Page 69 of Grissom
Instead, the doorbell rang and, of course, Luke jumped up from his ‘deathbed’ and raced Tanner to the door. Damned if that little guy didn’t key in the security code, jerk the front door wide open, and yell, “Come in, guys! Daddy! It’s Uncle Alex and Aunt Kelsey, and they bringed Lexie and Baby Bradley!”
“I suspected he let Pam in that day,” Tuesday breathed.
“Luke!” Grissom said sternly. “What’s the rule?”
Luke turned to his dad, his blue eyes wide and his face ashen. “Ahh. Err. I forgot. And my tummy aches, Daddy.”
The little fibber. While Alex and his family walked into the front room, Grissom shifted Tuesday off his lap and pointed to the empty spot on the couch beside him. “Come here, son.”
Luke walked to his father, his bottom lip stuck out far enough seagulls could’ve perched on it. “My tummy really hurts, Daddy. Ouch. Owie. Honest. I’m dying here.”
Kelsey chuckled at that very adult remark from Grissom’s three-year-old con artist. It was funny, but Luke needed to follow rules. With a big breath, he told the Stewarts, “Excuse us, for a minute or two. My son and I need to talk.” With that settled, he took Luke by the hand and together they headed down the hall for a father and son reunion.
I knew I should’ve changed that code.
Chapter Thirty-Five
“Stay where you are,” Alex ordered, before Tuesday could get to her feet and welcome Grissom’s friends like a proper hostess should.
“Well, if you say so,” she demurred, settling back into the corner of the couch where she’d been holed up all afternoon.
Kelsey took Grissom’s place beside her. “You’re looking better.”
“And you’re walking. No more wheelchair?”
“I still use a walker at home but Alex still does most of my running around for me.”
“You were damned lucky.” Setting Bradley on the floor, Alex told Lexie, “You kids go play in Tanner’s and Luke’s room. I hear Santa brought them a big surprise.”
That was all it took for the little ones to scamper away. As they left, Tuesday heard Tanner telling Lexie and Bradley, “We gotta be extra quiet in case Miss Tuesday needs another nap. I don’t hafta take naps anymore, but she does. Do you, Lexie?”
Tuesday couldn’t catch Lexie’s reply, but Tanner’s cautionary comment made her smile. He was a unique little boy. So thoughtful.
“It’s nice of you to stop by,” she told Lexie’s parents.
Alex hmphed. “I’ve got news, but it’ll wait for Grissom. How are Jeff and Henry?”
“They’re well.” Tuesday wondered how Alex knew Freddie’s adult sons. “Henry’s son Caleb graduated from Harvard last fall, but he decided not to go into law with his father.”
“Oh?”
The blank stare from the former Marine sitting in the loveseat across from her confirmed what Tuesday suspected. “You already know Caleb’s in South Carolina, don’t you?”
“Yes. He’s at Parris Island.”
“At the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, training to be a Marine. Like you.”
“He comes from good stock. He’ll do fine.”
“I’ve never met him,” Tuesday admitted, “but if he’s anything like his dad and grandfather, he’s well on his way.” She didn’t say where Caleb was on his way to, but men like Freddie, Henry, Jeff, and Alex were giants in whatever field they chose to enter. Caleb would go far as a Marine, then, who knew? Maybe he’d go farther than his grandfather and become a trillionaire, like Elon Musk.
“We met your husband a few years back,” Kelsey added. “Jed McCormack introduced us at a charity social for veterans. You called him Freddie.”
“Yes. Freddie,” Tuesday whispered, looking down at her bandaged hand where only her fingertips showed. Her nails were a mess, some torn to the quick, others cracked or broken. Somewhere in her desperate battle with Pam, she’d lost a complete thumbnail. Fighting to the death took a toll, and Pam had left her mark. The single shot she’d gotten off had left a narrow burn on Tuesday’s waistline instead of a cut or slice that could’ve been stitched or glued. Not like Tuesday thought her injuries were important. They were just a few of the many she’d acquired over her years photographing the wilds of Planet Earth.
“Freddie taught me so much,” she murmured. “If you’ve already met him, then you know he was bigger than life. He believed in taking a stand, fighting back, and making a difference. When he hooked me up with Robert Frieberg, he insisted I take a martial arts class before I left the country. He brought in a few of his friends to train me how to shoot, howto infil and exfil when the weather was bad, about situational awareness, hunter-killer teams, fast-roping out of helicopters, and how to recognize all kinds of threats. Most everything Marines do. Freddie thought I was stronger than I—”
“You are stronger than you realize and don’t forget it,” Alex cut in. “What would Frederick tell you to do if he were here now?”
