Chapter 2
Wilden woke up the next morning with Sarge lying on his bed, nudging him. Just one paw landed on Wilden’s chest, but a hefty paw that absolutely woke him up. He looked over at Sarge. “I guess you need to go outside, don’t you?” Sarge gave a soft woof. Wilden nodded and proceeded to sit up.
He put on his prosthetic, managed to get it clicked in place, and afterward dressed, brushed his teeth, and got in a quick shave.
Then he headed downstairs with the dog. The dog went straight to the back door.
Wilden opened the kitchen door and let him out, stepping out onto the deck as the dog headed over to the nearby grass and lifted his leg, emptying his bladder from the long night.
As Wilden looked around, he noted it was still early, only six in the morning. He didn’t know if his grandmother was up yet, but he realized that older people tended to be up early in the morning. Sure enough, he heard her call out from her bedroom.
He walked over to her, leaving Sarge outside, wandering around, sniffing the ground. He smiled when he saw Nan still in bed.
Her eyes widened, and she looked at him in delight. She whispered, “I figured it was all a dream.”
“No, not at all,” he stated, as he walked closer. “Do you need a hand to get up?”
She shook her head. “No, I can do that.” She smiled up at him. “I don’t know if you meant it about a shower, but I would really enjoy that.”
“Until we get some renovations done, I can carry you upstairs. Plus, we can also get a chair lift for the stairs in the meantime. It’ll take a little bit to get the downstairs bathroom adapted.”
She frowned at him. “I don’t think you can carry me that far, not with your leg.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “Oh, I’m pretty sure that won’t be much of a problem,” he declared, with a nod. “How about we give it a shot right now? You can have a shower, and, when you’re done, you get dressed, and I’ll bring you back down again.”
“I can scooch down on my butt,” she noted, “but going up? Wow.”
“So the stairs are a problem because of bending your knees?”
“Yes,” she agreed. “However, I could probably do the stairs if you walked up with me, helped me step by step. I just worry about falling, and then I would be sunk.”
He smiled and nodded. “Done.” He grabbed her robe and added, “Let’s get this on you and get you upstairs and get you a nice warm shower.”
“That would be so lovely.” She practically beamed.
It did take the two of them to get her up there, but, by the time he had her upstairs and a warm shower running, she was all smiles. Sarge had come in on his own and was investigating what they were up to. She smiled at the dog and said, “He’s awfully big, isn’t he?”
“But he’s really well trained,” Wilden pointed out. “So, he’s also a watchdog, which is a good thing.”
“Maybe,” she muttered. “Your father wouldn’t have gotten on very well with him.”
“Right, so it’s a good thing Dad’s not here right now.”
She glanced over at him and nodded. “I haven’t dealt with the body.” He froze, then turned to her. She shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do. I had such a sense of relief that I kept putting it off.”
He nodded. “I suggest we have him cremated and don’t hold a service. I don’t know how many people here knew him or cared for him.”
“A lot of them hated him,” she stated, “especially that veterinarian. She was having so much trouble with him.”
Wilden frowned and asked, “Are you talking about Dr. Lee?”
She smiled at him in delight and asked, “Have you met her already?”
“Yes. That’s the vet who was holding Jackson’s dog,” he explained. “What was the problem?”
“John hassled her to go out with him, and it didn’t seem to matter that she told him no.
He wouldn’t listen, wouldn’t leave her alone.
It was pretty bad. He wouldn’t let her be, harassing her every time he saw her, even going to her clinic.
” Nan shook her head. “It was embarrassing. The police came here a couple times because she wanted a restraining order. He used to laugh and just say she was playing hard to get, but she wasn’t.
” Nan declared. “She’s a nice lady too.”
Wilden nodded and looked at her. “She is, but I had no idea of this history with Dad. She’s the one I saw last night when I picked up Sarge.”
She beamed. “That would be her, but your father? I don’t know where he got it in his head that he was God’s gift to any woman.” She sniffed, then chuckled, and turned back to the bathroom to get into the shower.
“Are you okay from here?” Wilden asked her.
“I’m okay from here,” she confirmed. “And, if you hear a funny noise, it will be me scooching down the stairs on my butt in a little bit.”
He laughed. “Or just let me know, and I can come help you down the stairs,” he offered. “Between us, we got this. Then we will consider what our options are from here.”
