by Fiona Grace
“And the padlock?”
“He’s a skilled burglar,” Superintendent Turner said. “He knows the combinations people use. Tom’s birthday, right? He said he guessed it first time.”
Lacey’s cheeks burned. She’d thought once before about how much information was online, and how much trouble it could get one into, and here was the proof. Greg Ford and Adam Cole had made an entire living out of it.
“Why did he confess?” Lacey asked. “Adam, I mean. It can’t have been guilt. He seemed pretty chipper when he was pretending to be Tom’s cousin. At least he definitely wasn’t acting like a guy who’d just killed someone.”
Superintendent Turner shrugged. “Only time will tell. But I’m sure he has a game plan.”
Lacey sat back in her seat, taking a moment to absorb it all. “And Crispin?”
“He’s just a sucker who got dragged into it by Greg,” Beth said. “Looks like Mr. Ford didn’t like getting his hands dirty. Without Adam, he needed someone else to do his dirty work for him. So he recruited Crispin.”
“And me?” Lacey asked. “What happens to me?”
Superintendent Turner reached for his notebook and ripped out the first page. He handed it to Lacey.
Frowning, she looked down. She was holding a traffic ticket.
“Wait,” Lacey said, perplexed. “That’s it? A ticket?” She knew full well she should get way more than a simple fine and points docked off her license.
“Any self-respecting cop would keep you in the cell until you got bail,” Superintendent Turner said. “And charge you for all your misdemeanors. And if my boss heard about me letting you go with just a ticket, he’d probably fire me.” He paused, then smiled. “It’s just too bad that this is already my last day. Pay the fine. Go to the classes. As long as you do that, you’re a free woman.”
“I’ve never been so thrilled to get a fine in all my life!” Lacey said, jumping up.
She couldn’t help herself. She hugged them both.
“I’m really sorry about your wedding,” Beth said as they embraced.
“Thanks,” Lacey said, sadly. It was a bittersweet moment to say the least. She’d helped catch a killer, but at a huge personal cost.
Superintendent Turner uncuffed her and escorted her out to the reception area.
She went to the counter to get her belongings returned to her.
“One mobile phone,” the receptionist said, handing the clear bag across to her. “One hair clasp. And one diamond necklace with a sapphire gem…” She raised her eyebrows with surprise, then finally looked up at Lacey standing there in her wedding dress. “Oh!” she exclaimed.
Lacey took her belongings with a sheepish smile. “Thanks.”
Lacey scurried for the exit, turning on her cell phone as she went. She desperately needed to call everyone and let Tom know she hadn’t abandoned him at the altar. But as she fiddled with her phone, she heard the sound of someone else behind her collecting their own items from the desk.
“One Hufflepuff scarf…”
Lacey swirled on the spot. It was Professor Noble. He must have just been released on bail.
“Crispin!” she cried.
The professor flinched and turned to face her. His face immediately turned beet red.
“Lacey? What are you doing here?” His eyes roved up and down her wedding dress. “Are you getting married?” Then he shook his head, as if none of that mattered. “I need to apologize to you,” he said. “For breaking into your store. I don’t know what came over me. That con man was very persuasive and—”
Lacey held up a hand to silence him. Because the moment she’d come face to face with him, she had been reminded of the last time he’d been in her store, when he’d rushed in during her call with Abbot Weeks claiming he’d worked out who the scepter belonged to. Suddenly, resolving that mystery mattered more to her than anything else.
“The scepter,” she said, closing the space between them. “What did you find out about it?”
Crispin looked surprised for a moment. “The scepter?”
“Yes. The inscription. You said you’d worked something out.”
“Oh, yes. The scepter belonged to a canonized monk who started the monastery. He was the patron saint of marriage, believe it or not.”
Lacey’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re kidding me!”
“No,” Crispin replied. “Ironic, wouldn’t you say?”
Just then, Lacey heard the sound of the automatic doors opening and a blast of cold air came in with the sound of hurried footsteps. She looked over to see Gina rushing in.
