Phil sat in the front row next to a woman I hadn’t seen before, and Rose sat on the other end of the bench next to Jasmine. I scanned the crowd until I found Javier, neatly dressed in a suit, near the back. Lorea caught my eye and nodded her head toward the empty space next to her. Inwardly, I cringed when I recognized Vickie from the vet clinic sitting right in front of Lorea and Tony.
Edging my way through the throng of people, I brushed up against someone and murmured, “Excuse me.”
“It’s no problem,” the man said in a familiar accent. He pronounced “it’s” like “eats.” I jerked my head up to make eye contact with Boris Kovacevic. His eyes were red and puffy, and he held a handkerchief in one hand.
I nodded and moved past him to my seat. Lily had so many people who loved her, but what about her enemies?
When Tim walked in through a side door and sat on the second row, every single one of my murder suspects was in the room. I heard a few people murmuring and I noticed a man and a woman pointing in Tim’s direction, their faces pinched in anger. Tim kept his head down. My chest filled with sadness at the situation. I leaned back against the padded chair and listened to the prelude music.
Lorea gave me a hug, her eyes tight with emotion. “Poor Lily. I hope she knew how much she was loved before she left this earth.”
I nodded. “It’s still hard to believe she’s gone.”
Tony reached across Lorea and patted my hand. “At least Tim could be here for the funeral,” he whispered in a voice so low I barely caught the words.
Before I could reply, the services started. The program was shorter than I expected, but maybe that was because the life sketch that Lily’s cousin gave was short—her life was cut short when there was so much more she could have done. My eyes kept wandering to different people in the crowd—mainly those in the category of suspects. Each person seemed to be grieving in their own way. Tim’s was the most obvious display of grief: he didn’t hide the trails of tears running down his cheeks, dripping onto his suit coat. An older woman, possibly his mother, handed him a handkerchief, but Tim just clutched it tightly in his hands, staring ahead at Lily’s casket.
During the final hymn, I wondered over a disturbing question. Would the murderer be sad because Lily had died, or because they had killed her? Or worse, was one of these people acting, portraying grief to broadcast their supposed innocence to those watching?
After the funeral and graveside service, we returned to a church, where I helped set up casseroles and pans of funeral potatoes. It always felt weird to me, having a luncheon after a funeral, mostly because it was odd that no matter what happened in life, eventually we would be hungry again. I peeled the tinfoil off one of the steaming pans of potatoes sprinkled with cheese and crushed corn flakes. The grated potatoes bubbled in creamy sauce as I put a serving spoon in each pan.
Lily’s family wasn’t very big, but there were still about sixty people at the luncheon. Lorea stayed to help with the serving as well. Once the meal was underway, we shared a plate of food in the kitchen. The funeral potatoes were delicious. As I savored the perfect combination of cheese, potatoes, and crunch in the casserole, I decided that maybe hunger stuck around to keep our minds from dwelling on grief.
My wedding shop felt especially subdued and gloomy after Lorea and I returned from Lily’s funeral. We both went through the motions of work, setting up appointments, paying bills, and calling clients, but there was a hollow feeling to the work that day. Lorea hummed “Abide with Me,” the hymn sung at the end of Lily’s funeral, while she stitched more of the fine beaded-silk wedding gown.
When a customer entered at one fifteen, I realized that I’d completely forgotten about Zara’s appointment. I pasted on a smile and went to greet the bleached blonde wearing gold high heels, a red leather miniskirt, and some kind of sheer gold fabric that could loosely be defined as a blouse. If it wasn’t Zara, then I was completely losing my touch.
“Oh, hi! You must be Adri,” she said as soon as she saw me. “I’m Zara Lowry, and your shop is just darling.” She held out her hand, bedecked with bangle bracelets, a gold watch, and several rings.
I shook it, and smiled. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you. Let’s have a seat right over here at my design table.” I motioned to the table set up with binders of fabric and color swatches. “I have a questionnaire you can fill out.”
Zara scooted past me and plopped down into my office chair, which faced the window. I usually sat there so I could keep an eye on the comings and goings in my shop, and because I had things organized to work efficiently in each appointment. I mentally shrugged and sat in the other chair.
“So, I want my wedding to be glam—like the ring Maddox gave me.” She flashed a gaudy diamond on her ring finger that looked a lot like cubic zirconium, and continued, “Like I want my old boyfriends to see what they’re missing.” Zara leaned over the desk, and her push-up bra strained at the sheer fabric of her shirt.
I swallowed my cringe and rolled my shoulders back, ready to tell her just how busy we were, but before I could say anything Zara popped open one of my wedding planners and began flicking through the pages. She pulled out a questionnaire and started filling out the top line.
“I can bring you a picture of the type of wedding gown I want,” she said. “It’s straight from the red carpet. I want a V-neckline—” She pointed somewhere near her belly button. “—and Maddox loves the high-cut slits that show a little leg.”
She batted her ultra-fake eyelashes, and I gulped in a breath. “Well, the thing is, my schedule is much busier than—”
“Oh, hang on a minute.” Zara slipped the diamond ring off her finger and dropped it into her purse. She smoothed back her hair and, if possible, looked even perkier.
