A Kiss To Send Us Off

Chapter 25

Nothing.

Juice used the days between Amelia's rescue and the funeral to bury himself in bank statements, email logs and the like but he came up with no solid proof. The only thing close to evidence he had was a lot of phone calls between Hale and Max but that meant very little without context.

"Juicy," Chibs called out from the tiny hall by the front door. "We gotta go, brother."

He nodded, forlorn as he shut his laptop, and headed out of the building. They didn't wear their cuts, as she had requested, just black pants and dress shirts, and neckties in hopes of classing themselves up a bit.

"I wanted to have it by now." Juice said as they jumped in the van, their bikes were impractical in their current outfits and they knew Amelia would much rather not hear that rumble. "What if I can't prove it?"

"If you can't find shite, we press that fucking Max, make him slip and prove it to her himself." His fingers gripped the wheel even tighter as he spoke. There was a day or two Juice truly feared Chibs would lose his temper and run off to get right with Max, which would end with a dead body and a very angry Amelia. As much as he understood waiting, he didn't want to.

-

"Friends and family, I ask you to stand now for the committal service. Here, in this last act, immune now to the changes and chance of our mortal lot, we commit the body of Helen Patricia Shawcross to its natural end. There is no answer to death but to live and to live vigorously and beautifully. We give respect and dignity to the one we mourn only when we respect and dignify life and when we live life to the fullest. The best of all answers to death is the continuing affirmation of life. Now, for us, the living, may the love of friends, the joy of memory and our hopes for the future give us strength and peace that we may go forward together."

Amelia didn't watch as they lower the casket into the ground, a large pile of white carnations, chosen for their symbolism pointing to Helen's pure and innocent nature. With his arm around her, Max locked eyes with Juice and Chibs from across the crowd, huddled in the back. He wanted to grin or wink but there were far too many people and he was on his best behavior. On Amelia's right was her mother, clearly high as she stood silently and stared at the casket and just a few rows behind, Raylan stood, a sight that shocked and enraged Juice.

"I don't know which is fucking worse," he hissed as the crowd began to disperse, "Max or that fucking Marshal."

"I'll take Max, you take the Marshal."

"And Meels will take us both," Juice whined. "What if this is on us? I mean, isn't it anyway? Max did it, yeah, but he did it to push her away from the club."

Chibs gripped Juice's shoulders and glared at him. "This ain't on us, boyo. You don't even think that shite, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah," he nodded with little enthusiasm.

When they looked up from their harshly whispered conversation, Amelia was hobbling toward them with a small smile. "Hey, thanks for coming guys."

"Ginger," Chibs wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Thanks, Dad." She sniffled but tried to keep her composure. "There's a reception at Max's, if you're interested?"

"I'm not sure we'd be welcome." He released her, kissing her forehead before stepping back. "What do you think, Juicy?"

He shrugged, wanting to be with her but as far from Max and Raylan. "What do you want, Meels?"

"Honestly?" She looked around to see Raylan waiting by his car while Max spoke with a few of Helen's friends. "I kind of want to get away, it's a lot to deal with and the people are just too much."