by Donna Doyle
“Thank you. I just hope I can stay as calm as you sound.”
When Molly got off the phone with Gloria, she immediately called Dora and explained the situation.
“I’m on my way,” Dora promised.
5
A Dress Disaster
When Molly and Dora pulled up outside Gloria’s Gowns, several cars were already there. Molly Gertrude noted that the police hadn’t arrived yet, and she said a silent prayer for those who were suffering damage to their homes. It wasn’t likely that anybody had been injured, but she knew it still had to be tough for them.
Several jackets hung dripping from the coat rack just inside Gloria’s door, and Molly added hers alongside them before rushing to the wedding dress section.
“We’re back here,” Gloria called from a nondescript door at the very back. “I didn’t want to bring it out into the shop proper,” she explained with a shrug.
Molly stepped into the stock room. Everything was as she would have expected it to be. Several dresses hung on a rolling rack off to the left, probably waiting on alterations. Next to that stood a tall metal shelving unit stacked with shoe boxes. There was a desk and a computer on one wall. But the most important item was on the far right.
Gloria had hung the dress from a different rack. The dress bag that had encased the massive skirt and the beautiful bodice had been ripped from the dress and now lay in a heap on the floor. The dress itself had been completely mutilated. The bodice looked as though it had been cut right down the middle, and shreds of tulle hung down in tatters. The entire garment was oddly colored, covered with splashes of paint. What kind of wicked person would desecrate such a beautiful dress and then heartlessly rip it to pieces?
“Oh.” That was all Molly could get out at first.
“I know.” Michelle was sitting in a nearby chair, and Gloria had given her a cold bottle of water. Tears streaked down her face. “I was at home last night doing a pore mask to get my skin nice for the wedding, and all I could think about was how gorgeous that dress was. I think this must be sign that the wedding is doomed!” She wailed.
Dora placed her hand gently on Michelle’s shoulder while Molly slowly circled around the dress. “Is this where it was hanging all night? Or was it with the other ones?”
“I kept it separate so it would be easy to grab on Saturday,” Gloria explained. She twisted her fingers in front of her. “Now I wish I would have left it with the others. Then maybe they would have trashed one that was easier to replace.”
Molly pursed her lips and gestured with her head for Gloria to follow her back into the main part of the store. “I don’t suppose you have another dress just like that hanging out around here somewhere?” She whispered once they were away from the others, “Something we can spruce up a bit so it’s just as special?”
Gloria cast a nervous glance toward the stock room. “Not a chance. That dress was unique. I already checked with the company to see if they could overnight another one. It didn’t sound good, but they said they would double-check. I’m still hopeful, but I don’t want to say I can do it until I absolutely know for sure. Actually, I don’t think I’d even want to say until the dress is in my hands. You know how things can go with delivery services. Besides that, I did a lot of my own decorative work on the dress myself.”
Molly nodded. “I completely understand. We’ll have to figure something else out.”
“I know, but I’m not sure it will be easy to convince Michelle. She had her heart set on that dress. You saw how she teared up when she came in for her final fitting. She’s even talking about calling the whole thing off!”
The front door of the store opened and admitted a tall man with wide shoulders and short red hair. Brian Jones came rushing toward them. “Where’s Michelle?”
“Right back here.” Gloria led the way, and the three of them rejoined the group in the back.
“Oh, honey! I’m so sorry! What happened?” Brian seemed unable to make up his mind whether he should be consoling his fiancée, examining the dress, or questioning the shop owner. He spun in a dizzy circle before finally putting his arm around Michelle.
“We don’t really know,” Gloria admitted. “Sheriff Barnes should be here soon.”
The groom frowned at the shredded fabric that was left of the dress. “I don’t understand, but it’ll be okay. You can pick out a new dress, and I’m sure we can have it altered, right?” He looked hopefully at Gloria.
“Yes,” she said, glancing hesitantly at Michelle. “I’m sure we could arrange something.”