“What are you doing? Is there something wrong?” I asked. At the same time, the bell above my door chimed.
“Him,” Zara said. She stood and grabbed her purse. “Be right back,” she whispered as she walked past me.
I turned around and my jaw went slack as Zara made a beeline for Luke. Luke’s eyes caught mine with a question as Zara approached him. There wasn’t time for me to relay even a facial tic, let alone an explanation for what was about to happen.
Zara sidled up to him. “Hi there, handsome.” She took his left hand and squealed. “Oh, he’s single, too!”
Luke pulled his hand away from Zara. “Excuse me, but I’m here to—”
“Oh, I know honey.” Zara put her hand on his arm and slid it up to his bicep. “It’s love, right?” She gripped his muscle, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered something in his ear.
Luke’s face turned crimson, and he shrugged out of her grasp. “I’m here for Adri.” He practically sprinted to my side. “I’m taking her out on a date.” He reached down and grabbed my hand, squeezing it three times.
Zara studied Luke and then leveled her gaze at me. She sniffed, then shrugged. “Dang, he was a fine one,” she murmured as she dug through her purse until she found her ring. She slid it back on her finger and walked toward us.
I felt Luke stiffen, and I squeezed his hand this time.
“Sorry for running late for my appointment,” Zara said. “Maybe we can go over more details next time?”
I opened my mouth, strained to think of something to say, and closed it again.
“Actually,” Lorea spoke up from behind me. She stood next to me with her arms folded. “This was just a pre-screening. Adri has a big client load right now, so she meets with people to help them find the right wedding coordinator. We won’t be able to fit you in, but we wish you the best of luck.”
Zara frowned. “But then why the questionnaire?”
I wanted to say, You mean the one you took out of a binder without asking? But instead I said, “I like to see if there’s anything I can do to help you, but I really am overscheduled.” I snatched the form off the table. “Here’s your form. I think it’ll come in handy with the rest of your planning.” Zara had only filled out the top
two lines.
“Well, that was a waste of time,” Zara spat. “It’s not like wedding planners grow on trees around here.”
“I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone who can accommodate your schedule,” I said.
“You should have told me you were full before I sat here for half an hour.”
“Actually,” Lorea cut in again, “She was about to tell you right before you started flirting with her boyfriend.”
Zara stiffened. Her eyes cut to Luke and back to me. “Is he really your boyfriend?”
I nodded, not daring to look sideways at Luke.
Zara’s lip curled, and she glared at Lorea. “I understand.” She turned and stomped out of the shop.
“What in the world was that?” Luke finally said, once the door closed.
“That was a crazy txori buru,” Lorea said.
“Isn’t there a better word in Basque to describe her?” I asked. “Because calling her a birdbrain sounds too nice.”
Lorea tapped her cheek with her index finger. “How about beldurgarri. Scary. As in restraining-order scary.”
“I agree,” Luke said. “What’s her name, so I can file one tomorrow?”
Lorea burst out laughing, I started laughing, and then we couldn’t stop. Tears ran down my cheeks, and even Luke’s shoulders shook with laughter.
“Why do I attract the crazies?” I said.
“It’s because you’re so sweet,” Luke said. He touched my cheek and a zing went right through me, killing the laughter and replacing it with butterflies.
“Thanks for saving me there, Lorea,” I said. “At first, I wasn’t sure what to say to her.”
“Anytime,” Lorea said. “I knew exactly what I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t say any of that.”
“Are you about ready to go?” Luke asked. “If I wasn’t worried before about being in a wedding planner shop, I definitely am now.”
Lorea and I laughed. “Yes,” I told him. “Let me just put this away.”
“I’ll get it,” Lorea said. “You go, and you’d better hold on tight to Luke. Zara might be out there waiting for him.” Lorea waggled her eyebrows.
Even though she was teasing, I saw Luke scanning the area as we walked to his car.
Luke had picked up sandwiches before he came to get me, and we ate under a large fir tree, not too far from the Sun Valley lodge. Even though I’d had a portion of potatoes at the funeral, I was still hungry. The bacon-and-salami slammer Luke offered me made my mouth water.
“So, how was the funeral?” Luke asked.
“It was very nice. Sad. I noticed Tim had a hard time.” I pulled up a bunch of grass and let it fall through my fingers.
“I’m sure it was tough for him.” Luke watched the grass catch the breeze with a faraway expression.
I decided to change the subject. “This is a perfect day for a picnic. I haven’t been able to spend as much time outside this summer. Too much work.”
“I agree.” Luke refocused on me, and his eyes lit up. “I do have one tomato plant in my garden box and some kind of squash.”
“Volunteers?”
Luke nodded and took another bite of his sandwich.
“My mom grows enough vegetables in her garden for half the county, which is good since I don’t have any place for a garden.”
“Nothing like fresh tomatoes.” Luke bit into a tomato hanging from his sandwich.
“Or cucumbers with salt and vinegar.” We smiled at each other. “Hey, sorry again for earlier at the shop. How are you doing?”
