I had to grab the reins from Jessie and Rob. They were getting way out of hand. Last chapter was like a nitrous fueled rollercoaster ride. This one we slow down to hum drum life. It took a lot longer to write than I wanted. But life has a way of waiting until you finalize your plans before dumping a truckload of monkey wrenchs into it and then calling her BBF Karma to make sure I've more than paid for any past digressions. Because of the delay, I didn't have time to send it out for review so my backup editor Bill Gates took the job. Any errors are his and I encourage people to send their complaints to him.
This is not a stand alone story so you should read Chapter 1 before reading this if you haven't already. Comments are always welcome.
*****
We sat for a while, her with a death grip on my arm, both her beautiful legs propped up and over my leg, and me, trying to get over my monster hangover wondering what in the hell I'd gotten myself into. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't unhappy in the least in meeting Jessie. But everything about my life was now in turmoil and upside down and I was unsure how to handle it. I did want to enjoy this moment with her, as much as I could. It made the hangover a little more tolerable.
I was hoping she'd fall back asleep. I knew last night was a bonehead move on my part. Her first night here and I left her alone. What a fucking idiot I was! Just because I was mad and hurt. I acted like a spoiled child and it made her cry. 'I' made her cry. When I thought about it in those terms, I got really pissed at myself. I would NOT let that happen again.
After a bit, her breathing became regular and I hoped I could get up without waking her. I started to untangle myself from her. The bottle of Ibuprofen was calling my name. I walked in a semi roundabout way into the kitchen and managed to find the bottle. When I turned around, Jessie was leaning against the doorway, arms folded in front, looking at me in a less than enthusiastic way.
"Am I sleeping in the doghouse tonight?" I asked.
"Do you have a doghouse?"
"No."
"Then I guess you're stuck sleeping in the house with me. When you are back with the living, can we talk?" she asked.
Nothing cuts deeper into a man's heart more than hearing those three words. That I did remember. And now, I was experiencing that feeling again. I looked in the pill bottle as I shook it.
"Looks like I have enough pills to cover it. Sure."
"Sit down before you fall down and I'll see what there is to make for breakfast." Somewhere she found pancake batter. I didn't know I had any. I've never made myself pancakes that I remember. The bacon I knew I had although the 'Use By' date could be very suspect. Jessie cooked it up so I assume either she looked at the date or else it wasn't green. I know I was a tad hung over and starving but the food was the best tasting I'd had in recent memory.
"Jessie, who is the lawyer handling your divorce?"
"His name is Kevin...Kevin Byler. Why?"
"I want to make sure that your divorce goes as it should."
If Jack had the cops in his pocket I thought, there is no telling who else is there. I wondered WHY Jack would have the cops in his pocket? There are a couple reasons that come to mind. If you grew up in the area and knew them is one. Or you interact with them such as being a business owner. Or you are related. None of which Jack seemed to fit. The other way is you have them on your payroll to look the other way. Which seemed more likely given the way the Deputy acted.
Where is Jack originally from?
"He said he grew up in Tennessee but had been living in this area a little while before we met."
"You mentioned he had business associates. What kind of business is he involved in? He sure doesn't seem like the farmer type."
"He has a fertilizer business. Shortly after he started at the farm, he told me that he had tinkered in the past with coming up with some new types of fertilizer. He wanted to experiment some more and refine them at the farm. So he set up in the bottom of the barn and came up with some pretty good stuff. He tested it at the farm and some worked pretty well. After making some money, he built a building away from the house to make it because it sometimes had a strong chemical smell."
Fertilizer? I think that is a load of shit. I'm not buying it I thought to myself. Why do you need a cop on your payroll for a legit manufacturing business?
"What's with all the questions?" She looked at me with honest questioning interest.
"I'm trying to figure some things out that aren't quite adding up. What can you tell me about your lawyer?"
"I called several. They were closer to or in Canton. One of the early questions I asked was, what was a reasonable cost for a divorce? The cost varied widely due to all kinds of circumstances but a basic, no issue divorce was going to be around 7,000 to 10,000. After a few of those, I looked closer to home hoping it would be a little cheaper. I finally settled on Kevin. He is young, I think younger than me. But he seemed different than any lawyer I've ever dealt with. More down to earth and genuine I guess you could say. I gave him the background of my case, a rundown of what my finances were like, and I told him cost was a difficult issue for me. He told me that he would accept my case and we would worry about the cost later. "
Oh...that stopped me dead in my tracks. An ambulance chaser not concerned about money? No, there was something else going on here and I didn't like it. A very young attorney has a gorgeous woman walk into his office, in a bad situation, needing a divorce but she doesn't have money? I know how he is expecting to be paid.
"Alright, well I want to talk with him, if that is alright with you. I want to get a feel for him and see how the case is progressing."
"Yes. That would be great. Thank you." She smiled happily at me.
After breakfast, I went into my study to call my lawyer.
"HELL-o." said the gravely voice of my ancient attorney Eugene Simmons. Actually he is the company's attorney but as one of the owner's, he also acts as my personal attorney. As Mel Brooks once said, 'It's good to be the King'.
"Rip Van Winkle! Good to see you are still above ground."
"Oh Christ. If I'd a know'd you were gonna call today I would've forced a pillow over my face this morning." he said sarcastically.
"Well, everyone knows that doesn't work on the undead. But if by some miracle it had, you would have definitely ended up in a much warmer climate with plenty of people you know and have something in common with." I said equally sarcastically.
"It would be better company than what I have right now. So what kind of trouble are you in this time?"
"Why do you always assume the worst?" I asked.
"I know you. It's the only time you call me."
"I need you to check into someone and I need it fast."
"How fast?" he asked.
"This time tomorrow."
"Holy shit. You got a hot date?" he said in a somewhat enthusiastic tone.
"No. I need you to check on a fellow ambulance chaser."
"You really are in hot water aren't you?"
"It is for a friend. She is trying to get a divorce. This guy is handling her case and I want to make sure everything is on the up and up."
