“Does that mean Tamara was in on it or knew Karl was holding Brigit?” I asked. “Didn’t she recognize Frank from that artist’s sketch?”
“Tamara says no, she wasn’t in on it. As it turns out, running Karl’s errands wasn’t strictly about money. Karl caught her and Brad in an awkward moment together, and threatened to tell Gloria what he had seen if she didn’t do as he asked.”
“Blackmail?” I asked lowering my voice once again.
“Yep. She also says she didn’t see Frank until today. I’m not sure I believe her, but she claims she thought he was the same guy helping Karl yesterday.”
“As if she had no idea Nelson fired that guy, even though Karl was shrieking like a mad man about it?”
“I guess not.” Jack shrugged. “Tamara also told us she picked up prescriptions for Karl. We found them in a little area out there in his workspace where he mixes ingredients for the latex masks and casts he makes. Quite a combo of meds. A couple of them could have been used to keep Imogene off kilter as they pilfered the place for the stuff they needed to carry out the abduction and wedding ceremony. Imogene’s lucky Karl didn’t kill her.”
“Which is what he had in mind for Tristan and Christiana, from what Brigit told me, Jack.” I lowered my voice as I shared what Brigit had told me about a coffin built for two.
“We’ll ask Frank about that. He can’t talk fast enough, even though we read him his rights,” Jack said.
“We were lucky Frank wasn’t here when we decided to disturb Karl,” I offered.
“Yes. Karl the puppet master wasn’t the mastermind he considered himself to be. They must not have realized we had circulated that sketch of Frank. Not too smart to have his partner in crime roaming the halls. You’re going to love this, though. It was the puppet master who dropped those crystals like bread crumbs. Karl hoped he'd convince us they had taken Brigit out of here in that coffee delivery truck. Frank drove it out the front gates and then abandoned it in that parking lot. Karl brought him back onto studio grounds last night.”
“The decoy crystals kind of worked. None of us considered the possibility that she was still here after Ralph’s security team did that initial search for her in the tunnels yesterday. I don’t suppose they could have gone on much longer without getting discovered one way or another, even if Tamara hadn’t given them away.”
“Maybe. It was a good thing you remembered that cat had last been seen in Brigit’s dressing room, and spotted that cat food, or we might have overlooked it.”
“Another stroke of good fortune,” I said.
“Good sleuthing, too, Georgie.”
“Thanks for the complement, Jack. What I’m most grateful for is that we found her before Karl could carry out his diabolical plan.”
“Karl’s clearly not all there, Georgie. He insisted that the officers taking him to jail call him Tristan, Ruler of a United Swanderland.”
“Your psych consultants must be waiting to evaluate him, right?” I asked.
“Oh yes.”
“What did Frank get from all of this?”
“Money. A lousy ten thousand dollars to put Brigit’s life in jeopardy and nearly kill a man. That assault is all on Frank Spence. He babbled about Karl telling him to do ‘whatever it takes,’ to stop him, and he was just following orders. A true criminal psychopath to use that argument as a defense in this situation, but that’s what he’s doing. They intended to pin the abduction on Ben Davies.”
“For ten thousand dollars?” I must have had an incredulous expression on my face.
“I’ve seen cases of murder and mayhem where there was less money than that involved.”
“It's a shame Ben Davies has paid such a high price for the Fantasyland nightmare in Karl’s head. How could they believe they’d get away with that?”
“Lame, huh? It's not easy to pin an abduction on a half-dead delivery guy. The good news is that Ben Davies is going to make it. They’re still evaluating how much damage that beating’s done to him, but he’s conscious and talking. Ben had seen Frank hanging about before yesterday, and even saw him talking with the puppet master. Eventually, Ben would have helped us figure out who had assaulted him.”
“Frank must have planned to take that money and run. Although he wouldn’t have gotten far on ten thousand dollars.”
“If Karl’s endgame was a murder-suicide, I’m sure he didn’t much care what happened. Frank may have thought Karl had more money and had decided to clean him out after he was dead,” Jack said, lowering his voice to a whisper once again.
