Page 19 of Conri

She would go and tell her and make sure that she was locked up well, but that would be the last time for a while.When her mother passed, she would go there again to tell her.It was important to her to make sure that she wasn’t out of the loop, though she wasn’t a good person.She did deserve to know when her parents were gone.And when the time came for Cynthia to take her last breath, she’d be notified, and that would be the end of her visits to the asylum.

“Your father had made sure that his wishes were known before the will was to be read.Sometimes, people forget that if they make arrangements in their will, the service will be delayed, or things might not be known until the reading of the will.But your father had everything arranged.”Calling the funeral director had been her job, and she didn’t feel the kind of grief that she thought she should.“He was a good man and well-loved by the townspeople.”

“I know that.He was a great father, too.I’m going to miss him.”The man, if he’d given her his name she, didn’t remember it.“I’ll be down with his suit in a couple of hours.The house is full right now.Is about noon all right with you?”

“I have everything that I need.He dropped off his suit the other day when he was in town.I have that and the other things that he wished to have with him when he passed.Some pictures and a good book he said that he’d not had a chance to read yet.”She laughed, and it made her feel good.“Your father was a character too.”

“Yes, I can see him doing that.Having time while waiting on my mom, I’m betting that he said about it.”She was told that was exactly what he said.He’d have plenty of time to read the books that he’d not been able to.

“He told me that he hoped that heaven had a good library.That would be something that he missed, too.”After getting off the phone with the man, she sat with her mom on the couch in their living room.She told her what dad had said about a good book going to be what kept him from being bored.And just like she hoped, her mom laughed and hard.Howie said he had one for him that he was going to slip into the casket as well.As well as a few pictures that he could take with him.

“I hope he gets to see Howard and Margaret too.”Howie hugged her when she stood up.“You’re the best sister in the world.I’m going to be looking forward to spending the rest of eternity with you by my side, little sister.”

She was going to look forward to spending some time with him and Mom too, while she had her here.Knowing that everything had been taken care of by her dad surely did make her feel like he was getting whatever he wanted.Christ, she was going to miss her daddy.

Chapter 9

Conri decided to go with Cass to see her sister.It wasn’t going to be easy on her, but he’d be there for her in the event it got out of hand.And if she got out of hand, he’d shift and kill her.No bones about it.He was about as finished with the other woman as he had been with his dad towards the end of his life.

The funeral had been lovely.There had been so many people showing up at the first showing that they’d had to add an additional day of viewing to accommodate the people that came by.Then, the reception at their home was larger than he could have imagined.Everyone coming, however, only had great things to say about the older man.Stories about how he’d been there when he was needed.How he’d been known to go to the school and help hand out books when needed and was a part of the mentorship at the high school.There were many stories like that one that cheered Elizabeth up when she heard them.

Then, there had been the reading of the will.He knew that Howard was going to leave him something he’d just not known what it was.But to leave him the insurance checks to rebuild the house and the ranch was something he was sure that he should have left to his son.He was to use it as pack land, and there were no restrictions on the land either.It was for him to use or not the way he wanted.And he wanted to make it the best pack land there was around.

But Howie said it was nothing that he wanted there.That his sister had tainted not just the ranch but the land that went with it.Conri’d not known that Howie’s wife had been killed on the ranch when she lost their child.Now, here he was, the owner of a large estate with money to spend on it to bring it up to par.He didn’t know if he should be grateful or pissed off at the man when he thought about it.

Now, here he was, driving to the asylum to see his daughter and tell her that her dad was dead and that he’d left her nothing in the will but for her to be buried at the place where she was hopefully going to spend the rest of her days at.He hoped so as well.He didn’t want to have to kill her, and it would come to that if she were to get out again.And he’d have no regrets about it, either.

“Are you going in with me?”He told Cass that he was planning on it.“I heard from the doctor, and he said that Cynthia is in a state of limbo all the time.I’m not sure what that means, but I’m willing to bet that she’s not going to be able to have much in the way to say to us.I’m thinking that they’re keeping her doped up all the time to keep her out of trouble.Are you going in with me?”

She’d been asking him that same question several times over the last few hours, and each time, he told her that he was.He didn’t know if she was reassuring herself or what, but he wasn’t going to leave her alone when she seemed to be in this sort of state of unknowing.He’d do it himself if he thought it would make her feel better.

