The Graveyard Shift: Diamonds & Pearls

A young gold digging widow is taught a lesson.

*
TICK TOCK, TICK TOCK.
         The sound of the grandfather clock in this office seemed so loud that is how quiet it was. Another sound disturbed the man at the desk who was rummaging through papers.
         He looked up from his desk with just his eyes. He stared blankly at a young pretentious looking. Flashy with all over her jewelry on and expensive fur coat. She was tapping her nails on his desk. She realizes why he was staring at her and she stopped. She fixed herself in the chair and cleared her throat.
         “Is there any chance we get this will read…today” she took a pause to emphasize her frustration.
         He did not answer he looked back at his papers until the clock strike 1 o’ clock. Then he broke into character.
         “Ah, yes. Mrs. Bardot. I am so sorry for your loss. Your husband was a great man. Unusual...but great.”
         She crossed her legs sensually “you can call me Grace” she said.”
         He nods his head. “Yes, Mrs. Bardot, as you know your husband was a rich man and he did have a will put together. A will I, his lawyer he entrusted to go over with you after his premature death.”
         The lawyer fumbled through the paperwork. His hands were shaking. Was he cold, nervous, scared it was not clear. Grace was visibly becoming irritated. She closes her fist and slams it on the desk.
         “Just get on with it” she shouted.
         Grace startled the lawyer and he drops the papers. She gets up quickly and grabs the one that read
         
         My wife Grace Bardot will receive nothing until the first anniversary of my death. I shall be buried in my family cemetery that is in my backyard. All my precious treasures will be buried with me.
         “Is this a joke” Grace asked?
         “I’m afraid not” the lawyer answered once he finished picking up the rest of the paperwork.
         Grace begins to storm out and the lawyer shouts at her to wait
         “It is only a year Mrs. Bardot. You will be taking care of the next year. With food, clothes. Anything you need. The house is yours.”
         She walks slowly back up towards his desk menacingly.
         “I could not care less about that fucking house. I wouldn’t want that house if you paid me a million dollars. I want my freedom” she explained.
         Grace grabbed a sharp pen and poked it right through the lawyer's hand. He screamed wincing in pain while she walked out.
         “You did’t sign” he yelled.
          *
         Back at the house Grace was pacing back and forth sipping on a gin a tonic.
         “That filthy little weasel. I knew I could not trust that lawyer.”
         The phone rings. She hesitated to pick it up. She sat on the couch next to the phone and let it ring a couple more times before she decided to pick it up. It was a man.
         “Did you get it” he asked?
         “No” she answered.
         “What the fuck Grace! I need my money.”
         “If you could just give me another year. I promise I will have your money. Doubled.”
         “No. It is too late. Your time is up.”
         The line goes dead and all she hears is dial tone. She could cry but instead she continuously slams the phone down grunting in anger. The doorbell rings interrupting her freak out.
         “What now”?
She opens the door. A man in a trench coat is at the door holding up a badge.
“Good day Mrs. Bardot. You mind if a come in for a minute.”
She scornfully laughs.
“You might as well” she said sounding defeated falling on the couch.
         The man comes in closing the door behind him. He was looking around and whistles.
         “You got a beautiful home here” he mentions.
         Grace takes another sip of her drink “it’s my husbands” she admitted with her speech a little slurred.
         “You been drinking a bit today ma’am” he asked?
         “Grace. Please” she preferred for him to say.
         “I’m sorry.”
         She slipped off the couch and onto the floor.
         “Whoa” he said helping Grace back onto the couch.
He took out a little notepad and pen a began writing things down.
“Who are you, again” she finally asked?
He flipped closed the notepad and put it away.
“I never told you. I am Detective Lacey ma’am, and I have a few questions if that is okay”?
She realizes and tries to straighten herself up. She begins lowering her dress.
“Oh, I am so sorry Detective I didn’t know that you were going to stop by. Would you like some coffee or….”
He cuts her off “no, that won’t be necessary.”
He pulls up a chair in front of her.
