Murder Wears a Veil

by Maddie Cochere

  I was completely disgusted. “Are you on board with this?”

  “It’s not my call. This is school politics pure and simple. The situation doesn’t involve child pornography, so the D.A. won’t bring any charges. Heather is the only one who can, and she wants to keep her job, so she really has no choice. Right now, she’s only asking for a private apology from Wes.”

  My phone dinged in my bag. I pulled it out and saw I had missed a call from Detective Hale in Hawaii. He had tried several times to reach me after my early morning call asking him about Natalie and the tuxedo. I knew I needed to talk with him. It was time to tell him everything I knew. The new information about Pete and Natalie’s sister seemed especially important.

  Jackie stopped at a side entrance to the hotel. It was the door closest to the large meeting room where Nancy’s bridal shower would be held. Pepper had originally planned to have the shower at her house, but as the guest list grew, Chummy’s meeting room was chosen instead. When more and more out-of-town members of the Baranski family confirmed they were coming, the larger meeting room at the hotel was eventually booked.

  “Do you need help taking everything in?” Jackie asked.

  “I can get it. Thanks.”

  “Tell Estelle I’m sorry I couldn’t stay to help, but I need to get this story finalized right away.”

  I grabbed the bags from the back seat and noticed my truck parked at the back of the lot. Addie had borrowed it this morning to run errands and move her things out of my house and into Rita’s Bed and Breakfast. There wasn’t any reason for me to babysit her any longer, and since she decided to stay in Buxley until after the wedding, she thought Rita’s place would be a better fit. I can’t say I was sorry to see her go.

  I said goodbye to Jackie and walked into the hotel.

  Chaos reigned in the meeting room.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Roger was barking orders at Hank from atop a ladder in the middle of the room. He was attempting to hang a large round ball that was reminiscent of a disco ball, except it was made of paper.

  Women I didn’t know, and who I presumed were members of the Baranski family, were busy covering tables with paper tablecloths. Aunt Bee’s two daughters, Rose and Sandy, were huddled in a corner with a stack of CDs. They appeared to be choosing the ambient music for the shower. I Will Always Love You blared from an old-style CD player.

  Several small children, who I assumed belonged to Rose and Sandy, ran around them like chickens with their heads cut off, a clear display of sugar overload as evidenced by the numerous candy bar wrappers on one table.

  I hadn’t seen my cousins in ages. Both had married up and moved out of state to greener pastures. Greener meaning pastures filled with money. They were fond of Pepper, but they never seemed to care for me. I didn’t rush over to greet them.

  The main event was just inside the door to my right. Mama and Addie were in a shouting match about the placement of the food table. Addie was adamant the table should be at the back of the room with the gift table near the door. Mama was equally determined to have the food at the forefront.

  “Everyone will be focused on the food and not on the bride-to-be if you put the food in front of their faces. It’s human nature. Put the gifts up here, and they’ll be a decoration,” Addie said.

  She was right. The gifts should be in the front and the food should be at the back of the room.

  “The bride will have plenty of attention,” Mama argued. “I didn’t spend hours baking and decorating a three-tiered cake for it to sit unnoticed at the back of the room.”

  Mama had a point, too. She was an excellent cook and baker, and I was certain the cake would be lovely.

  Lovely. How had that word seeped into my vocabulary?

  “It was a nitwit thing to do to bake a wedding cake for a bridal shower in the first place. Why couldn’t you bake a sheet cake like a normal person?”

  Mama’s already red face turned redder. She put her face in Addie’s, their noses nearly touching now. “Are you saying I’m not normal?”

  Pepper rushed up to me. “Thank goodness you’re here. Can you do something about those two? They’ve been arguing about every little detail since they arrived.”

  “Addie is no longer my responsibility, and since when do you think I have any influence over Mama? I’ve already done my duty by putting up with Addie for two days, and I’m not getting involved.”

  “I heard that, you nitwit,” Addie called over to me.

