McKenna appears like a vision in white and strides down the aisle with a pom of red roses in her hands.
Tears come to my eyes. She’s so beautiful, she’s stunning. Her butter yellow hair is swept up, and her dress is gorgeous with its sweetheart neckline and full skirt. And once she takes her place next to Caleb, they look like the quintessential wedding cake toppers.
Jasper lands a kiss just shy of my lips. I love you, Bizzy Baker. You’re going to make a stunning bride, and I can’t wait to see you walking down that aisle. You’re everything to me. I can’t wait to make this official, to bind ourselves as family, to begin our happily ever after.
My chest bucks with emotion as I look up at the gorgeous man by my side.
“I can’t wait either.”
The ceremony goes off without a hitch, and soon Caleb and McKenna are pronounced man and wife. They share a sweet kiss and run down the aisle with Lucky by their side and Misty in McKenna’s arms.
The entire wedding party migrates back to the patio outside of the café where tents and tables have been set up and furnished with appetizers and refreshments.
The forensics department called Jasper and he had to step away for a moment, so I head off toward the cake table to help Emmie with the arrangement.
The two of us put the last-minute touches on the cake table by sprinkling rose petals around the periphery. The table itself is set off to the side with its three-tiered cake covered in lavender fondant. Emmie really outdid herself with this one.
Lucky and Misty are busy running in circles with Sherlock and Fish, much to the delight of the guests.
Emmie laughs at the sight herself. “Would you look at that? An entire train of children is trying to capture them.”
A tiny moan evicts from me. “And I secretly hope this doesn’t end in disaster. They came within inches of the table we have set up for the wedding party.”
Emmie giggles. “If it does end in disaster, I’m pretty sure that photographer will capture it all. Speaking of which, I’ve already asked one of them if she could be here for your wedding, and she said it would be an honor. Not only that, but she said she’d only charge you half because you’ve already given her so much business here at the inn.”
“Ooh, in that case, I’ll make sure she gets even more business here at the inn. Thank you, Emmie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” I glance around as the wedding party mingles in the crowd, and I can’t help but wonder if the killer is mingling in the crowd as well.
“You’ve got that killer on your mind, haven’t you?” Emmie shakes her head. “Don’t answer that. I can tell. I’ve been reading your mind for years now.”
“You have?” I all but shriek at her. My God, what if Emmie has shared my strange gift all along?
“Yup.” She nods. “Your face is practically an open book. You can’t hide what you’re thinking. It’s what I love about you.” A throaty laugh emits from her. “Can you imagine if I really could read your mind? But then, you’re so sweet I’m sure you have nothing but innocent thoughts. Be glad you can’t read mine.” She gives a sly wink. “I’m not so innocent.” Leo blinks into her mind, and just like that, her thoughts turn into a jumble of white noise as she takes off for the café.
Emmie may not feel so innocent, but she’s a far cry from a killer.
I scan the crowd and spot Michaela standing near a small table set up next to the inn, and I don’t hesitate heading over.
“Michaela!” Her name comes out bright and cheery, and yet once I spot what she’s looking at, any bright and cheery affect I may have had goes right out the window.
Set in front of her, on a small round table, sits an eight-by-ten framed photo of Julian Fletcher with the letters RIP beneath it in a handwritten note. He’s dressed in a tuxedo and is looking into the camera as if he were trying to hypnotize the viewer with that enthralling look in his eyes.
Michaela nods. “My sister thought it would be a nice touch, seeing that he died at their party.”
“That was very nice of her,” I say. “How are you holding up?”
“I’m just glad it’s over.” She glances past me. “You’re not going to say anything to McKenna, are you?”
“No way. Not on her wedding day. Not on any other day either. That’s entirely up to you. But—the offer still stands. I will be there for you if you want me to.”
She closes her eyes a moment and nods. “Thank you, Bizzy. I thought about it last night, and I think I will wait until after they get settled from their honeymoon like I had mentioned. So expect a phone call.”
