by Leonie Gant
“You think the murderer will come to the funeral?” I asked.
“Never know” Griffin said.
We looked at each other in an awkward silence for a second. Tomas poked his head around the door, frowned at the incredibly tense scene before him, and cleared his throat.
“Trudie, could you give me a hand in the reception area. We have a couple of small issues, teeny issues really, and I just need your input.”
“Sure” I said slowly.
Tomas looked at Griffin. “Rico doesn’t like people walking around before the funeral” he said. You’ll have to go.”
Griffin looked strangely reluctant to leave.
“Griffin’s fine” I said. “He’s with me. He won’t do anything he shouldn’t.”
“As long as you’re sure” Tomas said.
“Absolutely” I smiled. “He won’t touch a thing.”
Tomas nodded before heading off.
“You’re okay here?” I asked Griffin.
“I’ll just have a look around, get a bit or an idea about the place before the funeral starts” Griffin answered.
I nodded and followed Tomas out the door. We almost ran into Griffin’s partner, Ramos, who as usual looked like she had just stepped off of a catwalk runway.
“He’s in there” I indicated with my head the room we had just left.
“Thanks Trudie” Ramos smiled as she walked past.
Well at least she was acting normally. Tomas looked at me quizzically.
“What was that all about?”
“I truly don’t know” I said. “They’re the cops investigating Eric’s murder.”
“Things seemed a bit tense back there” Tomas ventured. “You and the big cop have something going on?”
“Something” I said distractedly.
Griffin had acted strangely. Unfortunately I had no time to ponder the way he was acting as the next hour saw Tomas, Rico and I working solidly to put this funeral service together. By the time Adele arrived with the Powells, the funeral home looked elegant and subdued. The remnants of Helena’s attempts to provide peace to Eric’s restless spirit were nowhere to be seen. Neither were Griffin or Ramos for that matter. I hadn’t seen them since the awkward interlude in the service room and if I hadn’t been so busy I would have been curious to speak to Griffin about what was happening with Eric’s case.
Chapter Nineteen
Adele walked into the funeral home with Miranda and Elliot Powell both supporting an arm. She was dressed all in black and looked decidedly frail. When she saw me she let go of Miranda and Elliot and threw her arms around my neck.
“Oh Trudie, thank you so much for taking care of this for me. You have been a true angel through my time of need.”
I didn’t say anything, just patted her awkwardly on the back.
“I want to see him” she said as she disentangled herself from me.
“He’s just in here” I said pointing towards the room where Eric’s coffin was.
Adele gripped my hand. “Can you come in with me” she said.
I stopped, looking in the direction of the Powells.
“Surely you’d prefer...”
“No I want you to come in with me” she insisted.
“Of course” I said as she laid her arm on mine and put a reassuring smile on my face.
Looking down at Eric it hit me again about how precarious life can be.
“He looks just like he’s sleeping” Adele murmured as she stroked his face. “I should never have married him. I knew it was a mistake. All I wanted from him was sex. He was great in bed but anytime he started talking I just wanted to tell him to shut up. I couldn’t stand to hear him talk. I really shouldn’t have married him if I didn’t like talking to him should I?”
“Probably not” I said wondering where else this conversation was going to go.
“You wouldn’t marry a man just for sex would you Trudie?” she asked, all the time stroking Eric’s cheek.
For some reason that little movement of her hand was beginning to truly disturb me. I wasn’t a fan of Eric but I really didn’t think that we needed to spend his funeral dissecting his many, many flaws.
“No, I don’t think I would” I said.
“No you wouldn’t,” Adele said. “I look at you and wish I was that capable. I could never be alone like you. I always needed to have a man taking care of me, ever since I was a girl. Even now the thought of being alone. I can’t do it. I need to have someone. You don’t need anyone. You have no one in your life but you are able to cope. I could never live a lonely life like that.”
I almost protested that I wasn’t lonely but stopped myself. She obviously needed to get this out and it wouldn’t be the first time I had acted as therapist to one of my clients.
“I hated him” Adele said and I almost had to hold myself back from pulling her hand away from his face. “He thought he was hurting me by sleeping with all those women. Every time I looked at him, all I felt was disgust and loathing, but I still couldn’t stop myself from going to him every night. What does that say about me?” she asked her eyes filling up with tears.”
I grabbed her hand and pulled it away from the stroking motion she had been doing.
“Surely there were some good memories you have of him” I said desperately. “Why don’t you try to hold on to those today?”
She looked at me sadly. “I can’t” she said. “I hated him so much. This was all for the best.” She smiled brightly through her tears. “You’ll see Trudie, this has all been for the best. It was the only way I could get away from him.”
She walked out of the room and despite the warm weather I shivered. As soon as this funeral was over I was going to go home and try my hardest to forget this whole thing had happened. I was then going to think very seriously about my career options. Maybe I could be a dog walker.
Outside the viewing room I could see that several more people had joined the group. Most were friends of Adele’s, obviously here to support her in her time of grief. However towards the back of the group and obviously trying her very best to blend in with the wall, was Ruby. I walked over to her.
