Ruiz puzzled over that, but he kept talking calmly. The buzzer downstairs sounded again.
“That’s my backup,” he told Rowena quietly. “Officer Gloria Summerville.”
Now, we had two cops in the room. Summerville took over the talking, and Ruiz carefully moved in to cuff Bernie. She made the mistake of rushing Summerville, cuffs and all. Suddenly, my ex writhed on the floor, the prongs of a tazer in her chest.
“Do we have reason to Baker Act this bitch?” Summerville asked.
“She was talking and acting crazy, when I got here,” Ruiz said. “Thanks for the backup.”
“Anytime. I’ll take statements, if you want to get her down to the car.”
“Thanks,” he growled.
I gave him a hand, carrying her cuffed, unconscious body to the elevator. Some of the neighbors were standing in the hall, ogling us.
“Show’s over,” Ruiz said.
I took in details for the first time. Not as tall as me, he was broader in the chest, with massive thighs and bulging biceps. Black hair, close clipped, I knew the man was former military.
“Marine?”
He chuckled. “Still obvious?”
“Little bit. Out long?”
“Sixteen months. I was a cop before I joined up, seemed a natural progression to go back to it. Lots of f**king crazy people out there, huh?”
“Yeah. For damn sure.”
“So, this one’s the ex?”
“Yeah. She said Rowena stole me away, it’s a lie. We broke up a couple months ago. This is my second date with Rowena. Met her this afternoon.”
“And two dates? Damn!” He bumped my knuckles.
“First was coffee at my food truck. She’s willing to count it.” I shrugged.
“And then this one showed up.”
“Yeah, right when things were getting interesting.”
“Damn. Sorry, dude!”
“At least we weren’t fully engaged, and had all our clothes on.”
He chuckled, leading me to the squad car. We loaded our burden in the back. I spotted a motorcycle by the curb. No wonder he’d called for backup. Bernie started coming around as we shut the door. Groggy, she was up and screeching before we got back to the building. Ruiz hit a remote, locking the doors. Once we got upstairs, Summerville took off, heading to the jail with her prisoner.
“We’re looking to Baker Act,” she told Ruiz. “I started the paperwork.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem, Newbie.” She winked and closed the door.
“Newbie?” I asked him.
“I’m new at the precinct. I was at the Twenty-Seventh, across town with the lunatics. I grew up in this neighborhood, just a few blocks down. It’s a good place to live. Not too many crazies.”
“Bernie lives across town,” I said with a smirk. “In the Twenty-Seventh Precinct.”
Ruiz laughed, taking a seat in a chair that sat at right angles to the couch. Rowena was huddled on the couch. I sat next to her, putting my arm around her. She snuggled closer, shivering.
“It’s okay. They’ll lock her crazy ass up and it will be okay.”
“Never had someone come up at me like that. I wasn’t even in fights in school! She scared the ever loving shit outta me!” Trembling, she practically climbed on my lap.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’m here. Me and Ruiz have your back, babe.” I kissed her forehead.
“Summerville will take her for a psych eval, and we’ll get her crazy ass locked up. I just need to make sure all the I’s are dotted and the T’s crossed.” He held up the tablet he was using to fill out the forms.
“Okay,” Rowena mumbled, her forehead in the crook of my shoulder.
“You’ve known the woman, Bernadette Wilke for how long?” he asked Rowena.
“About three weeks. I’m working in the same office downtown. She was put in charge of getting me oriented. She’s a bitter, evil harpy,” she snapped, her Southern roots apparent. “Talks trash about everyone, especially Keir.”
She seemed ready to follow up on that, but Ruiz asked my last name, and needed me to spell the first. I gave him both.
“How long have you known her?” he asked me.
“Six months? Give or take. We dated about three before I figured out she was more trouble than she was worth. Something unlocked a new level of crazy tonight, but I’m not sure what.”
“She wanted me to go out for drinks tonight,” Rowena said, turning toward Ruiz. “No clue why. It’s Wednesday. I don’t drink during the week, rarely on weekends. Except a glass or two with dinner, like we had.”
“And you’ve known one another how long?” His dark eyes flickered over to me.
I cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed. “We met today at lunch time.”
His eyes widened. Even though I’d already told him, I guess he thought I’d been kidding.
“From lunch to dinner?” He couldn’t get over it for some reason.
©2021 Dellani Oakes
Dellani Oakes 