by Laura Durham
I looked out to the pool deck where their enormous black leather pants and vests were drying in the sun.
“Where are they?” Kate asked.
“Upstairs going through my selection of California king sheets and blankets to see what works,” Darla said. “Although I don’t know how they’re going to ride home on their bikes in them.”
I eyed the drying leather clothes and noticed they were beginning to pucker. Somehow I didn’t think they’d be squeezing themselves into those pants anytime soon.
“Where is she?” The shrill female voice from the front of the house made us all jump.
“Who is that?” Darla asked, spinning around.
Kate looked at me as we heard the front door slam, her brows pressed together to form a crease between her eyes. “You don’t think . . .?”
Richard led the way to the foyer where Tina Pink stood, her face red and her eyes bulging.
“You got my husband arrested.” Her eyes moved from Richard to Kate to Fern and to me as she spoke. “This is all your fault.”
“Actually, this is your fault.” Fern wrapped his hands around his mug and took a sip, seemingly unperturbed by Tina’s outburst. “He knocked off Cher because you wanted him to, which I think makes you an accessory to murder. Am I right?”
Richard put a hand on his hip and gave a dismissive sniff while Hermes yipped in Tina’s direction. “That’s what it sounds like to me, too.”
Tina glared at me and stamped her foot. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. She looked around as if searching for something, her gaze darting from person to person until she fixed on the carousel. “You all think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, this is what I think of you and your friends.”
She swung a foot out to the side and karate kicked the horse closest to her, sending flower petals flying and denting the horse’s side.
Kate gasped and put both hands over her mouth, and I heard myself suck in air. Hermes let out a torrent of barks and tried to get out of Richard’s arms.
Tina grinned and lifted her foot again but was stopped by a thundering noise as both Buster and Mack descended the stairs with giant sheets flapping and billowing in their wake. They sounded like a herd of buffalo and looked like plus-sized ghosts. Tina screamed and backed up against the front door.
When Buster and Mack came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, I got a good look at what they were wearing. Mack had fashioned himself a toga out of lavender monogrammed sheets with the embroidered ‘D’ emblazoned on his chest. Buster, on the other hand, had tied a brightly colored floral sheet around his waist and used a matching one as a cape.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Buster said, his voice a low rumble as he tossed one end of his floral cape over his shoulder.
“I think it’s someone’s turn to talk to the police.” Mack took Tina by the arm, and Hermes yipped in agreement.
As Buster and Mack marched her out the front door, Tina snapped her head in my direction. “This isn’t over, Annabelle.”
Richard patted my arm. “Don’t worry, darling. She won’t be able to do much damage to you where she’s heading.”
I couldn’t help giving a little shudder. I hoped this was the last I’d be seeing of Tina Pink.
“We thought we heard your voices,” Jesse said as he and Stefan leaned into the foyer through the open front door.
“What are you guys doing here?” Kate asked, walking over and giving Jesse a hug and Stefan an awkward pat on the arm.
“We live nearby and we were out on a walk. Stefan insists on us walking each day.” Jesse appraised our robes. “Is everything okay?”
“It is now,” I said. “The police arrested Tina Pink’s husband for the murders.”
Stefan raised a single eyebrow, but Jesse threw a hand over his mouth.
“Did he confess?” Jesse asked.
“No, but as soon as he regains consciousness, I’m sure he will.” Kate pointed to me. “He tried to drown Annabelle five minutes ago.”
“You poor thing.” Jesse shook his head. “Is there anything we can do? It looks like you have enough bathrobes.”
“We’re fine,” I said. “Thanks for asking.”
“Actually, Annabelle.” Stefan met my eyes. “Do you have a moment to talk?”
Jesse sighed. “Not this again. Ignore him, Annabelle. The wedding was wonderful, especially under the circumstances.”
“No, it’s fine.” If I had to have it out with Stefan, I’d rather get it over with. Even if I was at a decided disadvantage by wearing a bathrobe and having dripping wet hair. I jerked a thumb toward the study located off the foyer. “Why don’t we duck in here?”
“Don’t go too far,” I said, catching Kate’s arm as I passed.
“In these?” Kate asked, sweeping a hand down the front of her short red robe.
“How is the robe less revealing than anything you normally wear?” Richard muttered.
Kate assessed her outfit. “You may be right. With the right jewelry this could be a great dress.”
Fern touched a hand to the red silk. “What it needs is a statement belt.”
“What I need is an aspirin,” I said.
“Don’t worry about me,” Richard mumbled as Kate pulled him and Fern away toward the kitchen. “I only suffered a minor heart attack, thank you very much.”
Fern pushed his mug at Richard. “Have a drink. It helps.”
“Just because I didn’t jump in the pool, no one thinks I suffered,” Richard said, his voice getting fainter as Kate pushed him down the hall.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Fern said. “I can push you in the pool.”
I tried to ignore Richard’s grumbling punctuated by his dog’s yipping as I held the door open for Stefan and followed him into the wood-paneled room lined with bookshelves on three sides.
He turned to face me, perching on the edge of the large mahogany desk. “I wanted to thank you.”
