Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1)

by Trueman, Debra

  “Hello?” She was waving her hand in my face and I realized she’d been saying something.

  “What?” I said more defensively than necessary.

  “You were zoning.”

  “Thinking. I was thinking. Maybe we should plead temporary insanity,” I said.

  “Oh, brother,” Landra said, rolling her eyes.

  I pointed my pen at her. “Don’t roll your eyes at me. I hate that,” I said. “Niki Lautrec does the same thing and it always pisses me off.”

  “Who the hell is Niki Lautrec and why are you comparing me to her? Don’t you know girls hate that?”

  “I’m comparing you to him because of the reason I just told you. He rolls his eyes just like that.”

  “Oh.” Landra stood up and started towards me. “Well, excuse me Mr. Perfect,” she taunted. “Had I known what kind of effect that particular optical movement had on you, I’d have used it more often to torment you.” She came around the desk and swiveled my chair towards her then climbed onto my lap and kissed me. She leaned her weight against me and I ran my hands underneath her shirt up her back and pulled her body close to mine. The chair tilted backwards, but instead of catching when it should have, when it got to the end range there was a loud snap and crack. I realized too late what had happened. I cupped my hands over Landra’s head trying to shield her as the back of the chair broke loose from its base.

  We were propelled backwards and my head smacked the credenza behind my desk on the way down, sending my calculator, a coffee mug, and a stack of files skating across the floor. It sounded like a truck had hit the building. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor with the cushion back underneath me and Landra on top of me. The mailbox kiss flashed through my mind as I lay looking up at the ceiling.

  “I always thought that was bullshit when people said they saw stars,” I said.

  My office door slammed open and Maddie came racing into the room with a worried look on her face, followed by Niki Lautrec who was openly amused at what he was witnessing.

  “Niki Lautrec is here,” Maddie announced, always the dutiful secretary. “You’re bleeding!” She knelt beside me and picked up my head and started running her hand through my hair trying to find the source of the bleeding.

  “I’m fine,” I said, pushing her hand away. The last thing I needed was to have Maddie making over me in front of Niki Lautrec. He’d never let me live it down. Landra dislodged herself and got up. I sat up and the room spun. I grabbed on to the credenza leg to steady myself.

  “Oh my gosh!” Maddie exclaimed. “You’re really hurt.” She turned to Landra. “Are you okay? What in the world happened here?” She resumed her search of my scalp.

  “The stupid chair broke,” Landra said, standing up and straightening her shirt. “How bad is his head?”

  “He’s going to need to have it stitched,” Maddie said. She was poking around the wound, making it hurt like hell.

  “Ouch, Maddie! Stop poking at it!”

  “Don’t yell at her. She’s just trying to help,” Landra said.

  “I just want to see how bad it is,” Maddie said. She turned to Niki. “Will you get the first aid kit from the top right kitchen cabinet for me? We’ve got to get a bandage on this.” She brought her hands back from my head and they were covered in blood. I looked down and realized that there was a pool of blood where my head had been and it made me woozy all over again. “We’re going to have to get you to the emergency room.”

  Niki reappeared with the first aid kit. “Let’s see your head,” he said. He leaned over and inspected the wound. “Oh, yeah. That’s a good one. I’d say it’ll take 10 to 12 stitches.” He rummaged through the first aid kit and produced a sterile bandage and a wad of gauze and handed them to Maddie.

  Maybe it was from taking care of two kids or maybe she’d been a nurse in a previous life, but she was quick and efficient, administering first aid like a professional.

  “Have you two met?” Maddie asked Niki and Landra, as she wound the bandage around my head.

  The two looked at each other and shook their head, then Niki stretched out his hand to Landra. “Niki Lautrec.”

  “You’re Niki Lautrec?” Landra said. She looked down at me and smiled. “What a coincidence. We were just talking about you. I’m Landra Krally,” she said, shaking his hand.

  “You’re Landra Krally?” He shot me a look that I couldn’t read. “What’d he say about me?” he asked Landra.

