Keats smiled at Mrs. Edwards. Winifred Sue Edwards. Winnie...
"Are you a South Paw, Mrs. Edwards?" Keats wondered. She played up the fact that Winnie must have thought her one stupid CSI. She donned a silly grin, shoving some more cookies in her mouth.
Better for Winifred to think her incompetent. Secrets came more easily in the company of idiots, Keats knew.
"Well, yes." She murmured, finding a good laugh at Keats' table manners.
"Makes it pretty hard to buy scissors and oven mitts and stuff, huh?" She asked, leaning her chin on her fist. Winifred nodded slowly.
"I heard that only specialty shops make those kinds of…things." Keats stared at the ceiling with her mouth open. Am I overdoing it? Nah.
"Yes, they do. But I go to Jason Bachman. He's a left-handed gunsmith and he makes all sorts of lefty doo-dads." Winifred said, warming up to conversation.
"Cool. I had a guy once that made me a belly-button whistle, but unfortunately he thought I was an outie. I played it at the talent show…HUGE disaster. The reviews of my performance were scathing."
"I can imagine." Winifred mumbled. She had since finished her iced tea.
"Do you want me to help with the dishes?" Keats asked kindly. Winifred gave a small shrug, pushing her empty glass toward her. Keats picked it up near the bottom, gathering her own dishes as well.
She brought them into the kitchen, setting them down on the counter. Then, with all the speed of a mouse running from a cat, Keats transferred Winifred's fingerprint from the glass to the special piece of tape she'd brought with her.
She shoved it in her pocket, coming back into the dining room.
"Let me ask you a question, if your husband did something to really piss you off…wouldn't you try to even the score?" Winifred asked, dropping the pious act.
What a funny question.
"It depends on what you call evening out the score…" Keats said.
"Nice try. But he just made me so mad! For twenty some years, I've been his rock. He's willing to trade all of our years together for some bible-hopping tramp."
"When my guy makes me mad…I call him on it. My fault, his fault, it doesn't really matter. He crosses me, I make him pay." Keats said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Me too. But the law doesn't understand that."
"Are you saying that you knew about the affair before they were murdered?" Keats asked. Winifred nodded.
"You know, if I knew I could get away with it…there are a couple of people I'd like to see six feet under." Keats looked into Mrs. Edwards eyes.
"I am. And I did." She whispered loudly. Keats smiled, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.
"Did you get that, H?" She said into the receiver. Mrs. Edwards gasped angrily.
"You said that you were off work. You said -"
"I guess that makes us both liars, now doesn't it?" Keats patted her on the shoulder, a sympathetic smile on her face.
"He was my whole world! And he was ready to leave me like that." Winifred snapped her fingers, tears rushing to the corners of her eyes.
Keats wrapped her in a warm hug, letting her get tears and other things on her shirt. Mrs. Edwards was quite compliant, and Keats felt incredibly sorry for her.
Keats watched as the cops took Mrs. Edwards away. It was a hollow victory. Sometimes the bad guys weren't all bad. It wasn't as easy as black and white or good and bad. There was a whole gray area for people like Winifred Edwards.
"Keats, I thought I told you we'd take care of this." Ryan said, suddenly standing beside her. Keats glared at him.
"What? No 'thanks for closing it for us'? Screw you, Wolfe." Keats muttered.
"I have no objections to that." He gave a wry smile. Keats wrinkled her nose.
"I'm sure you wouldn't. The fact is, you're a jerk. I married a jerk." Keats turned to face him, her hands on her hips.
"Sorry about that. Too bad you love me anyway." Ryan grinned. Keats could feel invisible steam streaming from her nostrils.
"You…argh." Keats fists were clenched, her whole body tense. Every single nerve ending was heightened, her senses on the edge.
Ryan ran a thumb along her lower lip. It was infuriating to be so mad and so aroused at the same time. He then traced a finger around the skin of her lips.
"Kiss me already, you bastard." Keats said, bringing her mouth clumsily into his own. Just because they were having a fight didn't mean that she should go without his kisses. Detective Berkeley cleared his throat and Keats broke away from Ryan.
"Good job, babe." He said, slipping a hand around her waist. Ryan pulled her closer to him, glowering at Jake Berkeley.
"I wouldn't be so unpleasant, if I were you, Wolfe. I am the one who'll decide whether or not Remington is fit to be a CSI."
"That doesn't mean I'm going to kiss your boots, Jake. We do things a little differently in the Lab." Ryan came quite close to Berkeley's face.
"Oh?" Berkeley taunted.
"Watch yourself. It could be the smartest move you ever make."
"Look who's talking about smart moves, Wolfe. The next time you get married, you might want to make sure that the priest is actually certified." He said, turning away. Ryan put a hand on his shoulder.
"What are you talking about?" He asked. Keats bit her lip. I'm not really married to Ryan? I've been playing house this whole time and none of it was real?
"The guy who supposedly 'married' you? I did a little research. His ministerial license is a fake." Berkeley said, shrugging out of Ryan's grasp. Ryan let him walk away, not knowing what to do. He avoided looking at Keats, afraid of what she might say.
"He's probably right. Anyone who marries people without making them take a blood test is definitely unhinged." Keats joked. Ryan did not laugh.
"Keats…" He began. She stopped him with a tiny sigh.
"I'm fine, Ryan. It's fine. Look on the bright side, at least you get your place back. I won't be messing it up, anymore." She said, trying to make it sound like she was happy.
"What if I don't want my place back? Maybe I like it with a little mess."
"Don't be a jackass. Just the other night you asked me if I even knew what OCD meant. Well it means absolutely no mess. Not even a little." Keats said.
"I don't care if we're not married anymore, Keats. I love you. And you're moving in with me. And that's the end of it." Ryan covered her mouth with his own to prevent her from arguing.