The crowd applauded Glen’s participation, but Sadie watched to make sure Mary Anne wasn’t coming their way. Had Ben been killed because he was competition against Glen, or because he’d beat Glen in that first round? Why kill him at all? The tournament winnings were only $500. Could it have something to do with the loss of the Rydells’ pet store business? Was it a power trip? Mary Anne had said Glen was crazy, and yet even crazy people had motives. And it was Mary Anne who’d gone back to the room for the solution.
The dealer returned Glen’s chips to the bank and every eye in the crowd was on the dealer’s hand. Would he bust? Or would Pete lose too?
But Sadie kept watching Mary Anne as she leaned down to give Glen a hug from behind. It would have seemed a gesture of sweet affection if not for a flash of something in Mary Anne’s hand as her arms wrapped around Glen’s chest. Glen suddenly jerked and Sadie flinched.
A split second later, the room erupted into cheers. Someone stepped forward, blocking Sadie’s view of Mary Anne. It took Sadie a moment to realize that the reason for the cheering was because the dealer had busted.
Pete had won. And won big.
All the spectators were cheering and laughing, clapping Pete on the back and saying how amazing he was. Sadie turned back toward Mary Anne and Glen, but she couldn’t see them through the crowd that was pressing in around the table. Sadie started elbowing her way in their direction. What had she seen just before the crowd went crazy?
“Move,” she said while pushing a man out of her way. The announcer was trying to regain control of the crowd as there were still two players in the game.
Mary Anne was suddenly in front of her, causing Sadie to come to an abrupt stop. “Congratulations,” Mary Anne said, spreading her arms as though to give Sadie a hug. “You must be so proud. He’s very good at the game.”
Sadie backpedaled fast, but the wall of people behind her brought her up short.
Mary Anne kept coming. “I know when Glen wins, it’s like everything’s right with the world for a little bit. Everything’s fair again.”
Sadie looked at Mary Anne’s hands; she didn’t see anything in them, but she continued pushing backward. Where was Glen?
“No!” Sadie heard Pete say from behind her. By instinct or maybe some kind of telepathy, she ducked just as Pete lunged forward, catching Mary Anne in the chest and throwing her backward. Sadie was knocked toward the table as the crowd broke into screams and expletives. Sadie tried to get off the ground, but couldn’t stand as mass confusion erupted all around her. She was going to get trampled.
Thinking fast, she crawled into the space between the chairs and the blackjack table and pulled her arms and legs close to keep from getting stepped on. She took a breath before rolling onto her hands and knees and crawling toward the end of the table. She needed to get to Pete as quickly as possible.
Within a few feet of making her escape, Sadie encountered a pair of black orthopedic shoes, toes pointed up and out. Her eyes traveled up the prone body and noted Dockers, and then the white button-up shirt a shade lighter than the undershirt beneath it.
“Glen,” Sadie said, crawling over him until she was right above his pale blue eyes that stared up at the bottom of the table. His glasses were gone, and his mouth was open, a trail of drool slowly snaking down his chin. “Glen,” she said louder, lightly slapping his cheeks before feeling for a pulse. Her own heartbeat was thundering in her ears so much that she couldn’t feel if his heart was still beating. She glanced at the spot on his chest where she thought Mary Anne had injected him with the deadly solution, but nothing showed. It would only be a needle prick after all.
“Someone help me!” she screamed, scrambling over Glen. She lifted one arm and started pulling while still screaming for help a second time. A moment later, two sets of much stronger arms took hold and quickly pulled Glen clear of the table.
“Call security!” Sadie screamed, falling to her knees beside the body and digging in her memory banks for everything she remembered about CPR. She’d been certified every other year since she’d had children but had never actually used it. Mary Anne was screaming from somewhere behind her—a crying, horrible, scared, and angry scream.
“What’s wrong with my Glen?”
“She did this!” Sadie yelled as loud as she could, pointing at Mary Anne.
