In the Grey

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  In the background, Luana, their housekeeper, said something to Sue Ann. She responded in Portuguese.

  “Love the Portuguese,” Alex said.

  “I know! I’m getting really good,” Sue Ann said. “Anyway, there’s something else going on today that I thought you might want to know about.”

  “Oh yea?” Alex asked.

  “Sergeant Beetle is getting married today,” Sue Ann said.

  “He is?” Alex tried to keep the shock from her voice. Raz turned to look at her. “What happened?”

  “He just decided he wanted to be married,” Sue Ann said. “So he asked her, and she said yes.”

  “He asked who?” Alex sneered and thought of the many ways she was going to peel the skin off of Sergeant Pete Beetle.

  “Me,” Sue Ann laughed. Alex laughed and breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Don’t you think it’s kind of fast?” Alex asked.

  “We’ve been dating almost a year,” Sue Ann said. “And anyway, he has to travel after Thanksgiving. He wanted to get married before he left. This way, we have some time and Thanksgiving, and then he’s gone for a bit. And he’s decided he’s going to live with us.”

  Sue Ann sounded so happy that Alex smiled.

  “What’s going on?” Raz whispered.

  “Pete and Sue Ann are getting married,” Alex said. “Today!”

  Matthew cheered.

  “Is that your gorgeous partner?” Sue Ann asked.

  “Yep,” Alex said.

  “Now, I was hoping you could come,” Sue Ann said. “And I know Pete was hoping the team could come, but I told him you were out of the country. He tried to call, but you’re ‘out of pocket.’ What does that mean?”

  “It’s a fancy way of saying I’m not reachable because I’m doing something,” Alex said.

  “What was it this morning?” Sue Ann asked.

  “I went to a funeral,” Alex said.

  “You what?”

  “We’re on our way to Buffy’s house right now,” Alex said.

  “You’re here?”

  “A couple of miles from your house,” Alex said. “We were going to call after this drama was over.”

  “You are such a stinker. Krystal!” Sue Ann yelled. “They’re right here.”

  Krystal cheered. The clipped sound of Krystal’s high heels across the marble floors came closer to the phone.

  “They’re coming, right?” Krystal said to Sue Ann. In the phone, she added, “Hi Alex.”

  “We’re missing a few,” Alex said. “But we’ll be there.”

  “See,” Krystal said to Sue Ann. “Out with the old, and in with the new and good lookin’.”

  The tap of Krystal’s heels indicated she was moving away from the phone.

  “How was the funeral?” Sue Ann asked.

  “Crazy,” Alex said.

  “Of course,” Sue Ann said. “Well, when you get done with all of that, you should come on by. We’ll start around six. We’re going to have it at the house. Just the family, and now you!”

  “Sounds great,” Alex said.

  “And Alex?” The tremor in Sue Ann’s voice caught Alex’s full attention.

  “Yes?”

  “You think the boys would have wanted this?” Sue Ann asked. “Golly, their daddy’s funeral was today, and everything.”

  “Absolutely,” Alex said. “I think the boys made it happen.”

  “You do!” Sue Ann’s voice was flush with joy. “I do too. See you soon!”

  Alex looked at the phone when Sue Ann hung up. Shaking her head, she smiled.

  “That’s a good way to kill two birds,” Raz said.

  “Indeed,” Alex said.

  “What?” Royce asked. “We’re going bird hunting, too?”

  “We’re going to a wedding,” Alex said. “Don’t worry; we’ll have a great time.”

  “What about Cecil Joiner?” Matthew asked. “Weren’t we supposed to track him down, too?”

  “Birds,” Raz said.

  “He’ll be at the wedding,” Alex said. “You’ll be surprised. He’s doing really well. He got remarried last year.”

  “They seem happy,” Raz said.

  Royce leaned forward to look at Alex, and then at Raz.

  “You two are social butterflies,” Royce said.

  “We keep tabs on people,” Alex said. “It’s basic intelligence work. At some point, any one of these people could stumble onto something important. I want to be the first person they call.”

  “Sneaky,” Matthew said.

  “Don’t let her fool you,” Raz glanced at Alex. “We keep tabs on them because Alex is nosey. She’d die if she didn’t know how everything turned out.”

  They laughed. Raz drove around a cul-de-sac and parked behind a limousine.

