by Lee Hollis
“Why didn’t you tell Liddy any of this?”
Sonny smirked, surprised she even had to ask. “Have you met Liddy?”
“Okay, I understand. But if this Nancy Malone is unstable and trying to reconnect with you, then you have to tell Liddy.”
“I will, I will . . .”
“Sonny . . .”
“She’s just been so overwhelmed with the wedding plans. Come on—you’ve been spending a lot of time with her, you know she’s on edge about everything! My God, Hayley, she’s already canceled the wedding twice. I’m afraid if something sets her off again, I’ll lose her for good this time.”
“You can’t keep something like this from her.”
“I know, but just give me a little time to figure out a gentle way to tell her . . . Please, Hayley . . . I honestly don’t believe that Nancy Malone is a threat. That picture may have just been one of those Throwback Thursday posts that are on everyone’s feeds, showing a memory from two years ago . . . But I would have no way of knowing that, because after I dumped her, I unfriended her and cut off all ties!”
“Somebody tampered with the brakes on Liddy’s car!”
“It couldn’t be Nancy! She would never do something like that!”
“Sonny, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here . . .”
“Thank you . . .”
“For now. But Liddy is my best friend, and if you do anything, and I mean anything, to hurt her in any way, I will come for you.”
Sonny threw his hands up in front of him. “I understand . . .”
“You know I will, Sonny . . .”
“Yes, Hayley, I promise. I love Liddy and I am committed to marrying her and making her happy for the rest of her life. That’s the God’s honest truth!”
She wanted to believe him, and she had a feeling he genuinely cared for his bride-to-be, but something was still wrong about this situation, as if there was still a missing piece of the puzzle she had yet to find.
And yet, she decided to trust him.
At least for now.
Which, in hindsight, would prove to be a monumental mistake.
Chapter 33
The next couple of days were uneventful. Hayley spent her free time with Liddy attending to last-minute wedding details. Liddy was relatively calm as the big day approached, and Sonny was by her side at all times when he was not in his office, making sure he behaved in a devoted manner to illustrate his undying love and eager support and firm commitment to marrying her. He did everything he had promised Hayley he would do. He was an attentive, loyal fiancé.
Until the night of the rehearsal dinner.
Hayley left the Island Times office around five o’clock to rush home and change clothes in order to get to the Congregational church for a quick run-through of the ceremony with the entire wedding party before the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was scheduled for seven o’clock at the Looking Glass Restaurant, a relaxed space with tasty American fare situated on a hilltop inside the Wonder view Inn, which boasted a deck with bay views. It was the perfect location for a laid-back meal and a few cocktails for the bride and groom’s families and friends before the big day.
Hayley was fussing with her hair in the bathroom and still had to get dressed when her cell phone rang.
It was Liddy.
Hayley answered the call. “What’s up?”
“Sonny’s a no-show!” Liddy wailed.
“Calm down, Liddy. I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”
“I’m standing here, all dressed and made up, ready to go to my wedding rehearsal and dinner, and Sonny’s not here. He was supposed to pick me up at my house twenty minutes ago!”
“Maybe he just got stuck at the office.”
“I called the office. His secretary Patrice said he left right at five to go home and change, so why isn’t he here already? Well, we both know why! He’s changed his mind! It’s my worst fear becoming a reality! He’s a runaway groom who is probably halfway to the state line by now!”
“Stop being so paranoid, Liddy!”
“You and I both know that Sonny has given me every reason to be paranoid, Hayley!”
She was certainly right about that.
But Sonny had sounded so sincere when Hayley confronted him in his office a couple of days earlier, and she was having a tough time buying that he would stand Liddy up now so late in the game.
“Have you tried calling his cell phone?”
“Of course, but it keeps going directly to voice mail.”
“Okay, let’s not panic.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You’re not the jilted bride!”
“Let me see if I can find him. You stay put. I’ll call you right back.”
Hayley hung up and tried to contemplate her next move.
She decided to drive directly over to Sonny’s house to see if he was hiding out there. If not, there might be some kind of clue to his whereabouts on the premises.
Hayley quickly slipped on the floral minidress and white sandals that she had selected for the rehearsal and dinner, grabbed her purse, and ran out the door. Gemma and Bruce were going to meet her directly at the Wonder view at seven, since neither of them was involved in the actual rehearsal and they had just been invited to the dinner. Dustin was going to take pictures of the rehearsal since a professional photographer had been hired to take the photos on the actual wedding day, and he had left the house earlier to set up his equipment in the church.
She was halfway to Sonny’s house when her cell phone rang.
It was Dustin.
She grabbed her phone off the passenger’s seat, slid it into the hands-free phone holder attached to the car’s air vent, and pressed the answer button.
“Hi, honey . . .”
“Mom, where’s Liddy? She’s not at the church yet.”
“I know. She’s still at home.”
“Well, when’s she going to get here? Sonny’s getting nervous.”
“Sonny? He’s at the church?”
“Yes, and he’s starting to sweat, because he’s afraid Liddy might be a runaway bride!”
“What? Put him on!”
Hayley heard some rustling sounds and muted voices as Dustin handed his phone over to Sonny.
