Chapter 6
It was nightfall, and Abed had returned to his motel while the rest of them headed to the mansion. Jeff hadn't said much on the drive back, and he appeared lost in thought. Shirley spied him in the rearview mirror glancing at his manila folder once or twice while a manic-y Annie attempted to engage him in hushed conversation, which he rebuffed. But she caught a smirk from him now and then and dare she say the hint of a blush.
Britta was turning around frequently and giving them both the stink eye.
Shirley smiled in smug satisfaction and exchanged a knowing look with Britta as she turned into the driveway. Detective Butcher's van was parked near the side entrance, and she knew that he had likely already gone inside.
He was a strong man. The way that he maneuvered his way in and out of that chair was impressive.
His biceps were huge.
She loudly cleared her throat and silently prayed to Jesus as she killed the ignition. She turned to her side and was surprised to see Britta smiling in that coy way she would when she thought she was smart. It was unbelievably annoying.
"What on earth are you looking at me like that for?"
Britta shrugged and said, "Nothing. You were just taking a long time staring at Detective Butcher's van. It's like you were in a trance."
"That's nonsense! I just parked."
Jeff rapped on the window from the outside and shouted, "Shirley! I said could you pop the trunk?"
She startled, not knowing when that man had left the car and was confused that Annie didn't appear to be in the back any longer as well. She frowned and leaned forward to pull the lever, hearing the trunk open.
"Thank you!"
She muttered to herself and hushed Britta as they both exited and began unloading the bags.
X
She spotted Jeff sitting on the edge of his bed, his brow furrowed as he continued to flip through the contents of the manila folder. She knocked on the door to alert him to her presence, and at a slight smile, she took that as an invitation and stepped inside and sat down next to him.
Normally she wouldn't think it proper to be on a bed with a man to whom she wasn't married, but this was Jeff. He was her friend.
And that man had troubles.
She said, "I hope you don't fall for Abed's nonsense. He's making connections again that aren't relevant."
"Aren't they, Shirley? I mean you gotta admit, the victim has a lot in common with Starburns."
"So what if he does? That's merely a coincidence. It still doesn't tell us who killed him."
"It might point to motive. Perhaps a drug deal gone bad."
"I guess." She frowned as she leaned over to see the photo of the blood splattered across the victim's face and then tactfully closed the folder and placed it to the side.
"That's not nice."
"Shirley. We're investigating a homicide. Things are not nice."
They exchanged a few silent and intense looks, and she marveled once again at them being together, working on a crime investigation.
She whispered, "Just like the good old days."
He returned her smile and pulled her into a side hug, his long arm almost enveloping her.
"I can't tell you how much it means to me that you called."
"I knew you could help. With Abed, too."
"I'll talk to him."
"Thank you."
They pulled apart and he said, "I'm sorry I was kind of an ass to you on the phone when Annie called you. I guess I can see you have something going on here in Atlanta. I might not understand it, but that's okay. I trust that you have a plan."
"Plan?"
He explained, "To bring your kids here."
Confused and a bit startled, she shook her head. "I'm going back to Greendale just as soon as we finish this case."
At this, Jeff squinted and seemed almost at loss for words, which was so unlike that man. He eventually managed, "I guess I assumed. You and the detective…?" He raised his eyebrows and stopped, clearly hoping she'd understand what he meant.
Well, she did understand and she didn't like the implication one damn bit.
Smacking him with her bag, she said, "Jeffrey! We are professionals! There is nothing going on! Dear Lord!"
Cringing and rubbing his arm, he said, "Sorry. I guess I misread that."
She scrunched up her face, annoyed that he now seemed to be almost laughing at her. She needed to put him in his place.
"Now listen, I don't say anything about you and An-nie now do I?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you kind of already did."
She waived her hand in the air dismissively and turned away as she said, "Abed thinks you two are going to share a bed tonight, like in the tropes." She looked at him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye, awaiting his reaction.
She heard the giggle, and she turned back and smacked him once again.
"Oh come on! I've been sleeping on her couch for a week! If we were going to share a bed, trust me we'd have had plenty of opportunity before now and without all you judgmental people watching, listening at doors for any little creak in the floorboards."
