Josie's Chronicle

Chapter 17 - Changes

Josie sat on the veranda, rocking Justine to sleep. The view from this place was beautiful! It was one of the things she was going to miss. This place was serene and private, so much so that she hadn't bothered to cover her breast after the baby had fallen asleep. She was trying to wean her. The process was a bit frustrating for both of them, but it had to be done.
Justine was beginning to pull herself up now and growing far faster than Josie had ever imagined. Honestly? She had never tried to imagine. This circumstance wasn't even supposed to be happening. Josie knew she should be on a beach somewhere with all of this behind her.
And yet, here she was, mommy nanny. She looked down at the sleeping child. She knew she wanted a couple of babies in the future. Heck, she wanted all of this, she thought, looking around the room.

A light knock on the door shook her from her thoughts. She pulled the front of her shirt down, covering her breast, and stood to answer the door.
It was Mister.
Josie had never seen anyone as handsome as he was in all of her days. He was about 6' 5" tall, with well-groomed dreads that resembled a lions mane when it wasn't pulled back. He was clean shaven and always smelled of roses.
He entered the room quietly and took the sleeping child from her arms.
"Sgt. Knight is here to speak with you." He whispered, never looking away from his daughter.
Josie watched the man. She had never noticed his awe and admiration for the child before now. In truth, this was the very first time she'd seen him in the nursery alone. She was mesmerized by the sight of this large man, gently cooing to the small child in his arms. He shoo'ed her with his hand. "My daughter and I will be just fine until you get back. Shoo, shoo, go."

Sgt. Knight stood by the large ornate front door, looking more stoic than usual.
Josie smiled. "Good afternoon, Sargent. You must have news about the shooting and mom? Have you found her?"

"Is there someplace we can talk privately?" Sgt. Knight responded, still standing by the door.

Josie nodded and turned toward the patio doors. Sgt. Knight followed her.
"Has anyone tried to contact you? Have you reached out to anyone?"
Josie shook her head. This was mostly true. She hadn't done anything since she sent the picture of Justine. At this moment, she wasn't sure of why she'd sent it. But she had, and neither woman had responded.

Josie sat under the gazebo. Sgt Knight didn't sit. She handed Josie the file with the Seawell theory and waited for her response.

Josie took a deep breath. "That Bitch!", she exclaimed. "That self important asshat! I'd call him a son of a bitch, but I don't know his mother!"

Sgt. Knight sat down across from her. "That was my thought also, but after speaking with the people on his suspect list, I am inclined to want to look further into his theory. He is not a likable person. He does not have friends, but he has plenty of enemies. And a number of them want him dead." Sgt. Knight stretched out her legs. "Did you know he was married? They got married right out of high-school. Her parents have money. My guess is that he wanted access to their money by way of marriage." The Sargent leaned forward placing her elbows on her knees. "Her inheritance ran out at year five. He is a known philanderer. There is a video of an encounter with a woman at a journalist conference that wasn't flattering to him.
Here's the part that gives us pause. Someone says on the recording that someone will kill Seawell one day. But we don't know who said it yet. Honestly? There are many who want him out of the picture."
Josie closed the file. Fuckin' Danny man! She took a deep breath. "What about my mom? My
Progenitor is no prize either."

Sgt. Knight shook her head. "No news on that front either. He has retained an attorney, so the interviews have stopped. There truly isn't much concrete evidence to move on. All we have is the office recording. And that doesn't show much of anything."

Josie sat for a moment, stunned that things were still unsettled. It made no sense that she was shot by someone looking to kill fucking Danny!

"Do you think he knows where I am? I haven't heard from him, but you never know." Josie shrugged. Her life was in a calm upheaval, if there was such a thing. She looked off into the distance at the blue-green, inviting water of the pool. Well, at least the prison is nice. She thought.

"We've officers on detail on this property. They're working with the security company. Mr. Adebisi has an excellent system. The cameras are well placed, and the video resolution is the best I've seen. You don't have to worry about your safety here."
Sgt Knight said, preparing to leave. "I've spoken with all concerned, and we think it's best that you remain here until we know what happened in both situations.
Is there a reason you'd want to leave?"

Josie had a twenty pound, curly haired, toothless reason why she she shouldn't have even been here in the first place. She heard herself say no.
The walk back to the nursery was filled with far too many thoughts. She knocked lightly and turned the doorknob. The sight of a large shirtless man, with a baby sleeping on his chest, caused tears to form in her eyes. She stepped into the room and was startled by Tina sitting on the couch watching him.

Josie smiled. Tina didn't smile. "I've lost him to her." She whispered. "I honestly thought he'd be drawn to you because you gave birth to her, but she is the draw. She has his heart."
Jodie frowned. "I'd have paid anything to have a dad that loving. I don't know about you, but I believe that she's blessed to have a dad who treasures her." Josie said quietly, moving to sit down next to Tina, who was crying silently.
" Listen, I can't begin to relate to where you are in this entire circumstance. However, I do know that you're looking at it incorrectly." Josie turned on the small lamp next to the couch. "The man I know as dad (she said the word like it tasted bad) wasn't pleasant to be around. He was cold and mean. What was your dad like?"

Tina didn't look at Josie. She'd seen pictures of herself as a child asleep in her dad's arms. She'd seen videos of the two of them enjoying life. She remembered her devastation when he died. She sighed deeply.

"You were a very good choice in this circumstance, Josie." Tina said resolutely and left the room. Once again glad that her brother had been a terrible shot.