A MATCH MADE IN MURDER (The Wedding Planner Mysteries Book 5)

by Jeanine Spooner

  Sterling wanted his dad. He wanted Grady. He wanted support to get through this. His hands were shaking. If anything happened to Kitty he’d never forgive himself.

  Instead of Harrison, he dialed Steve, who should’ve been here by now.

  “Dad?”

  “I’m heading over,” he said gruffly.

  “Kitty’s missing.”

  Hearing himself declare his biggest fear made Sterling keel over, palm to knee. He was fighting for air. The docks, the boardwalk, the yacht at his back seemed to be spinning all around him.

  “What do you mean she’s missing?” Steve asked in a panic.

  “I mean it’s happening again, Dad, I just know it.”

  “Try to stay calm,” he instructed.

  “She’s not answering her cell. She left me a note this morning telling me to have Trudy do things for the wedding. She didn’t say where she was going. Arg!”

  “All right, son, all right. I’m on my way over. Just hang in there.”

  “Don’t hang up,” he pleaded.

  Steve stayed on the line and reminded him to breathe, as he made his way out of the Delamar Hotel. Soon Sterling saw his father break away from the fray of tourists who were out for an afternoon stroll.

  Steve picked up his pace when he saw Sterling leaning heavily against a pier post as though he might collapse at any moment.

  “We’ll find her,” said Steve, lifting Sterling up into a rugged embrace. He gave his son a few strong pats to the back then released him as though the gesture ought to have pulled Sterling back together. “Now, let’s get practical.”

  Sterling had to fight to think straight. “Oh God, I have to get her back in time for the rehearsal.”

  “Forget the rehearsal. Forget the wedding,” he barked. “One thing at a time. All that matters is that we find her alive. Now. Where should we start?”

  “Who’s doing this?” Sterling searched Steve’s eyes for answers that neither of them had. “Who would want to hurt all these women?”

  “If I had a clue, Sterling, they’d be dead by now.”

  “I have to call Harrison.” Sterling fumbled to pull up his lieutenant’s number.

  “Are you sure he isn’t behind this?”

  Sterling paused. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m surrounded by strangers.”

  “Who do you trust to help us?”

  He thought about it, and then realized, “No one. Only you.”

  “Then it’s just us,” said Steve, slapping his shoulder.

  “My laptop’s in the Jeep,” he stated, starting off down the boardwalk at a fast clip. “If her cell is still on her, and hasn’t died, I can find her using GPS.”

  Steve jogged alongside him and grinned. “We’ll get her back. Don’t you worry for a second.”

  But Sterling had never been more worried in his life.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Like hell I’ll postpone my wedding! Over my dead body!” Kitty yelled, surprising both the killer and herself with her unsavory use of an omen she certainly wouldn't want to conjure. She gulped hard, as her bravery faltered.

  “Over your dead body?” He chuckled. “That’s the plan, my dear.”

  “Show me your face!” she demanded. “Stop hiding behind that ski mask! I deserve to know my killer!”

  “You don’t deserve anything,” he sneered. “Except to be a pawn in my game against Sterling.”

  “You’re insane!” she yelled. If attempting to appeal to him hadn’t worked then she’d provoke him into arguing. Anything to prolong the inevitable. “You got your feelings hurt by a little boy and went on a killing spree! No one understands you! You know what you are? Weak! Small minded! You’re a coward! A miserable coward who wants everyone around him to be miserable too! I’ve got news for you, killing me isn’t going to make you feel better. It isn’t going to help you find love and it isn’t going to prevent Sterling from finding love again and again. He’s lovable. Nothing you do will ever change that. It won’t matter how many women you kill. And the longer you do this, the more people you hurt, the more you’re sealing your fate. You will be caught. And you will go to prison unless it’s Sterling who finds you. If he does there’s no telling what he’ll do, but I can promise you it won’t be pleasant.”

  Kitty couldn’t tell if this was having any effect on him. The killer had turned his back and was standing in such a way that indicated he was handling something between his gloves. A knife? A gun? She hadn’t heard the characteristic noises of a pistol being loaded or cocked, but she’d been speaking loudly so who knew what he was up to.

  She’d also managed to glance about the cabin, though frantically. If there had been any tool laying around she would’ve found a way to grab it and use it to defend herself, but aside from a coil of rope, the leftovers from what he’d used to bind her hands behind her back, there was nothing but boxes and pillows and a mess of rags.

  “You don’t even kill like a real man!” She went on. “You murder passively, from afar, like a coward!”

  “Enough!” He screamed, turning fast.

  “What’s that?”

  Her gaze was locked on a shiny object he held in his gloved hands. It looked like jewelry, but she didn’t entirely recognize it. Was it a necklace? A bracelet? Was it poisoned? Was that what he was doing while he’d had his back to her? Brushing liquid poison over its shiny metal surface?

  “Stay back!” she ordered when he started slowly approaching.

  He widened his hands apart, stretching the chain wide, which showed her it was in fact a necklace. A pendant dangled from the center of the chain. It was a large, square shape and appeared to be antique brass with a few encrusted jewels.

  “I picked this out just for you,” he said, as he lowered to his knee.