I shuddered at the thought of such depravity and stole a glance at Brigit and Todd wrapped in each other’s arms. I could hear Todd asking to ride along to the hospital in the ambulance. After some discussion with the EMTs, he and Brigit had finally conceded that she should get checked out more thoroughly at the hospital, given her pregnancy.
“Thanks for finding my wife,” Todd said as they rolled Brigit out of there.
“Yes, thanks so much,” Brigit echoed him.
“We’re glad you’re okay, Brigit. Congratulations about the baby, too,” I said.
“It’s a good day, Georgie. Let’s have lunch. We have a wedding to plan.”
~~~~~
15 Our Merry Christmas Wedding
There have been only a few times in my life when it has all seemed to make sense. On my wedding day, I had one of those rare moments of clarity. It was as if I heard gears turning or puzzle pieces snapping into place on my way to the church. So many circumstances had aligned to make this day happen.
When I stood in the back at the church, it happened again. I caught a glimpse of Jack, waiting at the altar. That sight stirred me somewhere deep inside. It wasn’t just his handsome face and a beaming smile, although that triggered a bout of now familiar sensations. Snap! Crackle! Pop! More than that, it was the sense of being in the right place at the right time. I once read somewhere about a kind of “positive paranoia”—a feeling that forces in the cosmos are plotting behind your back—for you! Call it positive paranoia or providence. I felt it.
Since I met Jack, I had puzzled about the fact that not all the events leading up to our meeting had been good ones. If not for a murder at Catmmando Mountain, I never would have met the man I was about to marry. That same surprising event that brought me a second chance at love took Max’s daughter from him. Max had an angel on his shoulder as he walked beside me, his arm linked in mine. He showed no signs of the toll her murder, or the events on All Hallows’ Eve, had taken. Despite the latest bout of turmoil at Marvelous Marley World, Max and Nelson had that movie back on track, too.
“Karl Dorchester wasn’t my first choice,” Max had revealed a few days after Karl's arrest, confirming that part of the news story Carol had uncovered earlier. “As fortune would have it, my favorite puppet master is available now. I never understand how good things can come from terrible events. I don’t even try to figure it out any longer. I just roll with it.”
Max hadn't told me anything I didn’t already know on some deeper level. In that limo ride to the church, I had also marveled about how soon after meeting Jack, we had succeeded in resolving a sad, decades-old mystery from my youth. I still would have preferred a life unscarred by those brutal events finally revealed to me as they had occurred so long ago. Danny Farrell, whether we were still together or not, should not have ended up as he did.
Could I have handled the truth if I had learned what had happened to my first love earlier in my life? Maybe. Would it have changed the course of my life? Most likely. How sad it would have been to have taken another path if it had led anywhere else than to Jack.
My Jack, sweet, funny, patient and only a short distance from me at the end of an aisle that stretched back in time and history for each of us. Our paths, converging, and leading where? Who knew? That was a question no one who takes the leap of faith into a lover’s arms can ever answer in advance.
I moved slowly, but confidently down the beautiful red carpet rol
led out for our wedding two days after Christmas. Max had taken it upon himself to renovate the sanctuary—all of it, even though our wedding guests only occupied the center section of the church laid out in the round. I didn’t hear about that until later, but that evening, there was a glow about the place.
Everything about St. Theresa’s evoked the season. The fragrance of pine filled the air. Twinkle lights had been strung along with pine boughs just below the clerestory windows. Candles sparkled. A choir sang Christmas carols as the guests assembled. I glided down the aisle to my favorite carol—Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming. In another remarkable tribute to kismet, that Christmas hymn was sung by Brigit. Her voice filled the space in a sweet incantation of love captured by an unknown composer who had penned the melody and lyrics long before any of us existed.
I held back tears of joy as I took my place at the altar having counted the miracles in my life along the way. Many were reflected in the smiling faces of friends and family. Jack’s daughter, Beth, one of my bridesmaids, beamed a smile that was so much like her father’s. I returned that smile to a beautiful young woman who had already made it clear she intended to be my daughter now, too.
