Gracie took a seat on the stool next to him. She didn’t want to sway his decision. It needed to be his, with her complete support. Each job was dangerous. DACO as a company was a mystery. The Defense Advantage Company contracted with the U. S. Department of Defense. She had little knowledge of what they really did, other than provide surveillance and security systems for military installations. The fact that the company’s executives required personal security with dogs trained to detect explosives was disconcerting, at the very least. That meant lots of visits to Afghanistan and Iraq. Neither organization fit the parameters of her comfort zone. She’d experienced enough danger just as an interested bystander helping the sheriff’s department … well … helping in her mind. Investigator Hotchkiss was of a different opinion.
“And, what are you going to do?” She reached for his nervous hands, now shredding the napkin.
Their fingers intertwined.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked softly.
“Oh no, you don’t,” she firmly countered, shaking her head. “This is all you. I’m not a fan of being separated, first thing, but I’ll deal with it. It’s not months. It’s three weeks. And you love working as a deputy, and it’s the chance to move up to being an investigator. The ball’s in your court.”
She hoped her expression remained neutral, not revealing her preference for him to stay local.
“I wasn’t holding out much hope for the security clearance, but it should be okayed by tomorrow,” Marc said, pulling his hands away. “I wish the calls hadn’t come on the same day. I could’ve told one or the other, I’d already gone to work.” He sighed, starting to pace the kitchen.
“I guess you need to decide if you really want a career change. You had a lot to say about that when I was in Arizona with you.” She swiveled around on the stool, watching him finally turn and look at her.
Marc smiled. “I sure did. That’s when breeding Belgian Malinois looked like my best career move.”
“Which it wasn’t.” She had momentarily considered offering him kennel space for that business. He’d be around all the time that way. The idea evaporated as quickly as it had come. It didn’t suit him.
“No, it wasn’t the right move. I do want a change. That’s what’s a little scary. The opportunity with DACO is once in a lifetime though. Max is ready for action after the private training we had over the summer. I am too. The bonus is DACO has continuous K-9 training for us. The salary can’t be matched by anyone either.”
Gracie nodded. He and Max had worked hard to complete another level of protection training and had passed with flying colors only a few weeks ago.
“I will support your decision—whichever one is lucky enough to employ you,” she offered bravely. There could be no regrets or complaints she reminded herself, as the words came from her lips.
Marc’s intense blue eyes met hers, and he rubbed his jaw, the dimple in his chin seemed even more pronounced than usual.
“DACO. I want to take this chance and see where it leads.”
She smiled, slipping from the stool to be caught up in his arms.
“Then DACO is it,” she said, kissing him. A sick feeling was swirling in the pit of her stomach, and she forced herself to sound enthusiastic.
CHAPTER 21
Isabelle glared at Haley and Max, who sat panting under her spectacular Japanese maple. Gold ribbons hung from white satin collars.
“On Saturday, the rings will be tied to the ribbons,” Gracie explained.
“This won’t work,” Isabelle griped, pushing back a lock of blond hair in the warm autumn breeze.
Her gaze swept to the gazebo, which was already festooned with branches of maple and oak leaves tied with champagne-colored burlap ties. White folding chairs were stacked on the platform.
“Sure it will. We’ve been practicing at home, and they’ll be fine. They just have to learn the route. Jim will have both of them on leashes,” Gracie said, hands on hips.
Isabelle’s arms were crossed, and a frown marred her face. “It won’t. You have no idea what they’ll do. They could do … do something embarrassing on a guest or chase a cat in the middle of the ceremony. This will be disastrous.”
“Regardless, the dogs are in the ceremony.”
“All right, but if something goes wrong, I don’t want any blame.”
“I wouldn’t think of it, Izzy,” Gracie crooned sweetly.
She gave a furtive eye-roll and called the dogs to her. They trotted eagerly from the shade by the RAV4. “Come on, guys. We have to practice,” she said, grabbing Haley’s collar.
Jim and Marc strolled toward the women with weak attempts at straight faces.
“Are you two ready?” Isabelle demanded.