"Now Jeffrey, I…"
"And if you smack me one more time with that thing I'm concerned the listening glass you have inside will break."
He was terrible. She resisted the urge, and demurely placed the bag in between them.
X
After her chat with Jeff, which didn't really appear to elicit any more useful information other than he seemed determined to suppress his feelings for Annie in some misguided notion that he was sparing her from something, Shirley decided to put an end to the nonsense and rapped on the girls' door.
"You don't have to knock, Jeff. I told you, after the shower incident I'll be sure to inform you before I change. You're being…" The door opened, and Annie instantly stopped speaking, her mouth popping slightly at the sight of Shirley.
Shirley squinted as the redness now spreading across Annie's cheeks and she muttered an um hmmm.
Finally appearing to collect herself, Annie jutted out her chin and plastered on her best Annie smile and said, "Shirley! Oh, please, come in!"
She stepped back to allow Shirley to enter, and it would be almost amusing. To some other person perhaps.
Shirley stepped inside and turned to close the door behind her, which she suspected elicited the squeak from Annie.
What was it with all her friends squeaking these days?
She motioned for Annie to sit down next to her on the queen bed and after she accepted, said, "Now An-nie, what's this I hear about a shower?"
Annie stared at her and there was a flash of something across the girl's eyes before she said with affected nonchalance, "Oh, that. I was just kidding. It's called Winger sarcasm. As you know, he's been staying with me, and sometimes we just have little jokes."
"Um hmmm."
With a sudden chest collapse, Annie let out a groan. "Okay, fine. He may have walked in on me while I was taking a shower the other day," Annie exaggerated an eye roll as she continued, "but it was an accident, and well, things like that happen sometimes. When we were living together, Abed walked in on me once while I was taking a shower too and it didn't lead to any weirdness. Or at least any more weirdness than usual."
"Taking a shower or stepping out of the shower?"
A slightly panicked look came over her as she replied, "Um, stepping out of the shower."
"Towel?"
"With Abed, yes."
"Jeffrey?"
"No."
"I see."
The silence was deafening, and Shirley let her brain swirl with all sorts of thoughts. While she wanted to see the two of them put an end to the foolishness, she didn't want it to happen like this. Jeff seeing Annie naked at this stage, before marriage, was not right. Even if it were an accident.
She shook herself and said, her eyes casting toward Annie with tentativeness, "That must have been awkward."
"It was. And before you say anything, I want you to know that nothing happened. We both kinda freaked out and he went jogging for like two hours."
Shirley closed her eyes for a moment and then pursed her lips. "An-nie, I can um, understand how this sort of thing might happen." She actively stopped her mind from flitting to that one time when Detective Butcher's occupational therapist hadn't shown up to help him learn how to properly emerge from the bathtub and continued, "I know that's not your fault, and that you're a good girl," she gripped Annie's hand perhaps a little too tightly and tried to suppress her images of Vaughn and the laundromat guy as she added, "but this situation with you and Jeffrey, now, it just seems ripe for these sort of things."
She turned to face Annie fully, and noticed the sadness in her eyes.
"Oh, honey, are you okay?"
With a lip quiver, Annie replied, "Yeah. I guess I didn't think it through when we talked about having him visit. We thought it would be fun. I honestly thought I could do it, even with the uncertainty of how we left things in June."
At this, Shirley needed to know Annie's perception of the situation. She had already heard Jeff's take, which seemed ridiculous.
She asked with seeming innocence, "June?"
Annie let out a long sigh and explained, "He kissed me goodbye. It was really sweet actually, just a quick kiss on the lips, and he looked so sad. He told me he had to let me go, and I tried to tell him that I thought despite the age difference that we might be at similar places in life." Her eyes growing wider, she continued, "But I think I made a mistake in mentioning my age in a sort of joke, and oh god, I think he thought I rejected him."
Shirley regarded Annie's pained expression and she couldn't take it.
"Oh, dear Lord are you two dumbasses."
"I know you don't approve, Shirley, but I love him." Annie's lips were full on shaking now, and the tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.
"Dear Jesus."
