'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 23

Sarah's ears perked up at the sound of distant murmurs. She picked up a folder and rose from her seat at the table. “Did you hear that?” she asked.

Roger looked up at her. “Hear what?”

“Voices.”

As Sarah walked toward the door, Jean popped through the doorway, nearly running into her. The two women stood facing each other for a moment. Each took a step backward.

“Excuse me hun, Brady’s back. He wanted me to tell you they’ve got the killer.”

Sarah and Roger followed Jean into the reception area. As they arrived, Sarah caught a glimpse of a woman with her head bowed, her dark hair obscuring her face as she walked, following behind an officer. Brady was standing at the reception table scrawling on a piece of paper.

“Hey Brady,” Sarah called.

Brady looked up from his writing and waved at Sarah. “Hey!”

“So what’s the scoop on the suspect?” she asked.

“It’s a pretty solid case. She hasn’t confessed yet, but we’ve got a lot of evidence and she has no alibi. The pawn shop gave us a call a little earlier. Our suspect pawned off Jack’s watch. We searched her apartment and found his wallet. Like I said, real cut and dry.”

“What about Johnson's murder?”

“That one is a little more sensitive,” he said, lowering his voice. “Being his partner, I have a little inside information. The suspect used to do the occasional housekeeping job for the Johnsons. They let her go last week when they caught her stealing. He never came out and said it, but I suspect that Johnson was fooling around with her. Their marriage has been… rocky at best of late.”

“It doesn’t make any sense. Why would she kill Jack?”

“Well,” Brady said. He cleared his throat. “Let’s just put it this way, Jack was no saint. He had a reputation for taking women to the Chester Inn. My guess is that she is one of his many spurned lovers. I imagine she got fed up with him and took him out, then did the same to Johnson. It’s a real shame.”

“What about the murder weapon?”

“She probably ditched it somewhere. I’m sure we’ll drudge it up eventually.”

“Here’s my guess. You won’t find a murder weapon,” Sarah said. She set a folder down on the table in front of him. “Take a look at these cases we found.”

Officer Brady picked up the folder and began leafing through the pages. “What’s your point? These cases look likely they're all but solved. A clear suspect with a strong motive, like what we now have here.”

“My point is that they all could be the same case. An unfaithful parter has their throat silt by a scorned lover. No murder weapon is ever found. The only difference here is that Jack was robbed.”

Brady sighed. “I appreciate what you are doing here, but I think you’re barking up the wrong tree.” He smiled at her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Relax, it’s over.”

Sarah jerked away and scowled.

“Aw, don’t be like that. If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll look over the files. We still got plenty to do around town if you’re willing, but this case is basically closed.”

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 22

Shirley Sue raked her fingers through her hair. Satisfied, she wrapped the cord around the hair-dryer and tucked it under the sink. She gave her hair one last brush before exiting the bathroom. The sound of the clothes dryer hummed in the background as she walked down the stairs to the living room.

She walked into the living room and saw Buck. He was sitting on the loveseat, flipping through channels on the television.

“Hey!” she called to him.

He turned his head in her direction and waved. “Emma had an errand to run and asked us to watch Rachel, and since Rachel is down for a nap, we've got the house to ourselves.”

“Oh really?” she said. She smiled as she sat down beside him. Buck put his arm around her and drew her in close. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. Her lips grazed his stubble.

“Close your eyes,” he said. “No peeking!”

Shirley Sue closed her eyes. What was he up to? After a few seconds, she felt something soft and fuzzy on her cheek. She opened her eyes and turned her head to the side that the fuzzy sensation had come from. Buck was holding a small, blue owl with a silver, blueberry necklace wrapped neatly around its neck. She felt a grin pull tight across her face as she took the owl from Buck. She touched the silver charm dangling from the stuffed animal's neck.

“That's the necklace I was looking at yesterday! How did you know?”

“A little birdy told me,” he said, and then winked.

He pulled the necklace off the plushie and unclasped it. She drew her hair away from her neck. She shivered as his rough fingers brushed against the skin of her neck as he fastened the chain.

She threw her arms around him. “Thank you! I love them both!”

“Glad you like them,” he said, and squeezed her back.