“Gina?” she exclaimed, surprised.
“Oh, Lacey! Thank goodness I found you!” Gina exclaimed. “The cops called to say you were here.”
“I missed the wedding,” Lacey said, the full force of it suddenly hitting her.
“Actually,” Gina said, grabbing her hand. “You didn’t.”
“Huh?” Lacey said, as her friend began to drag her out of the station and into the snowy streets.
“The caterers have gone,” Gina explained. “And half the guests. But if you’re willing to go with Plan B, Tom is.”
“Wait, what?” Lacey said, digging her heels in. “Where is Tom?”
“On the beach, darling!” Gina exclaimed. “Waiting to marry you.”
Lacey gasped.
“So? What do you say?” Gina prompted.
“As long as the most important people in my life are still there, then yes, of course!” Then she looked down at her battered dress. “Although I don’t know if I can get married in this…”
“Don’t worry,” Gina said with a devilish glint in her eye. “I have a plan.”
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Wilfordshire beach looked nothing like Lacey had ever seen it. It was covered in a light dusting of snow, and thanks to the thick snow-cloud cover overhead, the water was a light, milky gray color. It was so still, it almost had the appearance of ice.
Lacey had never seen her beach look this way before, and she realized with a sudden surge of delight that she’d now seen it through all four seasons in Wilfordshire. Wilfordshire was her home. It was only fitting that her wedding was taking place in Wilfordshire, and she was suddenly very happy that she was getting married in her town. Now it was time to fully put down her roots.
She glanced across to see the vendors of Wilfordshire High Street standing in a cluster waiting for her. Jane from the toy shop, Jens and Freya from the Coffee Nook, Brenda the barmaid from the Coach House. There was Ivan Parry, her former landlord, and Stephan and Martha from whom she rented the store. Nigel the valet from Penrose Manor. Percy Johnson, her grandfatherly antiques mentor. It seemed like everyone had turned out for her wedding, and Lacey was touched. Even Brother Benedict was there!
But there was still Lacey’s tattered dress to worry about.
Just then, she spotted Emmanuel emerge from a small marquee tent in his full tux. He turned back and called inside, “Tom, you can relax. She’s here.” So that was the men’s dressing room. Then she spotted another marquee set up closer to where she stood and realized they were both dressing rooms—one for Tom, one for her.
“Come on,” Gina said. “Let’s get you dressed.”
She ushered her into the marquee.
Inside, Lacey discovered Sakura from the sushi place laying out party platters of bite-sized sushi, and a harpist in a green silk dress tuning a wooden Celtic harp.
Shirley suddenly hurried in through the marquee behind her.
“This was the best we could do,” she said hurriedly. “Sakura agreed to provide some refreshments, and the other harpist was very angry about all the toing and froing from the forest to the beach—apparently concert harps are very sensitive to environmental changes—and she cancelled. But luckily, someone on our shortlist stepped up!”
Lacey remembered the young woman from the shortlist very well. Her repertoire consisted of Disney songs and songs from musicals. But none of that mattered to Lacey any
more. How silly to even care! After all she’d been through, having a harpist here on the beach on a snowy day was beyond a dream.
“Oh, Mom,” Lacey said, swirling to face Shirley. “Thank you so much. This is perfect!”
Shirley visibly relaxed. “Oh. Good. I thought you might be disappointed.”
“Disappointed? I’m thrilled!” She faced the harpist and Sakura. “Thank you so much for stepping in. Both of you. I’m so grateful.”
“No problem,” Sakura said, grinning. “I just took yours and Tom’s usual sushi order and multiplied it by forty!”
The young woman in the green silk dress lifted her small wooden harp up. “I’ll go and get into position,” she said, before heading out the marquee with it.
As she exited, Taryn came in. She took one look at Lacey in her dress and screamed.
“Your dress!” she cried.
