Going to bed in his apartment the second night was easier than the first night. Vin took another shower, just about as fast as the night before, but he put the pole fan in his bedroom instead of over the furnace grate. He’d gone to bed early so that daylight was only just sinking slowly out of sight.He lay on top of his blankets, flat on his back, feeling the latest painkiller unwind the pain out of his spine. The pole fan was a blessed relief in the stagnant heat. He was almost looking forward to tomorrow at work. He might run into Ezra, JD, Nathan & Rain – euphemistically if not *actually* - but he was equal to it. He wasn’t going to waste any more time worrying about them or what they thought. The people who mattered were the people who cared. Chris, Buck, Mary, Nettie & Josiah. They cared and they were sticking by him and that was more people than he ever thought he’d have in his life.
In the fading daylight, Vin could just make out the double pictures of his parents on his nightstand. He kissed it with his fingers, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
+ + + + + + +
“Chris just better not try anything.” Rain was saying to Nathan as they walked from the parking lot to the Medical Center the next morning. “I’m not in the mood to have my career jeopardized just because he treats Vin like a younger brother.”
Nathan didn’t answer. He just wanted to get Chris’ retribution out of the way so they could get on with work and life. He didn’t worry that Chris would do anything to threaten their jobs here – he knew Chris would want to keep them close by so he could intimidate them at will whenever he wanted to.
“It’s been a week. Vin is over it by now.” Rain continued as they entered the building and headed for the door to the clinic. Down the hall at the vending machines Nathan saw Tony, the physician’s assistant who covered the clinic weekend nights. He shouldn’t have left the clinic empty, and he seemed to give them a strange look as they walked past. qqq qqq “It’s archaic to think sexual assault victims need their identity protected.” Rain continued. “This is the twenty first century. We should be past assigning shame to victims…”
She kept talking but Nathan stopped listening. They weren’t in trouble because they’d revealed the name of a rape victim but because they’d discussed a patient in public.
“I think we just need to live through today and let Chris get it out of his system and we’ll be all right.” Nathan said as they went into the clinic and he flipped on the light in his office.
There, behind the desk, sat Judge Travis.
Nathan felt his heart jump and even Rain gasped in surprise.
“Do you know what the penalty is for divulging a patient’s information in public?” Travis asked straight away. Rain started to answer and he cut her off. “Would you like to know what *my* penalty is for divulging a patient’s information?”
Silently, Nathan prayed that Rain wouldn’t answer. They didn’t need to be in any more trouble.
“I don’t care if it’s the president of the college, I don’t care if it’s the lowliest student in the freshman class, divulging private information is reprehensible and I do not condone it under any circumstances. We will have a judicial review of this matter, independent of any criminal or civil action the complainant may wish – and ought – to bring against you.”
He paused there, but since no real question had been put to them, Nathan still didn’t think it was a good time or a wise idea to say anything. Fortunately, Rain didn’t say anything either.
“Someone from our attorney’s office will be in contact with you – .” Judge Travis consulted his watch. “- within the next thirty seven minutes. I expect your full cooperation.”
He stood up then and walked around the desk, stopping beside the two doctors.
“I have a spider in my office, he has a web over the window behind my desk. Do you know why I don’t crush him? Because he knows his job and he does it.” With that, he left.
He was hardly out of the office and probably not out of the Medical Center when Rain vented her pent up ire.
“*Judicial review*? For saying a name? For talking about a friend with friends? Friends I might add that already know what’s going on and brought the subject up themselves. This is ridiculous.” As she vented she grabbed her lab coat and headed to the back of the clinic. “I challenge any of them to show me where –.”
She broke off suddenly and when she didn’t start up again, Nathan followed her to find out what had taken her focus off her complaint.
There Rain stood in the hallway, facing Nathan, eyes wide with fear. Behind her, barely taller than Rain’s shoulder stood a girl with wild eyes and wilder hair, and a scalpel pressed to Rain’s neck.
+ + + + + + +
Vin parked in his usual spot at school and headed to Chris’ office, making a detour toward the Medical Center to get his new prescription filled. He didn’t want to meet up with Nathan and Rain but he wasn’t going to act like he cared. If all else failed, he’d use Chris as a threat. Sometimes it was good to have friends who were more lethal than death. Even if that lethalness got aimed in his direction that morning when Chris called to see if he was going to work and Vin not-so-innocently asked what he’d had for breakfast. Maybe some cake?