  “That you roll your eyes the same way I do,” Landra said. “He hates it.”

  “I don’t do that,” Niki stated.

  “You do too,” I said, trying to get off the floor. I made it to my knees on my own then Maddie put her arm around my back and helped me the rest of the way up.

  “Do you want me to drive you?” Maddie asked.

  “No. I’ll make Landra take me. It’s her fault.” I touched the bandage gingerly.

  “Uhh! It is not my fault. How did I know the stupid chair was going to break?”

  “You’re just way too heavy,” I said. She slugged me in the chest but I grabbed her and put her in a bear hug, pulling her close to me. “Will you take me to the emergency room?” I whined.

  She nuzzled her head into my neck then kissed me on the cheek. “Yes. I’ll take you to the emergency room.”

  It finally dawned on me that I didn’t know why Niki was there. “What brings you downtown?” I asked him.

  “I was going to talk with you about something, but it’s nothing that can’t wait.”

  “Call me at home tonight,” I told him without enthusiasm.

  I wondered if he had uncovered something else on Landra. I’d gotten to the point where I didn’t even want to see the guy because he might tell me something bad, and I was almost sorry I’d used his services in the first place. Niki and I were friends, and as hard as I tried to separate business from friendship, his investigation of Landra had definitely become a thorn in my side. I decided that next time I talked to him, I’d tell him to stop his investigation. There was no doubt in my mind that Landra was innocent where Drake Reeds was concerned, and as for Mrs. Howard and the Johnses, I’d seen enough of Landra’s relationship with Mrs. Howard at least, to know that Landra truly cared for the woman. And although I hadn’t witnessed extensively the interaction between the Johnses and Landra, I’d seen nothing that would lead me to believe that Landra was anything but a loving, caring individual, who took pleasure and pride in taking care of others. Hell, if I was old and lonely and she was taking care of me, I’d leave her in my will too. No question about it. When it came down to it, it was the right thing to do.

  We got to the emergency room without incident, although Landra’s driving left something to be desired. Maybe she was nervous that I was going to pass out on her, but she drove with a lead foot, and there were a couple of times when I thought I might throw up. Once we got there, I was okay for the most part, but every once in a while I’d get a head-spin. I would have to stop walking so I wouldn’t fall down. Landra put her arm around my waist for support as we made our way to the ER. I filled out a stack of forms and signed my life away. A nurse came out and was leading me to the exam area when I had a major head-spin. I wobbled and swayed and ran smack into another patient before the nurse grabbed my arm to steady me.

  “Sam? Is that you dear?” The old woman reached over and touched my arm.

  “Mrs. Howard?” I said confused. “What are you doing here?”

  She waved her hand in dismissal and ignored my question. “What’s happened to your head? Were you in an accident?”

  “No. I just hit my head. What are you doing here?” I repeated.

  “Oh, I had a little dizzy spell,” she said, looking embarrassed and trying to downplay it. “But I’m fine. The doctors are going to do some tests and make sure everything in this old body is working how it’s supposed to.” She gave me her toothy grin.

  “Who brought you here?” I asked.

  “I came by ambulance,�
� she said, looking embarrassed again.

  “An ambulance brought you?” It occurred to me that Mrs. Howard wasn’t telling me the whole story, but I figured that was her prerogative. I wasn’t actually being honest with her either, but I didn’t want to get into the how’s and why’s of my chair breaking. “Landra’s in the waiting room. You get her to take you home. I’ll take a cab or get someone to come pick me up.”

  “Landra’s here?” Mrs. Howard looked relieved and she patted my arm again. “You’re a sweet boy, Sam.” Toothy grin. “I would hate to leave you here all by yourself though.” She looked around at the uninviting surroundings. “Landra and I could wait until you’re finished and we could all go together.”

  “No. You two go on. I’ll be fine. No telling how long this will take,” I said, pointing to my head. “Really. Go home.”

