Legally Tied (4 page)

Chapter Six

D
uring their lunch together, Nick had given Lyndsay his personal contact information. Now that they were going to be working together, he wanted her to be able to contact him directly if she needed to without having to go through Gracey. As he sat behind his desk after hours on a Friday night combing through some evidence on his current case, his cell phone chirped.

Momentarily annoyed at the disruption, Nick picked up the phone anyway and was instantly pleased with the
text message. It read, “Designs are all finalized. We’re ready to go furniture shopping. Are you free this weekend?”

Nick hadn’t seen
Lyndsay in close to two weeks because she had to finalize the designs on the whole house and his covered front porch. He had loved her idea to put some comfy chairs on the porch to enjoy sitting outside on a warm summer night. He was becoming more and more impressed by how talented she was and he was grateful he had gone to Deacon’s Nest that Saturday afternoon and met her. So many of the women he worked with in and around his profession were hard, aggressive, loud, and combative. Although that served them well working in the legal system, he wasn’t attracted to that personality type no matter how successful the woman was. That’s probably why he was so instantly attracted to Lyndsay. She was incredibly talented and successful at her job but she did it with a soft, easy going confidence and a smile. She was a great listener and so far she had made everything with the house easier for him.

Texting her back with
a smile still on his face, he said, “I’m all yours! I’ll meet you at the store tomorrow at 10 a.m.” Nick knew how excited she was to start picking out his furniture and he suddenly found himself looking forward to it, too. They were going to start picking out the pieces he liked at Deacon’s Nest. Whatever they couldn’t get there, they would find at a few other specialty shops. Once the furniture and fabric was decided, Lyndsay would then have the basic color palette to suggest appropriate carpets for the floors, paint color for the walls, and drapery fabrics. Turning off his phone for the evening, Nick headed home, looking forward to seeing Lyndsay again tomorrow.

***

If there was one thing Jodi knew, it was men. And there was no doubt in her mind that Mr. Hottie Pants was smitten with her friend. As she watched Nick and Lyndsay walking around the showroom floor picking out furniture pieces, she could tell by Nick’s behavior that he was a goner. She just couldn’t understand why Lyndsay didn’t get it! Jodi and Lyndsay had become fast friends the minute they met as co-workers at Deacon’s Nest even though they were completely different. Jodi loved to party, enjoyed male companionship, was outgoing, and a little on the wild side. Lyndsay, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. She was shy and reserved and it didn’t take long for Jodi to realize that her friend was completely naïve about sex and men. Because of Jodi’s sixth sense when it came to male sexuality, she had no doubt that Mr. Hottie Pants was very well versed and experienced in the sexual arena of life and her poor little Lyndsay cub was no match for this hungry lion. Jodi thought the two of them looked great together and she could easily see that they got along very well. If only Lyndsay wasn’t so shy! Hell, if it had been her who Mr. Hottie Pants had an eye for, she would have banged him on the first date! Jodi loved sex and wasn’t shy expressing it. Whenever she told Lyndsay about some kinky thing she saw or did, Lyndsay would always roll her eyes and her face would get slightly flushed. As Jodi watched the two of them talking in the bedroom area, that’s when the idea suddenly hit her smack in the face. Although Lyndsay didn’t know it now, Jodi was about to set a plan in place to give her friend an eye opening education of a lifetime.

***

Nick had never thought furniture shopping could be so much fun. He loved seeing Lyndsay in her element and it was the first time he felt her relax a bit with him. Whenever Nick poked fun at some of the names of furniture pieces or accessories, Lyndsay would laugh. He loved the sound of it. He was finding out pretty quickly that she had a funny sense of humor and a quick wit. Nick was also finding out that she was damn smart, too. Every chance he got, he would ask more about her as casually as possible because he didn’t want to scare her off or make her uncomfortable. He was also pleased when she asked questions about him and seemed genuinely interested in his thoughts and feelings. It was tough not being able to just throw her down on the bed in the bedroom section and do all kinds of dirty things with her. Ever since meeting Lyndsay, his libido was in over drive and he fantasized about her every chance he could. But as hard as it was, Nick knew he had to behave himself and not let his cock run her off. He had still not ventured into any conversation as to whether she was seeing someone because he knew he didn’t have the heart to hear it if she said she was. So far, she hadn’t mentioned any man’s name in passing conversation and he knew she worked late most nights like he did, and that on weekends she brought work home. So for now, he was just going to have to keep his pony in the barn and just fantasize about one day taking it out for a long, long ride.