  I swear, the woman had bionic ears. There was no way she should have been able to hear me over Mama’s bellowing.

  “Where do you want these?” I asked, holding out the bags of streamers and decorations to Pepper.

  “Put them in there,” she said, pointing to an open door in the back left corner of the room. Keith’s in there watching Rose’s baby. Have you said hello to Rose and Sandy yet?”

  “No, I just walked in. I’ll get around to it eventually.”

  “They haven’t changed,” she said with a sigh. “Once you’re in their grasp, you’ll have to listen to how wonderful their lives are, how much money their husbands make, and how they’re the best parents in the world.”

  As if on cue, one of the children knocked over a table that held a box of small glass vases. Several of the vases broke as they crashed to the floor.

  Rose stood up and demanded, “Who put these vases here? The children could have been hurt by this broken glass.” She snapped her fingers at Hank. “You. Clean this up.”

  I loved Aunt Bee to pieces. She was wonderful, kind, wise, and a perfectly perfect aunt. How she raised these two girls to be so spoiled, demanding, and diva-like was always a mystery to me.

  “Where’s Kelly?” I asked Pepper.

  “She stayed home with Buck. He won’t take his pain pills, and he’s miserable. He’s got us waiting on him for every little thing. The doctor said he’ll be moving around on his crutches by the weekend, but I seriously doubt it.”

  “That doesn’t sound like Buck. He’s usually the strong one. I’ve seen him go to work sicker than a dog, but off he goes.”

  “This is different. He can handle sick. He can’t deal with pain.”

  “Then why won’t he take his pills?”

  “He never takes pills. Maybe an occasional antibiotic if he needs it, but he’s dead set against pain pills. He says they’re addictive.”

  “That’s nonsense,” I said.

  Nonsense. Lovely and nonsense. I had to eradicate these two words from my brain.

  “I know, but men are such babies. Haven’t you noticed that with Glenn?”

  I stared at her.

  “You know,” she said. “When he’s sick. Isn’t he a big baby?”

  “He’s never been sick.” It sounded funny to say it, but it was true. In all the time I had known him, he’d never had a cold, flu, stomachache – nothing.

  The clamor coming from Mama and Addie escalated. I rolled my eyes and headed for Keith and the baby. Pepper could deal with those two.

  I stepped into the small storage room and saw the baby in a carrier on the floor. She appeared happy and content. Keith was holding up a disgusting, soiled diaper. He looked closely at it, sniffed it, and licked the brown goo it contained.”

  “What are you doing?” I yelled. “Have you lost your mind? Do you want to get a disease?” I grabbed the diaper from him. He fell over onto his side, clutching his stomach and gurgling. I leaned out the doorway and yelled for Pepper. She either ignored me or couldn’t hear me over Addie and Mama.

  I turned back to Keith and his gurgling only to realize he was convulsing with laughter. The baby was squealing right along with him.

  He sat up and pointed to a box filled with candy bars. “I’m getting the poo diapers ready. I forgot what candy bar was smeared in this one, so I tasted it. You should have seen the look on your face.” Another round of uncontrollable laughter took over, and he fell over again, holding his side.

  I couldn’t belie
ve Mama was going through with the stupid diaper game. Our family was going to be a laughingstock. Nevertheless, I couldn’t resist Keith’s laughter and the baby’s smile, and I had to laugh with him. It was pretty idiotic I thought he would actually lick a soiled diaper.

  I decided to ignore everyone and make extra party favors for the tables. There was a mountain of mints remaining, and it would be easier to get rid of them if they were bundled in mesh and tied with ribbons. We could encourage everyone to take several for their trip home, wherever that may be.

  Just as two of the children bumped into me and nearly knocked the tub of mints off the table, Glenn and Clay walked into the room. I looked at the two misbehaving boys, frowned, and said sternly in a low voice, “The police are here. I guess you need to settle down now, don’t you?”