  We parted company and after what seemed like ages I was examined and stitched up. I made my way back through the exam area to the waiting room and was settling my account when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned around fully expecting it to be Mrs. Howard, but it was a much prettier, younger face.

  “Maddie? What are you doing here?”

  “Landra called me. How’s your head?”

  “It hurts. How long have you been here?”

  She looked at her watch. “An hour and a half. How many stitches did it take?”

  A part of me didn’t want to tell her because I didn’t want to prove Niki right. “A dozen.”

  Maddie winced. “Whale, come on. I’ll take you home.” She hooked her elbow around mine and led me down the corridor. I tagged along like a dutiful child. We stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home and got an ice cream even though by then it was dinnertime. Maddie’s mother was at her house with Oliver and the baby and Oliver must have been watching out the front window because when we drove into the driveway, he came running out, full speed, and met us at the car. He was banging on the door before I even had a chance to open it.

  “Hold on a second!” I said, fumbling with my cone to get to the door handle. It came out sounding much grumpier than I had meant it to, but I knew he couldn’t hear me through the door anyway. Maddie looked at me with raised eyebrows. “I’m irritable,” I said defensively.

  “That’s what the ice cream was for.”

  She reminded me of my sister for a second and I had the urge to reach over and hug her, but she was already halfway out of the car. I opened my door. “Hey, Oliver!” I was intentionally overly-cheerful to make up for having barked at him a second earlier.

  “Hi, Samuel! Can I see where you hurt your head?” He tilted his neck straight up trying to get a look.

  “It’s wrapped up, but you can look at the bandage,” I offered. I bent down on one knee so he could see and I knew immediately it had been a mistake. The change in altitude sent my head spinning and I had to lean against the car to brace myself. I was dreading having to get back up.

  “Do you need some help?” Maddie asked, coming around to my side of the car.

  “I think so,” I admitted.

  As much as I hated accepting help from a woman, I decided it would be better than passing out on her front lawn. She hooked her arm under me like she had done in the office and helped me back to my feet. The head-spin was even worse than I’d anticipated and I leaned heavily on Maddie until the vertigo subsided. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

  “Come inside and we’ll call Landra over at Mrs. Howard’s. I don’t want you going home by yourself,” Maddie said. I wasn’t going to argue with her. Hell, she’d already wasted two hours on me so I felt like I owed it to her to obey. She led me inside with Oliver right on my heels and I lay down on her couch in the living room. It was the first time I’d been back in her house since the crib incident and horrific memories came flooding back.

  Maddie’s mother came in and said hello and goodbye and while Maddie was walking her out, the baby crawled in and pulled himself up to a standing position right beside my head. He said something in baby talk that I didn’t understand and I closed my eyes, hoping he would go away. Not only did he not go away, but he was quickly joined by Oliver, who climbed up and plopped himself down on my stomach, then proceeded to pull his little brother up beside him. I took a foot dangerously close to the Family Jewels. I moaned and jumped, and my head pounded with the sudden movement.

  “Get off of him!” Maddie exclaimed, horrified, when she finally came back in. Oliver climbed down and Maddie picked up the baby, kissed him, and set him on the floor. “What can I get you to drink?” she asked me. “Juice, milk, tea, water, beer . . .”

  “Beer. But I can get it.” I made a half-hearted attempt to get off the couch.

  “Stay there. I’ll get it.”

  I tried to relax, but the baby kept crawling over and putting toys up on the couch by my head. I didn’t dare close my eyes, for fear that he’d bean me with a Hotwheels car, or something worse.

  Oliver reappeared after being admonished for sitting on me. I guess Maddie had sent him to his room, but now that he’d taken his punishment, he was back with renewed vigor and to my horror he was carrying what looked like a medical kit. He opened the bag and pulled out a toy stethoscope and stuck the ends in his ears, then fished around inside the bag and pulled out a blood pressure gauge. There was nothing tentative to his approach. He wrapped the band of the gauge around my arm and stuck the end of the stethoscope underneath it and pumped the gauge three or four times. The stethoscope was so small that Oliver’s head was right up next to mine as he pretended to listen. His hair smelled like maple syrup.

