Ian

by Denise Irwin

  “It does not violate anything when an attorney receives death threats. I’m gonna leave you with that thought to chew on.”

  She then drove back to the office.

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  Leona finished cleaning the last bathroom when it was time to make the after school snacks. She heard Molly and Jack come in the front door and run up the steps. After they changed their cloths, they ran down the steps. Leona wanted to ask them how their day was, but couldn’t get a word in as they chatted.

  They were about to go upstairs to do homework, but Sam had blocked the doorway and gave his children the hairy eyeball.

  They went back in the kitchen. Molly went first, “Mom, how was your day? Thank you for making our snacks. May I be excused to go do homework?”

  “Molly, my day was good. You’re welcome for the snacks and yes, you’re excused to do your homework.”

  Jack was determined not to mimic what he’s sister just said, so he started with, “Mom, you look really great today. I think that it’s an understatement to say that you make the best after school snacks. May I be excused to go do my homework?”

  “Yes you may.”

  After the kids went to bed, Leona and Sam went into the kitchen for a night cap. Leona said, “I have to say, that by just focusing on the bathrooms today, I feel great because I’m not all stressed out.”

  “Well that’s the plan. Tomorrow we’ll tackle the dust and interior decorations, which would you rather do?”

  “I’ll clean while you decorate.”

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  On Tuesday morning after the kids left for school, Sam and Leona worked as a team cleaning and decorating. Leona said, “Sam, I think that we’ll just concentrate on the first floor. Do you want decorations in your office?”

  One look at her husband said it all. “Let me rephrase that. May we hang something on your office door?”

  “I can go with that.”

  “Okay, then we’ll start here in the living room. There are some streamers in the bag and I thought that we would run them around the room and then clip on some cute turkeys that I bought.”

  Leona was shocked, because the living room and dining room were done by lunch time.

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  Delven had called the BCJ that morning to request that Mark Thompson be brought to an interview room that morning at 11:00 am.

  She signed the log and was escorted to the interview room. As she waited, she wondered how her client would behave today now that he knew that their conversation was being recorded.

  He entered the room and to be on the safe side, he sat quietly. “Mr. Thompson have you given any thought to our conversation yesterday?”

  “Yes I did. Are we being recorded now?”

  “Yes we are. Do you have anything to say about it?”

  “About recording our conversation? No, I would like to say that I’ll cooperate in my defense any way that I can.”

  She forced a smile and then said, “Thank you. I’ll be back tomorrow and we’ll get to work.”

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  Molly and Jack came home from school and looked around the house. Jack said, “This looks so cool.”

  Molly asked, “Who sent the flowers?”

  Leona, said, “Do you remember when we invited Mr. and Mrs. Macgill to dinner?”

  “Yeah, they’re from Scotland?”

  “Yes they are and they sent us those flowers.”

  “That was really nice of them to do that.”

  “Yes it was.”

  “Did you tell them thank you?”

  “Yes. I called them right after the flowers were delivered.”

  “That’s a good thing to do Mom.”

  “Thank you daughter.”

  After the kids went off to bed Leona and Sam met in the kitchen for a nightcap. As Sam handed her a glass of wine, he asked, “Are you ready to play in the leaves tomorrow?”

  She chuckled as she said, “You can bet your sweet ass on that. I can’t believe that we’re ahead of schedule. Tomorrow night I’ll season the turkey and it’ll be ready to go into the oven early Thursday morning.”

  “That cooking talk is way above my comprehension. I’m going to bed.”

  “I’ll follow you up.”

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  On Wednesday morning while eating breakfast Jack asked, “Is Gabin coming to the dinner?”

  “Yes he is.”

  “That’s cool because Molly and I really like him.”

  Molly and Jack gave their parents a kiss goodbye and left for school. Sam asked, “Are you ready to join me in raking the leaves?”

  “Can I have one more cup of coffee?”

  “Of course you can.”

  They sat in the quiet in the house drinking coffee until Leona jumped up, put her cup on the counter and said, “I’ll race you to the front yard.”

  He laughed aloud and then put his cup into the dishwasher and walked out to the front yard with the dog. He grabbed a rake as he asked, “Lee, where is the pile that you’re making?”

  She pointed, “Over there along the south side of the yard.”

  He raked the leaves in the direction that Leona wanted. Then heard her laugh, “Sam, watch the dog.”

  He watched the as the dog jumped up into the air to catch a falling leaf which he then took and put on the pile. Sam said, “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t see it with my own eyes.”

  They raked leaves until lunch time and just as soon as they propped their rakes against the garage door, the dog ran through the pile of leaves. Sam and Leona stood on the porch and howled with laughter. Sam said, “I guess I know what we’re doing after lunch.”

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  Delven was in an interview room with Mark Thompson, who appeared to be in in more congenial mood. “I would like to know more about you so that I know who I’m working for. Where were you raised?”

  “In Roland Park, Maryland.”

  “Did you go to college?”

  “Yes ma’am, I went to Towson University.”

  Delven was impressed so far. “Did your parents ever divorce?”

