“I should have listened to what you had to say to me when you told me that he was faking his demeanor.You had a better handle on him than the rest of us did, and I can’t thank you enough for telling me that.I didn’t listen, but at least I know that he didn’t fool all of us.You’re a good man, Devlin.And I’m ever so grateful that you went there to talk to him.”The house phone was ringing when he told her that it had been his pleasure.“That has to be the hospital.They’re the only ones with that number.”
After getting off the phone with the call, it was indeed the hospital, and Sen was told that her father had had a massive coronary event.While he had a good guess as to what that meant, the man had died in the hospital.Sen didn’t seem to be too terribly upset about it now, but he knew that onceshe thought of it, it would weigh heavily on her mind and heart.She was tender-hearted like that, and he knew that they’d all be there for her.
“The nurse said that he was told to calm himself down a bit or he’d pull out the stitches.I don’t know what happened to upset him so much, but I can well imagine that it didn’t take much.He seemed to me like he enjoyed being angry all the time.”Devlin agreed with her, and Ivan said that he was sure that it didn’t take much to make him angry when he was in a good mood, too.“I can believe that.When I was in there talking to him, he seemed to want to pick a fight with me all the time.Like if he wasn’t picking at me, he’d pick at the nurses.I would have thought they were the wrong people to fight with when they could withhold his medications.”
“One of the nurses told Howard that he needed to back off on the painkillers.He was taking them for the slightest pains.That’s not the way that she said it, of course, but you could tell that it didn’t make him happy at all to be told no on something.”Devlin looked at Ivan when he spoke about the argument that he’d had with the doctors.“I heard about that.He was telling them that he knew more about medicine than they ever would and that his body was a temple.The man had to be a hundred pounds overweight, and he told us that he had high blood pressure.”
“Stupid person.”Sen sat down on the couch next to Ivan and smiled.“I don’t know how I feel about him being dead yet.I know that he was my father, but for the most part, he had nothing to do with raising me.Neither did my mother, for that matter.She stayed out of my life until I was older, and that suited me just fine.”
“I’m here for you if you need anything.So you know, he did tell me that if you didn’t do what he wanted, he was going to take you out of the will.I’ve not seen it as yet, but I would imagine that he had a lot of hoops you would have had to go through to get the money in the first place.You might be better off if he had taken you out.”She told them that she didn’t care one way or the other.Her uncle had left her well off, and she didn’t have any worries.“But for your mom.We’ll have to see what happens when she get out of jail.I have no idea what sort of demands she’s going to put on you about him, but I think I’d be prepared if I were you.”
“I will be.I think over the last several days I’ve been shown a lot of things that I didn’t know before.Like the temperament of my father, for sure, but also my mother.I think I’m going to be washing my hands of her as well before this is all over.She’s told several people at the jail that she wants me dead, not to mention a few of the officers who are there.That has to carry some weight, don’t you think?”Devlin said he’d try to get her a longer stay, but didn’t know who the judge was.“If it’s Rainer, then I think he’ll believe me when I tell him that she’s threatened me.”
“He might not be able to be there for you at all.He’s too close to you, so that would make it a conflict of interest on his part.”She said she’d never thought of that.“I don’t know how it works with judges.I’ve personally never run into that kind of situation before.However, lawyers can’t, and I’m sure you have heard that before working where you do.”
“I think you might be right.I remember looking into that once for one of the other partners.The judge said that he wasn’t able to try the case because of his sister-in-law being a part of the defendant’s case.”She looked like she was thinking hard on something, and he let her while he spoke to his brother.When she spoke then, she remembered the case.“No, I’m sure that a judge would have to recuse himself from a case since I work for him.That might come back to bite him in the ass if he were to do that.”
“Then she’ll have to wait until another judge can take her case.That could take a while.”She asked if she’d have to stay in jail while they waited on that.“That I know for sure.Yes, she’ll have to wait until some judge can preside over her case without any troubles.That could be as much as another month.Or longer.”She said she would hope for that.“Don’t rely on me for being right on that.I’ve seen where a judge could come from another county to do a case just because the first judge was ill.It will depend on the caseload of the second judge.”
“Well, I don’t care.I hope she has to stay in jail for a long time.”Sen stood up, and the two of them did as well.“I need to take a nap.I’ve enjoyed taking a snooze in the afternoon, so I’m going togo up and try to rest.You two have fun.”
After she was gone, Ivan watched her as she walked away.Devlin said his name twice before he turned and looked at him.He asked if she was going to be all right.Shrugging, he said that he didn’t know for sure, but he thought that she was better than she’d ever been.
“That’s good.”Ivan said it was and smiled at him.“You’re looking sappy again.What’s going on with you?Did you deliver any more puppies?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did, but that’s not what has me ‘sappy’ as you called it.I just realized how much I love my mate.And yours is out there waiting to make you just as sappy.”He said that he didn’t want to be sappy all the time.“It’s a great feeling.One that I hope you have on your face for the rest of your life.It’ll suit you, little brother, and I hope she’s just as sappy as you are.”