She took a moment to collect herself and then said with as much of her mom authority as she could muster, "You two need to have a serious conversation. And I know we've had our differences, but I need you to know that I wouldn't be upset if you and Jeffrey decided to date. I can see how much you two mean to each other."
Annie appeared shocked at this information, and she suddenly felt bad. She wondered how much the girl had held things back from her throughout the years out of fear of her judgment. Why, she wasn't a judgmental person. She merely wanted to protect her loved ones.
And make sure they got into heaven. Otherwise she'd miss them and be so deeply sad.
But Annie and Jeff, she was realizing, could in theory be an acceptable couple. She'd have to advise them of course so that they didn't sin, but she was suddenly hopeful.
She smiled with reassurance and said, "An-nie, I love you and Jeffrey and I want you both to be happy."
Annie relaxed her shoulders and said, "Thanks, Shirley. I appreciate your support so much. You have no idea. I've been afraid to really tell you how I felt about him."
"Oh, honey." She patted her hand, since she had now finally unclenched it.
Annie seemed to consider something for a few moments, and the sadness returned in her voice. She explained, "But I don't think he feels that way about me. At least not anymore. He's been distancing himself, especially after the shower incident. And when you called, he jumped at the chance to leave, and while I think he does want to help Abed I think he wanted to get away from me." She gulped and continued, "And I'm not proud to admit this, but that's why I insisted I come along to help. I told my director I had a family emergency and needed to take a few days. Which I know might not have been the smartest thing to do, but you guys are my family so it's not a lie, I want to help Abed too, and I guess I just couldn't let Jeff go."
Shirley regarded the tears now freely flowing down Annie's cheeks, and she maternally wiped them with a tissue she had in her bag and murmured, "Now, this will not do. I will have you know that I may have information."
"Information?"
"Yes. Let's just say that I think if you talk to Jeffrey about all of this, in a serious way, it will be a productive conversation."
"Did he tell you something?" Annie sniffed loudly into the tissue.
"I have been speaking with him, about you, for quite some time. The man is a bit consumed with his own self-loathing to think he's good enough for you, but trust me, his feelings about you haven't changed. If anything, I think he's realized how deep they actually are. So if you're willing to put up with his mess, march on over there and talk to him."
Annie was now practically beaming, and Shirley felt perhaps more than a little proud, which she tried to dampen, as she knew pride was a sin. But to know she brought such happiness to that girl really did make her day.
X
"Hey Shirley, can you hold Daniel while I get his medicine?"
She knew she shouldn't have woken in the middle of the night to check on the dough. She had somehow been unable to sleep at the thought of it not being on the counter, as she couldn't remember if she had taken it out of the fridge before bed.
She sighed and apprehensively accepted the squirming cat from Britta, noting with surprise that he appeared to calm down quickly in her arms. She began to pet him lovingly, regarding his little tiger stripes and then heard the purr.
"He's lovely."
Britta squinted at Daniel for a moment and then said as she turned toward her bag on the kitchen table and said, "That's weird. He's usually not so friendly."
"Really? Maybe I have a special touch."
"Well, now that I think about it, he likes Jeff too."
"Ahh."
"And Abed. And Troy. Oh, and I asked Annie to keep an eye on him once too, and she said he slept near her head and was all sweet meowy in the morning."
"I see."
Britta turned back, holding a dropper full of liquid and said, "Open up."
"Now, this is ridiculous. Put it in his food."
"He's too smart for that."
X
After a scramble with Daniel, Shirley inspected her arms to make sure there were no deep scratches and then joined Britta in the living room, as they both expressed they were too awake to sleep. They were both also likely a little creeped out, and Shirley was reassured at last to potentially have someone she could talk to about the spooky old mansion. Why, even tonight it seemed extra eerie, as there were some creaking sounds coming from the ceiling, which she noticed Britta was staring at here and there. The girl sensed the spirits too.
Daniel sat watching them from his spot on a stepstool across the room. Britta kept trying to coax him over while holding a small beret, but he didn't budge.
She glanced upwards toward the sounds and then tried to shift her focus. She lightly touched Britta's arm to regain her attention and then said, "Honey, it is so good to see you. But how did you know to come?"
