Chapter 2

Wheels was not a church goer, so after breakfast, he went to the machine shop he co-owned with Vern and Carl to catch up on some work. He had no sooner begun repairing a grandfather clock assembly when Brock showed up.

“Morning,” he said.

Brock returned the greeting. “I came to check on you after last night.”

Wheels smiled. “I’m not the one who wound up on the floor. I’m fine.”

“Yeah. About that. Luther’s gonna sue for damages.”

Wheels put down his tools. “You gotta be kidding me. What damages?”

Brock grimaced. “A broken ankle and wrist. He’s gonna be out of work for almost two months.”

Wheels sat back in his chair, absorbing the information. “So, he’s really serious. I didn’t know that I hurt him that bad. I just thought he’d have a headache for a couple of days.”

“Turns out it’s worse than that.”

“Damn.”

Brock nodded. “Yeah.”

Wheels scratched his jaw. “It wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t attacked Ollie. Luther could’ve seriously hurt him if Ollie wasn’t so fast. Even so, it was a pretty hard hit.”

Brock said, “I know. He hasn’t hired a lawyer yet, but I wouldn’t put it past him to get one. Even if he doesn’t, I, uh—crap. I have to arrest you.”

Wheels laughed, but Brock remained sober, his blue eyes reflecting the gravity of the situation.

Wheels’ heart beat erratically as his smile disappeared. “I can’t go to jail, Brock. For how long? I mean, I might be able to get along for a couple of days, but there are things that I need that aren’t at the jail. Why didn’t you arrest me last night?”

“Because I didn’t know that Luther had been hurt that bad and I had no idea he’d press charges. I thought that he’d be too embarrassed by being beaten at poker by a monkey and then beaten up by a guy in a wheelchair to draw more attention to himself,” Brock replied. “I don’t know how long you’ll have to stay there. I’ll get ahold of Walt for you. I’m sure he can talk Reese into being lenient and letting you come home.”

Wheels said, “Reese doesn’t work on the weekends.”

Brock grinned. “No, but he goes to church. If I can get Walt to the church by the time it’s over, we can waylay Reese there. But I have to lock you up in the meantime. Ollie can come with you.”

Wheels fell back on his sense of humor, which he used to cope with stressful situations.

“You’re not gonna handcuff me, are you? You’ll have to push me if you do, and I’ve gained a little weight lately.”

Brock chuckled. “No, I won’t handcuff you since you’ll come peacefully.”

“Thanks.”

He put on his coat and followed Brock from the building with Ollie perched on his shoulder.

Walt Gaines arrived at the jail a brief fifteen minutes after receiving Brock’s phone call. It was too bad that Ellie wasn’t working that day, but he put that out of his mind. He was there to see a client, one whom he liked very much.

Wheezer said, “I’ll bring him into the interrogation room.”

Walt gave him a smile of thanks and sat down to wait.

Soon Wheezer opened the door and Wheels rolled over to the table where Walt sat.

“Well, it looks like yer better off than the other guy,” Walt said, his hazel eyes shining and a warm smile on his lips.

Wheels returned it. “Yeah. Who knew I was so lethal?”

Walt laughed as he took out a tablet. “Not to be short, but tell me quickly what happened so I can get to church before it lets out.”

“Well, Luther lost at poker to Ollie and got mad. He jumped across the table and punched Ollie. I saw red and hit Luther. He came at me and that’s when we got in it.”

“Ah, so if Luther had let it go at the one punch, would you have?”

Wheels nodded. “Yeah. I’d have still been angry, but I wouldn’t have gone after him again.”

“And can anyone corroborate this?”

“Yeah. It was a public fight and Aaron and Brock saw the whole thing. Not to mention Sandy,” Wheels said.

“Good, good. Well, don’t worry, lad. I’ll get ya out of here. Reese will release ya and I’ll threaten to countersue if Luther decides to bring civil charges,” Walt said.

“Thanks, Walt. Let me know what I owe you,” Wheels said.

“Nothin’. I always give a free consultation to people I like. If I hafta do more than talk to Reese, then we’ll discuss it, but as of now, there’s no charge,” Walt said. “See ya soon.”

“Is this a joke?”

Reese Burton grinned as he stood with Walt, Brock, and Wheels’ parents.

Brock said, “I wish it was, but it’s real.”

Reese grew serious. “So, Wheels wiped up the floor with Luther Kingsly for punching his monkey?” He couldn’t keep a straight face as he said it. “You have to admit that it sounds funny.”

“Aye, he did,” Walt said, smiling. “Now, look, Wheels can’t stay in jail, ya know that. Besides, he was defendin’ Ollie and if Luther had let things go after Wheels punched him that one time, Wheels wouldn’t have kept fightin’. But, as it was, Luther attacked him, so he fought back.”

