The Jester's Court

Chapter 16: What the Hell Did I Do?

Danny went off to find us some lunch while I headed out to talk to a lawyer about a divorce. His office was a nice one and he was with a well respected firm, one that I'd probably never have been able to afford had Danny not set it up.

I'd scanned a copy of the document for him and sent it the night before, so he was prepared when I arrived. "Mr. Smith," he said, smilin' and buttonin' his suit jacket as he came around his desk, "very nice to meet you." He offered his hand, which I took and shook, of course.

"So, I've had a chance to look through the document," he said, unbuttonin' the suit jacket again as we settled at the large table in his office. Seemed like a lot of unnecessary buttonin' and unbuttonin' to me, but some people were more high class."Were you expecting to get the house, your car, and alimony?"

"Yes. She said that she'd have somethin' drawn up that was fair."

"Well, I have to say that I think it's very fair. She's issued a quitclaim on the house and offered a monthly amount for alimony." He named a figure and my eyebrows arched. "What? Is that not enough?" he asked, somewhat eagerly. "We can..."

I held up a hand. "No, it's more than fair. She's always put a portion of her paycheck into my account, even after we split. That amount is roughly double what I'm used to."

"Okay then," he said, leanin' back and steeplin' his fingers. "The stipulation is that you get the alimony until you marry again, which is fairly common. I say we just sign the documents, honestly, if you're happy with that."

"I guess I'll need to be sure I marry up again," I joked, reachin' for the pen. He laughed briefly; I bet he'd heard all the jokes by now. He began turnin' to all the tabbed pages where I needed to sign or initial, goin' through the document with me as he did. Sue had been true to her word; she'd drawn up somethin' fair.

I felt a sense of relief, but also of emptiness, as I made my way back to the precinct. It was really over. My lawyer would let me know when the court date was but, really, at this point, it was just a formality.

I'd apparently thought a little too hard on my trip back to the precinct; I felt a headache comin' on by the time I got to my desk. It reminded me that I still needed to pick up my migraine prescription on the way home. In the meantime, all I had was aspirin and caffeine. Often, the combo chased a headache away enough to function. Sometimes, if I caught it early enough, it never took hold. I was hopin' for the latter today.

I wolfed down my lunch as Danny and I discussed the case. Or, rather, the lack of one.

"Where do you think he got the soap?" I asked him, as he sat on the edge of his desk. "Has forensics come back with anythin' about what kind it was?"

"No, they haven't. I think they might be doing a little bit more of a thorough job this time."

"What about the duckies? Maybe we got lucky and there was a logo or somethin'? Hell, even a lot number would be somethin'."

"Negative on that, too. Generic 'Made in China' mark was all there was."

I sighed. "Shit, man. This guy is pretty good. I swear, we just need a break in this. I feel rather incompetent."

"I feel you there, partner," Danny replied. He picked a piece of lint off his pants.

"How's he gettin' to the locations? I mean, we know how he got there when he stole my car, but what about the two times before?"

"He apparently knows the cam systems in the areas really well. He's always on foot by the time he shows up."

"How does he do that? Is he some kind of hacker guy?"