Lacey looked at Gina. “This is your plan? Get Taryn to fix the dress?”
“She did it once before,” Gina explained.
Lacey couldn’t argue with that. Taryn had turned the monstrosity of a secondhand wedding dress into a beautiful boutique piece, so if anyone could salvage the mess now, it would be her.
“What do you think?” Lacey said, biting her lip. “Think you can do something with it?”
“Sure… if you don’t mind getting married in a minidress,” Taryn said.
“Why not?” Lacey said with a chuckle. “None of this is how I planned anyway.”
Taryn started tugging at her dress, pulling off ripped shreds of tulle, tutting as she worked. “How did you even…” she murmured grumpily as she worked.
Suzy appeared in the marquee next. She had a grave expression on her face, like something terrible had just happened.
“Um, Lacey…” she began. “Bad news. The detectives are here.”
Lacey felt a wave of relief wash over her. “That’s okay, they’re invited,” she replied, grinning.
“You invited them?” Suzy repeated, sounding baffled.
“Yup,” Lacey said. “When I make my vows and become Lacey Forrester, I don’t want any enemies. Karl and I made our peace.” She cast a wary look at Taryn. “And I think Taryn and I have too.”
Taryn looked up, disconcertedly.
“You’re staying for the ceremony, right?” Lacey asked. “And the reception?”
For the briefest second, Taryn looked touched. Then she quickly wiped the look from her face, shrugged a shoulder, and said, “Yeah, sure, whatever.”
She was feigning nonchalance, and Lacey couldn’t help but smile. After all the animosity between them, she was glad to know they could put it all behind them and start afresh.
“Right,” Taryn said. “That’s the best I can do. Take a look at that.”
Lacey stepped over to the mirror. Her elegant boutique dress had been transformed into a cool, sixties-style minidress.
“Taryn, you’re a genius!” she cried, twirling around to get a good look from all angles. “I love it!”
Taryn smiled.
Just then, Naomi poked her head in through the marquee flap. “Lacey? You ready?”
Butterflies took flight in Lacey’s stomach. She nodded.
Naomi came inside and Gina handed her the bridesmaid’s bouquet, picking up her own. Then she handed a gorgeous dried flower bouquet to Lacey. “This is yours.”
“Oh Gina,” Lacey said, choking up. “It’s perfect!” Then she swallowed her nerves and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
Lacey stepped out of the tent and heard the sound of the harp begin. Not Handel’s The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba the original golden concert harpist at her forest wedding was going to play, but Pachelbel’s Canon in D played on a small wooden Celtic harp by a nervous young woman. But Lacey didn’t mind, not in the slightest. Because all those small details were meaningless after all. Just like it didn’t matter that she was on a beach instead of in a forest, or that she was wearing a minidress instead of a long gown. The important thing was she was getting married today, to the love of her life, in front of all the people who mattered.
The long harp notes floated delicately around Lacey as she scanned the beach ahead of her and took in the sight of the lectern and the officiator standing beneath the flower adorned arch. It was her first glimpse of her father’s construction and Gina’s dried flower decoration. It was beautiful, far exceeding her wildest expectations. Far more beautiful than any of the ones in the magazines Gina had been showing her for weeks. And more special, because it had been made by two of her most favorite people in the world. The sight of it brought yet another tear to her eye, and Lacey wondered if she was going to make it through the ceremony without breaking down.
And it was with that thought that her eyes found Tom. He was waiting at the front for her, hands clasped behind his back in an uncharacteristically nervous posture. Her focus homed in on him, taking in every minute detail of his gorgeous physique in his black tux. He looked just as handsome as the first moment she laid eyes on him, and any anxiety or trepidation she’d felt about stepping out here in front of all these people disappeared in an instant. Saying “I do” to Tom would be the easiest thing in the world for her to say. Because Tom was the love of her life, and she just couldn’t wait to get their life together started.
Frank walked up to her. “You look beautiful, darling,” he said.