  “You don’t want to do this,” she pleaded. “It’s not your MO.”

  “My MO?” he laughed. “Sterling really has rubbed off on you.”

  As he leaned over her, angling the necklace toward her, Kitty didn’t even think twice. She kicked as hard as she possibly could. Her heel struck his ribs. He grunted, flying backward, dropping the necklace in favor of catching his fall.

  Kitty sprang to her feet and scrambled around the cabin. She was so panicked it took her seconds to understand where the stairs were that would lead up to the deck.

  The killer screamed and reached for her ankle, as she dodged for the stairs, but his ribs hurt too much to follow through.

  Her foot slipped from his grasp and she scurried up the stairs, and then discovered she was not only on the Greenwich Harbor, but a mere forty yards away from the William Wallace yacht.

  She yelped with excitement and then started screaming for help as she scrambled around the stern of the yacht trying to find a way to jump off. As she looked down, she saw water, water, more water, and then she saw wood! The dock!

  “Noooo!” she screamed when the killer grabbed her from behind.

  He was far from gentle as he wrestled Kitty, kicking and screaming, down the stairs and back into the dark cabin. When he tossed her to the ground, she grunted from the impact then rolled to a hard stop against the wall.

  Then she heard the killer scream, but couldn’t make sense of it until she rolled to her side.

  Sterling!

  He kicked the killer hard in the ribs and the man keeled over then Sterling delivered a power punch to the exact same spot, which thrust the man backwards where he tripped on the first step of the stairs.

  He landed awkwardly. Fighting to catch his breath, Sterling watched him and shook out his punching hand. But the hesitation was a mistake.

  Before Kitty knew what was happening, the masked man sprinted up the stairs and Sterling started after him but froze when Kitty cried out.

  “What?” Sterling rushed to her.

  “I’m on it!” she said panicking. “It’s touching my hand!”

  “What is?!”

  “The necklace!!! Pull me off of it!!!”

  Sterling
dragged her toward him and she sighed as soon as she could no longer feel the cool, slick metal against the back of her hand.

  But it was too late. She turned suddenly woozy, and for the second time that day, Kitty Sinclair slipped into the sea of dark unconsciousness.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kitty lifted out of darkness, muttering, “I do!”

  “Not yet, Doll,” Sterling grinned from her bedside.

  Kitty blinked and he slowly came into focus.

  “Where am I?” she asked when she saw Penny and Ernie standing on the other side of her bed, then spotted Steve and Grady in the corner.

  “You’re in the Delamar,” said Penny with a huge smile.

  “What’s that beeping?” She wondered, and then felt something poking into her inner elbow. “Am I hooked up to machines?”

  “It’s just a heart rate monitor and they put an IV in you to help flush out the poison,” Sterling explained as he held her hand tightly. “Luckily, you weren’t exposed too long. You should be walking around by this evening.”

  “What about the rehearsal?” she asked then gasped. “What about the rehearsal dinner?!”

  “Kitty, relax,” he told her. “We don’t need a rehearsal, Doll. We can wing it.”

  Penny interjected, “The guests are having a lovely time in the dining hall here.”

  “The rehearsal dinner is happening right now?” Kitty asked, trying to lift up.

  Sterling urged her back down. “Trudy’s handling it,” he explained.

  “I have to make an appearance,” she whined.

  “And you might be able to, but first you need to rest,” he ordered. “When you’re feeling stronger, Harrison needs to talk to you to get a statement.”

  “When I’m feeling stronger, I’m going to my dinner!” Again, Kitty tried to lift out of bed, but she was no match for Sterling’s determination that she rest.

  “Kitty, don’t be stubborn,” he warned.

  “Don’t be unrealistic,” she countered. “I’m stubborn. That’s who I am.”

  Sterling seemed to enjoy the banter, which put her in a huff. She tried to cross her arms and display her irritation, but the IV cord prevented such a gesture.

  “Can I have some time with her?” he asked Steve and Grady over his shoulder.

  Steve nodded and ushered his brother through the door then followed, giving Kitty a lasting smile as he went.

  “Penny? Ernie?”

  Kitty’s parents were reluctant to leave her side, but eventually obliged when Sterling promised he wouldn’t leave Kitty unattended for even a second.

  When they were finally alone, Sterling held her hands tightly and gazed deeply into her eyes.

  “What in God’s name were you thinking?”

  Kitty couldn’t look at him. Her shame was too great.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You nearly got yourself killed, you know that?” he stated. “Do you have any idea how worried I was? I nearly lost it.”

  “Sterling,” she dove right in, desperate to share what she’d learned from the killer in hopes that it would jog his memory and they’d finally catch the guy. “Steve’s paternity was in question.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That’s what the killer told me. He was having an affair with your mother.”

  “My mother wasn’t having an affair with anyone.”

  “Don’t be defensive! Just listen! She was. I’m sorry to have to tell you that but she was. She was seeing the killer in secret and it had been going on for years and years. That’s why he thought you were his son. They had a paternity test. Mary wouldn’t show the killer the results. She told the killer Steve was your father so the killer had you find the test results and bring it to him. Do you remember any of this?”