It felt good to laugh and Vin laughed again as he thought about it. Maybe he’d even walk by the student union and see if the coffee shop had any slices of cake he could bring to the office. Maybe he’d even see if Amanda was working in the Medical Center today. Life was good.
The Medical Center was in view when Judge Travis hurried up to him. Something was wrong.
“Did Chris come with you?” He asked in a rush.
“Not with me, but he’s here already. I saw his truck. What’s going on?”
“A student is holding Rain Jackson at knifepoint. We need people in there now.”
“Is anyone else in there?” Vin asked, thinking most of Amanda.
“Nathan is. Everyone else got out the back door.”
Vin was off and running before he even thought about it, before Travis maybe was even done talking. He went in through the back door of the building instead of crossing the front where he might be seen through the windows. He walked as quiet as he could up the hallway and stopped when he heard the shouting. A girl’s voice, demanding drugs. He could hear Nathan answering but couldn’t understand what he was saying.
Taking a deep breath, Vin pulled his prescription out of his pocket and tried to casually saunter into the clinic. Lord knew he had enough experience surviving Aunt Diane’s drunken tirades and druggie boyfriends. He could keep this student distracted long enough for Chris to arrive.
He found Nathan standing with hands up, begging, practically crying, “Let her go, let her go. I’ll do whatever you want, just let her go.” He was talking to a girl so tiny Vin thought she could only weigh one hundred pounds if that. She was so tiny that Rain was pulled backwards by the hand in her hair and the scalpel at her throat.
“Who are you?” The girl demanded, spinning Rain with her as she turned.
“Sorry. I’m sorry.” Vin put his hands out away from his body. “I was just coming to get a prescription filled. I didn’t know – I didn’t know anything was going on.”
“They won’t give me any drugs! I want drugs!”
“*Go get her some drugs*.” Vin whispered to Nathan when he bent his head down to pull his old pill bottle out of his shirt pocket.
“I will! I will!” Nathan said to the girl, but he didn’t move. “Don’t hurt her!”
“I got some drugs.” Vin offered. He held the bottle out. “Vicodin. I’m sorry I don’t got too many left, but they’re good. That’s what my prescription’s for. If you want to wait ‘til they fill my prescription you could have that.”
“They won’t give me any!” The girl shouted again. The scalpel was at a bad spot, pressed across Rain’s windpipe. One fast move and she’d be dead before she even hit the floor.
“I will! I’ll get you some!” Nathan said again, and still didn’t move.
“THEN GET HER SOME.” Vin all but shouted at him. “You were pretty handy with giving me more’n I needed last week. Why not free up a little right now and save yourself the blood stains?”
And Nathan nodded and still didn’t move. Vin sighed and tried not to grit his teeth.
“I’m sorry. If I knew where the drugs were I’d get you some.” He told the girl.
“Make them give me some!”
Vin met Rain’s eyes. She was scared and trembling -* and she deserved to be* Vin thought but not too long.
“If she lets you go, you’ll get her drugs won’t you?”
Her moment’s hesitation made Vin worry she’d actually say ‘no’. But she nodded.
“Y-y-yes. Yes. I will.”
“You better!” The girl said. “Where are they?”
“Here – here. Back here.” Rain motioned with her eyes back behind herself. “Everything is back here.”
“Go get it!” The girl dropped the hand that held the scalpel and shoved Rain toward the back. Rain was shaking so bad she could hardly walk. Behind Vin, Nathan started to move and Vin turned to him to threaten in a whisper,
“*You take one step and I will kill you myself.*”
“Why are you trying to help me?” The girl demanded of Vin.
“Because you’re worth more than she is.” Vin told her and at the moment, he meant it. If she’d only drop the scalpel or if he could get it away from her, everybody’s life would go along a little bit better.
“They don’t think so.”
“They don’t think anybody is as good as them.” Out in the hallway, Vin heard Chris clearing his throat. It was a signal. “What’s your name?”
“Kathy.” She said, but she was clearly suspicious.
“My name’s Vin. Kathy, when she brings the drugs back, what are you gonna do?”
“*Leave* I’m gonna take my drugs and leave.” She pointed the scalpel at him. OK, wrong tack.
