Weddings & Weapons

by Laina Turner

  “I’m warning you, Allison.”

  “What do you think you’re going to do, Paul?” she sneered. “Nothing is the right answer. You’re going to put on a happy face and deal with it. Remember, this is what you wanted. Now live up to your end of the bargain and quit whining.”

  Paul didn’t respond and I heard them walk away, presumably back to the party.

  Guess the cute happy couple wasn’t as happy as they wanted people to think. Maybe that negative Nelly was right. But what kind of arrangement did they have?

  I tried the knob again. Still locked. I had one thing I could try before bringing attention to myself by knocking. It was a simple lock and I thought I could use a card to slide in the door jam and depress the lock lever. Not that I’d ever done it before, but it always seemed to work in the movies and there was a big enough gap I could see the lever.

  I pulled the case off my phone and got out my debit card. I pushed it in the door crack a few inches above where the lock was and slid it down until I heard it tap the mechanism. I then wiggled it around, closed my eyes and crossed my toes and hoped it worked.

  I was shocked when I heard a click and the knob turned and the door opened. A huge sense of relief washed over me. Not to mention I was pretty proud of myself. Now if there wasn’t anyone in this area at the moment and I could sneak back into the party, it would be perfect.

  I poked my head out and didn’t see anyone. Slipping out undetected, I headed back over to the bar. I needed another glass of wine after that experience.

  “There you are. I thought you’d left,” Allison said, coming up behind me unexpectedly. I about jumped out of my skin at the sound of her voice.

  “Nope, still here,” I forced a smile. “I’ve been admiring this beautiful house.”

  “Well good. I’ve been trying to get around to everyone, but it’s hard. I didn’t want you to think I was neglecting you.” Allison came across as the perfect party hostess. You’d never guess she’d just had a heated exchange with her fiancé.

  “Not at all. This is a fabulous party and the friends of yours I’ve met seem great.”

  Allison nodded, with a huge smile on her face that I now couldn’t help but to be suspicious of. What was going on with her and Paul?

  “Make sure you don’t sneak out without saying goodbye,” She said before making her way to another group of people.

  I gulped down the last bit of wine in my glass. I was ready to get out of here, my desire to mingle with strangers gone. I was too preoccupied wondering what Glen and his guys were up to.

  Paul was standing to the side not talking to anyone but sipping his drink and watching. Trying to keep an eye on Allison perhaps. He put a smile on his face when he saw me approach.

  “Presley, I hope you’ve had a lovely time.”

  “I did and very much appreciate your hospitality. I need to get going but wanted to say thank you for inviting me.”

  “Leaving so soon? It’s barely ten,” he said, after glancing at his watch.

  “You know, these long days at the beach doing nothing. They take a lot out of you. I’m exhausted.”

  Paul threw back his head and laughed. “The life of leisure. It’s a rough one.”

  “Glad you understand, Paul,” I laughed. “Thanks again for inviting me.”

  I made my way out the front door without running into Allison, which was completely fine with me, I didn’t feel like making any more idle talk, I stepped down the stone walkway, which now that it was dark was even more beautiful with the strategic placement of the outdoor lights.

  Did Allison and Paul know Glen and his guys were in the basement of their house? And what were they doing down there? I couldn’t help but wonder if this had anything to do with the dead body I’d found.

  Chapter 5

  I woke with a start and saw it was two a.m. This was starting to be a not so fun habit; waking up in the middle of the night. I really valued my sleep and got cranky without it. I could hear sirens in the distance, which made me curious, so got up to look. As I peered out the window I could see flashing lights that looked to be coming from Allison and Paul’s. Oh no! I hoped nothing bad had happened after their party.

  I ran to my suitcase and grabbed a pair of black yoga pants and a t-shirt and pulled my hair up in a messy bun on top of my head and dashed back out to the kitchen.

  When I caught my reflection in the stainless-steel microwave as I poured leftover coffee in a mug to heat, it was scary. My hair was sticking out from the bun and I had makeup smudged under my eyes. But I wasn’t looking to win any beauty contests, just not get arrested for indecent exposure. Plus, it was the middle of the night so who cared what I looked like.

  I don’t know why I thought having a cup of coffee when I walked over to be nosy would seem any less conspicuous, especially since it was in the middle of the night and the last thing I needed was caffeine, but at least it gave me something to do with my hands. I grabbed the sweatshirt draped over the back of the chair leading out the back door on to the porch and slipped it on carefully as to not spill my coffee. Then I headed over to the neighbors for the second time in a few hours.

  As I got closer, I could see a flurry of activity. There were at least three cop cars, a fire truck, and an ambulance and several uniformed people running around and I saw Allison and Paul standing outside looking a little freaked out by all the commotion around them. A gurney was being pushed through the front door of the house and it didn’t look empty. That wasn’t a good sign, I thought as my stomach started to knot. What had happened now?

  Allison saw me approach. “Presley!” she said quickly, walking over to me and giving me a hug. That took me aback a little since I didn’t know her well enough to be on hugging terms, but I knew she had to be upset and it didn’t look like anyone else was here. The party must have ended. I felt so bad. This should have been a happy night for her. And this scene looked far from happy.

