Chapter 6
When he opened his eyes in the morning, he saw Pooh sitting on the bed looking at him. He noticed that she had washed up and put her shoes on.
"Well, hello, Mister. I thought you were going to sleep all day. Did you put me on the bed?"
"No, you were asleep when I came out of the bathroom, so I took your shoes off and covered you up. I hope I didn't get you in trouble with anybody."
"I have my own apartment. There's nobody I have to answer to. Thanks for not trying anything last night. I was exhausted. The restaurant got busy around four o'clock in the afternoon and stayed busy until I got off."
"I didn't think that you were here hoping that I would molest you."
"It wouldn't have done you much good if you had. I was out of it. Thanks anyway for not trying. A lot of men would have."
"How about turning away for a few minutes I'd like to get dressed and I don't have anything on under these covers."
She gave him a wicked grin, "Don't worry about me. I won't rape you."
He threw the covers back and got out of bed. He had to walk by her to get his underwear and the clothes he was going to wear that day."
"Nice package there, McGee. I'm sure there's a woman somewhere wondering when you're going to come home."
He grinned at her and continued dressing, "No woman. I can't afford them."
"Yeh, sure," she said sarcastically.
He finished dressing and sat on the bed to put his shoes and socks on, "How about breakfast?"
"Can't. I've got classes this morning and afternoon. I'll take you up on dinner if that's an option."
"Only if it's some place nice. I'm not downing your restaurant, but I feel like a giant steak cooked just the way I want it. I bottle of good wine would make the meal complete. Are you in?"
She smiled, "I know just the place. I'll make the reservations. Bring your credit card, this place ain't cheap."
He stood up and they headed for the door. She told him that she would pick him up at seven. She turned and walked toward the restaurant. She turned to make sure that he was watching her walk away from him.
The restaurant was crowded so he decided to get something to eat later. He got in his truck and headed for the police station. The sergeant that he had talked to the night before was still on duty and he took Roger to an interrogation room and sat down at a table opposite him.
"How come your still on duty?" he asked.
"You caused us a lot of trouble last night. I'm still not done writing up all of the charges. When we searched your buddy's car, we found a bunch of crystal meth in the trunk. Your buddy also had a bunch of it in his blood stream, that's why he was so feisty. The DEA is questioning him right now. The amount of meth that he had in his trunk indicates he either had his own lab or he knows where it is. He's going down big time."
"How is the policeman that was taken to the hospital?"
The sergeant looked down at the paperwork, "He's going in for surgery on his face later today. He's going to need several operations to put his face back together. This might mean the end of his career. A lot of men can't come back after something like this happens. It does something to your head."
Roger wrote out his statement and shoved it to the sergeant. The sergeant read it and asked if he had anything else to tell them.
"You're going to question Barbara Barback and her daughter about Henry molesting Lara, aren't you?"
The sergeant nodded and Roger continued, "The policeman that brought Henry into the station. I think that you ought to have him question Barbara and Lara. Barbara and him used to date in high school and he might be able to get more out of them than someone else."
It took a minute before the sergeant realized where he was heading. He started to chuckle.
"What are you some kind of matchmaker?"
Roger grinned and shrugged, "I do what I can."
They shook hands; "I'm going to be leaving town in a few days. I'll give you my lawyer's phone number. He always knows how to get in touch with me. If you need me, let him know and I'll fly back to do whatever I have to do."
"I appreciate that. I think that what happened in that parking lot is going to be something minor compared to the other charges your buddy is facing."
Roger saw the cloud come over the sergeant's face and said, "You might get lucky. Henry might try to escape."
"I'd love that," the sergeant said, "A lot of the men in this station would make sure he regretted what he did."
Roger shook his hand and left the station. He called Mabel Shook's number before he got into his truck. She told him that she could see him if he could come in right away, as she had to go to court that afternoon. She gave him directions to her office.
When he walked into Mabel's office a secretary greeted him. When he introduced himself she announced him over the telephone/intercom. Mabel came out him and told him to come into her office.
