by Donna Doyle
“No, you’re probably right. Thank you.”
Dora went on to her duties, and so did Molly. But there was something in the air that kept her on her toes and gave her a tingling feeling that told her something was about to happen. It wasn’t the same sort of anxious excitement she usually felt before a wedding; this was something different. Very different.
Molly stepped into the kitchen area to check on the caterers. Henry and Harriet were among those that she knew she could count on, but Molly had the need to do something productive. The husband and wife team were putting trays of dinner rolls in the oven. “Everything going smoothly?”
“As long as we can keep the groom and his friends out of the food!” Harriet said with a smile as she shut the oven door. In her late forties, Harriet was a woman of simple tastes. She and her husband had a nice café in the center of Calmhaven where they always tried to come up with something new without pushing it toward exotic.
“I can go upstairs and talk to them,” Molly offered.
“We got it taken care of.” Henry, a few years older that his wife and with streaks of silver icing his dark blonde hair, stirred a large pot of green beans. “I managed to chase them out of here.”
“I’m sorry they were trouble for you. They’ve all be very cooperative up until this point, as far as I know.” The groomsmen had all shown up at Gloria’s to get their measurements for their tuxes when they were supposed to. Michelle had even mentioned at one point that they’d gotten their hair cut and had cleaned their nails, which was about all you could expect out of most groomsmen. And Brian had been personally involved in many of the decisions about the wedding.
“It wasn’t Brian, really,” Harriet explained. “He was the first one down here, before he’d gotten dressed. His stomach was upset, and I gave him a roll off the first tray. I think he was just nervous.”
“Did he say anything out of the ordinary?”
Henry shrugged and wiped down the counter. “Nothing much. Just that this was it and the big day had finally arrived, that he thought it might never happen. The normal stuff at weddings.”
“Well, if you need me, just yell.” Molly emerged from the kitchen and moved through the lower level of the bed and breakfast, continuing to check that everything was in place. A couple was just coming in the front door, and she showed them to the guestbook and then to their seats. It was then that she noticed Veronica Watson was no longer in her chair. She had disappeared along with her oversized gift bag.
Soft music had begun to play, the cue that the ceremony would begin shortly. Molly trotted back up the stairs as fast as her old legs would carry her. She would give notice to the bride, gather up the men, and get the wedding party on the ground floor before Michelle’s entrance music started. But when she reached the top of the stairs, she found that the bride’s half of the wedding party was already standing outside the door, and they didn’t look pleased. Molly’s stomach gave a threatening lurch, and she wished she had snagged one of the dinner rolls as well.
“What’s the matter?” Molly asked immediately, her sensible shoes rooted in place on the landing.
Renee left the door and came to her side to explain. “She said she needed a minute to herself before the ceremony, so we all came out for a bit. When we tried to get back in, she’d locked the door. She says she’s not coming out.”
“She’s in there all alone?”
“Like I said, she kicked us all out.”
“Did anyone come to visit her?”
Renee blinked. “Well, yeah, actually.”
“Who?” Molly knew she was onto something now.
“I don’t know who she was, and Michelle didn’t introduce her.” For the first time since Renee had come with Michelle to the Cozy Bridal Agency and began the planning, Renee looked flustered.
Molly, however, found that she felt calmer than she had in the past week. “Just describe her for me.”
“She was pretty, with dark hair, and she had a big bag. She dropped it off with Michelle and then left.”
The timing was odd, which made Molly wonder about her suspicions, but this was definitely more than just a case of cold feet. Molly waved the women aside and knocked on the door herself. “Michelle, it’s Molly Grey. It’s time to go downstairs and get started.”
“I’m not coming!”
“I know you might not be happy with the way everything turned out, dear, but really it’s going to be just fine.”
“It’s not fine, and I’m not coming. I’m not getting married.” She sounded like a petulant child pouting in her bedroom.
“Why don’t you let me in so we can at least talk face-to-face. I won’t try to make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
There was a long moment of silence and then the click of the lock.
Molly found Michelle sitting on the edge of the bed, the ruffled skirt of her dress poufing out around her. She had taken off her shoes and left them lying at an odd angle on the floor, and tears had streaked her mascara down her cheeks. The giant gift bag that Victoria Watson had brought was on the floor near the mirror. Molly noted that the tissue paper had been disturbed, but it still concealed a large object.
Molly nestled down onto the bed next to Michelle. It wasn’t a comfortable position for her back, but she would just have to deal with it. “Would you like to tell me why you don’t want to go on with the wedding?”
“I thought you weren’t going to make me do it,” Michelle quickly retorted, darting angry eyes toward Molly.
“And I’m not. But it’s good to talk about these things and get them out in the open. You can use me as a sounding board to organize your thoughts. That might make it a little easier when you tell Brian.”
This time, Michelle’s eyes were wide and fearful. “I can’t do that!”
“You have to, dear. He’s part of this wedding, too.” Molly patted the bride’s hand.
Michelle shook her head. “I’m not…I just can’t…I’m not doing this.”
“So the wedding is off? For sure?”
