Page 5 of Bastain

“I don’t want to get involved.” Mom only had to look at him to have him change his mind. “All right, I’ll go down there. But I don’t know what good it will do. I never saw her face, only what she was wearing. And by the time I got to the girl, she was beaten up so badly that I could barely make out her facial features.”

“You’ll go down now and tell them everything.” She sat down on one of the chairs around the table and looked at Zavier. “I can’t believe that you just walked away. What if it had been one of your brothers or myself there on the cold ground? What would you have done if someone had information on the beating but didn’t tell the police? You’d be pretty upset about it, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Zavier pulled his jacket off the chair and was headed to the door. “I don’t suppose you know who I should ask for when I get there, do you? I mean, will there be someone there who will be able to take my statement?”

“I’m sure that anyone can do that for you. You just tell them that you’d witnessed the beating and had some information on it. That’ll get the ball rolling.” Zavier looked at him as his mom continued. “You make sure you tell them that you waited for the ambulance before you left. Maybe they’ll cut you some slack in leaving the scene of the crime.”

“I didn’t do that.” All Mom did was look at him again. “All right, I’ll do that. But I don’t think that I really left the scene of the crime. There were other people there who were watching over her.” He looked at him again. “Will you come with me? I’d feel better if there was someone with me when they put me in jail.”

“I’ll bail you out.” Zavier told him he was funny, but he told him he wasn’t kidding. As soon as they were in his car, he asked him what he was going to do about this. “I mean, you really pissed Mom off about this. I’m not saying you should tell them everything, but you’d better. Mom will find out.”

“I know. I think she’s babysat for everyone in this town at some point or another. Even if she didn’t babysit the adults when they were younger, she did their kids. Mom knows people.” She does too. And even with them being grown men, she still knew enough people to know what they were up to all the time. “I’ll really bail you out if it comes to it. I won’t leave you in jail.”

“Thanks.” They drove to the police station, and he couldn’t believe how busy it was. Bastain knew a few of the officers but not all of them. Some of them were new from the academy just a few weeks ago, and he’d not gotten to know them all as yet. As soon as Zavier had help, he was asked if he wanted to stay with him. Since he’d heard the story before, he thought that he’d be able to remind him of things he’d told them if he forgot a detail. Sitting in the smallish room, he was surprised when the chief of police came to talk to them.

“Your momma said you’d be coming in.” Of course she had. Not only did she know everyone, but she also knew the rules too that would keep them out of trouble. “She told me you did a good job in getting that young woman help from this morning.”

“I saw the person who was beating her up.” He asked for a description of her, and Zavier told him. “She ran off when I yelled at her. The woman on the ground looked a bit like her, if you ask me.”

“She’s her aunt. We heard from the woman just a little while ago about pressing charges. We’ll go and pick her up in the morning. She made sure to tell me what time she got to work, and I’m going to oblige her on that. It might get her into trouble with her boss, and I like that idea.”

“I thought that she’d be innocent until proven guilty.” He said that if he got it wrong, he’d apologize to her. “I see how you’re making this work. How can you be so sure it was her aunt? I think you’re just hoping for it to be her. Do you know her?”

“I knew her mother.” That’s all he had to say about that, and Bastain agreed with him. Mom had spoken highly of the former Mrs. Layton, and that was all he needed to know to be nice to the family. He listened to his brother as the questions were being asked of him. Neither one of them mentioned his running away from the scene, but they were all right with that. He decided to stay on the good side of his mom, too. She could cause all kinds of trouble if she was inclined to.

Not that she’d do anything like that, he thought. His mother was a good woman and loved them all so much. He decided that on his way home, he was going to get her flowers for no other reason than he loved her. She still owed him the cherry pie from when he went out with Shelby. He was going to make sure she remembered that, too.

“I’d like to go by the hospital. Just to make sure she’s all right.” He said that he wanted to get flowers for Mom, and Zavier said he’d do the same for the girl. “That’s nice of you. I’m sure that she’ll appreciate that too. I know that I would.”

The two of them stopped by the florist, and he decided to have his mom’s delivered. She would get a bigger kick out of that, and he didn’t have to wait for her to get them tonight. As they were headed up to the room that Ms. Layton was in, Zavier said that he really wished that he’d stayed with her when she’d been hurt. He felt bad about that.

“I would imagine that you did. Mom laid on the guilt pretty hard.” They both laughed, and he thought about why someone would beat another person up. “Did the chief say why she’d done it? I mean, surely a reason came up.”

“Something about Social Security checks still being paid to her mother. If there was anything more to it than that, I didn’t understand that either. I guess it’s been about eight months, and she’s still getting the checks. I thought that they’d cut that off right away for as much trouble a person can get in for cashing them without their names on the checks.” He said that’s what he’d heard as well. “I guess she’ll know what happened. But if she were cashing her mother’s checks now that she’s dead, she’ll be going to prison anyway. Maybe that’s what the aunt was doing, beating her up. Because she was treading against the law.”

The room she was in was filled with flowers. The bed was empty and had been made up, but there was no sign of the girl. He supposed he should refer to her as a woman, but he was only going on what their mom had said about her. To her, all women were simply girls, and she was nice to them so they didn’t take offense. As they were getting ready to leave, someone was brought in by pushing a wheelchair.

With her hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked like her face had been kicked, too. There were so many cuts and bruises on her face that he was surprised that she wasn’t bandaged up. As she was being helped to the bed, he tried to stay out of the way. But when she nearly fell, being manhandled by the staff, he reached out and grabbed her before she fell.

“What are you doing? I’m hurting.” He said that he knew that, but was only trying to keep her from falling on the floor. “I had it under control. I’ve been in and out of this bed a dozen times since I was brought in here. No one seems to know how to schedule things all at one time, but to come and get me at all hours of the night.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, but that’s no reason to snap my head off. I was only trying to help you.” She growled low in her throat, and he thought that was funny for some reason. “Use your words so that I can understand you.”

“I didn’t say anything. Other than I’m hurting.” She looked at the nurse who came into the room and asked for something for pain. When she ran out to more than likely do her bidding, Bastain felt foolish. He’d not meant to harm her, only to keep her from falling on the floor.

“I’m sorry.” He nodded and was surprised by the apology. “I’ve been hurt since I’ve been in here more than I think my aunt did to me. They’re supposed to be arresting her in the morning, and I hope someone takes her to task. I didn’t mean to take my pain-filled complaints out on you.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t, but he was going to get out of here before she thought that he’d done something else wrong. Just as he was ready to bolt, Zavier spoke to her. Her smile for him lit up the room.

“I’m the one who called the ambulance for you. Ran off your aunt, too.” She thanked him, and he blushed. “She was beating you pretty badly by the time I was able to call anyone for help. I hope you heal fast.”

“I do as well. I hurt all through my chest and ribs.” She moved the gown that she had on, and he could see the marks that were on her. The two that he could see looked just like boot marks. “She wanted something from me, and I’m not willing to go to prison for her. She threatened me first, then she knocked me on my ass to get to me. I’ve never been beaten before, and I’m hoping that it never happens again.”

“She did a number on you.” She moved her gown back and glared at him. “I’m sorry. Have I done something to upset you?”

“You think I deserved this.” He asked her how she thought that was true. “Because I know men like you. You think you’re always right, and you think that I took the checks and cashed them.”

“Did you?” She shook her head, then held onto it like it was too much for her to do. “They came to your address. I don’t know a lot of people who wouldn’t take advantage of a situation like that and cash them.”