“But I don’t want a different dress. That’s not how this works. Don’t you care about this wedding?” Michelle turned tear-stained eyes to her fiancé.
“Of course, I do.” Brian looked downright fearful. “I’m just trying to help.”
“What? By acting like the dress isn’t important? You have no idea what it’s like for a woman to get married. I tried on hundreds of gowns, and that was the only one I really wanted. This isn’t just some random piece of fabric or something that can be replaced at a department store.” Michelle threw her hands in the air in disgust. Michelle’s angry response came as a surprise to everyone.
“I never said it was,” Brian said defensively, calming his bride-to-be.
“All right, folks. Let’s all just calm down.” An authoritative voice came from the doorway, and they all turned to find Sheriff JJ Barnes standing there with his thumbs tucked into his belt. Deputy Digby was at his heels, looking eager. In all the commotion, they hadn’t heard them come in. “Why don’t you give me a quick rundown of just what’s going on here.”
Digby glanced at Dora and tipped his hat. She blushed.
Gloria did her best to get through the story quickly. “As far as I can tell, nothing was stolen.”
Barnes nodded and scowled at Gloria. With everything else piled on his desk, plus the panic over the floods, a messy dress was not his idea of priority crime. Moreover, Miss Molly Montague Grey was somehow involved in all of this, and JJ knew exactly what that would mean. More troublesome interfering snoopery!
“First, we need to figure out how the intruder got in here.” Barnes said, strutting impatiently around the store with a frown on his face. “Digby, you should check all the doors for any signs of breaking and entering.”
“Yes, sir.” With another quick glance at Dora, the younger man darted off to investigate the rest of the premises.
“I think I can answer that, actually.” Gloria pointed to a window in the stock room that was open a crack. “The window wasn’t locked.”
“Hmmmm.” Barnes nodded, not bothering to call his deputy back as he whipped out a notepad and a pencil and began scribbling. “Typical. Burglars look for weaknesses, you know. If all the doors and windows are locked, then people won’t usually bother anything. But they find one little chink in the armor and they go for it. I’ve seen it a hundred times.”
“The thing is, I don’t really understand. I never open that window, so it should have been locked. I only noticed because I wanted to know how the burglar got in myself.” Gloria’s thin eyebrows pulled together in concern.
Molly turned to Sheriff Barnes, ready to get down to business. “Okay, so we know they came in the window. But why do this?”
“It’s just a thought, Gloria,” the sheriff said, pointing a thick finger at Gloria. “But maybe someone is upset with you.”
“Why would they be upset with me?” The dressmaker put a hand on her chest in surprise. “I haven’t done anything to anybody.” Barnes could see that she was convinced of her own innocence, but then again, everyone is convinced of their own innocence, right? A vendetta against Gloria was definitely a possible motive, and a line of questioning worth pursuing.
Barnes shrugged. “If this were just random graffiti on the outside of your business, then I would say it was just kids out causing trouble. But they took the trouble to come in mess with your store. Nothing was stolen, as far as we know, so it must be more pers
onal than you would like to admit, Gloria.”
“If that’s the case,” Molly said, her finger tapping on her chin, “then why this dress specifically? Wouldn’t it make more sense to ravage the entire store if they were trying to get back at Gloria for something? Sorry to say so, Gloria, but Sheriff Barnes does have a good point. Do you know anyone at all who may want to cause you, or your business, harm?”
“No, that’s okay. It makes sense,” Gloria replied.
“Maybe they weren’t interested in the shop at all,” Barnes said, turning to the weeping bride-to-be and her stunned fiancée. “Maybe they were mad at you, Miss Harris?”
Just then, Deputy Digby returned. He was breathing hard, having run around the building checking every possible nook and cranny for signs of a break in. “I checked the inside and the outside, sir. It seems there’s a window leading to what I guess must be a storeroom of some kind. It looks like it’s open.”
