Wendy looked over at the two men in question. “They don’t look particularly concerned any longer.”
“I found the gun,” Holly admitted, then blushed at the memory. “Or, rather, I trod it into the mud.”
“Somehow, you do always seem to entangle yourself right in the midst of any investigation,” Wendy observed. “But I’m glad that you’re okay. It’s also reassuring to know that the weapon isn’t still out there.” She shook her fist at Sergeant Matthewson in a quick show of emotion but stopped since he was too far out of earshot to understand what she meant. “It would’ve been nice if someone in the know had passed on that tidbit of information.”
“Quite,” Holly said. “I hate to think of you all standing out here, thinking someone could shoot you at any moment.”
“They’d be a fool to do that in this crowd,” Meggie said with a stern voice. “We would have torn the culprit limb from limb.”
“Or at the very least, sat on him so he couldn’t do any more harm,” Wendy added. “I’m not sure that we’ve got the upper body strength for dismemberment.”
“Do you know if the sergeant is having any luck in finding out who did it?” Holly asked in a quiet voice.
Wendy gave a single shake of her head and glanced around to ensure that nobody was paying them any attention. “No, I don’t think he has the slightest idea.”
“Or,” Meggie added, “if he has, he’s playing it very close to his chest.”
“How is Crystal doing?” Wendy glanced over at the couple who Holly was pleased to see was having something to eat. “It must have been a double shock for her, poor lamb. What a day.”
“It’ll certainly go down in the history books.” Holly shook her head, then turned back to the two women. “She seems to be coping okay, but she’s been tough to read the past couple of days. I keep giving her news that I think will tip her into a frenzy and instead, she’s been perfectly serene.”
“Thank goodness,” Wendy said with some force. “I’ve dealt with enough Bridezillas in my line of work to be grateful to find a steady head on a customer. It’s nice, isn’t it? It must mean that she’s just happy to be married to the man of her dreams.”
At those words, something finally clicked into place in Holly’s mind. Her sister’s calm for the past few days had seemed so unlike Crystal that Holly had struggled to understand. Wendy connected it all together until she felt sure that was exactly how her sister must feel.
Glancing at the happy couple, Holly could see the peace infusing her sister’s body even now, after the terrible events of the day. It was a level of pure joy that made her chest burst with happiness for her sibling.
“If you want to ask the sergeant about his suspicions, I think now would be the opportune time.” Meggie nodded over to where the group of guests Matthewson had been talking to were now disbanding.
“Thanks. I might just steal a moment or two of his time.” Holly headed over to sit beside the sergeant before he could invite someone else to take a seat. “I’ve got some information for you,” she said in as quiet a voice as she could manage. “I saw something that might be of interest on the laptop back in the house.”
“Is that why you disobeyed my strict instructions to stay put?” Matthewson sighed and shook his head. “Go on, then. Tell me whatever you’ve got.”
Instead, Holly gestured for his notebook, and the sergeant handed it over after a short show of reluctance. The last thing she wanted was to have somebody overhear. Even though nobody was standing too close by, the marquee was crowded with enough people that it was a distinct possibility.
She wrote Phil Clifford’s name down along with the word gun and handed it back to Matthewson. He read it and turned the page to a fresh one, hiding the evidence from public view.
“You’re sure?”
Holly nodded. “That’s what was on the receipt for the same make and model.”
Matthewson shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. I guess that might be a dud lead after all.”
After a quick glance around to check that nobody was paying them too much attention, Holly stood up. “Would you like to take a quick breath of fresh air outside?” she asked in her usual tone of voice.
The sergeant gave her a puzzled look through narrowed eyelids for a second, then nodded and followed her out of the tent. As she walked down to the corner, still in view of the guests inside if they happened to look out, Holly voiced her suspicions.
“I know he doesn’t seem a likely candidate for the crime, but have you considered that Nina might not have been the correct target?”