I had the urge to shake my head to be sure I’d heard correctly. “I beg your pardon?”
“I don’t think anyone else could have handled me and a murder the way you did.” He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out an envelope. “This is a small thank you.”
I took the envelope and could see the outline of a check inside, although I couldn’t read the amount. “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think you were happy.”
He cracked a small smile. “I’m working on being happy. Jesse has insisted I spend more time at home, which is helping. Since I barely saw him during our engagement, I figure I owe him.”
I returned his smile. “I wish you both the best.”
The door behind us opened, and Jesse poked his head inside. “Do I get to thank her now?”
Stefan gave my arm a stiff pat as he left the room and Jesse came inside.
“So?” Jesse said. “Have you opened the check yet?”
I instinctively looked down at the envelope, but shook my head.
He winked at me. “Well, go on. I want to see what amount Stefan finally settled on.”
I turned around and took a letter opener from the desk and sliced open the envelope. I glanced up as I felt Jesse behind me, no doubt angling for a better view of the check. My eyes caught his reflection in the glass of the large framed map over the desk, his arms reaching up and over my head as light glinted off something thin and shiny between his hands. I felt a burst of adrenaline as I realized the something was wire. I elbowed him as hard as I could in the ribs, diving to the side and rolling onto the carpet.
He grunted in pain and dropped the wire he’d been holding.
“You?” I scrambled to my feet and ran behind the desk since he was blocking my way to the door.
He snatched the wire from the floor, his hands covered by black leather gloves. “Sorry for the unpleasant surprise, honey.”
“I don’t get it. It was Sal.”
He gave a quick jerk of his head. “No, and as soon as he’s questioned you’ll dis
cover it wasn’t him. You’re much smarter than I gave you credit for, Annabelle. I knew if I gave you enough time, you’d have worked it out. Don’t let anyone ever tell you wedding planning is for airheads.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.” I took a step to the side and bumped into the standing globe. “I don’t get it. What reason did you have to kill any of those people?”
“Money, honey. Meaning Stefan’s.”
I scooted around the globe so it was between us. “What did Cher have to do with it?”
“I made the mistake of telling Cher about a few of my dalliances during one of the pre-marriage counseling sessions.” Jesse pulled the wire taut between his hands, and I noticed his thick biceps flex. How had I not registered how muscular this guy was before now?
“Cher Noble did pre-marriage counseling?” I asked. “Was she trained?”
Jesse tilted his head at me. “That’s exactly what Stefan asked. Cher was trying to be full-service, and I wanted to support her.”
That would have been sweet if he wasn’t confessing to her murder.
“Aren’t those sessions something you do as a couple?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light and casual so he’d keep talking.
“Usually, but Stefan didn’t show up. Not a shock. I was upset, and I spilled too much to Cher. Unfortunately, she decided she couldn’t marry us unless I cleared the air with Stefan.”
“And you didn’t want to?”
Jesse laughed. “He would have left me and taken all his lovely money with him. I hadn’t put up with his moods and demands for so long to lose it all when I was so close. I snuck out of the makeup room on Saturday and tried to talk to Cher, but she wouldn’t back down.”
“So you strangled her?”
“It wasn’t planned. I saw some wire as well as a pair of gloves lying with the florist’s supplies and got the idea. It was horrible, if you want to know the truth.”
I took a few steps to my right and he mirrored my moves. “And Blanche?”
“She was storming out the first time I went into the library to talk to Cher. I couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t put two and two together, especially when I overheard her at Perry’s and realized she was going to talk to the police.”
I felt my stomach churn. So my having Blanche talk to the police did get her killed.
I gestured at the length of wire in his hands. “Is that the same wire?”
He gave a half shrug. “Call me a sentimental fool, but I’ve been carrying it around with me.”
There were a lot of things I could think of calling him right now. A sentimental fool wasn’t one of them. “Why kill Antonio? Were you on a roll?”
Jesse stamped a foot on the Persian carpet. “Do you think any of it was easy for me? I’m the nice one.”
I might beg to differ. I slid my hand into the pocket of the robe and felt my phone. Without looking, I scanned my thumb. I cast a quick glance down as I tried to redial the last number I’d called and hoped Reese would answer.
“I saw the police escorting him out of The Wharf and heard them talking about taking him in for questioning about Blanche’s murder. I remembered seeing him at Perry’s. When I lowered the gold velvet, the flowers got bumped and he fixed them. I felt sure he could place me near the coffin. So when a car hit the patrol car he was in, I got him out of the backseat and told him I would help him escape. That one was as much luck as anything.”
I felt like smacking myself on the forehead. Of course. Jesse and Stefan had been staying at The Wharf after the wedding since they couldn’t leave for their honeymoon right away. “But instead of helping him you pushed him into the Potomac River in handcuffs?”
“I didn’t want to.” Jesse gave me a pleading smile and wrapped the wire around his gloved hands. “Like I don’t want to kill you, but it does seem to get easier each time.”
“That makes two of us who don’t want you to kill me.” I hoped my call had gone through and Reese was hearing all this, but there was an equal chance I’d opened my Facebook feed.
Jesse made a clucking noise and stepped closer to me. “Don’t make this messy.”