  “I was eight?” Sterling had a hard think on it, but it only resulted in him shaking his head. “No, I don’t remember that.”

  “The killer told me that he’d asked you not to look at the results, but you did and asserted to him that you didn’t care what the test said, Steve was your father. He took this as such a great insult, and it hurt him so much, that it spawned his killing spree.”

  Sterling’s eyes widened as he searched the deepest recesses of his memory.

  “He was so close to you, Sterling, he spent time with you when your parents weren't there. Who in your life was like that? Come on, you have to remember.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t remember. I just don’t.”

  Kitty sighed. “He’s out there.”

  Sterling looked pained. He’d failed. He’d had the killer in his grasp, but he’d let him get away.

  “He had brown eyes,” she stated, listing off all that she could remember. “Dark brown. Cold. And I’ll never forget his voice.” She slipped into deep consideration. “He apologized for Layla.”

  “Meaning he has a heart?”

  “I don’t know what it means,” she said softly.

  Kitty glanced around the room for her purse then spotted it on a chair in the corner of the room.

  “Can I have my bag?”

  “Sure,” he said. He took his time releasing her then collected her purse from the chair and handed it over.

  “How do I look?” She asked as she assessed her appearance in a compact mirror.

  Sterling shot her a boyish smile. “I’m not sure what you want me to say here...”

  “Oh, you jerk!”

  He laughed. “You look beautiful.”

  “You know what I’m going to ask, right?” she said, lowering the mirror and widening her eyes at him.

  “Yeah,” he said softly. “I know. I suppose Harrison can wait.”

  Sterling helped Kitty up to a seated position and together they eased the IV out of her arm. When she was free of it Sterling pulled the heart rate monitor pads off her chest.

  “If you feel light headed—”

  “I don’t. I’m fine,” she insisted.

  Once he’d helped her swing her legs down, Kitty smiled up at him and truly saw him for what he was, what he always had been, and what he would always be to her: the love of her life.

  “We’re getting married, Sterling.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I know.”

  “I’m so happy.”

  He stared at her and knew she was. She was radiant. “Me too.”

  Sterling fetched her dress from the chair. As Kitty worked it over her head, stripping out of her hospital gown, Sterling grabbed her heels and together they put her into some semblance of order.

  She still looked a little scuffed up, but so did he. His suit was torn and stained in places where the struggle with the killer had gotten the best of him. It didn’t matter. All he cared about was the fact that she was safe. They would be married tomorrow. And nothing in this world would prevent that.

  “Ready?” he asked her.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she smiled.

  Sterling took her hand and together they made their careful way into the Delamar dining hall that Trudy had artfully decorated in Kitty's stead.

  When they entered, the guests fell silent.

  “Ladies and gentleman!” Trudy said excitedly into a microphone at the head of the bridal table. “The bride and groom!”

  The room broke out into thrilled applause. Guests cheered. Some cried in relief. Others whistled loudly to commemorate the strength and love that bonded Kitty and Sterling.

  Kitty turned to Sterling and smiled when everyone started chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!”

  “I think we have to,” Sterling laughed.

  “I won’t argue with that.”

  Sterling wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her in close until their lips pressed together through the smiles neither could contain. When he lifted and twirled her everyone shouted in joy, and when he set her down and their kiss eased into loving pecks, the room cooed awe!

  “All right, all right,” Trudy teased. “Get over here before you set the room
on fire!”

  They did.

  Trudy passed the microphone to Sterling, who wasn’t at all prepared to make a speech.

  With his arm around Kitty, he spoke clearly and with purpose stating all that he felt in his heart.

  “Nothing can tear us apart. Nothing can break us. This woman is my everything. And I’m overjoyed to share our eternal vows with all of you tomorrow.”

  Someone in the back shouted, “Hear, hear!” And once again the room broke out into passionate applause.

  When Kitty located the man who had so deeply resonated Sterling’s sentiment, she was met with dark, brown eyes.

  Her stomach dropped.

  The killer was staring right at her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kitty stood on the balcony deck of the William Wallace yacht and watched seagulls swoop and squawk over the harbor like ecstatic heralds proclaiming the joys of her nuptials to come.

  The sun was shining bright on the horizon. The sky was a rich shade of blue that told her nothing could go wrong on this blessed day.

  But the sky didn’t know what Kitty Sinclair did.

  She had everything to lose.

  A warm breeze cut across the water and kicked her choppy, brown locks up, causing her to clasp the collar of her pink satin robe tightly against her neck.

  “Kitty, my love, time for your hair!” Trudy called from the bridal cabin across the way.

  She glanced at her best friend over her shoulder, smiled as if to say she’d be right there, and then took one last long look at the Greenwich Harbor. It was breathtaking. And its beauty was in perfect reflection of the life she’d built, a life she loved and cherished. A life that would soon include the man of her dreams until death do you part.

  That was her greatest fear. Death had tried to part them and it would try again if she didn’t prove who the killer was, prove that the man with dark brown eyes who’d stared at her from across the dining hall was, in fact, the murderer who had taken her cousin’s life, and Charlotte’s, and Mary’s all those years ago.