Isaac went back to the station and knocked out some of the daily paperwork. He was zipping through it when a knock came at the open door. He looked up to see Detective Walker step into the office.
“Hey, what can I do for you, Frank?”
Frank Walker held up a case file with a sheet of paper on top. “Just wanted to turn this report in and let you know that we took your advice yesterday. We made the suggestion that the Hall brothers had a case for self defense or defense of a loved one. Both boys confessed to rushing their father after he shot their mom. They struggled with him and the gun went off. Dad ended up dead.”
Isaac nodded and took the file from him. “Where are the boys now?”
“ADA decided not to bring charges. They’re being released as we speak.”
“Great work, Walker. Pass that on to your partner.”
“Thanks, Sarge.”
Walker left the office and Isaac looked over the report and then filed it away. He was getting back to his paperwork when his cellphone rang.
“Hiroshi?”
“Hey, Ike. A Mrs. Willis is here to view Cara Buckley’s body. Same deal as before?”
“Yes, please. I’ll be right over.”
He got up and hurried from the office, locking it up as he went. He let Walker and Wheeler know where he was going and then hightailed it to the morgue.
When he arrived, he saw a modestly-dressed elderly Black woman seated next to a much younger Black woman on the bench outside the office.
“Mrs. Willis?”
The older woman looked up and met his gaze. “Yes?”
“Hello, I’m Detective Sgt. Isaac Taylor, ma’am. I’m supervising this case. I would like to speak with you for just a few moments after you’ve viewed the body if that’s all right?”
Mrs. Willis looked over at her friend. “Well, I suppose so. This is my friend, Wanda. She drove me today.”
“Ma’am.” Isaac nodded at the other woman. Then he turned back to Mrs. Willis. “You take your time, ma’am. I’ll go get the ME.”
When Hiroshi came out, Isaac listened to him give the women the same instructions he’d given to the Buckleys earlier in the day. Then Isaac stood back and watched the scene play out. Mrs. Willis broke down as soon as the curtain was opened. Isaac gave her time to compose herself before he led her and her friend into the office.
When they were seated, he took a deep breath and tried to be delicate in his questioning.
“Mrs. Willis, I was wondering if you might know of anyone that your granddaughter and her husband had trouble with lately? Anyone that was giving them a hard time, or maybe that they had argued with recently?”
“No, sir. Well…”
Irene Willis appeared to think about that, and Isaac could tell she was remembering something.
“Ma’am?”
Her keen gaze met his. “Well, I do seem to recall Cara saying something about a neighbor that gave her a hard time about a week ago.”
“A neighbor? Can you remember what the hard time was about?”
“Yes. She said he was coming on to her. Being lewd. And she didn’t appreciate him getting pushy about it neither.”
Isaac wasn’t sure what to make of that, but he deemed it worthy of looking into. He pulled his small notebook and pen from his pocket and jotted down some notes.
“Would you happen to know this neighbor’s name, ma’am?”
“Oh, no. I’m afraid I don’t remember. In fact, I’m not even sure if Cara told me a name. But she did say that this wasn’t the first time he’d done it though. I think he made her uncomfortable. She didn’t like his attention one bit.”
Isaac found that interesting. “Was this man threatening Cara?”
“I don’t know that for sure, but she felt uneasy about it.”
“Do you know if she ever mentioned this neighbor’s unwanted advances to Shane?”
“Now, I asked her that myself. But she didn’t want Shane to know about it. She said Shane’s temper had gotten him into enough trouble lately.”
“Huh.” Isaac scribbled in his notebook some more. “Do you know what she meant by that?”
“No, I don’t. Probably something to do with his hateful family.” She made a face and Isaac hid a grin.
“So you’ve met the Buckleys?”
She shook her head. “Never met them. Never want to. They were horrible to Cara. They said ugly, vile things right to her face. And Shane and his younger brother even came to blows over it. After that, she and Shane mostly steered clear of them. And that mama and daddy of his said he wasn’t their son no more! Just because he loved my grand-daughter.”
She sounded as though she still couldn’t believe it, and Isaac nodded. “Mrs. Willis, do you have any idea who could’ve done this heinous thing to Cara and Shane?”
Irene Willis turned tearful and shook her head. “No, sir. I don’t. They were so good together. So much fun and in love. They were happy. And I just don’t know what’s going to become of that dear sweet little boy now.” She looked up at Isaac. “I don’t even know where he is! Nobody has told me that. Is he alive? Was he stabbed too? Was he kidnapped?”
