Page 18 of Rat Park
“No. I didn’t know—”
“No, it’s all right, I figured. You’re riding with me, if that’s okay. We’ll just go around handing out food to anybody who wants it. We’ve got the south tip area tonight,” she said.
Dominic nodded. He knew that was where a lot of the girls walked the streets.
“All right. Let’s go, then.”
There was something singularly discomfiting about being in a car with a stranger. A forced sort of intimacy that made Dominic instinctively tense up. He sat in the passenger seat, waiting for the barrage of questions to start. Cat was obviously some do-gooder police officer that thought Dominic was the perfect charity case to latch onto.
Instead, however, Cat turned on the radio to a Hispanic channel Dominic didn’t recognise. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel in time with the music. For some reason, it made Dominic relax marginally, even as his suspicions as to her intentions grew.
“Right, keep a few bags on your lap and hand them over to me when I need them, all right? We can mostly stay in the car,” she said as the buildings turned shabbier around them, the streetlights scarcer and barely lighting up the darkness that had already fallen.
“Okay,” Dominic agreed, twisting to grab a few from the back seat.
Cat slowed her car down in front of a girl who perked up at the sight, obviously recognizing her.
Cat lowered her window. “Hey, mamacita.”
“Hey, Cat.”
“I thought you’d left for Brexon.”
“Change of plans. Guy flaked,”
“I’m sorry to hear that, honey.”
“It’s whatever. I mean, he took all my money…”
“You wanna report him?”
“I…”
“You go to the precinct in the morning, and I’ll take your statement myself.”
“All right. Maybe.”
“All right. We’ve got roast beef tonight,” Cat said, handing her one of the bags.
“My favourite.”
“I know. You good?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Cat.”
“Take care. You’ve got my number!”
“I know!”
The night air filled the car as they cruised down the street, stopping in front of the next girl. Dominic watched a similar scene unfold, the girl showing Cat pictures of her son on her phone. Cat, who they must have known was a police officer, chatted amicably with them.
“You got a good breast pump for when you’re not with him? Damn, I remember the ache on long shifts…”
“Yeah, got it in my bag. And it’s safe—I’m clean, I swear.”
“I know you are, honey. I’ve got no doubt about that.”
The woman smiled big, giving Cat a brief hug through the window before trotting off.
