Free Benefit of the Doubt: A Novel by Neal Griffin Page B

the soft-sell approach, but that didn’t mean Ben couldn’t hit back.
    “So, what then? I’ll be a bumpkin cop while you play wet nurse to your dad?”
    Ben saw her shoulders tighten and knew he had struck a nerve.
    “He’s not getting any better, Alex, and we can’t keep paying for that country club he’s living in. How much longer do you think Newberg PD is going to keep me around? Believe me, every day Jorgensen looks for a new reason to dump my ass. Hell, even if he can’t find some way to fire me, between him and McKenzie and the rest of that crew, they’ll make me miserable enough I’ll have to quit. Shit, it’s already started. If this is it—if Newberg is all we got—you might want to think about figuring out how to be the breadwinner. That should be interesting.”
    It was full-on now. Ben watched as Alex closed the distance, stepping from the shadows into the early-morning light. Like Ben, she had just turned thirty-five, but physically, the woman could still stop a clock. A collegiate volleyball player, she had managed to keep a trim, athletic figure. Her tan wasn’t as deep as when they lived in California but enough that her skin had a healthy outdoor tone. Ben had always taken pride in her beauty. Even now, he wanted to pull her to the bed, but her next line reminded him they were in the middle of a fight.
    “Hey, pal, if it weren’t for my dad, we’d be on the streets, thanks to you and that hot-ass temper of yours.” Alex stopped abruptly, knowing she had gone too far. “Ben, I didn’t mean … look, let’s just calm down. I don’t want to fight—”
    He was heading for the door, any lingering affection gone. Anger filled his voice when he said, “You’re right, Alex. All this is on me. Your dad is the hero here. Hell, why did we ever go to California to begin with? Maybe I should’ve followed in your daddy’s footsteps all along. I coulda spent my whole career being his boy, huh? What was I thinking?”
    That had been the plan, as far as Lars Norgaard was concerned. He’d intended Ben to marry his daughter in a proper, traditional Newberg wedding, not some ten-minute gig in a Las Vegas chapel. At some later date Lars would have handed Ben the keys to the kingdom. Alex and Ben had had different plans, but in the end, all these years later, here they were. The only problem was, there hadn’t been any kingdom to hand off.
    “Ben, please. Don’t leave angry.” Alex took two steps closer. “I’m sorry. I was out of line, but Ben, we never talk. All of this, my dad, work, everything … We’ve got to talk. Stay home for a while, maybe take the day off. It doesn’t have to be like this.”
    “Doesn’t have to be like what? Honest? I think we could use a dose of honesty.” He picked up his bag, opened the door, and lowered his voice to a normal level. “And as long as we’re being honest, you should know. I put a call into an old commander of mine. He left Oakland a few years back to be an assistant chief in Fresno. He thinks enough time has gone by that he can get me a job as a midlevel patrol officer. If he can come through, we’re outta here. You’re welcome to join us.”
    “Us?”
    “Jake will come with me. You know he’d pick home over this place any day.”
    “Ben, how can you even think like that?” Finally, her voice broke. “My dad needs me. I can’t leave him. We belong here. This is home now.”
    “It’s your call, Alex.” Ben tried to sound resolute but failed and found himself regretting that he had even brought it up. “Anyway, nothing’s happened yet. I just thought you should know.”
    “Know what?” The voice came from the hallway, and both Alex and Ben turned to see Jake standing in the doorway. Jake was wearing his typical sleepwear: sweatpants and a worn-out Oakland A’s T-shirt. Ben could never look at that shirt without thinking he bought if for Jake at a ball game a week before all hell broke loose. “What about California? Are we