by Cindy Bell
“Brian, what if it wasn't Alisha using the credit card?” she suggested eagerly.
“What do you mean?” he asked as he tucked his copy of the receipt into his pocket.
“I mean maybe she gave it to someone else to use,” Wendy said, her voice raising as she was hopeful that she was headed in the right direction.
“That sounds like an interesting idea,” he said with a slight nod.
“I think we should retrace the information for Alisha's alibi, and try to verify it by having people confirm it was her from a photograph, rather than just using the receipts she produced,” Wendy said with some excitement.
“What about your schedule this afternoon?” Brian asked with some concern.
“I can make the stops I need to make in between,” Wendy insisted. “They are just quick confirmations that everything is happening as it should.”
“All right, if you're game, I am,” Brian said with a nod. “I will call Polson and have him send me a list of Alisha's activities during the time of the murder. We also need to get our hands on a photograph of her.”
“No worries,” Wendy said with a smile. She reached into her purse and pulled out the postcard advertisement that Alisha had given her at her house. “I think this will do,” she said as she handed it over to Brian.
“Perfect,” he said and swept his gaze over the photograph.
Chapter Eight
While Brian was on the phone with Polson getting the information about Alisha’s alibi, Wendy sat in the passenger seat of his black Cadillac. She began shifting through everything she knew about the case so far. She still had a hard time believing that Oliver or Alisha could be murderers.
“Brian,” she called out when he paused for a moment in his conversation with Polson. “You mentioned about Oliver being in debt, ask Polson if there is any indication of illegal debts in Oliver's past, like loan sharks. Maybe he thought having his restaurant shut down would be the only way out.”
“Good thought,” Brian nodded. He returned to his conversation with Polson. When he hung up the phone he slid into the driver's seat and turned to look at Wendy.
“I got the list of places that Alisha claimed to be yesterday. Polson said he didn't find any history of criminal connections to Oliver. That doesn't mean that there weren't any. I think we should keep our eyes and ears open,” he frowned. Wendy grimaced. She still hadn't mentioned the phone call that she had overheard at Oliver's. She was sure he was in more trouble than just a police investigation. She felt if she brought it up now, it would indicate that she had been trying to hide it. She decided to wait a little bit longer before she mentioned it.
“It would be crazy if he was mixed up in some kind of loan sharking situation,” Brian added.
“Anything seems possible at this point,” Wendy sighed. She took Brian's phone from him so she could look over the emailed list that Polson had sent. She nodded a little as she reviewed the list.
“Okay, let's head for this gas station first, I can stop in at the florist, it's on the way.”
“On it,” Brian said and began driving towards the florist. “I really admire how you can juggle so much at once,” he smiled as he glanced over at Wendy.
“Well, I'd admire it more if I wasn't juggling so much,” Wendy replied with a short laugh.
“The gas station is about forty-five minutes from here,” Brian explained as they pulled into the parking lot of the florist.
“Okay, let me run into the florist real quick, and then we'll head over there,” Wendy said.
“I'll come in with you, if you don't mind,” Brian smiled.
“Sure,” Wendy nodded. They walked into the flower shop together. The woman behind the counter beamed when she saw Wendy.
“I thought you might be coming by today,” she said happily. “We just got the flowers for the bouquet in. They are going to be so fresh for the ceremony.”
“That's wonderful,” Wendy said. “Can I take a peek at them? I just want to confirm that the colors will match the ribbons that we selected.”
“Of course, I'd just ask that you don't open the refrigerated case. We like to keep the flowers as fresh as possible until the day of the wedding,” she explained.
“Okay,” Wendy nodded. Brian followed her as the clerk led them over to the refrigerated case. Wendy could clearly see the flowers. She brought up a picture of the ribbons that she had taken to showcase their exact shade.
“Perfect,” she sighed with relief when she saw the petals of the flower were almost identical to the ribbon. Considering that one was nature-made and one was manufactured, having them match so closely was nothing short of a miracle.
“I'm glad that you're happy,” the clerk replied with a smile. “I hope the bride will be as well.”
“I'm sure she will be,” Wendy replied warmly.
Wendy slipped her hand into Brian's as they stepped out of the florist. She felt him lightly grasp her hand in return, and she smiled up at him.
“On to the gas station,” he said as they reached his car.
Wendy used the drive to the gas station to confirm the centerpieces, the new caterers and the celebrant for Shawna and Kyle’s wedding. She was just hanging up with the celebrant when Brian parked the car.
Brian tilted his head towards the gas station on the corner.
“That's the place. She has a receipt from early this morning stating that she was filling her gas tank. If she really was there, then she would not have had time to get across town and be at Handley’s at the estimated time of the murder.”
“The parking lot looks packed so we’ll walk over if that’s okay?” he asked.
“Good idea,” Wendy replied. “It's beautiful out.”
Once they started walking towards the gas station Brian grasped Wendy’s hand. They walked down the sidewalk towards the gas station. They were about to cross the street when a car squealed past. Brian pulled Wendy out of the street before the car could come anywhere near her. Wendy lingered in his arms longer than she really needed to.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“I think so,” she replied. “Thanks to you, as usual.”
