It was highly unlikely that any of the neighbors would provide helpful insight, but it never hurt to have all bases covered. Especially with a case like this. “Thank you, Randy. We appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome!” Randy ended the call.
George checked the time. “We still have about an hour before we need to leave. Is there anything you’d like to do?”
Andi cocked his head. “It has nothing to do with the case, but we could think about what to do with your family when they come down.”
“What to do with my family?” George chuckled. “Why does this sound as if you’re forced to decide whether you want your teeth pulled or your nails ripped out?”
“Because to me it is probably worse than both?” Andi shrugged with a half-smile.
“You do know you don’t have to do anything, do you? If it gets too much, you say the word, and I will pack them up to go to a nice restaurant and then shuttle them back to their hotel.”
Andi stepped in front of him, and his fingers ghosted over George’s lips. “No. I can’t. For one, your mother would never just let it be, you know that. And I want to. We’re serious, George, we’ve established that much. Being serious means getting to know your partner’s family, even if it’s just to reinforce that I never want to meet them again. It’s hard for me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to do it. I just want to bitch about it as well.” Andi winked and pressed a soft kiss on George’s lips.
George leaned his forehead against Andi’s. “Dear, after all you’ve been through on your own, you have every right to bitch to your heart’s content.” He took a step backward. “Okay, let’s see. My birthday is on a Friday, so they’ll likely arrive on Thursday. I could meet with them on Thursday evening for dinner to get the worst of Mother’s ire dealt with. Then, on Friday, we can have them over for brunch and have a nice stroll through the neighborhood. Did I mention how great it is that you live in such a nice area of Charleston?”
“Did I mention how grateful I am that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for me?”
“I can hear the sarcasm, you know that?”
“Sarcasm? What sarcasm?” Andi’s face was the very picture of innocence.
“And now I know you’re just messing with me.” George turned serious. “I mean it, Andi. The house is your sanctuary. If, at any point, my family makes you uncomfortable, they’re out.”
“Thank you.”
This was another thing George loved about Andi. He always knew when to be serious, and he never made light of promises given to him. “If we leave now, we can get tea and coffee from that boutique coffee shop two blocks over.”
“Their peppermint sage tea is rather good.” Andi nodded his consent.
The tea and coffee needed companionship as Andi declared once they were at the place, which led to George buying two blueberry cereal muffins. His partner made no comment about George’s attempt to get a semi-healthy version of sugar and instead ate his muffin with gusto.
When he was done, Andi took a sip of the tea before he started to speak. “I’m curious as to how much Ms. Delaine is going to tell us about Suzie.”
“Technically, since she’s dead, she could be quite open. I guess it depends on her mood and her relationship to Suzie.”
“Wonderful. I love being at the mercy of strangers.”
“You’re going to love it even more when we go to the precinct afterward to tell Savalle and DeCapristo about what we’ve found.”
Andi gave an exaggerated shudder. Then he stilled.
“What?”
“DeCapristo is an FBI agent.”
“Yes?” George wasn’t sure where his partner was going with this.
“And we’ve worked with the FBI before. We have connections, so to speak….”
It took George a moment to catch up. “I’m not sure if Geena would appreciate being sucked into this.”
“And she has every right to tell us to fuck off. She will if she thinks we’re overstepping.”
That much was true. If Agent Geena Davis didn’t want to do something, she didn’t do it. Period. The picture of a mule in front of a wet patch on the ground might come to mind when thinking of her. George mulled it over for two seconds flat. The truth was, he would love some deeper insights into Agent DeCapristo, and Geena was the easiest way to get them. Of course, Shireen would probably be miffed that they hadn’t asked her to dig deeper into the agent, but that was a battle they would have to fight in the future, perhaps never if Shireen didn’t find out. While DeCapristo was very much a fight in the present. He groaned. “Call her.”
Andi started typing on the screen of the console, and shortly after, the beeping of an outgoing call sounded through the speakers. After the third ring, Geena answered.
