by Lee Hollis
“I’m not postponing the wedding, Mother,” Liddy said quietly.
“Liddy, we can’t proceed as if nothing has happened. She’s your cousin!”
“If I wait too long, I’m afraid Sonny might never go through with it!”
“Surely he will understand,” Celeste pleaded.
“Absolutely not! The invitations have already gone out! Everyone has RSVP’d! The wheels are in motion! I’m not going to throw my whole wedding into disarray just because of stupid, awful ogre Lisa . . . may she rest in peace . . .”
Celeste opened her mouth to press her point further, but clearly knew she was never going to win this one, so she just flung her arms up in the air and stalked inside Liddy’s house. “Whatever! I need a drink! Do you have any scotch?”
“You know where to find it,” Liddy sighed. Then she turned to Hayley expectantly. “I’m not a monster for wanting my wedding to continue as planned, am I?”
Hayley desperately wanted to suggest she follow her mother’s advice and postpone. If people were already speculating about Liddy’s involvement in Lisa’s murder, the gossip would only intensify over the next couple of weeks as they barreled toward the big day. But she knew her best friend. And once Liddy Crawford was committed, she was a brick wall, and there was nothing that would be able to break through to her. So in this moment, this one time, Hayley chose the path of least resistance.
“Of course not,” Hayley said. “You need to do what you think is right.”
It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of her plan.
But it was the best Hayley could do.
The wedding was on!
Chapter 14
The following day, when Liddy called Hayley mid-morning in a state of hysteria, she knew her friend desperately needed her and would have to take an extra-long lunch hour. While showing an opulent million-dollar shorefront property listing to some prospective buyers from Connecticut, Liddy had received an ominous text from Sonny asking her to come to his office on Cottage Street as quickly as she could manage. Liddy’s instincts screamed that this was it, this was the moment Sonny was going to pull out of the wedding and break off the engagement.
Hayley tried reasoning with her, that he would most likely not choose the middle of the workday to do something like this, but in Liddy’s heightened state, with so much drama already consuming her wedding plans, reasoning with her was just about the most useless option Hayley could have chosen.
Liddy insisted Hayley accompany her to Sonny’s law office for moral support. Hayley had tried to explain that if Sonny’s intention was to call off the wedding, it would be exceedingly awkward with Hayley sitting there next to her. But Liddy was determined to have Hayley’s hand within reach to squeeze if her worst fears were confirmed. Unable to talk her way out of it, Hayley finally agreed to meet her at Sonny’s office at one thirty.
Sal was a bit perturbed by Hayley requesting an extra hour for lunch today, especially since it was busy and there were a lot of details to attend to before putting tomorrow’s issue of the Island Times to bed, but he begrudgingly relented after she promised to stay an extra hour past quitting time to ensure her inbox was empty when she left.
And so, after a quick lunch at Drinks Like a Fish, she hurried down the street to Sonny Lipton’s law office, situated on the second floor above an insurance company next door to the local post office, and found herself sitting next to Liddy opposite Sonny’s big mahogany desk, which Liddy had bought for him last Christmas, nervously waiting to hear what Sonny had to say that was so important they had to interrupt their workday.
Sonny sat behind his desk, his shirtsleeves rolled up, his tie loosened, his face drawn from too many hours at the office, shuffling papers. Hayley wondered if he was pretending to skim through these mysterious papers in order to avoid eye contact before dropping the big bomb.
Hayley glanced over at Liddy, whose body was tense, a tight smile on her face, her left hand gripping Hayley’s right hand tightly.
Sonny finally looked up from his papers and folded his hands. His expression was serious, if not grave. “I probably should’ve given you a heads-up as to why I called you here this afternoon, Liddy . . .” He then looked at Hayley, feeling the need to include her in the conversation since she was sitting right in front of him. “And Hayley . . .”
Liddy clenched Hayley’s hand tighter until it hurt, causing her to wince.
“But I wasn’t sure how to prepare you, so I thought it was probably best to get you over here and just come out with it . . .”
