Page 9 of Marshall

After about twenty minutes with no relief, he called Hamish Perry, a bigger dork than even his father had been.Dad had been able to work a New York Times crossword puzzle in less time than anyone he knew, but the man didn’t have the first clue about how to run a successful country.He told him before he’d ever run that you have to be honest with the people that vote you in.And more honest with the ones that didn’t.Like the cursing a blue streak, it was just another one of his platitudes that he spouted off like gospel.The idiot.

“Hamish, it’s Michael Lowery.I have some paperwork that I’m to pick up from MJ and was wondering if your sister-in-law could help me out with that.”He asked him if he wanted her to bring it to him.“No, no.That’s all right.MJ has other things for me to get and I want to make sure that she has it there for him.Can’t be too careful about going places nowadays.Don’t you think?”

“No.I have no trouble getting out and about.If you want to not leave your home, I can have MJ mail it to you.That way, you don’t have to get out in the public that put you in that office.”There was a tone there, but he couldn’t think what he’d be pissed off about.He’d given the fool everything that he wanted about tax breaks.Or someone did.“That’s what I’ll do for you.Have her send them to you.”

“I’ll get them.”He had to inhale and exhale three times before the smile, painfully so, was back on his face.“I just wanted to have someone pop me there and back.It’s all right if she doesn’t want to do it.”

“I’ll ask her.”There was a great deal of silence on the other end for about ten minutes before Hamish answered him.“She should be there now.”

“Yes, I see her.”Before he could hang up the phone, however, he asked the man if things were all right.“I heard that you were running on the next ticket for town mayor, Hamish.Do I need to be looking out for my own job?”Michael tried to laugh it off, but it didn’t sound like he’d been able to pull it off to his own ears.

“I guess time will tell if you have to watch out for your job, don’t you think?”No laughter.Nothing that would indicate that he’d been joking around.“I have to go, Micheal.I’ll speak with you some other time.”Then the line went dead.

“Twice in one day, someone hung up on me?What the fuck is going on?”Getting him a glass of Brandy, he glanced at the clock and saw that it was only a few minutes after noon.Taking a deepswallow, he was enjoying the burn when Becka cleared her throat from behind him.

He’d forgotten that she had come to get him.In those short seconds, he did not remember that someone was in his room and had spouted off about being hung up on.But she didn’t comment on it, nor did he.Just getting to the house to get what he needed from MJ was all he needed right now.

When she wrapped her arm around his waist, he thought that she was holding him just a little too tightly.But before he could comment, even if he wanted to, they were in a jail cell.No, not in, he realized, but close to one that was holding Douglas Brandon.

“Hey there, boss man.Whatcha doing here?I messed up a little on the other one.”Michael turned to see if Becka was still with him, but she was gone.Thankfully.“You all right?You’re looking a little packaged if you ask me.What’s up?”

“What’s up is that I have to clean up the mess that you made.”He wasn’t sure if the cameras that were down the long hall were actually recording or not.There wasn’t any light on it to give him any idea.So he whispered his side of the conversation with the man.“How the hell was she missed?I told you exactly what to do?Did you hire Chummy or not?”

“Yes, we sure did.Since he was willing to do what you wanted, we kept some of his money from him.Told him that he’d have to contact you if he wanted the rest.Me and my brothers, we had expenses, and we sort of ran short with meeting deadlines.My grannie’s house, it was closed off from us when you said that once my daughter was taken care of, you’d make sure that we all had it.You didn’t come through for us?”

“Really?Well, in the event you didn’t remember, you didn’t come through for me either.I do believe that MJ is still running around like she’s gotten lives.”Douglas told him that she was just a regular person with only one life.“I know that, dumbass.I was…never mind.I don’t have the paper and crayons that it would take to explain it to you.”

He’d heard that saying a few weeks ago and this was the first time that he’d been able to use it.Quite proud of himself, he asked him if he was going to take care of their arrangements or not.