As Shirley Sue looked into Buck's eyes, she felt the smile on her face grow. Buck lightly touched the side of her face and a tingle went down her spine. She place her palm on his chest and tilted her head to the side, then leand in toward him. She closed her eyes and an instant later she felt his soft, warm lips embrace hers. She felt a jolt of electricity jolt through as he gently ran his fingers along the small of her back.

“Uncle Buck, Aunt Tirly Tue can I have some water pweeze,” said a tiny voice nearby.

Shirley Sue looked up to see Rachel standing in front of them. A green stuffed animal frog dangled from her hand.

“Sure thing, kiddo,” Buck said, standing up.

Rachel followed him out the the kitchen.

Shirley Sue sighed. “Well, so much for having the house to ourselves,” she said.

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 21

Buck squeezed into the last of the four seats which were positioned around the break room table. He rested his arm on the table and ran his fingers over an inch long gouge in the surface of the table.

“What's the scoop?” Sarah asked.

Buck listened as Shirley Sue relayed their encounter with Ben and Patty.

Sarah tapped her pen against her notebook as Shirley Sue talked, scribbling down the occasional note. “Hmm, I’m surprised that wasn’t mentioned in Brady’s police report. Did anything else catch your eye?”

Buck looked down at the table and ran his finger along the scratch. “I'm sure we will meet again,” echoed through his mind.

“No, that was about it,” Shirley Sue said.

Buck looked back up as Sarah flipped to a page in her notepad. “I'm not exactly sure what if anything we found,” she said, sighing. “We did stumble upon three homicides in neighboring counties who's victims died from having their throats slit. In each of these cases, the principal suspect is a scorned lover. The men were all mostly if not entirely naked and appeared to have engaged in intercourse immediately before their deaths. It was the exact same scenario again and again, except there was one major inconsistency in Jack's murder. His wallet and watch were stolen from the crime scene, whereas in the other instances, including Johnson's murder, nothing appeared to be missing.”

“So what are you saying?” Shirley Sue asked.

“I’m not sure. These could all just be coincidences, but I feel like there's a connection here...” She gazed into her notepad as though its pages contained another world. She shook her head, breaking herself free from the trance. “In the meantime, why don’t you two go home and get dried off,” she said looking at Buck and Shirley Sue. “Roger and I will stay here and search for a little longer. I feel like the answer is right under our noses.” She returned he attention to the notepad and flipped between a couple of pages.

Buck made a kissing face a Roger and Shirley Sue giggled. Buck felt a sharp pain sear through his leg as Roger's steel toe rammed into his shin. His leg jerked back by reflex. “Son of a gun!” he shouted as his knee bumped against the table. The table bounced and jiggled back to the ground.

“Will you two quit horsing around?” Sarah said, briefly breaking her gaze from the notepad. “Oh, one last thing before you go. We got a call from Patty's mother earlier. Jack's wake is at Patty's house tonight at six.”

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 20

As Patty and Ben hurried off, the rain began to pick up. After a few moments, sheets of rain tumbled down from the sky. Buck futilely held up the umbrella against the near flash flood. The cloth warped from the force of the water ramming against it. As he rushed to the truck with Shirley Sue, he felt his jeans sticking to his legs. In the short time it took to climb into the cabin, his shirt and hair became soaked. He and Shirley Sue sat in silence for a minute, listening to the rain thudding against the roof of the truck.

Buck looked over at Shirley Sue and laughed. “Well, that was crazy,” he said.

“The weather or Patty?”

“Both.”

He started the truck and waited for a break in the line of cars and pedestrians who kept moving across the space behind them. After a few minutes of waiting, an orange Beetle signaled for him to back out. As he was waving at the vehicle he felt something slamming into his arm.

“Punch buggy! No punch backs!”

“Aw, shucks!” Buck said, glancing over at Shirley Sue. She wore a grin which reached from ear to ear.

After pulling into the parking lot, the traffic immediately came to a standstill. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as they sat in the line of cars.

“Look at all those cars,” Shirley Sue said.

“Ya, you'd think they never saw a little rain before,” he joked.

During the trip, the rain poured down so heavily at times that Buck could only see the break lights of the vehicle in front of him. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. After twenty minutes, the couple arrived at the station, a trip which had only taken them five minutes before.

Buck turned off the vehicle and the pair gazed out at the stream of water spilling down, hoping for a break. After a few minutes of waiting, they gave up and stepped into the rain with their umbrellas in hand and walked up the steps of the police station. Buck pulled the door open and they walked into the building.

