The World According to Vince - Jane Harvey-Berrick Page 0,2

would try to trip me up during a deal, poring over wordy contracts hundreds of pages long, due diligence reviews an inch thick. I had a large, comfortable office, with a large corporate Cherrywood desk and three assistants. It suited me.

Traipsing around New York City at one in the morning to see the Knob-head did not suit me.

“You owe me for this, Cady,” I grumbled to myself as I jumped in a yellow cab.

Vince had only recently relocated from Los Angeles and now rented a tiny basement condo with attached yard in Brooklyn Heights, not far from the Transit Museum.

My cab driver only agreed to wait for me when I promised him a tip of fifty bucks—half now and half when I came out again.

I punched in the access code and woke the dogs as the door swung open. I like dogs, I do, but I wasn’t keen on being slobbered all over or having them jump up and try to lick my face.

At least I knew what to expect as I’d met them once before in a park, so thank goodness they knew me and didn’t try to bite. If anything, they seemed desperately pleased to see me, whining and crying, then charging for the backdoor and begging to be let out. It took me a few seconds to undo all the bolts, by which time, they were almost frantic, scrabbling at the polished wood and leaving claw marks.

“Alright, you guys!” I snapped. “Take it down a notch—you don’t want to wake the neighbors.”

I was surprised when they seemed to listen to me and stopped yelping, but as soon as the door was open a crack, they squeezed through, Tap being the last, which didn’t surprise me.

They all took long and satisfying pees, and I was as relieved as they were when I couldn’t see any puddles or mess anywhere in Vince’s shiny, white kitchen.

Tap was the first to return, shivering from the cold. She was a scrawny little thing with three legs, but very affectionate as she nuzzled against me, peering up with her big beautiful eyes and no doubt asking me why I was here and not Vince.

“I’m going to try and save your dad,” I said to her, rubbing her soft ears. “Mostly, I’m trying to save him from himself. Wish me luck.”

The other two dogs spent longer snuffling around outside, and eventually I had to call them in.

Tyson was a large mutt of indeterminate heritage whose long, pink tongue was always hanging out the side of his mouth like he was grinning at you. But he was tall, with heavy shoulders and very strong, and without such a sweet personality, he would have been intimidating.

Zeus was the one in charge—a tiny Yorkshire terrier with a loud, high pitched yip, who could have sat comfortably in the palm of both hands, but seemed convinced that he was a Rottweiler. But then again, he did have Tyson to back him up.

He eyed me warily, then pointedly stared at his empty food bowl.

Vince hadn’t said anything about feeding them, so I hoped there was nothing complicated about their diets as I carefully placed a Milk-Bone into each of the empty dishes, and filled up the communal water bowl.

I swear the dogs’ faces fell when I relocked the backdoor, and Tap tried to follow me as I left, but I gently pushed her back inside the kitchen, feeling horrible as her soft whines reached me outside.

I gave the cab driver the rest of his tip, then sat back with my eyes closed while we re-crossed the river to Manhattan.

‘The Tombs’ was what New Yorkers named the towering, gray Manhattan Detention Complex, a building so depressing that it could have been designed during the Soviet era.

Considering it was now nearly three in the morning, it was surprisingly busy. The entrance teemed with law officers in their navy-blue uniforms, all armed, all with the look on their faces that they’d seen it all, experienced every aspect of humanity and society’s failings. I wasn’t sure where Vince fit into that.

I presented myself to the Desk Sergeant who was polite and efficient, and handed me Vince’s charge sheet which I read with disbelief as my eyes grew wider.

I glanced up at the Desk Sergeant who was obviously holding onto a smile. He raised his eyebrows and nodded. My eyebrows had already scaled the heights and were approaching lift-off.

I sat down heavily on one of the plastic visitor seats, sweating as I peeled off