Page 1 of Justice for Samara

CHAPTER 1

The phone rang again.And then again. She’d called at least eight times in thirty minutes, and he just couldn’t take it anymore. He’d decided he should probably call her and was looking for a place to put his trowel when the phone rang once more, so he just dropped the trowel on top of the bucket of drywall compound and grabbed the phone. “Yes, Mom, what do you want?”

“Mikey! Is that any way to talk to your mother?”

“I didn’t mean to sound cross, Mom.”

“Oh, it’s okay. I’ve got dinner ready, honey. Are you coming home pretty soon?”

“Mom, I’m trying to get some work done. I…” In his mind, he could see her face and how disappointed she’d be if he didn’t show up. “Okay, look, let me finish these last few passes and I’ll be home.”

“Okie-dokie, son. I’ll see you in just a little bit. Bye-bye.”

“Bye, Mom.”God, she just won’t stop, he thought as he leaned into the wall, intending to pound his head on the surface. And he forgot there was fresh wallboard compound on it. “Shit,” he muttered as he wiped at it with his hand, just spreading it even more.

“Hey! Lookin’ good!” a voice called from somewhere behind him, and he spun to find the source.

“Oh, hey. Um…”

“What the hell happened to you?” SheriffMelton asked, laughing. CarterMelton wasn’t just the sheriff; he was Michael’s boss and friend.

“I just got off the phone with my mom…”

“Say no more. I know what you’re gonna say. You know WildaFern drives me crazy. I swear, that woman can see what I’m doing from miles away and calls me at the absolute worst times. Yesterday, the washing machine was bumping and walking across the laundry room floor, water was leaking out from under the kitchen sink, and I was up to my elbows in poop, trying to change Angel’s diaper, when she called. And when I tried to tell her how busy I was, she just forged ahead.”

“Yeah. Same here.”

The sheriff spun around, looking at everything. “I’ve gotta say, Edwards, this is looking nice. What else have you gotten done?”

“You can walk through and look if you want. The bedrooms are done, and the front bathroom. I’ve got the master bath to do, and the dining room needs some repairs. I’ll be glad when I can paint everything. But I think this is coming together pretty well.” He’d knocked out the wall between the kitchen and living room, installed some decorative columns to take some of the weight, and turned it into an open floor plan. It made the whole house feel roomier. Sure, it was just a sixties kit house, but it had two nice-sized bedrooms with large closets and a surprisingly large laundry room and pantry. As soon as the wallboard was done, the doors were hung, and everything was painted, he could put down the flooring and he’d be in business.

“Hey, one of the guys told me that you do this kind of work on the side. Think I could hire you to do some stuff around my place? I’m not the handiest guy around.”

“Sure. I don’t know why not. What have you got in mind?”

“Not a lot. Maybe some shelving in my home office, a new toilet, just some things like that.”

“Then I’m your guy. Be glad to. And don’t worry. I’m not going to charge you anything. I’ll do it for…”

“Oh, no, you absolutely will not,” Carter said, his voice stern. “I’ll pay you like I’d pay anybody else. And while I’m here, there’s something I need to talk to you about.” Then Carter snorted. “I’ll make it quick so you don’t get in more trouble with Marjorie.” Carter knew Michael’s mother. He knew what she was like. “Lewis is leaving.”

“What?” That was the first Michael had heard of it.

“Yeah. Met somebody and he’s moving. To LittleRock.”

“Little Rock? Of all places… Must be serious.”

“Oh, it is. They’re getting married.”

“How did I not know about this?” Michael asked, finally putting voice to that question.

“Nobody did. Apparently they’ve been doing the long-distance thing on his days off, and they just decided to go for it.”

Michael couldn’t believe his ears. The chief deputy was leaving? “What’s her name?”

“Hisname is MiguelSantiago.”

“Well, damn. I had no idea…”

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