Seams of Destruction

by Alene Anderson

  “Mitch has told Matt from the very beginning he believed you were innocent.”

  “Did he really?”

  Amanda nodded her head as she made a turn into public parking a couple of blocks from the Pearl Street Mall.

  They walked the two blocks to Bare Threads. Jade was immediately taken by the dresses that were hanging on the racks. Before she could start sorting through them, a beautiful woman with long auburn hair greeted them.

  “Amanda, I’m so glad you had time to come down to the Mall. I know how busy you must be with the rehearsal dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow.”

  “Thanks to my mother, everything is ready to go and so I have some free time this afternoon.”

  “Jade, what a pleasure to meet you,” Charlie turned to Jade. “I’ve seen you in some of the fashion magazines advertising Sorrento’s House of Fashion.”

  Mitch and Matt found a tuxedo that fit Mitch without any alterations.

  “That’s amazing,” the clerk who wrote up the rental agreement said. “Considering how tall you are.”

  “I ordered mine through Charlie,” Matt told Mitch. “Amanda wanted me to buy one, rather than rent, because she and her parents often attend formal activities at the University.”

  The tuxedo was zipped into a bag and the two brothers walked out of the store.

  “Let me take you by the office I’ll be renting for my consulting business,” Matt suggested. “It’s occupied right now so we can’t go in, but we can drive by it.”

  “Have you found a house yet?”

  “We haven’t started looking. We’ve been too busy. But I’ve an offer on mine so we’re going to live in Amanda’s house until we find something. But that’s going to have to wait until after the honeymoon.”

  “You haven’t told me where you’re going.”

  “Can you believe Amanda’s parents bought us tickets to Paris, France, for a wedding gift? We’re going to be gone two weeks, so we’ll have plenty of time for sight-seeing. We both want to spend some time in the wine country.”

  “I’m sure you’ll love it. I can’t begin to tell you how much I enjoyed Italy.”

  “What’s happening on Jade’s murder indictment?”

  “I studied over the autopsy report and made a list of reasons why she couldn’t possibly have been guilty, and the Chief of Police has dropped the charges. Unfortunately, he absolutely forbid me to tell her. He feels that’s the responsibility of her attorney. He hasn’t been in touch with her yet, so she doesn’t know.”

  “Damn. Why don’t you just go ahead and tell her?”

  “I don’t think it would be a good idea since I’ve been ordered not to.”

  Mitch knew his brother would be disappointed in him if he knew what he had done with Jade’s cell phone.

  Chapter 12

  “I love to shop,” Jade told Charlie. “Probably a good thing since I’m in the fashion industry. You have some rather unique styles here. Maybe I’ll wear the dress I bought in LA tonight for the rehearsal dinner and purchase one from you to wear to the wedding ceremony on Saturday.”

  “Now that I’ve met you, would you let me pick out some styles I think would look absolutely ravishing on you?”

  “I would like that.”

  “Charlie,” Amanda said, “I’ve thought of new advertising for Bare Threads.”

  “What would that be?” Charlie asked, biting her lip in concentration as she sorted through dresses on one of the racks.

  “If Jade purchases a dress today, if she didn’t mind, you could advertise your store as being one where the model, Jade, from Sorrento’s House of Fashion shops.”

  “Amanda, I’m surprised at you,” Charlie said. “I wouldn’t want to impose on her friendship like that.”

  “Better yet. Maybe we could even have the photographer who is taking pictures at the wedding, take one of her and you could have an ad with her picture on it run in the Boulder Camera and the Denver Post.”

  “Don’t pay any attention to her,” Charlie warned Jade.

  “Actually, I think it’s a wonderful idea,” Jade said. “We should do it while I’m still at Sorrento’s.”

  “What do you mean, ‘still at Sorrento’s’?” Amanda asked. “Are you planning to quit?”

  “I am. I’ve already signed up with an agent. I think I’m going to freelance instead of working for just one fashion house.”

  “Why are you going to do that? You’ve been with Sorrento’s for several years, haven’t you?” Charlie asked.

  “After finding Reannan’s body in the warehouse, I can hardly stand to go into that building. If you only knew how horrifying it was.”

  “I can just imagine,” Amanda said sympathetically.

  “Do you have a contract with Sorrento’s?” Charlie asked as she pulled a dress off the rack.

  “I do have, but luckily, it’s coming up for renewal in a few days, so I won’t have any trouble getting out of it.”

  “What do you think of this dress?” Charlie asked, holding up one.

  “I love it,” Jade exclaimed as she examined the elegant design.

  “Let me show you to the dressing room. You try it on while I look for something else. The nice thing about the company where I get most of my dresses is they don’t make a large quantity of the same styles. They only sell in small shops like mine. You’re not going to see yourself coming and going.”

