by Adrianne Lee
I decided Ash was right. I started to follow her toward Meg, but a blaze of color stepped into my path. Zelda had a wild glint in her eyes. I figured I was about to get an earful for not keeping Tanya away from Big Finn. Instead of flying at me like an irate parakeet, however, she caught my arm and dragged me to one side. She spoke in a voice just above a whisper. “Oh my god, Daryl Anne, there’s a problem at the wedding site. I don’t want to upset Meg or Peter. Will you come with me, please?”
“What sort of a problem?” And why was this my concern? She was the expert at setting up the event. I was just a lowly maid of honor.
“I’m not sure.” If she truly were the little bird she appeared to be at that moment, her wings would be fluttering, her feathers puffed. She chirped, “Don’t react, but the police were called.”
Don’t react? How did I not react to that? I gasped. “The police?”
My pulse tripped, and she looked ready to pass out. “Yes. That suggests it’s really bad. Right?”
“Maybe,” I said noncommittally, but I feared it might. I let her drag me out to the parking lot.
She handed me a ring of keys. “Could you drive? I’m too rattled.”
Like I was any calmer?
* * *
Maybe it was the two police cars, lights flashing in the center of the Tie the Knot parking lot that brought back the queasiness in my empty stomach. Why the show of authority? Okay, two police cars might not seem like such a big deal where you live, but in this small town, it meant something more serious than Mrs. Dunworthy’s cat getting stuck in a tree. More serious than the Bennett brothers whacking mailboxes. As serious as… as… my wanting to strangle Meg’s mom.
Zelda knew it too. “Jeez, you’d think they’d found a dead body.”
“What?” I gasped. Oh, God, they hadn’t, had they?
Zelda pulled at her hair until it looked like raffia ribbons. “I can’t hold a wedding with crime scene tape plastered everywhere.”
The incongruity of the remark had me blinking. Sure. Forget someone might have been murdered… just focus on pulling off the wedding. As if Meg and Peter would want to exchange vows where someone had been slain. “Let’s not jump to conclusions. No one said anything about homicide. Did they?”
She didn’t answer. Just tugged on her hair again. “What if this brings the press? Peter will have a cow.” She groaned and flopped forward, a face plant into her hands.
I glanced around. “There’s no press here now. Not even Kramer.” Thank God. “Maybe we can ask the sheriff to keep whatever has occurred under wraps until after the ceremony.”
Zelda shot me a get-real glare. I swallowed hard. I’d lost my mind for a second there. Gossip sped through this town like electricity through a wire. Zing. Before the ten o’clock news started, word would have spread to every household. Her fingers snatched at her hair again. “I wanted everything to be perfect for Meg.”
I caught her wrist, halting the manic compulsion. “Meg might prefer that her wedding planner not end up bald.”
She blanched. “I’m representing Peter and Meg. Appearance is as important as remaining cool and dealing with whatever hiccups occur.” She lowered the passenger visor, made a little squawk at the image reflected in the tiny mirror, and finger-combed her hair until it lost the mad-scientist aspect. She reapplied lip gloss. Then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
We exited Zelda’s Prius. Daylight savings time. Although evening was at least an hour away, the sky was still blue and sunny without the usual breeze that could be part of early June weather. The serenity I’d felt in this setting earlier today, however, seemed nothing but a dream. I sensed instead an air of desecration. A faint scent. A vibration. Tangible, yet indefinable. Perhaps it was only my mood given the past couple of hours, given the unsettling claims Tanya had made.
Troy and an older man that I recognized as Sheriff Gooden were interviewing the gate guard. I overheard a few snatches of conversation as we strode toward them. Nothing said seemed to have anything to do with our reason for being there. Maybe whatever had happened wasn’t as bad as I’d been imagining.
“Ah, Ms. Blessing, Ms. Love,” the sheriff said. “Glad you could make it so promptly.”
I felt Troy’s gaze drilling into me. No surprise. He was probably still pissed about our exchange earlier.
