Chapter 45:

Three days later, everyone was deep in the investigation. Two of the three cartel bosses were brought in for questioning but couldn't be arrested yet, and the FBI was looking for the third. Lionel Hernandez was heavily guarded as a state's witness, along with Monique Smith.

Sharon left in the middle of the day, while the squad members and the FBI agents were busy interrogating the cartel heads, to meet with Cat and Rusty for lunch and then go together to Richard's funeral. She didn't want to, but did it anyway for her children. Chris, her older son, arrived with his wife, Julia, in LA just an hour before the funeral, and they settled quickly in Cat's apartment.

When Sharon arrived at the funeral with Cat and Rusty, she had no idea that the FBI agents were watching them from the inside of a van, which was parked across the street. A few people were already there, by the open grave, when the three of them stood in front of it and waited for the priest.

"Where's your brother?" Sharon whispered to Cat.

"Should be here any minute now," she replied.

Sharon nodded just as she heard someone clearing his throat behind her. She turned around and saw the whole squad standing there, with Provenza at the front. Her eyebrows arched in surprise for a second before she greeted them hesitantly.

"We thought we should be here," Provenza said, speaking for all of them, and Sharon didn't know if he meant to support her, or just to see if one of Richard's criminal friends comes to the funeral. Or maybe both.

"Well… thank you," they all stood in a raw to her left, with Provenza being the closest one to her. "That's… nice of you," she added just as she saw Chris some yards away, approaching them in large strides. "Excuse me," she said quickly and walked towards Chris. They met in the middle, far enough from everyone's ears, but close enough to be seen.

"Hey, Mom," he said when she pulled him into a hug.

"Oh… I've missed you!" she squeezed him tight and shut her eyes for a moment before moving back and examining him. "You look good. Where's Julia?"

"She wasn't feeling so well, so she stayed at Cat's apartment," he offered her his arm and she grabbed it by his elbow as they started walking towards the little crowd.

"Will she be okay?"

"Sure," he said without giving away any details.

"Is it a sin for me to be happy to see you on your father's funeral?" she whispered and he tried not to smile.

"Hey, brother, I see you found the key I left you," Cat said and hugged him.

"Yeah, thanks for the hospitality."

Sharon was about to take her place between Provenza and Cat again, when she heard a familiar voice behind her and froze.

"Don't I get some hugs?"

"Grandma Angela!" Chris and Cat whispered, trying to hide their happiness, and hugged her as Sharon turned around slowly and waited, her face sealed. Angela was very similar to Sharon physically, only her hair was very light brown and tied in a bun. She almost looked like an older version of her daughter.

The squad members were all looking at the family reunion with interest. Except for Flynn, none of them knew anything about her personal life, and even he never met anyone from her family besides Cat.

"Sherry, am I just going to wait here for a hug?" Angela asked and Sharon rolled her eyes as her mother came closer to her, while the squad members exchanged amused looks and tried not to smile after hearing their captain's nickname.

"I hate it when you call me that," Sharon muttered.

"I know," Angela said coldly and patted on her daughter's back while hugging her, feeling how reluctant Sharon was to hug in front of all those people. "Why did I have to hear from my grandson that his father died?" she asked.

"I had no idea you loved him so much, Mother," Sharon said sarcastically after pulling away from the hug.

"Loved him? I'm here to gloat," Angela said, causing the detectives to smile again.

"Charming," Sharon said in her usual cold voice and Provenza cleared his throat. "Oh, Mother, these are the detectives of the Major Crimes division. And Buzz," Sharon said formally and told her their names. "This is my mother, Angela Scott."

"Five men working under you. Impressive. I knew I did something right in my life -"

"Okay, Mother, let's go over there," Sharon put her hands on her mother's shoulders and started pushing her gently away from the squad.

"Are you shutting me up?" Angela asked.

"I'm taking you to your grandchildren!" Sharon whispered loudly. Her mother was the only person in the world who could so easily unbalance her.

"Sharon," once again she heard a voice behind her and turned around quickly, this time to see Richard's mother. Her eyes were red and swollen, and Sharon knew she'd been crying.

"Karen, hi," she said hesitantly, "I'm so sorry for your loss." She put her arm on her shoulder in a half-hug, and directed her to the row between her and Cat.

"Thank you. But you know I lost him years ago," Karen said in a shaky voice.

"We'll talk after the burial," Sharon whispered as the priest arrived and started the ceremony. She stared at the casket, feeling peaceful inside. The one person she was afraid of was finally dead. She hoped he didn't leave anything behind that might hurt her children and her, but knew she'd have to be careful for the next few months, especially with Flynn.

A man on the other side of the grave was looking at her with interest. He smiled and nodded at her when she looked at him, and then turned around and walked away. Sharon took a step backwards, out of the row, and walked behind her family and the rest of the people, following the stranger. Flynn and Provenza exchanged wondering looks, and followed her with their eyes.

The man was walking on the path that led to the street, and Sharon did the same. They were now far enough not to hear the priest, and the tall bushes that were planted along the path hid them from anyone standing by the grave.

"Excuse me!" she yelled and he turned around. "Who are you?"

The man smiled again. "I'm your guardian angel," he said and smiled.