“Yes, and we’re here to help,” Dorothy said, grabbing Geanie’s other hand.”
“Thanks, guys.”
“Well, this is all very touching,” Milt said with a twinkle in his eye. “I think, though, we’ll have to be let in on a few of the big wedding secrets to really be helpful.”
“Oh, you think you’re getting information out of me that easily?” Geanie said.
“It’s worth a try,” he said with a smile and a shrug.
Cindy was so grateful that all of the crazy tension from earlier seemed to have calmed down. She just prayed it didn’t return.
Suddenly in the distance Cindy could swear she heard a siren. She swiveled her head around. “Does anyone else hear that?” she asked after a moment.
The others nodded.
“It sounds like it’s turning up the hill,” Geanie said, somewhat breathlessly.
The siren cut out suddenly.
Cindy turned and headed for the front door, the others trailing behind her. She stepped outside and heard the sound of engines.
“Is someone coming?” she asked the officer who was nearby.
“Yes, Mark called a minute ago to let us know he was heading up the hill.”
“Who is Mark?” she heard Dorothy ask.
“Cindy’s friend the detective. He and his wife are coming to the wedding,” Geanie said quietly.
A hush fell as the roar of the engines grew louder. A sense of anticipation was building, but why Cindy could not say. Her stomach was also beginning to knot up. Why had Mark not called her? Had something gone wrong and he wanted to tell them in person? Is that why they’d heard the siren?
A minute later Mark’s car came into view. He pulled up in front of the house and got out just as an ambulance turned the corner. It was moving more slowly and it parked behind him finally.
“What’s going on?” Milt asked.
Cindy shook her head. She didn’t know, but she was worried.
Two paramedics hopped out of the front of the truck and ran around to open up the back. They disappeared inside and a moment later they reappeared carrying a stretcher with someone on it. Two more paramedics who must have been riding in the back carried another stretcher out right behind it.
They walked up and set the stretchers down right in front of them.
Cindy looked down at the first one and saw a familiar face.
“Okay,” Joseph said with a wince. “This is more than a little embarrassing.”
11
“Joseph!” Geanie shrieked and threw herself half on top of him.
“Easy,” he grunted.
Cindy looked past him to see Jeremiah laying on the second stretcher, a look of incredible irritation on his face.
Before she could go to him, though, Mark interrupted. “Let’s get these two inside. It was hard enough to force the doctor to release them early, we don’t need to injure them further before we even make it into the house.”
Everyone hastened back inside and the paramedics carried Joseph and Jeremiah in on the stretchers.
“Their orders are to rest and recline as much as possible for the next forty-eight hours until everything has worked out of their systems,” Mark said.
“This is certainly a surprise,” Cindy said.
“Yeah, well, there’s a reason for that,” Mark said darkly.
“So should we take them to their bedrooms?” the lead paramedic asked.
“No!” Joseph practically shouted. He cleared his throat. “Please. There are some couches in the living room. That would be better, I think. Closer to the kitchen, you know and...everything.”
“I agree,” Jeremiah said.
Geanie led the way and within minutes the paramedics had transferred each man to one of the couches. As soon as they were out of the room, Jeremiah sat up. “I need a shower,” he grumbled.
“I promised the doctor nothing so strenuous until tomorrow,” Mark said.
Jeremiah glared at him and Mark rolled his eyes. “Fine. You had less poison than Joseph.” He turned to Joseph. “But no shower for you until tomorrow.”
Joseph nodded, looking suddenly very tired. “I’d like to sit up for a while, though, and get something to eat.”
“That much I can allow,” Mark said with a sigh. “When did I become the keeper for the two of you?”
“When you forcefully checked us out of the hospital,” Jeremiah said.
“Bullying that doctor in the process,” Joseph said as he struggled to sit up. He finally made it, but his face looked wan.
“What on earth happened?” Cindy asked.
“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Joseph said. He pushed himself up to a standing position, swaying slightly on his feet as he did so. For a moment Cindy thought he was going to fall down, but he managed to stay upright. After he stabilized he stretched out his hand. “Hello, I’m Joseph Coulter,” he said.
“Milt,” Geanie’s father said, stepping forward to shake his hand.
“Dorothy,” her mother said, following suit.
“You can call me cousin Charlotte,” the other woman said, shaking his hand last.
“It’s wonderful to meet you all,” Joseph said, clearly trying to summon as much dignity as possible given the circumstances. “I had hoped-”
“Forget about it,” Milt said with a wave of his hand. “You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men.”
Joseph smiled. “I do indeed.”
“You sit right back down there and we’ll bring you some lunch. Both of you,” Dorothy said, encompassing Jeremiah with her glance.
“I think I can agree to that,” Jeremiah said. “Hi, I’m the best man.”
“He sure is,” Joseph said fervently. “He saved my life.”
Milt and Dorothy hurried into the kitchen to get some food.
“So, what did bring you guys here?” Cindy directed her question at Mark.
“We found the other tailor. Or, actually, he found us. Came running into the hospital screaming for help before he dropped dead. Obviously tests have to be run, but we suspect that a much larger dose of what Jeremiah and Joseph received was to blame.”