  “Okay,” Alex turned around to look at Royce and Matthew. “This needs to be super clean. Glasses on. Weapons apparent. You need to look, walk, talk, and feel like government officials.”

  “Got it,” Matthew said. Royce nodded.

  “I know Cee Cee was . . . well, what he was, but we need to be respectful with his family,” Alex said.

  “Why?” Royce asked.

  “They might eat us,” Raz said.

  They laughed.

  “One last thing,” Alex said. “Keep your eyes open. This maybe our one and only chance to get a sense of how Buffy is connected to all of this.”

  “If we have to come back, we’ll need probable cause,” Raz said. “And a warrant.”

  “Look at photos, books, or anything that might give us a clue,” Alex said. “If you can, take a picture so we have it. Does everyone remember what Josef Yakovlev looks like?”

  Alex glanced at Royce and Matthew. They nodded.

  “The team is watching our backs,” Alex said. “Everyone have their earbuds?”

  They nodded.

  “Turn them on now,” Alex said.

  “You’re sure Buffy has a connection to this?” Royce asked.

  “Everyone who knows her thinks she’s at the center of things,” Alex said. “Now, we find out that Cee Cee was always married to her. I think we have to consider the possibility that she’s involved.”

  “Do you see any non-white people going into that house?” Royce asked.

  “That woman’s pretty tan,” Matthew pointed to a middle-aged woman near the front door.

  “Spray tan,” Raz said. “No, I think it’s you and me, brother.”

  “Why don’t Matthew and I present Cee Cee’s ashes?” Alex nodded. “You and Royce will be marginalized. You’ll have a better chance of seeing something.”

  “Who gets to carry Cee Cee?” Royce asked.

  “I’ll do it,” Alex said. “Carried him in life; carry him in death.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  With that, Alex got out of the car. Raz opened the trunk, and she got the box of Cee Cee’s ashes out of the back. It was a stroke of luck that they had his ashes. The Chinese government had sent them to her at Buckley. Patrick had intercepted them and arranged to send them on to Paris. They had to leave their Parisian mini-vacation to bring the ashes to Buffy.

  “How is it that Margaret missed this party?” Royce said under his breath on the way in.

  Alex smiled at the thought of the feisty Navajo Margaret Peaches with these folks.

  “We have you in range,” Alex heard Joseph’s voice on her earbud communicator.

  “I can’t believe you would wish this on me,” Margaret said.

  At Buffy’s door, they were unable to do anything but smile.

  “We’ve got you on the surveillance cameras,” Joseph said.

  Alex raised her hand to knock, when the door opened.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Trixi Joiner, Cee Cee’s second wife, said. “I . . . Alex? Oh my goodness, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

  Trixi hugged Alex and then looked at the men. She gave Matthew a sultry smile and furrowed her brow at Royce.

  “I’m sure your d
river doesn’t want to be bothered with everything,” Trixi smiled at Royce. “Most of the drivers are in the back. You can head around by the side.”

  Trixi took Alex’s arm and led her into the house. In Alex’s ear, she said, “You always have the hottest men around you.”

  Alex smiled. Matthew followed on Alex’s other side. Acting like a bodyguard, Raz came in behind them.

  “You set up Krystal and Sue Ann,” Trixi turned to look at Alex. “Do a girl a favor?”

  “He’s taken,” Alex said in a low voice.

  “No ring,” Trixi gave Matthew a sweet smile.

  “Most men don’t wear rings in the military,” Alex said.

  “Shoot,” Trixi said.

  “How are you with . . . everything?” Alex stopped walking to give Matthew and Raz a chance to look around the dining room.

  “I’m broken up, of course,” Trixi said. “It seems kind of mean to shoot him, don’t you think?”

  Unable to come up with a suitable answer, Alex gave her best compassionate nod.

  “You probably want to see Buffy,” Trixi said.

  “I need to give her . . . ,” Alex gestured to the box she was carrying.

  “Is that . . . ?” Trixi asked. “Here I am trying to pick up a man, and you’re holding poor Cee Cee in your hands?”

  Trixi’s hand went to her mouth to cover what might have been a laugh or a sob. She leaned into Alex.

  “Buffy’s on the warpath,” Trixi said.