Britta gave her a soft smile and replied, "Jeff called me. He told me about Abed and well," she shrugged, "I knew I could help. Since I therapized Abed I have some insight into his psyche."
"Well, I…"
"You could have asked me, but I suppose you thought you'd bother me."
"Yes, that is exactly it. I know how busy you are, and I suppose I thought analysis might take more time than we had. Jeffrey seemed the most logical person to talk some sense into Abed. I'm sorry."
"Eh, don't be. Jeff explained to me that he needed me, and I wasn't that busy, so I figured I'd come too. We were able to arrange flights so that I could meet them at the Atlanta airport within a couple hours of each other."
Shirley did her best to keep her reaction in check. Of course Jeff called Britta in some attempt to avoid being alone with Annie. It was the only explanation that made any sense. He probably thought he'd needed to get a hotel room as well, and he wouldn't want to be sharing a room with Annie.
She was brought back from her thoughts by Britta's voice.
"Shirley, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, hon."
"What's the deal with you and Detective Butcher?"
Shirley stiffened and clasped her hands over her bag, which she had brought downstairs just in case she needed her reading glasses once she got to the kitchen.
"I don't know what you mean."
Britta rolled her eyes and said, "Come on. It's obvious you two are into each other."
She shook her head adamantly and said, "What does everyone think that? We work together. And yes, we're friends, but that's it. I'm married."
"Legally separated. And we both know you and Andre are talking to your lawyers about divorce."
She took a few steadying breaths, knowing that Britta was right for a change. The separation was merely where they were now while she attended to her father's situation, but their marriage was long over. Again. It made her sad, the thought that she had failed at it once more.
Seeming to sense her thoughts, Britta said, "It's not your fault Shirley. You tried. And you wanted to run a business too which is a perfectly reasonable expectation. If you ask me, as hot as Andre is, he's a pretty crappy husband. First of all leaving you for a stripper and secondly for being a misogynistic pig."
Shirley sniffed and pulled out a tissue to dab her eyes. She said, "He was pretty lousy."
"You bet he was."
"He only gave me two bland orgasms."
Britta nodded sagely and rubbed her back. "That's really one thing I will never understand. How could you have bland orgasms? I'm thinking you've never had one."
Shirley shifted her gaze and asked, "Well, now of course I did. Those two times were exciting. It felt nice."
Britta winced and said, "Shirley! Orgasms aren't described as nice. They're toe-curling, vibrant, pulsating, etcetera etcetera. They make noise. God, I wish at least one of your boyfriends had given you one."
"Well, um, there's only been Andre. And Chang, but I don't remember that."
Britta stared at her dumbfounded and she instantly smacked her arm. At this, Daniel scurried over and plopped himself over her bag, seemingly with a nonverbal instruction for her to resume petting him, which she did.
"Shirley! You've only had sex with one man?!"
"I waited until I was married, and I've only been married to one man, so yes."
Britta appeared to take this information in, and she stared at the floor for a few moments before she turned back to her and asked, "What about solo?"
"Hm?"
"Have you been able to give yourself one?"
Shirley gasped and felt Britta's reassuring hand squeeze, which stopped her from leaving the room immediately.
"Shirley, come on. We've known each other for years. You expected me to ask that."
"Of course I haven't! Why…"
"Please, consider it. There are articles you can read if you're squeamish. Or you know, you could just get a toy, one of those vibrating ones, and it won't freak you out. Look, I'll even go with you. I'm sure we can find a shop in Atlanta. There's a small purple one that…"
She smacked that girl hard.
X
After she had disentangled herself from Britta's lack of shame, she retired upstairs, ghosts be damned, which she supposed they already were or they wouldn't be making a ruckus in the house. She normally just felt their presence, but she supposed with all the murder goings on and carnal talk that they were extra aroused tonight.
She tip-toed down the hall, as she didn't want to wake Annie, and although she thought she heard the ghosts' groans from further down the hall, she told herself perhaps it was all in her head. She was easily spooked, something that she had dealt with since she was a child.
The world was a scary place.