“Okay, no, I mean – I didn’t mean anything. I just – Kathy, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to walk in on this. I’m just trying to – to –.”
“To *what*?” She demanded when he couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Honestly I don’t know. Other than I’d like to walk out of here with my own drugs. I mean, you got a gripe with this place, you gotta get in line behind me. ‘Cause you got no idea what they did to me.”
Another cough from Chris, this time quite pointed, told Vin his time was up. He was about to think up some excuse, or none at all, to leave the clinic, dragging Nathan with him when Rain reappeared from the room in the back. She carried a large white plastic bottle.
“Here.” She held the bottle out. Her voice and her hands shook.
“Bring it here.”
“Just take it.”
“BRING IT HERE.” The girl demanded and when Rain had walked close enough she grabbed it out of her hands and rushed out of the clinic, unscrewing the lid as she ran. She’d only turned the corner when Vin heard her shriek of surprise and outrage. He heard the scalpel fall and the bottle fall, and all those pills scatter across the floor.
He looked at Rain and he looked at Nathan and then he walked out of the clinic to the hallway where Chris and JD had the girl face down on the floor with her hands secured behind her back with one of those white plastic drawtite things. Chris stood and looked at Vin.
“She’s still worth more than Rain is.” He said, and left the building.
ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN
Vin was headed for Chris' office but turned when he got to the Green and went instead to the St. Michael Shrine. He was shaking now, not as bad as Rain was shaking, but the shock was catching up on him. He laid down on one of the cement benches and put his feet on it, hoping to ease the ache he was suddenly feeling in his spine. When the pain went away and when the shaking went away, he'd hunt up Chris and see what he needed to do now. Give a statement probably. He still needed to get his prescription filled.He heard footsteps coming up the sidewalk next to the shrine. Chris' footsteps, Vin would recognize them anywhere. Chris would be concerned and want to be sure Vin was all right and Vin didn't know if he could take that right now. Risking his neck just now might've been the bravest stupid thing he'd ever done, but it was for sure the stupidest brave thing he'd ever done. He needed time to think about it before he talked about it. He didn't want warm fuzzy sentiment. Even from Chris.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING?" Chris demanded before Vin could sit up or even open his eyes. No warm fuzzy sentiment there. Vin wasn't in a mood to be yelled at either though so he decided to go for the fastest way of shutting Chris up.
"Love you too."
Yep, the profound silence that followed that comment must've lasted nearly fifteen full seconds. Vin marked that down in his arsenal – you wanna shut Chris up, you mention love.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Chris demanded again, a little less loud, but still as pissed.
"I was thinking I wanted Rain and Nathan to owe me their lives."
"You could've been killed."
"Like that would be the worst thing that ever happened to me."
"Are you okay?" Chris asked, finally getting to the sentiment.
"Just waiting for the knife to fall out of my back." But remembering the situation he'd just put himself in, where he might've walked out with a scalpel in his back, he hurried to add, "I ran in there, when Travis told me what was going on. Running's one of the things not good for my back. I'm just waiting for the pain to ease up so I can go back and see about getting my prescription filled."
"You want me to get it for you?" Chris asked and in a flash Vin handed it up to him.
"Be my guest."
Chris took it but Vin levered himself to sitting anyway.
"What's going on? What happened to the girl?"
"County Sheriff came, they're taking her to the County Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. Nathan is taking Rain home. She didn't look so good."
"She'll get over it." Vin said, more than a little sarcastically. "Who else was there? Was Amanda there?" Chris was the only person Vin would ask that question of. Only Chris wouldn't nag him about it the rest of the day.
"No, I checked. She wasn't there. She's scheduled to come in later this morning."
"Oh, okay. That's good." Vin pushed himself to his feet just as Chris said quietly,
"Yeah, or Rain woulda had to save herself."
Vin stopped a breath of pain mid-inhale and stared at Chris, who met his gaze with a mocking look.
"That's what you get for bringing up cake this morning."
"'Up'? You sure you want to phrase it that way?" Vin asked, and Chris huffed out his annoyance.
"You want this prescription filled?"
"Nathan and Rain are gone home, I can get it myself." Vin said. "And visit with the lovely Amanda while I'm at it."