“Sure,” Marc said, regaining his composure.
“You’ll already be in the gazebo, Marc, with Reverend Minders.” Isabelle pointed to the structure. “Then Kelly will progress down the aisle, followed by Jim and the dogs. The music for them is The Water is Wide. Then Gracie comes in when the guitarist begins playing Debussy’s Clair de Lune. I did get the music selections right, didn’t I?”
“Yes. They’re both right,” Gracie agreed, the knot in her stomach tightening. The melodies of both songs always brought tears to her eyes; they were so romantic. They’d been choices for her first wedding, but the church organist had insisted on more traditional music. She looked at Marc and Jim, who were now much more serious. Max whined, jumping on Marc.
“All right,” he laughed. “It’s time for a test run.” He clipped on a short lead to a chain collar underneath the decorative satin one.
Gracie did the same with Haley. Jim put Max on his left, with Haley on the right.
“Come on, you two,” Jim said.
The dogs pricked up their ears, sniffing at his pockets.
“Bacon treats, right?” Gracie asked, standing on the steps of the gazebo.
“Absolutely. Nothing but the best,” Jim answered. With a canine on each side, he strolled toward Gracie.
“You’ll need to join Marc on the platform, Jim,” Isabelle directed. “And keep those animals under control.”
“No problem,” Jim confirmed, ascending the two steps to the gazebo’s deck. The dogs sat on command, enjoying their reward. Their eyes glued on both Marc and Gracie.
“This is it,” Marc said, gazing at Gracie, who was now a bit flushed.
“Well, Saturday actually,” she corrected.
“Might be easier to see if Reverend Minders could slip over here this afternoon,” he teased.
“I’m tempted to agree, but the train has left the station.”
Jim sighed in mock distress. “I guess we’d shouldn’t even think about jumping the rails now. Isabelle would …”
Isabelle walked closer to the group, with her hands on her hips, taking in the arrangement. Her white shirt, accented with a teal scarf, and black pants fit her perfectly. In fact, Gracie thought her cousin looked a little trimmer of late. How did she do it?
“I still don’t think the addition of the dogs will work, but that’s on you,” Izzy reiterated. “I won’t be held responsible for their actions.”
“We understand. No problem,” Gracie responded, taking Haley’s leash from Jim, looking up to see a long-legged and voluptuous redhead stride across the lawn, a camera in hand.
“Hi, everyone,” the woman greeted them with a low, husky voice.
“Adriana. Good, you were able to make it,” Isabelle said, turning to her.
“Of course. I need to talk with the bride and groom,” she said with a broad smile at Gracie and Marc.
After introductions, Gracie mostly agreed to Adriana’s suggestions and felt her stomach tighten again. For such a small wedding, it was suddenly crammed with lots to do. Wedding nerves were coming on strong. Marc managed to escape with Jim and the dogs, ostensibly leaving the details to the bride. Cowards, both of them.
“I’ll leave you with Adriana,” Isabelle called to Gracie, walking toward th
e driveway. “I have an appointment with Lulu Cook, and I’m already late.”
***
Isabelle parked her Lexus SUV in Lulu’s driveway, astonished at the pile of storage containers and cardboard boxes next to the garage. She had no idea the woman had so much junk.
Lulu appeared from the kitchen door, lugging a dark garbage bag down the steps.
“Oh, hi, Isabelle.”
“Hello. Quite a lot of … things you’ve got here.”
“I know. I know. It will all be gone by the end of next week.”
“I hope so. I had no idea of the amount of … stuff you had. I didn’t see this before.”
Isabelle’s face darkened, her eyes narrowed with laser accuracy at the older woman.
Lulu settled the garbage bag next to the boxes. Brushing her hands off on her jeans, she sighed. “I’m cleaning out everything as we agreed, Isabelle. It will be totally empty before the closing date next month.”
“I hope so. I’d hate to have to penalize you on the purchase price.”
The icy statement snapped Lulu to attention. “There will be no need of that, I assure you. I want to make sure you’re ready to close the deal without any hold-ups. My plans are to leave right after the closing.”