  “What happened?” I asked. “Are you OK?”

  “Oh my God. It’s just horrible,” she got out before she burst into tears and turned sobbing into Paul’s arms. He held her tight and spoke to me over her shoulder.

  “I went to make sure the garage doors were locked after the caterers left and…” he stopped for a minute clearly choked up. “And I discovered the body of a… of a… man,” he finally got out.

  My eyebrows raised. What was going on around here? This small little town seemed to be having more than its fair share of murders.

  “Another dead body?” I said, immediately regretting it.

  “What do you mean another dead body?” Paul said, a look of surprise on his face. If I hadn’t heard them fighting, I would have thought they were just in their own little world and hadn’t heard the news. Though in fairness, I wouldn’t have been keeping up on local happenings either had I not been directly involved. We were all vacationers and what happened locally wouldn’t normally be of any concern to us. We should be in some sort of vacation bubble.

  “Do you know who it was?” I asked, ignoring Paul’s question, hoping to move right past it. I was hoping it wasn’t one of their friends. That would be horrible. Not that any dead body wasn’t, but if it was a friend that would certainly put a damper on their wedding.

  “No, we didn’t know the person. I’m not even sure why he was on the property at all,” Paul said, shaking his head. “Now what did you mean about another dead body?”

  “What are you doing here?” Sheriff Travis interrupted and I was grateful for his timing. I didn’t want to get into the whole dead body story from the other night. When I looked up and met his gaze, I could tell he was surprised to see me and he didn’t exactly look thrilled. Thankfully, he didn’t look mad either. Rather more confused at my presence.

  “The sirens woke me up and I saw the commotion over here. I wanted to make sure everyone was ok.”

  “She was telling us about another dead body! What is she talking about?” Paul said, his voice raised and I cringed ins
ide. Last thing I wanted was for the Sherriff to think I was a gossip or trying to make the current situation worse.

  “Is there a murder spree going on in this town?” Paul continued.

  “Sir, we have no idea at this time whether these are connected or not. But I can assure you we’re working diligently to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Are we in danger?” Paul asked. It was a legitimate question. One I’d myself asked at the point when there was only one dead body. Allison was surprisingly silent. She was no longer buried in Paul’s shoulder, but of the little I knew of her, staying silent didn’t really seem to be her MO. Interestingly she was letting Paul take the lead.

  The Sheriff sighed. I’m sure having this happen twice in a week wasn’t exactly what he had been hoping for when his week started. It wasn’t the best for tourist season.

  “We’ll leave a car parked in front of the house on the street as a precaution, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Just go back inside and make sure to lock the door.” He turned to me. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  “Uh, sure,” I said nervously. I wasn’t sure what he wanted but I felt like I was being called to the principal’s office.

  We walked a little ways down the driveway and I heard the door close, with Allison and Paul safely back inside, I presumed. What I wouldn’t give to be back inside my house. I should have stayed there in the first place.

  “Do you know these people?” he asked.

  “Not really. I mean I just met them a couple days ago and they invited me to a party tonight or rather technically last night. Like I said, the noise of all the commotion over here woke me up and I wanted to make sure everyone was ok.”

  He looked at me pensively as if to figure out if I was being 100% truthful or if there was more I wasn’t telling him, but he had a very good poker face. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “Did you see anything unusual tonight?”

  “You mean at their party or when I came over here just now?”

  “Either.”

  “No,” I said shaking my head. I briefly wondered if I should tell him about seeing Glen at the party and what I overheard, but I didn’t have anything but my own suspicions and it sounded like gossip. I had no basis to think Glen had been here for anything but the party. “Do you think they’re related?” I asked, again thinking maybe since Paul and Allison weren’t right here he might give me a different answer.

  He paused. “Too early to tell.”

  “Don’t you think it’s quite a coincidence? I mean you don’t usually have this many murders, do you?

  “When are you leaving again?” he asked, ignoring my question.

  “The end of the week.”

  “Make sure to check with me before you leave.”

  That stopped me in my tracks and my heart started racing. “Am I a suspect?”

  Sheriff Travis smiled, which only partially helped put me at ease. “No, but you are a witness. I might need to talk to you more. Do you need a lift home?”

  I started to say no but then thought the better of it. Two dead bodies in a couple days in a small town and it was the middle of the night. While I wasn’t scared, maybe I should be, why take a chance.

  “If you can spare someone. I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “No bother. Richie,” he called out to an officer standing a few feet away.

  “Yes, Sheriff.”

  “Can you give this young lady a ride home?”

  “Sure thing, Sheriff. Follow me, uh.”

  “Presley. Presley Thurman.”

  We walked over to his police cruiser and he opened the passenger door for me to get in. I was happy he didn’t put me in the back. Nothing like being in the back of a cop car to make you feel guilty, even if you hadn’t done anything wrong.

  “Where to?”

  “Just two houses down that way,” I pointed. “The one with the green shutters.”

  “Ok,” he said, pulling out onto the street. I wanted to ask him if he knew who the victim was, but before I had time to formulate the question in such a way that wouldn’t seem weird we were already in my driveway.