Luke grimaced. “Well, it took my mind off work for a minute. I don’t know if a distraction like that is what I need, though.”
“That case still dragging on?”
“Yes,” Luke said. “I’m really worried about this custody hearing tomorrow.”
“It’s the real deal, isn’t it?”
“The judge has made his decision, and he’ll let us know tomorrow afternoon.”
“Stomach all tied up in knots?”
“Yep.” Luke put a hand on his stomach and looked almost physically ill. “Javier wants to win, but he also wants to be part of his daughter’s life in whatever way he can.”
“So what do you think will happen?”
“I think he has a good chance. Rose has made a lot of mistakes, and there have been several documented incidents of neglect.”
I shuddered. “It’s hard to believe that someone could treat their child like that.”
Luke wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I keep hoping it will turn out all right, but mostly I just want it to be over with.”
“Will you call me when you find out?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
I touched his cheek. “I like spending time with you.”
He covered my hand with his. “Me too. Can we do this again, maybe tomorrow?”
“I think I have an opening in my schedule,” I said with a wink.
Luke kissed the tips of my fingers, and my insides sparkled with unseen fireworks. He leaned forward and pulled me close to him, so close that I could see the gray flecks in his blue eyes. He smiled and brushed his lips against mine softly.
Right about the time I closed my eyes, we were knocked over by something large, furry, and wet.
“Mike! No, no! Bad dog!” Trixie yelled from across the park.
I felt Mike’s tongue on my cheek and pushed the dog off me. “Get off, Mike!”
Luke jumped up and pulled me to a standing position beside him. Mike yipped and pushed against Luke’s leg. “You know this dog?”
“Yes, this is the dog that walked the bride down the aisle,” I said. “And there’s the bride.”
Trixie jogged up next to us, with Sadie tagging along on a leash. “I’m so sorry. Mike got away from me. He’s a sneaky fellow, aren’t you, Mike?” She patted his head and picked up the blue leash dangling from his collar. Trixie gripped both leashes in her hand and smoothed back her purple-streaked hair. “I really am sorry about that.”
“It’s no problem,” Luke said.
I wanted to say that actually it was a problem, because Mike had interrupted my first kiss with Luke. Instead, I nodded. “No problem. Good to see you. How’s Derek doing?”
“He’s great. We’re great. Summer is keeping us busy, but we’re planning to take the kids camping next week,” Trixie said. “We’re going to be honeymooning all summer.”
“That’ll be fun. Well, take care of yourselves.” I waved as she jogged off with the dogs.
Luke furrowed his brow and whispered, “I thought you said they just got married. Did they have kids from a previous marriage?”
I laughed. “No, they refer to their dogs as their kids.”
“Oh, I get it,” Luke said. “Well, I guess we better get this cleaned up.” He bent over and picked up the wrappers that Mike had scattered. I shook out the blanket, all the while feeling like I got cheated out of my birthday party. My lips felt warm from Luke’s interrupted kiss.
When we’d loaded everything into the car, Luke pulled me in for another hug. “Thanks for taking a break with me. Maybe tomorrow we can celebrate.”
“Yes, let’s do that.” I checked my emotions. A celebratory first kiss would be the best kind after how hard Luke had worked on this case. And this time, I’d make sure there were no dogs in the area.
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Luke dropped me off at the shop and headed back to his office to work. He often worked later in the evening, when there were no interruptions. It would have been nice if we could have extended our date, but I needed to finish up a few things before we closed.
It was almost three o’clock when I returned to find Lorea scanning the news online. She looked mildly guilty when I came up behind her.
“Something I should be worried about?” I asked.
Lorea shook her head. “Just checking to see if there’s anything new on Lily. I imagine there will be some articles tomorrow about who was at the funeral.”
“It’s such a shame.” I paused. “I hate to think it, but the murderer was definitely at the funeral today.”
“I know.” Lorea blew out a breath. “Tony has been working nonstop on this murder investigation. I know they’re going to find out who did this.” Lorea put her hand on my forearm and tilted her head to catch my eye. “And I have a confession.”
I perked up. “About what?”
She fingered the laburu cross around her neck. “I might have been doing a little investigating of my own.”
“Wait. What?” I grabbed Lorea’s other hand. “Did you find something? You found something about Lily, didn’t you?”
“Easy.” She pulled her hand free. “Don’t get me in trouble with Tony.”
“How does that get you in trouble with Tony?”
“He specifically told me, ‘Don’t encourage Adri in any way to look into this case. The police are handling it, and I don’t want her to get hurt.’”
“Hmph.” I sniffed. “Poor sport.” Just because I’d helped solve a few murders and might have endangered my life a few times, he thought that he could boss me around? I hadn’t done anything to jeopardize the case, or even asked that many questions. Lorea, on the other hand ... I studied my friend. Her short dark hair flipped at the ends, adding to the spunk that resonated in every interaction I’d had with her over the past two and a half years. Lorea was smart, resourceful, genuine, and now she had an in with the best detective in the Sun Valley area.
Proposals and Poison Page 13
