain, “It’s a long story, but she and I were separated for a few months.”
“Really? I find that hard to believe. I mean, you and Mimi are like the poster children for happy marriage.”
“I love her like crazy, but every relationship has its ups and downs.” The goofy look Zeke got on his face when talking about Mimi made Jenna smile. “What do you want to know about Wentworth?” he asked.