Page 10 of Guy
After the cleanup, it was just a simple thing to have their bodies on display outside their home.Lica met with the crowd that had gathered.Word had spread fast that Bates and his entire family had been killed, and the list of crimes was there for all to read.It was a grisly way to end a life, but it had the effects that were needed to get the pack behind him once again.
“Starting today, anyone who was working with Bates and his entire family will be treated to the same death unless you come to me and tell me why you thought it was a good idea to rob from the very pack that supplies you with sustainable life gifts.”That was his part in his speech, and it seemed to go over as well as he thought it should.Lica told him that if there were any more deaths from this,it would be on him and Amber to do them.He was fine with that, as was Amber when she heard what had been going on behind their backs in the pack.She might well have killed the other had she been allowed to do it.She was fired up.
After telling the people what was going to happen from now on, there was a general nervousness that was expected.People didn’t look around at their fellow pack members, and he thought that was very telling.They weren’t going to be giving away if they knew someone else was going to have to die today.
The meeting and the questions afterwards took up most of the morning.The elderly were happy to find out that they could get their checks cashed without having to pay for it.They were also excited to know that they weren’t going to be charged double the prices at the grocery store.Brandy was going to be bringing in another store that would start right away with things that were needed.They were running it from the pantry.
Since the grocery store owner wasn’t pack, then he’d have to be dealt with by someone else.It was Summer who made a few calls to the Feds to get him taken care of for not claiming the real money he made off the pack members.They were also able to find the book of names for the pack that he would use to charge more to them.
“The post office has been notified, and as soon as checks start to come in, they’ll notify my office, and I’ll make sure that they’re cashed and brought to you.If you need anything from town, call my office.If you simply need someone to talk to after all this, call my office.I’m going to be more hands-on than I’ve been so far, so expect to see a great deal more of my wife and me, plus my family.We’re going to take a deep interest in what is going on around here.So if you’re screwing up or making trouble, you can bet that I’m going to be finding out.I have eyes everywhere.”
One man in the back stood up from the hastily brought in chairs.He looked around the room, then right at Lica.He was proud of his brother for not shifting around on his feet, but he could tell that he was nervous.He was, too.Mr.March had a way about him that made you think that he was a man who got answers.
“I have me a list of things that need to be done at my house.I’m about the oldest man in this pack and would like for you to assign some younger pups to help me around the place.”Lica told him that it was in the works, and he had a signup sheet for those who needed help.“Will we be paying out the ass for this help?I don’t have me nothing but my pension, and it don’t go as far as I’d like for it to.”
“The help for the elderly will be given to them so long as they’re in good standing.And right now, there is a clean slate for those who need help.”Mr.March started to sit down, but stopped himself with a look to his brother again.He told him that he could use someone around to help him sort his pills and such.“Whatever you need, Mr.March.We’ll be there for you and the rest of the pack.So long, as I said, you were in good standing.”
“Mr.March, I’ll be over first thing in the morning to help you with your pills.Do you need them picked up for you, or do you have that?”Summer looked at Lica and smiled.“With two little girls, I have to be good at organizing things.I’ll gladly help out whoever needs it when it comes to helping with medications.”
There were a few show of hands of people who needed that sort of help.The signup sheet was sent around, and people were happy to put their names on the list to work.There was a lot of interest in things that needed to be taken care of, too.Then Mr.March stood up again.
“I mean you no disrespect, young man, but I’m glad to see you got your head out of your ass and did this to Bates.He was nearly killing off the elderly in this pack by thinking that we don’t have anything to offer and we’re too stupid to have an opinion about shit going on.But we’ve been around a while and know things that would boggle the young people’s minds if we were allowed to have a say once in a while.”Lica asked him if he wanted to head up the elderly help sheet to get things done.“I can do that.I don’t suppose there will be any pay for this help I’m giving?”
“Everyone will be paid who works for the pack.”Again, he said so long as they were in good standing.It was something that he suggested that he’d have people sign up for things, thinking thatthey’d be able to pull the wool over their eyes.With Belinda’s help, they were getting a few people taken care of who, while not as bad as Bates but they needed to be arrested for the crimes they’d been committing.
Chapter 5
“Where have you been?”Shawn just stared at Margaret until she looked at him.“I’ve not seen you all morning.Where have you been?”