“Glad to be of service,” he teased. They walked across the street more cautiously. For a moment Wendy wondered if the driver of the car had been targeting her. She shook off the thought as paranoid. The parking lot of the gas station and the spaces at the pumps were filled. The small store was very busy. Wendy wondered if there would be any chance that the clerk would remember a face after the hundreds he likely saw each day.
“Maybe we should come back another time,” Wendy said hesitantly as they made their way through the front door of the gas station.
“The fresher the recollection the better,” Brian said with a slight shake of his head. “We might just have to wait a few minutes until the rush clears.”
There was a line that wound almost all the way back to the coolers. Wendy craned her neck so that she could see the register. She saw one young man behind it. He looked a little flustered as he served the customers as quickly as he could. As the line moved forward Wendy noticed that he barely looked up at the customers. She was beginning to seriously doubt that they would be able to get any information from the clerk. He wouldn't even be able to tell them who he had just served, let alone who he might have served in the early morning hours. By the time Wendy got to the register, the rush had finally dispersed.
“How can I help you?” the clerk asked breathlessly when he saw that she didn't have any products to put on the counter.
“I just need a little information,” Wendy explained.
“We have a map section over there,” the young man pointed. “You can look through them, just make sure you fold them up right.”
“No, that's not what I mean,” Wendy replied. She squinted at the name tag on the young man's shirt. “Eric, I need some information about a customer of yours.”
“Huh?” Eric looked from Wendy to Brian who was standing stoically b
eside her. “What is this all about?”
“We just need to check if you remember seeing a particular customer,” Wendy explained.
“I see so many people,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “I'm not sure what I could tell you about one specific customer.”
Brian slid the postcard across the counter. “She would have been in around six this morning,” Brian explained.
“I don't think so,” he shook his head slowly, then paused. “Six you say?” he asked.
“Yes,” Brian nodded.
“Well, I was working then. I came in early to cover for graveyard shift, the employee didn’t feel well. I do remember a woman coming in. We usually only get truck drivers and taxi drivers that early,” he explained. “We had a few people from the conference nearby because they were having a breakfast meeting at the restaurant down the road.”
“Did you see this woman?” Wendy asked as she pointed to Alisha's smiling face in the photograph.
“Uh,” the clerk stared at the picture for a moment. “Actually no,” he shook his head slowly.
“It's okay,” Wendy said softly. “I guess you can't remember everyone.”
“Well, I didn't see that woman, but I did see this one,” he said and pointed to one of the employees pictured beside Alisha.
“Are you sure?” Brian asked with mounting interest. “You couldn't be mistaken?”
“I'm positive,” Eric said. “I remember her because she smelled so good,” he blushed a little as he hurried to continue. “It's not like I was sniffing her or anything. But she had this scent around her, it was kind of relaxing or something. It wasn't like normal perfume. So I looked up at her. I know for sure this was her.”
“Aromatherapy,” Wendy muttered to Brian, who nodded.
“Thanks, you've helped us out a lot,” Brian assured the clerk.
“Glad I could help,” Eric nodded. He looked up warily as the next rush of customers burst into the gas station.
Brian grabbed Wendy's hand as they both fought their way through the stream of customers that were entering the station.
“Looks like your theory was right,” Brian said once they were free of the crowd.
“It looks that way,” Wendy agreed. “But I think we should check with the restaurant where they had their breakfast meeting to confirm for sure. One clerk in a very busy gas station is not going to be enough to convince Polson.”
“Maybe not,” Brian agreed. “Let's head back to the car and then we can find the restaurant. Do you need to stop anywhere first?”
“I need to check on the cake,” Wendy said. “But that's on the way back from the restaurant, so let's go there first.”
“All right,” Brian nodded. As they reached the car he opened the door for Wendy. They settled in and began heading in the direction of the restaurant. Wendy was texting with Shawna about the song she had finally picked for her first dance. Wendy thought it was perfect. She sent the information in an email to the band that would be playing at the wedding. When they reached the restaurant she tucked her phone away. Her mind was spinning with trying to keep track of the wedding and the investigation.
Even though the gas station had been so busy, the restaurant was nearly dead. It was well after lunch and the staff members were mostly doing clean-up and maintenance. When Brian and Wendy walked in, one of the waiters walked up to them right away.
“Welcome, table for two?” he suggested.
“No, thank you,” Wendy said. “We actually just need a little information.”
“Oh okay,” he nodded and walked back over to the silverware he was rolling in napkins. “What do you need to know?”
“We're looking for someone who ate breakfast here this morning,” Brian explained as he and Wendy followed the waiter over to the table.
“Lots of people ate breakfast here this morning,” the waiter said with a slight shake of his head. “We had an entire conference in for breakfast.”
“That's exactly who we're talking about,” Wendy said with some excitement. “We were hoping that you could tell us if you saw this woman,” she held up the postcard and pointed to the woman that the clerk at the gas station had identified.