Matthewson glanced back at the marquee entrance before answering. “I take it you’re referring to the coincidence with the green outfits.” When Holly nodded, he continued, “I know that they looked the same from behind, but what possible reason could Mr. Clifford have to target either woman?”
“Helen and Trevor left him with a boatload of debt,” Holly said. “He had to borrow money to finish off the job that they left town halfway through. That’s the only reason he managed to get the motel finished and opened.”
Matthewson shrugged. “That’s a few years in the past. If he wanted to be worried about something, it would surely be more likely that he targeted the arsonist who started the fire yesterday.”
“But Alec’s parents believe that the firebug was trying to get back at them,” Holly admitted. “I had to practically beg them to come to the wedding today, they were so frightened that somebody had it in for them.”
The sergeant frowned as he appeared to think the matter through. “It’s not a matter of what they believe, though, is it?”
“When I spoke with Phil before the ceremony, he mentioned that he thought they were somehow responsible for the fire. Have you heard anything about that?”
“Just rumors.” Matthewson rubbed the back of his neck. “If he’s been listening to them, that might have been enough to tip him over the edge though.”
“I’m just guessing,” Holly said quickly. “All I know for sure is that his name was written on the receipt. I know that you were getting a warrant for that information, anyway, so I just thought I’d give it to you sooner.”
“Thanks for that.” The sergeant turned and started back into the tent. “You won’t get any reprisals from my station on that front. It’s on the same laptop as the photographs, yeah?”
Holly nodded.
“We have that inside. The photographer brought it over. I guess I should take a look at any closed tabs and see if I can get a look at the same information myself. That’ll take any responsibility off your shoulders and keep you out of the firing line if this comes back to bite us.”
Holly hadn’t expected to be a target, but the confirmation was a reassurance none the less. She hurried back over to where Wendy and Meggie were standing.
“Did you tell him anything juicy?” Wendy asked. “It looks like you’ve lit a fire under the sergeant.”
“Just catching up,” Holly said idly. She took a nervous step back as Sergeant Matthewson and the PC stopped looking at the computer and started to walk over to where Phil Clifford stood chatting with some other guests.
“Phillip Clifford,” the sergeant said in a loud voice that carried throughout the marquee. “I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Nina Rodham.”
Chapter Fourteen
“It’s not just because he bought the same model gun, is it?” Holly asked Graham nervously. The PC had waited behind as Sergeant Matthewson escorted their new prisoner to the station. He looked about as happy with the situation as the man being led away in cuffs.
“There are photographs on the laptop as well,” Graham said. “Come and see. They clearly show that Phil wasn’t in the marquee after the shooting. He must have slipped out the back when no one was looking to dispose of the gun.”
Holly stared at the images on the small laptop screen, nodding when she recognized the order. In the first ones, the crowd was waiting for the bride to ap
pear. Phil was sitting in a chair in some of them, his unruly hair sticking up on end. In the later ones, the same chair was empty, and he was nowhere to be seen.
“I can’t believe that with a whole crowd watching, he could get away with such a crime,” Holly exclaimed.
“Well,” the constable said, “it’s not like he’s gotten away with it, not with him being in police custody. Besides, everyone’s eyes were fixed on the bride walking up the aisle. Who would think to look behind them?”
“Excuse me,” a woman bustled up to the PC, and it took Holly a moment to recognize Mrs. Hendrickson, despite the fact she saw her nearly every day. With her hair colored a bizarre shade of chestnut instead of gray and piled on top of her head in a mass of curls, she looked like a completely different woman.
“How can I help you, ma’am?” the young PC asked, earning himself a sniff of approval from the matronly woman.
“Mom,” Ben said as he appeared at her elbow and tried to drag her away. “Leave the man alone to do his job.”
“I am helping him do his job,” Mrs. Hendrickson scolded her son and Ben retreated a step, his face flushing with red. “Now, this man that your sergeant arrested, he couldn’t possibly have committed that crime.”
