“He was hit from behind in his car.”She said that she understood that, but how did that affect her sister being hurt if she was in the store buying groceries.“Listen, lady, that’s all I know.They were in an accident, and you’re going to have to pay for the groceries that she got before I can let the kids go to you.”
“You do realize that that’s called blackmail, don’t you?And since you’re Officer Smith of the local police station, you won’t mind if I give them a call to find out if this is all true.MaryBeth has tried this before.Is that why you’ve not left a message for me to call you back?You couldn’t chance me calling the stationhouse to find you?”He started cursing that would have rivaled even her sister’s mouth.“Not very professional of you now, is that?Why don’t you put my sister on the phone now that the scam is up, and you go back to wherever you came from.I can’t believe she’d be so dishonest—or you, for that matter, to use the kids as a pawn in a scam to get me to send her money.Put her on before I call the real police and have you arrested for impersonating a cop.”
“She told me what to say.I didn’t want to do it.”She didn’t say anything but waited for MaryBeth to get on the line.When he started talking again, she began putting her clothing back in the basket to be put away.“Listen, lady, she really isn’t here.She’s at the police station with Bash, trying to get him out.I only agreed to do this because she said she’d give me fifty bucks if I managed to get you to come here and pay me what she said it would take to get Bash out of jail.”
“Where are the kids?And you’d better be telling me that they’re safe and not harmed in this stupid prank.”He said they were still in the hospital as far as he knew.The doctors weren’t releasing them until they were better.“What’s wrong with them?”
“I don’t know, lady.I’m only telling you what MaryBeth told me.She said that the doctorwouldn’t release them because they’ve not been eating good or some bullshit like that.I don’t even like her, much less her kids.I just thought it was an easy way to make a few bucks.”She said that he’d better not be pulling this trick on her again.“Don’t worry.Once was enough for me.You’re too smart.”
“Damned straight I am.”She didn’t think it would be all that difficult to be smarter than an idiot who thought that she’d pay for groceries when her sister was hurt.He had never explained how that had happened, that her sister was in the ICU too.“You tell my sister that it didn’t work, and I’m not bailing out her husband.I don’t like Bash and wouldn’t bail him out if her life depended on it.”
She might then, but that would be the only time that she did anything like that.Hanging up the phone, she sat there and wondered how stupid did her sister have to be to think that she’d come running without checking things out first.It was as if she thought she was smarter than her when anyone with a sound mind could tell that MaryBeth didn’t have one brain cell that wasn’t attached to Bash Humphrey.Idiots, the two of them.
Chapter 1
Meggie didn’t understand why she was in jail.She’d had people try to explain it to her, but since it wasn’t anything that she wanted to hear, she didn’t believe it was true.Her daughter Doone should have paid whatever fines there were so that she could get out, and that was all there was to it.The very idea that no one was doing as she demanded was making her angry.And these people didn’t want to see her when she was angry.Frustrated beyond words, she demanded that they get her daughter for her so that she could tell her what to do.Doone would want the best for her, and if she didn’t, that was tough shit too.Doone had better get her shit together, or there was going to be hell to pay.
They’d removed her from her home.And that was another thing that Doone was going to fix for her.To have her living in the government housing, or she’d find out why.She’d loved her little one-bedroom apartment and the little bit of yard that she’d had.She liked that she was situated on the street so that she could watch the welfare people and their fifty kids.
Just because she was living in government housing didn’t mean that she was one of them.No, she wasn’t a welfare person at all because she had money.Hundreds of thousands of dollars that she could get to at any time.That’s what they were upset about, that she had money at her disposal, but she wasn’t going to give up her place simply because she’d been smart enough to keep her relationship with her husband good so that she could get into his accounts when she wanted.And they’d better be thinking twice about her not being able to do that either.She’d kill Robert before she’d allow him to cut her off.And her daughter’s so-called husband, too, was on her list.
Falkner.What sort of name was that?Everything was all right between her and Doone until he started sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.Telling her that Doone wasn’t going to be helping her out anymore, either.She’d been putting together a list of shit that was going to happen as soon as she got out of jail, too.A list that they’d follow, or she’d get a gun and take care of them.All of them had to know that what she wanted she’d get or there would be hell to pay.
Doone would do what she wanted because she deserved what she had.And there wasn’t any way that she was going to be treated any differently just because she had some man in her life.Well, she’d take care of him, too.Make sure that Doone knew that she wasn’t happy with him and he’d be out of her life in a minute.Of course, she’d have to bully her a bit to get him out of her life, but Doone would want that because she was her mother, and she owed her for bringing her into this world.
“I don’t care what that quack of a doctor said about having her either.She was a difficult birth and messy, and I’m not ever going to go through that again.”She’d put her foot down to her husband right after Doone had been born, and he knew better than to disagree with her.She’d show them all that Doone wanted her to have what she deserved, and wanted it because that was the relationship that they had.“A good one.One where Doone does what I say and when I say it because I deserve it.”