  Their eyes bugged out, and they scurried off to hide behind their mothers. It was a mean thing to say, but I had been appalled by their behavior. Mama never let Pepper, Hank, or me misbehave anywhere. If we were disruptive in public or when visiting relatives, we were punished when we got home. And Mama’s punishments were wicked. They usually involved deep cleaning around the house or rubbing her feet for an hour with some new lotion she simply had to try. That was the worst - rubbing her feet while she yammered away on the telephone to whoever she could find to talk with her at the moment.

  Glenn made his way over to me. The part of my heart that had just been mean to the two boys softened when I saw his smile, complete with dimple. I glanced over at Rose and Sandy. Both were watching Glenn walk across the room, and I sensed they appreciated his good looks.

  I couldn’t help myself. I stood and threw my arms around his neck and gave him a big kiss.

  “What was that for?” he asked, but the twinkle in his eyes let me know he approved.

  “I’ve missed you the past couple of days, and I’m happy to see you.” I sneaked a quick look at my cousins and saw both had looks of disbelief on their faces. Yes, I was childish. I didn’t care. Both of those girls made me feel like I was an ugly, stupid girl when we were growing up. It felt good to show them that the most attractive man in the room belonged to me.

  “We’re done for the day,” he said. “We have to check back in at the station, and then I’m going home to cook eggplant parmesan for you. I know how much you love it.”

  Yikes. Did I really tell him I loved his eggplant parmesan? I do like it, but I don’t love it. “You know what I love more?” I asked playfully.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said with a big grin. “We can arrange that, too.”

  “Not that, silly. Well, yes, that, too, but what I meant was to eat. What I love to eat more is your chicken parmesan. Could we have that instead?”

  “Sure. I’ll grab the chicken on the way home.”

  Clay joined us. “Who’s the girl at the table behind Estelle? The one with the braid.”

  He had pointed out one of the women belonging to the Baranski clan. Her hair was deep brown with copper highlights. The braid was thick and hung halfway down her back. I could imagine how beautiful her hair would be loose around her shoulders. I wasn’t surprised Clay mentioned her braid.

  “I have no idea. She belongs to Nancy’s side of the family. Go break up Mama and Addie and ask Addie to introduce you.”

  Clay wasn’t shy. He immediately headed for the two snippy women.

  “She’s pretty,” Glenn said. “Not as pretty as you, of course, but this is the first I’ve seen Clay show an interest in someone.”

  She was definitely pretty. She was also tall, and lithe, and moved with a grace that was foreign to most of us. “She must be a ballerina,” I said.

  Glenn laughed and shook his head. “You and that imagination.”

  We watched as Clay got his introduction, and surprisingly, a number to input into his phone. He sauntered back over to us with a huge smile on his face.

  “All set,” he said to Glenn.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “Did she actually give you her number?”

  “Yep.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Jazz. Isn’t that great?”

  Glenn clapped him on the back. “It sure is. Let’s go. I have a dinner to cook.”

  An hour later, the unthinkable happened. Mama and Addie compromised. Mama’s three-tiered cake would go on the table with the gifts in the front of the room, while the rest of the food would go on a table in the back.

  The room was an explosion of orange, yellow, and white decorations. It was all really very lovely.

  Lovely.

  I recovered my keys from Addie and dragged myself out to my truck. I hadn’t had nearly enough sleep in the past two days, and I was exhausted. A nice quiet evening at home with Glenn was definitely on the agenda.

  I walked through the front door and headed toward the wonderful aroma coming from the kitchen.

  A small movement in the living room caught my eye. Panic swept through my body. I almost fainted from the adrenaline hit to my heart as it jumped into my throat.

  Seated comfortably on the sofa with a beer in hand and a smile on his face was Detective Hale. There was no doubt in my mind the white envelope in front of him on the coffee table was a subpoena with my name on it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  My legs were rubbery as I walked into the kitchen.

  I didn’t say hello to Glenn, and my tone wasn’t pleasant when I asked, “What’s Detective Hale doing here? And why is he drinking a beer on our sofa?”