“What options?”
“We can get a chair lift that’ll go up and down the railing.”
She eyed him in surprise. “Automatic?”
“Yes, they’re specifically designed for people who can’t handle stairs.”
“Oh.” Then she frowned and stood there, her fingers pleating her nightgown. “It sounds expensive.”
He frowned. “I don’t know about that, but we’ll look at it,” he said.
“You need access. So, whether it is easier to make modifications to the downstairs bathroom or to get you a chair lift that’ll get you up and down the stairs, I don’t know, but we can look at both and decide.
We’ll also look at your finances to confirm you’re okay now too. ”
She grimaced. “I don’t think very much is left. Your father was pretty good about spending the money.”
“But it wasn’t his to spend,” Wilden declared, turning at the open doorway to frown at her. She didn’t say anything, and he sighed. “Did he have access to your bank accounts?”
She nodded. “And he drank heavily. I don’t think very much money is left.”
“And do you get your pension paid into that same account?” She just nodded, and he sighed. “Of course you do.” He expected as much, but it still hurt. “I will take a look at that in a bit.”
“What about you? Are you okay for money?”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I get my own check and work too. It’s not a whole lot, but I have been frugal over the years, so I’m not destitute.”
She brightened. “Good. Maybe you can buy some coffee? … Your father always told me that the money he took was for coffee. Yet I knew why he needed the money.” She shook her head. “I never knew any coffee that smelled like alcohol.”
Wilden smiled. “Of all the things we have to deal with, that’ll just be one of many, I’m sure. So, enjoy your shower, and I’ll go make some coffee and fix us breakfast,” he shared, with a chuckle. “So let’s get this day started.”
After breakfast, with his grandmother set to be okay for a few hours, he looked over at her, and she seemed a whole lot better.
“I’m heading back over to Jackson’s place.
I want to get his disappearance figured out as fast as I can,” he explained.
“If he wasn’t doing so well, health-wise, if some physical condition’s keeping him away from home, he’ll need medication and to get back home soon. ”
Nan agreed. “Something’s happened to him, you know?”
“I’m afraid of that, yes,” he confirmed, “but let’s see what I can find out before we get into too many theories.”
“Too late for that,” she said. “I just hope your father didn’t have anything to do with Jackson’s disappearance.”
With that comment, Wilden froze for a moment. “What would Dad possibly have to do with Jackson Russell?”
She winced. “Your father was hanging out with some rough guys at the end of his days. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they weren’t the ones who ended up shooting John. He owed everybody money and was forever trying to get money off people.” She sighed.
“He couldn’t get any more from me because, one, the house isn’t worth anything, and, two, my money comes in on a certain day of the month.
Then, once it’s gone, it’s gone,” she stated.
“John usually had it gone very, very quickly. I should technically get paid here soon, at least if the government keeps allowing the money to hit my bank. And so maybe I’ll have something to pay the bills, but we did get a notice saying that the electricity would get shut off here soon. ”
He tried hard not to react too strongly because that was all over now. Yet some of it must have shown on his face because she winced and added, “I shouldn’t be bothering you with any of this nightmare.”
He groaned. “None of that, Nan. Make a list of the bills that need to be paid,” he stated, “and I will see what I can come up with. We must also deal with his remains and see if he left behind any money to recoup some of the money you’ve lost.”
She shrugged. “I don’t care about the money I’ve lost,” she said, “but I am worried about not having the money to pay for things going forward. … I don’t have money for an old folks’ home, but that doesn’t matter because this is my home and where I want to stay,” she whispered, with a sideways look at him.
He nodded. He truly got that. “I’m not putting you in a home by any means,” he stated, “and this is your home. So, let’s do what we can to make it comfortable for you. If any money is in your account or if Dad did have any money left, what was he doing with it?”
“Alcohol,” she said, “and maybe gambling.” When Wilden frowned at her, she nodded. “When John got upset, he would use gambling as a way to feel better.”
Wilden shook his head. “That’s not what we want to hear, particularly if he’s been giving other people a hard time,” he noted.
“Not what I want to hear at all, but I will talk to the vet and will let her know that Dad is well and truly gone. I guess I need to stop at the crematorium and get something moving forward on that too. Otherwise I presume that they’ll call us. ”