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Frowning he walks up to Kenny, "Hey Kenny!"
Twirling around he looks at Marshall, "Hey, Ma-Marshall"
"Thought you were with Mary," Marshall asked nonchalantly, but his eyes betrayed him.
"Who's Mary?" asked the brunette frowning up at Kenny.
Looking down at his companion Kenny shakes his head and chuckles, "No one sweetie, why don't you go and find your costume."
As soon as the brunette is out of sight, "Where the hell is my partner?"
"Look dude, Mary and I split a few months ago. Thought you'd know this, doesn't she tell you everything? Aren't you two like best-friends and all?" Kenny glared at Marshall.
Marshall glared back at Kenny, frowning confused and startled when those words left his mouth, he narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean you split a few months ago?!"
Shrugging Kenny starts walking away, "Look, ask her."
He intended to just that, pulling his cell phone out but was interrupted when Abigail came up to him.
"Sweetie? What's the matter?" Abigail had been busy looking at the costumes wall and when she noticed him talking to Mary's guy friend she walked over and looked from Marshall to Kenny's retreat form.
"Look Abs, I gotta go, work..." pointing to his cell phone, he hated to lie, but he had to get to the bottom of Mary's lie. "Can you finish the shopping? I'll help you set up as soon as I'm done."
He kisses her cheek and without waiting for a reply he walks out of the Halloween store. He runs to his truck and jumps in. Driving like a madman he screeches to a stop in Mary's driveway. He doesn't see her van parked in the driveway.
Confused he runs up to the door and knocks; when no one opens he withdraws the keys Mary gave him for emergencies and walks into the house. He walks into every room and no one is home. Where are you partner?
Pulling out his cell phone he dials Stan, "This is Stan"
"Where is she?" Marshall demanded as he ran his free hand through his hair.
There's silence on the other end of the cell then, "Not sure exactly who you're talking about, but should I guess its Mary you're referring to?"
"Mary isn't with Kenny and she's not home. Where is she?" he explained and asked again.
"How am I supposed to know? And what do you mean that Mary's not with Kenny?" Stan stood up and rubbed his jaw in frustration.
"I saw him at the Halloween store. He had some brunette climbing him, said that he and Mary hadn't been together for months," pacing in Mary's living room with one hand on his hip he looks over at her computer and decides to turn it on, but as soon as he sits on the chair behind her desk the computer turns on.
"Not sure why she lied, but you know her better than even herself. I'm sure she just needed some time to regroup after her breakup," Stan tried to reassure his inspector, but he would get to the bottom of things.
Marshall shook his head and frowned, then realization hit. "Damn it!"
"What?"
"She knew I was going to invite her to the Halloween party and probably decided to take off so she wasn't invited. This is the reason that nothing was wrong on my desk the other day when I was in your office. I guess she thought it'd be better to not be around, that way she didn't have to come up with an excuse," at this point Marshall was just rambling, putting the pieces in his head and coming up with her reasons for a long weekend get-away.
Sighing deeply enough for Marshall to hear, "Where is she?"
"I don't know," he murmured as he ended the call and sat back on the chair, looking up onto the ceiling and sighing sadly. Is this what I'm expecting from now on from my best-friend? For her to run whenever I have some get together at home? Is that what I want?
"Good Morning Bug," Mary picked up her daughter and walked to the kitchen. She put the baby in her high chair and sat beside her. She fed her daughter her favorite baby food, strawberry-banana, then decided to take a walk.
After dressing her daughter and herself in warm clothes she walked out the door with Norah in her stroller. "Mama, mama, mama"
At one year old, Norah was beginning to talk, but she babbled Mama all day long. Which made Mary smile, even now she caught herself grinning like a fool when Norah called her Mama.
"OK Bug, I think you need a new word for your vocabulary." Just then her cell phone went off, pulling it out of her jacket she sighed heavily and pressed ignore. Marshall.
"Doofus! Leave me alone," she muttered to no one in particular.
Just then Norah turned in the stroller looking up at her mother and said, "Mama, doof"
Mary jerked to a stop, and in the process unsettled Norah in her seat, making the baby cry out. She went around and stooped down, "It's ok bug, I'm sorry I hurt you."
Norah didn't cry just looked at her mother with unshed tears, "Doof, Mama!"
Shaking her head, "Really Bug? Your second word has to be Doof? I miss him too."
Her cell went off again as she stood up and walked behind the stroller again. Looking down at it again, Stan. Sighing she ignores that call as well. She precedes her walk again and her cell goes off again.
"This is Mary," she used her best sugar-covered sing song voice.
"Hey Mary, it's Stan"
"Really?! I hadn't realized it," she rolls her eyes heavenward.
"Ok, ok...I get it. Where are you?"
Frowning Mary asks, "Is something wrong with a witness?"
"Uh, no."
Waiting for the other shoe to fall Mary continues her walk. She finally reached a small park and sat on a bench looking at Norah.
Stan muffles a groan when he realizes that Mary isn't speaking because she's waiting for him to just tell her. "Look, we know you're not with Kenny."
Rolling her eyes and looking around at the park she noticed a few women at the park with their little kids. Toddlers and a few older kids.
"So, is that why you called? You want to know my personal business now? What are you Delia? You need something for the water cooler?" Mary asks as her frustration overflows. She didn't like people in her business, at work or more especially in her personal life.
"Are you ok?" Stan asked, ignoring the rest of her rant, he knew she was a private person, but he wanted to make sure she had someone to confide if need be.
"Look Stan, we ended our…uh…association a few months ago. It didn't affect me, it's not like we were in a relationship," Mary caved and gave him the general information. She knew that Kenny was just another cowboy for her stress, knew nothing would come out of it. When he started making futuristic noises, Mary decided to pack it up and move on.
"Why'd you lie?"
Groaning loud enough for Norah to squeal in laughter and for Stan to hear she says, "Damn it, Stan! I'm sure by now you know Marshall and Nancy Drew are having a freaking Halloween Party."
"You could've just declined."
"Seriously? You think Marshall wouldn't pressure me into coming? He would wait until the last f-" she faltered when she looked down at her daughter, knowing she was at an impressionable age, "moment to ask me if I had any plans, and when I said that I didn't, he would say 'yes you do! You're coming with me, we're having a stupid Halloween party!', minus the stupid," she all but growled over to Stan, trying to keep as much as the animosity from her voice and Norah.
"Well…why wouldn't you go to your best friend's Halloween Party?" Stan asked with a frown on his face, not understanding why she wouldn't go to a party her best-friend was having.
"Maybe because said best-friend asked me to release him! Look Stan, I gotta go," she hung up and pulled Norah out of the stroller, "Come on Bug, let's go to the swings."
TBC...hmmm...Why is Marshall so surprised? He indeed is her best-friend - well at least until after the balcony speech - he should've known what to expect from her...she did release him...Stan trying to understand her, but always confused...Will Marshall go looking for her? Will he find her?