Chapter 5

Roger pulled into the motel parking lot and drove to the end of the complex. He walked back to the restaurant to tell Pooh what had happened with her cousin and when he looked in the window he saw that she was rushing from one customer to another. He didn't see another waitress so he figured that one of the waitresses that were supposed to be on with her was either a no-show or had called in sick. He decided to get a shower and call his lawyer. He could come back later and talk to Pooh when the crowds died down.

After he walked into his room he sat on the bed and dialed the phone. After the second ring his lawyer, Hal Iverson answered.

"Hal this is Roger. I'm in Utica. I know that domestic disputes are not your forte, but I wonder if you know of somebody in Utica that would take such a case.

"Sure, call Mabel Shook. She's an older woman and she's as hard as nails. She'll bit your head off but just give back what she gives you. She's feared in Utica. When she gets a case they settle fast. Let me get the number."

He was gone for a while. When he came back on the line he gave Roger the number.

"Is this an old friend of yours or someone you're working on?"

"Just a friend, Hal. I'm going to have Mabel send the bill to you. Pay it when she does send it, out of my account. I guess your power-of-attorney covers that."

"It covers anything that you don't raise hell about," Hal laughed.

They talked for a while and then hung up. Roger went to the shower and adjusted the water. He striped down and got in the shower. The water was hot and he let the water roll over him while he relaxed. He thought about what he had accomplished that day. He hoped that Barbara would use the help that he had given her to straighten her life out and make a decent home for Lara. The water started to cool and he hurried up and finished washing

After he had dried himself off he went in and lay on the bed and listened to the radio for about an hour.

He almost fell asleep but he caught himself and got out of bed. He dressed casually to go to the restaurant. He was still full from the lunch so he intended to have an iced tea and to tell Pooh what had happened with her cousin.

The parking lot hadn't been plowed and the cars had turned to snow into a couple of inches of slush. He started for the restaurant.

As he neared the windows of the restaurant he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye and something hit him in the back of his head and stunned him. Roger shook his head trying to see what had hit him, when he was punched in the gut hard. He fell against a car and rolled away from whoever was hitting him. He made is way to the other side of the car to allow his head to clear.

"Come on big man. You were so big in front of the women, let's see how big you are now."

His head started to clear and he saw Henry on the other side of the car with a knife in his hand. Henry was so drunk or high that a fourteen-year-old boy could beat him. Henry had gotten a lucky punch in the first time. Roger started around the car slowly. Henry waved the knife in front of him. He made a lunge for Roger and was knocked to the ground, blood running from his mouth. He roared and lunged again and was knocked to the ground again. Roger tried to talk him out of lunging at him again but Henry was too drunk or high to listen and went to the ground again.

The motel was visible from the road. Roger saw the reflection of red and blue lights bouncing off the motel just as Henry lunged for him again. The knife caught Roger's coat and the fabric caused the knife to turn and cut his arm.

"Hold it! Drop the knife."

Henry looked toward the voice and saw a state policeman holding a gun on him. Even though he was drunk, he had enough sense to drop the knife and put up his hands.

The policeman walked over to Henry and kicked the knife away from the two of them. He told both of them to put their hands on the car and called for backup on his walkie-talkie.

He handcuffed Henry and told Roger to keep his hand on the car.

"What's going on here?" the policeman asked.

Roger explained why Henry had come at him with a knife. Another police car pulled into the parking lot with the lights flashing. The first policeman patted Henry down for other weapons and the other policeman took Roger back to his car to question him.

"What going on. Why did that guy pull a knife on you?"

Roger repeated the story he had told the first policeman and also told him about how Henry had been thrown out of Barbara's house because he was molesting her daughter. The policeman pulled out his pad and started writing down what Roger was telling him. When he asked for the name and address of the woman whose daughter was molested, Roger gave him Barbara's name and address.

The policeman stopped writing and looked at him, "Did you say Barbara Barback? She's a pretty brunette about five feet six, built real well?"

Roger nodded, "Do you know her?"

"Hell yes. She and I dated for two years in high school. We lost track of each other when I went to college. I thought she had moved away. I heard she married some pilot. I guess she's using her maiden name again."

The first policeman started to put Henry into his car in handcuffs. Henry walked toward the car quietly. Suddenly he rammed his head into the policeman's face. As the policeman was falling Henry kicked him in the groin. Henry started to try to get the fallen man's gun, but could not coordinate himself with his hands cuffed behind him. The policeman on the ground had blood running into his eyes from Henry's head butt and was holding Henry tight to keep him from grabbing his gun. Henry pulled away and stood up quickly and kicked the man on the ground hard. The policeman on the ground yelled when Henry's foot came in contact with his face. Blood was flowing from numerous cuts on his face.

