by Jeff Shelby
Luke and Thor entered the bungalow with a very reluctant Melvin Clark limping along behind them.
The sheriff turned his attention back to me. “Can’t believe this is the second time there’s been a dead body in that bungalow of yours.”
I couldn’t have agreed more.
His eyes turned cold. “You might have gotten off the hook last time,” he said, his voice just as icy. “But I think your luck has done run out, Rainy Day. You best enjoy this wedding coming up. Because it may be the last celebration you go to…for a real long time.”
THIRTEEN
I tried not to let Sheriff Lewis’s threat consume my thoughts.
It wasn’t hard to do, because as soon as I returned to the house, I had to tell Laura and Connor what had happened. I’d debated keeping quiet about it, but the fact that I’d been gone for nearly a half hour pretty much guaranteed that I needed to provide a reason for my prolonged absence.
Especially since they still hadn’t eaten the French toast casserole, which was now ice cold on the kitchen counter.
“He’s dead?” Laura shrieked, as soon as I’d quietly told them about the discovery in the bungalow.
I nodded. Gunnar was standing next to me and he reached out and gave my hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze.
“Oh my god.” Laura’s eyes closed and she threw her head back, almost whacking it against the kitchen wall. “How?”
“We don’t know yet,” I said. “But clearly he suffered from some underlying medical condition no one knew about. Or maybe he overdosed. The medical examiner will have to do an autopsy.”
“Overdosed?” Laura’s eyes flew open. “Does that mean there are drugs on this property? We could all go to jail!”
She was reacting exactly as her brother had predicted.
A full-blown freak out.
“Laura,” Connor began.
“Don’t ‘Laura’ me,” she snapped. “This is a complete and total nightmare.”
“The wedding is still on,” Luke told her. He’d poured himself a cup of coffee and was eating one of the leftover blueberry muffins from the previous morning. “There’s nothing to worry about.”
He seemed remarkably unfazed by the whole finding Drew dead thing.
“Nothing to worry about?” Laura repeated. “Some guy died in Mom’s bungalow. Again!”
“Technically, the first one was a skeleton,” I reminded her.
She just gaped at me.
The doorbell rang and I sprang to action. “I’ll get it.”
Anything to remove myself from Laura’s hysteria.
I opened the door and Jackson Coates was standing there, a smile on his face and a bin of what looked to be cords in his arms.
“Thought I’d get a head start with the electrical stuff,” he told me. “You’re going to need a lot of extension cords to hook up the amplifiers and microphones, especially with where your power sources are.” He smiled. “It’s a good thing I have a bunch of them for my DJ business.”
I smiled. Jackson was just the distraction I needed, especially if it meant I could excuse myself from the chaos in the kitchen.
“Come on in,” I said. “We can go through the house and into the backyard.” I held the door open and he stepped inside. “There’s a power outlet right off the kitchen, on the outside of the house. I figure we can route everything through there, right?”
He nodded. “That should work. Just need to see it.”
We entered the kitchen and I braced myself for where Luke and Laura might be at in their conversation.
Luke had scooped up some of the casserole and was leaning against the counter, shoveling a forkful into his mouth. Laura and Connor were exactly where I’d left them, my daughter with a panicked expression on her face and Connor staring glumly at the table.
Suddenly he looked up. “What does that mean as far as the music goes?”
Luke shrugged. “No idea. Now that we don’t have a drummer, I’m not sure what we can do.”
Connor opened his mouth to speak but Jackson interrupted him. “You don’t have a drummer?”
Luke shot a glance in my direction, his eyes widening. It looked like he didn’t know what he should say, if he should keep the story of Drew’s death quiet while the sheriff investigated.
But I knew better.
This was Latney.
Nothing ever stayed quiet for long.
“Drew Solomon was found dead today,” I said quietly. I didn’t think I needed to give him the details of where. “He was the drummer who was supposed to play with Luke and Thor’s band.”
Jackson looked aghast. “That’s terrible. What happened?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. No real information has been released but it looks like natural causes.” I actually had no idea if this was the case, but since it was what I wanted to believe, and what I thought was the most likely scenario, I was willing to roll with that.
“So what happens to the music?” Jackson asked, glancing at Thor and Luke. “Do you guys have another drummer?”
Connor cleared his throat. “I—”
“No.” Luke swallowed a mouthful of coffee. “I guess the two of us will just play.”
Jackson thought for a moment. The box of cords was still in his hands. “I don’t know if this would help, but I have a keyboard.”
I frowned. They weren’t looking for a pianist.
Jackson noticed my expression because he added. “It has all kinds of instruments on it. You know, you hit a button and it changes to harp. Or the flute. Or drums…”
Laura suddenly snapped to attention. “Wait. Why don’t you just DJ again?”
Jackson darted a glance at Luke and then me. “Well, uh, I could certainly do that…”
“No.” Luke’s voice was firm. “I said I was going to play and that’s what I’m going to do.” He looked at Jackson. “You think you could do it? The drums on your keyboard?”