“I’ll be waiting.” That strange closet Jasper and I stumbled upon the other night comes to my mind. “Michaela, did Julian ever strike you as a dangerous individual? I mean, did you ever feel unsafe around him?”
A soft laugh bucks from her. “Aside from being the mastermind behind the Collective, no, not really. He didn’t even try to score a date with me.” She shrugs. “He was far too into Bernie, and that was fine by me. I guess I wasn’t his type.” Her eyes flit to the crowd, and she frowns. Sure wish I wasn’t his type either.
I turn to follow her gaze, but a crowd filters by.
Misty bolts this way, and Michaela scoops her up.
“Would you look at this fuzzy tornado?” She brushes the sand off the adorable kitten. “I’d better find her some water. She’s probably dying of thirst.”
Misty mewls. Tell her I’m dying to be left alone from tiny grabby hands! And I’d like two helpings of dinner tonight for all I’ve been through.
A small laugh strums through me. “Don’t worry, Misty!” I shout as they take off. “I’m sure Michaela will take good care of you!”
I turn and bump into a cute brunette in an ethereal blue dress.
“Oh!” Bernie hikes her drink up a notch. “I almost washed your hair with my champagne.”
“Worse things have made their way in it,” I say.
“I guess you’re wondering what I’m doing here.” She shrugs. “Archie told me about it. He said I should come for drinks as his guest—and see if anything happens.” With Zeke, that is. I think it’s sweet that Archie is trying his best to play matchmaker. Here’s hoping that something good happens to me for a change.
A groan comes from her as she looks to the memorial tribute to Julian.
There he is, my ex, looking as devious as can be.
“You know”—her chest bucks—“that’s probably the most honest depiction of Julian. He was a charmer through and through.”
“So I’ve heard.”
She makes a face. “Despite the fact he was a philanderer and he used me to do it, he really did have a decent heart. I mean, his ex-wife would contest it. I probably would, too, but at the end of the day, he wasn’t a devil.”
I tick my head to the side because I happen to know otherwise.
“What’s that look for?” Bernie’s mouth widens with a smile. “You don’t believe me?”
“You knew him, I didn’t.” I clear my throat a little. “Bernie, did you ever see him getting aggressive with the girls of the Collective? Or acting strange around them?”
She shakes her head. “He didn’t so much as date a single one of them. He was head over heels with me for a good long while. Even once I cut him loose, he remained in hot pursuit of me. In fact, that night, before we took the stage, he said he was going to prove his love to me. He said he was entangled in something dangerous, and as soon as he took care of it, he was going to focus one hundred percent of his attention my way. I wasn’t really looking forward to it.”
Something dangerous?
“Bernie, what do you think he was entangled in?”
“I don’t know. He did say something about the person being present and he couldn’t talk about it. He said it was time to get the sheriff’s department involved and that he wouldn’t wait until morning.”
“Bernie, did you share this with the sheriff’s department?”
She shakes her head. “I bolted out of there so fast, I ha
rdly told them my name. Besides, Julian is gone. Whatever he wanted to tell them, he took it to the grave.”
“I guess you’re right.” That file bounces through my mind. “Hey? Did Julian ever mention those missing girls that once belonged to the Collective?”
Truthfully, I wanted to hear her confirm my suspicion.
Bernie tips her head to the side. “I don’t think so. Not to me anyway. He rarely talked about those missing women. But he did caution the girls still working the Collective. I remember him telling Michaela to be extra careful.” She touches her lips. “Oh, please don’t tell Michaela I said anything. If she finds out I outed her, she’ll kill me.”
“I already know. Michaela told me herself. But despite that, I won’t mention anything about it. So he was telling the girls to watch themselves?” I nod. “It sounds like he genuinely cared for their safety.” Or he was seasoning them to trust him before he knocked them over the head and hauled them away.
She shakes her head. “No, not all the girls. Just the blondes. He thought he saw a pattern forming.” She gives a wave into the crowd. “Would you excuse me, Bizzy? I see an old face I haven’t seen in ages.”