"Speaking of which..." Chris said, flicking his gaze over Vin's shoulder in a way that made Vin turn too fast, thinking Amanda was right behind him.
"Well OW." He said, sitting back down on the bench as the pain flared in his spine. "That wasn't nice."
"I almost care." Chris said, but then he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to hurt yourself. Is it bad? I wouldn't mind driving over the Green again if you need a ride outta here."
Vin shook his head, but he wasn't sure if he was answering the question or reacting to the churning feelings he had going on inside his head now. The pain or the shock or the realization of the danger he'd put himself in at the clinic was making him nauseous, and that, combined with the pain and the shock and the realization was making him feel anxious.
"I think my knife drawer is stuck shut." He said, wondering if Chris would remember the code phrase. He must've, because he sat down next to Vin and put his hand lightly on Vin's back.
"And it's not even 10 o'clock in the morning."
"Yeah."
"You did a hell of a thing in there Vin, you know that."
"Yeah."
"And you know Nettie's gonna be plenty mad at you."
"Oh yeah, I do know that." Vin laughed. "The more she cares, the madder she gets...just like you." Chris scowled at him, but Vin pressed on. "So I guess you must care about the whole world."
"I'd threaten you with something, but I can't think of anything right now. I've got too much paperwork to take care of once I get back to my office."
"I'll send you an email reminder later. You can threaten me at lunch time."
The look Chris shot Vin should've shattered glass, but he kept his hand on Vin's back.
"Are you OK?" he asked after a few moments.
"Yeah. I reminded myself that I still got spine. The kind that ain't broken." Vin held his hand out but it was shaking so he made a fist and pulled it close to himself. "And Nathan and Rain do owe me their lives. Can you spell irony?"
Chris laughed and Vin took his chance.
"I-R-O-..." He started helpfully and Chris stood up with a growl.
"I've got a board meeting I can go to and be aggravated. I don't need it from you."
Vin laughed too and stood up.
"Let me have my prescription back and I'll give you a Vicodin to take before your meeting. That ought to make your day just a little more pleasant."
"Give me two and I'll pay for your prescription." Chris said as he handed it over. "Better yet, let's find a way to slip it into Mrs. Stephen's mineral water. I'd love to see her zozzled."
"'Zozzled'?" Vin had to ask. "Is that a middle-age word?"
Chris rolled his eyes and stomped out of the shrine into the sunlight.
"Well I can't snark y'about Viagra anymore." Vin said, walking to catch up with him. "So what time's your meeting?"
"Same as always - nine until hell freezes over."Chris consulted his watch. "I should be headed over there now. Even a near murder on campus won't stop those wheels from grinding on. I'll call you when we break for lunch."
"Call my cell, I might be out on work orders."
"Yeah. And the Sheriff will be contacting you for a statement." Chris turned to go to the board meeting and Vin kept heading for the clinic. "Oh – and would you have somebody look at the trees on the far side of Ketchum hall? I thought I saw a broken branch there. Wouldn't want it to fall on anybody."
"OK, I'll ask Sam & Neb to have a look."
"All right. See you later."
With that they parted company. Vin walked to the clinic, mentally cataloging what he needed to do, when he needed to do it. First thing maybe he should call Nettie and let her know he was all right, in case the near-murder made the news. Check the trees Chris was talking about. Check the clinic in case the girl broke in so they could repair the damage.
Vin was just putting his hand out to open the door when he realized that for the past several minutes, he hadn't been thinking about the attack at all. The past several minutes had been almost like any other day, talking with Chris, making plans. That surprised him and pleased him. The attack was fading, Nathan and Rain owed him, and Amanda was scheduled to work today.
Yep, life was looking better and better.
ONE HUNDRED TWELVE
Orrin had finished his briefing with one of the Deputy Sheriffs and was preparing to leave to get to the Board Meeting when he saw Vin walk into the building that housed the clinic. JD was in the hallway, talking with another deputy. Orrin couldn’t help but notice that though the two young men looked at each other, there was no greeting and hardly any acknowledgement of each other in their glances. Both quickly looked anywhere else.The Deputy moved toward Vin, no doubt to ask his business, but Orrin moved to stop him.
“He’s here at my request.” He said, wanting to talk with Vin before he was snagged to give a statement. He waved Vin in and they walked into the clinic. Before the incident at the clinic, he’d been intending to talk with Vin about the Doctors Jackson and their lack of ethics and professionalism, but now wasn’t the time.
