“I want out of jail.I’ve been saying this since I was arrested, that there was no need for me to be put in jail.I only slapped the stupid woman the one time, and apparently that’s against the law.All she had to do was move in with me, and that would have been the end of her troubles with her rent being due.”The judge asked if she knew that she’d gotten stitches.“Three.Like that’s anything to be bragging about.I’ve had worse cuts on my legs and didn’t do anything about them.She’s just milking the system.”
“Be that as it may, you did hit her without provocation from her.Also, and this is somethingthat I tell all my bullies, she’s not going to be hit again, or you’ll be right back here under worse circumstances.Do I make myself clear?”Janice said that she’d heard him.“What was the reason that you hit her in the first place?I heard you say something about her moving in with you.Perhaps she’s smart in not wanting to live with you if you’re going to go around hitting her for no reason.”
“I owned the house that she was renting from me.I raised the rent so much that she’d have no choice but to move in with me so that I could help her raise my grandson.But she moved in with some man and is living there in sin with him, so that I can’t see him.She won’t even tell me where she’s living.What kind of person does that to their mother-in-law?I wanted her to be beholden to me, and she’s moved on without me.Ungrateful is what she is.I should be raising my grandson on my own for what she’s been up to with that other person.”
“I’m to understand that they’re married.”Brenin was never so glad to have something filed for himself as he was the marriage license that the faeries had put away for him.“So her living in sin isn’t going to cut it.Also, there is an application for Mr.Savage to adopt the young lad as his own.I don’t see anywhere on the paperwork where she had to have permission to do anything like moving in with you.She sounds to me like she’s getting her life in order.”
“She’s moved on without so much as a thought to my feelings.”The judge asked her why her feelings should come into play at all.“I’m her…haven’t you been listening to me?I said she can’t move on because my son was her husband.She had her chance at happiness, and now that’s over.She should be living with me so that I can help her raise her son to be a good man.I don’t believe for a moment that she has any idea what she’s doing.”
“Apparently, she has her own ideas when it comes to living with you.And she sounds to me like—you there?Are you a Savage?”He stood up and introduced himself to the room.“Brenin.You married this young woman.Does she seem like she needs help raising her son?I do believe that I married someone with that name recently.Anyway, does your wife seem like she needs to have Mrs.Manchester around her all the time to help with the raising of the child?I also have your application to adopt the boy, too.I’ll go over it when we have a break.”
“Lisa is doing an excellent job raising her son.She makes sure that he eats well and is in bed on time.His homework is always finished before dinner.She’s a good mother to him and a better wife to me.”The judge asked Janice why she thought she could do better.“I believe that Mrs.Manchester will stop at nothing to get her grandson to live with her.He doesn’t even much care for her either.”
“You shut your trap.I’ll deal with you when I’m finished here.I’ll not have you saying a bad word about me.I pay my taxes and should have things done my way.”She turned to the judge before speaking again.“He’ll be better off dead than living with the slut.I don’t believe for a moment that she’s married.It would be just like her to say something like that to have people believe that it’s true.I want her and that grandson of mine living with me and not out and about like she’s working the streets.You make that happen, and I’ll be beholden to you for the rest of your term.If not…well, we’ll just have to see how things turn out, won’t we?”
“Are you threatening me, Mrs.Manchester?I’ll have you know that’s a stiff penalty for you to be messing with.”She said that her taxes pay his salary and that he should be nicer to the people who pay the most.“I’ve known the Savages since they moved to our town a while back.If you think you pay a great deal in taxes, you should see their bill.And they pay on time, too.None of this dicking around with late fees either.”
“I don’t believe you.I pay the most, and I’ll have you know that I’m never late either.”She looked ready to say more, but he cut her off.Talking to his bailiff, she waited like the rest of them to see what was going on.When he turned back to her, he didn’t look happy.“I can’t see any reason for you to be out and about when you’re obviously a threat to this child and his mother.Not that I don’t think Mr.Savage can handle a woman like you, but I do want to make sure that they’re safe.Ninety days in jail with no time served.You’ll behave yourself, too, while in jail, or I’ll have to come back here and sentence you to a bit longer.I might well enjoy that too.”
When the smack of his gavel hit the desk, everyone jumped just a little.The bailiff came backwith a sheet of paper, and he’d bet anything that it was a copy of their marriage certificate.As soon as it was handed to Janice, she made a sound like a dog, growling deep in her throat like she’d been told her dinner wasn’t coming to her.