  I didn’t feel like playing but I was impressed with the kid’s technique. “How do you know how to do that?” I asked.

  “I watched them do this to mommy when my brother was in her tummy.” He removed the blood pressure gauge and put the stethoscope to my chest and moved it around a couple of times before putting both tools back in the bag. He rummaged around and pulled out a big plastic thermometer and aimed it at me.

  No way was that thing going in my mouth. “I don’t have fever,” I assured him, and I grabbed it away from him before he could infect me with anything.

  “I have to be sure,” he argued, trying to get it back.

  “No, you don’t,” I said firmly. I guess he knew I wasn’t going to change my mind so he returned his attention to the bag.

  “Okay. Then I’m going to have to give you a shot,” he said, and he pulled out a huge syringe. “Turn over.”

  “I don’t want to play anymore, Oliver,” I said. It came out like a whine. Thank goodness Maddie came in at that moment.

  “How’s the patient?” she asked Oliver.

  “Not very cooperative,” he said, shaking his head. I laughed out loud that he knew such a big word.

  “He wanted to stick that dirty thermometer in my mouth,” I said, expecting Maddie to defend me. She was no help whatsoever.

  “Why don’t you take his temperature under his arm,” she suggested, and Oliver cheerfully retrieved the thermometer.

  “Thanks a lot,” I muttered under my breath. I lifted my arm enough for him to put the damn thermometer under it and shot Maddie a look.

  “Landra’s on her way over,” she said, and she handed me a beer with a napkin wrapped around the bottle.

  Not that I didn’t appreciate Maddie’s hospitality, but I couldn’t wait to get out of there. In my compromised state, her kids were making me nervous. Oliver disappeared again and came back with a DVD of The Sound of Music clutched under his arm.

  “Look what Granny got me!” he said enthusiastically.

  I groaned.

  He put the DVD in the player and grabbed the remote, then he pulled a kid-size chair right up beside the couch and pressed play. There was a lot of music and Julie Andrews was climbing a mountain. When she reached the top, she spread her arms out and turned in circles and belted out The Hills are Alive.

  Oliver turned around in his seat to face me. “Why doesn’t she have a car?”
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br />   “She needs the exercise,” I said grumpily. I sat up, then stood up, then waited for the head-spin to subside.

  “Where are you going?” Oliver asked.

  “Home. I’ve got to go.” I rumpled his hair and he hugged my leg. Now that I was leaving I felt bad that I hadn’t been nicer. “Have fun watching your movie.”

  “Okay. I’ll let you borrow it tomorrow if you want,” he offered.

  Landra was at the door when I got there. I thanked Maddie and hugged her, then I got out of the kid-infested house as quickly as I could. The Siamese was waiting on my front steps and he meowed loudly when he saw us coming. He wrapped himself around my legs as I unlocked the door, then raced in as soon as I opened it.

  Landra had made dinner for Mrs. Howard and she had a casserole dish with her. Wonderful smells were seeping out from under the foil.

  “I brought you something to eat,” she said. She placed the dish on the counter top and hugged me around the waist. “I hated leaving you there at the hospital. How’s your head?” She ran her hand gently across my cheek and smiled.

  “It doesn’t hurt that bad,” I lied. “What’s up with Mrs. Howard? Is she okay?”

  “She seems okay now, but I’m really worried about her. She was dizzy, so she used that emergency necklace she wears, and by the time the medics got there, she was passed out at the kitchen table.”

  “Why didn’t they admit her to the hospital?”

  “I have no idea; I didn’t get a chance to talk to anyone while I was there. I was sitting out in the waiting room looking at a magazine and the next thing I know, Sara’s standing there. It freaked me out.”

  “Yeah. I ran right into her, literally. Almost knocked her over.”

  “She’s got an appointment Thursday morning to have some tests run. I’m going to take off work so I can take her.” She looked at the bandage. “How many stitches did it take?”