  “No. I don’t remember just how long they’ve been married, but I’m twenty-one and I was born a year after they married, so I guess that means that they’ve been married for twenty-two years.”

  “Do you have siblings?”

  “Yes, I’m the oldest of four boys.”

  “Wow, four boys can eat a lot of food.”

  “Yes ma’am that’s true and when my father was laid off, all of his sons went to work to put food on the table and money on the mortgage.”

  Delven wasn’t sure whether or not she believed him because he sounded too much like a goody two shoes. “Do you live with your parents now?”

  “No, they sold the house and moved to Florida. I can give you their phone number.”

  She wrote the number down and then asked, “Are your parents aware that you are in jail?”

  “Yes they are and if you call them, feel free to ask them.”

  “What was their reaction to you being in jail?”

  “I’m sure that you’ve looked into my criminal history and know that it’s not good. My parents don’t want to pay for anything anymore; no bail, no attorney’s fees and no housing.”

  “Did you ever ask Ellie Williams out?”

  He looked down at the table top as he said “No.”

  “Did Ms. Williams ever indicate that she was interested in you?’

  “No.”

  “Why did you kill Ian Macgill?”

  “If I couldn’t have Ellie, there was just no way that he was going to date her.”

  Delven said, “Thank you be being responsive today. I needed to know that information so that I can develop a defense plan. Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I won’t visit you again until next Tuesday.”

  As she drove back to her office, she felt as though she’d been conned.

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  Leona and Sam went back into the front yard to rake leaves with the dog. They laughed unt
il they cried as they watched Vinny grab a leaf and add it to the pile. When the pile drew large all three jumped into it.

  Jack asked, “What are you doing?”

  Mom said, “We’re raking the leaves.”

  “Go change your clothes and then come out to join us.”

  After changing their cloths, they stood on the porch when Dad said, “Watch this.”

  They couldn’t believe what they were seeing, so Jack asked, “Has Vinny been jumping up and grabbing leaves all day.”

  “Yes he has, so why don’t you and Molly come down and rake leaves. Mom and I will watch from the porch.”

  “Sam, I’m gonna to in and get the camera. This is gonna be a hoot.”

  Leona returned to get some good shots of the kids raking the leaves. When Vinny jumped into the air to grab a falling leaf, she caught that in her camera. She also was able to capture the dog putting his leaf onto the pile. Her children squealed with laughter as they raked leaves.

  Leona and Sam knew what was coming next, so she got her camera ready to get photos of Vinny jumping to the pile of leaves”

  Jack yelled to them, “Did you see that?”

  His parents were howling with laughter and couldn’t respond. Sam was the first to recover, “Jack that’s exactly what he did when your mother and I raked this morning. Come on in and get your after school snacks.”

  During snack time, Molly asked, “Dad, do you think that we taught him to do that when we played in the back yard where you raked the leaves?”

  “I believe that that’s exactly what happened, but the cool thing is that he remembered it.”

  “Yeah he did. I’m gonna bet that he does really great in the dog agility classes.”

  “I think so too.”

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  In his cell, Thompson was pondering the thought as to just how he was going to murder that fat attorney bitch. He wasn’t sure how or when, but she was going down for good.

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  After the kids went to bed, Leona and Sam went into the kitchen for a nightcap. As he handed her a glass of wine, he asked, “How are you doing now?”

  “Much better. Just give me a moment to put the seasonings on the bird and put it back in the fridge.”

  She put the seasoned turkey into the fridge and came to sit across from her husband. “Sam, don’t you think that this Thanksgiving is going to be great?”

  “Yes I think so because you put a lot of effort into it.”

  “The whole family put a lot of effort into, so if no one shows up tomorrow, it’s okay because I’ve already had my Thanksgiving.”

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  Leona rolled out of bed before the rooster on the farm north of them, woke her. She wanted to get the turkey into the oven. Vinny attached himself at her leg, so she told him, “Just let me get this bird into the oven and then, I’ll feed and walk you.”

  She put the coffee on, then fed and walked the dog. She stepped out the back door and a blast of cold wind smacked her in the face. The wind chilled her to the bone. Vinny must have felt it as well, because he didn’t waste any time getting his business done. She put the bag in the trash can behind the garage and then said, “Okay buddy, let’s go in and get warm.”

  Sam was in the kitchen when Leona and the dog came in. “You’re up early.”

  “Well my plan was to put the turkey into the oven and come back to bed. However, that didn’t work; I ended up feeding and walking the dog. You might just be right about getting some snow because it’s cloudy and cold out there. The wind nearly blew me over.”

  “Then come on in and drink a cup of coffee with me.”

  As she took the coffee from her husband she said, “Thanks Babe. This should warm me up in no time.”

  “What’s on your dance card today?”

  “Nothing, nada other than to have a good time. Your help did this. If you hadn’t given me direction, I’d still be wandering around like a chicken with her head cut off.”

  “I seriously doubt that.”

  “I hear feet on the stairs and that means they’ll want some breakfast.”

  They ran into the kitchen and sat at the table, Sam said, “The two of you are up really early.”

  Jack said, “Yes we are, but Molly and I came up with a really cool idea. We thought that we could greet everyone as they arrived.”