***

“What’s taking you so long, girl?” Jodi yelled down the hall at Lyndsay. “I told you I would be picking you up at 8 p.m. sharp for the party and you’re still not ready!”

Drumming her finger
s impatiently on the kitchen counter, Jodi let out a sigh as she heard Lyndsay yell back, “I’m coming! I got home late and had to shower first.” As Lyndsay appeared in the kitchen buttoning her shirt, she said breathlessly, “Okay. I’m ready. Tell me again about this party we’re going to.”

Jodi
was absolutely not going to tell her the truth about the kind of party they were going to because she knew Lyndsay would refuse to go if she knew the details. Answering casually, Jodi replied, “A group of people I know get together once a month and some come with their spouses and some come alone or with friends. It’s usually a lot of fun and is hosted at a different person’s house each time. Tonight my friend Carolyn is hosting it with her husband Rex. You’ll like them a lot.”

Satisfied with
Jodi’s explanation, Lyndsay grabbed her purse and coat and said sarcastically, “Well, come on. What’s taking you so long?”

Letting out a disgusted snort,
Jodi mumbled, “Yeah, right,” as they walked out the door and proceeded to Jodi’s car. As they buckled in, Jodi asked with a smirk on her face, “So, how’s everything going with Mr. Hottie Pants?”

Casting her friend a dirty look
, Lyndsay replied, “Everything is going great. He chose some excellent pieces that are now all ordered. Next, I need to show him some paint samples for each room and hire the painting crew. So far everything is on track.”

Letting out an exaggerated sigh,
Jodi said, “I don’t give a shit about the furniture. I
mean
,” she emphasized the word, letting it trail a bit, “has he made a pass at you? Do you like him? Have you jumped his bones yet?”

Chuckling at her friend’s bluntness
, Lyndsay replied sarcastically, “Yes. We’re madly in love, we screw every day in a million different positions, and we’re getting married next week.”

Now it was
Jodi’s turn to roll her eyes at her friend’s sarcasm. “Well,” Jodi scolded like she was talking to a misbehaving child. “The boy is super hot for you, so you better not blow it. He’s super handsome, he’s got a rockin’ bod, and he’s a rock star in the legal world. And he seems like a nice guy. I don’t know what you’re waiting for.”

Finally deciding to tell
Jodi the truth, Lyndsay explained, “I do think he’s super hot, Jo, but he’s a client. What if he’s just being nice and he’s not really attracted to me? I could look like a fool flirting with him and that could jeopardize our working relationship and the reputation of the store.”

Banging her hand on the steering wheel
, Jodi shot back, “Posh! That’s nonsense. You’ve already landed the account, and by the way he looks at you, you’ve landed something else as well. Just jump the boy, for God’s sake, and quit worrying about it!”

As they pulled up to their destination and got out of the car
, Lyndsay said as if she was talking to herself, “We’ll see. Maybe when his house is done.”