“There are no issues on my side. There will be an inspection the day before, as we agreed.” Isabelle replied, inching her way to the garage.
“I’m working on the garage as well,” Lulu said, following Isabelle, who seemed to be examining the building’s paint job.
“Fine. I was sorry to hear about Franny,” Isabelle said, placing her hand on the doorknob of the side entrance. “It was her heart, from what I understand.”
Lulu pursed her lips, eyes round. “Yes. It was her heart. She had angina.”
“I see. What about these accusations she made about a stolen quilt?”
Lulu backed away, avoiding eye contact with Isabelle.
“A misunderstanding is what it was. I don’t know why Franny said those things.”
“Awful for you. Her dying in the garage and all.”
“It was terrible. My best friend …” A sob caught in Lulu’s voice. “I’m sorry. I have to get back to cleaning,” she said quickly.
“I wouldn’t want to hold you up,” Isabelle said, moving away from the door. “I have another appointment that’s out of town. Oh, by the way, do you know what’s happening with Franny’s house?”
***
Lulu sat down heavily onto a kitchen chair after Isabelle left. What was the woman up to? She was certainly interested in purchasing Franny’s house too. It might be a good thing for Reverend Minders to have an instant qualified buyer though. She rubbed her forehead and stood. No sense in wasting time. If she could clear another bedroom today, she’d be one step closer to freedom. She tried to push the vision of Franny lying on the floor of the garage out of her mind without much success. The voices she’d heard arguing with Franny that night kept coming back, nagging at her. One had sounded like Art, but the other wasn’t as easy. The voice had been unfamiliar. Maybe a young man. Had Art and a minion threatened Franny? Had they frightened her, or even worse, assaulted her that night? Who could she tell? Her part in this deception made her guilty of … Well, she was guilty on so many levels. In way too deep. She preferred to put that out of her mind too.
CHAPTER 22
Gracie sat in front of Isabelle’s mirror watching Ryan, Isabelle’s personal stylist, work his magic on taming her incorrigible curls. The straightening wand, gel, and spray were liberally applied to her tresses, which, for the first time ever, were behaving themselves. How long would it last though? Until the four o’clock wedding? She had doubts, when Ryan, with his own curly-hair issues, bent to tuck the last hairpin that swept her shoulder-length hair into a French twist, with tendrils oh-so-romantically framing her face.
“Perfect, if I do say so myself,” the short, russet-haired man said. He smoothed an immaculately groomed goatee, eyeing her from every direction. “Now for makeup.”
“I really don’t want to be spackled,” Gracie warned him.
He arched dark eyebrows and then laughed.
“I promise you, absolutely no spackle. However, your freckles need a bit of evening out. I think you’ll be pleased with the result.”
A knock at the door turned their attention from the mirror.
“Gracie. It’s me,” Kelly said, entering the room. “Oh, you look fabulous,” she cooed.
“I told you. It’s perfect,” Ryan said, returning his attention to Gracie.
“Thank you. I agree. I’m hoping it will last until after the pictures are taken.”
Kelly carried a dress bag over her shoulder, with a pair of pumps in her other hand. Her short, brown hair framed a tanned angular face.
“Guaranteed to last until the wedding night begins,” Ryan said officiously. “I make no such promises after that.”
The women exchanged looks and giggled.
Another knock on the door brought Isabelle, with a tray of mimosas in fragile crystal flutes, plus fruit and tiny tea sandwiches.
“Ryan, you’ve done it again,” she said appreciatively, eyeing Gracie’s hair. “I don’t think you’ve ever looked better—once your makeup is finished.”
Gracie bit back a sharp reply. No sense in starting any conflict today. So far, everything had gone according to plan. Her quiet breakfast with Haley had set the tone for a leisurely pace on her wedding day. The yard was back together and the birch tree that had caused the septic disaster removed. Jim had taken Haley to join the men while they prepared for the zero hour. Now her hair was perfect. She grabbed her phone and took a selfie for posterity. Just in case.
“You aren’t posting that on Facebook, are you?” Isabelle fussed.
