Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page A

contingency fee basis, under a 60-40
arrangement.  We spent most of the weekend working on her affidavit that she
would submit with her charge, and by Sunday afternoon, it was polished to perfection. 
I decided to have her file the charge on her own, hoping the company would
screw up even more if they didn’t know that a lawyer was already involved.
    I was bringing over the final version of the affidavit and I
had just knocked on her door, when I heard Maddie yelling from inside.  Oliver
opened the door and I raced to the back of the house, following Maddie’s
screams.  A foul smell hit me as I approached what turned out to be the baby’s
room, and I could hear Maddie saying, shit over and over again.
    “What’s the matter?” I shouted, but as I stepped into the room,
the problem was evident.  There was a screaming baby standing in his crib,
naked from the waist down, and there was crap everywhere.
    “Shit!” Maddie said again.  “He took off his diaper!”
    It was the most disgusting thing I had ever seen.  Evidently
the kid had finger-painted with his shit, because it was all over the place. 
On his hands, in his fingernails, in his hair, on his face and arms and legs. 
It covered the sheet from one end to the other and was all over the slats of
the crib and on the railings.  The kid had had a hell of a time, and if it
weren’t so disgusting, it would have been hilarious.   As it was, I was
horrified and backed up trying to get out of the room.
    “Can you take him?” Maddie asked, trying to hand me the kid.
    “No way!” I said, throwing my hands up in the air.  “I can’t do
it!”
    Oliver had come into the room and was looking around at the
mess with a horrified expression on his face.
    “Oliver, run get Mrs. Johns,” I told him, backing away from
Maddie and the smelly, dirty baby.  “Quick!” I added, giving him a shove to get
him started.
    Oliver took off running as fast as he could, slamming the front
door as he made his exit.
    “I need your help,” Maddie pleaded.  “Hold him so I can get his
shirt off.”
    No way in hell was I going to hold that filthy kid.  “You hold
him and I’ll take off his shirt,” I countered.
    We went into the bathroom and she held the baby out while I
tried to take his shirt off without getting shit all over myself.  The kid had
settled down and was no longer crying, but he kept reaching for me with those
disgusting little shit-covered hands.  I finally managed to remove his shirt
and I tossed it on the ground in the corner of the bathroom.  Having done my duty,
I tried to retreat, but Maddie wasn’t going let me get away so easily.
    “Can you run the bath?” Maddie asked.
    I turned on the water and again tried to leave, but then she
needed wipes.
    “Wipes?”
    “Wipes,” she repeated.  “They’re in a blue box in his room on
the changing table.”
    Oh, God .  Not back in that room .   I
looked at Maddie and then at the kid and decided that getting the wipes was the
lesser of the evils, so I braved the smell and raced in and retrieved the
wipes.   I had another quick glance at the crib and decided if it were me, I’d
throw the damn thing out, bedding and all, and go out and buy a new one.
    Maddie laid the kid down on a towel and started wiping him off
starting with his face and hands and working her way down that dirty little
body.  I looked at my watch and wondered what was keeping Mrs. Johns. 
Apparently Oliver had not conveyed the urgency of the situation.
    “Have you ever bathed a baby?” Maddie asked, with a hopeful
note in her voice.
      “I’m not good with babies,” I said.  I looked at my watch
again.  Where the hell was Mrs. Johns !  The front door opened and
slammed and I could hear footsteps walking quickly through the house.
    “Oh my goodness!” I could hear her say.  “Oh, my!  Maddie,
dear?”  Mrs. Johns came into the bathroom and took in the scene.  “Bless your
heart.  Did you have an accident?”