~*~
“I’m going to kill her and her husband off as soon as I get out of here.She should have come to see me at least once a day since I’ve been in here.There is no telling what she’s done with his money without me around to make sure that she doesn’t spend it willy nilly like she does.”However, Debra knew in her mind that Sen never spent a dime willy nilly; it was her that spent money stupidly.“But hey, once I get it, I’m going to be on easy street.”
“So you keep saying.”The officer had brought her something to eat and hadn’t walked away when she started talking to her.It was all right with her.Debra was getting sick of her own company and needed someone to pay attention to her.“There’s extras today if you want them.I have extra cake and sandwiches to have.But you can’t have both.Decide now so that I can let the other officer know which one you’re taking.”
“The cake.”Nodding, the officer left her to her meal.They weren’t that bad, but she always thought that there could have been more of it.Breakfast was plentiful, but lunch was a lot to be desired.It was usually one sandwich with a piece of fruit and a slice of pie or cake.She could have all the coffee or tea she wanted, but it was like drinking sludge, and she didn’t want more than a cupful with her meal.“You’d think they’d want to take better care of me since I’m going to have all that money.”
She didn’t know how she’d gotten it in her head that her brother had left Sen a great deal of money.He’d never acted like he had anything more than a hundred bucks on him at any time.It was more than she had on her, of course, but he never had credit cards on him.He’d told her once that he didn’t believe in paying for things on credit, so he didn’t have any.Everybody had credit cards.Even she had them, and she was broke all the time.
Debra thought about the last time she’d spoken to her brother.It had been a fight as usual, but this time it wasn’t about Sen but money.He’d told her that she had plenty enough coming to her, and without any kind of house payment or utilities, she should be on easy street.Perhaps he was right, and she should have been, but she so liked to spend money.And she thought that she was really good at it, too.
Laughing to herself, she thought of the look on Robert’s face when she told him how broke she was by the end of the month.He tried to tell her that the money wasn’t going to last forever, she’d better be saving a bit of it back so she’d have something to live on.She’d tried that once, and it didn’t work out for her.Being on a budget was something that she’d never learned.Now that the money had dried up, she’d rather kill someone than have to work out a way to have spendable money all the time.Sen should have been taking care of her.
Debra didn’t have any friends.She knew people, but she’d not depend on them to come and help her if she was in a jam.Sometimes that was just sad to her that she didn’t have anyone that she could depend on, but she’d get paid again, and all thoughts of having lunch with someone other than Sen would go away.But of late, Sen wouldn’t have lunch with her either.Something about rent being due or something along those lines.
Whatever.She was going to get out of here, then she’d be as rich as her brother had been.Or at least she hoped so.Whatever Robert had left Sen, he should have known that she’d put up a fuss about it and would have to kill her daughter.It would be his fault too if she ended up killing her, and she’dnot go to jail.He should have known that she’d do anything to get to the money.She’d knocked him around enough for it.
But that hadn’t worked out for her either.Debra had spent a month in jail when she’d knocked him around.And had his hospital bills taken out of her next check before it ever got to her.Which didn’t help her situation out at all when she was broke all the time.
She never really beat him, but did use a ball bat on him when she’d been there that day.She’d been pissed off that none of his mail hadpast duewritten on it.All of her credit card statements had that written on them every month.That’s when he told her that he didn’t have any credit cards and had never used credit at all.If he wanted something, he paid for it.She did the same thing, but after a few weeks of having something that she thought she wanted, it was no longer shiny to her.That was how she came to be broke all the time and her credit cards past due.She just loved to spend money.
“Here’s your cake.That’s all there is left, so don’t ask me for anything else.”She promised she wouldn’t, but knew that she would.It was like her to have to ask several times for something and never get it.These people were holding back on her, and she didn’t like it.“Also, you won’t be going to court with the others tomorrow.Something about a conflict of interest where the judge is concerned.You’ll have to wait on someone else to come in and take the case for you.”
“No, that’s not right.I don’t care about a conflict.You tell him, since I don’t care, then it shouldn’t matter to him.”She told her that it didn’t work like that.“I don’t care.They can’t have me sitting in here like I don’t have shit to do all the time waiting on him to get off his ass and get me out of here.I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I’m not the judge that hears you.You’ll have to take it up with him.”She said she would tomorrow.“You’re not going to unless you have his phone number and a phone, you’re not going to be able to get in touch with him.Your family has been notified as well.”
“They’re the ones that put me in here.Why do any of them care that I’m in here?They’re not the ones wasting time sitting on their asses.”She just knew that Sen was spending her money too.She’d already bought herself a new home and put stuff in it.It had been in the newspaper the other day when she’d gotten to glance at it.“I will be going tomorrow and talking to this judge.He’s going to release me so that I can get on with the things I want to get finished.My daughter is out there spending my money like it belongs to her, and I won’t have it.Promise me that you’ll make sure that I get out of here in the morning, and I’ll pay you well for it.As soon as I get my money that should have come to me in the first place, you’ll be the first one I pay back.”
“No.”When she walked away, Debra could have spit.She did that to people when words failed her.But they told her that if she spit once more while in the system, they were going to tape her mouth closed.She didn’t know if they could do that or not, but she wasn’t taking any chances.Police in small towns had their own set of rules they followed, and she knew better than to fuck with them.
