“A cigarette? No, sorry.”
“It might help me, like, wake up. Clear my head.”
“I honestly don’t have one. I don’t smoke.”
“Oh.”
“So your mother was supposed to be here, but she left?” Melanie asked.
“I guess so.” Amanda shrugged feebly, but she was obviously upset.
“I’m sure she never would have left unless something really important came up. She was so protective of you when I was here yesterday.”
Melanie looked toward the door again. She was beginning to wonder why Dan was taking so long, and why the hospital staff hadn’t responded to her buzzing.
“My mom tried to protect me?” Amanda asked, eyes wide and vulnerable. She was still just a kid, a kid going through a terrible ordeal.
“Oh, yes. She wouldn’t even let me near you to talk about…about what happened.” Melanie glanced involuntarily at Amanda’s right hand, swathed in bandages.
“Oh, you mean when she wouldn’t let you interview me and stuff?”
“Yes.”
“Yeah, I heard that. I was kind of, like, half asleep.”
“I apologize for being so aggressive with your mother.”
Amanda flushed, shaking her head bitterly. “Don’t apologize to me about her,” she said with sudden vehemence. “My mom’s a total witch. I hate her guts.”
“Oh, don’t say that, Amanda. I know you’re upset, but I’m sure she had a very good reason for leaving.”
“It’s not about that. You have no idea. She doesn’t care about me at all. First she ships me off to the loony bin to get rid of me, then she abandons me here when I’m, like, in majorly bad shape.” Amanda’s voice cracked. Tears welled up in her eyes and brimmed over. Melanie handed her a tissue from the box on the nightstand. Amanda mopped at her tears, but they kept coming and coming, rolling swiftly down her cheeks. This poor girl was a mess. Who could blame her?
“I’m sure your mother loves you very much, sweetie,” Melanie said gently.
“No, she doesn’t!” Amanda insisted, breaking into sobs. “You’re not listening. Only my dad loved me, and now he’s dead. I’ll never see him again. Do you have a fucking clue what that’s like?”
“Yes,” Melanie said, hearing echoes of another time. “Yes, I do.” “The bullet is lodged in the right frontal lobe,” she heard the doctor tell her mother. “If we try to operate, we risk destroying sensitive speech centers.” “Will he ever walk again?” “The paralysis on the left side may resolve with time. But I have to be frank, Mrs. Vargas. It could take years.”
Melanie moved closer and began to stroke Amanda’s shoulder. “I hate my mom,” Amanda choked out. “She had my dad killed, I know it!”
“Amanda, you’re distraught, and you’re on painkillers. You don’t know what you’re saying. Gang members killed your father. It had nothing to do with your mother.”
“You’re wrong. Why do you think she won’t let you talk to me? It has nothing to do with protecting me. She’s afraid I’ll blab.”
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Get away from her!”
Melanie spun around. A large man in a rumpled suit loomed in the doorway. She hadn’t heard him come in, so intent was she on Amanda’s words. He advanced toward her, his features contorted with fury, tiny red veins popping out on his nose and cheeks. The smell of alcohol rolled off him in waves, filling the room.
“I’m from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This is official business. Who are you?”
“I’m her bodyguard, and I don’t give a shit if you’re the queen of England, lady. Nobody talks to her without my permission. Now, get outta here!” He closed the gap between them and grabbed Melanie’s arm. Amanda cowered in her bed.
“Get your hands off me, or I’ll have you arrested for interfering with a federal officer!” Melanie shouted, trying to twist out of his grasp. His fingers closed tight as a vise, pulling her toward the door.
“Yeah, just try it and see how far you get. I got friends in high places.”
“Get your hands off her, Flanagan!” Dan yelled, charging into the room.
“Fuck off, O’Reilly. This is my gig.”
“I said let her go!” Dan lunged for him and shoved him hard, pinning him against the wall next to Amanda’s bed. Melanie leaped out of the way, rubbing her throbbing arm. The two men were about the same size, but Dan was much stronger. As Flanagan struggled, Dan slammed him back against the wall.
“Touch her again and I’ll fucking kill you,” Dan said, his voice shaking, holding Flanagan immobile until he stopped thrashing and went limp in Dan’s grasp.
“All right! Jesus Christ, I wasn’t gonna hurt her or nothing. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn’t listen. Let me go already-I won’t touch her.” After a second, Dan released him and backed away, saying nothing, breathing hard.
Flanagan brushed off his jacket angrily. “You’re lucky I didn’t go for my gun,” he said.
“You carry? That just shows how fucked up our system is,” Dan said.
Flanagan jerked his head toward Melanie. “What is she, your girlfriend? Nice tits, but she’s a snotty little bitch.”
Dan made a move toward Flanagan, but Melanie grabbed his arm. “It’s okay,” she told him. “It doesn’t matter.”
“You’re right. Who cares what this scumbag says? He was a disgrace to the badge until they booted him, and now he’s hanging around like some disease,” Dan said.
“A self-righteous prick just like your old man, Danny Boy,” Flanagan spat.
“Please, enough already!” Melanie said. “Let’s start over, okay? Let’s just pretend this never happened so we can get something accomplished here. Mr. Flanagan, is it? Melanie Vargas, U.S. Attorney’s Office. So now that you know who I am, I’m sure you won’t object if I speak with Miss Benson.”
“Fucking right, I object! I work for Nell Benson, and she told me nobody talks to her daughter without going through her first. That’s why I was hired.”
“Really? I thought you were hired to protect Amanda from her father’s killers, not to obstruct a federal investigation,” Melanie said.
“Show me a subpoena, lady. Then we can do business.”
That stopped Melanie cold. She hadn’t planned to come here, so she hadn’t brought a subpoena with her. There was no way she could force Flanagan to let her speak to Amanda without one. As an ex-cop, he knew that.
“I hoped we could resolve this without resorting to a subpoena,” she said coolly.
“Talk to my boss. If she says it’s okay, it’s fine by me.”
“Where is she?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“She left her daughter all alone here, without giving you so much as a phone number?” Melanie didn’t believe him for a minute. He could get in touch with Nell if he wanted to.
“What am I, Child Welfare? She hired me to sit here, I sit here. I don’t question how she treats her kid.”
“Amanda, how can I reach your mother?” Melanie asked, turning to the girl.
“Don’t answer that!” Flanagan shouted, flushing an even deeper shade of crimson. He turned to Melanie. “You don’t listen too good. I said nobody talks to her. Now get out, the botha youse. You got no subpoena, you got no right to be here, and I’m instructing you to leave. You don’t listen, I’m going straight to Mrs. Benson. Then, I can promise you, you won’t get within a hundred miles of this girl ever again.”
“Mr. Flanagan, please,” Melanie said, “can’t we work this out? I understand you’re trying to do your job and follow Mrs. Benson’s wishes. If we could just get in touch with Mrs. Benson and-”
“Mrs. Benson doesn’t want to get in touch. Mrs. Benson just wants you to stop harassing her daughter and get your snotty little ass out of here.”