“I’m a little indisposed right now.They trussing me up like a turkey in here.Can’t even get my damned grannie to come here and get me out.”Michael’s headache had turned into a migraine.Now, he was sick with it more than before.“What’s eating you anyway?I told you that I’d get it done, and I will.”

“Good.And thanks for keeping that paperwork, too.Your daughter has it in her possession.Do you have any idea how much trouble that is going to get me into if it falls into the wrong hands?Plenty, that’s for sure.Now I have to go there and—” Something occurred to him.“Why was I brought here?I’m supposed to be at your daughter’s home, not here.”

“Might be because I wanted to see you.We need some bail money, or we’re going to have to cut our losses and talk to somebody else about this stuff going on.”Micheal asked him if he was trying to blackmail him.“I don’t know what that means, so I’m going to say no.But I do need us to get some money.And since you like living up there in that big house, you can spare a man a few hundred, can’t you?”

“So you are blackmailing me.Well, I don’t even have my own credit cards now that I’m being paid by the government.You’ll have to wait on payment like everyone else.”Christ, he was going to puke all over the man.“I have to get out of here before someone finds me.How do I get in touch with that Becka person.”

“I don’t know, no Becka.You might want to ask my brothers.They’re better with ladies than I am.They got moves and stuff going on that I guess women like.”Grinning, the man showed just how often he’d been to the dentist, too.Never.“If I want somebody, I just stand up and yell.That gets them to me quick enough.”

He’d try anything to get out of this place.Looking around, disturbed by the cameras again, he turned his back to the one that he was closest to and yelled for Becka.When she appeared right in front of him, he was ready to blast her for leaving him in such a state, but she put her hand over his chest, and they were moving again.This time to the proper place.Or so he thought.

“This isn’t her home.I’ve been to her house numerous times.This is a palace compared to where she’s been living.Where are we now?”Becka told him that he was just where he wanted to be.In the home of MJ.

Pointing in front of her, she disappeared just as he heard from MJ.She’s been in the office, she said and hadn’t realized that he’d arrived.His first thoughts about her was that she’d changed.There was…well, there was a kind of glow about her that made him think that she’d had work done.Why she’d do something like that when he thought for certain she was the most beautiful woman in the world.Her sister, too.

“I’ve been going through my uncles’ and father’s paperwork.DJ and I have been anyway.And there are a lot of things here with your signature on them.I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t know that they’re your signature.But here you go.”He took the papers, a thick stack of them.As he went through them, he asked her if she was still looking.“Not anymore.With DJ’s help and grannies, we got everything sorted out and have some things that my father is going to have to pay for.Unpaid bills aren’t the only thing that he’s behind on.”

As he was sorting through them, he didn’t want to have his unpaid bills but thought that it would look better if he had them.Asking her for them, she told him no.Not anything else but just a simple no.

“You do remember that you work for me, don’t you?”She said that she worked for the government, not him solely.“Be that as it may, I would still like to see what else your father’s been about since he’s forged my name on documents.”

“I can give you copies of those too if you wish, but I’ve already taken care of the bills, and the other things are going to—”

“Copies?These are only copies of the paperwork that you were to give to me?”She said that she didn’t want the originals to fall into the wrong hands.“What does that mean?I’m the president.Why would you think that they’d be falling into—just give me the originals, MJ.I’ve had a very stressful day, and I don’t feel like getting into anything with you right now.”

“No, I’m keeping them.You never know when they might come in handy.”He asked her what that meant.“Just that.You know me well enough to know that I don’t mince words when I’m speaking.I’m keeping the originals and that’s final.I’ll give you copies of the rest of the paperwork should you wish it, but I’m keeping everything.Also, you might want to remember in the future that all cameras work at the police station.What is it that you and my father have going on?You don’t have to tell me.I’ll ask him.Or have my husband ask.He’s really good at getting people to tell him what he wants to know.”

“You’re not married.I would have been informed.”She asked him who would inform him of something so personal as her getting married.“MJ, you’re starting to sound a bit suspicious about our relationship.Has that father of yours said something to you?I have a right to know.”

---