“I’ve been at the hospital since yesterday.I was there trying to get something to stop the bleeding of these wounds—do you mean to tell me you didn’t miss me at all last night?I’m your brother.”
“I know who you are, Shawn.It’s just that when I went to bed, you weren’t here, and when I woke up, you were gone again.How was I supposed to know that they meant the same outing?Did you have fun at least?”There were days like today when he would gladly have strangled his sister to death.“I’ve been busy too.Did you know that when you write a check at the bank, they’ll give you cash for it?”
“I did know that, yes.Did you happen to have a good reason to go to the bank, Margaret?There was just enough money in the account for us to have dinner tonight.”She said that they let her close out the account for the two hundred dollars that was in the account.“And the reason you closed out the account?You do know that we need every penny we can save until we can get the money from Amber, right?I did tell you that, didn’t I?”
“You did, but the checks were just there.I know you said something about needing to have money in the account for the checks to work, but I don’t understand that.You have hundreds of checks, Shawn.If they closed out the account, we can still write those checks on the account.That’s why they gave us the checks in the first place, so we can use them to write for money.”He told her again that it didn’t work that way.“So says you.”
“So says everyone who has ever opened an account.With you closing the account out, that means that the checks aren’t any good anymore.Now we are well and truly fucked over because of you.”She waved him off like whatever he said didn’t matter.“It does matter, Margaret.What are we going to do about food for the next few nights?”
“We’ll write checks.Don’t be silly, Shawn.You know that I’m right.You have something wrong with you in regard to the checks, don’t you?I can write them from now on if you don’t want to.It’s quite easy.Even the lady at the bank said I do a good job with them.She told me that not many people use the memo part of the checks, but it helps you understand why you wrote out the check in the first place.See?I know all about them.”Except for the fact that they were useless if you didn’t have any money in the account, he thought.“You can order tonight, and I’ll write the check.That way you can get what you want and we’ll both be happy.”
He just walked away from her.It was that or he was really going to strangle her for being such an idiot sometimes.Sitting in his chair, he put his hand over the marks on his chest that the big dog had given him.They wouldn’t stop bleeding, no matter how many different kinds of stitches or tapes they put over them.Not until he told the dog that he was sorry.But he had to mean it when he said it.Stupidest thing that he’d ever heard.Where you could be marked by something and not let it heal until you apologize for it.He’d never apologized for anything in his life; he wasn’t going to do that with a fucking dog.
Dozing in his chair, he was woken up once by the front doorbell going off.Knowing how much his sister loved going to the door, he didn’t even bother getting awake enough to see who it was.A while later, there was another person at the door, and it took him three rings before he realized that no one was going to get it.
Getting up, he made his way to the door to see who would be disturbing his naptime.As soon as he saw the police there, he knew something had happened to his sister.She never left the house without him, and since she had not answered the door, she must be in trouble.
“What’s happened to her?”The officer looked shocked that he asked that, and told him he was here about something else.“My sister isn’t here.She’s the one who would be responsible for whatever you have a problem with.I’ve been here all morning.”
“We’re here about the reported stolen car.We know that it was repossessed last month.You would know that too, so why did someone report it stolen?”He asked who had claimed that it had been.“Margaret Gross.She said that she went out to get her car, and it was missing.Presuming that it was stolen, she called us.”
“She gets things mixed up once in a while.I’ll have a talk with her.”The officer said that it was a false report.“I promise you that it won’t happen again.Like I said, she gets confused sometimes.I’ll talk to her, and you won’t hear about the car again.She’s not here right now, but I will as soon as she comes home.”
“See that you do.”He wanted to tell the man that he said he would and slam the door in his face, but didn’t.Shawn didn’t need any more trouble right now.“Did you know that you’re bleeding?”
“Yes, I did know that.I just spent too many hours to count at the emergency department to get it fixed, and they couldn’t do anything for it.”He asked if he’d been cut by a shifter.“Yes, a dog.”
“Wolf.You smell like one of the Frazier men.Could be you bit off more than you could chew, I’m thinking.Nice men, you must have pissed one of them off powerfully for them to let you bleed like that.”The nurse at the emergency department said the same thing to him last night.Like he cared how much they were pissed off.“I’d be thinking of a way to tell them how sorry you are for whatever you did before you bleed to death.”He tipped his hat and told him to have a good day before leaving with the man he came with.
