The Second Doublewide on the Right, part 86

I’m Fixin’ To present part 86 of The Second Doublewide on the Right:

Once Quantavious had returned from his session with J. Walter Waddell (Slick), Ricky Lee watched as he proceeded to shake Jimmy Ray awake and tell him, “Hey, Jimmy Ray, my lawyer said you on the court calendar too. I got him to check it. He said you gonna need yourself a lawyer in a bad way ‘cause they done turned your case over to the GBI!”

Ricky Lee was wondering why Jimmy Ray was grinning like he knew something they didn’t, but then the cell door reopened and an officer called his name.

He followed the detention officer down the cold concrete corridor until he was escorted into a private room and the door clicked closed behind him.

The man sitting at the table in the room stood up and extended his hand saying, “Hello Reverend Jones, my name is Waddell. I’ve been retained to represent you. Please sit down. We don’t have a lot of time.”

Ricky Lee sat down across the table from the lawyer in the rumpled shirt, with the knot in his tie two inches below his collar. There were several legal folders resting on the table and as Slick picked one of them up and opened it up Ricky Lee said, “You say you were retained—-”

“More like kidnapped! Your little friend showed up at my house late yesterday with a big double handful of cash. That was after they had turned her away from the jail because visiting hours don’t come around again until Wednesday. She was quite concerned about you, even after I informed her earlier this morning about the out-of-state charge you are facing.”

“She knows about—-?”

“That’s correct, she knows you have two wives over in Arkansas, and she was still crying and begging me to help you. I’ve already talked to the district attorney and the sheriff this morning, and your case appears to be one which will be very interesting.”

“How do you mean, sir?”

“Well, the sheriff already talked with his counterpart over in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and it seems like there are some folks over there who want you back real bad.

“At the same time, it seems as if the local law enforcement wants to pursue the charge of, let’s see,” Slick said as he flipped through papers. “Oh yes, theft by receiving stolen merchandise. Allow me to advise you of your options—you can refuse to sign extradition papers to Arkansas and stay here and face the local charge, and we can plead not guilty, get a bond set and get you released from custody. But let me caution you,” he continued as he glanced at the door of the room and lowered his voice, “when some of these folks in Ocmulgee County get on your trail they are like a Basset Hound chasing a rabbit and will drive it into a hole and then dig it out.”

Ricky Lee leaned forward and inquired, “So what’s your advice?”

“The decision is yours, sir, but from a legal point of view I would encourage you to offer to sign extradition papers in exchange for getting this local charge dismissed.”

“Do you think they will go for that?” Ricky Lee asked.

“If you agree with my recommendation, you should leave it up to me to see to it that that is what takes place.”

“What’s the penalty for bigamy?” Ricky Lee asked.

“It varies by state, but in Arkansas, it’s considered a class C felony and punishable by as much as five years and a fine of as much as $5,000. However, sentences can be served on probation, or charges can be dropped in Arkansas, just like they can here in Georgia.”

Ricky Lee sat deep in thought for a few moments before he said, “Whatever decision I make, will you also handle some private property issues I have here in Georgia?”

“I would consider it a privilege,” Slick replied.

Ricky Lee extended his hand across the table to his lawyer, as he smiled and announced what his decision was fixin’ to be.

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