Mary Anne looked shocked, and Sadie turned her attention to Pete, who was holding her back. “Check her purse for a needle and a bottle with blue liquid in it.”
She saw just a flicker of a nod from Pete before she turned and started doing chest compressions on Glen. One and two and three and four and five...
Chapter 44
While it was announced to the passengers that pulling into the port of Ketchikan an hour late was due to delayed port clearance, the truth was that a federal officer and some local authorities had come on board to make sure that Mary Anne and Tanice were both secured before the gangways opened.
Sadie and Pete had given their statements to the investigators, who took down all of their contact information in order to get in touch with them later if needed. Because the second death on the cruise ship thirteen months earlier had already been under investigation, there was a basis to pattern this investigation around, and while the security team on the ship might not be trained to know exactly how to handle such an extreme situation, the federal officer commanded attention from the first word he uttered and everything from that point on was carried out with precision.
Mary Anne certainly had some explaining to do—chief of which, why kill Glen?
“Mary Anne’s saying that Glen killed the others,” Pete said after he’d met with Officer Jareg and Sadie had stopped by her room to change her clothes.
They were heading toward the gangways, and the closer they got to the exits, the more congested the hallways became as the unhappy passengers waited to leave the ship. “She claims that Glen told her about the murders only after Officer Jareg attempted to talk to her last night. She said she worried what he would do, so she killed him before he could hurt anyone else, hoping it would look like a natural cause in order to preserve her children’s feelings. Apparently, she put the solution in his food at breakfast, hoping it would do the trick. She claims that she’d never used a needle before in her life, but felt desperate when the solution only seemed to make him sick.”
“So, basically her version makes her into a hero.”
Pete nodded. “Pretty much.”
“And Tanice? Do you know what happens to her now?”
“She’s still responsible for the wine, but will likely be able to plead the charges down—depending on what happens with Lorraina. I’m sure Tanice will get a good attorney.”
Sadie shook her head. “Husbands sure didn’t fare very well on this cruise, did they? Ben and Glen are dead, and Kirby got thrown in a river.”
“Ben was a philanderer, Glen was a murderer—maybe—and Kirby, well, I talked to him at the river, remember? He was weird.”
“So it doesn’t bother you that the three marriages we saw up close on this cruise were unhappy ones?”
“I saw a whole lot of white-haired couples holding hands and taking pictures together. Three unhappy marriages don’t dim my view of matrimony. Do they dim yours?”
“Of course not,” Sadie said. “If anything, it convinces me that I’ve made the right decision in choosing a good man to...” She heard what she was saying and felt the blush creep up her neck. Suddenly the carpet beneath her feet was fascinating.
“A good man to marry?” Pete finished for her with a grin. “Is this when you tell me that you’re leaving me for that attorney?”
“Stop it,” Sadie said, still blushing. She didn’t have to look at him to know he was smiling. “Look, I think the gangway’s open.” She was grateful that Pete didn’t pursue the conversation. Nothing was formally finalized between them, and she was embarrassed to be jumping to such conclusions out loud.
Because of the wait before getting
into port, the line for disembarkation was atrocious. Sadie would have thought she and Pete would have had some kind of priority, due to everything they’d done to help with the investigation, but it wasn’t to be.
The wait did create an opportunity for Sadie to call Breanna. The flight that had brought her children from Skagway had landed a half an hour earlier.
“Wow, it sounds like we missed all the fun,” Breanna said when Sadie finished explaining all that had happened.
Sadie didn’t believe she meant a word of it. Standing guard at the dining room had been about Breanna’s limit as far as investigative work went, and considering how ugly things had become there at the end, Sadie was relieved that her children hadn’t been a part of it.
“How’s Lorraina?” Sadie asked, glancing ahead at the crowd slowly making their way through the checkpoint.
“Good,” Breanna said. “Shawn got a call this morning. The doctors want him to come to Anchorage after the ship docks in Seattle. The cruise line is even going to help change his ticket so it doesn’t cost him extra. The doctors said they aren’t sure when, or even if, Lorraina will be strong enough for the transplant, but she’s made some improvements, I guess. Plus they want to finish the testing they need to do to see if Shawn is even a viable candidate. He’ll be there a couple of days while they figure it out.”