“For sure.” Tears streamed down Michelle’s cheeks.
Molly nodded and left the room, ignoring the curious faces that watched her in the hall. The bridesmaids had been joined by the groomsmen, and Brian charged toward her. “What’s going on?”
“Just hold tight for a moment, please. And leave Michelle be. She needs a little time.”
10
The Truth Comes Out
Truthfully, Molly needed time to make all the necessary arrangements, but she had a feeling that Michelle wouldn’t mind a few moments of peace. Things were about to get ugly, considering all the guests that were bracing to be disappointed.
Downstairs, Molly found Dora and whispered her directions. Dora took off up the stairs to manage the wedding party.
In the dining room, Molly discovered Sheriff Barnes eyeing the buffet that Henry and Harriet had set up. Everyone else was in the sunroom, and it was good that she found him alone. “I’m afraid we’re going to need some crowd control,” she said quietly as his eyes sparkled over a tray of ham.
“Oh?”
“The wedding is off. I’ll go announce it, but I’ll need you to help in getting everyone out of here in an organized manner.”
Barnes tugged the brim of his hat. “Yes, ma’am. Happy to be of service, but why did you bring Digby and me here?”
“Soon enough, Sheriff, soon enough.” Molly said.
When she entered the sunroom, the crowd looked expectantly at the open doors, hoping for a glimpse of the bride. They were disappointed to see Molly and turned back toward the front. That suited Molly just fine, because it gave her a moment to tap on Deputy Digby’s shoulder. “I’m about to tell everyone that the wedding is off,” she whispered. “I’ve already informed the sheriff, but I need you to do a special favor for me.”
Digby looked confused, but he looked at her eagerly. “What’s that?”
“You see that woman up there in the fifth row near th
e aisle? With the dark hair and the purple dress? Don’t let her leave.”
“On what grounds?”
“Just tell her she’s part of an investigation and that she’s needed for questioning. I believe Gloria is here as well. Please ask her to stay as a favor to me. She’ll understand.”
The deputy’s eyes went wide, but he nodded.
Pastor Julian, known affectionately as Papa Julian by many in Calmhaven, was waiting patiently at the altar when Molly scuttled to the front of the room and whispered to him. His eyes widened for a moment, but he waved her to the microphone. Molly tapped on it twice and gave a nervous smile. “Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to inform you that the wedding is off.” The ripple of astonishment she had expected made its way up and down the rows. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but right now it’s best if we give the bride and groom some space. Please be patient with each other as you exit. Thank you.”
Now began the difficult part of getting almost everyone out of the building. Some guests took their gifts back off the table, while others left them for either Michelle or Brian to claim. A few folks complained about wasting their time or asked what would happen to all the catered food, but Molly just smiled and shooed them out the door. None of it was any of their business, and it would all come out eventually.
Sheriff Barnes had nobly stepped into his role, standing in the middle of the room directing the traffic. “Let’s stay single file, folks. Just keep moving. If everyone could please turn right as you exit the parking lot, that will keep traffic to a minimum.” He murmured into the radio clipped to his shoulder for another officer to come out and handle the street.
When they had all gone, Molly tapped the sheriff on the shoulder. “Could you step into the sunroom? I’ll be gathering a few people in there, and I think you might be interested in what they have to say.”
Barnes opened his mouth, looking like he was going to argue, but he nodded and moved into the next room.
As she climbed the stairs again, Molly realized that this wedding was giving her more of a workout than she had anticipated. She hoped she wouldn’t have to come back up here until the next wedding.
Brian leaned against the wall in the hallway, still in his tux and looking sad, confused and furious all at the same time. Michelle stood meekly in the doorway, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. The remainder of the wedding party stood nervously around them, alternately shouting and whispering. Dora stood at the edge of the crowd with the big gift bag hanging from her hands. Molly clapped her hands with authority. “Bridesmaids, groomsmen, you’re dismissed. Michelle, Brian, and Renee, I need you downstairs.”
They followed her. Molly had a feeling it was out of curiosity more than obedience. That was fine, because she knew the truth was about to come out. She assembled them in the sunroom in the chairs that had only a few minutes ago held their guests. The gathering now included herself and Dora, Michelle, Brian, Renee, Gloria, Victoria, Sheriff JJ Barnes, and Deputy Digby.
“What’s this about an investigation?” Barnes demanded.
“Why, it’s the investigation into the destruction of Michele’s wedding dress,” Molly explained.
This was turning out to be the strangest wedding-that-never-happened he had ever attended. But then, whenever Miss Molly Grey was involved things often got a little strange. In this instance, Sheriff Barnes was as curious to see what Molly had to say as everyone else.
“We really don’t have to talk about that right now,” Michelle said, her face propped on her hand. “I’m sure everyone just wants to go home.”
“I think it’s a very pertinent discussion, actually,” Molly countered. “That’s what got us all here in the first place.”
“That’s right,” Barnes agreed. Then his eyes narrowed.
