Murder's No Votive Confidence

by Christin Brecher

  “Everything is perfect,” she said. “Did the doves arrive?”

  “They did,” I said. As I placed the vase of lilies on the desk, I noticed that all of the files about the land transfer that I had seen this morning were now gone. I glanced around the room. The rest of it was still a mess. Only the papers had been put away. I wished I had had more time to inspect them.

  “I assume Joe is back and ready to go?” I asked.

  “Joe was gone?” said Jessica, looking confused. “Where did he go?”

  “Oh,” I said. “I don’t know. I didn’t see him earlier during tea.”

  “No, no,” said Jessica. “He was around. He had a headache is all. He’s feeling fine now. Nothing an Excedrin migraine couldn’t cure. This morning took its toll.”

  “I think it has on everyone,” I said. It took every ounce of self-control for me not to share my opinion on Bill’s unjust arrest. “Should I check on your mom?”

  “Thanks,” said Jessica. “She’s feeling very emotional. She’s been resting since tea ended. With me getting married, and Uncle Simon’s death stirring up so many feelings about my father, this has been a hard weekend. I, at least, am joyful about marrying Joe tomorrow. I think she feels she’s losing a lot.”

  “I understand,” I said. I wasn’t sure if I did, but it seemed like the sort of thing Emily would say. “Your ring is beautiful.”

  “Really?” said Jessica with a laugh. “It’s super sparkly tonight. We had it polished at the jeweler’s in town yesterday. I haven’t taken it off since. I woke up with dents in my fingers.”

  She flashed it to the room. It looked so silly on her, and we couldn’t help it. We both laughed.

  “I’ll stop by your mom’s room, and then I’ll see you all downstairs in a few.”

  “Thanks,” said Jessica.

  She turned around for me to zip her blouse. I zipped and left.

  One door down, I knocked on Mrs. Sterling’s door.

  “Come in,” I heard her say.

  I opened the door to find Mrs. Sterling. Her hair and makeup were perfect. Her jewelry was beautiful. But she was not dressed. Rather, she sat in a chair at a desk similar to the one in Jessica’s room with a plush bathrobe wrapped around her. She was looking out of the window and across the rolling lawn to the harbor waters.

  “Everything OK?” I said in a light but friendly voice. God help me, I had no idea what to do if the bride’s mother lost it. This was Emily’s department.

  Fortunately, Mrs. Sterling flashed a warm and reassuring smile upon me, one that Gina Ginelli would be impressed by, I thought. He whole demeanor changed from melancholy to cheerful in a beat.

  “Everything is good,” said Mrs. Sterling. “I’m so glad they found the murderer. I don’t know what Jessica would have done if we’d had to cancel the wedding. She’s a remarkable girl, you know.”

  As she spoke, she rose and took a smart-looking, navy-blue suit from her closet. Before my eyes, she started to change. I took her place by the desk and tactfully looked out the window.

  “Do you have children?” said Mrs. Sterling.

  “Me?” I laughed. “No. I don’t even have a boyfriend.”

  “You look gorgeous tonight,” she said. “Who knows?”

  I didn’t want to tell her that no one in the crowd downstairs had done it for me, so I smiled and, as I had with her daughter, zipped up her cream-colored silk blouse.

  “Children are a blessing,” said Mrs. Sterling. “But, then they leave. You spend your whole life trying to make sure they’re OK, and then one day someone walks in and says they’ll take over that job, thank you very much. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like Joe well enough.”

  “Joe’s a great guy,” I said.

  “He thinks I’m cheap,” said Mrs. Sterling. “I don’t give Jessica gobs of cash for entrepreneurial opportunities, and she’s wealthy but not wealthy enough to bankroll him. They need to learn the value of money. When I die, it’ll be a different story. They’ll inherit loads of money and they can do whatever they want with it. But I intend to hang around for a long time.”

  I tried not to shudder, but money always seemed to be a huge motive for murder. Mrs. Sterling was probably a bigger target than Simon Sterling on that front. I was so glad that I hadn’t found Mrs. Sterling on the floor this morning. I wondered, again, what the motive might be for his murder.

