Page 13 of Bastain

“I live above the funeral home. For now, anyway. I don’t mind it, but it does mean that I have to be quiet when there are things going on. Even my foot steps can be heard when I’m up there alone.” She told him that she wouldn’t like that. “I don’t either. Even when I’m cooking dinner, I have to be careful that I don’t smell the place up with odors.”

“I wouldn’t have thought of that.” She smiled at him and had to be careful of the stitches on her cheeks. “What I wouldn’t give for a nice big Italian sub right now. Or even a plate of pasta. They just let me start eating clear things while I’m in here, and that doesn’t really hit the spot.”

“I couldn’t do that. I’d have to have a steak with my clear broth.” He made her laugh again, and she loved him for that. “And a big fluffy baked potato. I think that I could eat that for every meal. I’m a meat-and-potatoes man myself. What’s your favorite food?”

“Italian. Anything pasta with red gravy. I’d even eat white gravy over pasta if that’s what I’m offered.” Her belly rumbled. “Now you’ve done it. I’m starving and have to be on clear liquids for another week. They don’t want my internal wounds acting up because I’m eating too soon. I’m sure you understand that.”

“I do understand it, but I couldn’t do it. I’d have one of my brothers sneak me in the sub you were talking about. Or a plate of pasta with some garlic toast. If I had to, I’d have myself a salad so that I’d have to eat pasta to make it go down.” The two of them talked about food for the next hour or so.

She was getting medications, but it didn’t affect her like it had before. Either they were halving the dose, or she was getting used to it. She didn’t care; she wasn’t as drugged up as she’d been before and loved that. Being able to have a conversation with someone other than the staff here was a great bonus.

When Abbott said that he had to go, she didn’t want him to. She’d been having fun, and she did enjoy his company. Once he was gone, she was able to sit up more on the bed, but didn’t push herself. All she needed to do was hurt herself more so that she’d not be on the mend anymore. Just as her supper came to her, Oneal came to sit with her.

“I’m sure you have something you’d rather be doing.” He told her that it was the highlight of his day to sit with her. “Oh, go on with you. I’m sure there are many women who you could be watching instead of someone who is beaten up as I am.”

“But you don’t care what I do for a living. Nor do you care that I have money. You don’t, do you?” She asked him if he had money. “I do. We all do. I like the fact that you don’t care if we spend hundreds of dollars on you while you’re in here.”

“I think I could help you spend hundreds of dollars on a woman who is in much better shape than I am.” He kissed the back of her hand. “What was that for? Not that I mind, just you didn’t have to do that.”

“You’re the sweetest person that I know. And you make me feel good about myself. The other day, when I was in here, we just talked about nothing, and I went home feeling good about everything. If you were in better shape, you’d probably kill me.” She told him that she was falling in love with him and the way he treated her. “Thank you. I feel like you’re the sister that I never had. I love being around you.”

“Thank you.” They talked about the next project that he and his brother were doing. It was an older house that really needed a lot of work, but they were having fun. “That’s all that matters, isn’t it? That and you make a little bit of money.”

“That’s what it’s going to be on this house, a little bit. But it’s going to sell for a great deal more than we have invested in it. Mom thinks it’s one of the best ones we’ve ever done.” She said that she couldn’t wait to see it. “I’ll bring pictures next time. We always have pictures from start to finish, and I’ll bring them into you.”

They talked until she yawned a few times. After telling her that he’d see her tomorrow, he left her. Trin was glad for the company today and was happy that she was making friends. It certainly made for an easier time of just laying in bed with no one to talk to.

Chapter 6

Bastain waited for his turn to speak and was disappointed that he had to wait so long. There were so many people in line for the prosecution that he was sure that he’d never get a chance to do his part in making sure that justice was served.

“Mr. Smith? Do you have anything to add to this clusterfuck?” He was so shocked by the judge’s question that it took him a few minutes to answer. “I’ve had five witnesses say the same exact thing in the past twenty-five minutes. I don’t suppose you have anything to say about these proceedings that will make things go faster?”

“I do, your honor.” He picked up his file and took it up to the judge. After giving him a few minutes to read what it said, he told him that the evidence showed that his client was in New York when the murder occurred. “There are witness statements to the facts as well as plane tickets that he used to get back and forth. Mr. Winehouse wasn’t even aware that his wife was in the house when the robbery took place until her body was found several days later. The police didn’t look very hard when they were searching the house is all I can say.”