They made their way to a front desk and saw a woman wearing a headset with a microphone, reading a book and chomping on bubblegum. On her desk sat a placard which read 'Jean Brown, Secretary'.

Jean looked over the top edge of the book, placed her index finger on it, and set it down. She snapped her gum loudly. “You kids need something?” she asked. He voice was nasally and high pitched.

“We're looking for Sheriff Smith or Officer Brady,” Shirley Sue said.

“I'll go get her for you hun,” Jean said. She stood up and smoothed out her short black skirt. As she walked toward a door in the back wall, her tan wedges clacked against the ground. She walked through the door and disappeared around the corner.

A few moments later, Sarah and Roger followed Jean through the door.

“Hey Buck and Shirley Sue!” Sarah called out to them.

The pair waved back as the trio approached the reception area.

“I would have invited you back, but Brady had a hard enough time letting me and Buck back there unsupervised.”

Jean laughed as she picked her book back up. “The way he treats this station sometimes, you'd think we were some big fancy department,” she mumbled through the snapping of her gum.

“You two look soaked!” Roger said, glancing down at the puddle which had collected around his brother and Shirley Sue. He grinned. “Umbrella's work better when you open them.”

“Glad to see someone finds it amusin'. It's rainin' cats and dogs out there,” Buck replied.

Jean looked up and cleared her throat. “If you kids like, you can use the break room over there ta talk,” she said, pointing to her left.

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 19

Buck felt his head spin and he looked down at Aura. Her head was cocked sightly to one side and she was gazing up at him. Her plump, bright red lips were open a crack and her tongue danced along her pearly white teeth. She reached her hand up and placed it on Buck's chest. He jerked away from her touch and took a step backward. “I think I really have to be going now,” he said.

“Aw, you're no fun,” she said, puffing out her lip. “It was a pleasure Buck. I'm sure we will meet again.”

Buck turned around and walked away from Aura. He felt confused and conflicted. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Aura waving at him. Her lip was still puffed out and her puppy-dog eyes watched him as he walked away. He waved back and then looked forward in time to dodge a sign. He let out a deep breath and looked for Shirley Sue.

His mind was still muddled as he made his way to a row of Porta Potties. The rain had decreased in intensity, but a strong wind pelted him with raindrops from from the side. He surveyed the area, but saw no sign of Shirley Sue. Where was she? As he looked around, an idea popped into his head. He walked past the outhouses and into the crowded parking lot where his truck was parked. He grabbed the wet handle of truck and opened the door. He stashed the owl inside a plastic bag and hid the bag out of sight. He pushed the door closed and wiped his hand on his pants, leaving a large wet patch on his jeans.

He began retracing his steps to the blueberry toss game. As he scanned the crowd, his heart skipped as he caught a glimpse of a blueberry themed umbrella. He pushed his way through the throng of people, the umbrella bobbing in and out of sight. A wave of relief washed over him when the path in front of him cleared and he saw the umbrella's carrier was Shirley Sue. She was standing beside a tent pole, her back facing him.

He grinned and snuck up on her. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder with his free hand. She let out a yelp as she jumped and spun around. She smiled and gave his chest a gentle shove.

“You scared me,” she said in a hushed tone. Before he could say anything, she held up a finger to her mouth and pointed at a pair of people. It was Ben and Patty. They were standing huddled under an umbrella.

“It didn't take long for those two to get cozy,” Shirley Sue said. “Come on, let's see if we can hear what they're saying.”

Shirley Sue and Buck crept closer to Ben and Patty. Buck strained his ears over the patter of the rain. He heard some muddled words and then their lips stopped moving. After a minute of silence, Patty opened her mouth.

“I'm... sorry for leaving you after you proposed. I was just scared and felt like I was going to be trapped in Franklin forever. When Jack came around, I didn't want anything serious.” She looked away and gazed at the ground.

“It's alright. I just thought after being together so many years, it's what you wanted. But why'd you say you'd marry him then?”

Patty's face grew scarlet. “That asshole got me pregnant,” she said. Her face turned pale and she clapped a hand over her mouth. Tears trickled from her eyes and she hurried out from under their shared shelter. Ben followed after her.

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 18

“Hey there handsome,” the woman said, punctuating her sentence with a wink. Her thin figure was wrapped in a sleek black dress that shimmered even under the darkened skies.