  “I’d do anything for that girl,” said Mrs. Sterling. “One day, you’ll see.”

  “I feel that way already for Emily’s baby,” I said.

  “I just need a moment alone,” said Mrs. Sterling. “I’ll meet you downstairs, OK?”

  “Sounds good,” I said. I looked out the window one more time. I knew Mrs. Sterling was waiting for me to leave, but I couldn’t move for a moment. Through the window, I thought I saw Gina Ginelli on the widow’s walk of her cottage. A widow’s walk is the traditional roof deck on old Nantucket houses. They were used in the whaling days so that the ship captain’s wife could look out to sea when a ship returned from years away in hopes of spying her husband’s ship. Gina, however, was not looking at the sea. She was looking at the inn, and I swear she was crying.

  Chapter 15

  “Are you OK, Stella?” said Mrs. Sterling.

  “Yes,” I said. “I’m going. See you.”

  I unwisely took the stairs, which took a bit of skill given my attire. I thought that Gina walking the red carpet must be a lot easier than me hobbling down stairs, but I made it back to Ahab’s as the crowd was heading in.

  According to Emily’s plans, dinner would begin with my greatest responsibility for the night. The doves. With a nod to Jessica when her mother joined the gathering a minute later, I headed outside to the patio beside Ahab’s.

  As I reached the back door, I collided with the maid of honor. She was wearing a flowing dress in bright blue with an even brighter green shawl to match her green feather earrings. It was a unique style compared to the perfectly coiffed ladies inside.

  “Oh, hi!” she said. “Sorry.”

  “Can I help you?” I said. “I’m Stella Wright. I’m helping with the party tonight.”

  “Maria Blane, maid of honor. I love your outfit,” she said. “I’m just looking for the groom. Jessica thought he might be having a moment by the water.”

  With that, she dashed out the door past me, and I headed toward Gary, the Dove Guy, who looked very much like he wanted me to give him the all-go sign. I understood why. The sun would soon begin to set and the birds had to get home while there was still light in the sky. Without Joe in attendance, however, I assumed we should wait. I also made a note that for at least the second time today, Joe was absent from the wedding party. First, when the guests were arriving, and now at his own dinner. Right now, however, I needed to focus on the party or the doves would be flying who knows where in the dark.

  “Breathe, breathe, breathe,” I said.

  The guests were, by now, all gathered in the restaurant. I held up my index finger to an unhappy-looking Gary, and shuffled back toward the restaurant’s door. I reached for the handle, but the door opened right into me.

  Joe stood in the frame. Halleluiah.

  “Great. You’re here,” I said.

  “I am,” he said, smiling politely. “The guests are, too. Jessica was wondering about the birds?”

  “Right,” I said, backing up. “Get ready! We’re about to start off your weekend with a bang!”

  Turning around, I slid back to Gary’s eyeline and gave him the thumbs-up. He nodded, and opened the coop in which his dozen feathered friends had been waiting for their big moment.

  Rather than fly, however, one of the pigeons seemed to have been elected by his mates to check out the hotel first. He took a step onto the pavement, and looked around. Another one followed. Gary made a few whistling noises and a few more birds followed, but none flew. I looked desperately at the birds, then at Gary, who continued to make his bird calls.

  All I could think was
that if these birds didn’t take off right now, Jessica and Joe might worry that their wedding’s bad luck was destined to continue for the weekend. I sidestepped around the perimeter of the patio, smiling as if nothing bad was happening. My goal was to reach Gary and ask if I could help him. I didn’t have to, however, because halfway around the patio, the birds gave a start, then took to the air.

  “How beautiful!” I heard Maria say in a breathy voice from behind me.

  I turned to see her running toward us, and remembered we had not waited for her to return from her search for Joe. The birds seemed to notice her, too, and as they began their journey home, they flew right toward her. Maria’s delight at the doves turned to fear as they zoomed over her. She gave a huge yelp and fell into a puddle of mud behind her.

  Maria froze for a moment, aware of what had happened. She looked at the faces in the window as they all stared back in shock. She looked at her dress, covered in mud. Then she looked back up and burst out laughing. The guests followed suit and applauded inside. Maria stood with as much grace as she could and bowed to the crowd. It was at that moment that I knew I liked Maria. I also noticed one sweet-looking guy’s smile linger on her.