“Mr. Tanner,” he began when they were out of earshot. “When I apprised you of the situation in here, it was not my intent that you throw yourself into the lion’s mouth.”
Vin looked surprised, then chagrined. Orrin could see the wheels turning, the thought process of trying to think of something to say. Normally when put in the spotlight, Vin would say something meant to turn the attention away from himself, something funny or obliquely sarcastic. Something that would make the other person smile or laugh and get their attention on anything but him.
But nothing came.
Finally, Vin just shrugged.
“What else could I do?”
“With no thought to your own safety.” Orrin said, thinking of the beating Vin had taken for stepping in to protect the little girl in his neighborhood. The black eyes were gone, but his ribs and his spine were still fractured and healing. “Risking your neck seems to be a habit you have.”
Vin shrugged and winced, no doubt in physical pain, and shook his head.
“I guess so. I do share an office with Chris.”
When Orrin only looked at him and didn’t answer, Vin turned his eyes to the floor and walls and anywhere else.
“Don’t you got a meeting you gotta be at Judge? Chris is already heading over there. Wouldn’t want ‘em to start without you, would you?”
Orrin watched him a little while longer, though he knew from experience that Vin could avoid eye contact as long as humanly possible.
“Well, if Chris were to chew up one or two of our Board members while they were waiting, that would be one or two inflated egos less I’d have to deal with, now wouldn’t it?”
“Well…” Vin echoed, making eye contact again now that the focus was off of him. “I know Chris could do the chewing, I’m just not convinced how many of ‘em would stay chewed.”
“How true.” Orrin had to agree. “Then I’m off to the lion’s mouth myself. You’re here to give your statement?”
“Besides other things I guess. Check too if there’s any damage we got to repair. Not much to tell anyway. I just hope things stop falling out of the sky on me.” Then he looked away again quickly; he thought he’d said too much.
Orrin started walking and Vin followed and Orrin let him have the silence. He’d be doing enough talking in a moment.
“Deputy, this is Vincent Tanner. The young man who helped diffuse this morning’s incident. If you could take his statement now, he can get back to work.”
“I can do that sir.” The deputy answered respectfully and Orrin thought, not for the first time, that he loved the perks of having once been a judge. Before leaving, he turned once more to Vin.
“Stop by my office and see me later. There are still some things we need to talk about.”
“Okay.”
++++++++++
Were Ezra given to using crude, and therefore plebian, language, upon entering the boardroom he would’ve uttered a very short word, beginning with the letter “S” and referencing excrement: Chris Larabee was the only other person in the room. He was leaning against the edge of the massive table, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. And he was looking straight at Ezra.
Ezra would’ve turned around, but the shock seemed to have rendered him immobile.
“Mr. Larabee.” He managed to say without sounding perturbed. He wondered how Chris managed to have the boardroom empty so close to the scheduled meeting time.
“Mr. Standish.” Chris answered, managing to sound threatening and yet informal both at the same time. He didn’t say anything else.
“I heard there was a disturbance at the clinic this morning.” Perhaps if he could turn Chris’ ire towards someone other than himself he could survive at least one interminable meeting without finally killing someone. He was in a foul mood and he didn’t care who suffered for it.
“Somebody had a knife to Rain’s throat.”
“And it wasn’t you?” Ezra asked before he could stop himself. But then he wondered, what could Chris truly inflict upon his person or his life that wouldn’t be preferable to the migraine he could feel forming at the corner of his eye.
Chris merely raised an eyebrow at the remark.
“Vin went right into the middle of it.” He said. Ezra felt his heart jump, though it was against his will.
“Is he all right?”
“Yeah. He saved Rain’s life and probably Nathan’s and he risked his own life to do it.” Chris said sternly. Other board members finally started filing in and Chris stood up from the table. He pointed his finger at Ezra. “You remember that.”
He turned then and took his seat on the far side of the table. The others filled up the table, Mrs. Stephens and Mr. Conklin already discussing the events at the clinic.
“There to get drugs.” Mrs. Stephens proclaimed, as though it was proving her right on some point.
“And he knew her name.” Mr. Conklin said as though adding a log to a fire.