“Hi Ruby, I’m really pleased that you were able to come today” I said.
Ruby smiled shyly and looked around awkwardly. “I have to be here” she said, her eyes downcast. The look on her face was one of abject misery.
Tomas started to usher the guests inside and I fell into step beside Ruby. I took a seat while Ruby went up to the coffin to say her goodbyes to Eric. She spoke quietly to him, leaned down and kissed his forehead and took a seat, tears streaming down her face. The other guests looked at her curiously but a part of me was pleased for her that she had the chance to say goodbye. I was also pleased that someone in this group was actually mourning for Eric. God knows I hadn’t liked the man, but it just struck me as wrong that he lived almost thirty years on this earth and nobody mourned his passing. Admittedly he wasn’t the greatest human being that ever lived, but he was far from the worst. Maybe my family was right and I was just too soft hearted. According to my Grandma Rita that soft heart was going to get me into trouble one day.
The celebrant Tomas had organized for the funeral was very good. She had taken the small amount of information that I had given her about Eric, and managed to turn it into an uplifting and moving service. I kept checking on Adele and Ruby as they seemed to be the only two who were affected in any way. Adele sat there stony faced, all signs of tears gone. In direct contrast Ruby had gone from tears streaming down her face to deep heaving sobs. At the point where the celebrant asked if there was anyone who wanted to share their memories of Eric, I went to shake my head. To my surprise Ruby stood up and headed for the lectern. Adele looked at me inquiringly. I tried to nod encouragingly. Ruby stood at the front of the room and wiped her face with her arm.
“You don’t know me but I grew up with Eric. He lived next door to me my entire life. He was always kind to me. He protected me when I needed it and he suppor
ted me. He was my best friend.”
I could see Adele looking a little uncomfortable. Considering she had been married to him, she had only been able to say that she truly hated him. Then to have this young girl actually providing the kind of words she should have said, it was bound to make her feel uncomfortable.
“Eric was also my husband.” My head snapped around and an audible gasp filled the room, which was quite an achievement considering how few people were in attendance. Tomas looked at me frantically for a sign, as the celebrant made a step towards Ruby. Adele stood up and advanced towards the younger woman.
“What are you saying?” she said, in a completely controlled voice, very unlike the emotional wreck I had been seeing the last few days.
“Eric and I got married six years ago when I was eighteen” Ruby said, a slight quiver in her voice but she lifted her head.
“That is not possible” Adele said. “It is not possible that I was in a bigamous marriage. He wouldn’t dare do that to me.”
Ruby looked at her. “He loved me. I was the only one he wanted to marry, but he needed money and said marrying you was the way he could get it.”
By this point Tomas had given up looking for a way to fix this situation. Nobody wanted to make a move and interrupt the drama playing out in front of us.
“He was my husband and I loved him” declared Adele and I looked on in shock. What happened to the woman who only twenty minutes ago was telling me how much she loathed the man in the coffin.
“I’m sorry” Ruby faltered and I cursed inwardly as I moved towards her.
I put my arm around her and moved her away from the podium and out the door. I could hear Tomas taking control of the situation inside while I led Ruby to the small memorial garden. As she sat in one of the garden seats and took in deep gulps of air while trying to hold back the sobs I could see the abject misery on her face.
“Is it true?” I asked gently “Were you really married to him?”
Ruby nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and handed it to me. I straightened the wrinkled piece of paper and saw that indeed six years ago Ruby Farrow and Eric Davis got married.
I sighed. “You don’t by any chance have a divorce or annulment in there as well do you?” I asked, only half joking.
Ruby shook her head. I squatted down next to her. My heart went out to this poor girl. She had obviously adored Eric.
“I am so sorry that you lost him” I said gently. “Is there anyone I can call to come and get you?”
“No” she said and suddenly straightened up. “I can get home myself. I know he isn’t there but I just wanted to say goodbye and to let those people know there was a good side to him. I know how they would have looked at him and I won’t deny that Eric was selfish, but you know what, when my stepfather was on a rampage, Eric was the one who protected and hid me. When he got big and strong enough, he beat up my stepfather for daring to lay a hand on me. He did a lot of stupid things, but he could be a good man sometimes. I just wanted the people who thought he was dirt to know that.”
Ruby turned and walked away and I just stood there. She was right. We’d all just seen the one side of Eric that we wanted to see. Walking back into the funeral home I could see that the service had wrapped up fairly quickly after Ruby’s revelation. I headed towards the reception area, but caught up in thinking about Ruby, I took a wrong turn and found myself looking out into a private courtyard. I pulled back suddenly when I saw that in the middle of the courtyard was Adele, locked in an embrace with Elliot Powell. He was holding her tightly and I saw him drop his head and place a tender kiss on her lips. I stepped back and hurriedly found the reception room. Unfortunately the first person I saw was Miranda Powell and as she headed towards me I just felt like I wanted to get away.