Isaac perked up. “Well I can ease your mind about that, ma’am. My wife and I are registered foster parents, so I took little Greer home with me last night because children’s services was so backed up.”
Mrs. Willis’ eyes lit up with what looked like hope and relief. “You did?”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s safe at home with my wife right now.”
“Oh, thank you, Jesus!” she looked up and waved a hand, as though she were talking to The Man himself.
“Hallelujah!” Wanda lifted her own praise, then she took Mrs. Willis’ hand.
Isaac felt oddly energized by their expressions of faith.
“I’ve already notified Ms. Hunter, our case worker, with your information, so she should be contacting you at some point today. Let me get you her number, okay?”
“Oh, yes, please!”
Isaac tore a piece of paper from his small notebook and found the woman’s number in the contacts of his phone and jotted it down with her name. Then he carefully handed the paper to Mrs. Willis.
“You just give her a call if you haven’t heard from her by this evening.”
“Oh, thank you. Yes, I will.” She looked up at Isaac. “Can I see BG?”
“BG?” Isaac repeated, knowing the confusion had to be plastered to his face.
“Baby Greer. It’s what Cara always called him, from the moment he was born. Shane shortened it to BG and it stuck.”
Isaac grinned. “That’s amazing. Sidney, my wife… she called him Baby Greer the first time she met him.”
He didn’t say it to Mrs. Willis, but Isaac silently wondered if that’s why the boy went to her so readily at the hospital. Did Sid remind him of his mother? For that matter, did he remind Greer of Shane somehow? They were both blond, both tall.
“Can I see him?”
The question snapped Isaac back to the conversation. “Yes, of course. Of course, you can. I don’t know if Cara and Shane had a will or a plan in place for the boy, but I imagine you can take Greer home with you at any time. I tell you what…”
Isaac’s mind was running a mile a minute now.
“…why don’t I put in a call to Ms. Hunter myself and we’ll see if we can’t set up a meeting with her and get Greer all settled. How does that sound?”
“Um, well, I suppose that sounds fine.” Mrs. Willis suddenly sounded unsure. “If you call her she might respond quicker.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll do that. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to go to my house to visit with Greer. In fact, I’ll drive you over if you need me to. Or you can follow me over?”
Mrs. Willis looked at her friend, who nodded and said, “Sure. We can follow you, Detective.”
“Perfect. I just need to go back to my station and tell them I’ll be gone for about half an hour. I’ll get my car and meet you out front.”
Isaac did just that. And when he finally pulled his car around front so the two ladies could follow him, he pulled out his cellphone to call home.
“Isaac?”
“Hey, Sid. I’m just giving you a heads up that I’m bringing Greer’s grandma to the house right now.”
“Oh.” She sounded surprised. “Okay. Maternal or paternal?”
“Maternal. Sweet, matronly. Perfect. The paternal grandparents are a nightmare.”
“No. How so?”
“Do the words white supremacists mean anything to you?”
“No! You’re making that up.”
“Unfortunately I’m not.”
“Oh, Ike.”
“Yeah, it’s a whole thing. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Oh boy. Okay, so I’ll go put on some coffee or something.
“All right. See you soon.”
When they got to the house, Isaac ushered the women through the door. Alfred Hitchcock ran and hid when he realized Isaac wasn’t alone.
He led the women into the living room where Greer was sleeping on the couch.
“Hey, darlin’.”
Sidney stood and moved into his arms. Isaac kissed the top of her head and then tucked her into his side.
“This is my wife, Sidney,” he said to the two women. “Sid, this is Greer’s grandma, Mrs. Irene Willis, and her friend, Wanda.”
Sidney smiled and shook their hands.
“How do you do, Mrs. Taylor?” Mrs. Willis said.
“Good, thank you. And please call me Sidney.”
“All right. You may call me Irene.”
“Can I get either of you ladies something to drink? I’ve got a fresh pot of coffee.”
“That would be lovely.”
“Yes, please.”
Sidney smiled. “Coming right up.”
She moved toward the kitchen, but Isaac stopped her. “Why don’t you let me do that? You stay here and answer any questions she might have since you’ve been with him all day.”
“Okay. Thanks, baby.”
Isaac nodded and went into the kitchen. As he got out cups he could hear Sidney say, “Please sit. Greer had a long night, so he conked out about twenty minutes before Ike told me you were coming. I have no idea how long he’ll sleep.”
