Page 96 of Her Hidden Smile

“It was like you thought. He’s doing everything he can to work a plea deal with the DA. If someone needed information from him, they would have been real smart to have gotten that info before he was taken into police custody and demanded a lawyer.”

“Hmm. If I’m ever in that situation, I’ll remember to do that.” I walked over to Millie’s fridge to see if there was something to drink. “Wanna bottle of soda, water, or beer?” I asked Nash.

“Dr. Pepper if she has it.”

I handed him one, then I took a beer and leaned against the kitchen island and looked at Nash. “How confident does Junior seem that he can work a deal?” I asked.

“Too damned confident to my liking,” Nash said as he took a swig of his soda. “But he’s using Stanley Rhoades as his lawyer. So of course, I found out that he’s being his normal stupid self and doesn’t really have shit.”

“I’m not tracking,” I told Nash.

“Stanley should have been disbarred years ago. He drinks down at the Whispering Creek Tavern Monday through Saturday and talks far too much. Junior is thinking he can work a deal because he knows that Knoxville Plumbing has been selling to their contractors off the books so that they can avoid paying state sales tax.”

“First.” I held up my index finger. “Thanks for letting me know where to find a really good attorney. I’ll just head on over to the Whispering Creek. Second. Is Junior out of his mind? Like that’s a bargaining chip.”

Nash snorted. “I know, right?”

“Does this drunk lawyer think he can work a deal with this?”

“Actually, Stanley might be a drunk, but he’s a smart, greedy lawyer. So no, I doubt he thinks this will work. He’s just stringing Junior along so he gets more billable hours.”

“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

“Right?” Nash laughed.

We smiled at one another as we finished our drinks.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The boxes from Amazon were waiting on my doorstep when Renzo drove me home. I was so relieved.

“Did you order something?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m hoping you’ll take pity on me and be willing to do a little handyman work.”

“Sure,” he said as he opened my door and helped me out of his truck.

“I’m going to have to get some running boards,” he muttered.

“What are those?”

“They’re something you can step on to get in and out of the truck.”

“I know what you’re doing, Mr. Drakos. You’re thinking if you get running boards you’ll tempt me to go driving with you more often.”

After he had me on solid ground, he put his arms around me. “We’re taking baby steps Millie. I don’t give a shit if that was the last trip you ever take off this piece of land. I’m with you for the long haul. But remember, you didn’t have a panic attack at a hospital of all places. Therefore, I’m getting some running boards.” He kissed the tip of my nose.

I shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

We walked up the porch steps and he picked up the box and unlocked the door. When we got settled, he asked me what was in the boxes.

“Why don’t you open them up?”

When he did, he laughed. “Millie, a cleaning crew has been through this entire house. Not just the living room where Rod died, but your kitchen, all bedrooms and bathrooms, every room of your house. They are professionals. Trust me, they charged like professionals. You do not need to replace the toilet seats.”

“Yes, I do. And you better be showing me those receipts so I can reimburse you.”

“No. I’m not letting you reimburse me.”