Zelda didn’t even glance at the younger man. She addressed his superior, all signs of the hysteria she’d displayed in the car gone. Or hidden. “Sheriff, what’s happened?”
“Well, ma’am, we’re just trying to figure out how this could have happened.”
“I didn’t ask how. I asked what.”
My nerves twitched. But Zelda began tapping her foot, impatience wafting off her like stinky perfume.
“It’s a real shame, that’s what it is,” the gate guard said, not looking her in the eye, his gaze falling to the pavement. “A real shame.”
His avoidance tactics increased my anxiety. But surely it wasn’t that someone had been injured or killed. Otherwise the county police or the coroner would have arrived before us. At the least, an ambulance. I glanced from the sheriff to Troy. “Do you suppose one of you gentlemen might let us know why we’re here?”
Troy scratched his neck. “Vandalism.”
I frowned. “Like what? Graffiti on the church walls?”
“No, ma’am,” the sheriff said without elaborating.
But I knew I’d asked the wrong question the second I asked it. The sheriff wouldn’t have involved Zelda if that were something to do with either the small or large church. This had to do with Meg’s wedding. I recalled the billowing tent being erected earlier, and my stomach did a slow roll. “Exactly what was vandalized?”
I again directed my question at Troy, having given up on getting a straight answer from the sheriff or the gate guard. Meg’s former beau didn’t look upset, but more like he was holding back a grin. An ugly suspicion sneaked through me. Had Troy been the vandal?
He said, “The chairs set up for the Reilly-Wolfe nuptials were upended. Several were smashed.”
I clutched my middle as if the band of my arms could keep me from getting ill again, because a few damaged chairs were hardly worthy of the police being called out. “And…?”
“The anchor ties on the tent were cut, the tent itself slashed to ribbons.”
“And all that blood,” the gate guard said sounding as though he, too, might be ill.
My knees wobbled.
Zelda gasped. “Blood?”
Somehow I managed to ask, “Human blood?”
Troy shrugged. “Won’t know until we run tests.”
The sheriff stepped in. Finally. “Now ladies, there’s no cause for you to be this upset. I’m sure a couple of phone calls, Ms. Love, and you can get this all fixed up again before the wedding tomorrow.”
“A couple of phone calls? At this time of night? Everything’s closed. Tomorrow’s Sunday. No one will be in any office until Monday morning. Too late. Too late.” Zelda’s skin had turned a color six shades lighter than her Crayola-yellow hair. She staggered on her feet, looking ready for another face plant, this one into the tarmac of the parking lot.
The sheriff caught her by the upper arms. “Ms. Love, are you all right? You don’t look so good.”
That seemed to bring her around. Zelda muttered something that sounded like, “Never let them see you sweat.” She shook her head a couple of times and inhaled deeply. Then she pulled loose of the sheriff’s hold and straightened her dress. “Show me. Now.”
The guard led the way. Zelda caught hold of me and pulled me along. The two cops had trouble keeping up. When we arrived, the sight was worse even than I’d pictured. Zelda made a small animal sound. Her hand flew to her chest as she took in the mess, her expression that of an insurance adjuster itemizing the damage. Her cheeks puffed in and out, then she spun toward the guard and splayed her hands in exasperation. “How could you have allowed someone in who would do this?”
�
��We think he came on the waterside, ma’am,” the sheriff said, a bit breathless from the fast pace Zelda had set arriving at the crime scene.
“But why?” She seemed to be asking the question of the universe rather than anyone present.
Nonetheless, the guard answered, “Because the only folks I allowed in were the setup crew you hired, the wedding party, and you, Ms. Love.”
“I think she wants to know why someone did this, not why we think they came by boat,” Troy said. He stared at me when he spoke, as if challenging me to accuse him. Instead of stilling my suspicions of him, that raised them.
It also sent a shiver through me. Someone had been trying to ruin Meg’s wedding as early as yesterday. No one had as much motive as Troy.
The sheriff said, “There’s no accounting for the reasons criminals do stuff like this.”