Sheriff Barnes put up a hand to stop him. “Good work, Digby, you have confirmed our suspicions. But, and I know you want to get that detective position, so riddle me this: The perpetrator ruined only this dress and none of the others in the shop. What does that tell you?”
“That someone was upset with Miss Harris?” Digby answered instantly.
Barnes grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. JJ turned again to Michelle.
“Now then, Miss Harris. Tell me who would have the motive to do this? Give me a list of anyone who has a grudge against you.” Barnes stood with his stubby pencil poised over his notepad, prepared for the onslaught of potential suspects that he knew was coming.
Michelle looked up at him, startled. “But I don’t have any enemies that I know of,” she protested.
“Now, hold on a second.” Brian straightened from where he had been leaning over his fiancée. “I don’t think it’s fair to make her feel like that. We’re getting married on Saturday for crying out loud, and she doesn’t even have a dress anymore.”
“I’m just trying to get to the bottom of things, mister,” Barnes assured him. “Justice can be messy work sometimes. As for the dress, I saw plenty of them out there. Just pick out a different one.” He thumbed over his shoulder, hinting at the other wedding gowns in the next room.
“Why does everybody keep saying that?” Michelle was on her feet, her cheeks flushing and her fists curled at her sides. “I swear, nobody realizes just what a disaster this whole thing is turning out to be!” She marched out of the stock room.
“Honey, wait!” Brian started to go after her.
Molly stepped in front of him. “Let me try, dear. I’ve dealt with many brides in my day.” She hurried out into the bridal room, but Michelle had already made her way to the coat rack by the front door. “Michelle, I know you’re upset. And you have every right to be, but—”
“But nothing, Miss Grey! I’m tired of everyone telling me things will be okay or that I should just pick a different dress. I’ve already had to change the venue. What’s next? The florist will call and tell me all the pink roses have wilted? I’m just done!” She grabbed her jacket from the rack and flung it on. A small piece of paper came fluttering out of the pocket to the floor.
“Wait, you—”
But Michelle had already slammed the door, leaving muddy footprints behind her.
“—dropped this.” Molly looked down at the item Michelle had dropped. It was a postcard, but not like the kind that someone would send from their vacation in Hawaii. It was an advertisement for a dress shop called Dressed to Thrill in the next town, Greenacres. Curious, she flipped it over to find a handwritten note on the back.
I know we can do a better job. Just give me a call when you’re ready.
Molly slipped the postcard into her back pocket and returned to the gathering at the back of the store. The tingling in Molly’s left shoulder told her that something just wasn’t right about this whole thing. A mystery was afoot and Molly would get to the bottom of it.
6
Some Grand Mystery
Once Sheriff Barnes and Deputy Digby had left, Dora went back to the office and Molly stayed behind with Gloria to hash out a plan for a new dress. They had several options for her, and they were confident that one of them would work, but it was clear that Michelle was going to need a little time to cool off.
On Thursday morning, once Molly Gertrude had finished her first cup of Earl Grey, she dialed Michelle’s cell phone number. While she listened to the ring tone, she glanced down at her handwritten list of possibilities. She had them memorized by heart, but she had a strong feeling that Michelle was going to have arguments about every one of them. Molly liked to write notes while she was on the phone, and she had her favorite pen poised over the paper. Misty jumped up onto the desk, and Molly carefully removed her to her lap.
But the call went to voicemail. “Hi, you’ve reached Michelle!” said a perky voice that was obviously not recorded in the last few days. “Just leave me a message and I’ll call you back when I can. Bye!”
“Michelle, this is Molly Grey. I know yesterday was rough on you, dear, but I have a few things I’d like to talk to you about. Give me a call as soon as you have the chance.” Molly hung up and moved on to her other work, figuring that Michelle was just sleeping in.
When her phone rang fifteen minutes later, Molly Gertrude jumped to answer it. “Michelle?” She said, expecting to hear the voice of her missing bride-to-be on the other end of the line. But it was not Michelle at all. “Hi, my name is Elizabeth Spears. I’m getting married next year, and I was trying to plan it all myself, but I’m getting kind of overwhelmed. I heard you were the person to talk to about that.”
