Don't Touch Me! - 5

 

Brent rapped a finger on his desk. "To be honest, while I'm a damned good investigator, I've never handled a murder case, so I can't say for certain. We could set it at a month, with, as I said, the option on both our parts to terminate sooner. That will be written into the contract."

"Okay. I can deal with that. Hell, by then I might be sitting in a jail cell. Or in a psych ward because…" he shuddered.

"It would be impossible to be arrested without being touched," Brent replied with compassion. "Tell me something, Cody. Have you looked for help for your problem?"

He shrugged. "Sort of. I saw a shrink…once. The only thing that came out of it was his giving me a name for what's wrong with me. Haphephobia. He said it was an intense, and often irrational, fear of being touched. He wanted to dose me up on anti-anxiety meds before he was willing to try to dig into the causes. He gave me a scrip for some." Cody shook his head. "I tried them and no way. I'd rather live with what's wrong with me than be a zombie."

Brent chuckled. "I can see that. Although, from what Ashlie told me, you definitely react badly when you're touched."

"Yeah," Cody agreed ruefully. "It's why I almost never leave the house. At least I drive and have my own car, so if I'm careful—and for damned sure I am—I can play keep-away from people. You learn how to after a while."

At that moment, Sophia buzzed Brent to tell him Mr. Davis, one of his clients, had arrived. He acknowledged it before telling Cody, "If you want to come back later this afternoon, I can have a contract ready for you to sign. Or, I can bring it by your house, which would probably be better."

"So you can see where Mother was killed?" Cody replied dryly.

Brent chuckled. "That too. But I figure it'll be easier on you if you don't have to come out in public again."

"Thank you," Cody said gratefully. "What time?"

Brent checked his schedule. "Say five?" When Cody agreed, Brent asked for Cody's particulars for the contract. When he had them, he suggested Cody leave by the side door to the office. "The hallway goes directly to the stairwell. You're less likely to run into anyone there."

Cody thanked him again, left, and Brent told Sophia to send Mr. Davis in.