  Jade went into the dressing room and slipped out of her top and slacks. Pulling the dress over her head, she smoothed it down over her hips. It was a perfect fit and was the exact color of her eyes. The top was scoop necked with ten layered folds swooping from both the neck line and under the arms down to the tightly fitted waist. Tiny matching green beads were sewn on the edge of each fold. The skirt came slightly below her knees and flared out in a swirl of fabric as she turned this way and that in front of the mirror.

  Stepping out of the dressing room, Jade walked over to Charlie and Amanda.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  “You look absolutely gorgeous, but it might look better if you took your hair out of that ponytail,” Charlie smiled.

  Jade reached up and pulled the band off her hair, letting it fall down around her shoulders.

  “That’s definitely better,” Amanda said as Charlie walked to the front of the store to greet a new customer.

  “I probably shouldn’t wear my hair in a ponytail. But I get tired of looking glamorous all the time. When Mitch and I were in Italy, he couldn’t believe how sloppy the models were when they came in for the fashion show. He said he didn’t even recognize them after they were dressed and had their makeup and hair done.”

  “I know. I’ve seen before and after pictures of actresses and models and it’s pretty unbelievable.”

  “I think I’m going to buy this dress. I’ll wear it on Saturday.”

  “Before you make your final decision, I think Charlie picked out a couple more she wants you to try on.”

  “I’ll go back in the fitting room and take this off. If you know which dresses they are, maybe I could take them with me.”

  Amanda walked over to a rack where two dresses hung beside the cash register. She handed them to Jade. One was cream color which matched the highlights in her hair and the other one was red.

  “The thing I like about the green one is that I have a lot of accessories in that color. However, maybe I should get something different and buy new accessories. I don’t have a thing in red. It’s not a color I thought would look good on me.” She make a rueful face. “Mitch is going to kill me if I end up with a lot of packages to take back to LA on the plane.”

  “You can always borrow a suitcase from me,” Amanda said.

  “Won’t you need it for your honeymoon?”
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  “I have several.”

  “By the way, where are you going?”

  “My parents bought us two tickets to Paris, France, for a wedding gift.”

  “How exciting. You’ll love Paris. A couple of years ago I attended a fashion show there. I don’t know which country I like better. France or Italy.”

  “This will be my first time in France and I’ve never been to Italy, so I have nothing to compare,” Amanda smiled.

  “Let me try these dresses on and you can help me decide which one to take. On second thought, if you’re going to loan me a suitcase, if I like them, I’ll take all three.”

  They smiled at each other like co-conspirators and Jade headed toward the fitting room.

  After Jade had purchased the three dresses, Amanda took her to her store, Creations For You. She was amazed at all the artists who had their work displayed in the store. She walked up and down the aisles inspecting each space which represented a different artist.

  She picked out some jewelry to go with the red and cream colored dresses she had bought at Charlie’s store.

  “We should probably be getting home,” Amanda said, as she ran Jade’s credit card. “We don’t want to be late for the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Now that I have the three dresses I bought at Charlie’s store and the one I brought with me from LA, I’m going to have a hard time deciding which one to wear tonight.”

  “Why don’t you wear the red one tonight and the green one to the wedding? I loved the way the red one looked on you. It will be perfect for the rehearsal dinner.”

  “Is there a shoe store nearby? I need to buy a pair of shoes to go with it.”

  “Right up the street. They have a great selection,” Amanda said.

  Mitch and Matt were sitting in the living room talking when Jade and Amanda arrived at Amanda’s house.

  “What on earth have you two been up to?” Matt asked.

  “They’re all for Jade,” Amanda smiled. “Now, don’t get excited, Mitch,” she added as she saw he was about to say something. “I’m going to loan her a suitcase, so you won’t have to get on the plane with all these bags.”

  “Well, that’s a relief.”

  “Oh, Mitch, I’ve had such a wonderful afternoon with Amanda and Charlie. I wish you could have seen Amanda’s store. It is incredible. You would never believe the talented artists in this area.”

  “I’m afraid I’ll have to save that for another time,” Mitch said, as he smiled at Jade’s excitement.

  “Let’s take these bags into my bedroom. I need to hang up these dresses so they don’t wrinkle.”

  “Aren’t you going to show us what you bought,” Mitch asked. “Maybe even model them for us.”

  “You’ll see two of them soon enough,” Jade said. “I’m going to wear one to the rehearsal dinner and one to the wedding.”

  “What about the dress you bought in LA?”

  “I’ll have to save it for another time.”

  “My feelings are hurt,” Mitch frowned in mock dismay. “That was the one I picked out.”

  “Sorry. I’m sure you’ll agree when you see the ones I bought from Charlie’s store.”

  The two women started out of the room when Jade turned around and said, “Oh, Mitch, Amanda had the most wonderful idea this afternoon.”

  “What would that be?”

  “She’s going to have her photographer take a picture of me and use it as an ad for Charlie’s store to say I shop there. She will run it in the newspaper here in Boulder and in Denver.”

  “That’s a great idea,” he said. “I’m sure that will bring in some new business for her.”