The policeman that was questioning Roger rushed over to Henry and subdued him by throwing him to the ground. Henry tried to fight him and get away. The policeman was none too gentle subduing Henry. Roger rushed over to the fallen policeman and helped him up. He staggered over to the patrol car and picked up the radio and called for backup and an ambulance. As he closed the door of the patrol car, his eyes became unfocused and he slumped to the ground in the slush. Roger rushed to him and helped him up and put him in the backseat of the patrol car.

Within minutes, four more patrol cars pulled into the motel parking lot at a high rate of speed. The motel was lit up with the red and blue lights of all of the patrol cars. An ambulance arrived a few minutes later to take the injured police officer to the hospital. Henry was put in the car of the officer that had subdued him and he left to take him to the police station. The policeman was glad to be back into the car, as he was soaked after having to wrestle Henry in the slush.

After Henry was away from the scene, a sergeant came over to Roger and pulled out a note pad.

"Can you tell me why that man wanted you so bad?"

Roger told him about the events of that day, including the fact that Henry was molesting a teenager. He told how Henry had come at him from between a car. The sergeant asked if he had hit Henry and Roger told the sergeant that he had only hit him one time when Henry came at him with a knife. The sergeant called another policeman over and told him to look for a knife. Within minutes, the policeman yelled out that he had found the knife. He held it up for the sergeant to see.

"Mr. Bostic, we'll need you to come down to the police station and make a statement. Can I take you in my car or would you rather drive?"

Roger's arm had started to throb from the cut that Henry had inflicted on him. The sergeant turned to talk to the policeman that had found the knife and he told him to put the knife in an evidence bag and put it on the seat of the sergeant's car.

"Officer, This cut on my arm is starting to throb. Can I come down and make a statement tomorrow? I'd like to get this taken care of."

"Sure, your friend isn't going anywhere tonight. I doubt he'll get out of jail anytime soon. I can think of a dozen charges that I'm going to have to write up tonight, most of them felonies."

Roger got the address of the police station where he was to give his statement and the sergeant took his name and address. The sergeant told him where the closest hospital was and asked again if he was Ok to drive himself. Roger assured him that he was.

He drove to the hospital and had to wait for about two hours before he was examined. The cut only required two stitches. As he drove back to the motel he thought about what had happened. This trouble could turn out to be a blessing for Barbara and Lara. He was sure that Henry would be spending at least five years in jail.

As he pulled into the motel parking lot his thoughts were still on the events of that evening. He remembered that he had promised to stop in and tell Pooh what had happened when he confronted Henry at Barbara's house. That would just have to wait until tomorrow.

He put his key in the door and opened it. The door was open before he realized that the light was on. He was sure that the light was off when he left to go to the restaurant. He entered the room cautiously.

Pooh was sitting on the chair reading a magazine.

"How did you get in here?"

"I work here remember? I saw the ruckus between you and Henry. That's one way to make sure he doesn't cause Barbara anymore trouble. I talked to Barbara and she told me what happened at her house. She also told me about the car. Lara wants you to come back to her house. She wants to marry you."

He laughed and grabbed his robe from his luggage, "Sorry, I have to soak in the tub for a while. I'm cold and wet. I'll talk to you when I get out, Ok?"

He went into the bathroom and drew a bath, filling the tub with water as hot as he could stand. He slowly lowered himself into the tub, allowing his body to get used to the hot water. He was careful not to get the cut wet. He leaned back and rested his head on the wall of the bathroom. The hot water felt good and he became relaxed and let the water soak away the tension that had built up in him because of the events of the previous few hours. He started to doze off and he opened his eyes when his head banged against the wall of the bathroom. He got out of the tub and let the water start to drain from the tub. He put on the robe and walked into the bedroom.

Pooh had crawled on the bed and she was sound asleep on top of the covers. He knew that she was exhausted from pulling the double at the restaurant. He went over to the bed and gently pulled her shoes off without waking her. He pulled the covers over her from the opposite side of the bed. She didn't wake up while he was covering her. He looked at her for a minute. She was a very pretty woman. It was obvious that she had a good figure and great legs. Her tight, short waitress uniform left little to the imagination.

He took off his robe and crawled into bed. Within two minutes he was asleep.

Chapter 6