Chapter 4 #2
“Ms. Carrie Sharp?” She stood up when the judge said her name. “Do you have anything to say about this group before I pass judgment on them?”
“Yes, sir, I do. If you could give me twenty-four hours before they’re released so I could get myself out of town and hidden away, I’d appreciate it.
And if you can’t do that, could you please allow me enough time to get my life in order so that my mom is taken care of with my insurance policy?
I don’t have much, but it’ll be enough to make sure she’s not out where they can get to her anytime soon.
And her checks will be safe with the nursing home.
” He said that he had that part under control.
“Good then. I don’t have anything to say to any of them, however. ”
“You’re going to be dead no matter how much time he gives you to hide out, little sister.” Allen only called her that when she’d really pissed him off. “Do you hear me? I’m going to come after you for all this shit that you’ve laid at my door.”
She just stared at the judge, and when he stood up, Allen was taken out of the room, screaming about how he was going to kill her and he’d not make it easy on her either.
She was going to be dead, and he, for one, would be happy when she was.
Allen’s last words about killing her were still echoing around the room when the judge sat back down.
“I have enough evidence here that I’m going to set up a trial date.
” As he continued on with what he was saying, all her mind could do was center on the fact that her own brother was going to kill her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
When Zander grabbed her hand, she laid her head down on the table they were at, and she closed her eyes.
She was going to die, and there wasn’t shit she could do about it.
They’d make it long and drawn out, too. No bullet to the head for her.
They’d make her beg for death when they started on her.
She didn’t know how long she lay there, but Zander was pulling her out of the seat for the next attorney to sit down.
Carrie knew that something had happened, but she didn’t know what and would ask Zander when they got outside.
In the sunshine, she felt better but no less determined to get her affairs in order so that she could leave as soon as possible.
For her to live, she was going to have to leave now in order to get a jumpstart on her family to keep them from finding her.
She said as much to Zander when he came up to hug her.
“You didn’t hear, I take it. They’re going to have a trial in two years—late October two years from now.
The judge thinks it will take that long to get the evidence that we already have together.
Then the public defender for them asked for an extension, and he was granted it for another year.
” She asked if they would be in jail all that time.
“No, he’s sending them off to prison so that there’s no overcrowding of the jails here. Isn’t that great?”
“They’ll be gone for three years in a bigger jail?” He told her that it would be prison and they’d be under lock and key until the time of the trial. “That’s wonderful news. Oh my gosh, I never expected it to be that long. Are you still going to be taking the trial?”
“Yes. Knox and I will be the ones who represent you. You’ve been given a gift of three years, and in all that time, we’re going to be digging into everything in their past to make sure that they stay for a good deal longer.
Maybe by the time they get out, they’ll be too old to try to kill you off.
That’s what I’m hoping for anyway.” She hugged him.
“Thank you so much. I can’t believe that we got three years of them being in prison.
And they’ll be taken tonight so that they are no longer a burden on the jail system here. No more visits from you either.”
She was thrilled with the news and wanted to dance around with Zander.
But he already more than likely thought of her as a nut case.
She’d cry at the littlest things lately.
As she was headed back to her home, she did dance around a little.
They were going away, and she couldn’t believe it.
She had her freedom back, and she couldn’t wait to live like they were no longer in her life.
~*~
Knox read over the lease paperwork for the new building that was going in towards downtown.
The building had been renovated just over the last few months, and now that it was ready to be rented, he had five applicants who wanted to take over the building.
It was for residential or business, so he had both kinds of requests for it in his file.
He looked at his brother when he came into the room with him.
He asked August if he’d go over the rental agreements while he had a background check done on the five people who wanted to rent it.
“Are you charging the same for the rent if it’s residential or business?
It seems to me that there should be a difference.
” He said when he put it out there that it was for rent, but he never said what the rent would be.
“So you could charge what you want to them and see if they still want it. What’s the building like?
I mean, is it one that could be viable for a family of, say, four people? ”
“I think it’s too small for a family of four.
It has two bedrooms in it now, but there’s no room for a third or fourth bedroom.
All it has are the two bedrooms, one bath, and a living room, and a kitchen area.
It’s all on one floor, too.” He said that the applicant for the house rental was five people.
“Then they probably don’t want it. It’ll be extremely too small for them.
I wonder why they put in an application? ”
“There isn’t much in the way of rentals around here.
Perhaps they’re desperate to find something to live in.
” Knox said that he’d have to tell them it’s not large enough for a family of five.
He wasn’t even sure it was big enough for a business.
“One of the business rentals said they want to turn it into a sub shop. What was it before? I seem to think it was something along those lines, and they couldn’t make it work. ”
“You’re right, and it took us a while to get them to get their stuff out, too. Had we known that, we could have just let them sell it to the new renters.” August asked about the smell. “It was everywhere, but as soon as we painted it, the smell was better. Like much better than it was before.”
“Good to know. The last two places that want to rent it want to change it into a retail store. Again, I don’t know how that’s going to work with it being so small, not to mention so far off from the downtown area.
No one will walk that far to get to their shop.
” He said that he had thought of that and put it in the advertising when he’d written the place up.
“If I were you, I’d just make it a rental for a household.
That way, someone with a couple of kids would be all right for a while.
A business would just fail again, and that would be another person that we’d have to get out when they do. ”
“All right. I think that you’re right. I’m going to make sure that the people who want to rent understand that it’s too small for a family of their size and wouldn’t work.
” August said that he’d help him if he needed it.
“I thank you, but I think I got it all right. Have you looked over the rentals for the strip mall that’s nearly finished?
I hate calling it that, but I don’t know what else to call it.
It’s a strip of stores that has five different buildings in it.
One of them is already rented. The other four have had a couple of lookers but nothing more.
If you’re getting people interested, you’ll have to let me know so that I can do the background checks on them. ”
“Like you said, there is only one that is rented, and as for the others, I have had a few inquiries, but nothing yet. It’s off the main street, so I don’t think anyone will want to move out that far to try and have a shop.
Unless it’s really good food, then maybe.
” He said that it had been sitting empty since before Martha had passed away.
“Yes, she left it to me to see if I could get it going. The only thing that I can see moving out that far is a tire shop or something like that. No ladies’ shops.
I’ve noticed that they don’t do well unless there is a good food place to go as well.
” He laughed at his brother about not having ladies’ shops.
“What? You know what I mean? Stops that cater to women that sort of thing.”
“Don’t let the others hear you say that.
Your wife will kill you.” He said that he had facts to support his saying that.
“Doesn’t matter if NASA said it, she wouldn’t take too kindly to you telling her that a ladies’ shop needs a food place, or it wouldn’t do well.
” They both laughed at that, but he did notice that August looked around to see if his wife was close. They were all afraid of their spouses.