“Of course.”
Just the blondes?
I pull out my phone and pull up an image of Anita, Shelly, and Embry, all blondes with blue eyes, same scrubbed clean, wholesome expression on their faces. They really do look as if they could be sisters. I saw that pattern right away.
Sherlock and Lucky run by, panting like mad.
We’re headed to the café to find Georgie! Sherlock barks. We’re going to shake her down for bacon. And just so you know, Fish is hiding underneath the buffet table. There’s a band of children threatening to cat-nap her.
“I’ll go rescue her,” I say as they take off for bacon-laden pastures.
I’m about halfway to the buffet table when I come upon Archie with an all too familiar face by his side.
“Well hello, you two,” I lift my brows at my sister. Macy has on a little blue dress that brings out the same hue in her eyes. Her golden hair is curled under at the neck, but it’s those siren red lips of hers, curving into a devious smile, that let you know she’s up to no good. “Archie, if she gets to be too much, feel free to pull the ripcord. Maybe we should have a safe word? Something simple like help.”
He bucks with a laugh. His olive skin glows against his pale gray suit.
“That’s awfully kind of you, Bizzy.” He wraps an arm around my sister’s waist. “But I think I can handle whatever this one dishes out.”
Macy gurgles a dark laugh. “I think I’ve been going a little too easy on you.” She swills the brown liquor in her hand. “It looks as if I’m going to have to change that.”
“Give it your best shot.” He scans her up and down with his eyes. “Let’s just say I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” I might let this one linger for a bit before I make her mine forever.
I blink back. It sounds as if things are moving in a serious direction—at least for Archie. Lord knows Macy will never surrender to just one man.
“Archie? Have you seen the tribute to Julian?” I point over to the table in the back and he shakes his head at it.
“Nice gesture, that’s for sure. Julian was an upstanding guy. He was full of good gestures himself.” And that’s exactly what got him killed.
Macy knocks back the rest of her drink. “It’s time to refresh my libation.” She nudges Archie in the ribs. “You want to have a good time, don’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckles. “Excuse us, Bizzy.” He glances to Julian’s picture. It’s like he’s following us with his eyes. Creepy.
I squint over at Julian’s picture, and Archie is right.
Creepy, indeed.
I spot Fish’s little tail whipping back and forth from under the buffet table and waste no time in scooping her up.
She lets out a raucous roar. Put me down! I have claws, and I’m not afraid to use them! She turns and gets a good look at me. Oh, it’s just you.
“Nice to see you, too.”
Believe me, I’m thrilled to see you. If it weren’t for Misty roaming around, I’d beg you to take me back to the cottage. Where is that little ball of mischief, anyway?
“Last I saw, Michaela had her. Maybe we should go hunt them down?”
I’m about to head into the café when I spot Zeke standing near that picture of Julian, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s glaring at it.
He shakes his head at the photo. I thought it would be a relief to have you out of the picture—and it turns out I was right.
“Hey, Zeke,” I say, holding Fish tight as the sun begins to set. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great.” He rakes his fingers through his copper hair. “It was nice to see McKenna and my brother finally tie the knot.” He glances out into the crowd. Sure wish it were Bernie and me. But that’s probably just a pipe dream.
“Have you talked to her yet? Bernie is here, you know.” I give a guilty shrug because I didn’t mind riding off the back of his thoughts.
“It’s that obvious, huh?” He takes a deep breath. “Not yet. I was hoping to ask her to dance. And I’m hoping she’ll say yes.”
“There’s something magical about a wedding reception. I think the odds are in your favor.”
“Here’s hoping.”
“You know, the day Julian died, I couldn’t help but notice you were pretty tense. Did you happen to get a word in with him that day?”
He gives a quick look around.
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I had a quick word with him just before he went on. I told him to leave Bernie alone. Archie was there. And I’m glad about it, too. You know, in the event I need a witness. All I said to Julian was for him to back off from Bernie. And, of course, Julian had to have the last laugh by pulling her on stage with him.”
