Marion had been chatting the whole time that I had been surveying the space, about this neighbor and that neighbor. “The Polanskis are such a nice family, such beautiful children too. Do you have any children, Bernard?”
I shook my head, I’d learned early on in my career with the FBI that the most believable lies were the ones that were truth adjacent. “No not yet, but we are hoping for kids in the next year or two.”
“I see, tell me about your family. I’d love to hear more about you to know if you are a good fit for this community.” Marion gestured for me to sit on the couch as she poured me a glass of ice tea from the pitcher that sat on the coffee table.
I snorted inwardly at the words ‘good fit,’ according to the Hernandez family and the real estate agent, Marion Burnes was a racist old biddy who hated any kind of ‘color’ in the neighborhood. She had made the Hernandez’s lives so miserable in the two years that they lived in the neighborhood, that they’d finally decided to cut their losses and move to a new area.
“Well, I work in security at a company in Midtown Sacramento, my packmates Jake and Matt are both professionals as well. Jake works with me in security, and Matt is a doctor.”
“I see, and I assume a handsome alpha like you has a wonderful omega? What is she like?” I really wanted to give the old woman the shock of her life and tell her about our male omega. Just to see the look on her face, but I resisted the urge.
“Our mate is named Tahlia, and we’ve been bonded for a little over a year now. She’s a wonderful omega, our perfect match.” I thought about Tibby and how she’d fallen asleep on the couch last night after getting so wrapped up in her book that she’d stayed up half the night to finish it. I saw her this morning when I came down to do my morning workout and ended up just skipping my workout to sit next to her instead. Even in her sleep she sought me out, and had ended up with her head in my lap as she snored softly.
Seeing my smile, Marion sipped her tea with a knowing look, “Ah, to be young again. I can see you care very deeply for your omega...and what does she do for a living?”
That was very clearly a test question. It was now very obvious where the beginning of Hezekiah Jordan’s old-fashioned values came from. Of course, he’d kicked it up to thirty on the crazy scale, but crazy always had to start somewhere.
I knew exactly what she wanted me to answer, “Tahlia stays at home, she prefers it.” I shrugged as if I didn’t care. Tibby was far from the traditional ideal of an omega. She may like to cook and take care of others, but that was as far as tradition went with her. The moment anyone suggested that it was her duty to do the things she liked, I guarantee that the next meal that she made would 100% be poisoned. Goodbye Earl style.
“How wonderful! Too many omegas these days are trying to go against their nature and get jobs in the name of independence. It’s so refreshing to hear about a young lady who holds such important values.”
I nodded along as if I agreed, my eyes going again to the pictures. I was sitting a bit too far away to get a really good look at them, “Is this your family?” I asked, using my question as an excuse to stand and head over to the bookshelves.
There were some older pictures that were black and white or sepia toned. Marion had been a real looker when she was younger, and there were pictures of her with a young boy who was undoubtedly Hezekiah Jordan. Even as a child he never smiled in pictures, instead choosing to glower at the camera with angry dark eyes.
“Yes! The little boy in the older pictures is my Ray.” The older woman joined me as she pointed at the pictures.
I gestured to a newer picture of a brown-haired young boy who looked to be around thirteen years old. He had the same dark eyes that Marion and Hezekiah shared, it was definitely a Burnes’ trait. “Is this your grandson?” I asked.
Marion smiled fondly at the picture. “Yes, this is Ray Jr. Such a wonderful young man, he’s studying to be a lawyer, you know.” She bragged as she showed me other pictures of her grandson. Despite the fact that she called him Ray Jr., and that he was no longer blonde, this was definitely the little boy that Tibby had pointed out in the old polaroids from the compound.
Marion also didn’t have any pictures of him as an adult. I needed to figure out how to get a picture of the bookshelf so that the FBI could create a composite of what he would look like age-progressed.
I was in the middle of trying to figure out exactly how I was going to get the old woman out of the room, when the doorbell rang, and I could hardly believe my luck.
“Oh, dear! I wonder who that could be?” Marion turned and headed down the hallway to answer the door. I pulled out my phone and took as many pictures of the bookshelves that I could. By the time she came back my phone was securely in my pocket again.
Marion came back a few minutes later with another elegantly dressed older woman, “Mr. Olsen, I am so sorry. I completely forgot that my good friend, Helga, was visiting me this afternoon.”
“No worries, ma’am. I do have an appointment in the city to get to anyway, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me.” I put my hands in my pockets, “Can I stop by some other time if I have any questions about the neighborhood?”
“Of course! It is about time this neighborhood attracted the right sort of people, I look forward to seeing you again—maybe next time you can bring your omega? She sounds just lovely.”
Fat chance in hell of that happening,I thought to myself as the front door closed behind me. I squinted up at the afternoon sun that was high in the sky. I just hoped that I had all that I needed from Marion Burnes, and that I wouldn’t have to play nice with the racist granny ever again.
I was just about to get into the car when my phone began to playIt’s Raining Men, which was the ringtone that Matteo had put into my phone for himself.
“What’s up?” I asked as I slid into the driver's seat and buckled my seatbelt.
“You need to get back here, ASAP.” Matteo’s voice held a note of panic that was unusual for the easygoing alpha.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, and I could hear Aria and Cobb talking in the background.
“Just get back here as soon as possible.” With that, the line went dead.