Ezra was supposed to be handing out the agenda and bullet points and other detritus of official business so he scanned the table for a place to sit where he could open his briefcase and assemble the papers for distribution. There was an empty chair and then empty space on the far side of Chris and though it might be the lion’s den, at least it was away from the sibilant whisperings of Damnable Duo, who continued to dissect whatever had happened at the clinic.
He sat heavily in the chair at Chris’ right hand, slung his briefcase onto the table and opened it. That was as far as he could get though. He was exhausted and in a bad mood. He’d gotten no sleep all either Saturday or Sunday. His mother had called and railed at him about some trifling affront she’d suffered from a lackey at her spa, never once mentioning his birthday or even asking how he was. Then of course there was the scene at the restaurant, wounding Vin, surviving Inez’s ire and then earning her forgiveness. Now Mr. Tanner had again moved – no doubt with little or no thought for himself – to save two people he certainly could’ve wished dead, and all Ezra felt he had accomplished this week was the sacrifice of a forest of trees to honor the gods of official protocol. He shoved the briefcase away from himself and rested his head in his hands.
After a moment or two, he heard someone rifling his briefcase and then the sound of papers being swept down the table top.
“Pass ‘em out.” Chris ordered someone. Then he ordered, “Figure it out and pass ‘em down.”
A moment after that, a strong hand patted Ezra’s back and lingered there.
“Take another pain killer Ez.” Chris whispered to him. “We’ll get through this.”
ONE HUNDRED - THIRTEEN
The Deputy Sheriff was young, bald, and huge. He looked like he could eat a Toyota for breakfast and spit it out again as nails. Vin sat across the table from him, in a thankfully large conference room in the clinic or he’d be having a claustrophobic panic attack. He’d given statements twice before in his life, both times for some scuffle or ruckus between Aunt Diane and one of her boyfriends that were loud enough or violent enough to make the neighbors call the police. He hadn’t liked giving a statement then and he didn’t like it now. At least this time he didn’t have to worry about pissing off somebody who would make his life miserable because of what he said.He gave a bare-bones telling, leaving out that Rain and Nathan had both been scared witless and that he’d been inclined to whack them both because of it. That’s what you get when you live thinking the world owed you, he thought. You go around thinking you got it all over everybody else, sooner or later you got your vitals handed to you. After the initial telling, the deputy asked questions and added notes and made no comment if he thought Vin was brave or stupid.
“All right Mr. Tanner. I’ll contact you when this has been typed up and is ready for your review and signature. If you remember anything else in the meantime, please contact me.”
“Okay. I’m going to look over the clinic now, see if there’s any damage needs to be repaired.” And it was over and Vin walked out into the clinic, feeling a weight on his shoulders. If this went to trial, if he had to testify, if anybody at the trial found out about Rain and Nathan spilling his privacy at Inez’s, if – if – if.
He ran his hand through his hair and felt the spot where the stitches weren’t anymore. That was healed. He was healing. He would survive. He would.
“Vin!”
He turned to see Amanda walking up to him. She was reaching a hand out to him and he wanted to grab her in a hug, happy that she was okay, relieved that he was okay. She even looked like she might be okay with that, with a hug, but instead, he reached for the hand she held out and gave it a fast squeeze and let go, smiling at her.
“You missed all the excitement.” He told her.
“So I hear. Are you OK?”
“Yeah. It was no big deal.” He said it easily, almost automatically and turned a little away, intending to ask if she’d noticed any damage the girl might’ve caused. But Amanda put her hand on his arm and pulled him back. He looked first down at the grip on his arm, then up into her eyes.
“Facing down an armed, spaced-out drug addict is not ‘no big deal’, so don’t even try to make me think it is.”
Vin wondered what she’d think if she knew his past, the life he lived with Aunt Diane and her unending string of ‘under the influence’ boyfriends. He wondered why she cared at all. He looked down at her hand again and put his own over it.
“Thanks.” He didn’t know why he said it. He didn’t mean to say it. He meant to say again that he was okay. “I think it might still be catching up with me.”
She looked surprised by his answer and he wondered what she’d been expecting. He wondered how long he was going to keep wondering about her.
“Good.” She said. “Good that you realize that. Now – what can I do to help?”
“Well I was gonna check to see if there was any damage here that needs to taking care of. Maybe you could check too and see if there’s anything I might miss.”