Jackson hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. I mean, if you want me to.”
Luke smiled. “Good. It’s settled, then.”
Laura sighed loudly. “I think we should just call this whole thing off. It’s a complete disaster.”
Connor stared at her. “Call it off?”
“Not permanently,” she told him. “But rushing it right now is creating an absolute nightmare. Nothing is going according to plan.”
I wanted to point out that they hadn’t really had a plan.
“We have a hundred people who received invitations,” Connor reminded her. “Are we going to call all of them and tell them it’s canceled?”
“We can just send a group text,” she said. “Announce it on Facebook. Everyone will get the message.”
His lips thinned. “And what about my grandmother? Or did you forget that she is the reason we decided to move up the wedding?”
The look on Laura’s face suggested that she actually had forgotten this.
She swallowed. “Oh. Right.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
Luke had stopped eating. Jackson was standing still, the box of cords in his hands. Thor was planted like a tree by the back door, staring off into space. Gunnar made eye contact with me but I could tell that he had no words of advice to offer.
And Connor and Laura were lost in their own thoughts.
A voice broke the silence, startling all of us.
A high-pitched, frail voice.
“Is anyone home?”
Connor shot to his feet. “Grandma!”
I followed him out of the kitchen, almost bumping into his backside as he skidded to a stop.
An elderly woman with bright red hair stood in my hallway, holding on to a walker. A younger, redheaded woman stood next to her. They’d apparently let themselves in through the front door.
Connor wrapped his arms around the short thin woman. But he did so carefully, as if he was afraid he might break her.
“Grandma,” he said, pulling back and looking at her. “You’re h
ere!”
“Darn right I’m here,” she said. Her normal voice was a few octaves lower. “I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world.” Her eyes darted to me. “Is this your bride?”
Connor turned, his eyes widening as he realized I was standing behind him.
I tried not to laugh, both at her assumption and at Connor’s reaction to his grandmother’s words. “Not quite,” I said. I held out my hand. “I’m Rainy, mother of the bride-to-be.”
Billie’s brow wrinkled, and then she cackled. “Rainy?”
I braced myself for the comments about my name. After all these years, I still hadn’t gotten used to the wisecracks people often offered when they heard my name for the first time.
Billie pointed at the woman standing next to her. “Her name is Sunny.”
I grinned. “Really?”
The redhead nodded, returning the smile. She looked a little uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other as her gaze bounced from Connor to me.
“Did you accompany Billie from the airport?” I asked. I wondered if maybe they’d hired some type of aide to get her to my house or something. If she was as sick as she was supposed to be, I didn’t think they’d let her do any leg of the trip without some kind of chaperone.
“No,” Sunny said. “From Florida.”
I cocked my head. “You came here from Florida, too?” I glanced at Connor and then back at Sunny. “Are you a relative?”
Connor wasn’t looking at her with any kind of recognition.
“Not quite.” She smiled, but her cheeks had reddened slightly. “I actually work at Oasis Ridge, the retirement community where Billie lives. She asked me to come with her on this trip.”
“Are you her nurse?” Connor asked.
Sunny blushed even deeper. Her skin was fair, and the color blooming in her cheeks looked like someone had rubbed bright red rouge on her face. “No.” She paused. “I’m the activities director.”
Connor had stepped away from his grandmother and was now regarding both of them with some confusion. “Is this a field trip?”
Billie waved a frail hand in the air. “Don’t be silly. I asked Sunny to come along because I didn’t want to travel alone. I didn’t think it would be wise, considering my age and my health. She said yes. End of story.”
Billie was feisty; I’d give her that.
Her blue eyes were shrewd as she looked past Connor and me. “Now, where is this bride of yours? I need to meet her.”
Connor blinked and nodded his head. “Of course. She’s in the kitchen.”
“Lead me to her,” Billie ordered. She glanced at me. “You can take my bags to my room. And Sunny’s to her room, too. I assume you have an extra bedroom? This house looks big enough.”
“We have room,” I said.
I closed my eyes and sighed as they walked past me and into the kitchen to meet Laura.
“I hope my coming along doesn't goof things up,” Sunny said. “She really wanted to be here and when she asked, I didn't have a good enough reason to say no.” She folded her arms against her chest. “She's a very sweet old woman and she desperately wanted to be here. I couldn't refuse her.”
“You were very kind to come with her,” I said. “And you haven't goofed anything up.”
“I appreciate you saying that,” she said. “If I can help with anything while I'm here, please don't hesitate to ask.”
“You're a guest,” I told her. “I just want you to have a good time.”
“I'm sure that I will,” she said. She gestured toward the kitchen. “I should check on Billie. But, really, please let me know if you need help with anything. Planning is my job and I really would be happy to help.”
“Thank you for offering,” I said. “I'll let you know.”
She smiled and hustled off after Billie.
I sighed.
Drew’s death had left me with one less houseguest…until Sunny had shown up.
