The Wedding Photographer
Chapter 7

Copyright© 2018 by MysteryWriter

The state cops cut me loose at 3AM more or less. I got home at 4AM Friday morning. I I spent almost half and hour digging a grave for Earlene and I buried her immediately. I was sorry that Jodie didn’t get a chance to say goodbye. The truth is that I was glad she wasn’t with me for the internment. I admit I cried at one point. Earlene help me connect with Jodie again, at least for a little while.

It was about 6AM when I fell into bed. Since my wedding wasn’t until 6PM on Saturday evening, I slept till 1PM Friday. The very first thing I did was to make coffee when I crawled out of bed. Then I sat staring at the coffee pot for fifteen minutes. When it had finally boiled a reasonable amount of time, I poured a cup.

Then I sat back on the rear deck and stared at the corn field. I hadn’t felt up to cleaning Earlene’s blood last night, or so far that morning. It was a chore I dreaded like a case of the clap, not that I had suffer through either before.

I put it off by pouring a bowl of cereal, then I poured the last of the fresh milk over it. Finally I made two trips while I carried the bowl of cereal, the coffee cup and the half full cereal boxes onto the deck. Before I sat down, I stood by the rear rail to pour out the remaining cereal. I figured it wasn’t a waste, if I fed it to the birds.

After I ate the cereal and drank the cowboy coffee, I washed the dishes. When I couldn’t stall any longer, I filled a plastic bucket with soap, bleach, and water. Then I tossed a plastic scrub brush into the bucket. I took a very deep breath before I went into Jodie’s bedroom. I painfully got down on my knees and scrubbed the floor tiles. After I scrubbed the floor, I had to rinse it twice with a sponge mop in order to get it clean enough. I wanted to have all of Earlene’s blood gone before I used the room again.

From Jodie’s room, I moved to my own bedroom. The plan was to clean Big Mike’s blood from the tile floor in that room. I was nearly as emotional about cleaning his blood as I had been about Earlene’s blood. It felt strange that it was pleasurable to scrub away the last reminder of him. He had been responsible for all the things that happened in my house the night before. Cleaning while it was still raw might have been a mistake.

At 5PM I heard a knock on the rear door. Since I hadn’t heard a noise in the driveway, I was concerned. I went to the door with my modified machete. The tip had somehow broken off, so the man I brought it from had used his grinder to turn it into a camp knife. It ended up being a knife with a ten inch long blade shaped like a meat cleaver. I chose it simply because it was handy.

Deacon was standing on my rear deck. Since I had been up to my elbows in Earlene’s blood, I was not in a forgiving mood.

“Go the fuck away,” I said.

“Not till you hear me out. I had no idea that Trudy was so stupid. But you know as well as me, domestic shit is the worst kind of unpredictable shit.” he said with his head hanging down. “I’m really sorry about all this Les.”

“You said it, I heard it, now get the fuck off me deck,” I said. I stood there looking at him as he turned and walked over to an electric tricycle. That explained why I didn’t hear him approach.

I missed Earlene she would have known that I had company. I picked up Earlene’s toys and her blanket/ bed from the deck. I threw everything haphazardly into Jodie’s room. I closed the door on them. I knew even as closed the door on Earlene that I would have to use the room again soon, but not too soon. I needed some time to grieve.

When I was sure I had everything out of sight, I began checking my equipment. I spent less than forty five minutes making sure the batteries were all hot and the switches all worked. I also made sure I had plenty of storage devices handy for either camera. I was all ready to go.

Then I went into the kitchen to microwave a meatloaf dinner. I had a piece of cinnamon toast for desert. Then I went to work on my display programs. I worked on them, but I likely would have to scrap them and start over later. My heart just wasn’t in it. After an hour I gave up completely and went into a chat room.

The hour I spent watching the screen passed quickly. I even learned that what I did was called lurking in the shadows. I enjoyed the conversations without adding anything to them.

Before I knew it, I was falling asleep sitting in my chair. I moved the five feet to my bed and fell onto it. Next thing I knew it was morning. I made it into the bathroom and did my morning thing, then went to make coffee. While it boiled I ran quickly through the shower.

I was still in my briefs when I went in to pour the coffee through the strainer. I carried the big red mug into the bathroom. I found a spot on the back of the toilet to set it while I brushed my teeth. I brushed my hair as well.

I was dressed in black cargo shorts and a black tee shirt while I waited for the time to pass. I wasn’t planning to leave the house until at least 3:30PM. That gave me two and a half hours to scout out the location and meet the people involved before the ceremony started.

I dawdled for an hour in the downtown after I got within walking distance of the church. I didn’t go into the downtown cafe, even though I would have liked a bowl of their strawberry cobbler. I continued to walk carefully through the two blocks of the downtown. I even walked over a couple of blocks so that I passed the small town police department. It was a small department because the town only had I few square miles of jurisdiction. Even the shooting of Mike, the ex-cop, was handled by the town cops for only an hour or so. After that the Sheriff’s deputies and the state’s CID guys were called in.

They hadn’t officially declared it a righteous shoot yet, but I didn’t see how they could call it anything else. The forensic evidence supported my version completely. The only thing might be if Trudy decided to lie her ass off. I didn’t think she had it in her to do that. Still that was the only reason I hadn’t been over to kick her ass. I didn’t want to give her a reason to try to fuck me up before the case was closed.

The wedding was as routine as they ever get. As per usual some one in the bridal party showed their ass. The bride had a DJ who wasn’t very cooperative, which was not unusual. The punch had too much grapefruit juice in it, also as usual. In other words as routine as it gets. At least it started almost on time, and no one started a fight when I left after four hours.

