Page 61 of 1st Shock
JJ downs the last of his slice and turns to me. "Thank your dad for me, will you?"
"For what?"
"He found Juanita's biological cousins and they contacted her. Seems her real mother has been looking for her for about a year. He said you suspected a mix up at the hotel where Yvonne gave birth? Seems you may be right. Anyway, they're all getting together this weekend to hash things out. A family reunion of sorts. Juanita couldn't be happier to meet herreal”—he makes air quotes—"biological mother and introduce her to Yvonne, as well as her adoptive parents."
The irony is there if you think about it. Juanita now has three mothers, even though two aren’t biological. "Yvonne was so convinced Juanita was hers. Should be an interesting get together."
"You should take her on as a client," Meg says. "Help her find her real daughter."
"You're right," I say, making a mental note to contact Yvonne next week. This is why I do it—to bring lost families together again. I turn to JJ. "I'm happy for all of them."
"She'll be calling you. She wants to invite you and Meg to the reunion."
I look at Meg and she smiles at me. A real one, the old Meg surfacing. "We look forward to it."
I walk him out, both of us tired but feeling that inexplicable rush of satisfaction at having nailed Billy Ray. JJ is going to be tied up for the next several days as he heads the investigation to make sure all the I's are dotted and T's crossed.
"You gave me ten new gray hairs today," he says, brushing a kiss on my forehead. "Don't ever bust in on a serial killer again, or I will stroke out and die."
Matt said something similar to me. Grey seems to be the only one who isn't having a cow about my direct confrontation with Billy Ray. He would've done the same thing in my situation, most likely, and therefore hasn't scolded me.
"She's my sister, JJ. Billy Ray's lucky he's still alive. The only reason I didn't kill him is because I knew he had information about the victims we need to give their families closure."
JJ rubs my arm, stares at me. "You are one kick ass woman, Charlie Schock. Remind me to never get on your bad side."
I see regret cross his features, but it's gone in an instant. Heis on there and he knows it. "Just don't mess with my sister and I won't have to kill you."
It's a joke, but it falls a little flat. Suddenly, Meg is at my side. She slides her arm through mine. "Ditto for me, JJ. Either deal with your marital situation or stop messing around with Charlie's emotions. In other words, shit or get off the pot and make her happy, or you and I will go a couple rounds."
Whoa. Both JJ and I give her a look, neither of us expecting Meg to lob threats at him. She just squeezes my arm a little tighter, a show of solidarity.
"My sister's a badass too," I say. "In case you didn't know."
For once, JJ doesn't have a response. He gives us both a nod and walks out.
"He's completely in love with you," Meg says. "Whatever he has going on with his estranged wife, he's an idiot for not pushing his divorce through."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For standing up for me." I turn and hug her, holding her close for longer than I normally would. I close my eyes and thank whatever gods there might be for her safe return. "I'm sorry if I scared you in the cabin. I couldn't stand outside and hope the SWAT team got there before Billy Ray killed you."
We part and she brushes a stray hair from my cheek and slips it behind my ear. "I think I was just as scared he would kill you, you brazen brat. I have to agree with JJ on this one—you ever do something foolhardy like that again, and I'll stroke out."
"No you won't. You'll kick my ass from here to hell and back."
Another real smile. "I may do that anyway."
I put my arm around her shoulders, and we walk slowly back to the conference room. Grey and Matt are telling stories to Sydney, all of them laughing. Syd looks at me as Meg and I reenter the room. "Grey claims you're almost as good of a profiler as he is. I don't buy it. I think you're better."
Ooh, fighting words. "Of course, I am," I say, adding fuel to the fire. "I'm a woman."
Matt throws up his hands. "Here we go with the feminist propaganda again."
He loves to poke fun of my views, but he supports every one of them. For the next few minutes, we continue the competitive teasing. Meg starts to float away to her office, trying to slip out quietly, but Matt calls her back. "Hey, Suburban Commando. Charlie said you want to take me shopping for Taylor's ring."
She stops in the doorway and puts a hand on her hip. "Well, someone needs to give you guidance. You don't have a clue what she’d like."
