Although Morris was out of the house and Clancey was in possession of it until Morris got out of prison—having more or less taken possession of her grandfather’s half of the estate when he went missing—it didn’t make her any less afraid of him. The incident had been traumatic for her. The doctor who treated her said that she needed therapy. She told him that she’d go to a therapist as soon as she paid off her new stretch limo. He’d laughed, but his eyes were sad.
BEN’S DEATH AND Morris’s incarceration had put Clancey in the position of head of the family.
It was Ben’s house that she and Tad lived in, which now belonged, on paper at least, to Morris. Half of it was still her grandfather’s, because he’d never been declared legally dead. If Morris got out, Clancey worried about having to live under the same roof with him. Morris had always run with people on the wrong side of the law. Any money he got, he hadn’t worked for, because he didn’t hold down a job. No doubt he’d still be hanging around with the people who got their money in illegal ways. They were dangerous. Clancey didn’t want them around Tad.
She was concerned about herself, as well. Morris had been attracted to her, and she was uneasy about living under the same roof with him. If he was using drugs, as she suspected he was when he’d beaten her, he was capable of even worse violence. She’d always wondered if he had something to do with her grandfather’s death, because his attitude afterward, when the old man disappeared, was odd. He didn’t talk about it and he avoided meeting Clancey’s eyes when she wondered what had happened to him.
The thought of Morris getting out of prison and coming home frightened her. Prison changed men. No doubt he’d learned a lot about getting around outside the law. He’d probably made friends there, who would be even worse than the crowd he’d run with when he lived at home. Despite the nice letter he’d sent her after Ben’s death, she was dubious about any real changes in his attitude. Men could pretend, to get parole. Hollister had told her that, sensing her concern about the future. He’d do what he could for her and Tad when Morris got out. He promised. Hollister could be scary. He had a mysterious past and he was friends with some equally scary people, despite his position with the police. But he was the best friend she had. He helped her get custody of Tad, so that social services wouldn’t take him away, and he got her a small raise, which helped with expenses. It had devastated her last year when he was promoted to captain and moved downtown to a new office. She was happy for him, of course. But Clancey couldn’t afford a car and she couldn’t walk to work—it was much too far for her lungs. Hollister offered to drive her back and forth, but she felt she’d imposed on him enough. She heard about the opening in the Texas Ranger cold case office and applied for the job. Amazingly, she was hired as soon as the lieutenant interviewed her. That had been almost a year ago.
This job paid well, and she had benefits, as she’d had working for Hollister. They helped pay for insurance, and that was a blessing. She could still walk to work. But time hadn’t eased her fear of her stepbrother. Banks had said he was supposed to get out soon. When was soon? And where would she and Tad go when he got out? Would he come after her? Her testimony had put him in prison. Her life could be in danger.
But when Morris got out, she comforted herself, she’d be advised by the victim advocates so she’d know about it. And he’d have a parole officer who would check on him frequently, and at unexpected times, to make sure he was keeping his nose clean. That sounded fine, but Morris could do a lot of damage if he was alone in the house with his stepsister and half brother. Although Tad was nine now, and she was twenty-three, Morris posed a threat to both of them, especially if he wasn’t truly rehabilitated and started running with his old crowd of lawbreakers again.
She shivered, remembering. Morris knew how much she loved Tad, and she knew that if he planned to get even with her, Tad would be his means to do it.
So she worried incessantly about Morris getting out. The sentence had been for six years, but an attorney who knew his public defender told her one day in the office weeks ago that Morris had apparently been a model prisoner and there was talk that he might get out sooner. Banks had just confirmed that rumor.
One of her ideas about finding a home for her and Tad was to apply to the military. She would get a signing bonus that would provide a lot of new clothes and comforts for her and Tad. In addition, she’d get a place for her and Tad to live, where they wouldn’t have to cope with Morris. There would be free medical care and dental, and insurance. The only downside was whether they’d take her. She had a health issue that she never discussed. But a doctor would spot it right away. Maybe she could find some way to deal with it beforehand.
Sure, she thought miserably, just like I’ve dealt with a better place to live and good clothes for Tad that didn’t come out of thrift shops. Utilities and house payments and medicine and groceries took almost all her salary. Almost everything