I got home before midnight which I considered a small victory. I was in the house when I checked my phone messages. There was a message on my phone from the ADA Samantha Williams. “Mr. Martin I wondered if you would like to buy me a drink to celebrate your complete vindication in the shooting of Big Mike. Call me.”

I wondered out loud, “Now what the hell is that all about?” It was too late to call her, so I checked my online messages, then I went to bed. I couldn’t get to sleep that night either. I had Earlene and Jodie on my mind for some reason I couldn’t figure out. I didn’t want another dog, even though I missed her. I did miss the company, but mostly I missed her barking at the slightest sound. Before I drifted off to sleep, I decided a quick fix would be a solar flood light with a motion sensor. Actually I needed two of them at least. While I figure that out, I fell asleep.

When I awoke the next morning I knew exactly what I was going to do. But first I made coffee while I got the pack of brownies. I planned to have them for a breakfast treat. I was going to over eat while I used up all the food Jodie had chosen at Walmart. I chose to store away all Earlene’s food in Jodie’s bedroom. I didn’t want to keep it in sight, but I couldn’t bring myself to trash it either.

I drank coffee, then finished putting on my outside the house clothes. With all my tiny household chores done, I headed out to Walmart. I knew just what I wanted to buy. I found a flood light with two heads. Each head had twenty LED bulbs and a motion sensor. I manage to find them after only ten minutes. I made my decision on the spot, so I put two of them in the cart.

I also bought a couple of semi healthy frozen dinners, and more freeze dried Ice Tea mix. On my way out of the food department, I passed the display of ‘whole wheat’ Ritz crackers. I dropped two boxes into my cart.

Before I even left the parking lot I called Juan. I asked him if he would pick up two twelve foot treated 4x4 posts and bring them along with his post hole digger to my house the next morning. He agreed.

As I drove home, I realized I had fifty bucks in the two flood lights. I was probably going to have another fifty bucks in Juan setting them. I checked on line the cost of the posts when I got home. I figured they were going to cast me another twenty five or so. The whole project would be less than the cost as the Vet bill for Earlene had been. It was less satisfying than saving Earlene, but I expected that it would last longer than she had. Also as my dad would have said, the lights didn’t eat as much.

Juan showed up before noon with the posts on Monday. He and I agreed on a price before I gave him the go ahead. He set one of the posts in the front of the house. He set it beside the driveway half way between the road and house. I wanted any car coming into the driveway to trip the on switch.

The second post was set in the back yard, so that anyone walking around the house on that side would trip the switch. One of the lights shined on the house and one into the rear yard. The lights each had one light head pointed at the house’s windows, and one into the yards. They should alert me to potential trouble, at least at night.

I had the posts in place, if I wanted to add another sensor I could. A beeping alarm was definitely possible in the future.

After Juan left at three, I called Samantha Williams. “So you cleared me?” I asked.

“Yes we did, but I must warn you I had nothing to do with the decision. Everything is well documented,” She answered.

“Well I want to thank you for not dragging it out. So how about I buy you dinner,” I suggested.

“Fine l just move here. I live in Washington Gardens apartment right now, so anytime would be good for me,” she said. She let it out in a gush. “I’m sorry that didn’t come out right. It’s just that I’m recently divorced. I don’t really know how to connect with men yet. I’m going to shut up now.”

“You are doing fine, and I don’t date at all now. I will probably treat you like a business contact,” I said.

“Oh you plan on coming into contact with me in the line of duty again?” she asked seriously.

“I hope not, but you never know,” I said.

“That is true of everyone I meet,” she said.

“I know that,” I agreed.

“Okay, then when?” she asked not letting me off the hook.

“How about tonight. What say I pick you up at seven PM,” I suggested.

“Seven will be fine,” she said. “But I’d rather meet you at the restaurant on a first date.”

“Sounds like sound advice for both of us,” I admitted. “How about Carmella’s Ristorante, I have tried it before it’s a nice place.”

“At seven tonight than,” she said. “Casual dress okay?”

“Absolutely,” I agreed.

After I broke the connection I returned to working on my digital display program. It was proving harder than I thought. I knew that it would be worth it in the end, so I plugged away at it.

At five PM, I stopped and drove to the Walmart store. I had a kid in the automotive department find the right battery for my Hyundai in his inventory. Since my battery had been hesitating, I decided to replace it. The three year battery had lasted more than five years already. It was time to replace it and be safe. Having it die on the way to or at a wedding shoot was completely unacceptable.

I paid a hundred and a half for the battery, but it was worth it I thought. I just hoped it was the end of my hemorrhaging of cash. The kid didn’t offer to install it for me, so I was glad that I hadn’t changed clothes before I drove to the store.

When I got home, I quickly installed the battery. When I finished I had half an hour to shower, dress, and get to the restaurant. I knew that it was doable, but I had no time to dawdle. I wanted to arrive first, so that the insecure Samantha didn’t have to worry.

I made it fifteen minutes earlier than Samantha, who was also a little early. While I waited I tried to remember what she looked like. When she finally arrived I found out how wrong I had been. I could tell from the sand papery look of her skin that she was a woman close to my age. The one closest to my age I had been out with in a social setting. Hell she was one of the very few women of any age, I had seen in a sociable setting with since my accident.

I also noted while we waited that her hair was salt and pepper but not naturally. It was a mix of dark brown and soft white. Her eyebrows were a lighter brown so one set of hair was treated. I didn’t mind since it didn’t scream, I’m trying to look twenty. I imagined it was part of the lawyer code, offend the least number of people possible. I noted of course that she wasn’t in the least chubby, but it was obviously that she didn’t have any body fat where it would soften her looks. In other words she had the boobs of a long distance runner. Not that it was a complete negative, just something men tend to notice.

 
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