The number of guests hadn’t changed, but with the bungalow now cordoned off and unusable, I found myself in a position where I had to find new sleeping arrangements for the two surviving members of Midnight Robot…and a woman I’d never met until a few moments ago. A woman I had no idea would be staying at the house. It wasn't her fault and I didn't want her to feel like an inconvenience. It sounded as if Billie had sort of forced her hand to come along.
But, still.
I shook my head.
The dead body in the bungalow was complicating my life in more ways than one.
Lots more ways.
FOURTEEN
I left the suitcases where they were, right next to the door in the living room.
It didn’t make any sense to take them upstairs if Billie and her companion weren’t going to be sleeping up there.
I tried to do some mental rearranging of the houseguests requiring beds. Connor’s parents weren’t even there yet, but were due to arrive the next day. With the two of them, I would have a total of ten houseguests, requiring six separate beds.
I didn’t have six beds available, especially since the air mattresses I’d set up for the three guys in the bungalow were currently taped off.
Thankfully, Declan had a couple of extra ones available. I didn’t know where I was going to put them quite yet, but it was still morning…I had some time to figure that out.
He was at the house twenty minutes later, lugging two bags with deflated mattresses inside of them. Gunnar had gone back home, Laura was off with Sophia, and Connor was visiting with Sunny and his grandmother out in the backyard. I had no idea where Luke and Thor had gone off to.
“Thanks for bringing these over,” I said to Declan. “And for letting me borrow them.”
“Of course.” He looked at me with concern. “You sure you’re alright?”
I’d given him a quick rundown of what had happened earlier that morning.
“I think so,” I said. “I feel horrible about Drew’s death, of course. And I feel bad that it’s causing Laura so much stress.”
Declan gave a sympathetic nod. “Of course. An unexpected death so close to her wedding is bound to create some anxiety and worry. And considering it happened here, the place that is not only serving as her wedding location but is also her mother’s home, has probably added to her stress.”
He’d summed it up perfectly.
“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked. “My home is always open, if you need to house people there. And I’m sure I could put it out to members of St. Simon’s if you want me to.”
I shook my head. I appreciated the offer—and Gunnar had done the same thing, suggesting people could stay at his place since bedrooms were in short supply here—but I was bound and determined to keep everyone on the property. I’d told them they’d be staying at my house, and I was going to do everything I could to make that happen.
Even if some of them ended up sleeping on air mattresses on the floor.
Declan set the bags down. “How are the rest of the wedding plans coming? I know you said there were still some things you were trying to figure out. Were you able to get those taken care of?”
My hand flew to my mouth as I remembered something.
His eyes widened in alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“The food.”
The last conversation I’d had with Connor about food for the reception had been trying to talk him out of serving sushi.
We hadn’t discussed it since.
Which meant that, as of that moment, I had no idea if he’d figured anything out.
“Food for the reception?”
I nodded. “Connor and I had talked about it but I don’t think he made any decisions. And we’ve been sort of distracted this morning…”
Distracted was probably not the right word. Panicked. Horrified.
“Maybe I can help,” he offered. “The ladies at the church could put together a potluck…”
I forced a smile. Laura would drop dead before she’d allow people she didn’t know bring
homemade food to her reception. She’d never been a fan of community picnics of potlucks. She always worried about ingredients, and whether things had been kept at the proper temperature, and if the person making the food was sick. Suggesting to her that a group of women she didn’t know were going to provide pasta salads and casseroles for her wedding would go over about as well as…well, as well as sushi would.
“Thank you, but I wouldn’t want to ask that of anyone.”
Declan chuckled. “Some of these folks simply like to cook. They’d be happy to do it.”
I appreciated the offer. I really did.
“I need to call Mikey,” I said. “Or go see him. He’d mentioned being willing to cater if we needed it, and I’d love to give him some business.”
Declan’s expression brightened. “Now there’s an idea. I’m sure he’d be happy to help out.”
I nodded. Now that I’d remembered the food, and come up with a tentative plan to address it, I was back to focusing on the sleeping arrangements.
“Alright, well, well I guess I’ll let you get to it, then,” Declan said. “Sounds like you’re figuring everything out.”
I smiled, a genuine one this time. “Thanks for bringing over the air mattresses. You’re a life saver.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said with a grin. “But I’m always happy to help out. Let me know if you have any problems getting them set up. Or if they have holes. Sometimes those mattresses get holes and start to leak.”
I nodded. “I’ll get them inflated right away and let you know.”
We said goodbye and as soon as I closed the door, I sprinted into the kitchen to grab my purse. I’d go and talk to Mikey in person, see what kind of menu options he could provide, and then come back and sweet talk Connor into agreeing to it.
But Connor was in the kitchen when I rounded the corner.
He glanced at me in surprise. “Everything okay?”
That seemed to be the question of the hour.
“Yep, everything’s fine.” I probably sounded way too chipper, considering Drew’s body had been found just a few hours earlier.
I reached for my purse.
“Where are you going?”