Gin Jones - Helen Binney 01 - A Dose of Death by Gin Jones

won’t let your driver or one of his cousins do anything illegal.”
    “ Don’t worry,” Helen said. “If I kill her, I promise not to tell you in advance, and I’ll do my best to make it an interesting case for you.”
     
    *  *  *
     
    Jack was leaning against the car, playing a video game, when Helen emerged from the courthouse. Tate had left her at the door, claiming he needed to return to the clerk’s office on another matter, and he’d walk back to his office.
    Jack tossed his smartphone into the car and ran up the courthouse steps to give her an arm to lean on if she wanted it. She considered brushing him away, but the stone steps were steep, and the railing looked shaky. She took Jack ‘s arm with the hand not already using her cane.
    After the first step, he asked, “Is it all taken care of?”
    “ Not exactly.”
    “ I’m sorry,” Jack said. “It’s always the nice people that get taken advantage of, and the law won’t do anything about it. It’s just not fair.”
    “ I probably deserved it,” Helen said. “I’m not particularly nice.”
    Jack held the passenger door open for her. “What are you going to do now?”
    Helen hated to admit it, but Tate was probably right about finding somewhere else to stay tonight. The nieces ‘ homes weren’t an option. Lily was out of town on business, and Laura’s guestroom had been converted into a nursery. Helen might not have a friend she could stay with, but she could always rent a hotel room. Just until she could have the locks changed.
    Jack would know the local hotels, but Helen couldn ‘t make herself ask him. It wasn’t just stubbornness. Her cottage was the only place were she felt comfortable these days. She wasn’t going to be scared away from her one refuge by some crazy visiting nurse in silly pink clothes.
    “ First, I need a new phone and a locksmith,” she told Jack. “And then I’d like to go home.” 
    After a detour to pick up two new pre-paid cell phones that were now activated and ready for use, Jack rolled the car to a stop at the end of the driveway, headlights shining on the otherwise dark cottage.
    Over his shoulder, Jack said, “Her car is gone. Doesn’t look like she’s still here.”
    “ She isn’t the type to give up this easily,” Helen said. “She might have hidden her car out back.”
    “ Want me to come in with you?” Jack said. “Just until you’ve had a chance to look around?”
    She couldn ‘t let him do her dirty work, getting rid of Melissa, but she reconsidered letting him escort her to the front door. It had been a long day, after all, what with falling out the window and all. “Would you mind?”
    “ For you, I’d do anything.” Jack opened the back passenger door and waited patiently until she was able to emerge from the low seat.
    “ This job would be so much better if all the clients were like you.” Jack adjusted his pace to her slow one as they made their way up the walkway. “Some of them expect the driver to wait on them hand and foot, when they’re perfectly capable of taking care of themselves. There was this one guy last week: he looked like a professional boxer, and you’d think he could carry at least his puny little briefcase or his state-of-the-art-thin laptop, but no, he expected me to carry them for him, along with his three over-sized suitcases. And he had the nerve to complain that he was in a big rush, and it took me too long, because I had to make two trips to get everything into the lobby.”
    Jack paused while Helen unlocked the cottage ‘s front door, before adding, “And do you think he left me a decent tip for the extra work? Not likely. Bare minimum. Not even that, really. About ten percent.”
    Helen flicked the wall switch to illuminate the entry area and living room, half expecting Melissa to jump out of the darkness.
    All she found, though, was the sound of the talk station blaring from the radio. On the plus side, the rooms were unoccupied, just the way