  “More than usual?” Alex said out of the side of her mouth.

  “She found out we all get part of Cee Cee’s estate,” Trixi said. “She didn’t realize that Cee Cee didn’t have any . . .”

  Trixi moved closer.

  “Oil stock,” Trixi nodded.

  “Do you?” Alex asked.

  “We each got a little bit,” Trixi said. “For the kids . . . their education and all. It’s part of his momma’s estate. Even Sue Ann got some, and she doesn’t have kids anymore. ‘Course, she doesn’t need it with her helping out at the company and all.”

  “And Buffy?” Alex asked. “What about Tristan and Kacy?”

  “They inherited the stock because they’re older,” Trixi said.

  Trixi gave Alex a sincere nod.

  “She’s going to be fine, of course,” Trixi said. “She got most of his actual money, plus those secret accounts she kept for him.”

  “Buffy kept secret accounts for Cee Cee?” Alex asked.

  Trixi nodded.

  “Why, Alex!” Becki Joiner, Cee Cee’s fourth wife said. She glanced at Matthew and winked at Raz. “It’s so nice that you could make it. Can I take your . . . ?”

  Becki looked down at the box in Alex’s hands. She glanced at Trixi to confirm what she suspected. Trixi nodded. Becki gave Alex a sweet smile, turned in place, and walked out of the room.

  “Ignore her,” Trixi said. “She’s always been a little . . . special. She thinks she’s psychic. She’s always going to ghost hunting investigations and crazy stuff. She probably thinks she heard Cee Cee tell her to leave the room.”

  Trixi laughed.

  “And Belinda and Missy?” Alex asked about the remaining mothers of Cee Cee’s illegitimate children.

  Trixi’s eyes got big. She leaned in again.

  “They got all lawyered up after . . . you know, what happened,” Trixi said.

  “You mean when Cee Cee almost killed their children?” Alex asked.

  “Well . . . Marvin was killed, so I don’t blame Jenni-June for killing herself,” Trixi nodded. “Her parents sued Cee Cee’s estate, which means they sued Buffy or, as Buffy says, all of us. Missy and Belinda are just so . . . hateful.”

  Trixi squinted to indicate something. Alex wasn’t sure what.

  “What did they do?” Alex asked.

  “They sued Cee Cee’s trust for medical expenses, suffering, and stuff like that,” Trixi said. “Buffy got a restraining order against them. They weren’t even allowed at the funeral.”

  Raz made a slight noise, and Alex glanced at him. He gestured to his ring finger.

  “I couldn’t help but notice your gorgeous ring,” Alex smiled at Trixi. “Did you get married again?”

  “Nope,” Trixi said. “Married once, married for life. Even if it’s to that no-good Cee Cee Joiner. But I’m always available for . . . whatever.”

  Trixi smiled at Matthew. He smiled and moved to the other side of the room.

  “I’ll go get Buffy,” Trixi said.

  She gave them a little manicured wave, a flip of her long blonde hair, and swished away on her stilettos.

  Alex wondered if she should have worn her padded bra. Raz cleared his throat and pointed to the pictures on the mantle in the next room. They went into the living room. While the men moved to look around the room, Alex set Cee Cee’s ashes down on a table and poured herself a drink. Her hand was hovering over the whiskey when she heard Buffy say, “Alex is here?”

  “Better stick with the wine,” Courtney Joiner, Cee Cee’s fifth wife, said under her breath. “There’s plenty of whine here.”

  “Good thinking,” Alex said.

  “That him?” Courtney asked.

  Alex nodded. Courtney took a small vial out of her pocket and opened the box. She scooped out some of Cee Cee’s ashes with her long, blood-red index fingernail and tapped it into the vial. She closed the vial and stuck it in her pocket. She had the box closed before they heard Buffy.

  “Alex?” Buffy said from the next room.

  Alex glanced at Courtney.

  “Make sure he stays in hell.” Her eyes burning with fury, Courtney nodded. She turned around to Buffy. “Can you believe Alex made all this effort for us?”

  When Alex turned, Courtney was all smiles, blonde hair, and beauty. Alex was too taken aback to respond. Buffy hugged her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Raz take his phone out of his pocket. He held it to his ear to disguise taking a picture of something on the mantle.

  “Alex, honey, how are you?” Buffy asked.

