Chapter 24

The knock on the door was unexpected. Stacey Carter answered it.

“Aunt Delia!” she said, surprised to see the older woman.

“Hello, Stacey, may I come in?” said Aunt Delia.

“Of course, of course,” said Stacey. The younger woman led her aunt toward the informal dinette near the kitchen. The two women settled into two chairs at the table.

Stacey suddenly looked stricken. “Oh my gosh,” she said, “where are my manners! Aunt Delia would you like something, coffee, tea?”

“Coffee if you have it made,” she said. “It’s the one addiction I still can plead guilty to.” Stacey smiled, and headed into the kitchen. She put together a new pot of coffee and came back to sit across from the older woman while it brewed.

“So anyway, what brings you here today? How are you doing? I mean...” said Stacey.

“I’m better. I take my meds regularly and follow doctor’s orders and I’m doing better,” said Aunt Delia.

“That’s good to hear, Aunt Delia,” said Stacey

“Stacey, as you know, early on I went up to see David in that awful place,” said Aunt Delia. The other woman nodded.

“Yes, I remember,” said Stacey

“Yes, well, as you also know I haven’t been able to get up there since because of my health: I can’t drive; it’s too far,” she said.

“Yes, I understand,” said Stacey.

“But, Winnie has gotten up there, this past week actually,” said Aunt Delia.

“Winnie?” said Stacey.

“Winifred Clark, the lawyer that handled David’s part in your divorce, and helped out Mr. Ferguson some in his criminal trial too,” said Aunt Delia. “She and I have been in contact for some time.”

“Oh yes, I remember her,” said Stacey.

“The news isn’t good,” said Aunt Delia.

“Huh? What news?” said Stacey.

“David’s in a bad way, Stacey, a very bad way. Winnie, Miss Clark, has seen fit to confide in me things that David told her not to reveal. But, being the good person that she is, she took it upon herself to speak to me, as she told me, in David’s best interests.”

“Aunt Delia, what’s happened to him?”

“He’s in the prison infirmary. He was gang raped. He lost so much blood that he was actually in danger of dying. The good news is that he has survived, but it was a close thing and the prison establishment is trying to minimize it, the crime that is,” she said.

“What!” said Stacey.

“Yes, evidently two guards stood around laughing while he was being raped by several men, inmates. The two guards were allowed to quit to avoid prosecution for what amounted to their complicity in the crime.

“David initially needed reconstructive surgery, to, well, his rectum; that in addition to treatment for other serious injuries. Best guess? He’ll be in the infirmary for another month according to Winnie,” said Aunt Delia.

“Aunt Delia, all of that is just awful. I feel for David. I really do. But, what can I do or Ronald?” said Stacey.

“Winnie is going to try to get him an early release date. She’s not sure if she can be successful, but she is going to try. She might ask you and Ronald if you could at least guarantee that he’d have a job if she is able to in fact get him an early parole,” said Aunt Delia.

“Aunt Delia, I’m sure we could work out something for him in that regard. But—David... ?”

“Yes, yes, I know. He’s been bitter and angry about everything that has happened to him and all. But, I think he’s mellowed some over these past several years, and maybe the carrot of an early parole contingent on him being able to find a job would see him willing to work for Ronald’s business in some capacity, almost any capacity is what I think,” she said.

Stacey nodded. “Well, if that’s so, let his lawyer, Miss Clark, know that we will see to it he is gainfully employed,” said Stacey.

“Good, good, that is very good to hear. I know you and he and Ronald, well, things haven’t been so good. But, maybe this, situation, might get things back to something resembling normal,” she said. Stacey nodded.

“I hope so,” she said.

She looked over at her husband who’d taken on a pensive look. “Well,” said Stacey.

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Ronald. “We’ll make the offer. But, the question then remains, will he accept it?”

“Aunt Delia seems to think that he will. I can’t imagine that he hates us so much that he’d turn down a chance for early release from prison,” she said.

“Maybe,” he said. “Anyway, we’ll make the offer. Actually, I’m going to ask you to do that, I mean if he gets out. He hates me, you, he only misses and wants.”

“Hah, if only that were true. I think he hates me too if not as much as he hates you,” she said.

“How soon do you think he might get out, I mean if he does,” he said.

“Don’t know. Aunt Delia didn’t say, but I don’t think she knew anyway. The lawyer is working on it, but how soon she’ll make the formal request or whatever? I don’t know about that either,” she said.

“You know there’s one other thing that might cause problems,” he said.

“Jenna?” she said.

“Yes, how do you think that she’s going to react to him being out? I mean she saw him kill three men right before her eyes?” he said.

“He did it, at least ostensibly, to save her,” she said.

“Yes, ostensibly, but I don’t think that that was the case. I think he did it to get some relief from all of his pent up anger. Anger directed toward us. Those guys, druggies and bad guys that they were notwithstanding, were just in a very bad place at a very bad time. He murdered them, Stacey. My brother, and yes he is still that to me, is a killer, a murderer. I don’t think he’d do anything like that again, but who knows really,” he said.

She suddenly turned pale. “I mean you think...” she started.