Death Comes in Threes

by Marja McGraw

  ~ * ~

  “That’s the entire story of how Pete and I met Stan. Is everybody happy?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Stanley was standing in the doorway. “Somehow the way you told the story didn’t sound as deplorable as I remember it.”

  “Stan, you’ve come a long way since then. In fact, you’ve been through a lot with me and Pete since we first met you. There’s certainly nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  Felicity stood up and hugged him. “Do you think I care about what happened? I’m just glad you came through it safe and sound. Knowing about your past just makes me love you more.”

  Stanley smiled and blushed, but the smile didn’t last long. “Nothing I’ve ever done, and nothing I can ever do, will make up for taking a man’s life last night.”

  “Stanley…” I had no idea what to say to make things better.

  “Stan,” he corrected.

  ~ * ~

  Frank brought Pete home late the next day.

  I was never so glad to see anyone in my entire life. Frank helped me get Pete settled on the couch instead of in the wheelchair.

  “Pete, what can I get you? Are you hungry? Do you want something to drink? When do you need to take your medication again?”

  “I’m fine, Sandi. Why don’t you sit down and tell me more about what I missed while I was gone?”

  “Really, Pete, I can get you iced tea, coffee, a sandwich – whatever you want.”

  I noticed the little scar by the side of his mouth was turning white and figured I was annoying him. I sat down and gave him an overview of what happened with David.

  He listened and watched me intently.

  “What?” I asked.

  “It never fails. It seems like almost every time you’re in trouble, I’m not around. Why would you want to marry me when I can’t seem to take care of you?”

  “Oh, Pete, none of it’s your fault. The timing has been bad, but that’s not your fault. And as far as David, well, Rick told you they’d caught him. How could you know they’d made a mistake? Besides, you’ve taken care of me on plenty of occasions.”

  Pete shrugged. “From now on, if I go on a trip, you’re going with me.”

  I smiled. I knew we couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be that inseparable, but the thought counted.

  My mother and Frank stayed with us for three weeks, until the doctor put Pete in a walking cast. They were a great help, along with Dolly who loved to cook and kept bringing food over.

  “I’ll miss you, sweetheart.” My mother was back on her hormone pills and she’d been a peach for three weeks. She and Frank kept us entertained with their banter. I hadn’t realized how funny my mother could be when she wanted to, and Frank encouraged it.

  “I’ll miss you, too, Mother.” I hugged her while Bubba sniffed her luggage. “Y’all come back soon,” I teased. “I promised next time we’ll do something… Uh, different – safe.”

  Frank hugged me and shook Pete’s hand after we thanked them for all of their help.

  They left quickly, my mother and I both hating long goodbyes, and Pete and I finally had a chance to really talk about wedding plans and life in general.

  “I talked to Felicity this morning,” I said. “Stanley’s counseling is going well. I’ve noticed he’s smiling more the past few days. I didn’t realize it, but Felicity is going with him.”

  “I need to talk to Stan, man to man, and thank him for taking care of the business for us.” Pete knew it would mean more coming from him than it would coming from me, and he was right.

  I’d only stopped in the office a couple of times a week while Pete was laid up. He was my priority at the moment. My heart just wasn’t in the business.

  “Stan and Felicity are planning their wedding, too. Felicity and I both found beautiful dresses.”

  “Good. Can’t wait to see them.”

  “Pete, we need to talk about a few things now that you’re feeling better. We’ve got some decisions to make.”

  “I’ll bet one of the things we need to talk about is the wedding, right? I might be on crutches and limping, but I can get down the aisle, babe.”

  “You know? I’ve always wanted a spring wedding. Why don’t we postpone it until March or April? Between what happened with David and your accident, I feel like we need a little recovery time. My first instinct was to get married right away, but I think we’ll both be happier if we can adjust to everything that’s happened. In fact, let’s wait for a year. By next October everything should be back to normal.”

  “How did I ever manage to find such a wise woman to marry?” Pete smiled before pulling me to him and hugging me. “What else do you want to talk about?”

  “The business. With the economy in the tank we’re losing business. One of the insurance companies called to say they won’t need our services anymore. They’re going to hire and use their own investigators. It’ll actually save them money, and I can’t blame them. They’re not the first. There are fewer walk-in clients, too. People simply can’t afford to hire private investigators. Besides that – ”

  Pete interrupted me before I could get too carried away. “We’ve got plenty of time to make business decisions. Between the two of us we’ve saved enough money to get us through for a while. We’ve been careful. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I hope so, because whatever we decide will affect Stanley’s and Felicity’s lives, too.”

  “I know. That’s why we need to take our time before making any decisions.”

  Sighing, I leaned back against Pete’s shoulder. “I wonder where life will lead us next?”

  “You never know.”

  I didn’t really care – as long as we traveled life’s roads together.

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