Isaac carried four cups of coffee and all the fixings into the room on a tray and set that tray on the ottoman. “Please help yourselves to the cream and sugar.”
He took a seat next to Sidney.
While everyone made their coffee to their liking, Irene asked, “How’s he been?”
Isaac could see Sidney choosing her words thoughtfully.
“Subdued I think is a good word for his mood. I’m sure ordinarily he’s a very happy little boy, but today he’s been… maybe a little sad. But he’s been very good. He’s been great about telling me when he has to potty. He ate really well at breakfast, but not so much at lunch.”
Irene smiled. “He’s always been a good eater.” Her smile faded then. “Has he asked about his mommy and daddy?”
“Not so much asked about them, but he did tell me that mommy and daddy were hurt,” Sidney replied, her voice full of sorrow. “So I think on some level he understands what’s happening. He may not understand the concept of death, but he knows that something significant has happened to his parents.”
Irene wiped away a few tears and she stared at the sleeping child. “My poor baby.”
Isaac set his coffee down on the tray. “If you all will excuse me, I’m going to go to the other room and make that call to Ms. Hunter.”
He stood and left the room, walking out to the sunroom. While he searched his contacts, he heard Irene’s friend say, “You have a lovely home.”
“Detective Taylor.”
The tone on the other end of the line was clipped and preoccupied.
“Yes, hello, Ms. Hunter—”
She cut him off before he could say another word. “If this is a follow up, I did receive your message about locating all the boy’s grandparents, but I’m afraid I haven’t had a spare moment to contact either set as of yet. But I will—”
It was Isaac’s turn to interrupt. “Well, I have spoken to them all, Ms. Hunter, and that’s why I’m calling.”
“Well. It appears you’ve done my job for me, Detective.”
Isaac couldn’t miss the slight attitude in her voice, but he didn’t have time for that crap. Not today. He kept his voice even when he responded.
“Doing your job was not my intention, Ms. Hunter. I’ve simply spoken to all the players as it pertains to this investigation. I was doing my job. The subject of the boy came up during that natural discourse.”
Ms. Hunter let out a heavy sigh, and the attitude was gone when she responded. “Of course. I apologize, Detective. What have you learned?”
“Well, the most important thing I’ve learned is that the Buckleys severed ties with the boy’s father, Shane, because they weren’t happy about him marrying a Black woman. And they sure as hell don’t want anything to do with the biracial grandson.”
“Great.” Hunter sounded part pissed, part sincere. “If that’s how they feel we definitely don’t want to force the issue and possibly place the child in an abusive situation. What about the other set of grandparents?”
“So far I’ve only met the grandmother, Irene Willis. She’s actually here at my house right now. She wanted to see for herself that her grandson was all right, and I didn’t see any reason not to allow that.”
“Does the boy seem happy to see her?”
“Well, actually he’s not up from his nap yet. But I’ll let you know.”
“Okay. Text me when the visit is over and I’ll give her a call to see if we can’t get this matter settled.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Detective.”
He hung up and went back to the living room just in time to hear Irene say, “Well, now you’ve got to understand. I’m BG’s great-grandma. Lyle and I raised Cara from the time she was eight-years-old when our daughter and son-in-law were killed in a car crash. I raised my child and her child. But I’m too old now to raise Cara’s child too. I’m eighty-one years old, and I’ve got my hands full already with taking care of Lyle.”
She sounded truly troubled about the situation, and her face registered despair.
Isaac sat down. “Mrs. Willis, is your husband ill?”
“He has dementia. Some days he don’t even know who I am anymore.”
Her friend, Wanda, put a hand on Irene’s arm. “Everyone at church keeps trying to tell Mother Willis that it’s time to see about putting Deacon Willis in a nursing home, but—”
“No, I can’t do that!” Irene snapped, her tone tired, like it was an old argument. “I can’t bear to think of him in a place like that with strangers who don’t know nothing about him. No.” She shook her head emphatically.
Isaac and Sidney exchanged a look, and Isaac knew they were both thinking the same thing — what was going to happen to Baby Greer?
“Irene,” Sidney’s voice was cautious. “Do you know if Cara and Shane made some kind of plan for who they wanted to take care of BG if they couldn’t?”
Irene shook hear head. “If they did, they didn’t share it with me.”
Something Isaac couldn’t name stirred in his belly. It was an uneasy feeling that made him equally anxious and nauseous.
Greer whimpered and sat up. Not recognizing his surroundings, he was tuning up to cry.