“I’m sure it’s a shock to everyone here, ma’am, but the sergeant will soon sort out if the charges are warranted or not. Once he’s been interviewed, we’ll have a better idea of where we stand.”
“But it’s nonsense.” Mrs. Hendrickson turned to Holly, lifting her eyebrows in an imploring gesture. “Can’t you talk sense to Matthewson? He listens to you.”
Holly wasn’t about to admit to her part in guiding the sergeant toward the arrest, but in the absence of being able to tell the truth, she became tongue-tied. “Why do you say it’s nonsense?” she finally countered.
“Because he was seated next to me throughout the entire ceremony,” Mrs. Hendrickson said. “I should know. The man kept fidgeting throughout the vows, and he absolutely stank of smoke.”
“Mom!”
“Well, he did.” Mrs. Hendrickson held out a consoling hand. “Now, I know that last bit isn’t his fault. It’s a terrible thing that his motel burned down the way it did, but still.” She sniffed again and lifted her nose into the air.
“We have photographs from the event that show Mr. Clifford wasn’t in his seat at the time of the murder.” Graham nodded his head toward the laptop, then seemed to realize that he shouldn’t be showing the evidence to all and sundry. He closed the lid before the woman could get a better look.
“I tell you, it’s nonsense. If Phil been missing during the vows then I wouldn’t have had to elbow him and ask him to be quiet,” Mrs. Hendrickson insisted.
“I’ll pass on your concerns to the sergeant,” the PC said in a quiet voice that brooked no argument. “I’m afraid until we have some corroborating testimony, that’s all that I can do.”
“Are you kidding me?” Willis must have caught sight of the laptop as he pointed a finger at the machine as he strode across the floor of the marquee. “Did the sergeant see what I was looking up before?”
“I don’t know what Sergeant Matthewson saw,” Graham said, looking far too timid for the confrontation. “You’d have to ask him that yourself.”
“I will,” Willis said with an angry twist of his mouth. “And you can bet that he’ll also be hearing from my lawyer. He can’t just take things that don’t belong to him, not when I’d expressly told him that he needed a warrant.”
“Well, the laptop is my property,” Derek Masters began, then trailed off as Willis turned a furious glance his way.
“I showed Matthewson the receipt that you left pulled up on screen,” Holly admitted, stepping forward. She’d held her tongue so far, but she wouldn’t do it at the expense of anybody else’s reputation. “If you want to take your anger out on anybody, you can take it out on me.”
“I don’t—” Willis began to yell, then stopped himself. When he resumed, his voice was back down to a normal level. “I don’t want to take my anger out on anybody. I’m just concerned that I made it clear to the sergeant that I couldn’t pass on that information without a warrant, yet he took it anyway.”
“I didn’t mean to see it,” Holly said in an apologetic tone. “I was just looking over Gwen’s shoulder at the wedding photos when she popped the image screen down, and there it was. Once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it, and I thought the police would be better off knowing that information.”
“I’m sorry for raising my voice,” Willis said with a sigh. “I suppose it’s my own fault for leaving the screen open when I moved aside to let Gwen use the computer. I’m not great at all that techy stuff, and I was scared that if I got rid of the screen, I wouldn’t be able to pull it up again.”
“It’s not the only reason that the sergeant arrested Mr. Clifford,” the constable said, “if that was what you’re thinking. We have other evidence that stacked up against him too. Including a motive and not being where he said he was.”
The group was distracted from their intense conversation when Crystal got hold of the microphone and tapped on it to draw everybody’s attention. “I know that our married life got off to a rough start,” she said to the sound of a few shaky laughs of agreement. “But now that an arrest has been made, I thought it might be time to get this party back on the right track. If you would like to gather around in the far corner, my new husband and I are about to cut the wedding cake.”
There was a quick smatter of applause, and the crowd moved over to gather around the table as directed. Wendy held a spot open in the front row for Holly, and as she squeezed into position she was pleased to see that most of the guests were focused solely on the event in hand, rather than lost in thought about the day’s tragedy.
