Chapter 3

Since I was alive, it seemed like a great idea to have some fun, get some rest, and enjoy kicking back and thinking about nothing. The twists and turns in my life had been physically brutal and emotionally exhausting. I needed down time, and the house and Fornier's toys were just what the doctor ordered.

After lunch, we dismissed the driver, moved our things into the master bedroom, moved most of Fornier's things out, and began to systematically remove all traces of him from the residence.

Margarita was summoned, and I questioned her. I started with the easy questions. "Do you have a husband and children, Margarita?"

"No. I live here alone, in the very back room."

She seemed afraid to talk to me, and I needed her to relax and accept that we weren't the enemy.

"Please relax. No one is going to hurt you, Margarita. This is my house now, and this is my very special friend. We're going to live here. You have nothing to fear from us."

Then on a hunch, I said, "Did Mr. Fornier hurt you?"

Her eyes grew haunted, and I knew we'd struck a nerve. "It's Ok, Margarita. That evil man is in jail for the rest of his life, along with several of his friends. Did they hurt you?"

She squirmed and evaded the question for a little while, then sighed and said, "Mr. Fornier, he liked to make me bare – you know – without my clothes, and have his friends make fun of me. They didn't like girls. They did man things to each other, all the time, even in front of me. Then they liked to make me clean them up ... even their dirty parts, after they ... did their man things.

"I had nowhere to go and was stuck here all the time, while he and his boys played together and did things that were disgusting..."

She was way too nervous for us to keep pushing her, so I told her we would be very pleased if she stayed with us, and that she would get a big raise in pay, along with a car to drive, and a checking account to use to keep the kitchen stocked and the service workers paid. She loved hearing that little bit of news.

Catherine took her to look over her living situation and came back furious. "That bastard had her sleeping on a roll away! She has nothing of her own. I'm taking her shopping, right now and buying her everything a woman needs. We'll be back later."

I handed her a black Amex card and a debit card, so she wasn't spending anyone's money but mine, and they took off in the Mercedes. Catherine was still mad, but Margarita looked pleased as punch. The Judge called while Catherine and Margarita were shopping. They had to stop at a furniture store to buy a quality bed and bedroom set for Margarita's room, which meant they would be gone awhile. When you counted the time it would take to get her a new wardrobe, I might not see them until the weekend.

"Hello Judge," I said happily.

"I hear you got moved in," he said quietly. "Are you up to answering a couple of nagging questions?"

"Of course I am, Judge. Fire away."

He fired all right.

"When you delivered snacks to the President in his office, are you certain Renee Carson was the delivery person?"

"Yes, Sir. It was her."

"I have had a chance to brief the President, and he specially remembers President Gray getting suddenly wrought up and demanding that the Secret Service rush the Vice President into their special bunker. Everything was very confused. The President was preparing to address Congress, and then everyone was running everywhere, getting the Vice President to safety, at the order of the President, who was dead twenty minutes later.

"It was very distressing, but brings me back to you. You SAW Renee Carson delivering snacks to the President, in his suite?"

Yes Sir," I said confidently.

"Then it is all starting to make sense. The Speaker really was trying to hijack the entire government, and there have to be a lot more conspirators than those we already know about. Kevin, I doubt you are entirely safe. I will speak with your protection team right after we hang up, but you need to be on the ball all the time."

He was finished but I had a question, or two. "Judge, can you refer me to a Florida law firm that can help me get the house, boat, and cars transferred into my name, along with some other things people need a local lawyer to handle."

He thought it over and said that one of his people would call me before the end of the day with the information, but not to hire anyone without them checking out their background. "We did vet your housekeeper, Margarita Hernandez, and she is clean as a whistle. How Fornier got so lucky as to hire her, I have no idea, but rest assured, she checks out with us."

I thanked him, and we said goodbye, leaving me to wonder about my safety.

A little later my phone rang, and I saw it was Colleen. "Hey, Baby," I said happy to hear from her.

"When Daddy found out you'd been shot again, he nearly tore the Judge's head off. The three of us flew up to see you, but you were unconscious, and you never knew we were there. The doctor told Daddy that you would probably never wake up, but we've been through this before, haven't we?"

She sounded ... something. Maybe tired, or tired of dealing with my never-ending drama. I couldn't blame her, and felt almost ashamed of being the one responsible for bringing so much heartache into their lives.