  “Let’s hang these dresses up and then we had better think about getting ready for the rehearsal dinner,” Amanda said.

  “I have an idea,” Jade said as they finished hanging up the dresses and laying her other purchases out on the bed.

  “What is that?”

  “Why don’t you call your photographer and see if he could meet us at the restaurant tonight. I understand it’s in the Foothills. We could do it outside with the evergreen trees in the background. It would be a great setting for the red dress. It’s such a striking color.”

  “What a great idea. I’ll call him right now.”

  Amanda left the room and Jade selected the earrings and a bracelet she had decided to wear with the red dress. The neckline was off the shoulders with two wide panels of fabric serving as the collar. She didn’t want to detract from the lines of the dress by wearing a necklace.

  “He can do it,” Amanda said as she came back into the room. “While he’s there, I’m going to have him take a few pictures of the rehearsal dinner. With all the other things I had to do, I never even thought of it.”

  “This is going to be so fun,” Jade said, picking up the red shoes they had bought that afternoon after leaving Amanda’s store.

  The rehearsal was to be held at the Flagstaff House, which Amanda had told Mitch and Jade was known for its view and its gourmet food. The four of them arrived thirty minutes before the other guests were expected so the photographer could take a few shots of Jade outside while there was still sufficient light.

  It was a beautiful building built back into the mountain. There were lots of windows around the sides and front, which allowed for views out over the city of Boulder, as well as views of the nearby forest where deer came to graze.

  Mitch was proud of Jade as they watched her pose for the photographer. She was incredibly beautiful.

  Not only beautiful, but kind.

  He was elated every time he thought of the charges being dropped against her, but he always felt a twinge of guilt about hiding her cellphone. He consoled himself with the thought that if he hadn’t, she might not be there that evening.

  He wanted to propose to her when they arrived back in LA. He hoped she would accept. He knew her contract would be up with Sorrento’s in a few more days and she had already signed with an agent. When he was visiting with his brother that afternoon, Matt had offered to take him into his consulting business as a partner. He said he was getting more business than he could handle and he was going to have to hire someone. He would prefer it to be Mitch.

  If he married Jade, it would be an ideal situation for both of them. Jade would be freelancing and able to fly out of Denver. She would only have to take the assignments she really wanted. Her father and mother lived in Denver and he was sure they would love to have her closer.

  “Now, take a picture of Mitch and me on the steps of the restaurant,” Jade said. “That will make a great shot for Charlie’s ad. He looks like a model.”

  They all laughed at her last words, but agreed with Jade. As they stood on the steps together, Jade took his arm and smiled up at him.

  “Great shot,” the photographer said, catching the couple as they smiled at each other. He clicked his camera a couple more times and then asked, “Anyone else?”

  A car pulled up in front of the restaurant and the valet went to park the car after the newcomers had stepped out.

  “It’s Mom and Dad,” Amanda said. “Take a shot of them,” she added to the photographer who immediately did as he was instructed. “And of course I want one with Matt and me, but you can take that inside.”

  Introductions were made and the six of them went into the restaurant along with the photographer. The maître de led them into the private room where the dinner was to be served.

  It wasn’t long before two other couples arrived. Charlie and her husband, Sloan, and a couple, Dave and Michelle, from an area called Lake of the Pines, a few miles outside of Boulder. Charlie was the maid of honor and Michelle was to be a bridesmaid. Her husband was going to accompany her down the aisle.

  After everyone was seated, the waiters began to se
rve the meal Amanda had ordered. There was happy chatter as those who didn’t know each other began to get acquainted.

  Mitch was seated next to Amanda’s father and after a few minutes of idle chatter, her father said, “We certainly think a lot of your brother. After Amanda was kidnapped by that serial killer, Aaron Griswold, her mother and I were overwhelmed with fear. But Matt came back from an assignment in Colorado Springs, and was able to find and rescue her within a couple of days.”

  “I know when it happened, I had an e-mail from Matt and he was totally devastated. He couldn’t believe after arresting Griswold that he had gotten out of jail. And to top it all off, he had kidnapped Amanda. I’m sure it was a very frightening experience for her, also.”

  “It was. But I think it was her willingness to talk to Griswold that saved her life. She said Griswold told her he had never had a friend and he wanted her as one. Even suggested they could get married.”

  “Matt didn’t mention that to me and I can see why. The very thought would have disturbed him.”

  After the meal was over, they all continued to visit. When the waiters came to clear off the table, they all stood and gathered in groups to continued visiting. Mitch was able to visit with Sloan and learn about his law practice. He also mentioned that he was stepfather to a wonderful little boy, Josh, who was Charlie’s son from a previous marriage.

  “Sounds like you and your brother have exciting careers,” Dave said to him as Sloan walked away to talk to Amanda.

  “At times. Other times it can be pretty boring. Especially on those stakeouts when you’re trying to catch a criminal in the act of committing a crime.”