“Hayley?”
“Sonny, what the hell are you doing at the church?”
“Waiting for Liddy. She hasn’t shown up yet. and I’m afraid she might be getting pre-wedding jitters! Hayley, I don’t think I could take it if she ditched me at the altar! Have you spoken to her? Has she told you what’s going on?”
“She’s at home, Sonny! Waiting for you to pick her up!”
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.
“Sonny . . . Sonny . . . are you still there?”
“Oh God . . .”
“You forgot, didn’t you, Sonny?”
“We talked about it weeks ago, about me swinging by to get her because she said she’d be too nervous to drive, and I guess I never wrote it down in my calendar, because, you know, I’ve had so much on my mind lately . . .”
“After all you’ve put her through, Sonny, how could you forget this one very important detail?”
“I know, I know, I’m a major screwup!”
“And why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
“I left my charger at home this morning, and my phone died right after I arrived at the church . . .”
Hayley shook her head. “This is not good, Sonny . . .”
“Hayley, call her and tell her to stay put! I’m on my way! I can probably be there in fifteen, twenty minutes . . .”
“No! I’m closer to her house than you are! I’ll pick her up. You stay at the church and stall for time. Knowing Reverend Staples, he’s probably booked a funeral back-to-back with the wedding rehearsal.”
“Thank you, Hayley. Thank you so much. I can’t tell you what a good friend you are—”
She didn’t have time to listen to him.
&n
bsp; She ended the call and swung her car into a U-turn at the next traffic stop, reversing direction toward Liddy’s house.
Hayley placed a call to Liddy.
“Hello?”
“He’s at the church waiting for you, Liddy.”
“What?”
“There is no time to explain. Bottom line is, I’m picking you up. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Wait for me outside. We’re going to be late enough as it is.”
“Okay, I’m heading outside now.”
She heard some rummaging and a door open and then, quite suddenly, she heard a scream.
Hayley’s heart nearly leapt into her throat.
“Liddy?”
There were sounds of a struggle.
And then another scream, this time more frightened and desperate.
Hayley slammed her foot down on the accelerator, and her car shot forward like a bullet as she raced thirty miles over the speed limit.
Liddy was in trouble.
It took an agonizing four minutes to reach Liddy’s neighborhood and another precious forty seconds to careen down her dirt driveway, pebbles flying in all directions, one ricocheting off Hayley’s windshield before she reached Liddy’s house, which was hidden from the road.
What she saw on the front lawn almost caused her to crash her car into a tree, but she then slammed on the brakes, her Kia screeching to an abrupt stop.
There was a man, or woman, dressed all in black, a gray ski mask pulled down over his or her face, on top of Liddy, straddling her. Liddy was sprawled out on the grass. The assailant’s hands were wrapped around Liddy’s neck, choking her. Hayley could see Liddy’s face was bright red, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth as she was slowly losing the struggle.
Hayley shoved the car door open and yelled at the top of her lungs. “Get away from her!”
The assailant had been in a trancelike state, oblivious to the car even arriving on the scene. But Hayley’s war cry as she sprinted to her friend’s rescue snapped the attacker back into the moment, and before Hayley could reach them, the assailant released the grip on Liddy’s neck, popped back up on his or her feet, and fled toward the back of the house and into the woods.
Hayley crouched down and gently put a hand behind Liddy’s back, carefully sitting her up. Liddy gasped for air, and then submitted to a coughing fit as she hugged Hayley tightly.
It took a few moments before she was breathing normally again, and then she broke down and cried.
“It’s okay, Liddy, I’m here. You’re safe now . . .”
“He nearly choked me to death . . . I thought I was a goner . . .”
Hayley rocked Liddy back and forth in her arms as she contemplated whether or not the attacker had indeed been a man.
Or was it a woman?
“Why would anyone want to do that to me?” Liddy spouted, giant tears streaming down her cheeks.
Hayley knew of at least one person.
Nancy Malone.
And she was now guilt-ridden for not speaking out sooner, because her pact with Sonny to remain silent had perhaps just nearly cost Liddy her life.
Chapter 34
“You cannot breathe a word of this to Sonny!”
“Liddy, what are you talking about?” Hayley cried, taking her by the arm and lifting her up off the grass.
“Not until after the wedding!”
“But you were attacked! He has to know!”
Liddy grabbed Hayley by the shoulders after steadying herself on her feet and locked eyes with her. “If we tell Sonny, then he’s going to want to call the police, and then there will be a big investigation, and someone, my mother no doubt, will suggest we postpone the wedding until the cops find some answers! And I’m not going to allow that to happen! I have come too far at this point to risk stopping the train now!”
Hayley tried explaining about Sonny’s ex-girlfriend Nancy Malone, and how she could be in town targeting Liddy, which might explain the masked assailant who had just tried strangling her on her front lawn. But no matter how disturbing this news was to the bride-to-be, Liddy remained steadfast in her determination to get to the altar and marry Sonny, dangerous ex-girlfriends be damned!
“Liddy, I can’t let you ignore what just happened to you. I have to call Sergio and report it so they can catch the creep.”