It took her all afternoon to get things organized for her to go to court.Why she had to go there was anyone’s guess, but since she couldn’t get in touch with the judge who had been in the courtroom before, she had to take it one day at a time to get her things in a row so that she could work on getting out.And she would too if she had to roll a couple of heads to get it done.
Looking around the cell, she had to admit that it was cozy.Not comfortable, but well enough that she felt secure.Meggie had always liked small, tight places where she could touch the walls all around her.That’s why living in her government house had been so good for her.There was security there that she’d never had in the big house that she’d lived in with Robert, her husband.That was going to be her case for when Doone was going to get her back in the housing because it had been perfect for her and her things.Getting up to go to the little chair that was in the room, she sat down on it and watched the hallway that ran the length of the jail.She could see the comings and goings of all thepeople who used the hallway.
There were others in jail with her.Not that she’d ever admit that she belonged in jail, but she could see another couple up the way from her and across from each other.She could never understand what they were saying, but they talked all hours of the night when they thought that no one could hear them.She would put a stop to them talking if she had any pull in the jail.
She didn’t have any.But as soon as Doone got up off her ass and got her what she wanted, then things would go so much better for everyone around her.Looking at the list that she’d made up for her daughter, Meggie decided that the first thing she was going to do for her was to get her out of this place and back to her home.Her things had better be there, too, or she was going to pitch a fit that would bring down a world of hurt on everyone that they’d not soon forget.
She stood up when she saw someone coming down the hall towards her.It was one of the many cops that she couldn’t get to do what she wanted.They kept calling herinmateinstead of Mrs.McFarlen, like she wanted.They had no respect for her at all, and she hated that.
There were so many things that she hated that it would give her a headache.Just yesterday, she’d told them to get Doone to come and visit her, but she wouldn’t.Or couldn’t, she never understood which it was.Not that it mattered.She wanted Doone, and she’d better get on board with her doing what she wanted or else.There always had to be an or else with her daughter, and she didn’t like that either.
“You have a court hearing in the morning.If you don’t behave yourself, I’m to tell you right now that you’ll be brought back here and told what happened afterwards.I’m also to tell you that you’ll have to wait your turn like everyone else has to.”She said she was going to be first in line.“No, you won’t.They go by the days that you were arrested, and since you were arrested just three days ago, there are four people in front of you.”
“Perhaps you didn’t understand me.I said I was going first.And if you have a problem with that, then you might as well leave me here because I’m not going to stand around waiting on everyone else to get their sentencing before me.Not that there’s anything that I should be sentenced for, but that’s the way that I want things to go.And it had better go my way, or I’ll own your ass before the day is over.”
“Then I guess you’ll not be going to the courthouse.”The man started away, and she called him back.“You either go fifth, or I leave you here so that you can find out later what was said about you.”
“You make sure that I go first, and I’ll slip you some money.I have a great deal of it too.”He asked her if she was bribing him.“You call it what you want.I’m just saying that if I end up first in line, I’ll make sure that you’re well compensated.I have the funds to do that.”
“You just tried to bribe an officer of the law.I’m going to tell my chief so that he can add it to the rest of the things you’ve done since you’ve been here.You’ll go last now, even if I have to get someone arrested to go ahead of you.”He started away, and she asked him where her daughter was.“How should I know?Not putting up with you is about the best answer that I can give you.She must really be enjoying her time away from you, too.”
He didn’t stop this time but continued down to the doorway.Damn it all to fuck and back, no one would do what she wanted.And since she was sure she wasn’t going to get to go first in the sentencing or whatever was going on, she was going to have to hold her temper yet again so that she’d not be sent back to jail when she messed up.People were just out to piss her off, and she hated everyone she came in contact with.
Unlike the inmates around her, she wouldn’t wear the orange jumpsuit they gave to her.She’d been threatened with having them put it on her, but she thought that she’d scared them enough that they were going to leave her alone.It was about time.She was sick and tired of having nothing go her way today.
When she didn’t get a lunch tray, she started yelling that they were treating her unfairly.It wasn’t all that good in the first place, but to keep her from having food was cruel.When three women in officers’ uniforms came to her cell, one of them said they were there to dress her.
“I said I’m not going to wear that thing.And that’s final.”The three of them laughed, and she put up her fists to fight them.“Bring it on.I know how to fight dirty, and when you get out of here, they’re going to find parts of you all over this cell from now until they tear the building down.”
The buzzing was her first clue that things might not go right.Then, when these long tentacle-like things came out of the gun one of them was holding, she felt her bladder let go, and her legs seize up.They had her undressed before she could form a word, and by the time they had her dressed in the jumpsuit, she was still hurting all over her body.The mother fuckers had tazed her, and that wasn’t right.
