THEO AND REED'S BABY FEVER : Book Three

Chapter Fifteen

After their adventures in terror at the Brown church Theo and Matt hopped back on the Metro and went to DuPont Circle where they treated themselves to iced coffee at Kelly's. As they sipped the coffee they also discussed what they knew of the case which they realized was very little. Especially beyond the botched adoption attempt and Theo's accidental clumsy stumbling over a dead body.

So they refilled their coffee and ordered chocolate chip muffins while they googled. They ignored recent media reports that primarily focused on Theo.

" Theo , isn't it odd the cops aren't really working this case ? ," Matt asked. " They didn't take your shirt which is evidence because of the blood. They didn't question you about the actual murder. They don't seem to care. "

" Because they don't care," Theo said bitterly. " And you know why. "

" Because she was lesbian and Black. But it's getting media attention so they will eventually have to do something. They'll pin it on the most convenient suspect. Which is you. " Matt looked up from his phone. " You're right to look into this. I don't trust cops. I had bad experiences with them. "

There was much to be found on Vanessa Clyde herself on Google. She was adopted herself to a wealthy and prominent English family and went to the finest schools including Oxford. She not only owned Bundle of Joy in America but two similar agencies in the UK. They were all successful. That's what Matt found on his phone.

What Theo pulled up on his was about Vanessa's wife. The new widow Samantha Martin. There wasn't much on her except her Facebook which showed many photos of herself with Vanessa and a happy little boy. Happier times apparently. From some of the posts it appeared that Vanessa was the biological mother of the child and Samantha the adopted one. It also showcased her full physical address. Samantha lived in Northeast D.C. Theo scribbled it down on a napkin with a pen. " I don't think it's safe to put your full address on social media. I saw that on some news program. Not sure which one. I also saw on there that most murders are committed by the spouse or family. I saw them that day we applied. I don't think they were as happy as Facebook shows. There were money issues. "

" Nobody," Matt said," is as happy as they seem on Facebook. Except for you and Reed. And me and Saint. But none of us are terminally online like some. I never put my address online. After the stalking in New York it seems dangerous. Saint won't even say we live in D.C. "

" It's not the wisest thing to do. It makes it easy to find people though. "

Matt grinned. " You mean people like amateur sleuths ?"

Theo grinned. " Yes. Like amateur sleuths. "

Matt said," I know it's a terrible murder and you're worried about clearing your name but I have to say this is fun. Before Saint I didn't have a lot of fun. "

The Browns were also easy to find information on , Theo found. Mary Maude Brown was in her mid sixties. She had been married seven times. She had thirteen children. All boys. All her husbands had died of suspicious or odd accidents that were ultimately ruled natural. Whatever money she had came from life insurance or lawsuits she bought against hapless people she claimed wronged her. The money went to her church. The church was solely her family. People magazine in 2013 named them the most dangerous family in America. Theo and Matt agreed with that.