“I will be frank Mrs. Bardot. I do not like what I see. All the facts are telling me that your husband Donald Bardot died of natural causes. He was an older gentleman, but he strikes me as a tough man. Nothing could take him out. Not easily is. Something smells a little fishy” he admitted and looked down at her crouch.
Grace tugs at her dress again “I beg your pardon” she exclaimed.
Detective Lacey gets up out of the chair and stands up looking down at Grace and begins questioning her.
“You found your husband dead right, Mrs. Bardot”
“Yes.”
“Where”?
“In the den.”
“What was he doing in the den”?
“Reading his newspaper.”
“At night. Isn’t that more of a morning activity”?
“Depends on the person, I guess.”
“Then what”?
“I called the police.”
“Can anyone confirm this? Was there a housekeeper, a chief, or a butler on duty that night”?
“This isn’t clue Detective it was just us.”
He appreciated her sarcasm but did not comment on it.
“How was your marriage? Little erectile dysfunctional”?
“I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
“So, you two were…”
“Absolutely, fine and in love.”
“REALLY.”
She seemed a bit off put.
“That is not what the lawyer said. He admitted to your husband changing the will a few times since you been married. Turns out he did not feel like you were trustworthy.”
“That God damn lawyer. Listen, I don’t know anything about my husband's affairs. All I know was that I was a faithful wife for 6 months and he went and died on me. That is, it.”
“What is a woman like you really doing with a rich guy like that”?
“What do you mean a woman like me”?
“Word on the street is all you have worked the corners.”
“Oh, yes, well word on the street is Detective Lacey was it. Yeah, the word is you will pay a pretty penny for it. How would it look for you if your buddies down at the station knew of your late-night hobbies.”
“All that shit ain’t true.”
“Don’t matter a rumor is all it takes to discredit someone’s reputation. I think it is time for you to get the fuck out of my house now” she said walking him right out her front door.
Grace exhales stressed air and falls to the floor leaning up against the door. Detective Lacey walks over to his car but he does not leave. He stakeout the house waiting for her to leave.

*
A few days later there is a funeral held for Donald Bardot at his family cemetery in his backyard. There was few in attendance as it is explained most billionaires are strange. Grace was there of course, the butler, the lawyer, the father laying him to rest and Detective Lacey watching from a distance. After the casket is lowered into the ground Grace starts dashing away.
“Oh, Mrs. Bardot” the lawyer shouts running after her.
She sees and hears him but all she wants to do is get away from him. Finally, he reaches her before she can get into the house.
“You need to sign the papers for the house Mrs. Bardot.”
She grips him up “are you fucking kidding me. You know what I should do to you. You fucked me.”
He pleaded “please, it was out of my hands. I tired my best really.”
Grace looked over and spotted Detective Lacey on the property watching them. She loosened her grip.
“You didn’t try hard enough. Now get out of here before I stab your other hand.”
The lawyer gets scared off and Lacey writes all of that down in his notebook. Grace stresses out and gets in the house. She goes right over to the window and stares out waiting to see what Lacey does. He starts walking away and she exhales a breath of relief when she heard a floorboard crack. She saw a reflection in the window of a man and her eyes widen.
She tries to run away but he grabs her from her hair and pulls her down to the ground. This guy had a few tattoos on his face, and he was wearing a biker jacket. He got down on his knee and gripped Grace into a chokehold. She was struggling to breathe when the housekeeper walked in witnessing the struggle. She began to run away but the guy loosened his grip on grace to grab his gun and shoot the housekeeper in the back.
Detective Lacey heard the gun shot before he got into his car and ran back up to the house. Grace slipped away and hid.
“Aw, come on Gracie. No loose ends.”
He continued to look for her making kissing sounds and intimidate her out of hiding.
“Come on baby, come out for daddy” he said.
Detective Lacey bangs on the front door drawing his attention leaving Grace time to smash a vase over his head. He took the hit and ran after her. He through his body on top of hers tackling her to the ground.