“Well, I have to get this fixed. Immediately.” Zelda began digging in her purse for a cell phone, and that’s when I recalled we’d left the restaurant without retrieving our phones. “Oh, no. I don’t have my phone.”
Zelda gazed at me as if I had an answer. “I can go back for your phone. Or have someone bring it.”
“No. I don’t want anyone else to know about this until I can make it right. Oh God, how am I going to find replacements this time of night?”
I had an idea. I hit Troy up for his phone and dialed, hoping Seth had retrieved his phone by now. “Hey, where’d you go?”
I avoided his question and instead asked one of my own, “Are you still at the restaurant?”
“Just about to leave. Why?”
“Could you go back inside and get my phone and Zelda’s and bring them to the wedding site right now. Without telling anyone where you’re going?”
“Sounds mysterious. What’s up?”
“I’ll explain when you get here. Thanks, Seth.” I rang off.
“You’ll have your phone in a couple of minutes, Zelda.”
She gave me a wobbly but grateful smile. “Thank God the flowers hadn’t been delivered.”
The Tie the Knot events director arrived. Melvin Bates, the epitome of efficiency from ready-for-action work boots to a no-nonsense attitude, was a lean, black man with a sleek haircut and a charming manner that seemed like a ray of sunlight through a storm cloud. Obviously, this wasn’t Melvin’s first pre-wedding fiasco. Even better, he came prepared with possible solutions.
After offering several heartfelt apologizes, he told Zelda, “I’m thinking we could relocate the ceremony to the gazebo. It’s right next to the water and very lovely this time of year.”
“Oh, I just don’t know. Mr. Wolfe was very insistent on a tent.” Zelda’s hand inched close to her hair. I shook my head at her in warning. She stayed her hand.
Melvin said, “You’d still be able to use all of your other decorations, and it will take no time to set up tomorrow. Which, of course, our staff will do for you. And since the wedding party is small, I believe we might also have enough on-site chairs to accommodate your needs.”
“Well… I suppose that could be an option. I guess you’d better show me.” The color began returning to Zelda’s cheeks as she grasped on to the hope being offered by the events director. The two went off to check out the gazebo and the chairs in the stockroom.
Troy and I ended up alone. After a silent, uncomfortable few moments, I said, “I should probably go back to the parking lot to wait for Seth.”
As I turned away, he said, “You think I did this, don’t you?”
I stiffened, but didn’t answer. I glanced back at him.
Troy’s eyes narrowed. “We used to be friends, Daryl Anne.”
I knew I should just walk away, let this go, but my last nerve had been stomped on. I blew out an exasperated breath. “That was before you broke my best friend’s heart, before you crashed her bachelorette party acting like you were the groom, before you promised to ruin her wedding.”
He arched an eyebrow, holding his hands up as though surrendering. But a contrite grin tamped my anger, as did his next words, “Okay. Point taken. But I’ve sworn to enforce the law, not break it. I wouldn’t do this.”
No. He wouldn’t. He’d take the bull by the horns. Go after Meg in person. Try to sweep her off her feet. Not destroy property that belonged to innocent second parties. I relented. “I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.” He fell into step beside me, and we walked toward the parking lot.
“Now, who do you think would do something like this?”
I shrugged. I’d thought it was one of the other wedding party, but no one had slipped out of the dinner that I was aware of. Then again, could I be sure? I had been in the bathroom a long time. “I don’t know.”
“Who do you think sent those pictures of Meg and me, er, dancing?”
“No idea.” I suspected Tanya had sent them, and that was before I knew her motive. But after learning that she and Peter had a history, she’d leaped right to the top of my suspect list. Then again, what if Kramer had lied? What if he just wanted to hurt Tanya for ignoring him? I decided not to tell Troy anything that might get him riled up on Meg’s behalf. I looked around at the mess again and felt a finger of ice along my spine. “Obviously someone, besides you, doesn’t want this wedding to come off.”
“What about that cameraman? He didn’t seem too happy about being left out of the party last night.”