“Sonny, please, don’t do this! We can work out whatever problems we have! I’m sorry if I did anything to upset you, just give me another chance!” Liddy wailed, tears running down her cheeks.
Sonny sat back in his chair, surprised by her outburst. “What?”
“Don’t call off the wedding! I love you, and I know you love me!”
“Pumpkin, calling off the wedding is the furthest thing from my mind. This is about Lisa.”
Hayley suddenly sat up in her chair. “Lisa?”
“Yes,” Sonny said as he jumped up and ran around his desk. He leaned down and put a reassuring arm around Liddy’s shoulders while kissing her softly on the forehead. “Nothing’s going to keep me from marrying my girl, understand?”
Liddy nodded, reaching into her purse for a handkerchief to wipe away the wet tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I thought that’s why you wanted to see me,” she sniffed. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’ve been very high-strung and emotional lately.”
Both Hayley and Sonny wisely chose to keep their mouths shut. After a moment of silence, Hayley cleared her throat.
“What about Lisa?” Hayley asked, more than a bit curious.
Sonny gently rubbed Liddy on the top of her head with the palm of his hand before returning to his chair behind the desk. Liddy instinctively reached up to pat down her hair, fearing he may have mussed her hairstyle.
Like mother, like daughter.
“Several years ago I helped Lisa prepare her last will and testament,” Sonny said, back to being all businesslike.
“You did?” Liddy asked, surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Attorney-client privilege,” Sonny said. “I can’t discuss any matters regarding a client, not even with a judge.”
“Well, that doesn’t seem fair,” Liddy said, huffing as she stuffed the handkerchief back into her purse.
“Anyway, since both of Lisa’s parents have passed on and she was an only child, she . . . well, she named you, Liddy, as her executor and sole heir.”
There was another long pause in the room.
Finally, unable to stand the silence anymore, Hayley spoke. “Excuse me?”
“The estate is not insignificant. She owns the property where her shop resides, and her business has been in the black for a while now, accumulating a healthy fortune with very little overhead.”
“How much, exactly?” Hayley couldn’t resist asking.
“Enough to pay for the wedding, the honeymoon, and maybe a second vacation home somewhere for the two of us.”
“But Lisa hated me!” Liddy shouted.
“That’s not the impression I got when she came in here to discuss the details of her will,” Sonny said solemnly. “You and Celeste were her family—pretty much her only family, here in town, anyway.”
Liddy dropped her purse on the floor. The contents scattered all over the room, but she didn’t make a move to pick anything up. She just sat there with a bewildered look on her face, processing what she had just heard.
Hayley didn’t know whether to congratulate her or offer her condolences, so she kept mum and just allowed Liddy to keep squeezing her hand. But then, suddenly, Liddy released her grip and brought both hands to her mouth. “Oh my God, how could I have mistreated my dear cousin so badly?”
Hayley raised an eyebrow.
Dear cousin?
Liddy despised Lisa.
“I fired her! The p
oor woman just wanted to flex her creative muscles and come up with something original and inspired for my wedding, and I forced her into a box, insisting she bake exactly what I wanted! I’m a terrible person!”
“Aw, Pumpkin, don’t beat yourself up. It’s your wedding. It’s not unreasonable for you to have an opinion about the wedding cake!”
Liddy looked up at the heavens. “I’m so sorry, Lisa!”
Hayley suppressed a chuckle. This rewriting of history, with Liddy now pretending Lisa was some kind of saint heading straight to heaven when on more than one occasion Liddy had remarked Lisa was undoubtedly bound for the depths of hell, was almost too much to hear, even from Liddy.
But with a windfall of money coming Liddy’s way, Hayley knew Lisa from here on in would be known as Liddy’s favorite cousin, even though everyone knew she was Liddy’s only cousin.
After hearing a few more details, specifically when the estate would be closed and the money wired into Liddy’s bank account, and how soon she could put the Cake Walk property on the market, Sonny suggested they discuss funeral arrangements.