Sadie decided in an instant that she was going to Anchorage with him. Hopefully Shawn wouldn’t fight her on that.
After agreeing to meet Breanna at the pier, Sadie finished the call. When she and Pete finally reached the computers that scanned their ship-to-shore cards, Sadie’s phone chimed to indicate a text message. She assumed it was Breanna wanting the last word. It wasn’t Breanna, though.
Sadie, it’s Liam. Can you help me with something? It looks like your ship is finally unloading.
Sadie blinked in confusion before reading the text again.
“What?” Pete asked.
Sadie showed him her phone, and he pulled his eyebrows together. “Liam’s here?”
“That’s what it sounds like,” Sadie said. “But...why?”
“Ask him,” Pete said.
Sadie: You’re in Ketchikan?
Liam: Yes. Can you help me?
Sadie: Of course. With what?
Liam: Can you bring Bre to Sweet Mermaids? It’s a café on Front Street.
Sadie: What’s going on?
Liam: We’re getting married. Our way.
Sadie’s hands froze, and she showed the phone to Pete again who read the text and then lifted his eyebrows in surprise. She got over the momentary shock and called the number. Liam answered on the second ring, and Pete and Sadie stepped out of line, allowing the passengers behind them to pass them up.
“Liam,” she said by way of greeting. She plugged her other ear to make sure she didn’t miss a word. “What are you talking about?”
By the time she and Pete reached the end of the gangplank ten minutes later, Sadie’s phone was in her purse and she was vacillating between a silly grin and dissolving into a puddle of tears. Breanna and Shawn met them at the bottom and they all exchanged hugs.
“What’s the matter?” Breanna asked when she pulled back from Sadie’s embrace.
Sadie blinked quickly and wiped at her eyes. If she’d had any idea what this day had in store, she’d have worn her waterproof mascara. “Nothing,” Sadie assured her, then looked around. “Where’s Maggie?”
“We invited her to come but...” Breanna and Shawn shared a look, then Shawn looked back at Sadie but didn’t answer. He didn’t have to.
“She didn’t know if she’d be welcome?” Sadie guessed.
Shawn nodded and put his hands in his pockets, looking at the ground.
“But she came to Ketchikan with you guys,” Pete pointed out.
“Yeah,” Breanna said, giving Shawn a sly look. “I think she might have some unfinished business with the Hoffmiller gang.”
Sadie looked at Shawn in surprise, then didn’t know what to think of the blush in his cheeks. She quickly reminded herself that Shawn and Maggie were not—and never had been—brother and sister.
“Where is she?” Sadie asked.
“Shopping,” Shawn said. “Should I go get her?”
“Yes,” Pete said, reaching for Sadie’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “Then meet us at Sweet Mermaids. It’s a café located at 340 Front Street.”
“We just ate,” Breanna said.
“Well, we’re starving,” Sadie said, which was true, but wasn’t the reason why they were going to Sweet Mermaids. “We were told not to miss it.” Were they ever.
“Okay,” Shawn said. “I’ll get Maggie and meet you there. You’re sure you’re okay with her coming along?”
“Tell Maggie that I can’t wait to see her.”
Shawn nodded and moved quickly toward a row of shops on the right side of the pier.
“We better get going,” Pete said, moving toward the left. Sweet Mermaids was a small café, Liam had said, but owned by a talented friend of a friend who had agreed to help him pull this off in the middle of their busy season.
“You make it sound like we have an appointment,” Breanna said.
Sadie and Pete shared a quick look, then Sadie asked about what happened in Skagway, hoping to change the subject. She knew the basics but wanted details.