  “I wanted to make sure Cee Cee reached you,” Alex held out the box to Buffy.

  Buffy’s eyes welled with tears, and she took the box.

  “I just can’t believe he’s gone,” Buffy said. “I can’t . . .”

  Buffy used her free hand to hold a tissue to her eyes. Alex noticed that Trixi had followed Buffy into the room. Becki appeared from the kitchen.

  Alex’s heart skipped a beat. She realized she was surrounded by Cee Cee Joiner’s ex-wives. Her eyes cast around the room for Raz and Matthew. Noting her panicked look, Matthew walked over to her.

  “You were there, weren’t you?” Buffy asked.

  Alex wasn’t sure how Buffy knew that. She smiled.

  “What do you mean?” Alex asked.

  “I heard you had time with him before . . . before . . .” Buffy used the tissue to wipe her tears. “I’m so sorry. I’m just broken up about . . .”

  While she collected herself, Alex looked for Raz. He’d moved into the bookshelf-lined office next to the living room and pulled a photo album off a shelf.

  “I was granted a few minutes to speak with him,” Alex said.

  “Did he . . . say anything . . . about . . . ?” Buffy’s hand moved to her heart. As a second thought, she gestured to the other ex-wives.

  “He said to tell you that he was sorry,” Alex said. “And that he never could get things right.”

  “Oh,” Becki began to cry into her hands. Trixi put her arm around Becki’s shoulders to comfort the young woman.

  “He also said to tell you he was sorry he let him down.” Alex watched her words register on Buffy’s face. Buffy gave a slight unconscious nod before bursting into tears.

  “I can’t believe he’s sorry,” Buffy said. “I’m just so sorry, and now I can never . . .”

  Her cosmetically unlined face became a mask of muted misery. She held the tissue to her eyes to keep the moisture at bay. She cried, and Trixi comforted her.

&nbs
p; “Did you bring the book?” Buffy asked.

  “The Chinese took his possessions from him,” Alex played along. She touched her hand to Buffy’s shoulder. “I know it’s important to you.”

  “He took my copy and never . . . never . . . Oh my God . . .”

  Buffy made a show of wailing. She fled with Cee Cee’s ashes through the den where Raz was snooping and to the back of the house. Trixi and Becki followed her.

  Alex turned to look at Courtney. She shrugged.

  “There’s always that kind of drama here,” she said.

  “How is your son Jayden?” Alex asked.

  “He’s beautiful,” Courtney said. “Smart and loving. He’s truly the light of my life. Cecil has been very kind, a real grandfather to Jayden. Thanks for remembering.”

  Alex smiled. Courtney had just married Cee Cee and was pregnant with their son when the other children were kidnapped and killed. Cee Cee told her he was leaving for a business trip when he went into hiding and never came back.

  “Are you going tonight?” Courtney asked.

  “To . . . ?” Alex shook her head.

  “Sue Ann and Pete,” Courtney said in a conspiratorial tone.

  Alex nodded.

  “I’ll see you there,” Courtney smiled.

  “Courtney?” Buffy wailed from the back of the house.

  “I should go,” Courtney said. “If you’re wondering, Cee Cee gave each of us a copy of The Gadfly when we got married. It was his ‘wedding present.’ I would have preferred money or maybe diamonds, or anything I could sell to pay the rent, especially since he split a month after the wedding, but that was Cee Cee.”

  “The Gadfly?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah right. How is that a wedding present?” Courtney gave a rueful shake of her head. “Cee Cee said it was a desperate romance of star-crossed lovers, but . . . it’s mostly about revolution and stuff. Too . . . melodramatic for me. I’d give you my copy, but I tossed it, along with the rest of Cee Cee’s crap. Buffy says he took her copy. That’s what she wants back.”

  “Who wrote it?” Matthew asked.

  “Some Irish lady. Uh,” Courtney looked up at the ceiling for a moment. “E. L. Voynich, in like the 1800s. Anyway, I should go, or suffer the wrath of Buffy.”

  Courtney turned to look at Matthew, and then at Alex.

  “Thanks for bringing him,” Courtney said. “I know this whole scene is stupid and crazy, but . . . with him here, we’ll have story to tell and our children will have a place to visit. It means a lot to me that you’d go out of your way bring him.”