“Well, Lisa was such a frugal person, I don’t think she would want us to spend a lot of money on an expensive coffin and too many flowers . . .” Liddy said, trying her best to at least appear sensitive to her beloved late cousin’s wishes.
“You don’t have to worry about any of that. Lisa stipulated that she wants to be cremated.”
A wave of relief washed over Liddy. “That’s great! Simple, clean, and cheap!”
Hayley shot her a look.
“I mean, isn’t that just like Lisa?” Liddy followed up, finding it more difficult to contain the glee rising up inside her as the news of her impending unexpected fortune began sinking in and taking hold. “She was always so practical, never wanting any kind of fuss made.”
“Plus, if we did plan a memorial, it would be tough getting anyone to show up,” Sonny added, before catching himself. “I’m sorry, sometimes I say things I’m thinking and don’t even realize it.”
“That’s okay, Sonny, we all grieve in our own way,” Liddy said, mustering a somber tone, although Hayley could tell Liddy was seconds away from leaping out of her chair and dancing around the room.
“There’s one more thing,” Sonny said, glancing down at the papers in front of him.
Liddy took a deep breath as if expecting to hear this whole shocking reading of Lisa’s will had been a massive prank and she was about to be hit with cold water in the face. “Yes?”
“As executor, it is your responsibility to clear out Lisa’s belongings at her bakery and at her apartment and donate everything to Goodwill, per her instructions.”
Liddy heaved a big sigh of relief.
She was still getting the money.
“That’s easy, Hayley can help me with that. Right, Hayley?”
“Of course,” Hayley said, still amused by how hard it was for both Liddy and Sonny to suppress their unadulterated giddiness.
“Well, I guess that’s it, then,” Sonny said with a twinkle in his eyes. “Again, I’m so sorry, Pumpkin, I know how hard this is on you.”
“Thank you, sweetie. Knowing you are here for me, that you love me and want to spend the rest of your life with me, well, that certainly helps alleviate the pain and grief.”
“Oh, Lord . . .” Hayley blurted out, unable to keep silent anymore, dramatically rolling her eyes at the unabashed fakeness of the moment.
The happy couple chose to ignore her.
Hayley agreed to meet Liddy at Lisa’s apartment the following Saturday to pack up her belongings. They would deal with the bakery at another time since the police still had yellow police tape wrapped around the perimeter. Liddy wanted to clean out the entire place before lunch because she had a meeting with the florist at one to discuss the arrangements at the reception.
While Liddy plowed through the apartment, tossing assorted knickknacks and cookbooks and potted plants into cardboard boxes, Hayley sat down at a small desk in Lisa’s bedroom and went through her personal paperwork, unrelated to her business. She happened upon a jumble of words and letters scribbled on a Post-it note and discovered it was the password to Lisa’s home computer, which sat atop the scuffed wooden desk. She clicked through Lisa’s files, mostly recipes she had found online, before scrolling down her email. What surprised Hayley was how few personal emails were in her account. It was mostly junk mail, work orders, and receipts, or testimonials from customers who had bought her cakes and cookies and wanted her to know how much they had enjoyed them. She did find a few emails from Celeste, promising to make sure Liddy hired her to bake the wedding cake and keeping her informed of her progress. Farther down she noticed an email from lobsterstud34. She clicked on it and read it.
Bitch, if you don’t wise up and take care of business, I’ll see to it you never bake another cake.
In the sender box, next to lobsterstud34, in parentheses, was the name Timmy Blanchard, automatically put there from the Contacts app. Hayley knew Timmy Blanchard. He had dated Lisa for a couple of years, until recently, but like most of Lisa’s relationships, romantic or otherwise, it had ended badly.
Liddy walked into the room carrying a box. “Hayley, stop snooping on Lisa’s computer and help me. We haven’t even started on the bedroom closet yet, although I can’t imagine there are a lot of clothes in there. Lisa’s wardrobe was basically jeans and T-shirts. Honestly, she made Mona look like one of America’s Next Top Models.”
“Lisa got an email a few days ago, right before she died, from Timmy Blanchard.”