“Hey,” Buck said. “I think you must have me confused for someone else.”

“Oh?” said the woman, taking a step closer to Buck. She looked him up and down. “I think you're exactly who I'm looking for.”

Buck took a half step backwards and scanned the crowd for Shirley Sue. “I think you might have the wrong idea.”

“What idea is that? I just want to talk,” she said, her voice a higher pitch than before. She took another step forward and stuck out a hand. “Maybe we got off on the wrong foot. My name is Aura.”

“I'm Buck,” he heard himself say as he reflexively reached out and grasped Aura's porcelain toned hand. He was surprised at how soft her skin felt. A tingle propagated through his body as he shook her hand, like the feeling he got when Shirley Sue ran her fingernails along his scalp. His eyes locked with Aura's and he felt a wave of relaxation wash through his body. After a moment, he realized that he was still shaking her hand and he pulled away from her.

“It was nice to meet you Aura, but I really have to get going. I'm here with my girlfriend.”

“Aw, what's the hurry? I don't see her anywhere. Maybe she's forgotten about you,” the woman said playfully, wrapping a lock of hair around her finger. “Besides, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we just talked for a moment would she?” She bit down gently on her lip, her eyes pleading with Buck.

A gust of wind rattled down the road and tugged at his umbrella. He heard a tearing noise and saw a hole form in Aura's black umbrella.

“Oops,” she said, “Looks I've sprung a leak and I'm getting all wet. Could you help me? It looks like your umbrella is big enough to keep both of us... content.”

Before Buck had a chance to answer, the woman ducked under his umbrella. Gentle tones of vanilla and almond wafted to his nose. Her silken dress brushed up against his hand as her body pressed up against his. He felt an animalistic urge to grab a hold of her, to smell her, and explore every inch of her body with soft kisses and ferocious bites.

'Til Death Do Us Part - Part 17

Buck regained his balance as he dodged past a man with a crew cut who had zipped in front of him. The menacing clouds hanging over the festival didn't deter the festival-goers from wandering through the city of tents.

Buck felt a couple of raindrops fall on his arms. Moments later a steady rain began to fall. He and Shirley Sue raced between canopies in search of a vendor who sold something which would afford them protection from the rain than the flimsy rain ponchos which were little more than trash bags with hoods. They found a vendor with two blueberry themed umbrellas and purchased them.

Shirley Sue laughed as she picked up one of the last three remaining umbrellas and opened it up. The duo paid for the umbrellas and walked out from under the tent and onto the pavement.

“Aren't they hideous!” Shirley Sue giggled.

“At least they'll keep us dry,” Buck said, smiling at Shirley Sue.

The pair wandered around the festival. They weren't exactly sure who to look for, beyond the vague profile Sarah had given them. Before the rain had begun, searching for someone who matched the description of the suspect was challenging at best. Now with the ocean of umbrellas bobbing past, their task was impossible.

“You there!” a deep voice called from behind them. “The young man and pretty lady.”

Buck and Shirley Sue turned around the face the voice.

“Yes you!” a short man with a beard and a ponytail said. “You look like a nice strong fellow. How about you try your arm at this game of skill and win the lovely lady a prize.”

Buck walked over to the man and Shirley Sue followed behind.

“One blueberry for a dollar, six for five dollars. Toss it into one of the holes and win a prize,” the man said, pointing to a row of stuffed animals.

“Sure, why not,” Buck said. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a dollar bill.

The man placed a blue beanbag down in front of him. Buck picked up the beanbag and tossed it, narrowly missing the hole.

“Ah, so close,” said the man. “I bet with another chance you'd get it.”

Buck made several attempts and managed to win only a couple of small trinkets. After a few minutes of chatting with the man behind the booth, he felt a tug on his shirt.

“I need to use the bathroom,” Shirley Sue whispered into his ear. “I'll be back in a few.”

After three more attempts, Buck was finally able to win a small blue owl. The man tried to convince him to keep going so that he could win the bigger sized animal, but Buck declined. He was already fifteen dollars in and didn't want to spend any more. Besides, he was certain that Shirley Sue would love the owl.

He bid the man farewell and distanced himself from the booth. As he looked around for Shirley Sue, he saw the woman from the diner staring at him. She smiled and pointed her finger at him, then beckoned him toward her. He felt as though a force was pulling on him. His legs began to move and carried him in the direction of the woman.