The building was imposing looking.There was nothing but a small sign in the front of the building to tell what it was and how long it had been there.He had an idea that people in town drove by this place several times a week and never thought of what could be behind the doors nor the kind of people that might be in some of the rooms.He knew that he’d have a hard time just thinking of it as anything but a home for people who needed extra care and help.And sometimes guards that would keep others safe that were within the doors.

“We’re here to see Cynthia Smith.”Conri had forgotten about that, too.That Cindy went by an anonymous name here so no one could track her down.Why they’d want to do that was beyond him, but then he didn’t have to deal with this sort of thing all that often, so he’d know the ins and outs of a stay in one of these places.Once it was established which Cynthia Smith they were seeing, they were given badges and a long list of rules that they had to follow for their safety.

They couldn’t touch the patient.He thought that was a good rule.Nor were they to agitate her in any way.Cindy was forever agitated, so he didn’t know how that was supposed to work.There wereother things, too.No outside food or drinks.No clothing that hadn’t been approved by the doctor.They couldn’t leave flowers or other things in the room either.Nothing sweet nor sugary was to be given to the patient.Don’t unstrap the patient.Don’t sit close to the patient any closer than four feet.

Some of the rules he thought were saying the same thing.But he wasn’t going to do any of the things on the list, so it didn’t bother him in the least bit to know that he wasn’t going to give her any candy or fruits.When they were taken to her room, a guard would be with them for their safety.They went into a large room that looked like any other bedroom he’d ever been in.With the exception of the long cot in the middle of the room with a small figure in it chained to the bed.

He’d never realized how small Cindy was until then.She always seemed larger than life because of the way she acted all the time.She had on a gown that looked like all the other gowns in the place, but hers was stained and dirty.He thought that they should have cleaned her up after her breakfast, but he didn’t know how that worked, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Cynthia, you have visitors.”The guard gave a little shake to the figure in the bed.When she stirred and looked up at them, he got a look at Cindy’s face.Christ, she’d aged twenty years in the few weeks she’d been here.“Come on, Cynthia, you have some people here that want to see you.Come on now, get up.”

She was sat up in the bed, but it did nothing to improve her looks.Her hair looked like a rat’s nest had taken up residence.Her nails, while short, were filthy and brown.He looked at the guard when he said he’d be outside and realized that he was loving the way they were shocked about how she looked.

“Get her cleaned up.Christ man, when was the last time someone combed her hair.”He told him that they didn’t have time for pampering.“It’s just human decency to clean her up after she’s eaten.And when was the last time she had a shower?”

“Like I said, we don’t have time for pampering people like her.”He asked him what that meant.“Killers.She’ll get one when someone has time.”

Against his better judgment, he grabbed the man by his shirt and tossed him against the wall.When it looked as if he was going to hit him, Conri let go a little of his wolf and told him to get her doctor.He didn’t think that he was going to do it until the nurse came into the room to give Cindy meds.It looked to him that she’d already had a great deal of meds in her, but again, he didn’t know what was going on with her.

It took them two hours to get the room cleaned up—there had been dirty linens in the corner that looked to them as if they’d been there for several days.Then, while she was given a shower—a very much needed one, as it turned out, her bed was changed, and clean sheets were put on it.When she came back from the bathroom, she looked like she had when she’d been free, only with a great deal of weight loss.

“You’re not feeding her well, are you?”The doctor told Cass that her sister wasn’t cooperating with them and made a mess.“Tough shit.You’ll start feeding her better, or I’ll have the board in here so quickly that you’ll not know what hit you.How do you think someone is going to like knowing that their loved ones are being treated like this?”

“They don’t care so long as they’re not with them.”He was sort of sad to think that might be true.“If you make a fuss about stuff, it’s only going to make it harder on her when you leave.This is a state-funded facility, and we don’t have the money nor the resources to help everyone that comes through those doors.”

“You’ll do your job, or you’ll be out of one.”Cass was on a roll, and he pitied the people who didn’t hop to it when she wanted answers.By the time they were ready to talk to Cindy, she’d had her nails cleaned up, her hair brushed, and her room cleaned up.It certainly smelled better once they got the other linens out of the corner.They were even given chairs to sit in when they were ready to talk to her.“Cynthia, I’ve come to talk to you.”

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