The door opened silently behind him, and I watched out of the corner of my eye as the muzzle of a gun appeared, followed by a hand, and finally Reese’s entire arm.
“If I were you, I’d drop that,” Reese said once he’d angled half his body inside the room.
Jesse spun around and dropped the wire in surprise, opening and closing his mouth. “It isn’t what it looks like. Annabelle and I were having a friendly conversation.”
“Lace your hands behind your head and get down on the ground,” Reese told him.
Jesse began to cry as he lay on the floor and Reese cuffed him. I almost felt sorry for him, even though I knew he was guilty of multiple murders.
I followed Reese out into the foyer as he led Jesse to where a pair of uniformed officers waited for him. Stefan’s expression was stony as he watched Jesse being taken out the front door sobbing.
I ran back into the study and searched the floor for the envelope I’d dropped when I’d been evading a killer. I picked up the check and flipped it over, almost staggering back when I saw the amount. A two thousand dollar tip didn’t make up for almost being strangled, but it was a start.
“Are you okay?” Reese asked from the door.
I tucked the check into the pocket of the robe. “I’m okay. I’m glad you got my call.”
“Me too.” He crossed the room and pulled me into a hug. “Your friends are chomping at the bit to see you, but I wanted a moment alone first.”
“I’m surprised they were cool with that.”
He grinned. “I do have a gun.”
I laughed. “So what happens to Sal? He still tried to drown me.”
“It looks like he’s going to cut a deal by working with the DEA to nab the top guy in a pretty large drug smuggling operation.” Reese brushed a wet strand of hair out of my eyes. “Don’t worry. We have enough on this guy already to put him away for a few years. And now we have enough on your groom to put him away for a few lifetimes.”
I let out a breath and felt my shoulders relax. “At least he won’t kill anyone else.”
Reese’s face became serious. “I’m glad you’re safe, but about you staying out of trouble . . .”
“I swear I didn’t have any idea I’d end up having encounters with two deranged men when I came to work today,” I said, watching his mouth pull up into a half smile.
“I know.” He cupped my chin in his hand. “I think maybe I haven’t been doing a good enough job keeping you out of trouble. I haven’t been able to keep an eye on you like I want to.”
I tilted my head at him. “It’s not like you can post a twenty-four-hour guard outside my apartment.”
“Not outside.” He leaned down and kissed me lightly, his lips soft against mine.
Even though the kiss was gentle, I felt my fingers tingle. I pressed one hand against his chest to keep myself steady.
He kissed me again, this time deeper, his arm around my waist pulling me tight against him. When he pulled away, he whispered in my ear, “I had a different idea. It involves us being together much more.”
Even though my head felt fuzzy, one thought registered faintly in the depths of my brain. Richard was not going to like this.
* * *
The End
(For a sneak peek at the next book in the series, continue reading!)
* * *
deadringer.lauradurham.com
Sneak Peek of Book 9: Wed or Alive
Chapter One
I stood underneath the high-peaked tent and gazed past the rows of wooden folding chairs across the lush green lawn. The massive house—built to resemble a Tuscan villa—sat at the top of the gentle grass slope. A long pool stretched out from its patio, adorned with a statue of a Roman goddess at the far end of the blue water. The white marble goddess already wore a floral wreath, evidence that my floral team had begun the pool area decor. I took my
wedding day schedule from the pocket of my black dress and checked that off the timeline.
Tucking a long strand of auburn hair back into my bun, I raised my face to one of the fans tucked high in the corners of the tent, but I felt the warm air barely stir. I would need to turn the fans to high before the two hundred plus wedding guests arrived and filled the tent. Even though the ceremony programs were printed to resemble old-fashioned paper fans used in country churches, I suspected they would be of little help in the June heat.
Two black-and-white clad figures waddled toward me from the house, their arms flapping at their side to help them keep their balance and their heads bobbing back and forth. I glanced down at my timeline again and put a check mark next to the line that read, “Penguins arrive.”
“Down here.” I waved my arms in the air so the handler could see me as I stepped out from under the tent to meet her.
The penguins came to a stop in front of me, and I fought the urge to pet them, reminding myself they were wild animals even though they looked adorable.
“I’m Annabelle Archer with Wedding Belles. The wedding planner.” I extended my hand to the short-haired woman in jeans accompanying the penguins. “I think we spoke on the phone.”
The woman shook my hand. “I know I’m a little early but I wanted to give myself time to find this place.”
“It’s a bit outside the city.” I cast my eyes over the sprawling estate with its wrought-iron gate, stately driveway lined with tall Italian cypress trees, and horse stables complete with rolling fields. It even smelled like we were far away from the city with the scent of cut grass—and the faintest trace of horse manure—in the air. “But look at the upside. There’s tons of free parking.”
She chuckled. “True. It’s better than hunting for a space in downtown DC.”
“Before I forget to tell you, the bride decided against having the penguins carry the rings down the aisle.” I didn’t mention that I’d spent hours talking her out of this. After a bad experience with a pair of dogs running off with the wedding rings, I’d adopted a “no animals carrying expensive jewelry” policy.