A/N OK here it is. The tea party. I hope you enjoy. I might have a surprise or 2 for you also.
Please review and comment.
To those of you who are making guesses, they are great. There are only 3 more chapters that are written, the others are only outlined.
Chapter 15
Angie sat in the parking lot of Dukes Pool Hall, smoking a cigarette. She wasn't going in till they were all there. She also wanted them to get a couple drinks in them. She knew the ritual of the tea party. Shot, beer, shot, beer, etc. Give them 45 minutes after the last one arrived and they would be into the 2nd beer. Angie also knew that in wine there was truth.
A cab pulled up and Polly got out. Always responsible Polly Angie thought to herself, taking a cab here. She was the last to arrive, Carolyn and Sandy had gotten there about 5 minutes before. Angie had been in town for about 3 hours taking care of various things. She had met with the event planner, and then had sat in the truck and made phone calls and had responded to email. She had taken one of the trucks the boys had at the cabin and had left her Tahoe up there, she didn't want the women recognizing her vehicle in the parking lot of Duke's while she waited for them to arrive.
Angie looked at her watch, 2:45. She would give them till 3:30 before she went in. Till then she would sit outside and smoke a cigarette or 2 and finish up her emails. She had gotten the email from Bob and forwarded it to Juice earlier in the afternoon.
29 more minutes, that's all she had to wait.
Back at the cabin, Jax was meeting with Juice and Opie. Juice was filling him in on the sisters-in-law when Juice got the email from Angie. Juice opened the email and read through the documents sent from Bob.
"Well this is interesting, Matt and Sandy were the one's wanting to adopt. I would have thought that it was Mark and Carolyn. Which means,"
"Mark wanted a divorce. Any info about why?" Jax asked.
"No, only their financials, and their prenup. This is a good read though. Wonder if Angie wrote this?" Juice stated.
"No, she couldn't have. They got married before Angie was out of High school. Hell they had been married over 20 years. Wonder what was going on," Jax said.
"Well I would guess Carolyn is the one to ask," Jax said. "I am going to call Angel and tell her this stuff."
"Hey, where is Happy, he took out of here like a bat out of hell when you told him it was 1:30." Opie said to Juice.
"Man I do not know, said something about not tapping out." Juice said. "He went flying down the road like he was gonna miss his last meal."
"I know. Gonna have to ask Jax when he gets off the phone," Opie said.
"Ask Jax what?" Jax said as he walked back over to the table and sat down.
"Where Happy was going?" Juice and Opie said in unison.
"I don't know where, but I am pretty sure I know with whom." Jax said.
"Who's that?" Opie said.
"Maggie, that vet." Jax said.
"Nice," Juice said.
"I think we should go down to the tea party and watch what happens." Opie said.
"I agree," Jax said, "Come on Opie, let's get to Dukes."
3:30, Angie had waited long enough. She had been out of the truck the last 10 minutes pacing in the parking lot. Ever since Jax had called it was all she could do not to break the door down and beat the crap out of Carolyn. She had to calm down. She couldn't manipulate them and get the information she wanted if she were this upset.
Feeling like she was calm, she reached in the truck and grabbed her smokes. She locked the truck and slipped in the door. Inside, Dukes had not changed much since she had been gone. There had to be 10 pool tables, and as with any Friday, the Maroney women were in the corner, the far table. Angie walked up to the bar and gave a smile to Duke. She made the motion to be quiet, "Don't want them knowing I am here." She said to him as she took his outstretched hand.
"It's good to see you, Angie. Planning on joining them?" Duke said.
"Eventually. Do they still get loud so I can listen from here at the bar?"
"Of course, till about 4:30 when the place starts filling up, then they are the model of decorum. Good Maroney women." Duke said. "Why are you planning on eavesdropping?"
"Only for a little while." Angie said.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Duke asked.
"You got an O'Douls?" Angie asked.
"Sure." Angie heard the women erupt in laughter, and she perked up.
"Can you believe her, she shows up after not being here all this time and what, we are supposed to what fall in line." Said Sandy. "And then MJ acts like she walks on water. Just like her Dad."
The women were playing pool, cut throat. As they talked they took turns shooting, and when not shooting, the other 2 women were busy drinking the beer in front of them. There were 6 empty shot classes on the table, and 3 empty beer bottles. The ladies were into round 2.
"And this charity thing Saturday. What is she expecting, a command performance by us? It's a week away and she hasn't even asked us about it. I got my invitation delivered to me. She couldn't even call." Carolyn said.
"Well we knew she would be back someday. What do we plan to do about it is a better question." Polly said.
"Well, I am going to tell her she can take her spoiled ass back to California. Her responsibility is to keep making money and make sure my check is there every month. Other than that I owe her nothing."
"Well make sure you tell her that when the biker isn't around. He and his friends might kill you and bury you somewhere in a shallow grave," Sandy said.
"Well you are the only one who has been out there, tell us about the biker?" Polly said.
"Well let me tell you, he definitely improves the view of the ranch I must say. But I wouldn't want to be in the room with him alone long. I think I saw a gun under that leather vest he was wearing." Sandy said.
"Really, and I hear he brought some friends. Did you see them?" Carolyn asked.
"Only from a distance. One looks like Grizzly Adams, one of them has a Mohawk and tats on his head, and the third, well let's just say I don't want to meet him in a dark alley." Sandy said.
"How can she drag that kind of riff raff into town. She always had something to say about what we did and how we presented ourselves, but then she shows up with that in tow, I mean really." Polly said.
"I know. I mean it was one thing to move away and go slumming, but we all know you go away for those kinds of things and when you come home it is back to the Maroney way."
"You three wouldn't know the real Maroney way if it came up and hit you in the face," Angie had heard enough, and decided it was time she joined the party.
