Title: When in Doubt: Act V, Scene 1
Author:The GPP
Rating: NC-17 (well not so much anymore…)
Tagline: When in Doubt… Blame the FBI!
Author Notes: We're so sad to see this being wrapped up! Thank you for sticking with us!
Summary: It's time to plan the funeral! What happens when Jinx meets James's second wife? Read on!
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"James was my husband! We have three children! Of course I'm having a funeral!" Amy Griffin's voice rose to a screech.
"Well, he was my husband first; we have two daughters, so of course, I'm having a funeral as well!" Jinx fought back with an equal amount of ferocity.
"'He was my husband first'" Amy quoted snidely, "What are we, eight years old? He left you; which makes him my husband and you and yours can come or not but we are having the funeral in Miami."
"If I recall correctly, Lauren said he left you too, so I guess that makes you the same as me."
"He was afraid for his life;" Amy countered, "and besides, when he left me he didn't immediately remarry."
"If you want to believe he was afraid for his life, then by all means. If that's what helps you sleep better at night then sure, maybe he was afraid for his life. I'll be damned, however, if you think you're better than me because you were his second choice for a wife."
"At least I don't need to drink myself stupid to sleep."
Jinx snapped and she lunged at the other woman, but Amy was shorter and quicker. She dodged out of the way, snatching the white, porcelain urn off the counter as she did.
"Ha!" She cackled in triumph, holding the urn above her head like a trophy.
Jinx lunged once more and caught her off balance; folding the smaller woman in half like a jackknife.
The urn flew through the air, seeming to hover for a moment before smashing to pieces on the linoleum entryway.
The startled woman behind the counter reached for the phone and dialed 911 as the two fully-grown women tumbled to the floor in a heap. There was no way was she paid enough to deal with this shit.
This is what the police saw when they walked into the funeral home five minutes later. Jinx and Amy rolled about on a white linoleum floor covered in what appeared to be ash, pulling each other's hair and flailing punches that never seemed to find a target.
With some difficulty, they separated them and slapped handcuffs onto each of their wrists and led them out to the squad car. It was a small town so there was only one; both women were pretty sure that this was the most action the local police had seen in a while. With the exception of James' fiery death, of course.
When Mary saw Del Rio PD on her call display, she expected the worst. "Hello?"
"Mary Shannon?" a brisk male voice asked.
"Yes."
"Your mother, Jinx Shannon, has been taken into custody."
"You're kidding," Mary said, though she was sure he was serious. "What did she do?"
Marshall's shoulders tensed when he saw Mary's reaction to whoever was on the other end of the phone line. "What's going on?" he whispered.
Covering the mouthpiece of her phone Mary whispered back, "Jinx was arrested in Del Rio."
Marshall smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand as Mary continued her conversation.
Mary listened to the rest of what the officer had to say and promised to be there as soon as possible to bail her mother out. When she hung up her eyes were sparkling with mirth. "Feel like another trip south?" She asked her partner.
"Always," he moved closer and put his hand on her shoulder.
"We have to bail Jinx out of jail." Mary said, fighting to contain a wave of laughter and failing miserably.
Marshall looked at her as if she'd grown a second head for a moment before deciding to roll with it. He laughed with her.
When she had finished laughing and wiped the tears off her face Mary explained, "Jinx and James' second wife were arrested for public disturbance at the funeral parlor."
It was a solid eleven-hour drive from Albuquerque to Del Rio; the partners did not waste time. Marshall checked in with Stan while Mary threw their go bags in his SUV along with a few bottles of water and some snack food. She added apples at the last minute, remembering what Marshall had told her about their amazing caffeine-like properties.
The Del Rio police station looked worse than Mary remembered. Possibly because it was five AM and they had been driving all night. She climbed out of the SUV, stretched the worst kinks from her lower back and entered the station, Marshall close behind as a silent pillar of support.
They could hear the women fighting before they could see them.
"This is your fault!" Jinx's shrill voice echoed in the halls of the cell.
"Did I push your fist into the officer's face?" Amy asked snidely, staying just far enough back from the bars of her holding cell that Jinx couldn't reach her.
"You sure as hell shoved that other one into the coffin!" She reached a hand through the bars and tried to claw at her.
"I was aiming for you."
"Well you have piss poor aim..." Jinx glared at the other woman.
Marshall stayed behind her and blended into the shadows as Mary came to a stop a few meters from the cells and stared. The women both looked awful. They were smudged with grey grime, probably from wrestling on the floor of a funeral parlor, and hair that stuck up in all directions. Jinx's blouse was ripped and hung off one shoulder. "Jesus, mom!"
"What? She started it!" Jinx pointed in accusation at the other woman who looked equally as disheveled.