Beth stood next to Meredith, my best friend’s daughter, who had narrowly escaped a harrowing end to her young life in the summer. She was a living, breathing miracle, standing beside her mother, Jennifer, my Matron of Honor. Despite all the challenges she had faced in her life, Jennifer had found time for me, and had become more a sister than a friend. A blessing to add to those lavished on me by my older brothers who had gone out of their way to welcome Jack to the family. My sense of good fortune grew as Carol, who had become my sidekick on and off the job, nodded encouragingly. She gave me a thumbs-up as she clasped her bouquet standing in line with the other bridesmaids.
When Max sat down next to Imogene after walking me down the aisle, she had smiled shyly. Imogene appeared to be as good as new in a lovely dark ruby red suit I’m quite sure she had designed for this occasion. How wonderful to have a friendship as long-lasting as theirs. A miracle, to be sure.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Brigit slip into a pew next to Todd once she had finished that lovely carol. She sat on the bride’s side, adding to the line-up of new friends from the cast and crew of The Lonely Swan Prince. Another testament to the goodness that can arise from even the worst situations. Her safe return counted as one of the newest miracles I had been privileged to witness.
The enchantment of the season hung about our Christmas wedding. Each person seated in those pews at the church or at a table in the Gathering Room at the New Arcadia Visitor Center, represented Christmases, past, present or future. Many of Jack’s family, friends, and colleagues were still all wrapped up, like the gifts they brought us. How interesting it would be to discover each one of them.
There was still so much to learn about Jack, too. If I had ever seen a happier man, I don’t know where or when. We had trouble keeping our eyes off each other. Jack held me in his gaze as we exchanged our vows at the church. He did the same when we spoke our first intimate words to each other as husband and wife, riding in the back of the limo to our wedding reception. Again, as we danced to our favorite jazz tunes surrounded by the spectacle Max had created for us. A dazzling display of Christmas decorations had been set up in the Gathering Room against a backdrop of soaring ceilings and a night sky exposed through a glass roof.
After dinner, toasts, and more dancing, I leaned against Jack. He held me tight, making my heart pound as we barely moved on the dance floor.
“Are you happy, Georgie Shaw?”
“Happier than I’ve ever been, Jack Wheeler.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to have you all to myself out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for ten days. What a romantic adventure to cruise the South Sea Islands on another of Max’s extraordinary creations. You cannot possibly get away from me on a cruise ship.”
“I don’t plan to go anywhere ever again, my love. We don’t even have to leave our cabin if you don’t want to.” Jack’s grip tightened.
“Promise?” he whispered in my ear.
“Promise. We won’t have much room to wander once we get to Maui, either. It’s a small island. Another ten days of wedded bliss without the call of duty shouting at either of us. It’s almost impossible to believe, isn’t it?”
“Nothing’s impossible with you in my life.” Jack kissed me, and a cheer went up from the crowd.
I thought the hoots and hollers were about that kiss until I heard a familiar bellow. The crowd parted around us. Into that circle walked the red-headed cat wrangler from Max’s studio. He wore a tux, sparkly running shoes, and held two leashes. At the end of each was a Siamese cat. Miles and Ella had joined the party in little wedding outfits of their own. They strained at those leashes, rushing to greet us with more bellows and chatter. The room burst into applause and laughter, as Jack and I scooped up our adorable furry companions.
“What a wonderful surprise,” I said. “Thank you so much.” I stepped forward and placed a kiss on that young man’s cheek. He blushed deeply, his face turning almost as red as the hair on the top of his head.
“Er, uh, it was Mara’s idea. Max thought it was a good one. I’m pretty sure Max has another surprise for you.”
“Thanks, Red,” Max said as he stepped into that circle. “Red,” if that was indeed his name, scooted back into the crowd and stood next to Mara. She gave me a small wave.
“This will be quick, Georgie. Imogene tells me I sometimes enjoy the sound of my own voice too much.”
“Sometimes?” the petite Imogene asked. Laughter spread around us.