***

For years, the Providence police department had been hot on the trail of the Johnson gang but so far, they could never get enough evidence to stick a conviction. The leader, Neal Johnson, had formed his gang when he was 18 years old, and now ten years later, the gang had grown from two members to eight. They were notorious for mugging people, burglarizing local Providence businesses, and it was highly suspected that some unexplained murders over the years could be attributed to the gang. Neal’s younger brother, Mike, had been in the gang since its inception and the two boys were extremely close. Before their dad died in a construction accident on the job, the boys had been happy growing up. Sadly, when Neal was seven years old and Mike was five, their mother re-married, and that’s when everything changed dramatically. It didn’t take long for them to see that their stepfather was a raging alcoholic who got real mean when he was drunk. He would beat on the boys unmercifully. For years the boys clung to each other to protect themselves from the abuse and violence. Their mother was also a target of his abuse, but because she didn’t have a job, she was paralyzed to leave him. When she would step in and try to protect her sons from his fits of rage, he would just throw her to the floor as easily as one would swat a fly. Not a day went by without the boys feeling some kind of terror from either his physical or emotional abuse. Over the years, Neal and Mike became even closer and watched out for each other, no matter what. When Mike was eleven years old, Neal heard a neighbor boy teasing him. Neal grabbed the kid by the hair, pushed him to the ground, and kicked him repeatedly, breaking the boy’s arm and three ribs. After that incident, all of the kids knew not to mess with the Johnson brothers because if you said or did something bad to one of them, the other brother was going to come after you. Finally after years of growing up in an abusive home without their mother able to protect them, the boys began to take out their rage on other people. It was the only way they knew how to feel in control. What started as fist fights on the school grounds turned to shoplifting and then vandalism. When their stepfather finally died of liver disease when the boys were in high school and their mother had to go back to work, the boys skipped school so much they were eventually expelled. With no jobs or school to attend, the boys hit the streets every day, looking for trouble. Sadly, what they had never been taught was what goes around, comes around. Little did they know the trouble that was waiting for them just around the next corner.

***

As Nick Olson sat at his desk reading over the background history of Neal and Mike, he just shook his head. The question wasn’t why the boys had gone bad. The question was why not? How could kids being brought up in such an abusive environment not turn out the way they had? As sorry as he felt for them, the murder case that Neal was charged with was too heinous for Nick to feel much more than minor sympathy. Evidently, it was alleged that one night when Neal was bored and out of cash, he decided to break into old man Lawson’s house. Joe Lawson had recently lost his 85 year old wife and was still living in their home of 50 years but his health was failing. Desperate for money, Neal surmised that old man Lawson probably had a bunch of cash lying around his house because now that his health was failing, he probably couldn’t get to the bank that often. Figuring that an 87 year old man living alone would be an easy target, Neal broke in the back door of his house at midnight one night and started scouring the place. When Joe Lawson woke to strange noises in his home, he armed himself with his cane and proceeded to quietly tiptoe down the hall toward the living room. Upon reaching the darkened room, light from the street lamp outside shone in the window just enough for Joe Lawson to see someone rummaging through his desk. Joe knew immediately that he was being robbed and with all the skill and strength of a man half his age, Joe quietly walked up behind the robber. Lifting up his cane ever so purposefully, Joe brought it down on the robber’s head with all his might. The next thing Neal knew, he was face down on the floor, stunned, with a loud ringing in his ears. Surprise quickly turned to anger, and as Neal rolled over onto his back, he saw Joe Lawson’s angry face and the cane poised to come down on him again. Feeling completely pissed off that he was one-upped by an 87 year old geezer, Neal went into a rage. As the cane came down to strike him again, Neal grabbed it and pulled it right out of old man Lawson’s hand, putting Joe off balance and teetering. In a split second, Neal kicked his leg out, striking Joe’s leg, which made him fall crashing to the floor. As Neal stood up, completely enraged, he picked up the cane and proceeded to bludgeon the helpless, defenseless old man. Neal could hear the old man’s bones breaking as he kicked him and caned him over and over again. With one final fierce kick to the old man’s skull, Neal knew Joe Lawson was dead. Feeling completely justified, Neal threw the cane to the floor in disgust and left the way he came. What Neal didn’t know was that Rebecca Pike, Joe’s insomniac neighbor, saw him exiting old man Lawson’s house around 12:30 p.m. and called the police. As the ambulance took the deceased man from his home, the police questioned Rebecca about everything she saw and asked her to not leave town until the crime was solved.