Mary stared, nonplussed. She knew her mother well, and while it looked like Amy Griffin could hold her own in a catfight, Mary would bet real money that Jinx had landed the first blow.
Lauren appeared to Mary's left and took in the sight before her, "Mother!" she exclaimed, "Don't you have any sense of decorum?"
Amy glared at her daughter, "Like you should talk, darling. You were the one who visited these... people in the first place." She said 'people' as if it was the vilest insult.
"Lauren," Mary held out a hand to her half sister. It was still eerie looking at the younger woman who looked so much like her, "Nice to see you."
"Hey, Mary," Lauren shook her hand, "Nice to see you again; though I wish it was under better circumstances. So this is the town Daddy disappeared to?"
Mary nodded and flinched inwardly as Lauren's name for him but didn't elaborate. Most of what happened to James had made the local paper, but she didn't want to give away any details. "Shall we leave them to fight this out and go get James?" Mary cringed at her own word choice.
"Also, maybe some breakfast? It was a long flight, oddly enough, and this town doesn't seem like it should have its own airport; much less a working one."
"I'm starving," Mary agreed. "I think the funeral parlor opens at seven. Marshall?" she turned to face her partner.
Marshall, who had remained silent the entire time, stepped out from the shadows and regarded Lauren; he mentally did a threat assessment before nodding in agreement of breakfast. More than likely, he would be helping them reach a suitable conclusion as to what they should do with James' remains. He extended his hand to Lauren. "U.S. Marshal Marshall Mann at your service," he smiled as he took in the acute family resemblance. The half-sisters could have been fully related; he'd never have known otherwise if Mary hadn't told him.
"Marshal Marshall?" Lauren quirked an eyebrow; a facial expression Marshall wasn't unfamiliar with.
"It has its advantages and disadvantages," he sent a charming yet polite smile to Lauren and mentally chuckled as he noticed her cheeks tinged with pink.
Mary looked between the two with amusement.
"You're leaving me here?" Amy's voice was furious as she interrupted the moment between the trio.
Lauren turned to her mother, "Don't worry, I'll be back."
Jinx piped up as well, "And you, Mary? You'd leave your own mother in jail?"
Mary shot a smile at Marshall before schooling her face into a suitably 'guilt ridden daughter' expression, "We'll be back before lunch time. You'll live."
After a delicious, and surprisingly comfortable, breakfast Lauren, Mary and Marshall drove to the funeral parlor. The attendant was just opening for the morning when they entered and it was a few minutes before he was able to assist them. Mary killed time looking around the open area where she assumed the catfight had taken place. It took every ounce of her self-control not to fall on the floor and laugh herself sick.
She wasn't sure if it was the stress or the lack of sleep but there was nothing about the situation she didn't find completely hilarious.
When the attendant finally emerged, he carried two identical silver urns. "Here you are." He said holding one out to each woman. He almost seemed afraid that they would suddenly rush him like linebackers taking down a quarterback.
Mary took one of the urns in both hands. It was lighter than she expected. Curious, she opened the urn and looked in at her father's remains. "Is that a... Tic-tac?" she asked, angling the jar so Marshall could see it.
"The uh -" the funeral worker stammered, "the remains were spilt... We did our best to retrieve them but..."
The man's earnest stammer was too much for Mary. She burst into hysterical laughter.
Lauren joined her in her laughing fit and the two women held their sides as they collapsed onto the ground.
Marshall watched the half sisters and a smile spread across his chiseled features. After allowing them a suitable amount of time laughing on the ground, he walked up to them and held a hand out to each of them to help them up.
Lauren took his hand graciously and blushed as she lost her balance. Marshall steadied her with one arm while helping Mary up at the same time. "Thanks," she said shyly once she regained her footing.
When they finally exited the funeral parlor, the attendant breathed an enormous sigh of relief. Working with the dead was supposed to be vaguely depressing and completely boring. It was not a job that was supposed to see police action.
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God, it was good to be home. Mary threw her go bag down by the door and collapsed on the couch, too tired to even bother taking off her shoes. She felt like she could sleep forever.
Marshall sat on the couch with her and moved her feet into his lap. He began to rub them while he watched her rest.
Drifting off to sleep, Marshall still rubbing her feet, Mary was very nearly content. She shifted as she felt Marshall gathering her into his arms.
Marshall carried her to her room and laid her on the bed. He kicked off his own shoes and removed his jacket before lying down next to her. He snuck his arm around her waist and snuggled up to her with his nose buried into her neck.
The funeral was scheduled for the next morning. After that, Mary was determined to get back to work. The shrink they'd stuck her with after her abduction had told her it was work that kept her sane and she believed it wholeheartedly. It would be nice to get back into the fourteen-hour days of witnesses. She was surprised how much she missed it; she even missed Charlie, Stan's latest protégé.