  “Let me walk you to the door.”

  “No need,” I assured him. “It’s lit up from your headlights. I’ll be fine.”

  “Ok, just make sure to lock up behind you.”

  “I will. Thanks, Richie.”

  I walked in, locked the door and went to the kitchen. I set my coffee in the sink and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator when there was a knock at the door. Was Ritchie checking up on me?

  Looking through the peephole, I saw it was Sheldon. Had he been watching the house and saw I’d come home and was up? It was almost three a.m. Way past an acceptable time for a social visit. I hesitated a moment before opening the door, wishing it had a security chain. Not that I thought he was the killer, but he was still a man I didn’t know very well and years of living in the city had made me cautious.

  I opened the door a crack. “What are you doing here, Sheldon?”

  “I heard the call come across the police scanner and was heading to the house when I saw you being dropped off. What happened?”

  “If you were listening to the police scanner you know what happened,” I said crossly. I was still mad at what he’d said in his article and now to have him show up again wanting information annoyed me. “How can I trust you won’t take creative license with whatever I tell you this time?”

  “You’re still mad about that?” he said, smiling as if his charm was going to win me over.

  “Does your flirtatious manner really get you your way?”

  “Most of the time.”

  I couldn’t help but smile at his honesty. “Really, Sheldon, I don’t know anything.”

  The look on his face showed he wasn’t sure if he believed me, but that was his problem, not mine.

  “Listen, I’m tired and I don’t feel like talking.”

  He started to say something, but I didn’t want to encourage conversation because I was exhausted. The adrenalin of the night’s events had finally run its course and I felt about five minutes away from passing out.

  “Goodnight, Sheldon,” I said, closing and locking the door. I half expected him to knock again but he didn’t, and I went to bed.

  Chapter 6

  A loud banging on the front door woke me up. No easy feat since my bedroom was all the way to the back. I looked at my phone. No wonder I was having trouble opening my eyes. It was only six am and it was after three when I’d gotten back to bed. Who the hell was waking me up this early?

  The banging continued so I jumped out of bed and marched to the front door, flinging it open, ready to yell at someone. That someone was Sheldon.

  “What the hell are you doing banging on my door this early?” I yelled, not caring that I probably looked frightening.

  He smiled, completely ignoring my outburst. “I brought coffee and breakfast,” he said, holding up a bag and a to-go carrier. “Can I come in?”

  I wanted to shut the door in his face, but I could smell the aroma of the coffee and bacon coming from the sack he carried and I wasn’t one to turn away either one of those things.

  “Fine. Come in. Kitchen’s that way. I’ll be right there.”

  Leaving him to find the kitchen, I ran back to my room where I grabbed a sweatshirt and ran a comb through my hair. I’m sure it didn’t help much, but I didn’t relish sitting across from him in my pajamas and total bed head. When I made it back to the kitchen, he’d made himself at home finding plates and silverware and had the bar set up with the food all ready to eat. I wanted to be angry, but it smelled so good I couldn’t. Hunger was overtaking any other emotion I had right now.

  “What do you take in your coffee?”

  “Just a little cream. There’s French vanilla in that mini fridge there below the espresso machine,” I pointed.

  “Fancy.”

  “Not my house. Trust me. I’m lucky to be s
taying here for a week.”

  He gave me the creamer and I put just the right amount in my coffee to make it delicious. He had sense enough not to bother me while I ate. Smart man. He got points for that. I knew I should be asking questions about why he was here so early and trying to get on my good side by bringing breakfast but five minutes of enjoying my food wasn’t going to hurt anything. My guess is he wanted to talk about the dead body last night and once I was properly caffeinated and full, I’d feel in a much better mood to talk.

  After a few minutes of eating in silence with him waiting patiently I finally spoke up. “So, what’s your ulterior motive here?”

  “What makes you think I have one?” He said innocently.

  I gave him a look. “Do I look stupid? I know you didn’t just bring me breakfast at six a.m. because you’re a nice guy. You want something.”

  “Ok, you got me. I was hoping we could team up.”

  I raised my eyebrows skeptically. “Team up how?”

  He shook his head. “I need a co-investigator.”

  Last time we’d talked he was adamant that he didn’t want me to be involved. That this was his thing. Wonder why the change of heart. I couldn’t help but be suspicious.

  “I thought you didn’t want help? Besides, I’m not even from here. How can I help you?”

  “I need another set of eyes and ears to help me solve the murders going on here.”

  “And I’m the only person who can help you? Aren’t there other people on the paper who would be much better than me at this? Not to mention, I’m leaving in a few days. Besides isn’t that Sheriff Travis’ job?”

  “Technically, yes, but this story could make my career, it could get picked up by the big papers. And you’re perfect for this. You aren’t from here and no one would suspect you’re helping me. It gives us the advantage. You can get people to tell you things they won’t tell me because they won’t expect an ulterior motive from you.”

  “So, what you’re telling me is you want me to get information from people who would otherwise not tell you what they know and then sell them out by giving you that information? So you can write about it in the paper? Which means they’ll know I sold them out?”