“There you are Trudie” she said. “I wanted to thank you for dealing with that unfortunate situation during the funeral.”
So Ruby was now an unfortunate situation. Good to know.
“I wish I could say I was surprised, but after the abominable way that man treated Adele, well nothing surprises me. I only hope that Adele can take the time to heal.”
I was beginning to feel sick. Right at this moment Adele was kissing this woman’s husband and she had no idea. I hate being in situations like this. I am one of those people that if my husband was cheating on me, I would want to know. That being said, being told by pretty much a complete stranger would really come at the top of my possible cringe worthy moments in life. In my head I kept repeating Monique’s mantra for her personal assistants. The client’s personal life is none of your business. As long as it does not put you in a legally compromising position don’t judge and don’t interfere. Right now looking into this woman’s face and knowing what her husband and best friend were doing, I was judging like you wouldn’t believe, but I couldn’t interfere.
I could, however, feel like throwing up when Elliot Powell walked up to his wife and put an arm around her waist.
“Darling, I’ve been looking for you” he said as he dropped a kiss on the side of her cheek.
“Is Adele feeling better?” Miranda asked, a loving smile for her husband on her face.
“As good as can be expected” Elliot said, sorrowfully.
“There she is now” I said desperate to get away from the farce I was watching.
Chapter Twenty
As I walked towards Adele I noticed that Griffin and Ramos had entered the reception room as well. I smiled brightly at Griffin and was surprised by the answering frown.
“Adele Wesson” he said in a loud commanding voice.
Everybody stopped and looked. Adele turned around.
“Adele Wesson” Griffin repeated. “You are under arrest for the murder of Eric Wesson.”
While Griffin gave Adele her rights, Ramos grabbed her hands and handcuffed them behind her back. Elliot stepped forward with a visibly upset Miranda beside him.
“What is this all about?” he demanded.
“Exactly as I said sir” Griffin said, standing between Adele and Elliot. “Mrs Wesson has been charged with the murder of her husband.”
“I am her lawyer and I demand that you let me speak to my client.”
“As soon as we process her down at the station, if she requests a lawyer, we will be contacting you. Until then please do not interfere.”
“Elliot” Adele said, the fear in her voice evident.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can” said Elliot. “Do not say a word to anyone until I get there. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“Yes Elliot” Adele said as she was led away by Ramos.
Griffin swung around and followed her. “Miss Eyre, we are requesting that you attend the station to assist in our inquiries” he said without even looking in my direction.
My jaw dropped as I watched him walk out the room. In an instant I had Tomas beside me.
“Don’t do or say anything you are going to regret” he warned.
I looked at him, the anger at the way Griffin had spoken to me building up to the point where I was barely able to speak.
“Your face has gone some weird kind of color. I’m sure your friend didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
Unfortunately, I think he did. Travis’s words about Griffin came rushing back at me and all of a sudden I had a very bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. That feeling didn’t leave me as I drove through the streets of LA. It was still there as I pushed through the doors of the station. It rose up into my throat when I was met by Ramos and led into yet another interrogation room. Looking around at the bare walls and the obligatory mirror I wondered how many more times I was going to end up in one of these rooms. Waiting alone in the room, I remembered the last time I was stuck in here, Griffin had left me cooling my heels for almost an hour. A spurt of defiance went through me. If he thought I was going to wait for him again he had another thing coming. I was rising out of the chair when Griffin walked into the room and sat down in the chair op
posite me. I slowly lowered myself back into the seat and waited silently for him to start speaking.
“Trudie” he said.
“Really” I shot back. “At the funeral home I was Miss Eyre, why the lack of formality now?”
Griffin grimaced. “Trudie, I’m in a difficult position. This is my case and as usual I’m finding you right in the middle of it.”
“Not my fault” I said.
“No” he conceded, “but the fact of the matter is that I am trying to build a case and everywhere I turn there you are. I have to tread very carefully.”
“So what is the problem, why did you arrest Adele?”
“Last night we executed a search warrant on Adele Wesson’s home. We found a gun in her safe.”
“Why did you search last night? The place has been a crime scene for days.”
“We didn’t know about the safe until yesterday. It was missed in the original search.”
“Then how did you find out about it…” my voice trailed off. “You overheard me talking to Adele yesterday when you were at my home” I said. “You used that information for your search warrant.”
“Yes I did” Griffin said looking me straight in the eye.
All of a sudden I realized something else.
“The phone call last night. You weren’t calling to talk to me, you were just making sure that I wasn’t at Adele’s house so you could do your search warrant without tipping her off.”
Griffin nodded and that weird feeling in my stomach lurched up into my throat.
“Why were you really at the funeral home this morning?” I asked, part of me not wanting to hear and part of me needing to hear.
“We put surveillance equipment in the room as we wanted to capture anything that was said that could be incriminating. We weren’t sure if we would be able to do it, normally access would be a problem.” he said.
I continued for him.
“But there I was and I told Tomas it was fine to have you there, not thinking for one moment that you could possibly be using me.”
