“Sandi,” Aunt Ed said first thing. “How are you, hon?”
After they exchanged how-are-yous, Sandi said, “And how’s Jake? Are all of you getting along?”
“Great. Doing a little remodeling, but —”
“Remodeling for Jake?”
“We’re ripping the carpet out of his room. You must’ve forgotten to tell me how well his bowels work.”
Oh, hell. Indeed she had neglected a discussion with her aunt about how messy Jake was. “I’m sorry, Aunt Ed. I just assumed you knew...I mean, well, he’s a bird. And birds poop on things. I’ll admit I didn’t think of that when I first agreed to take him. After I figured out they might never find another home for him, I started to realize I had to make some changes.”
“Like what?”
“I had to re-do the bedroom. I added only hard surfaces that could be washed. Then I hired a cleaning service to come in once a week.”
To Sandi’s relief, her aunt cackled. “My God, he not only eats like a gourmet, he has to have a maid. This parrot might turn out to be a more expensive pet than a horse. Don’t worry about it, hon. The important thing is that Vic loves him and they’re getting along great. You should see the big cage he's built for him at the Styling Station.”
Her aunt followed up with a long description of an elaborate set-up that Sandi couldn’t quite picture.
“I’d love to see it. I’ll drive down one day pretty soon.”
Sandi disconnected, her thoughts channeled in a new direction. Just because her aunt was pleased with Jake now didn’t mean she would still want him a few months from now. Sandi thought about the painter she had gotten quotes from for re-painting the walls in Jake’s room. Maybe she should hold off on having that done, just in case her aunt suddenly had a change of heart and Jake ended up moving back to Midland. She had planned to locate her office back in that room, but she might continue to use the dining room table a little longer.
Otherwise, her life was finally settling down. She had made up with Richard. He had brought her flowers and chocolates and an apology. He had taken her to dinner at the best steakhouse in Midland. He had even taken her to Tag Freeman’s Double-Kicker Barbecue & Beer, one of the hottest fun spots in town. She had accepted his gifts and extra attention, although she wasn’t sure why. She was more certain than ever that their relationship had nowhere to go.
He was in a great mood. The story of John Wilson’s botched DNA test in Midland had made headlines across the country. Richard had even done an interview for the local CBS-TV station that had filtered to the affiliates in major cities. He and the case had briefly been the talk of the town.
John Wilson’s trial appeared to be on a track to be thrown out of court and he would soon be released on bail. Mrs. Bean and all the good she had done in her long life had gotten lost in the legal haggling. A woman who would be hard pressed to find the will and strength to kill a mosquito had been savagely beaten and her throat had been cut. An extreme act when all it would have taken from the intruder was a firm reprimand to ‘keep quiet’ about the theft that had occurred.
Then, in the blink of an eye, everything had changed. Yesterday afternoon, the judge had ruled that the DNA evidence was acceptable after all and rescinded Wilson’s bail. When Sandi heard the news on TV, she had cheered. Richard would be devastated, but she wasn’t sorry to see a monster return to jail. She should have called Richard and consoled him, but she could not. And the fact that she couldn’t and didn’t had probably done untold damage to the fragile relationship that they had just put back together.
***
Debbie Sue arrived at the Styling Station early, toting the Odessa American newspaper. She spread it on Edwina’s work station with the headline obvious: “Midland Man Held Without Bond.” And the story went on from there.
Edwina soon came in the back door. “Morning,” she sang.
“Did you see the news this morning?”
“If you’re talking about John Wilson, yes, I did. Is there a reason I should care?”
“Ed. He’s guilty.”
“Debbie Sue, I know where you’re headed. And I’m repeating this has nothing to do with us.”
“But it might. They might need us. We should be ready in case they do.”
“Why, on God’s green earth, would the Midland PD need us?”
“I’m just saying—”
“Well, don’t be saying, Debbie Sue. This is one time I’m putting my foot down. I’ve got all I can handle with dealing with this damn parrot. You know what he said to me this morning? He told me my lime green glasses didn’t look good and he bit my finger when I fed him a grape. I nearly slapped him.”
“You can’t slap the parrot, Ed. Your niece would come down here and take him back.”
“I can only hope.”
“And what would you tell Vic?”
“That damn bird would make a nice meal. As much money as he has cost me, he would be the most expensive poultry we’ve ever had.
***
Nick had heard that the two women who owned the Styling Station were excellent barbers. His hair, being naturally wavy, required skillful cutting to keep it simple and manageable. Having taken the day off, he headed to the beauty salon for a haircut.
The salon obviously had formerly been a gas station. He couldn’t guess its age, but a pair of round gasoline pumps stood outside the red limestone rock building. Today, the antique pumps were dressed up in Halloween costumes and surrounded by pumpkins and black and white skeletons.