Crystal picked up a large knife and brandished it about for two seconds. After that, Alec gave her a warning look, and she put it up against the side of the cupcake stack instead. He folded his hand over hers, and they looked into each other’s eyes.
“Are you ready?” Crystal called out, breaking her besotted gaze to turn and glance around the assembled crowd.
“Where’s Gwen?” Holly also turned to scan the crowd and couldn’t see the photographer anywhere. “Just a moment.” She held one finger up to Crystal and sank back through the crowd to head for a clear spot near the rear of the marquee.
Although Holly let the phone ring for a good twenty rings, Gwen didn’t pick up her mobile. Holly rechecked the email in case she’d loaded in the number wrong. But, no. It was definitely the right mobile number—the problem wasn’t with technology.
She turned her phone to the side and brought up the camera function. Never mind. It was no use waiting to see if Gwen was hanging around the wedding venue somewhere, the cake was about to be cut now.
Holly gently pushed her way back through the crowd and gave a shrug and a nod to her sister. Crystal’s smile faltered for a second, then turned back up to full-beam. While Holly pressed her finger to take pictures as quickly as her phone could handle it, Crystal cut through the high-stacked cake.
“One piece for you, my darling,” she then said with a wicked grin and picked up almost a full cupcake from the base of the stack. “Open wide.” Crystal crushed it against Alec’s mouth and to his credit, more of it made it inside than fell down the front of his wet suit and shirt.
“Oh, that’s how you like to play it, huh?” Alec said back with his own flash of wickedness dancing in his eyes. He too picked up a large piece—half a cupcake in one go. Just when it seemed Alec was about to mash it into the front of Crystal’s mouth, he paused—perhaps thinking of a lifetime during which this moment could come back to haunt him. Instead of forcing it forward, he held the cake steady so Crystal could take a delicate bite.
The crowd clapped and cheered. As Crystal dispensed the plates of cake out to the waiting guests, they flowed away and back into their separate little groups, all looking slightly happier.
Even though
Holly had her fill of cinnamon cupcake while she was baking and putting together the pile, she happily took her piece and wandered away with Wendy and Meggie to eat it up.
“At least the ceremony is getting back on track,” Wendy observed. “If someone were to come in now, they’d think that this was just a garden variety wedding.”
“Thank goodness,” Holly said fervently. “Oh, look. Alec’s rigging up the sound system for their first dance.”
They stood back and watched as the music started. Holly didn’t recognize the tune, but it soon had her toes tapping. Instead of a classic slow song, this one had a frisky beat to back its soft vocals up.
Alec swung Crystal around the tiny dance floor as though the movement was as natural as breathing. Holly took a long indrawn breath and didn’t let it out until the dance came to a close.
“Now, everybody needs to join in,” Crystal instructed as another tune came over the sound system. “You can’t all just stand around and stare.”
For a minute, it seemed as though her instruction would go unheeded, then Simon tapped Holly on the shoulder. “How about a swing around the dance floor for old time’s sake?”
Holly felt as awkward as a teenager attending her first social event as she agreed and let Simon lead her out onto the floor. Then his arms took their familiar position around her, and the music took her body over. She began to sway in time, and her feet remembered the steps and guided her around the floor.
Soon, other couples joined them. Some were awkward and gangly—hitting the steps out of beat—while others flowed with the music. Holly danced until the song ended then, although Simon still tried to hang onto her, made her excuse to leave and rejoin her friends on the sideline.
“I could have told that you two were married,” Wendy said with a nod, “just from watching that performance.”
“Why?” Holly asked with a shy smile. “Were we staring daggers at each other?”
Meggie laughed and rubbed Holly’s back. She felt the muscles that had tensed during the dance fall back into a state of relaxation. There was really nothing in life, she mused, quite so good as standing and talking with your two best friends.
The Sweet Baked Mystery Series - Books 1-6 Page 77