“Let me explain something to you,” the waiter said with a hint of attitude. “There were over two hundred people in this restaurant this morning. Most of them were women, all of them were trying to look like this woman, and none of them could figure out what they wanted to eat. So, unless she left me a hundred dollar tip, I'm not going to remember her.”
“I understand,” Brian nodded.
“Could you just take one more look?” Wendy asked and held up the picture again.
“I said I didn't see her,” he snapped. Brian narrowed his eyes.
“There's no need to be rude,” he said sternly.
“I'm being rude?” the waiter asked incredulously. “You two came in here, don't even bother to order food, and badger me about some woman who I don’t remember. You're wasting my time, and won't believe my answer, but I'm the one that's being rude?” he laughed a little. “Sorry, unless you're paying, I have nothing else to say to you.”
“I can see why you're desperate for tips,” Brian growled in return.
“I have some money,” Wendy began to say and fished in her purse.
“Wendy, he already said he didn't remember her,” Brian said firmly. “Let's just move on.”
Wendy frowned. She knew that having only one eyewitness was not going to be enough for Polson. “Just one more look?” she asked.
“No,” Brian said and steered Wendy gently by the elbow away from the waiter. “He'll say anything you want for cash,” Brian hissed beside her ear. “He's not the kind of witness that you want.”
Wendy sighed as they walked out of the restaurant. “I know you're right, I'm just a little disappointed.”
“Hey, at least we have one witness,” Brian reminded her.
“You're right,” Wendy said with a nod. “I need to check on the cake before the bakery closes.”
“Bakery it is,” Brian said and began driving towards it. Wendy tried not to be disappointed. She felt as if they had got so close to the truth, and now there was no way to confirm it.
***
“I've always been curious about wedding cakes,” Brian said as he walked with Wendy into the bakery. “I mean, how do they manage to get all of those layers, and the frosting is so perfect…”
“It is an act of true love,” the woman behind the counter announced.
“Jessica!” Wendy cried out with a broad smile. If she was ever down about anything Jessica Candrew could always brighten her day. She was always cheerful. She adored her job, and her cakes showed it. Whenever a bride and groom let Wendy choose the bakery to make their cake, she always suggested Jessica.
“This is my friend, Brian,” Wendy said. “Brian, this is Jessica, she makes the best cakes in the world.”
Brian's gaze lingered for a moment on Wendy, then he turned back to Jessica with a warm smile. “A pleasure to meet you, Jessica,” he smiled.
“You as well,” Jessica winked lightly at him as if she might know more than she should. Wendy glared at her and gritted her teeth. Jessica suppressed a laugh. “I guess you want an update on the cake?” she asked.
“Yes,” Wendy nodded. “Although, I already know it will be perfect.”
“Everything is coming together just fine,” Jessica assured her. “No delays and no disasters.”
“You always know just what to say to me,” Wendy cooed with a mild laugh.
“I'm pretty excited about this wedding,” Jessica admitted. “The bride and groom ordered the largest cake I offer, I don't often get to make it. Are they going to have a lot of guests?”
“Enough to require a mansion,” Wendy laughed. “And get this, the groom wanted their first dance to be a heavy metal song.”
“Oh no,” Jessica groaned. “I hope she managed to talk him out of that one.”
“Luckily,” Wendy la
ughed louder. Brian seemed to be amused by the conversation.
“Sounds like it's going to be a beautiful wedding,” Brian interjected.
“It is one of the most expensive ones I've done,” Wendy admitted. “That's why it's especially important I don't lose focus on it.”
“You, lose focus?” Jessica shook her head. “If there's one thing I know about you, Wendy, it's that you never leave a bride hanging. A bride can be certain that her day will be perfect, if you're on the job.”
“I can believe that,” Brian grinned. Wendy's smile had faded, however. She did agree with Jessica except she felt that in Alisha’s eyes she had failed her even though she had had no control over the wedding venue being closed a few days before the wedding. Also, the wedding did go ahead after all, although in hindsight maybe that hadn’t been a good thing.
“Wendy, are you okay?” Jessica asked. Wendy realized she must have been staring into space.
“Yes,” Wendy smiled. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
“I'm sure you do,” Jessica said softly. “Well, you don't need to worry about the cake,” she assured her.
“Thanks, Jessica,” Wendy waved to her as she walked out of the bakery. Brian followed closely after her.
“Are you doing okay?” Brian asked as they walked towards the car.
“I'm just a little concerned I guess,” Wendy admitted. “About the wedding, about the murder, about holding it all together.”
“I'm here,” he reminded her and took her hand in his own. “Why don't you just finish up things for the wedding and I'll finish tracking down Alisha's alibi.”
“No,” Wendy suddenly said. “I think we're going about this the wrong way. The clerk at the gas station identified Alisha's employee as going to the gas station. If we can find that employee and get her to admit that she was the one who attended the conference, not Alisha, then Alisha will have no alibi.”
“Good idea,” Brian nodded. “I'll see if I can find out the name of Alisha's employees.”