She made the sign of the cross for extra protection perhaps and passed by Annie and Britta's room and made a beeline for hers, content that at least if she made a sound now as she passed Detective Butcher's quarters that he likely wouldn't mind. He was usually up late anyways reading and was often a light sleeper. It's part of why he was often taking the stair lift to see her in the wee hours of the morning when she was baking.
When they'd have their long talks.
She heard a creak and sprung around with a gasp.
"Wanna come in?"
There was Detective Butcher, peering out his door and smiling at her wryly. She could tell he was almost going to laugh, likely because he had startled her so.
She huffed and said, "I was just going back to bed."
"Couldn't sleep either? Join the club."
"I was just talking with Britta downstairs. She told me she needed to give medicine to her cat, but I think she's also feeling restless."
"I know. I went down there earlier and saw she was there but not you, so I came back up. Thank goodness you're awake. I wanted to talk about the case. I had some thoughts."
Well, she supposed talking about the case would be a good use of their insomnia time. Since Britta was downstairs and insisting she wasn't going back to bed anytime soon, it also made sense that they would need to talk in Detective Butcher's quarters.
They had to.
She accepted his invitation as he pulled back the door, and she closed the door behind them.
For privacy.
They would be discussing case details.
He wheeled over to the seating area, which was near the window a few feet from the king-sized bed. She smiled politely and sat down, noting the pile of case materials he had on the table in between them.
"So your friend Abed's got an interesting take on the situation. There could be a drug link."
She nodded and said, "I was thinking about it too. That makes sense. And Jeff agrees."
There was an awkward pause, and she wondered if she should have mentioned Jeff. Detective Butcher had seemed almost territorial earlier that day when they had all initially discussed the case. She supposed he didn't like not being in charge.
Finally he said, "Ah, Jeff. He's a good-looking man. You didn't tell me that. From your tales, I always pictured him to be kind of average looking with an inferiority complex."
She felt her heart flutter but tried to ignore it. "I didn't think it mattered."
"You're close?"
"Yes."
There was another long pause, and she felt restless. She fiddled with her bag, glad it was providing some modesty and covering the opening in her robe.
Detective Butcher then managed, "You told me that he and Annie might be a thing, but he certainly didn't seem very interested in her. I was watching them today."
She tilted her head and regarded him, noticing the blush creeping across his cheeks. For some reason, she felt a sense of indignation within her.
With a stammer, she said, "It's none of your business, any of that, but Jeffrey and I are just friends. And why does it matter?"
"No reason. Sorry. Forget I said anything."
She politely murmured something so they could move on.
Really.
He cleared his throat and began flipping through a file. He then slid over a picture of the deceased and said, "If he was consorting with drug traffickers, it would explain the gruesomeness of this scene, given he had no other enemies."
She winced and inched back. She never could handle the blood. It's why she had him handle everything with the body, custodian Bob, and the morgue. It was just not nice.
He eyed her for a moment and then carefully shifted the photo back into the folder, closing it while giving her a reassuring smile.
"Just letting you know this case might take longer to crack than we thought. I doubt your friends can be here throughout it all. Annie tells me she's only on leave from her FBI internship for four days and she'll need to make up a ton of work. Britta's studying for her GRE so that she can get into a psych grad program. Jeff has to teach a class next week. I'm sure Abed must having something else going on too."
He looked at her questioningly on that last one, and she shook her head. He frowned.
"Your friend Abed, let's just say that although I appreciate his willingness to help and perhaps some of his observations on this drug aspect, needs some serious help."
"I know. Poor boy."
"Shirley." With a look of concern, he wheeled toward her. He took her hands and clasped them in his, gazing into her eyes.
"We can get him some help."
She shook her head. "He won't. You don't understand."
"We can help him. But we have to have a united front. We can do this together."
She felt a sense of calmness wash over her, the way it had that night when he reassured her after her father's passing. They had spent all night talking, her sharing her regrets about having lived so far away from him before recent times and Detective Butcher confiding that he had often questioned the moments when he had taken his wife for granted. They had bonded in their pain, and they had resolved to help each other face the uncertain future.
She whispered, "I know."
It was then that the grandfather clock from the hallway struck three, and Detective Butcher groaned.
"We should go to bed."