  “Jack, that’s a great idea. Are you going to take the dog out with you?”

  “If you let us. There are some of your friends who haven’t met him yet.”

  “I’m okay with it. Dad what do you think?”

  “I think it’s a great idea.”

  “What time will everyone be arriving?”

  “I told them around 2:00 this afternoon, but you know that your grandparents will arrive earlier, so Grandma can help in the kitchen.”

  “Can you call her and see if she’ll tell you a time?”

  “I sure can. Sit and eat your breakfast while I make the call.”

  She dialed her mother’s number. When Bill answered the phone, Leona asked, “Do you know what time you and mom are coming today?”

  “No I don’t, but you know that your mother likes to arrive early. Do you want her to call before we leave the house?”

  “Yes please, that would be great because I might need her to pick up something.”

  Her children tried their best to look calm, but she could that Molly was about to jump out of her skin. “Your grandma is going to call when they leave the house.”

  Molly was visibly upset. “Did you tell her about Jack and me wanting to greet her?”

  “No I did not. I told Grandpa to have her call in case I needed her to pick up something. If the two of you plan to greet everyone today, please bundle up because it’s cold and windy out there.”

  “Mom can we watched television in your room until Grandma calls?”

  “Of course you can. You can also watch the television in the living room.”

  “Then Jack and I will bring our warm cloths down to the living room.”

  The house line rang at about quarter to one. Nancy said, “Leona, Bill told me to call first to ask if you needed us to pick up anything.”

  “Thanks for calling Ma, but I found what I needed.”

  Molly and Jack ran into the kitchen where Jack asked, “Was that Grandma?”

  “Yes, they’re on the way so bundle up good before you go out.”

  “Lee, do you know how they’re planning to greet guests?”

  “I thought that they would welcome them as they got out of their car.”

  “I’ll peek out your office window and see what’s going on.”

  They greeted their grandparents, “Welcome to our home on Thanksgiving,” and then said, “Watch this.” Molly and Jack had a rake, so when they raked the leaves, Vinny would jump up and grab a leaf to add it to the pile.

  Nancy and Bill howled with laughter.

  Shelly and Randy with their three daughters arrived next. They stood in the driveway to figure out what Leona’s parents were laughing about. Nancy pointed at the dog and the Jordan family howled with laughter.

  Leona called for her husband, “Sam, you gotta come see this.”

  He came into his office and looked out the window, “Let’s go out on the porch.”

  There was a traffic jam in the driveway as their guests watched the dog and began howling with everyone else.

  Jack said, “Now for the grand finally,” right on cue Vinny slid into the pile looking pleased with himself. “Welcome to the Marksman home for Thanksgiving.”

  Sam herded everyone into the warm house. Leona was ready for incoming half frozen guests. She played bartender until Brian took over. Once he was sure that everyone had a beverage, he said, “Lift you glasses in a Thanksgiving Toast and a thank you for our hosts.”

  They raised their glasses and cheered.

  Everyone had brought food, so while Brian played bartender, she took food packages and thanked the person who brought it.

  Sue Samps
on sauntered over to Leona, “A standard French Poodle?”

  “Let me get a glass of wine for both of us and then I promise to explain.”

  She brought back a red for her and white for Sue. “Sam was working on the west coast when Bailey’s heart gave out.” Leona saw that a number of guests were huddling to hear the story. “I got a blanket and rolled him onto it. My mother, the kids and I drove him to the vet,” She started to cry, but managed to continue, “We asked that Bailey be cremated and the kids suggested that in the spring, we’ll spread his ashes in the gardens.”

  A hand reached in for her glass and handed it back to her full. “Sam and I knew that it was getting close, so we decided to let the children decide if they wanted another dog. The kids asked that we not tell Sam while he was away that the dog had died. When Sam came home, Molly and Jack told us that they wanted a dog, but they wanted a rescued dog. We went to the ASPCA and low and behold Vinny was there. He was trained as a rescue dog and when the owner was moved to a nursing home, her family brought him there.”

  Amanda added to what Leona said, “The kids are going to a children’s agility class to learn how to train a dog to run the course. Sam built one in the back yard.”

  After the dog stories died down, folks mingled and talked of other things. It was a joy to watch as people introduced themselves to people they’d never met.

  Miriam and Haley came over to say thank you. Leona asked, “Haley, are you planning to go back to school in California?”

  “I don’t think so, Berkeley holds really bad memories for me. I might just stick around here, have my credits transferred to maybe the University of Maryland School of Medicine.”

  They hadn’t noticed that Gabin was standing with them. “Haley, my name is Gabin Vasser, I heard that you spoke to members of the house and the senate about your experience in human trafficking. I think that you’re the bravest woman I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.”

  “Thank you, but I didn’t do it alone. Weren’t you imprisoned to a life sentence for a crime you didn’t do.”

  “How did you hear about that?”

  They wandered off telling one another their stories.

  Nancy kept an eye on the appetizers and refilled the plates that were empty. Leona followed her mother into the kitchen, “Ma, you don’t have to take care of the appetizers. I want you to walk with me and meet some people that you may not know.”