“Well, hello there, sleepy head.” Irene’s voice was sweet and soothing.
The familiar voice got his attention, and Greer glanced at everyone until his eyes locked on her. A relieved smile lit up his whole face.
“Gammy.”
He climbed off the sofa and moved into Irene’s arms.
“Yes, Granny’s here.” Irene enveloped him into a tight hug. “Granny’s here.”
Silent tears ran down the woman’s cheeks.
Isaac glanced over at Sidney only to see tears in her eyes as well. He stared at her, knowing it was the scene from his vision. Sidney with tears in her eyes.
He reached out and wiped an escaped tear from her cheek, and they stared at each other.
Irene visited with Baby Greer for about a half an hour. He sat in her lap and cuddled with her. They talked and sang songs together. He seemed to come alive for her, chattering away about the blue teddy bear he was still clinging to, and the fact that Isaac and Sidney had been nice to him, and Sidney gave him a banana for breakfast.
“This is way more talking than he’s done for me today,” Sidney leaned in and whispered to Isaac.
“I suppose that makes sense. He’s familiar with Irene; he’s comfortable with her. She’s his family. The only family he’s got left it seems.”
Sidney nodded, but Isaac could tell she was still concerned about what would happen now that Irene had declared herself unfit for the job of raising him.
“Mother Willis, it’s almost three,” Wanda spoke up, sounding apologetic.
“Oh.” Irene’s smile morphed into the saddest expression Isaac had ever seen. “Okay, then.” She glanced up at Isaac and Sidney. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to get back to Lyle now. Wanda’s husband is sitting with him now, but they have to get going soon.”
“Well, Ms. Hunter said she would give you a call later today so that we can get Greer squared away.”
“That’ll be fine,” Irene said, getting to her feet. “I don’t know what the solution is, but I suppose talking to her is the first step.”
“Gammy.” Greer raised his arms and stood on his tiptoes, doing his best to entice her to pick him up and take him with her. “Gammy.”
“Oh, baby, grandma can’t pick you up that way. Not with my back.” She bent over some and hugged him tight.
Greer tried to hang on and make her pick him up, and he started to cry when she wouldn’t.
Isaac watched in relative awe as Sidney sprang into action.
“Come on, Baby Greer.” Sidney reached for him and Greer dropped to the floor, kicking his legs and screaming.
Isaac’s heart dropped down into his stomach.
Sidney picked Greer up, ignoring his tantrum, and hugged him close to her.
“Granny has to go right now, but you’ll see her soon.” Her voice was calm as she cooed to him. “I promise, you’ll see her again very soon. It’s going to be okay, baby boy.”
“Oh, BG, I’m so sorry.” Irene sounded truly remorseful, and she ran a hand over his soft blond curls. “I love you, peanut.”
Tears were streaming down her face as she left with her friend.
“Shh. It’s okay, Greer.” Sidney continued to speak softly to the crying child and she paced slowly around the room.
Isaac had to take a moment to push all the waring emotions of others away from him. It was a struggle, especially when dealing with Greer’s chaotic emotions. When he had centered himself, he looked at Sidney.
“That went as well as could be expected, I guess.”
“Did it?” Sidney turned to face him, still cradling Greer. At least the toddler had calmed down some. He was sucking his thumb and clinging to Sidney.
Isaac shrugged a shoulder. He felt so completely out of his depth here.
“Ike, what’s going to happen to him? Irene’s right. She’s too old to take on raising a toddler. And when you were on the phone, she told me that she and Lyle only had the one daughter. Irene’s got a nephew that lives in Washington state, but they’re not close. There’s no one left to care for him.”
Sidney sounded close to panicked, and that same strange stirring in Isaac’s gut rose to his chest. He stepped over to her.
“I don’t know, Sid. I guess if there’s no one he’ll go into the foster care system.”
Sidney kept her eyes locked on his, and he felt more than saw her tighten her arms around the boy.
Isaac ran a hand over Greer’s hair.
Greer’s eyes met his, and it was like he was imploring Isaac to help him. What was it his grandad had told him earlier? That he had created this bond with BG, and it was up to him if it continued or faded away.
Isaac realized in that moment that there was another, much more important question he should’ve asked his grandad.
He looked back at Sidney. “I have to get back to the station. I’ll be home as soon as I can though, okay?”
Sidney silently nodded.
Isaac kissed her lips. “I love you.”
“I love you back.” It was a tearful whisper.
Isaac slid the back of a finger down Greer’s little cheek and then he left.