Page 9 of Bastain

“Mom used to work full-time until our dad got sick. He would stay at home with us when she was gone, but when he got sick, we were too much for him. Mom stopped working outside the home five years before he died. It was hard on all of us when he passed.” She said it was for her mom, too, though she wasn’t suffering anymore. “That’s a good way to look at it. I never thought of that. Our dad did suffer quite a bit with his cancer, too.”

They ate their lunch and talked about different things. Bastain told her to make sure she took notes on who she talked to, even if it was only on the phone. She’d been doing that but thought it was good advice. He said that having names and badge numbers can go a long way in a courtroom setting.

After lunch, they took her back to her house. She invited them in, just so they could see her home, but they declined. She had to get to working on her laundry anyway, and that was fine with her. The only person who lingered was Bastain. She just wished he’d go home. She still didn’t like him all that much.

“I’ll be going with you in the morning to the Social Security office.” She said that she thought that Abbott would take her. “He’s got a person coming in and has to deal with that.”

She didn’t ask. Thinking that she knew what it meant, she didn’t want to know that someone had died, and that was taking him away from helping her. Bastain was still talking when she realized that she had missed something.

“I said that I can talk to them about what’s going on as an attorney. Maybe if they have to deal with me, then they’ll be more likely to take what’s going on seriously.” She said that she was worried they were going to blame this all on her. “I have no doubt about that, to a point. They’ll try and say that you cashed the checks or something like that to get you into trouble. That’s why it’s so important to keep notes.”

“I have been. Since the beginning. I don’t want to end up in prison simply because someone doubted my word on what I’ve been trying to tell them.” He said it would be the only thing that kept her from getting into trouble with the government. “I don’t want that either. I just want them to take the checks back so that my aunt can’t get to them.”

“If I were you, I’d keep track of what she says to you, too, about them. You want to be able to cover your ass all the time, and having notes on everything will be the only thing that keeps you out of hot water.” She agreed with him. “Good. I’ll pick you up at eight. That way we’ll have plenty of time to get there before your nine o’clock appointment.” She told him that it was good.

“I’ve been making sure that I get all the information about the people I talk to there. Even if they offer me a glass of water. None of them has done that, but I want you to know how seriously I’m taking this stuff.” He told her she was smart for not letting them get away with anything. “I’m not. I want them to take the checks back so that I don’t have to worry about them anymore. I’m also afraid that my aunt is somehow going to get them, and I worry that it’ll come back on me too.”

“It might.” He suggested that she get herself a mail box at the post office. “That way, you can be assured that no one is getting your mail but you. I have one too, and the post office has cameras all around, too, in the event someone tries to break into the box.”

“I’ve thought of that as well.” When he left, thankfully, she had to sit on the couch and relax. He was very intense, and she didn’t know how to take him at times. Glad that she was at least trying to cover her ass, she made notes on talking to him as well, and the time. It might not be necessary to do that with him only advising her, but again, she didn’t want to take any chances.

With tomorrow being the day that she went to talk to the office, she made herself go to bed early. She’d have to be up by six-thirty because he was picking her up at eight. Laying out her clothing the night before, she was about as ready as she’d ever be, she told herself.

But once she was in bed, she thought of all the things that could go wrong. What if he decided, since she’d been doing what he said all along, she didn’t need anyone with her? She only wanted an escort to the office because of her aunt.

Aunt Tilly was making things difficult for her; she hoped she knew that. She was going to have to have a talk with her uncle Mark to see what was going on with her shop. There had to be something going on there, or she’d not need the money. Aunt Tilly sounded so desperate when she was demanding the money that it made her think that things were bad for the two of them. Or Uncle Mark was tired of her spending money on things that she really didn’t get a return on right away. She’d heard that there was one piece of furniture in her shop that had been there for eight years. That’s not a good return if you asked her.

Rolling over and willing herself to sleep, she thought again about how large Bastain was compared to his brother. She told herself that it was because he was meaner than them, but she knew that wasn’t true. They all got along well, and that, if nothing else, made her think that he just didn’t like her.

He’d get over it or not. She really didn’t care. As she closed her eyes, thinking of all the things that she had to do for the rest of the week, she finally felt her mind calming and her body finally relaxing. Just what she needed, a hard time falling asleep.

~*~

Bastain was running behind. He hated to be late to anything, and he was running twenty minutes behind and was pissed off. Getting into his car, he had to turn the engine off so that he could just sit there and chill. He didn’t drive angry, and that’s the way he was feeling right now. Picking up his phone when it rang, he tried very hard to talk like he normally would.

“Hello?” He didn’t know the number, so he waited for the person on the other end to speak. That was when he realized that she was crying. “Is everything all right?”

“My aunt was just here. I’m going to have to cancel and go to the doctor.” He said he was on his way. “There is no reason for you to come here. She just knocked me around a bit because the check came yesterday, and she was thinking it would come today. I’ve already called my doctor, and he’s waiting for me to come to him.”

“Did he suggest you go to the hospital?” Trinity told him that he had the records. “All right, that’s good advice. I’m calling an ambulance to pick you up now. I should be there about the time they get there.”

“I hurt.” Her sobbing was hurting him, and he didn’t know what to do about it. “I’m sorry. I know you don’t like change. Your brother told me you like order, but this isn’t my fault.”

“No, it’s not, and I’m not objecting to you changing my schedule just because someone decided to use you as a punching bag.” He started the car after putting his phone in the jack and on speaker. “I’m on my way right now. I’ll be there in less than ten minutes. When I call the ambulance, please use them. That’s what you pay for when you have insurance. You do have insurance, don’t you?”

“Yes.” She was crying again, and it made his heart hurt. Getting in gear, he called 911 as soon as he got off the phone with her. He knew where she lived, but was worried that the emergency squad would have trouble getting to her. The cul-de-sac that she lived in wasn’t well-traveled. He was on his way in just a few minutes.

Getting turned around once, he was just pulling in when the ambulance did. As soon as he saw Trinity, he knew a kind of rage that he’d never felt before. She not only had her face looking all bloody, but there were cuts on her arms and legs that looked as if she’d taken a razor to them. She was a bloody mess, even on her clothing.

“I’m here.” He called the police to have them have Tilly Shafer picked up. “She’s beaten Trinity Layton again, and this time I believe she’s going to need surgery. It looks as if her leg has been broken.”

They said that they’d pick her up as soon as they got off the phone. He asked if one of the cruisers was coming to the scene. The officer he was talking to said he’d be there in about two minutes, as he’d gotten turned around in the area where she lived. He’d done the same thing and was surprised that the ambulance hadn’t.

As he was waiting for the medics to finish and take her in, she received a phone call that he answered. It had been Mark Shafer, and he wanted to know what had happened to his wife. He didn’t know and told him so.

“She’s supposed to be at the shop today to have the doors unlocked for when the buyer comes by to pick up a few pieces. I told her the time, and now that she’s late, we’re going to have to reschedule. She mentioned talking to Trin today, but I didn’t get why.” He told him what he was dealing with right now. “Tilly hurt her? I don’t know about that. She and her usually get along. Did Trin say something to her about why she was getting the crap beaten out of her? I mean, did she say something that pissed her aunt off?”

“It has to do with Social Security checks.” He said that they didn’t get those yet. “I understand. But Trinity is getting them still from her mother, and your wife wanted them. She told Trinity that she was going to cash them as she needed the money.”