'You're wrong, Jim. Kawalski tried to blackmail me into bed by threatening my job. That's why I was in the case against the school. They fired me because I didn't quietly leave. I'm the one who went after them. And Billy Jones was crazy. We'll never know why he was trying to kill me.'
'But I have nothing. Thomas told me that even if I win in court, I'll probably never teach again and probably never get any money. I'm nearly forty. The only thing I know how to do is teach and they will never let me do that again. I'm broke. I owe hundreds of dollars in child support. Every month I owe hundreds more. Soon the court will issue a warrant for my arrest. My ex-wife didn't believe me when I told her I have no money. My life is ruined. Everything I've touched in the last few years is gone. I'm just praying that I don't bankrupt my parents. They loaned me the money for my trailer.'
Lori just held his hand. Jim refused to look at her, but from the corner of his eye he could see the curve of her face framed by her cascading hair. Jim heard the backdoor open. His coffee was cold. How could his parent's sauna be completed? It couldn't have already been an hour. Could it? He looked at Lori and lost all resolve. Behind her glasses, she scrunched her face and smiled.
'Jim, I threw in a couple of sticks of wood before we got dressed. The sauna should be just right,' his father said, slapping Jim's back.
Barely able to talk, Jim cleared his throat, 'Thanks Dad.' Jim stumbled out the door. Lori followed. He wanted to stop her. He wanted to say something. He wanted to grab her and shake some sense into her. Instead, he just walked to the sauna.
Inside the dressing room, Jim finally spoke. He had wanted to say so much. He wanted to explain why she should leave. Instead he said, 'Have you taken a sauna before?'
'Of course. I've lived up here my whole live.'
Jim heard the sounds of her removing her clothes. In a panic, he stripped and stepped inside. Ignoring what was happening behind him, Jim wet the benches, cooling them so you could sit without burning your skin. He filled the dipper for throwing water on the rocks to make steam. He heard the opening of the door and padding of the bare feet as Lori entered. There was a faint gasp as the intense heat struck her bare skin.
Jim kept his back turned until he was sure she was seated. He tossed the water on the rocks. The needles of hot steam struck him as he wet two wash clothes and filled the dipper again. The steam blurred his vision as he turned to give Lori one of the cloths. Jim climbed to the top bench, draped the wet cloth over his face and let the heat penetrate his body. He kept his face covered with the cloth until he felt a cooling of the room. He used the wet cloth to grasp the hot handle of the dipper and threw some water onto the rocks. Again the needles of heat descended. Time slowed. Jim finally relaxed. He looked at Lori.
Something had happened. Most women that he had seen when they had gotten wet and sweaty, looked poorer. Lank hair draped in limp curls hugged the skull. Beads of sweat clung to the face highlighting any imperfection. Facial muscles loose from the heat sagging the curves of the face. Lori became beautiful. The delicate structure of her face stood out fully revealed with the mass of hair matted down with heat. The curve of her face was softened.
The eyes that had been hidden behind the glasses sparkled.
Jim's eyes spotted a drop of moisture forming on her forehead. He watched the trickle flow down her nose, drip to her chin, drift down her throat and past the soft curve before her ribs. Instead of flowing between her breasts, the drop chose her left breast. Silently it flowed to her nipple and stopped, a glistening spark of light on the soft red flesh. He looked up and saw her eyes smiling in a multitude of shades and hues. Jim finally knew that nothing else mattered to him but those smiling eyes.
* * * *
_The door opens. The figure turns on the light. The hands turn over the
card._
A young man stands on a rise. He holds a staff before him. Six staffs are raised against him but there is confidence in his stance.
_An audible sigh escapes the figure. The light turns off._
CHAPTER 23:
The Seven of Wands Henry enjoyed seeing a pro work, even if he was more than a little scummy. Jacob McKinsie was a pro. Jacob had the reporters avidly hanging to his every word. Henry knew that by the time the reporters filed their stories, he, Vernon, Frank, Al and all the others would be relegated to the status of _also_ worked on the case. Henry was more than a little surprised when Jacob told the reporters that he was the one to shoot Jones.
Jacob stopped by the office two hours before the scheduled press conference and, for the first time, insisted on a complete briefing of all the information on Jones's case. Henry had an easy time briefing Jacob, because Vernon at the BCA had all the forensic reports faxed over night to the sheriff's office. Henry had driven in to work early. He had still not recovered enough from shooting Jones to sleep though the night and had decided to work a longer day in hopes of being tired enough for a full night's sleep.
Jacob had absorbed the information at the briefing, only needing a little extra help on the technical details of the autopsies. Jacob, being the consummate politician, then recited the details of the investigation in the first person to the reporters. Henry never understood why the public always thought that the local sheriff was the best cop in the county. Didn't they realize that they voted for the county sheriff? That made the sheriff a politician, just like the local mayor or state representative. Most sheriffs had at one time been real cops, but usually years ago. Henry watched the admiration on the faces of the reporters as Jacob claimed personal guidance of the investigation. The only discordant note was from the Action News reporter,
Debbi. She kept scratching her neck and arms. Henry wondered how they would run the final TV news story with the red welts around her face. It was way too warm a day for a turtleneck sweater and the welts were too large to be covered by make-up.
Oops! Jacob wanted him to come up to the podium. He probably figured that showing off a subordinate or two would help on his re-election. As Henry stood next to Jacob, he finally realized something was wrong with the situation. Jacob usually only came to the third button on Henry's shirt and here he stood at least two inches taller than him. Henry glanced behind the podium. There was a box of files under Jacob's feet. Henry unconsciously shook his head in amazement. That scene turned out to be the lead on the ten o'clock news on two of the local television stations. It came out as the grizzled police veteran bowing his head in admiration of his superior's leadership.
* * * *
Jack Andrews called the hurried meeting in order to try to protect himself and the school board. At the meeting was John Jenkins, the school board chairman, with full authority to sign off on any deal struck during the negotiations. On the other side of the table were Sandra Thomas, Mike Garrison, local teacher's union rep, Lori Waithe, and James Makinen.
'Sandra, we need to get this settled. We only have the next few months before school starts in the fall to hire a new superintendent and principal. These court cases you have filed will just delay the whole process. How can we hire anyone while the cases are pending? You don't want the kids to suffer while this drags out for months in court, do you? Here's what I propose we do. First, Mike here can be on the search committee for the new administration. James and Lori can get one year's severance pay. How does that sound?'
'Jack, you've got to be kidding! I talked to Wayne Johnson before I came in today. You paid off Shermon to the tune of seventy-five thousand dollars. This is the son of the serial killer who killed two of your own students. This is the man who hired the serial killer to work in your school to begin with. And this is the man who with your principal is being investigated by the State for blackmail and embezzlement. Just who the hell do you think you are?
'This is the second time you tried to sneak something past me. Now both you and the board are up to your pretty little necks in this mess, and it is all your own making. We either make sure this mess will never happen again and you treat my clients fairly, or we leave. Oh, Jack, you might be interested in this. With what I've found out so far, I'm inclined to add your name to the suit as a defendant and recommend to the Attorney General that you should be added to the criminal indictment with Shermon and the school board.'