"Angie!" they all said simultaneously.
"I still have an open invitation to this little tea party don't I?" Angie said. She had picked a pool cue on her way to the table."
"Why would you want to come? It's not like you are going to participate in the tea drinking," Sandy said.
"No, but the discussion was always so interesting. So you have something to tell me Carolyn?" Angie said.
"Yes, I do. Why don't you just go back to California? We were doing just fine with you out of town." Carolyn said.
"Well I am back because the Sheriff called. Seems they have a lead on who killed my brothers and father." Angie said. The women stood there staring at Angie.
"You mean our husbands." Polly said.
"Yes they were that too." Angie said. "Interesting though, y'all don't act like that much unless it suits you these days, except you Polly. But y'all never shy from being a Maroney when it comes time to cash those checks."
"Look Angie, you have control of everything, except how we spend our monthly money. If you don't like it, too bad." Carolyn said.
"No, I can't do much about how you spend your money, but I do have some questions for you." Angie snipped. "And you are going answer them right now."
"I don't answer to you, Miss High and Mighty, and even your biker can't make me answer your stupid questions," Sandy snipped.
"I don't need him to help me," Angie said. She made her way around the table. "Now sit down. Everyone in here does not need to hear our family business."
The ladies took a seat at the table. "Now, Polly, this won't take long. What do you plan to do with all the money you have invested?" Angie asked.
"It is for my kids. I know the money comes from the Maroney family. But in my own way if I set it aside and invest it, then when they inherit it will be from me." Polly said.
"Well, that is real nice. My only suggestion is you put it in a trust to protect it. I think that's great though." Angie said. She smiled at Polly and patted her hands as they sat on the table.
"Sweet Polly, always doing the good thing." Sandy sneered.
"Shut your mouth, Sandy." Angie snipped. "It would do you some good to learn a thing or two from her."
"Yes ma'am. Taking my place in line as told." Sandy said, taking a shot from the tray and downing it.
"Sandy, let's talk about you and your Cabana bill at the Club. Or the fact you haven't been home much in the last 6 months. Or wait, how about the 6 times the Sheriff came to your house to escort the man, or should I say men who MJ was fighting with away until you decided the club was a better place to bang your nightly pickup."
"That's none of your business," Sandy said. "I didn't want MJ fighting with the men I was seeing, so I got a cabana at the club. MJ is fine."
"He is, no thanks to you. You gave him a debit card with access to his trust fund income. You are lucky he is a good kid, or he could have had a field day." Angie said. "Then the minute you find out I am back you can't wait to dump him on me. Great mothering skills there." Angie was fuming. "With parenting skills like these, I can't wait to find out why you wanted to adopt a child."
"How do you know about that?" Sandy snipped.
"I know a lot, so you were trying to adopt?" Angie said.
"Yes, we were looking at becoming foster parents. Wanted to know about adopting a child who might be placed with us if that became an option." Sandy.
"Well glad that didn't ever happen, seeing how your parenting skills are." Angie stated.
"Look, none of my behaviors started till after Matt was gone," Sandy said, staring at Carolyn.
"Oh yes, let's not forget Carolyn. Mark wanted a divorce, want to tell me why? Does it have anything to do with the guy you are having breakfast with every 3 weeks at the W in Denver?" Angie asked as she turned to Carolyn.
"What David and I do is none of your business." Carolyn yelled.
"David who?" Angie yelled back.
"David Parker. And I don't owe you any explanation." Carolyn said.
Angie paused a moment, that was not the name she was expecting from Carolyn. "Wait, you and David Parker? He is doing business with Maroney Mining?" Angie said.
"I know, that's how we met," Carolyn snipped.
"So he used you to get information about Maroney Mining, nice. You are a whore and a traitor," Angie said.
Carolyn slapped Angie across the face. "You shut your mouth!"
Angie came up out of the chair and started to grab Carolyn. Just then, Jax pulled Angie off Carolyn. "Let me go!" she screamed.
"Angel, enough." Jax said, taking a couple steps back he set Angie down on the ground, keeping hold of her at the waist. "Enough."
Opie had stepped in, putting himself right in front of Carolyn. "You don't want to do anything, now do you, miss?" Opie said, looking down at Carolyn. Carolyn simply nodded her head, sitting back down into the chair.
Jax put his hands on Angie's face and turned her to look at him. "Angel look at me, enough. You aren't going to get anywhere this way." Jax and Opie had been standing over by the bar watching the scene for a little while. As the women had gotten louder and louder, they had made their way toward them.
"It isn't going to do us any good to exchange insults with her," Jax whispered.
"Ok, I am ok," Angie said.
Jax and Opie pulled chairs up to the table. Jax sat between Carolyn and Angie. Opie sat between Sandy and Carolyn. "Now, I want to ask you some questions," Jax said.
"I don't have to tell you anything," Sandy spat.
"But it would be best if the three of you did," Opie said. He was leaning on his hands, his elbows on the table. The position was more than a little intimidating.
"What can you tell us about Randall Fahey?" When no one said anything, Jax said again, "What can any of you tell us about Randall Fahey?"
"I don't know that guy, never met him. Taggert asked me, the sheriff asked me, the answer is still the same, I don't know what he and Matt were meeting about?" Carolyn said.
"Never?" Jax said, raising his eyebrow.
"Never." Carolyn said.
"Don't look at me," Sandy said. "He never came looking for me."
Polly was sitting there very quiet, much like she always did. Angie looked over at her. Polly was playing with her drink napkin. "Polly do you know Randall Fahey?" Angie asked.
Polly just sat there, shaking her head yes.
"Polly who is this guy?" Angie said.
"He says he's a Maroney." Polly said.