“Of course not. Just keeping a record of a bona fide hair success,” Gracie said, grinning at Kelly.
“Good. Now, everyone eat a little something. No fainting at the wedding. You’ll ruin your dresses with grass stains if you do.”
“Thank you so much,” Kelly jumped in, taking the tray from Isabelle and setting it on the vanity. “This looks delicious. You’ve thought of everything today.”
Isabelle gave her a condescending smile. “You’re quite welcome. Weddings require a skilled hand. Now, I need to get ready myself. It’s already 2:30, Ryan. You really don’t have a lot of time to finish up.”
“All under control, Ms. Baker. Ms. Andersen will be perfection itself very soon.”
Isabelle glanced at her watch and looked out the bedroom window. “Where are those men? They are supposed to be here.”
“I’m sure they’re on the way,” Gracie soothed. “We have plenty of time. Really.”
Isabelle sucked in a breath and went to the door. “I’d better call—”
“Oh, don’t bother. I’ll call Tom and see where they are,” Kelly offered. “I’m sure they’ll be here any minute. They have the dogs, so it may take them extra time.”
Isabelle glared at Gracie. “Those dogs are going to be a problem.”
“Uh …”
Before Gracie could formulate a reply, Isabelle had vacated the room, closing the door with a smart little slam for emphasis.
“Ah … if only my yard could have been ready for today,” Gracie sighed.
She selected a cucumber sandwich, cut in the shape of a heart, and sipped the mimosa.
Ryan helped himself to a drink and eased down on the bed.
Kelly already had her phone to her ear, nodding. “Okay then. Isabelle may go nuclear if you aren’t here in the next two minutes.”
“Where are they?” Gracie asked, taking another sandwich.
“They’re almost ready to leave Marc’s house. Looks like Max and Haley were playing and knocked over a lamp. Marc’s sister tried cleaning up the broken lightbulb and cut herself. Apparently, she’s not real stable. Is that true?”
Gracie closed her eyes. “No. She’s not. Is she all right?”
“She is now. They’ll be
here in a few minutes.” Kelly snagged a cluster of red grapes and an orange-juice-and-champagne cocktail.
“Not too much bubbly, ladies,” Ryan warned, returning to the vanity. “No tipsy brides or matrons of honor today. Now, let’s finish your makeup before the photographer appears.”
***
Jim opened the club cab up for the dogs to jump in the back. Max eagerly pushed Haley out of the way and sat, panting, while Haley entered the truck with a bit more dignity.
“All right, we’re off, lady and gentleman,” Jim practically sang as he slid behind the wheel.
He began whistling “I’m Getting Married in the Morning.” Haley immediately began to howl, and Max was quick to join in. Marc and Tom were close behind, hanging coat bags in their vehicles. Both began laughing as Jim’s truck rolled down the driveway, with howling dogs hanging their heads out of the open windows.
The three pickups rolled into Isabelle’s driveway, where they were met by Kevin, who directed them to the patio. Jim kept the dogs in the truck bed under a large maple. The temperatures were unseasonably warm, but a cool breeze kept the air comfortable.
“The boss says you all need to stay here and not go upstairs for any reason. Bad luck, you know.” Kevin smirked, following them into the screened area.
Marc nodded. “No surprise. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine out here.”
“You guys lucked out on the weather. What a great day,” Kevin commented, reaching for a bottle of Scotch that stood on the counter of a small wet bar. “Drink, anyone?” he asked, pouring a shot for himself.
“No. Not for me,” Marc said. “I need to keep my wits about me today.”
“I’d take a Coke or ginger ale,” Jim said. “I’m in charge of the dogs, so I definitely need to be on top of things.”
The men had settled into the Adirondack-style furniture with their beverage of choice when Adriana Keller appeared in the doorway, a camera slung around her neck. All eyes were fastened on her as she stepped down to the patio level, taking candid shots, moving cat-like, until she took a seat at the wet bar on a leather-covered stool.
Pins & Needles (A Gracie Andersen Mystery Book 5) Page 12
