Page 4 of Booth

After talking to his parents, they talked to his brothers too.Cullen said that he was looking at houses in the morning with Bonnie, and Falkner was looking now.They both wanted what they had.A big house that they could have some fun with.Cullen wanted to be able to hide from his mate once in a while, and of course, his married brothers told him he’d not want them at all when he found her.But he could see Cullen wanting time to himself.He’d been a loner all his life, and now wouldn’t be any different.

“I have a job.Working security for a firm outside of Columbus.I don’t have to go there, but one day a week, they’ll set up the times that I’ll go to the houses that need security.Dad said they’d been doing security for about fifty years and are ranked number one in the country.”He asked him if he thought that he’d be any good at that.“I’ve been on security detail all my service career, and I don’t think this is going to be much of a change for me.I’m actually looking forward to it.”

“Then I say go for it.”They talked a bit more, and when Dee’s lunch was brought in, they brought him one as well.The staff here had been stellar, and he was going to write up a review about them as soon as Dee was home.Which, according to her, wasn’t going to be all that much longer either.“Do you have to travel here to have your PT done once you’re home?”

“No, they’ll be sending someone to the house three days a week for me.I’m all for that.Once I’m home, the less I have to travel.I just want to go home and stay there with you.When are you going to start moving furniture in?”

“The little bit that we have will start in the morning.I’m going to have a crew come and pick up things from the storage locker and then set them up in the house.I’m going to have to make arrangements to have the mattresses sent to the house now instead of the apartment, but that won’t be too bad.The sooner we can get things organized, the better it will be for us moving in.Mr.Millner said that the things in the barn were for the yard.I didn’t have time to go out and see what was out there, but I’m sure that if it’s not anything we want, then we won’t have to keep it.”

There was little that they didn’t talk about with the house and the move.It was going to take some organizing to get it all put where they wanted with Dee not there for another few days, but he figured that with the help of his brothers, he’d be able to get it all put in the right place if it was in the wrong room when she got there.

Booth made himself leave at nine o’clock.He was feeling really good and didn’t want to get back in the same place he’d been before.Too exhausted to move for twenty-four hours.On the way home, he thought of the house and nothing much more than that.Tomorrow, he’d go over there and have another look around so he’d know what he needed to get finished up on it.The first thing he thought he wanted to do was go into the barn and see what was in there.He’d not even realized that they had one, much less knowing what was in it.

Going to bed at ten, he felt like he was punishing himself for being so tired.But almost as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out.This was a good sleep, he thought, and not one where he didn’t move at all.At least this way, he’d not be sore when he got up and would be able to start his day out without being too creaky.In just a few days, he’d be in his own home with his soon-to-be wife, and he was about as excited about that as he’d been about anything in his life.

~*~

Arnold didn’t like being trapped in the jail cell.He’d been in here for the last few months, and he was frankly sick to death of his own company.After the first three days his family stopped coming to see him and he was both glad for that and pissed off.He’d told them not to come as he was going to be out in a few days, and they just decided that since he wasn’t home, they didn’t have to worry about him anymore.Damned family.He only wanted them around when he was out and about.He didn’t callthem either, he didn’t want them to know that he missed them.And that was a surefire way for them to get on his last nerve.Then there was that Townhouse woman.

Why she was able to be out on his roads was beyond him.He’d told her in the car, yelling at her every time she came to a stop, that he was Arnold Fullner and that she was to pull over so that he could get around her.He knew now that pushing her into the traffic had been a bad move on his part, but blaming him for the six deaths wasn’t going to settle right with him.No, siree, that wasn’t his fault that there had been an accident when he’d told her no less than a dozen times to get out of his way.His attorney told him he was going to be liable for her hospital bill and treatment, too.

“We’ll just see about that.”He read the missive from the president, too.It said that he was going to resign from his senate seat, and there wasn’t going to be any fuss from him about it.Another thing he was going to see about, too.Just because he’d had a fender bender did not mean that he should give up his job for the state of Michigan.They all loved him there.“Well, not according to Mr.President, they don’t.”

They were calling for him to resign.Not just resign when the trial was over but right fucking now.He didn’t understand why they were in such a hurry to get him out of office, he’d been good to them since he’d been senator and didn’t think that this one thing should put him out.Well, not one but four things.

He was driving under the influence.He had coke in his system.There was the damage done to his truck that wasn’t going to be fixed by the insurance company, as they had dropped him right away after the first accident he’d had this year.Driving on the roads without insurance was a big no-no, and he’d been doing it for nearly a year when he’d had this little accident.He was also down for six homicides.Those weren’t his fault.If that dumbass Townsend hadn’t been driving the right speed that he’d yelled at her to be driving none of this would be an issue.If she’d just pulled over, he could have gotten around her, and none of this would be any trouble for either of them.The last time he’d heard from his attorney, three weeks ago now, she’d been paralyzed, and he was going to have to take care that she had professional help for the rest of her life.Damn-damn-damn.

“I do not need this kind of shit going on when I’m up for election again.They’ll have to vote me in as none of this shit is my fault.None of it.”He didn’t even wonder if anything had been his fault.He knew better.Once they were saying that he was being sued, he got his attorney to sue right back.That usually had someone stopping in their tracks, but not this woman.She was a greedy bitch that needed to be taken down a few notches.“What does she think is going to happen when this goes to trial?Nothing, that’s what.She’ll get her skinny ass reamed if I have anything to do about it.And she will not win the case because she’s all crippled up either.I won’t allow it.”

