Chapter 5 #2
Yan Haoyu started swearing, face flushed a vibrant crimson that could be seen beneath his thinning hair, and I didn’t blame him for the reaction. That had been a very expensive mistake, likely in the five digits.
Wu Hua looked horrified as she sobbed out, “My son, I am so sorry, I thought I had given you a bride for your afterlife!”
“Honestly, I’m just as glad you didn’t. I want to ask my girlfriend, first and foremost.”
The only ones who seemed happy about this outcome were the brother and bride—well, guess that title wasn’t true anymore—but that made sense, because they were completely free and clear to marry now. An invalid marriage did make things easier for them, to be sure.
Boss let out a long sigh. “Well, that solves that riddle. I did wonder since parts of your union didn’t look right to me. Zhou Jia Li, you are obviously free to marry.”
“Wait.” Yan Yichen grew agitated once more. “Wait, Hao Ran, you summoned me because you want to marry the woman you thought was my wife?!”
More drama in three, two, one…
Yelling broke out once again. I winced because my poor ears. Still, you couldn’t pull me out of this room with wild horses. The tea was piping hot and delicious. Yan Yichen was, as Zhen would say, madder than a wet hen.
Seeing my poor sister struggling to keep up with the shouting, I leaned down and tried to keep a running commentary.
“So, basically, groom’s mad because his brother dared to flirt with his wife, which is totally fair.
Brother’s standing by the fact they’re not actually married, so what does it matter, but big brother isn’t buying it.
They didn’t know these two weren’t married until just now, so the principle of the argument still stands.
Mother’s trying to mediate and is kinda succeeding, kinda not.
I have a feeling if Yan Yichen’s doll had hands, he’d be throwing them about now.
I say that mostly because both fists are clenched and trembling at his sides.
Apparently, he and brother never got along because little brother always undermined him. Just like now.”
Charlotte winced. “I mean, he’s right to be mad.”
“I would be, in his shoes.”
The argument went in circles about three times before Boss intervened, clapping her hands together loudly. “Enough! What’s done is done. Yan Yichen, what would you like to do from here?”
Still glaring at his little brother, he answered steadily, “First, bring my girlfriend here. I don’t know if she’d be willing to marry me in my state, but I want to talk to her regardless.
We never had the chance to discuss such a possibility before my passing.
Mother, Father, if nothing else, I want you to take care of my child. ”
“Of course!” Wu Hua was ecstatic at the idea of grandbaby and eager to lay hands on the child. “Give us her contact details, we’ll find her and support the child immediately.”
“I don’t remember her phone number, and it’s been years so she probably moved? But I can give you her name and birthday and my child’s information.”
I stepped in here, lifting a hand to bring attention to myself. “We’ll likely have to hire a PI to find her, but our agency can handle that.”
Yan Haoyu looked relieved by my offer. “Please do.”
I pulled out my phone and opened my Notes app. “Yan Yichen, what’s her info?”
He rattled it off, and I read it back to make sure I had typed it all correctly. I didn’t know a PI off the top of my head, but the Barre family knew one, of that I had no doubt. I’d ask Dad later.
The thing was, Yan Yichen had given me a distinctly American name for the girlfriend.
Jennifer Davis. Couldn’t get much more American than that.
Did Jennifer even know what a ghost marriage was?
Even if she did, the odds of her being willing to marry a ghost were kinda slim.
I mean, it’d been years since her boyfriend’s passing so she’d likely moved on.
They’d named the baby Yan Mei Ling, American name May. I’d bet she was cute as a button, especially at the age of five.
With promises to look for his girlfriend and stay in touch, the meeting kind of wrapped up.
The parents requested another hour to speak more with their son alone, and we all stepped out to give them privacy, because of course they needed to speak more with their oldest about their grandchild. I’d certainly want more information.
Boss closed the door and huffed out a breath. “That I did not see coming.”
“Saaaame,” Charlotte drawled. “Wow. So many levels of wrong about this whole situation. Uh, one question: Do you really have a PI’s information on file?”
“Nope, but I know who does. I’m going to call Dad.”
Boss nodded in approval. “He would know someone. He knows everyone.”
“That’s what I’m banking on, yeah. Excuse me, I’m going to step outside, get some sunshine, and fill him in on why I need a PI. Knowing Dad, he’s going to want the full story.”
Boss waved me on so I took myself and my cell phone outside.
There was a smaller parking area back here, but we did have a little picnic table with built-in benches and an umbrella to have a spot to eat lunch outside in nicer weather.
Read that as not death by humidity. The sky was a hair cloudy today with peeks of sunlight streaming through, and I wouldn’t sweat sitting here.
A win for this part of the South. I settled on a bench and called up my father-in-law.
He answered promptly, his Southern drawl smooth as honey. “Hello, Daughter.”
“Hi, Dad. Got a minute?”
“For you, always. What’s up?”
“Well, we got a wild situation here.” I filled him in with an overview, pausing on the juicier details. He was a drama llama like me. It was why we got along so well.
Dad let out a long whistle when I wrapped up the story.
“Now, that’s a new one. I swear my mother-in-law gets more drama with her business than I do with mine.
And I wouldn’t have thought that possible before I married into the family.
I mean, I’ve been a paranormal consult for the police for decades. ”
“Tell me about it. I’m tempted to write a book. Anyway, aside from sharing the juicy gossip, I’m calling for a reason. I need a PI to hunt down the girlfriend and baby.”
“Oh, sure, makes sense. You have their details?”
“As much as Yan Yichen could give me. I mean, it’s been five years so she’s probably moved, and he doesn’t remember her phone number.
But he gave me her full name and birthday and the baby’s full name and birthday.
Mei Ling was born before he died. Like, day before he died. Family didn’t know about her.”
“Shitty situation. But that information does help. Makes her easier to look up, for sure. I do know a PI in this area who I think can help. I’ll text you his contact information. He’s used to dealing with weirdness, so you won’t break his brain with this story.”
“I mean, if you know him, I’m sure he’s seen weirder.”
“Can’t refute that. Keep me posted, too, I’m dying to know how the story works out.”
“For sure. I’m dying to see how it plays out myself. Anyway, I’ll give him a call, stay tuned.”
“I look forward to it. Bye for now.”
“Yup, bye.” Well, some people had boring days at work. I was not of their number. But hey, I got great stories from it. Could be worse?
The text came through with the PI’s number, and I chose to stay out here to make the call. Why not? I was sitting in a patch of sunlight, and for once it wasn’t stupidly humid and miserable. Let’s enjoy the nice pretty day.
The PI picked up the phone on the second ring, voice gruff. “Billy Moore, PI with Proper Investigations speaking.”
“Hi, Mr. Moore, I’m Démas Barre’s daughter-in-law. My name is Kris.”
“Oh, hello! Didn’t know one of his sons got married.”
“Zhen’s my husband.”
“Well, congrats, miss. You’ve married into an amazing family.”
“Trust me, I know. Listen, I’m calling for professional reasons. My father-in-law sent me your way because I need a PI. I’ve got a situation on my hands, you see…”