“Now you know why she’s one of my most trusted friends. Her wit is as sharp as those scissors she wields. Georgie and Jack, no one deserves to live happily ever after any more than you two. This gesture is a small one, but you know how much we value cats at the Cat Factory. I want you to take your feline friends with you on your travels. The MMW Fantasy of the Sea has issued tickets for Miles Shaw and Ella Wheeler to accompany you. Bon voyage, Ella and Miles.”
Shouts and applause filled the room. Miles boomed, and that drew another burst of applause. I pulled Max close and thanked him. Jack was apparently moved by Mad Max’s lovely gesture and wrapped his arms around him.
What a beautiful moment in a perfect evening. We heard later that the spirited celebration continued well into the night. Jack and I stole away in a limo that took us to a hotel where we would spend the night before leaving on our honeymoon trip. When we arrived at that hotel, as a couple, with our cats, I felt as though our fairytale had only just begun. Our happily ever after would last a lifetime and beyond.
--THE END—
Thanks for reading A Merry Christmas Wedding Mystery, Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #4
I hope you enjoyed the mystery! Please, please, please leave a review on Amazon & Goodreads. Thanks a bunch. Don’t miss the recipes. Some of Georgie’s favorite recipes from the story are included below. YUM!
I also hope you’ve read Georgie Shaw’s other cozy mysteries Murder at Catmmando Mountain http://smarturl.it/georgie1, Love Notes in the Key of Sea http://mybook.to/lovenotes, and All Hallows’ Eve Heist http://mybook.to/halloeve.
A new Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery will be out in the new year! Until then, why not try a most excellent cozy mystery adventure with honeymoon sleuths, Kim and Brien, in Corsario Cove? Here’s chapter one from Cowabunga Christmas, Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #1. Enjoy!
Cowabunga Christmas! Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #1
Cowabunga Christmas Excerpt: 1 SURF’S UP
The sound of pounding surf woke me at the crack of dawn. Why not? We had left the doors to the veranda open. We felt safe in our suite up on the sixth floor and the sound of the waves was pleasant last night. That wasn’t all that was pleasant, I thought as I slipped out of the oversized bed. That bed was a dream, decked out in soft, silky sheets and a plush comforter in creamy colors mirroring the sea, sand and sun. I grabb
ed a waffle weave spa robe I had tossed casually on a chair near the bed when we returned from a midnight dip in the hotel pool.
The gated area for club members had been locked at 10:00 p.m., but no matter. Brien climbed over the fence and then opened the gate from the inside, bowing gallantly as I entered carrying champagne and crystal flutes. The gesture was sweet—a side of Brien that made it almost impossible not to love the guy. Of course, he had just violated several resort rules and probably a law or two. He ought to know, given he’s licensed in security and has his ‘guard card’ as the State of California calls it.
As I slipped the robe on, I padded in my bare feet out onto the lavish balcony that spanned the length of our two-room suite. The sunrise was glorious; molten colors spilling over the rolling waves. The air was cool, as it usually is this time of year on California’s Central Coast. I felt warmth creep over me as I tightened the belt on the robe and sank down on a comfy chaise.
My robe had not been tossed casually, but frantically as Brien and I lunged at each other the moment we returned to our room after sneaking that swim. We were giggling and out of breath when we burst into our suite and shut the door behind us. Our leisurely moonlit soak had come to an abrupt ending as we ran for it before hotel security could catch us. The entire evening had been like that—bouncing wildly between deliriously romantic and breathlessly sexy; moonlight and surf vying to set the mood.
Not that unusual, I suppose, for a honeymoon. I looked at the rings on my left hand, almost in disbelief. What had I—what had we—done? Me, Kim Reed a married woman—Kim Reed-Williams if I went along with Brien’s idea to add the hyphen. A little over a year ago, if asked, I would have described myself as a down-and-out loner. Worse, I had been swimming for my life in murky, shark-infested waters. That all changed when murder and mayhem put the celebrated music producer I worked for in prison. When he had found me on the street years before, I was grateful—that was before I knew what it meant to be ‘discovered’ by the Mr. P.
A Merry Christmas Wedding Mystery, Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery #4 (Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series) Page 12