Arnold thought about the last accident that he’d had.It was a hit and run, and he thought for sure that he’d gotten away with it.But someone had cameras on their house that not just recorded him driving into the car on the side of the road, but they’d been able to capture not just his face when he was in the truck, but they had a clear shot of his license plate as well.That was another thing that he was pissed off about.Why did every Tom, Dick and Harry have cameras all around their homes anymore.It was as if no one trusted anyone nowadays.He had cameras too but his was to catch someone that toilet papered his trees out front—turned out to be his own damned kids doing it—and any other vandalizing that had been happening to him a great deal of late, like monthly.

“You have a visitor.Before you ask, it’s your attorney.And he doesn’t look all that thrilled to be here.”He didn’t speak to the officer who had come back to talk to him.It was beneath him to have anything to do with underlings like this man unless there was a news camera around.Then he’d be just what the camera needed him to be.A good man with his hand out to shake and to perhaps get a few bucks from for his campaign fund.His plan was to be president someday, and he was going to get there within four years or else.He didn’t know what the or else would be, but he was needing the president now to back him up on things that were going on, not telling him to resign like he’d done anything wrong.“Get back against the wall.”

He did what he was told while in the system.They weren’t going to be talking about him to everynews reporter in the world.It was bad enough that he was in here at all, much less being gossip fodder.He got back against the wall, got his chains on his wrists and ankles, and walked like the duck that he felt like when he was told.

“It’s about fucking time you got here.Where have you been?”His attorney, whose name he didn’t remember, said he’d been fielding questions about the nine hit-and-run incidents he’d been in.“What do those other ones have to do with this trial?Nothing.You tell them to stay out of my business or else I’ll call up some heavy hitters and that’ll get their asses.”

“The president is calling them in.Every time he finds one, he notifies me as well as the attorney for Ms.Townsend.It looks like he’s out to get you.”Arnold said they were best friends.“I don’t think so.The last time I got a call from his office, he told me that you’d be better off pleading guilty to the homicides with this accident, or he’s going to be bringing them all in.You understand that he’s the one who is pushing for you to go to prison, don’t you?”

“I’m not going to prison for a fender bender.”His attorney asked him if he’d read all the charges against him.“Yes, yes, I have.No biggy.I want you to make sure that somehow they’re not going to bring up the deaths.There isn’t any reason for them to be muddying up the trial with those things.Just throw some money at the other attorney, and that’ll have him in our pocket.”

“You can’t throw enough money at this man.It’s Sherman Dixon.”He didn’t know who that was.“You should know him.When you asked him to back you for the senate race, he not only turned you down but also gave money to your opponent.He said that he’d rather back a losing horse than a jackass like you.I think he might have said that to your face.”

“I remember him now.He’s an idiot.What do you know about this woman who is supposed to be suing me?What is her beef with me and this accident?”He named off all the things that he’d read about in the filing against him.How she was going to need extensive care after she got out of the hospital.Not to mention the fact that she couldn’t do her job anymore because of the damage to her back.”

“What does she do?Flip burgers for a living?It would be just like her not to be able to flip burgers and blame that on me.Stupid bitch.Try throwing money at her again, see where that gets us.She’s been out of work for so long now, I’m betting that she’ll take whatever we give her.”Arnold laughed.“I bet by now she’s gotten her car repossessed as well as her apartment complex coming down on her for non-payment of rent.”

“I’m going to be honest with you, Mr.Fullner.Her insurance is paying off her car, which was totaled when you shoved it into the traffic that night.When are you going to listen to me and understand that this isn’t going to be swept under the rug?You’re going to be facing some serious prison time with this one.Dixon isn’t going to be giving up, and she won’t either.There isn’t an amount that she’ll take so that you can skip your happy ass away from this.”Slamming his fist against the table, he told the younger man that he wasn’t going to go to prison.“Yeah?Well, you keep telling yourself that.You’d be better off pleading guilty to all of it and hoping you can at least get parole out of this.As it stands right now, you could very well get back-to-back life sentences for your part in the death of fourteen people if the judge allows them to bring your other cases against you that are pending.You being a senator again is nothing compared to the prison sentences you get.”

“Damn it if you let this happen I’m going to be suing you.You just do your job by keeping me out of prison, and I’ll allow you to live for another trial.You little shit, I’m not going to prison.I’ve said this to you at least a hundred times in the last few months.I’m not going and if you mention it again I’m going to own your ass and that’s not even counting the shit that you think I’m going to be owning you.”He just sat there, his eyes brimming with hatred.“Now, tell me why my wife isn’t coming in to see me.I know for a fact that she’s got it on easy street with living in the big house in DC.”

He handed him a thick file, and he read it over.She was divorcing him.While he was down the cunt was going to leave him high and dry.Without her support, he’d look guilty and asked the young man if she knew that.

“I don’t believe she cares anymore.She’s been asked to leave the DC home and can’t go back to Michigan either.The town that you lived in no longer wants any of you around.”He was handedanother file.“The kids have been asked to leave the private school as well.There is no tuition being paid, and they won’t accept another excuse as to why it’s not being paid.”

“Do you have any good news?”He told him what he knew about Ms.Townsend.“Well, see, things are looking better already.Tell my wife she isn’t going to leave me, she owes me.The kids will have to be homeschooled, I’m guessing, until I can get out and figure out why I’m not being paid.I don’t suppose you know why I’m not being paid, do you?”

“Yes, but you won’t like it any better than your wife leaving you.She has, by the way.The divorce has been handled by her attorney, and you only have to sign the paperwork, and it’s a done deal.It is even if you don’t.The judge is going to fast-track it for her so that she doesn’t have to be attached to you.”He was handed yet another file.“This states that the state governments aren’t paying you because they want you to step down.They refuse to have you paid while you’re in jail.It’s legal, and everything is signed.If you manage to get out of this, then you’ll only get the money you’re owed after you’re released.There will be no backpay for you being in jail.”

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