Molly didn’t want to be the center of attention. This was supposed to be Michelle’s day. But that obviously wasn’t happening now, and everyone was waiting on her to tell them what was going on. “Michelle’s original dress was destroyed sometime on Tuesday night. We know from the fact that it was the only dress in the shop to suffer such damage that someone wanted to sabotage this wedding.”
“Do you mean to say you know who it was?” Gloria asked excitedly.
Molly looked across the gathered congregation.
“I believe so, and almost everyone in this room is a suspect.”
There were a few gasps, but Barnes just nodded.
“First, we have Gloria.” Molly pointed at the dressmaker. “You could have ruined the dress on the pretense of selling Michelle a new one and making more money.”
“But I didn’t!” the woman protested instantly. “I didn’t charge her a thing for the new gown or even the alterations, and I stayed up all night doing them.”
“Exactly,” Molly agreed with a smile. “And that’s how I know it wasn’t you.”
Gloria breathed a sigh of relief.
“Which leads us to Brian.” Continued Molly.
“Now, wait a minute!”
“Just listen!” she admonished. “If you were having second thoughts about the wedding, then it would be a fitting way to stop it. You were nervous enough earlier this afternoon that you had to go down to the kitchen and get a piece of bread to settle your stomach.”
“I was just afraid I would mess up my vows,” Brian said quietly.
“Yes,” Molly said with a nod. “You were nervous, as any groom would be. But you did say that you wondered if the wedding would ever really happen. Don’t pretend that you didn’t share some of Michelle’s concerns.”
“Well, yes, but it’s only normal to be anxious. Isn’t it?” Brian glanced around for reassurance from the others gathered in the room. Some nodded, others shook their heads.
“But you didn’t destroy the dress, Brian.” Molly said, much to the shaking groom’s relief.
“My next suspect, and one that is far more likely, is Renee.”
“Hey!” The maid of honor rose to her feet and looked like she was about to sprint for the door. Digby took a step sideways to block the way just in case Renee made a break for it.
“You made numerous snide remarks about the wedding and what a waste of money it was, among other things. You wanted to make it seem as though you didn’t care, but the truth was that you did – you cared a great deal more than you would like anyone else to know. You were jealous!”
“Oh, Renee! Is that true?” Michelle had washed and dried her face, but tears threatened to spill over her lashes once again.
Renee shifted uncomfortably then slumped back into her seat.
Not wanting to torture her any further, Molly answered for her. “Yes, but not just because of the wedding. It’s much more personal than that, isn’t it, Renee. Your crush on Brian made his marriage to your best friend almost unbearable!”
Brian looked far more alarmed now than when he had been accused of ruining the dress himself. His face flushed, and his eyes darted from his former fiancé to her best friend and back again. Michelle sat with her mouth open, and Renee buried her face in her hands.
“Renee! How could you?” Brian exclaimed.
“Just a moment, Brian.” Molly waved her hand to silence him. “Renee is a true friend, and she wouldn’t ruin Michelle’s wedding just for her own sake. I’ll let the three of you hash that out later, but for the moment we need to move on. Our next suspect is Victoria Watson, owner of Dressed to Thrill in Greenacres.”
Up until this point, the woman had been sitting in a chair with her arms crossed looking very confused.
And to be honest, Molly had been a little confused about the dressmaker’s role in this until this very morning. The finer details were still unclear to her, but they were about to be brought out into the light. “For those of you who don’t know, Victoria owns Dressed to Thrill in Greenacres.” Molly looked at her. “Michelle had contacted you shortly after the dress was destroyed and after you had sent her a postcard. I thought perhaps you had ruined the gown in order to get her business
, but the time frame wasn’t quite right. It was way too close to the wedding. Still, it seems that you’re involved in this, since you personally took your mysterious gift straight to Michelle’s dressing room. It was shortly after that she announced the wedding was off. Would you please show us what was in the bag?”
Victoria shrugged. “Well, okay. If you insist.” She took the bag from Dora and set it on the floor, pulling out a large roll of white canvas with two straps buckled around it. She set it on a nearby table and unrolled it into a long strip of fabric. Inside there were many pockets of various sizes. “It’s a travel bag for art supplies. Michelle told me she had picked up a cheap one online for her trip to Paris, but she was afraid it wouldn’t hold up.” She faced the rest of the small crowd, still looking very lost.
Her countenance, however, was no rival for Brian’s. “Travel bag? Paris? What’s in the world is going on?”
Everyone turned to Michelle, whose shoulders slumped. “I traded our tickets for the honeymoon in on a ticket to Paris. All my life I’ve always wanted to go there and study my art, but the only thing you ever wanted was to stay here in Calmhaven and have children. I knew that if that happened, I would never get my chance. But I couldn’t bring myself to just call the whole thing off because I didn’t want to hurt you, so I thought destroying the dress would put an end to it all. I thought if the dress was destroyed you might at least postpone the wedding. I was desperate!”
“How did you get into my shop?” Gloria asked quietly.
Michelle ducked her head a little lower. “Do you remember when we were done with the final fitting and I asked to use the restroom? I just reached over and unlocked the window on my way. I’m really sorry, and I’ll pay you back for everything. I promise.”