“Oh my,” Geanie said, sinking down on the couch to sit beside Joseph. She took his hand in hers. “I’m glad you’re alright.”
“That’s when I decided I wanted everyone where I could keep an eye on them,” Mark said. “Obviously postponing the wedding wouldn’t really solve anything, so I want to lock everything down as much as possible.”
“Well, it looks like you’ve got a good handle on that,” Cindy said.
“Not yet. I’m going to send officers to collect the rest of the bridal party. We’re not going to be taking any chances.”
“There’s plenty of room,” Joseph said.
Geanie pursed her lips. “I’m not sure how Melissa and Veronica are going to feel about that.”
“Frankly, I don’t care how they feel. That’s what’s going to happen,” Mark said. “I’ll need their addresses so I can send officers for them. Same with the groomsmen. What are their names?”
“Jordan and Dave.”
“Dave? Not Wildman, the youth pastor?”
“That’s the one.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “At least I don’t know Jordan.”
“Oh, you’ll love him,” Cindy said, trying to suppress a grin.
“Great,” Mark said sarcastically. “That means he’s another crazy First Shepherd person.”
“We prefer the word eccentric,” Geanie said with a smirk.
Milt and Dorothy returned. “Are steaks and fried potatoes okay?” Dorothy asked.
“Sounds wonderful,” Jeremiah said.
“We cut the steaks up into bite sized pieces so you wouldn’t have to try to juggle the plate and the knife,” Milt said.
“Thank you, that was exceptionally thoughtful,” Joseph said, smiling as he took his plate. “Are these the ribeyes from the freezer by any chance?”
“Yes, we helped
ourselves. I hope you don’t mind,” Dorothy said.
“Not at all. I think it’s great. I was planning a big barbeque for tomorrow, but I don’t think my ‘keeper’ is going to let me stand for that long. We’ll just do something else tomorrow.”
“We can always order pizza,” Geanie said brightly.
“I need to go check on some things. I’ll be back in a few hours. Anything I need to know before I head out?” Mark asked.
“Yes!” Cindy said, jumping to her feet. “I almost forgot to show you what Geanie found.”
He followed her out into the entry and then around the stairs where she showed him the black rose with the card. “We figure the intruder left it right before I discovered him,” she explained.
Mark nodded. He went out to his car and returned with an evidence bag which he carefully put the rose in. “I’ll have this tested and see what we can find out.”
“What is it?” Jeremiah asked, walking in slowly.
“You’re supposed to be relaxing, or at least eating,” Mark snapped.
“I wanted to know what you found.”
Mark showed him the rose and Cindy could swear Jeremiah actually looked startled. He recovered momentarily, though, and asked, “What does the card say?”
“No happy endings,” Cindy reported. “I believe the intruder left it.”
“Of course he did,” Jeremiah said, so softly she wasn’t sure if she’d heard right.
“What is it?” Mark asked sharply.
Jeremiah shook his head. “A very bad feeling, that’s all.”
Cindy was sure it had been more than that but decided to press him for information later when they were alone.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a little while. We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Mark said.
“You’ve found something else out,” Cindy said, grabbing his arm.
“I have, but not pertinent to this case.”
“Paul?” she breathed.
He nodded. “We’ll talk later. I need to get the boys at the lab analyzing this as soon as possible. Hopefully, they’ll come up with something.”
“But you don’t think they will,” she said, reading it in his face.
“No, I don’t,” he admitted. “I think whoever’s doing all this is a professional, hired by someone, and he’s not going to be careless. Now, I’ll see you later,” he said, a little more forcefully.
Cindy nodded and let go of his arm. She took a step back and felt Jeremiah touch her back. They had a lot to talk about, too. She wanted to hear more about the tailor who had just died. Hopefully if the killer hadn’t left evidence on the rose, he’d left some on the body.
“Do you need the contact info for the bridal party?” she asked.
“Yeah, text it to me.”
“Okay.”
Mark nodded and went out the front door. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and texted him the information he’d need so he’d have it right away. Finished, she turned to Jeremiah. “Let’s go back with the others. You should finish your food.”
He nodded and together they turned and went back into the living room. Cindy was relieved to see that everyone seemed to have been getting along just fine in their absence.
Milt looked up when they entered the room. “Joseph was just telling us that they have you to thank for getting them together,” he said to Cindy.
She smiled. “I knew they would be perfect for each other. I just provided an opportunity for them to see each other in a social setting and the rest they worked out for themselves.”
“So, how did you propose?” Dorothy asked.
Cindy was surprised that Geanie hadn’t told her parents that back when she got engaged. Given their reaction earlier, though, maybe it hadn’t been easy.
“Well, we had been dating for five months, and every month we went somewhere nice to celebrate our anniversary, or ‘monthaversary’ as we called them. I had decided to propose the month before, but it took me a while to find the perfect ring and to figure out the perfect way to do it.”
“You’d been thinking about it for a whole month?” Geanie asked, looking at him in amazement.
“I knew around St. Patrick’s Day,” Cindy said.