  “This means you will always have good luck,” she shouted and danced a jig on a dry patch of grass.

  “Stella,” she said, continuing to laugh. “Do you think you could give me a hand?”

  “Of course,” I said. If I wasn’t so worried about ruining Gina’s dress, I would have hugged her right there.

  One covered in mud, the other taking delicate steps, Maria and I slipped into the service elevator off of the kitchen and somehow made it upstairs. In the privacy of her room, she took off her dress, which had seen the most damage, and rinsed off. Without the long sleeve of her dress covering her, I noticed she had a bandage around her wrist. I thought back to this afternoon and realized she had been wearing long sleeves then, too.

  I knew Maria had been on the island yesterday, and that no one else in the wedding party seemed to know it. Now, I wondered what she had been doing.

  “Did you know Jessica’s uncle Simon?” I asked as we pieced together another outfit of a black skirt and sweater.

  “No,” she said. “But we’re not supposed to talk about him. Bad luck.”

  She looked in the mirror. I liked her new, sleek look, even with the oversized neon pink earrings she added. After a minute or two more of last-minute touch-ups, we were ready to head back to the party.

  “Why were you looking for Joe anyway?” I said as we walked to the elevator. “He was inside.”

  “Jessica said she was looking for him,” she said. “I wanted to help.”

  “You’re a good friend,” I said.

  “Thanks,” she said. “I hope Jessica feels the same way. We’ve been besties since senior year in high school, but she’s been edgy since she and Joe got engaged.”

  “How so?” I said, buzzing the elevator button.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Little things. Like when I made a fuss about her engagement ring, she got all defensive and said she didn’t really love it or need it. We’ve never had any tension over our financial disparities, but she made me feel like I was crossing a line.”

  The elevator arrived, and I gathered my courage as we stepped inside.

  “What happened to your wrist?” I said as the door closed.

  “Carpal tunnel syndrome,” she said, rearranging her blouse and avoiding my eyes. “I type too much.”

  She was a terrible liar. I could not believe such a bad liar could pull off a murder, but I pushed onward.

  “Maria, I know you were at the Nantucket Inn last night,” I said. The elevator cab suddenly felt very small.

  Maria looked at me like one of the startled birds that had flown the coop.

  “You do?” she said.

  I nodded.

  “Please don’t tell Jessica,” she said. “I got a really cheap deal on travel, but it was for yesterday, not today. I didn’t want to tell Jessica or Joe because they would have offered to put me up here. Tony took advantage of their hospitality, but that’s so Tony.”

  “Given the circumstances, you should probably tell the police,” I said. “They’ll want an alibi from anyone connected to the wedding who was here yesterday. Do you have one?”

  Maria nodded.

  “It’s so embarrassing though. I went to the Chicken Box,” she said. The Chicken Box is one of the island’s best music spots. If I had a night alone on the island, I’d have probably done the same. “They had a karaoke hour early on. I love karaoke.” She raised her swollen wrist to me. “I had a few drinks though. And I fell off the stage. I ended up spending most of the night in the emergency room. Jessica would feel terrible if she knew.”

  “I’m the wedding help,” I said, amazed we still had one more floor to go in this old thing. “We take an oath to keep secrets.”

  “I have one more secret,” she said. “Mrs. Sterling terrifies me. Jessica told her I had a crush on Joe when we were in high school. Now, she keeps flashing me these unkind looks.”

  “Are you here with anyone?” I ventured, thinking of the sweet-smiling man who could not take his eyes off of her.

  “Ha!” she said. “My luck with men is terrible.”

  The elevator doors opened, and we headed off the elevator and back to the dinner. Maria received a round of applause, which she good-naturedly accepted with a gracious bow. The party was well underway and with the sun now set, the candlelight was stunning. I listened to the warm toasts shared by the couple’s friends. Everyone was doing a great job of keeping the murder at bay for the sake of Jessica and Joe.