They talked it over, and he stood where he’d been standing, out of the way of the other people. It was going to be a long day today if he had to keep saying the same thing over and over. Like the judge, he was sick of hearing the same words coming out of their mouths like they’d been trained to say the same thing. He just wanted this day over with so that he could get back to other important things, like moving into his new home.

It was a great deal bigger than they had planned on. With six bedrooms and five baths, it was big enough to house all of them rather than just him and his mom. But she was happy with it, and so was he. There was also a house on the property that was called a mother-in-law’s home that his mom was thinking about taking as her own when he ever found another wife. He wasn’t, so her moving out there was pointless, and he told her so. He had a sudden thought of Trinity.

“You’ll be out there all alone, and I’ll be in here wishing you were here.” She said that she loved him as well. “I do love you, and having you in another house defeats the purpose of us buying a house together so that we can be in one house. I thought that’s what you wanted.”

“I did. I do. I just want to have my options in line if anything changes. It’s a nice little house. Two bedrooms and two baths. I like it out there, too.” She smiled at him. “How about if I call it my she cave?” They both laughed.

There were other features to the house that he loved. It had a gas fireplace that would keep him from having to chop wood, but there was a nice fire ring off the deck that they could use when the weather turned cooler. He especially loved the kitchen that had an eat-in area where they could have their breakfast at. He loved his new home. And it wasn’t far from where he worked either.

After the pretrial was over, he packed up his things and thought of Trinity again. It was his turn to go in and sit with her tonight, and he was looking forward to it. She was on the mend, to which he was grateful, and once he had the trial finished up for her aunt, the day after tomorrow, he’d be sending her away to prison so that she’d not bother the younger woman again. Trinity had been treated badly, and he’d be the first one to admit that he wanted Tilly Shafer to spend as much time behind bars as he could get. He was just getting in his car when he heard from Mark.

“I had her sign a prenup, but she’s fighting me on it.” He said that women usually did, that his own ex-wife had done the same thing. “She’s not getting anything. Even the building downtown is going to be sold so that I can get out from under it. I don’t have any idea why she was so hyped up about the money that was in the Social Security checks. I was paying the rent on the place and have been for the past ten years. I don’t suppose you need any good antiques for your new home, do you? I’m going to have someone come in and tell me what sort of prices I should get out of the things there. There is a lot of it, too.”

“I’ll have a look. That might be kinda fun to have a look at.” Mark told him that she’d been collecting things for the past ten years, so he didn’t know what might be in the place. “I could use some furniture in the bedrooms. I don’t suppose you know if there are bedroom sets in there.”

“I would imagine that there are. I think she’d get them really cheap at auctions, then have them cleaned up.” He laughed. “I think that the one that is in our bedroom set is from an auction that she paid a couple of bucks for. It’s really nice. I’m selling my house too soon.” He asked why he was selling. “I’m leaving town. I have this beautiful place down in the Smokies that I’m going to go and live in. Giving up my practice and having my life just the way I want it.”

“Good for you. I might have a buyer for your home. My brothers are all looking for homes of their own, too.” He said that he’d give them a good deal if he didn’t have to deal with a realtor. “I’ll tell them. The one that I think is looking the hardest is Dayton. He’s been looking the longest, too.”

“Great. I have his number. I’ll give him a call. I have some cases that I was going to ask the two of you to take over anyway. Nothing big. I think I’ve been wanting out of this job for a while now and didn’t take all that much on.” Bastain said that he’d take on a few of them. “Wonderful. One less thing I have to worry about. Once I get the house sold, I’m going to be packing up just what I need to start over. I’ve been wanting out of the rat race for a while now, and this is the perfect opportunity. With Tilly gone, and I do hope that she gets out of my life, I’ll be able to do what I want when I want. No more trouble with her and what she’s been up to lately.”

“I hope that you aren’t pissed about the things that are going up against her.” He said that it had been going on for a while now and he’d just didn’t pay any attention to them. “I’m sorry about that. I had the same thing with my wife. She wanted to go out partying every night and damned me if I had to get up early to go someplace else the next morning.” He told Bastain that his wife wanted them to go to auctions every weekend so that he could tote stuff for her. “That sounds like something that Debra would have done had she thought about it. Anything to spend money.”