“Nobody stiffs the boss. You were a whore with a plan. Now you’re a dead whore with a bullet in your head.”
She manages to move to her back and make eye contact with him.
“Buck, Buck, please. I can still get the money.”
He cocks the gun and places it to her head.
“How”?
“The old man he was buried with treasure. All kinds of treasure. I know it’s not money but it’s something. Please. After dark we can go dig him up and steal it. All of it.”
Buck lowers the gun. After not answering and overhearing the struggle Lacey had broke in screaming “POLICE”!
“This better be worth it. I’ll be back later.”
Buck crawls out the window on the second floor and climbs down to the ground. He gets on his Harley and drives off the back way, so no one saw him.
Lacey comes charging in her bedroom with a gun. Grace is laying in bed with the tv on loud. She jumps.
“Oh, my god. You scared the shit out of me.”
She turned off the tv.
“Are you okay” he asked?
“Other than burying my husband today, why wouldn’t I be.”
Again, with the sarcasm. He does not speak on it he just gives her a look.
“So, you're saying you didn’t hear that”?
“Hear what”?
Lacey brought her downstairs to show her the dead body, and she puts on a dramatic performance.
“You just buried your husband like 25 minutes ago. You're telling me that you came in that quick put on a movie and someone broke into your house and murdered your housekeeper.”
Grace shrugs “I mean that sounds like exactly what happened.”
Lacey shakes his head in disbelief “death has been following you everywhere lately. Sit there. Do not move.”
Lacey calls it in and she sits in that exact spot constantly looking at the clock watching it get later. Buck was going to be back soon, and the police were taking forever at the crime scene.
*
The police were finally wrapping it up and it is now dark. Grace was trying to shoo them out the door by saying goodbye but, Detective Lacey was not leaving that easily.
“I still got questions for you Mrs. Bardot.”
“Oh, my god. What questions? I didn’t see anything.”
“I did not say you did. You are jumping to conclusions.”
He writes it down in his notepad.
“How well do you know your housekeeper”?
“Huh, not well. I pay her to house keep. Not blab her mouth.”
“So, knowing anything about who she could have had issues with is out the question”?
Grace can see through the window Buck walking around back.
“Look, it is late. I buried Donald today. A woman was murdered at my house. I have blood staining my floor I must clean. Please, I will answer your questions tomorrow.”
Lacey could feel her pushing him out. He can feel she is definitely hiding something. He willingly leaves the house, but he moves his car out of sight but maintains visuals of the house. Grace goes to the back door and lets in Buck. They sit at the kitchen table. There was coffee left over from the cups, so she pours them a cup.
“What did he say”?
“Well, he is not happy that I disobeyed orders, but he is impressed by you. So, he is giving you one more chance to pay up.”
“Listen, after this I am free. We can still run away together liked we planed.”
Gracie places her hand over his, but Buck pulls away.
“He’s a pimp Gracie; you will never really be free. Neither will I. He owns us.
“You’re gonna take me back to him aren’t you.”
“Boss’s orders. You’re his smartest whore Gracie. He’s not giving that up. Let’s do this.”
They leave the house and go to the garage. Lacey sees them leave with a shovel and follows them down the path to the cemetery. They get to Donald Bardot’s grave sight, and they have a staring contest.
“Well.” Buck said breaking the silence.
“Well, what? I know you don’t expect me to dig in this tight ass black dress.”
Buck takes his gun out and points it at her.
“This your problem sweetheart. I got my job and you got yours”.
She is completely unhappy, but she gets to digging. Lacey catches up and sees her digging.
“What the fuck she thinks she doing? Grave robbing”?
Once Lacey seen what she was up to he ran back to the car to call it in. Meanwhile it took a while, but Grace finally hit casket.
“Alright, now open it” Buck rushed her.
“Wait a damn minute. Let me catch my breath.”
He points his gun and shoots next to her.
“Open it.”
Grace bends down and struggles but she finally opens the casket. She smiled so big thinking she was going to pay her rent and her smile faded.