  Glenn dropped fresh pasta into a pot and turned to face me. “I invited him to stay for dinner. He’s only in town for two days, and since he made the trip all this way to see you, I thought it would be polite to ask him to stay for dinner.”

  “He’s here to subpoena my butt back to Hawaii to testify against Pete Sinclair in Natalie Ping’s murder trial. You know we can’t afford for me to fly to Hawaii and stay there indefinitely. The trial could drag on for months.”

  “You’re overreacting. I’m sure he only wants to talk with you.”

  “He could have called me on the phone,” I said.

  Glenn raised his eyebrows. “I’m under the impression that he did call. Numerous times.”

  I sighed heavily. The fact that Detective Hale was in our living room right now was entirely my fault. If I had taken just one of his calls and told him what I knew, I might not be in this predicament now.

  Glenn slipped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. “I’m sure everything will be fine. You’ll tell him what you know, and he’ll find the murderer. The murderer will confess, and the Ping money will keep the case from ever going to trial. The murderer goes to jail for life. Everyone’s happy.” Satisfied with his attempt to calm me, he smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

  I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t. I knew he was just trying to make me feel better.

  He gave me a final hug. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes, so you might as well find out what he wants before we eat.”

  I didn’t make eye contact with the detective as I went back to the front of the house and raced up the stairs. After splashing cold water on my face, changing out of my sweater and into a t-shirt, and steeling myself for the certain confrontation ahead of me, I slowly made my way to the living room.

  Glenn came into the room with a cold beer in hand for me. I must have looked bug-eyed as I attempted to convey to him with my eyes that I didn’t want to be alone with Detective Hale.

  He patted me on the shoulder. “I’m sure you two have a lot to talk about. I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready.” He quickly left the room.

  Coward.

  The chair Addie had pulled up to the coffee table two nights ago was still in the same place. I dragged it back to where it belonged, settled myself into it, and took a long draw on my beer. I was tempted to chug the whole thing in an effort to calm my nerves, but the guaranteed belch that would follow wasn’t the impression I wanted to make on the detective. At least not today.

&n
bsp; I tried to appear nonchalant when I asked, “What brings you to Ohio?”

  His smile was more like a smirk. “Really? Is that how you’re going to start our conversation? You know exactly why I’m here.”

  “Listen, Mr. Hale-”

  He cut me off. “Call me Adam.”

  “Ok,” I said with a pause. “Listen, Adam. I can’t afford to go back to Hawaii with you. If I tell you everything I know, and you find it helpful, would you agree to take my statement and allow me stay here in Ohio? If you need me to testify, could we do it over Skype?”

  He stared at me for what felt like several minutes, but I knew it was only seconds. “I think we can work something out.”

  I felt the tension leave my body. My shoulders came down at least two inches. I downed another drink of my beer before asking, “Why did you come here? Why didn’t you wait for me to get back to you?”

  “I couldn’t wait any longer, and since you wouldn’t take any of my calls, I figured I’d never hear from you again if I didn’t just show up. Natalie’s parents are putting a lot of pressure on the department to arrest Pete for her murder, and I need some answers. How did you know Natalie was wearing a tuxedo? That information wasn’t released to the public, and there’s no way you could have found out on your own. Who in our department tipped you off?”

  My stomach grumbled loudly. Other than a few bites of the teriyaki pizza and a handful of bridal shower mints, I hadn’t had anything else to eat all day.

  “It’s a long story, and dinner’s almost ready. I’ll tell you everything when we’ve finished eating.”

  I left the detective to check on the status of dinner. A steaming platter of pasta and sauce sat on the counter, and Glenn was pulling the chicken parmesan from the oven.

  “Grab the salad from the fridge and the detective from the living room and let’s eat,” he said cheerfully.

  I certainly didn’t have a cheerful attitude, but I wasn’t as worked up as when I first realized Detective Hale was in our house. I expected I’d feel more relaxed after dinner. I was sure of it when Glenn opened a bottle of Chianti.