“Did you say anything else to him? Did you argue?”
He swallows hard. “We did. But it’s not what you think. When I arrived backstage, he and Archie were already going at it.”
“Archie?”
He nods. “They used to be pretty close. Julian took Archie under his wing in more ways than one. Rumor had it, they ran the Collective together.”
Archie ran the Collective with Julian?
I suck in a quick breath. I need to tell Jasper.
“Zeke, do you think Archie is running the Collective now?”
“No way. Archie left it to those meatheads that run the security department at Minty’s. They’ve been using that place as a front for years—recruiting girls who looked desperate enough for dollars.”
“Minty’s?” I give a hard blink. “It all makes sense now.”
Fish yowls. Bizzy, isn’t that where you fell in love with that dress?
I nod her way. And I’d still take it in a hot minute if I could. Some of their clients might be tainted, but that dress was golden in more ways than one.
“If Archie isn’t running the Collective, what do you think they were arguing about?”
Zeke shrugs. “Could have been anything. They haven’t gotten along in years. Julian liked to get under Archie’s skin by calling him a two-bit magician.” I’m not sure this is the place to tell her they were arguing over Michaela. He shakes his head at the memory. Julian threatened Archie well. Said he was taking him straight to the sheriff’s department for even looking at Michaela that way. He said something about not adding another blonde to his garden girls collection.
I’m pretty sure Michaela doesn’t want the fact she’s working for the Collective to be aired out here at her sister’s wedding. And I think Michaela and I need to talk about it first. She’ll have to tell her sister. Lord knows I can’t keep anything like this from my brother for long.
My mouth opens as I try to digest his thoughts.
Garden girls? Why does that sound familiar?
“You know—I think I did hear something myself.” I shrug into the white lie. “I thought I heard Julian and Archie arguing over M
ichaela. I guess Archie was trying to score a date with her.”
“Oh yeah.” He gives a hard nod. “Archie has a type and Michaela definitely fits the bill. Strangely enough, Julian was asking him to back off.” He shrugs. “And seeing that Archie is flaunting your sister around, I guess he took Julian’s advice.” His eyes widen at something over by the buffet, and I turn to see Bernie loading up a plate.
“Here goes nothing, Bizzy. I’m going in.”
“Good luck,” I say as I watch him take off.
Julian said he was going to the sheriff’s department right after the show that night. He told Zeke that he wasn’t adding another girl to his garden collection.
Zeke said Archie has a type and that Michaela was it.
Archie said that Julian was full of good gestures and that it was basically what got him killed…
Could the good gesture have been going to the sheriff’s department? Asking Archie not to date Michaela? Not to add her to his garden girls collection?
Garden girls… Archie is a landscaper. Maybe it was some inside joke?
I rake through my memory all the way back to that horrible night. Julian popped up when Caleb was introducing me to his groomsmen. Julian looked to Zeke and said, “Always a pleasure.” Then Archie laughed and said, “Everything’s a pleasure when you don’t mind mowing others down in life.” Then Julian thought to himself, Spoken like the true two-bit magician he is.
Two-bit magician…
All three women that disappeared were blonde with blue eyes. Michaela is a blonde with blue eyes. I suck in a quick breath. Macy is a blonde with blue eyes for that matter.
Two-bit magician—TBM.
“Oh my God,” I pant as I look to the dizzying crowd as darkness sets in over the cove.
Sherlock and Lucky run up, barking and chasing one another’s tails, and right along with them is Misty.
Pick me up, Bizzy! She mewls and I do just that. What’s happening? Is it time for cake? McKenna said the way Dakota and Mimi were acting, you’d think it was filled with catnip.
“Not yet,” I say as I quickly scour the area. “First, I think we’re going to have a talk with someone.”
And if I’m right, that someone just might turn out to be a bigger monster than I could ever imagine.
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