It wasn’t until the words were out of him mouth that Vin wondered maybe she wasn’t talking about ‘work’ help, maybe she was talking about ‘help’ help. Maybe she was because she said,
“Sure. And then later you’ll let me buy you lunch so I can make you listen to all about my trip to Erie.”
+ + + + + + +
Mr. Conklin was pompous, Mrs. Stephens was shrill, Ezra seemed to be fading fast, and nothing was getting done about anything. Just as Conklin finished his most recent tirade and Mrs. Stephens started to fill the void, Chris stood up, shoving his chair back against the wall.
“Mr. Larabee, you have something to add?” Judge Travis asked.
“No. I’m going to go get some real work done. We all know that if James didn’t come with dollar signs trailing out of his back pocket, we would’ve tossed his ass a year ago. We should toss him now. Nothing that gets said is going to change my mind. Consider my vote cast and call me when more of you develop a spine.”
He grabbed his papers in a crumple, yanked his jacket off the back of the chair and took the first step to leave. He couldn’t leave Ezra though. Lord knew he ought to not care if Ezra sat through another tortuous five hours of this bullcrap. But he did care. Only Chris was allowed to torture his friends.
“Ezra, c’mon.”
Ezra looked up at him in surprise. Judge Travis looked at him in surprise. Everyone else looked at him in surprise or blatant annoyance.
“Mr. Larabee?” Ezra sounded like he could hardly remember where he was, much less why Chris was talking to him.
“While this group keeps measuring James for his coffin, let’s go hunt up some nails to make sure it stays shut.”
“Um – well - .” Ezra’s gaze went to the head of the table, gauging Travis’ response probably. Chris wasn’t about to turn around because he wasn’t about to seem like he thought he needed Travis’ permission. Ezra must’ve got it though because he grabbed his own papers and briefcase and stood up.
“You know I’ve heard things about you.” Conklin sneered. Chris only gave him a disinterested look; it was Conklin’s standard attack whether he’d heard anything or not. It must work enough on other people that he kept using it. “I wouldn’t be so high and mighty if I were you.”
Chris held back his thought ‘If you were me my mother would’ve killed you at birth’ and started walking as soon as Ezra was ready. Once they were out of the conference room and a good enough distance away, Chris let loose with the string of curses he desperately wanted to say to their faces.
“I’m sorry – are you speaking to me?” Ezra asked as they reached the door and walked outside into fresh air.
“Not just then.” Chris said and observed, “You got a migraine.”
“Unless there’s a railroad spike sticking out my skull, yes. Now, were you serious about uncovering dirt on the younger Mr. James, or did you spirit me from there for some deeper horror?”
“I didn’t want your brains leaking all over the floor in there is all; I’m in charge of getting it cleaned up now. Go to the clinic or go home Ezra. I’ll get somebody to drive you if you need.”
“Mr. Larabee -.” Ezra looked at him with the pale, pinched expression of someone in serious pain. “Why are you being solicitous of my welfare? Wouldn’t you rather be handing me my head?”
“Wouldn’t be much of a challenge right now Ez’. Go. Take care of yourself. Don’t come back ‘til you’re a hundred percent.”
+ + + + + + +
Chris got back to his office, dropped his belongings on the floor and collapsed into his chair. Today was too short, too long, too crazy, and too tedious all at the same time. Maybe he could find out when James was going to trial; as soon as he went to jail, the Board had to fire him, didn’t they? Well, considering this Board and their attachment to the James’ Family Fortune, they’d probably vote to keep paying him even while he was locked up.
“Be just like them.” He growled in frustration. He had the sudden deep desire to destroy something. Maybe there was a dead tree out on the property somewhere he could take an ax to.
“Uh – Chris?” JD stood in the office doorway, looking a little trepidacious, and Chris considered that whacking JD might be just as satisfying as chopping down a tree.
“Yeah?”
“Um – I was talking to one of the Deputy Sheriffs that were here this morning.”
“Yeah.”
“He told me a lot of stuff about Lucas James, stuff that got buried but not sealed. I checked into it, stuff with underage girls. I think we could use it against him. Get him bounced permanently.”
Chris’s mood suddenly lightened immensely.
“Then let’s go to the Board Meeting and get this done.”
To be continued
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