“Thank you, Dad,” Lacey said, touched.
“And I hope this doesn’t count as over-parenting of me to say, but you must be freezing. Can I give you my jacket?”
Lacey couldn’t help but laugh. And then shiver. It was colder than she anticipated. “Actually, that would be good. As long as you’re okay.”
Frank immediately shook off his black jacket. “Of course,” he said, sliding it around her shoulders. Then he offered her his arm. “Ready?”
“I’ve never been more ready for anything,” Lacey said with an eager grin.
She looped her arm through her father’s, clutching it tightly for support. He hadn’t been there to walk her down the aisle the first time, and Lacey was so thrilled to have him here to do it this time, when it really mattered.
Slowly, they began to walk through the gap between the chairs. It was less of an aisle, and more of a simple pathway in the sand between the chairs. But for some reason that made it all the more special to Lacey. She had walked these beaches with Chester a hundred times before. Never once had she imagined she’d one day be walking them for this purpose, for her wedding!
As she walked slowly, Lacey smiled at all the happy faces of her friends and family in the audience. Frankie was looking adorable in his mini tux. Tom’s mom, Heidi, was dressed in a beautiful light blue dress and matching hat. Suzy was in floaty pink chiffon, the height of fairyness. Standing beside her was Lucia, looking stunning in a blood red bodycon.
In the row ahead, Lacey spotted Finnbar. He was almost unrecognizable since he wasn’t in a plaid shirt, and had his chestnut hair neatly brushed. He smiled at her, his hazel eyes lighting up affectionately. Beside Finnbar stood Taryn. She was smiling at first, until she saw Frank’s jacket draped around Lacey’s shoulders, obscuring her creation, and glowered. Then Lacey spotted Beth with her honey blond hair twirling loosely around her shoulders like Cinderella, and Karl with his white hair slicked back again, no longer mussed from the car chase. Lacey felt a surge of joy as she looked into the eyes of all her friends and family, all the people who cared enough about her to be here today, celebrating, in these unusual circumstances.
Then she turned and fixed her eyes on Tom. The whole world seemed to melt away the moment his green eyes found hers.
They reached the front, and Frank gave Lacey a hug, before stepping to the side.
Lacey turned to face Tom. She couldn’t help but grin. He flashed her his megawatt smile in return.
“You look amazing,” he whispered.
“So do you,” she replied with a grin.
Then in a hushed tone, he added. “I haven’t se
en Harry anywhere. Do you think he knows about the venue change?”
“Erm, about Harry…” Lacey said. Then she stopped herself. Now really wasn’t the time to explain the whole situation! “Actually, I’ll tell you later.”
Tom looked momentarily perplexed, but then let it go. “Oh, I just realized,” he said, looking her up and down again and taking in the sight of her new minidress. “I’ve never seen that dress before! No bad omens.”
Lacey couldn’t help but giggle.
The harp music finished and silence fell. The officiator cleared his throat, and to the background sound of breaking waves, he began to speak.
“Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in matrimony.”
Lacey felt her throat go completely dry. It was really happening!
The officiator turned to Tom. “Do you, Thomas Forrester, take this woman to be your wife, to live together in matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, and to keep her in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”
The whole time he spoke, Tom looked at Lacey. She could see such adoration in his eyes it turned her heart to gold. His lashes became wet with tears.
“I do,” he said, his voice hitching with emotion.
Lacey’s heart skipped as if in reply.
The officiary turned to Lacey next. As he spoke, she kept her gaze fixed on Tom as well, silently conveying her love and devotion to him.
“Lacey Doyle, do you take this man to be your husband, to live together in matrimony, to love him, to honor him, to comfort him, and to keep him in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, for as long as you both shall live?”
Lacey squeezed Tom’s hands. They were trembling as much as hers. “I do.”
The officiator beckoned for the ring bearer. Along trotted Chester, looking as proud as proud could be, with a red silk cushion on his back and the rings displayed on it. Lacey couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.