Families are messy - 21

“Children, enough! This is getting us no where fast. Marcia, get over here and sit down. Now.” Fairchild glared at both of them.

“Who died and made you ruler,” she grumbled in response, but she did as he’d asked.

“Casey, what did you tell your people to explain why you’re not at work today,” Fairchild asked.

“I called in sick. I am allowed to do that.” He smiled slightly. “The prerogative of being boss. Whether they believe it or not is their problem.”

“So you’re covered and no one knows that you were in the hospital.”

“Nope, not them and not family, at least as far as I know.”

“Well one person must since there’s been no report of your death.”

“More than one,” Marcia said, “The emergency personnel and his neighbors who saw the ambulance there, again.”

Fairchild looked at Casey. “Has anyone in your family tried to get in touch with you within the last twenty-four hours?”

Taking out his cell, Casey checked for messages and then for missed calls. “Nope. But that’s my loving family, they only call when they want to yell at me or ask for money. Well except for Bing, he’s pretty good about keeping in touch but yesterday was Sunday and that’s his and Sammy’s alone time together. They stick to that rigorously unless there’s an emergency.”

“So even if he was the perp he probably wouldn’t have called because it would have seemed out of character.”

“True. God I hope it’s not him, he’s the only one in the family I really trust.”

“Well one way or the other we’re going to find out and soon. You just have to decide which way you want to play out the next step.”

“We have a big fight,” Casey said at the same time that Marcia replied, “We advance this so-called romance.”

“Not happening.”  Casey glared at Marcia.

“Happening,” Fairchild barked out. “I’m making the call since the two of you can’t seem to. Leaving you unprotected might give this person a better chance to get to you and the whole idea is to keep you alive, Casey. So, we’ll figure out a game plan that stands a chance of working.”

Casey smiled slightly as an idea came to him. “Since this whole thing is like something out of a bad movie let’s play it that way. My birthday’s Wednesday and so I’m going to celebrate it with a barbeque at my place; a medium-sized gathering of family and employees.”

“Isn’t that rather short notice? And what about Kathy?” Marcia asked.

“They’ll grumble, especially Alma, but they’ll show. And given her rather pointed comment about my getting down on my knees and apologizing to Kathy I have the feeling Alma will see it as the perfect time to force that by asking Kathy to come with her and Parker.”

“Alright, set it up,” Fairchild said succinctly. “Now I have to dismiss the two of you. I actually do have other clients that need my attention.”

“I still want to know where everyone was Saturday night,” Marcia said as she and Casey left Fairchild’s office.

“I can find out where they’ll say they were, if that helps. I have to call them to let them know about my birthday bash. I’ll figure out some way to ask that sounds natural.” Tapping his foot while they waited for the elevator to come, he gave that serious consideration and then swore when he realized something else he had to do.

Marcia looked at him in question, and chuckled when he told her he needed to go shopping if he was going to have food for the barbeque. Then he thought of something else equally as important.

“Isn’t today your first rehearsal?”

“Damn it, yes, in,” she looked at her watch as they stepped into the elevator, “three hours. I totally spaced it with all that’s happened and I have to go over the script one more time.”

Casey refrained from pointing out that she’d had all day yesterday to do that. He didn’t want to start yet another argument at the moment. “So you go do that and I’ll go shopping and make some phone calls. And before you say anything I should be just fine on my own at the moment. I got here without anyone trying to run me over or push me off the highest building in town.”

“Just why would you be on top of a high building?” she asked as the elevator doors opened on the building’s lobby.

“I wouldn’t be,” he admitted with a small smile. “Not until this is over.”

“Good, you do have a bit of common sense.” When he held the door for her she nodded her thanks before saying, “You will be very careful, understand, unless you want me calling Fairchild to get his ass down here and play tag along.”

“Which he can’t because he’s busy. When are you finished with rehearsal?”

“With luck, around six, why?”

“I’ll pick you up then.”

“I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me if you could help it.”

“I don’t but it’s not going to look as if we’ve got an escalating relationship if we don’t spend time together. So I’ll pick you up and we’ll go get dinner.”

She nodded. “You have a point there. Alright, see you then.” She kissed his cheek quickly and then strode off down the street to where she’d parked her car.

Seconds later Casey’s cell rang. There was a text from her that said, “That was for show only. Don’t get any ideas.”

He rolled his eyes as he texted back, “Trust me, I knew that and I’m not.”