  Toward the end of dinner, I sent a text to my cousin Kate at the hospital, to see if she could confirm that Maria had been there. As much as I loved the maid of honor, I wanted to make sure her alibi lined up. Then I sent a photo of the party to Emily, who sent many thumbs-up emojis back to me. I was glad. The candlelit ambience of the party was as gorgeous as we’d hoped it would be.

  How are you feeling? I asked her.

  I’ll be good to go tomorrow, she replied. But I think this kid’s going to be a tap dancer.

  I sent her a winky-smiley face.

  Joe stood and tapped his spoon against his glass. Jessica rose beside him.

  “Hey everyone,” he said. Many of their friends hooted and cheered. “I want to thank you for coming this weekend, and to extend a special and heartfelt thanks to my soon-to-be mother-in-law for all the work she has put into this wedding and the support she has extended to me and Jess.”

  The room applauded.

  “As you could all tell from Mrs. Sterling’s toast,” he said about a toast I’d clearly missed, “she is very attached to her daughter.”

  There was some laughter, but Mrs. Sterling held her head high.

  “You all may laugh,” said Joe, “but since my parents have both passed, I feel so lucky to be part of this kind of loyalty and love. I feel blessed to be around it.”

  Awws gushed from the crowd.

  “I’d also like Mrs. Sterling to know how deeply committed I am to building a life that will keep Jessica in the comforts she knows.” At this, Jessica playfully punched him in the arm. “And toward that goal, I’d like to let you all know that when we get back from our honeymoon we hope to break ground on the first of three gyms slated to open. We’re going to work as a team on these enterprises, which will be called Sterling Bodies.”

  A murmur of support and some celebratory whistles ensued. Joe and Jessica enjoyed them for a moment before Joe continued. I thought Mrs. Sterling looked surprised by the idea of the Sterling name attached to bodies and gyms. Jessica glanced toward her mother for approval, but she stood confidently by her fiancé.

  “And now,” he said. “Let’s continue the party into town. The inn has a launch outside to take us on a trip across the harbor. Grab a sweater or whatever and meet us in ten minutes. Stella will help us follow the tea lights from the patio to the water wh
ere we can all board.”

  The crowd applauded, young and old, as the dinner convened. The group was truly committed to being joyful this weekend, in spite of all that had happened this morning. I took it as a sign of how solid and loved Jessica and Joe were. I was relieved all had gone as smoothly as it had, and that, most importantly, the couple of honor was happy. They stood by the big window and gave each other a huge kiss. I understood Joe’s decision to announce their business news. Anything to bury the sadness of this morning was fair game.

  My phone pinged. It was a text from my cousin Kate. She confirmed Maria’s story, and added that her friend had been the attending nurse and had seen Maria. She had been alone and crying. As far as I was concerned, Maria Blane was off the hook for any connection to the murder of Simon Sterling.

  Ten minutes later, I was directing everyone to the launch. I kept my eye open for the man who had seemed so interested in Maria.

  “Fun night,” I said when I found him. I noticed Maria was making her way to the dock as well. “Mind if I lean on your shoulder a moment? My shoe is killing me.”

  “Sure,” said the man. As I suspected, kind.

  I fumbled around, pretending my shoe was having some sort of strap malfunction, until Maria reached us.

  “You were the star of the evening,” I said to her.

  “Yes, you were,” said the man, looking quite happy to have the chance to speak to her. “David Simmons.” He extended his hand toward Maria.

  “Are you cold?” I said to Maria, who was not wearing a sweater or jacket.

  “No,” she said, but then stopped as David whipped off his jacket and put it around her shoulders. “Oh, thank you,” she said as they continued down to the dock together, deep in conversation, as if they’d known each other forever. Warmed my heart.

  Once everyone had piled into the launch, the boat took off and I waved goodbye. My thoughts immediately turned to my next job for the night—my four new unity candles. The wind blew and I shivered a little, but I enjoyed the sea breeze and the moon, which was reflecting across the water. It occurred to me that even though I was the help, I should have joined the launch. In all of the excitement, I had forgotten that I didn’t have my car. I was thinking about how slowly the cab services were running during FIGAWI, when I heard the sound of a boat’s engine coming toward me through the darkness.