“What’s my bail?I have things to see to, since you’re not.And don’t think I’m going to be spending anymore time in jail.That’s for reprobates, and I’m certainly not one of those.”The judge said that he’d passed his judgment and that was all there was to be said about it.“Well, I don’t care for your judgment, so take it back and give me something that I can work with.I have things that need taking care of, and I’m not getting anything done, being stuck behind bars like a criminal.Either do what I say or find me someone who will.I’m sick of messing with you.”
He wouldn’t budge on his decision.Shanda was able to get out on just a fine, but she had to spend the next three months behind bars like she’d done something wrong.And she hadn’t.Just a little hit to her mouth shouldn’t have had her spend anymore than an hour in jail.Just long enough for her to pay a fine or something.Not that she would have paid it, but now this was war.She was either going to have to hire someone to kill off the lot of them, or she was going to get nothing that she wanted.And Janice always got what she wanted.
Going back to the jail, she was plotting what needed to be done.There really wasn’t that much she could do behind bars, but she could make things happen in her favor so long as she had her attorney looking out for her.He’d better, too.For as much as she was paying him, he should pull the trigger on the girl and be happy that she’d asked him to do it for her.
It took her two hours to settle down.Her head was pounding again, and she didn’t much care for the fact that they’d not give her anything for it until she saw a doctor.She didn’t need to see a stupid doctor.All she needed was a couple of acetaminophen, and she’d be fine.Rules were beginning to be her worst adversary, and she didn’t know how much longer she was going to have to be in jail before she had to make some heads roll.
It was going to be Lisa’s head that went off first.The woman was giving her fits, and she didn’t like it.The very fact that she’d not even come to the courthouse where she could see her made her pissed off again.It seemed like everything was pissing her off, and she needed to get control of her temper, or she was going to have another heart attack.
Her quack of a doctor had told her that she needed to be a little less stressed all the time.He, of course, thought that she needed to go on a cruise or something that would relax her.Like she had time for that.She had a grandson to raise, and she wasn’t getting any closer to doing that than she’d been before.Things were just not going in her favor, and she was going to have to see about that, too.
Lunch was brought to her, and it was another five-star meal.Not that she’d say that to anyone if asked.She’d just tell them that it had been adequate and that would be the end of it for her as far as she was concerned.Her head was still bothering her, so she laid down on her bed and wondered if her attorney had had any luck in getting her better accommodations.She really wanted her bed from home; it was perfect, but there was barely enough room in the cell for the one that she had.She didn’t think that there would be enough room for her king-sized bed in the room, too.
Janice thought about her son.She’d told him not to marry Lisa.That she wouldn’t be a good wife.But he had said that he loved her, and she couldn’t fault him for that.She did wonder what he’d think about the mess that was going on now.He’d be rolling over in his grave if he could see how she was being treated by his wife.
She’d had him convinced that they should live with her.The house was certainly big enough, and she’d make sure that Lisa was doing a good job in raising her grandson.But things had turned out badly in that avenue, and she hurt still that she’d not insisted they move in sooner.She’d have everything that she wanted, and then some, and things would be perfect for them all.
But even after telling Lisa that David had wanted things to go her way, she’d found herself a house to live in, and that was the end of it.It had taken her three years to get the house bought so that she could control things.But she’d never been late on her rent ever, and even when she raised it twice in one year, the only thing she did was tell her that she needed thirty days’ notice for that to happen.She’d been right as it turned out, and that had pissed her off too.
Then, instead of moving in with her when she raised her rent again, she’d whored herself out and moved in with that Savage person.She’d have to have his life looked into, too.There was no way that she was going to leave David to stay with a man who had bad things in his past.As soon as she got to see her attorney again, she was going to make sure he dug up something on the man and his entire family.She was leaving nothing to chance when she wanted David to live with her.
It took her most of the afternoon to get rid of her headache.Then, when her supper was brought to her, she nearly couldn’t eat it as her belly was upset.Asking again for something for both, she was told that the doctor would be there in the morning to see her.
“My head hurts now.It might not hurt in the morning.”He told her that was the best that he could do.“So in other words, you’re doing the minimum you have to do to take care that I’m not ill.Don’t think that I’m not making notes on how I’m being treated.When I own this town, I’m going to make sure that this so-called police station is torn down, and you’ll be out of work.There isn’t any reason for this town to have a police force when I can rule things just as easily.”
When he laughed at her, she wanted to grab him by the neck and pound his head against the bars.Christ, no one understood the things she could do if she were in charge.Well, she’d show them.It was going to be her way, or there would be nothing left of this little town but herself and a couple of homes that she’d rent out.If she couldn’t, then that would be just one more thing that she would deal with.People were going to do what she wanted, or there was going to be hell to pay.