Geanie picked up a pillow and lobbed it at her. Cindy caught it and threw it back with a laugh.
“Anyway, I took her to Rue de Main, a French restaurant here in town that is just wonderful. What she didn’t know, was that all the other diners were people I had hired to be there. I’d actually borrowed a choir from another church across town because I didn’t want her recognizing anyone.”
“It worked,” Geanie said with a smile.
“After the waiter brought our appetizer, the whole restaurant jumped up and sang ‘Masquerade’ from Geanie’s favorite play, The Phantom of the Opera. They sang, and danced and even had little masks they were using.”
“It was unreal,” Geanie said with a laugh. “I thought Joseph had organized some crazy flash mob. I was laughing and squealing all at the same time. When they were done, everyone went back to eating as though nothing had happened.”
“I once heard Geanie complain that she wished life was more like a musical where people burst into song spontaneously.”
“It was so cool. I thought that was it, though,” Geanie admitted.
“Then, when the salad course came out, a couple got up and sang ‘Music of the Night’, also from Phantom,” Joseph said.
“It was so romantic, I was just dying,” Geanie said.
“Then, when they brought out the entrees, a different couple got up and sang ‘All I Ask of You’,” Joseph said.
“That’s when I started to get the teeniest bit suspicious that this might all be leading somewhere,” Geanie admitted. “I was stunned and entertained, and just swept away all at the same time.”
“All part of the plan,” Joseph said with a grin. “Then, the waiter brought dessert out. Another couple began to walk toward us singing ‘The Point of No Return’. Geanie turned to look at them.”
“When I turned back to Joseph he was on one knee holding this ring,” Geanie said, lifting her hand.
Cindy had seen the ring many times. The diamond was actually heart-shaped and set in a heart-shaped setting. It was exquisite.
“I was so breathless, I couldn’t even say ‘yes’. I just kept nodding over and over again and smiling, and crying.”
“I took that to mean ‘yes’, and apparently I was right,” Joseph said, leaning over to kiss Geanie.
“That is beautiful,” Dorothy said, tears shining in her own eyes.
“Afterwards, everyone shook our hands and congratulated us. It was unbelievable.”
“And you hired that entire choir?” Milt asked, shaking his head.
Joseph smiled. “I’d heard they were trying to raise money for new choir robes. I contacted the director and offered to buy him new robes in exchange for the serenading. Plus, everyone got fed, so it seemed like a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“That’s amazing,” Charlotte breathed, still glassy-eyed.
“Yeah, those people are coming to the wedding, but we promised them that this time they could just be part of the audience and not the entertainment,” Geanie said with a laugh.
“I think they were actually a little disappointed by that,” Joseph joked.
Jeremiah actually smiled. “I don’t think anyone could have topped that,” he said.
“You definitely set the bar,” Geanie said with a smile.
The phone rang and Geanie hopped up to answer it.
She returned a minute later. “That’s the wedding planner. She wants to come over in an hour to discuss some more things.”
“Am I going to be part of this discussion?” Joseph asked, “or is this more of your secret stuff?”
“No, you can be part of it.”
“I really should get cleaned up.”
“You heard Mark. Not until tomorrow,” Jeremiah said. “I, on the other hand, am heading upstairs to
do exactly that.”
“I hate you right now,” Joseph lamented.
Mark had a bad feeling about the rose that he dropped off with forensics. He warned them to check for poison on the thorns, just in case. Then he met up with Liam who looked grim.
“What do you have?” he asked.
“I called a friend who called a friend who called an uncle who was able to help out with some information.”
“Okay.”
Liam handed him four pictures. “He could find references to that particular poison being used by four different professionals. One Russian, two Middle Eastern, and one American.”
“Unless whoever has a grudge against Joseph has connections overseas, let’s assume that the American is our man.”
“Our woman, actually,” Liam said, bringing one of the pictures to the top. “Sonja, no last name.”
The picture was unbelievably blurry, but showed a woman with short dark hair and sunglasses.
“This is it? This is what we have to work with?”
“I know, it’s not much, but apparently she specializes in revenge killings, usually ex-husbands.”
Mark sighed. “It’s past time that we visited Joseph’s crush girl. Maybe she sent this woman after him.”
“I’m free now,” Liam said.
“Great, let’s do this.”
As it turned out, Amanda lived almost half an hour outside Pine Springs, halfway between it and Los Angeles proper. Her house had a for sale sign on the front lawn with a large SOLD sticker placed across it.
Fortunately, she was home. She answered the door, a kerchief covering her blonde hair. Her fingers had two inch long fingernails, three of which looked to have snapped off recently.
“House is already sold,” she snapped.
“That’s not why we’re here,” Mark said, pulling out his badge.
“Oh,” she said, looking startled and falling back a step.
“May we come in?” Liam asked.
She glanced behind her, eyes seeming to dart around. “This really isn’t a good time.”
“That’s okay, this will just take a few minutes,” Mark said, forcing a friendly smile across his face.
“Um, okay, but it’s got to be fast. I’m, uh, expecting company,” she said, stepping back to let them in.
For His Name's Sake (Psalm 23 Mysteries) Page 11