         “Wait, what the hell.” She looked all over.
It was empty. No treasure, no body.
         “I don’t understand. He was buried, I know he was buried. I know he was buried with treasure that is what the will stated. I swear.”
She looks up and Buck was gone.
“BUCK” she shouted.
There was no answer, but what she did hear was clapping. She looked around and finally a person revealed themselves. It was Donald. Grace then passed out.
*
She came to tied up in a chair in Donald’s study. He was sitting across from her calm, cool and collected smoking a cigar.
“I hope you don’t mind it was a little nippy being dead, so I lit the fireplace” Donald said laughing ironically.
Grace was so dazed and confused.
“Donald” she said bewildered. “How”?
The sound of a cleared throat came from off the side. She looked over and it was the lawyer. He gave her an ominous freakish wave.
“Why would you do this to me”?
“Oh, please spare me. A gold digger will always be a gold digger. I had a feeling you were conning me, so I put you to the test. I am not surprised you failed.

Detective Lacey made it back to the grave sight and found Buck unconscious on the ground. When he checked to see if he was still breathing, he came around. Lacey pulled him over to a grave an sat him up.
“I need answers what is going on”?
“I am an old boyfriend. I was just trying to win her back.”
Lacey knew there was more to the story, but he did not have time to play 20 questions.
“Where she at”?
“Man, I don’t know I was too busy being knocked out to see where she went.”
Lacey stands up, looks around, and sees the smoke from the chimney coming from the house.
“Stay here” he said to Buck.
“Aye, aye captain” Buck replied.
He gets up slightly dizzy looks for his gun and takes off. Lacey gets up to the house, and he peeks through the window. He sees Grace tied up and then sees Donald.
“Mr. Bardot? He’s alive”!
He goes to find a way in.
“A test” she said confused.
“You could not wait one year to earn my trust. You were so desperate for money you dug up a body thinking there was treasure in there.”
Donald laughs at her and the lawyer laughs with him. Lacey made it in and he was overhearing this whole conversation.
“So, you faked your death. That’s a crime you know.”
Donald shrugs.
“No more of a crime than a whore marrying an old man for money. You probably would have killed me anyway. I just beat you to the punch.”
She struggles to get loose and notices Lacey with high hopes hat he will save her. He pops out with his gun drawn.
“HANDS UP” he shouts.
“Oh, Detective Lacey so good you can join us. I wanted to let you know that I appreciated your help on my case but as you can see, I am alive. There was no murder and therefore your services are no longer needed.”
“What do you mean? You might not have been murdered Mr. Bardot, but there has definitely been crime committed.”
While Lacey was talking, he was moving closer to Grace to untie her. He hesitated to put his gun down, but he needed two hands to untie her. He looked away for a split second, and Donald gave a nod to the lawyer. He screamed and charged at Lacey where they proceeded to fight.
Grace continued to try to shake herself loose. The lawyer bit Lacey leg but the Lawyer was no match for him so, Donald had to take matters into his own hands. He surprised everyone by pulling out his Saber. He was a fencing champion in his day. He stabbed Lacey in the chest with his sword, and the lawyer pushed him into the fireplace to burn.
“NO” Grace screamed.
He was her only hope. Buck heard her scream while he went to get his bike, he thought about going in for her but, he heard police sirens in the distance. So, he took off.
“Quick, we are running out of time.”
The lawyer grabbed Grace and they walked her back to the grave sight. She was confused. She looked at the empty casket and back at Donald.
“What” she asked?
“Get in” Donald demanded.
“Excuse me.”
The lawyer laughed “you dug your own grave.”
When she refused they both pushed her in the hole. The lawyer jumped down and injected her with a serum where she is aware but can not move her body. He lays her in the casket, and she cannot help but look at Donald straight in the eyes.
“And to think. If you only you had signed the deed to the house the first time he asked. You could have sold the house for the money, and you could have been long gone.”
“And this is your punishment for being a greedy bitch” the lawyer said before slamming the lid shut.