“Kramer?” I recalled how pissed off he was earlier this evening and considered whether that indicated a vindictive nature. Even if it did, what motive would he have to keep Peter and Meg from marrying? “Wouldn’t he take his anger out on Tanya, not Meg and Peter?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“And since he wasn’t there last night, he wouldn’t have been able to get his hands on Meg’s phone to send the photos to anyone.”
“That’s true.” He sounded as disappointed as I felt. “Though I have to admit, I’d prefer the perp was a stranger.”
And not someone we know and consider friend or family. I nodded in total agreement. “Is it ever that neat?”
“Not usually.”
Zelda caught up with us, resolution in her step. A smile had smoothed away the frown lines. “Good news, guys. The ceremony won’t be as private as Peter insisted upon, but given the circumstances, it will do. Nicely, in fact. As soon as Seth arrives with my phone, I’ll be able to call the florist and the workers I have scheduled tomorrow to explain the slight alteration in our plans. Oh, Troy, Sheriff Gooden wants you to help him gather the tent to take in for evidence.”
“Will you be checking the damaged chairs for fingerprints?” Zelda asked.
Troy shook his head. “We aren’t likely to find any viable prints since none of the workers were wearing gloves today.”
“So I suppose they’ll just get away with it.” Zelda huffed. “Unless there’s surveillance video somewhere on the grounds. Is there, Troy?”
“There is, but the cameras were damaged in that bad storm we had last month and haven’t been replaced yet.”
“Don’t tell me, Mr. Knott can’t afford a new one? That man has to have more money than God.”
I could see her working herself up again. I touched her arm gently. “Let’s concentrate on what you can do, Zelda, and not on what you can’t do anything about.”
“I want whoever did this prosecuted.”
“We all do. But it probably isn’t going to happen,” I said. “And you aren’t in charge of that. Why not let Troy and the sheriff do their jobs while you do yours?”
Her sigh mimicked a tire losing air. “I suppose you’re right. Oh look, here’s Seth now.”
My breath snagged, a thrill I didn’t like sweeping the length of me. I thought I’d moved beyond my old feelings for Seth, that the crush was a teenage thing, but somehow it seemed to be growing stronger. You’re going back to Los Angeles on Monday. Get a grip. I really needed to find a boyfriend. In L.A. This celibate thing was not working for me.
“Do you have my phone?”
Zelda said, beelining for Seth. He held up two phones. She snatched hers with a joyful cry. “Thank you, thank you. I really have to get home and start making calls. Seth would you mind driving Daryl Anne?”
“Not at all,” he said, handing over my cell phone. Our fingers brushed, and a warm zing swept up my arm and straight into my heart. Darn it.
“Now where did I put my keys?” Zelda began digging in her sweater and then her purse. A second later her gaze cut to me. “I believe you have my car keys, Daryl Anne.”
“Oh, of course.” I reached into the pocket of my dress, and as my fingers found the keys, they also encountered the envelope I’d forgotten putting there earlier in the evening. The one Kramer had given me at the dinner. I hadn’t opened it or read it. I lifted it out now. My name was lettered as if a child had printed it.
Zelda took her keys and took off. “See you both tomorrow.”
“See you.” I felt Seth’s curious gaze and met his intense stare.
“So what went on? Why are the cops here?”
I sighed. As we walked to his car, I brought him up to speed.
“First those incriminating photos and now this…?”
I tapped the unopened envelope against my palm absently.
Seth eyed the envelope curiously. “What’s that?”
I shrugged. “Someone left it for me at the dinner tonight. With everything else going on I completely forgot about it.”
I tore it open. The cover of the card had a bride and groom holding champagne glasses, toasting each other. I frowned. It wasn’t a thank-you note. More like a card for a shower gift. Inside was more hand-lettered printing. My skin broke out in goose bumps.
If you don’t stop this wedding, I will.
CHAPTER TEN
The day of the wedding
Happy is the bride the sun shines on…
The morning dawned with clear skies, breathless air, and a kiss of warmth. As perfect as a day in late July. I doubted Meg would be happy though when she found out Troy was attending the ceremony. In his official capacity.