“That loser? God, I thought she dumped him!”
“She did, but they were apparently still in contact. I don’t like the violent tone of his message.”
This got Liddy’s attention.
She scurried over and peered over Hayley’s shoulder.
“That’s a death threat,” Liddy gasped.
“It’s disturbing.”
“So what do we do?”
“Didn’t he once haul traps for Mona?”
“Yes, but that was like years ago.”
“I vaguely remember he left suddenly—one day he was there and the next he was gone. I think we should go talk to Mona and find out if he was fired or if he quit and why.”
Liddy agreed.
Neither one had to verbalize what they really wanted to know.
If Timmy Blanchard might be capable of murder.
Chapter 15
An audible gasp escaped Hayley’s lips as she stepped out of her car in the driveway of Mona’s lobster shop. Liddy was still struggling to free herself from the seat belt on the passenger’s side and had yet to notice the young man, probably in his early twenties, stunningly gorgeous, shirtless and sweaty, wearing just a pair of tan shorts, who was loading traps into the back of Mona’s red, dented pickup truck. When Liddy finally got out of the car and followed Hayley’s gaze, curious to know what she was so fixated upon, she nearly smashed her fingers when slamming the door shut because she too was suddenly distracted by the young man flexing his muscles as he lifted a heavy trap.
“Oh . . . my . . . God . . .” she whispered.
They both stood there for a moment, taking in this perfect vision of youthful masculinity. He was just over six feet, with a beatific face, lean frame but with nicely contoured muscles, smooth chest, and strong, sturdy legs dusted with light blond hair. There was a tattoo of the American flag on his left bicep. Both Hayley and Liddy sighed, loud enough to garner the young man’s attention. He politely nodded at them and then went back to work.
Sabrina bounded out of the shop, followed by Mona carrying a Styrofoam cooler.
She excitedly waved at Hayley and Liddy. “Hi, girls!”
Sabrina’s high-pitched squeal snapped them out of the R-rated fantasies that were currently playing out in both of their minds.
Sabrina pressed a button on her remote to pop open the trunk of her Ford Mustang convertible, which was parked next to Hayley’s far less glamo
rous Kia.
“Just put the lobsters in there, Mona,” Sabrina ordered before spinning around to Hayley and Liddy. “I’m having a family cookout with my relatives at my rental this afternoon and I’m serving fresh lobsters from Mona’s shop.”
Mona set the cooler in the trunk and banged the lid shut.
Sabrina’s eyes glazed over as she glanced at the young man loading the traps. “Isn’t he dreamy? That’s Mona’s new assistant, AJ.”
“What a stud!” Liddy cooed.
“You think so?” Mona asked, scrunching up her nose, not convinced. “I guess he’s all right.”
“He’s splendid, Mona, and you know it! Stop being so coy,” Sabrina teased.
“He’s strong and he works cheap. That’s all I care about,” Mona growled, although she too could not stop staring at the physical beauty of her newest employee.
“I’ve got to get going,” Sabrina said, pressing another button on her remote to unlock the doors. “I still have to get to the Shop ’n Save to pick up the corn on the cob, and I haven’t even thought about what to serve for dessert yet! I had planned to pick something up at Lisa’s bakery, but, well . . . that’s not going to happen now . . .”
There was an awkward silence before Sabrina realized how callous she sounded, so she quickly dropped the subject by turning and waving at the young man who had just finished loading the traps and was clapping the back of the truck closed. “Bye, AJ!”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Merryweather,” he grunted.
“It’s Ms. Merryweather! I’m not married. Let’s be clear about that. And you can call me Sabrina!”
He looked at her funny, then shrugged. “Okay.”
Mona had heard enough of Sabrina’s shameless flirting. She called out to AJ, “Drive those traps down to the pier and load them up on my boat so they’re ready for when I head out in the morning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, fishing the keys to the truck from a pocket in his shorts.
“Then you can call it a day. I’ll see you tomorrow at the pier. Boat’s leaving at five A.M., so don’t be late.”