"Of course! The dough will have risen by five. Oh Lord, am I tired." She felt herself sway a little, feeling a little woozy as the weariness fell over her. It had been a long day, and she had been having too many intense conversations.
He nodded and then asked, "I'm beat. Would you mind helping me into bed? When I'm spent like this, I have trouble doing it myself." He gave her a nervous smile.
She readily agreed, knowing that poor man had it rough. She couldn't imagine how he had the stamina to move through his days, negotiating obstacles. Even a simple matter like getting into bed took a lot out of him. She supposed that was why he often roamed the halls in his wheelchair.
She followed him over to the bed and spent the next minute or so assisting him in transferring from his chair. He was strong, as he worked out regularly with a trainer, so the process went fairly smoothly. There was only one awkward moment when they were caught with her almost hovering completely above him, but luckily they were able to laugh about it and get him settled.
Instinctively tucking him in, she said, "Now, there you go. Get a couple hours rest if you can, and don't worry about getting up early. I'm the one who's the baker after all."
He grinned at her and brushed her hand. At her startle, he explained, "You don't need to tuck me in. And look, I'm sitting up."
"Sorry. Yes of course."
"You look tired. You can always take a snooze here you know. It's a long way down that hallway, and I know how you get scared."
She felt her pulse quicken, and she didn't like that. Maybe it was because she was fearful of ghosts and not because of what he said about sharing a bed. That would be ridiculously improper, and she knew he knew she'd think so.
She gave him the stink eye, and he shrugged.
"Had to try."
She smacked him, and ignoring his chuckle, she made her way over to the door. "Good night."
"Good night, Bennett."
She stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind her. As she shuffled away, she suddenly heard a loud moan and caught her breath. The sound was followed by an almost violent creaking and squeaking noise, the likes of which she had never in all her years heard, so she sprinted back toward the safety of the Detective's quarters.
"Bennett! You're back! What happened, a ghost get you?"
"Detective Butcher, you don't even know the half of it!" She shrieked and dove into the bed, pulling the covers securely over her head.
It was perhaps two full minutes later that she gasped for air, the Detective having waited out her scene. To her dismay, he was staring at her with a bemused expression.
"Not that I'm not happy you're here, but really."
"There were ghosts."
"Sure."
"This time they sounded menacing."
He smirked and reached over to turn off the bedside lamp. "Then you'll have to stay here."
She felt she had no choice really. She certainly couldn't face the demons in the hallway. She was sure the Lord would understand.
"We should um, sleep head to toe?"
"Shut up, Bennett. I'll behave. I swear."
"Um, well, okay. But you stay over there."
"I understand."
X
The light filtered in, and she awoke at the heat of it on her face. She instantly internally screamed, for she remembered where she was and knowing that it was light out meant that it was well past five. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand.
It was eight.
Lord.
She then realized there was a weight around her that felt unfamiliar. She looked down to see the strong manly hands wrapped around her, and she realized she was being spooned. She murmured a prayer.
"Oh come on, Bennett, I just woke up too you know. I'm sorry, but you don't have to atone for a sin you know. We didn't have sex."
She whipped around, which was an awkward maneuver, and slightly slapped his shoulder, noticing to his relief that he was still wearing his t-shirt and, she hoped, shorts. She instinctively glanced down to make sure her robe remained.
Thank Jesus.
She scowled. "Why did you let me sleep so late?!"
"As I explained, I just woke up too. I think it was because you moved."
"Why on earth are we spooning?"
He sighed as he rolled onto his back and stretched out his arms. "I have no idea. Probably just instinct. It's been awhile since I've slept with someone."
She pushed down the feelings that arose at those words and merely said, "Well, then. But I'm not sure if the others will understand."
"Who cares what they think?"
"I do. They're my friends. My family. And if they think we…"
-"Bennett, they traveled and worked a case yesterday. I'm sure they're not up. And even if they are, they probably think you're still in your room. Just sneak you're way back in there." He chuckled and playfully nudged her arm.
She felt herself relax slightly but was still a bit worried. The thought of her friends even thinking that they were up to anything filled her with terror. And they had been so chaste. Why, if someone had thought they did anything they might as well have, and maybe then she would have at least had an orgasm.