“Hayley, I’m begging you, don’t do this. I was the one who was attacked, not you, and if I want to wait until after my wedding to tell people, specifically the police, that’s my choice!”
“I just don’t think you’re thinking rationally right now.”
“I’ve never been more clear-eyed and focused about anything in my entire life. I’m going to marry Sonny Lipton tomorrow, and no crazy-eyed ex-girlfriend is going to prevent me from doing that! Do you hear me?”
There was no reasoning with her.
She had always been aggressively stubborn, and in her heightened emotional state, she was more bullheaded than ever.
“Now, listen, we’ll go to the church and rehearse with the rest of the wedding party, and then we will join everyone else at the Wonder view for dinner. We won’t mention what happened here to anyone, and then, first thing in the morning, before I get my makeup and hair done and squeeze into the dress, I will stop by the police station with you, my matron of honor, and my mother and report the incident to Sergio. That way, he can start the process of investigating while I’m at the church getting married to Sonny and it’ll be too late for anyone to suggest postponing.”
Hayley sighed. “Fine. If you insist on putting yourself at risk like this, there’s not a whole lot I can do to stop you.”
“Thank you, Hayley, you’re a dear friend.”
“What kind of friend will I be if I wake up tomorrow morning and find out you’re dead?”
“Was verbalizing that thought really necessary?”
“Sorry, sometimes I can’t help thinking out loud.”
Liddy raised her head high, exposing her neck. “Do you see any marks on my neck?”
“Yes, there is definitely going to be some bruising,” Hayley said.
“Well, come on, we need to find something to cover it. I’m sure I have a scarf or something inside!” Liddy cried, grabbing Hayley by the hand and pulling her inside the house.
Liddy quickly changed into a blouse with a high collar to hide the rapidly reddening choke marks on her neck. She tossed her previous outfit, which was now grass-stained from her tussle on the lawn with the marauding assailant, into the washing machine. Then, Liddy and Hayley hurried outside, jumped into Hayley’s car, and broke speed records in order to get to the church.
The wedding party, including Liddy’s very annoyed mother, who hated anyone being the least bit tardy, exchanged quick hellos as Reverend Staples checked his watch, irritated they were so far behind schedule.
Sonny descended upon Liddy with a barrage of apologies and excuses, but she just smiled and hugged him and said she was not angry at him for failing to pick her up.
Hayley’s mind raced as she marched down the aisle ahead of Liddy, worrying that Nancy Malone, or whomever had attacked Liddy, was lying in wait outside the church to strike again.
But the rest of the ceremony rehearsal went off without a hitch, with one exception. Liddy’s dog, Poppyseed, who was the ring bearer with a baby blue pillow tied to his back that had the ring box nestled in it, wasn’t behaving and kept barking at Reverend Staples, whom he had never liked. Dustin, who was assigned the position of official dog handler as well as rehearsal photographer, had to keep him on a leash. He dragged Poppyseed back so he didn’t lunge at the skittish reverend, who had a fear of dogs after getting bitten by one at Bible school when he was a boy.
By the time the rehearsal finally wrapped up and they were all sipping champagne and dining on halibut and seared asparagus at the Looking Glass Restaurant overlooking beautiful Frenchman’s Bay, the mood was so festive, Hayley almost managed to put thoughts of the brutal assault on Liddy’s front lawn out o
f her mind.
Almost.
When Sonny insisted on driving Liddy home after the dinner, Hayley followed closely behind them in her own car to make sure she arrived safely. And then, after Sonny kissed Liddy good night on the doorstep and headed home, Hayley sat outside her house for most of the night on a stakeout to make sure no one tried to break into the house and have at her again.
The following morning, when she was stirred awake by a noisy garbage truck lifting plastic bins up on the main road with its giant metal claws, Hayley rubbed her eyes, stretched her aching bones from sitting all night in a car seat, and checked the clock on her dashboard.
It was seven thirty in the morning.
Liddy’s wedding day.
The ceremony was scheduled for late afternoon, with an early evening reception.
Hayley meticulously scanned the area.
There were few houses in the wooded area outside of town where Liddy lived, and no signs of movement except for a squirrel that dashed across Liddy’s front lawn, right over the spot where she had nearly been strangled. Hayley watched the squirrel scamper up a tree, freeze halfway, look around, and then continue climbing up the bark.
Through Liddy’s kitchen window, Hayley could see Liddy wearing a pink robe, her hair in curlers, sipping a cup of coffee.
She was so engrossed in watching Liddy, relieved that she had made it through the night alive, that she didn’t even hear the car pulling up behind her. Only when a car door slammed did she jolt up in her seat, and when someone’s knuckles rapped on her driver’s side window, she let out a surprised yelp.
“Hayley, what are you doing sitting out here?”
The voice was muffled through the car window but she recognized it immediately.
It was Liddy’s mother.
Celeste was immaculately dressed in a smart green dress, though Hayley suspected this was not her wedding attire, because it was too early for that yet. Her hair was coiffured and elegantly styled, her face painted to perfection and accentuated with a bright pink lipstick and a smooth rouge to give her a healthy, rosy complexion.
Hayley pressed the button to roll down the window. “Good morning, Celeste.”
