'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 27

Shirley Sue sat down in a wooden chair next to the living room entryway and looked over at Buck, who held the telephone against the side of his face. Her ears perked up at the sound of voices whispering.

“How long are we going to hide this, Shawn?”

“Shh, will you keep your voice down, Robert?”

“No, I won't keep my voice down. People aren't stupid. They're going to figure it out sooner or later.”

“Please Rob, let's talk about this some other time.”

“Fine.”

Shirley Sue heard the click of the phone reaching its cradle and glanced over at Buck. He nodded at her and she rose to her feet. They walked into the living room and sat down beside each other on a sapphire blue velvet couch which had white throw pillows with blue trim stationed at either end.

“Thanks for letting us use the phone, Officer Brady,” Buck said. “They should be here in a few. It was real lucky that we saw you pull into the driveway before the truck broke down.”

“No need for formalities here. Just call me Rob, and don’t thank me, thank Shawn. This is his place.”

Buck looked at the man sitting in a matching sapphire chair. “Thanks Shawn.”

Shawn smiled at Buck. “Don’t mention it.”

“Hopefully we weren't disturbing anything,” Shirley Sue said.

“We were helping out with a case in Clinton last month and we were about to go through the photos when we heard your knock,” Shawn said.

“Don't let us stop you then,” Shirley Sue said.

“Oh they probably would just bore you. We can wait until you're gone,” Shawn replied. “We would hate to be rude to our guests.”

“Really, we wouldn't mind at all!” Shirley Sue said.

“I'm sure it will be fine, Shawn,” Rob said.

Shawn glared at Rob. Rob picked up a blue gift box and opened the lid. He shuffled through the box for a minute before setting a dozen or so photos onto the coffee table.

“Er, um, here are some less serious photos. We were goofing off.”

Shirley Sue picked up the pile. She smiled at an image of Rob giving Shawn bunny ears. She handed the photo to Buck and looked down at the next one. Ice formed in her veins as her eyes focused on a woman standing with Rob and Shawn. She passed the photo to Buck. She saw the color drain from his face.

“That's Aura,” Buck said.