"Bennett, why did you just slap your hand over your mouth?"
She instantly sat up and scurried out of the room.
X
"So, everyone sleep well last night?"
Shirley stilled as she accepted the plate of eggs from Britta, who was grinning knowingly as she scanned the faces around the table.
How on earth did she know?
Well, there was nothing to know. They had been innocent.
She cleared her throat and said, "I'm sure everyone slept very well, thank you."
"I'm not so sure about that." Britta bit her lip and tried to suppress a laugh before she began eating her breakfast.
"I don't know what on earth you mean by that."
Detective Butcher chimed in, "We have a big day coming up, don't we? As I understand it, we're to meet Abed and Audrey at the diner around ten, and then we'll split up once again into teams. Britta, you're going to meet with campus security and go over any video footage," Britta nodded and the Detective turned toward Jeff and Annie, "You guys are to make sure Abed and Audrey don't screw up interviewing the students, sort of supervise them but don't let them know you're doing that," Jeff and Annie indicated their agreement before eyeing each other for a second and then blushing, "And Bennett and I will talk to the Dean, who recently returned from a vacation."
Shirley thought that seemed like a good plan. She took a moment to regard Jeff and Annie, feeling as if something had changed between them. She felt a warmth in her heart as she considered that perhaps Abed had been right. They had been under one roof for a night and there had been perhaps an emotionally cathartic conversation. . And to think she had some part it made her joyful.
And of course there had been bed sharing. She and Detective Butcher hadn't engaged in any nonsense, so that didn't need to be dealt with. Abed wasn't right about everything, although she paused to consider the emotional moment she and the Detective had shared before they had retired for the evening.
And the spooning. She had enjoyed the spooning.
She ignored the Detective's attempts to catch her eye but felt him watching her the remainder of breakfast.
Well at least there had been no smut.
X
On their way out of the mansion, Shirley pulled Jeff aside, letting the others make their way toward the vehicles.
"Yeah, what?" He looked down at her with an irritated expression and waited.
She whispered with a sense of glee, "Soooo? You and An-nie?"
He instantly paled and shook his head almost violently.
She felt the disappointment fall over her, and she remarked, "I told An-nie to talk to you. I was hoping you two could work things out. I might have looked forward to you two being an item from now on."
At this, Jeff's shoulders oddly relaxed and he let out a low laugh, which continued for longer than was perhaps reasonable. She waited him out, and he finally said as he wiped a tear from his eye, "Oh, right. I thought you were insinuating something else."
"Oh please, I don't listen to Abed with his tropes. Plus when he mentioned the," she glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot as she said," smut I knew that lunatic was way off base. But I was hoping you and An-nie had a cathartic conversation." She looked up at him with her soulful eyes hoping he'd see how much he disappointed her.
He gave her a soft smile and then leaned down to whisper, "I'll let you in on a little secret. We did. We talked things over, and we've decided to give being together a shot. Thank you."
She squealed, "Really? Why, Jeffrey, that's wonderful!"
She pulled him into a hug, and he said, "We were going to tell you soon, but we didn't know when was a good time with the case today and all."
"Oh, I'm so happy!"
They pulled apart, and she asked, "So it was cathartic?"
He glanced over in Annie's direction, and they both noticed she was watching them while fiddling with her hair.
"It was very cathartic. Very cathartic indeed."
X
At the diner, Abed scanned everyone at the table. As he was about to say something, both Jeff and Shirley loudly cleared their throats and made menacing looks in his direction.
He merely shrugged and said as he accepted a cup of coffee and pie from the waitress, "I had an interesting night. Didn't I, Audrey?"
Audrey giggled in response.
"Oh for heaven's sake, Abed, you promised!" Shirley gave her him her best judgmental glare.
Really.
He furrowed his brow for a second and then said, "Oh, that. No, Shirley, I was just asking Audrey because she got here earlier than you guys did and I already filled her in.
They all regarded him with curiosity.
He explained, "I had a dream last night. A very interesting one. There was a dwarf. His arms bent back."
Shirley exchanged alarmed glances with her friends and then said, "Abed, please."
"The dwarf was Troy."