Breanna was quick to fill in the blanks, and she didn’t seem to notice the limo parked just around the corner from where Sweet Mermaids was located. Sadie had butterflies as they pushed through the front doors of the small bakery. Liam had said it was small, and he wasn’t kidding, but front and center on top of the glass-fronted bakery case just inside the door was a beautiful wedding cake with pearl details at the edges of the three square layers and elegant scrollwork along the sides of each tier.
Breanna took one look at it and came to a stop, blinking at the white confection with big eyes and a completely confused expression.
“Breanna?” Pete prompted her when she said nothing. Sadie didn’t dare open her mouth for fear she’d start bawling.
“That...looks just like my cake,” Breanna said in a hush. She took a step forward. “It’s a smaller version of the exact same cake I picked out....in London.”
Sadie heard the door opening behind them and turned to see Liam sneak in. He looked absolutely terrified. Several faces appeared on the other side of the glass, including Liam’s parents, which Sadie was glad to see. When Liam told her what he’d done, she worried his parents hadn’t come with him. Sadie quickly stepped to the side of the bakery case, pulling Pete with her so that Liam would have room to come up next to Bre.
Breanna turned her head to look at Sadie, completely unaware that her fiancé and soon-to-be husband was standing two feet behind her. “What’s going on?”
“Hey, Bre,” Liam said quietly.
Breanna spun around and, as if on cue, all the employees who had been trying to make themselves look busy, moved forward from the back of the shop, their eyes bright as they watched what was happening. Sadie wondered if they had been up all night making this happen. Liam had explained on the phone that he’d chartered a flight not long after Breanna had given in to his mom’s version of her wedding day; he must have worked hard to put this in place before leaving London.
“Liam?” Breanna squeaked, and then threw herself into his arms, clinging tightly to him and burying her face in his shoulder. “What are you doing here?” She pulled back and brushed the hair off her face. When his only answer was a smile, she glanced at Sadie. “What is he doing here?”
Sadie nodded toward Liam. “He has the answers, not me.”
Breanna looked at Liam, and he smiled, so sweet and kind and full of goodness that the last of Sadie’s reservations about this marriage melted away like whipping cream on a hot day. They were a good match. They would make this work.
“I had a long talk with my parents after we finished talking with you the other night,” Liam said, still holding her hands. “
And we’ve come to some agreements.”
“Okay,” Breanna said softly, still looking confused.
“Mom really wants a fancy reception. I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s insistent that on October 19, the day we were to be married, she gets to throw a great big obnoxious party. I’ll wear a suit of her choosing, and we’ll feature that overdone cake she likes, but you can wear the dress you already picked out.”
“The day we were to be married?” Breanna repeated.
“That’s the other part,” Liam said, his smile getting a little bit bigger. “We do the wedding how we want it, when we want it, and where we want it.”
Breanna looked at him, still trying to figure things out, then looked at the cake again. A moment later, one of the employees at the bakery came around the counter holding a clear dress bag with an exquisite wedding dress inside. Sadie had already seen pictures of the dress from the day Breanna had tried it on in London. It had cap sleeves, delicate beading at the sweetheart neckline and waist, but no train, no veil, no bling. Liam’s mother had deemed it unfit for a countess, but it was perfectly suited for Breanna’s style, coloring, and shape.
Breanna started to cry as she reached out and touched the bag. “My dress,” she whispered. She looked up at Liam. “My cake and my dress.”
“The two things you cared about.”
“And you,” she said even softer.
He smiled wide and took both her hands in his. “We’ll make this work, Bre, we will. I will never let things get so out of hand again and we’ll live the life we want to live—the life we’ve planned. Can you believe me when I promise you that?”
Breanna nodded and let go of one of his hands to wipe at her eyes. Someone handed her a napkin. Someone handed one to Sadie too.
“Today?” she said once she’d caught her breath.
“If that’s what you want,” Liam said with a nod.
“What do you want?” she asked, ever the diplomat.
He pulled on her hand that he was holding, bringing her closer to him. “I want you,” he whispered so softly that Sadie could barely hear it. “All I’ve ever wanted is you.”
Baked Alaska Page 29