Mabel Shook was a woman about sixty years old. She had snow-white hair and she carried herself with confidence. She was dressed impeccably.
Mabel's office was bare bones. Her degrees were on the wall and papers were strewn about the office. Her desk was piled so high with paperwork that he had trouble seeing the top of the desk. In the outer office he had seen only one other lawyer.
"Hal Iverson called me and told me that you had some domestic work that you needed done. What is it?"
Roger told her about Barbara's husband not paying the child support and that he hadn't paid in over five years.
"What's she to you? You sleeping with her?"
Roger chuckled, "Hal told me you were a bit crusty. I guess he was right."
"Damn right I am and proud of it. Now, it's not going to be hard serving this guy the papers. We just have to find him when he's in Baltimore. It might be a bit expensive. We'll have to watch his house twenty-four hours a day until we see him come home. Are you willing to pay for that?"
Roger nodded and she continued, "I'll talk to this Barbara and get the particulars from her. I'm going to go for double payments until he catches up. It's more likely that we can get him to meet his obligations that way. Every time he's late on a payment we'll have him sit in jail for a while. If he's smart, he'll get the message after the second time in jail. I'll try to get the payments deducted from his paycheck before he gets it. Some judges won't go for that."
"Damn, you're rough. I hope I never get on your bad side," he said.
"If you do, I'll make sure that you remember it for the rest of your life. My ex-husband blew his brains out to get me off his back. I guess he figured that hell was better than having to face me again in court."
"There's something else," he said, "Barbara's been having trouble with a man she knows. The guy is sitting in jail right now and I don't think he'll see the outside of a jail cell for a long time. Just in case, I'd like you to get a restraining order against him. Barbara can give you his last name. I don't know it."
The other lawyer knocked on her door. She called out for him to enter. He asked her about some papers that he was working on. Mabel got up and walked around her desk and showed him what had to be done. She introduced him to Roger and Roger stood up and shook his hand. The man left, closing her door behind him.
"That's my son. Dumb as a slug. Takes after his father. He'll probably starve to death after I die."
Mabel made sure that she had Barbara's phone number and her address and directions to her house. She gathered up her papers and stuck them in a file folder.
"I think that's all I'll need. Once again, this can get expensive. Are you willing to pay whatever it costs?"
Roger nodded and Mable got up and walked around the desk and walked with him as far as her door.
"That's what I like, a man not afraid to spend his money. I think your friend's husband is going to be a very unhappy man in a short while."
Roger left the office and called Barbara on his cell phone. She picked up the phone after two rings and he told her that she would be getting a visit from Mabel Shook and told her to open up to her and tell her everything she could about where her husband lived and how long it was since she got any child support from him. She told him that she would and thanked him for helping her so much.
"I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."
"Don't worry about it. I'm not expecting you to repay me. Just make Lara a good home. She's at that stage of life where she needs a stable home life and a mother that she can confide in."
"I know," she said, "I made a few mistakes in the last couple of years. This has brought Lara and I closer together. I have you to thank for that. If it wasn't for you, she might be laying in some ditch right now."
"I'm just happy that I could help," he said, "By the way, what is the name of the guy you dated for two years in high school?"
She hesitated before answering, "Uh, Josh Howard. Why do you ask?"
"Josh Howard is the policeman that is going to question you and Lara about Henry molesting her. I met him last night after that little difficulty with Henry."
"Gosh, I haven't seen him since high school. He went to college and we lost track of each other. It'll be good to see him again." He detected a lilt in her voice that hadn't been there before, "You won't have to worry about Henry for a long time. I don't think he'll be a problem to you ever again. The Feds are after him for running or selling drugs and after he serves that time, the State of New York is dying to get their hands on him."
She thanked him again and he hung up and got in his truck. His first stop was at a McDonald's for a small cheeseburger and a Coke. He wanted to save room for the dinner with Pooh later.
He drove back to his motel. The maid had taken care of his room and
he set his travel alarm and lay down on the bed to catch a nap before
he had to get ready to go to dinner with Pooh.