Reese turned to Brock. “Is that what happened? You saw the whole thing?”

Brock nodded. “Yeah. Luther came back at Wheels and things escalated from there. Wheels warned him to leave him alone. Luther should’ve listened, but he didn’t, and he paid for it.”

Reese frowned. “Why didn’t you stop it? You’re a lawman.”

“It’s hard trying to control two guys who were hell-bent on killing each other. Aaron jumped in to help, but the rest of the crowd started taking bets, so no one else would try to stop the fight. Wheels is strong as an ox when he gets riled up and—”

Walt cut in. “We’re not at a trial. Ye’ve heard what happened, Reese. Wheels has never been in trouble before and ya know how important Ollie is to him. It’s only reasonable that he’d protect him. How about lettin’ Wheels out? I doubt Luther will follow through on pursuin’ litigation.”

Reese said, “Wheels can’t get off scott-free.”

Susan stepped closer. “Mr. Burton, you can’t keep him in jail. He can’t be taken care of properly there and those cells are so small. It’s hard for him to turn his chair around in such tight quarters.”

Vern chimed in and Reese held up a hand to quiet them. “Okay, okay. I agree that being in jail would be too much of a hardship for Wheels, but he did injure Luther quite badly. I’ll recommend to Judge Fairbanks that Wheels be given a three hundred dollar fine, thirty days of house arrest, and that he can’t go to the Chowhound for two months.”

Walt said, “Three hundred dollars when it wasn’t his fault the fight started in the first place? And the rest of it, too? That’s unacceptable.”

Reese’s bushy gray eyebrows drew together. “Don’t push me, Walt. You got me right after church and I haven’t eaten dinner yet.” He patted his sizable girth. “I get cranky when I’m hungry. I don’t have to make any recommendations at all and if you argue with me, I won’t.”

The look in Reese’s dark eyes told Walt that he meant it. “Fine. Can he go home today?”

Brock said, “We’re not really set up at the jail for someone like Wheels.”

Reese sighed. “Okay, but if Fairbanks doesn’t go for the deal, he’ll have to go back to jail. Make sure Wheels understands that he can’t leave home.”

Susan said, “Don’t worry, Mr. Burton, I’ll make sure he understands.”

Reese nodded. “Very good. I’ll let you know what Fairbanks says tomorrow. Good day to you all.”

Susan drew herself up and marched off with angry strides.

“Susan! Where are you going? The buggy is this way!” Vern hollered after her.

“I’m going to give my son a piece of my mind!”

Wheels had never been so glad to get home and away from his mother. He loved her dearly, but when she got on a tear, it was hell being around her. She’d given him a blistering lecture about fighting at the bar and then had cried and hugged him. Then she’d scolded him again.

Letting out a sigh, he rolled his shoulders, trying to loosen the kinks in his tight muscles. He could use a massage and something else that would loosen him up, too. Smiling, he rolled over to the stand on which his candlestick phone sat. Picking up the handset, he called over to the Chowhound.

“Chowhound, what do you want?” Sandy asked.

Wheels laughed. “Hi, Sandy. You know, it’s a good thing you’re not a doctor. Your bedside manner stinks.”

“My bedside manner is just fine. Ask Jim. He’ll tell you. What can I do you out of, Wheels? They let you out of the clink, huh?”

“Boy, word travels fast,” Wheels said. “Can you get Wendy for me, please?”

“Sure thing, honey. Hold on.”

Wheels played with Ollie while he waited, but it wasn’t long before Wendy Baker came on the line. “Well, hello, handsome.”

“Hello, sweetheart. How about making a house call tonight? I’m not allowed to come to the Chowhound for two months because of my bad behavior last night.”

“That’s terrible! Of course, I’ll come see you,” she said. “Is eleven all right?”

“Absolutely,” Wheels said. “See you then.”

“Bye, honey.”

Wheels hung up, smiling with anticipation. Wendy was the only one of Sandy’s girls whom he ever slept with. This was because she was experienced in dealing with a man like him and she never got upset if things didn’t go right. His sensation wasn’t quite the same as it had been before his accident which made his sexual abilities unpredictable.

Sometimes he had to work harder than others to make something happen and other times nothing happened at all. The first time, things had fizzled after he’d attempted intimacy, he’d been devastated. Wendy had been the woman he’d been with, and she’d comforted him when he hadn’t been able to control his emotions.

He’d seen her exclusively ever since then because she had incredible patience and she made it fun no matter what happened. She knew what excited him and what was most likely to work for him. He’d never dared to see one of the other girls for fear of embarrassment.

Looking over in the corner of the parlor by the fireplace, Wheels contemplated donning the special contraption that he and Vern had created that supported him well enough so that he could stand and shuffle along a little. However, after Ollie’s bad night, he was loath to frighten him again. Ollie hated the braces and always hid whenever Wheels had them on.