Molly smiled, always pleased to have a new bride to work with. It was a blessing indeed that folks in Calmhaven were never going to stop getting married. “I’d love to help. Let me get your information, and then we can arrange for you to come in for a consultation. That way, I’ll know what you’ve already taken care of.”
“Not much, to be honest with you. My biggest concern is a venue. I haven’t been able to find a place that I truly like, but someone told me you could get my wedding booked at the Old Rose Bed and Breakfast.”
Shaking her head and smiling, Molly said, “That’s a pretty new thing, to be honest. I can’t guarantee it, because I haven’t talked to the owner about doing future weddings there, but it’s certainly something we can keep in mind. In the meantime, when are you free to come in?”
When they had the final details worked out and had hung up, Molly tried Michelle’s number again. She didn’t listen to the entire voicemail message, instead hanging up and dialing the number of Michelle’s work place. With no luck there, she plopped her elbows down on the desk and sighed.
“What’s the matter, Miss Molly?” Dora asked, looking up from the invoices she was sending out. She was wearing a bright pink blouse that day that was nearly blinding but seemed to suit her.
“I can’t get a hold of Michelle,” Molly explained. “I’m worried about her. Brides are stressed, and that’s usually a given, but it’s too close to the wedding to fool around with not answering the phone or trying to chase her down.”
“I’ll try her from my cell. Maybe she’s just feeling embarrassed after her meltdown yesterday. Not that she has any reason to, but she might not realize just how much we understand that sort of thing.” Dora pulled up the number and dialed, but she shook her head after a minute. “No answer.”
“I just hope we don’t have a runaway bride,” Molly mused. “Or maybe Michelle has other plans.” She recalled the postcard Michelle had dropped, which was safely tucked inside the file folder Molly had for the couple. She hadn’t mentioned it to Dora yet, as it seemed prudent not to bring it up unless it truly mattered.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know just yet. I’m still thinking. In the meantime, I have an idea. Michelle isn’t answering her phone, but Renee might know where she is. The two of them have been best friends for years.”
“Do you have Renee’s phone number?” Dora pulled up a spreadsheet program on the computer to check for information.
“I don’t. I already looked. But she mentioned that she lived in an apartment on Bridge Street. There’s only one set of apartments over there, and I know Renee drives that little red Honda. She shouldn’t be too hard to find.” Molly carefully put Misty on the floor and headed for her jacket on the hook by the door, since it was still pouring buckets outside.
Dora was scrambling to catch up. “But how will you know which apartment she’s in? We can’t just go knocking on every door.”
Molly smiled and shook her finger in the air. “Nor will we have to! Most apartments have marked parking bays. We just find her car, check the number, and then we’ve got her.” Molly’s simple observation made Dora feel that they were hot on the trail of some grand mystery.
Dora took the wheel, as usual, and they made their way across town. “Oh, I should tell you that we’ll have to speak to Stephanie Graham about booking more weddings at her place.”
“Is that so?” Dora questioned, keeping her eyes keenly on the road.
“Yes, I had a new bride call me today, as a matter of fact. She said she was calling us because she was overwhelmed by the planning process, but I have a feeling she truly wanted the connection to get into the Old Rose. I’ll let you call Stephanie about it, since this was your baby to begin with.”
Dora looked delighted. “I really didn’t think you meant it when you said it would become a trend, and I definitely didn’t think it would happen so quickly.”
“I think it’ll be a whole new thing. That is, if Stephanie approves.” She could easily see what the big sun room at the back of the B&B would look like once it was all decorated. Many of the people in Calmhaven liked to get married in their own churches, but there were still plenty who were looking for other options, and a place for the wedding meal after the church service. It would only be a benefit to Stephanie, as well, since it would likely mean an increase in overnight stays for her.
