So Then There Were None

by Annie Adams

  “Hi, I’m Quincy.” I extended my hand and the dark haired woman reached out but there was a beer bottle in her right hand. She awkwardly switched it to her left.

  “I’m Jill. I’m ambidex—oh hell. I use both hands equally. I just forgot which hand I use for beer. Usually it’s both.” She laughed at a K.C. volume, which seemed out of place, but I’d never met her before. Maybe she laughed like that all the time, poor thing.

  K.C. glanced at me then soldiered on. “Sweet little Pam here, rescues cats. Isn’t that right, Pam?”

  Pam shook my hand. “I do, yes. I just can’t seem to get enough of the little furballs.”

  “You should meet K.C.’s cat,” I said. “He can talk.”

  Jill squinted her eyes in disbelief.

  “It’s true, I’ve witnessed it myself.”

  “What’s his name?” Jill asked.

  “Shim,” K.C. said.

  “How interesting,” Pam said. “What does it mean?”

  K.C. laughed. “It means, chickadee, that I couldn’t tell if it was a she or a him at first, so I called it Shim. And then the name stuck. He can say it himself.”

  Jill moved on to another group who probably spoke about more interesting things than talking cats. “Don’t worry about her,” Pam said. “She won’t remember most of this conversation anyway. She’s in the process of falling off the wagon.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” K.C. said.

  Pam shrugged. “All of us are. It’s too bad. By the time the wedding gets here tonight, she may not even be conscious.”

  I looked down and realized I still wore my dirty apron.

  “Oh dear,” Pam said. “I don’t mean to keep you from anything. I—Quincy, I understand you did the flowers. They’re incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

  “I can’t take the credit.” I nodded my head toward London, who was talking to Christie. “London’s company, Ivy and Stone did everything you see here. K.C. and I only did the personal flowers.”

  Pam’s eyes lit up. “You mean like the bridesmaids bouquets? I’m so excited. Can I see mine?”

  I looked over at London, who turned to make her way back down the hall with Christie. “Let’s go check with Christie. I’m sure it will be fine.” We followed them down the hall.

  “And you’re a bridesmaid too,” Pam stated more than asked.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “They better not put us next to each other in the photos,” she laughed. “Talk about awkward wedding photos. I barely come up to your elbow.”

  “Hah! That’s true,” K.C. blurted. “I like you, Pam. You know how to tell it like it is.”

  As soon as we entered the workroom, Pam’s oohs and aahs combined with Christie’s squeals of delight. Hearing those sounds is one of the perks of being a florist.

  “It looks like there are eleven bridesmaid bouquets,” Pam said. “Are you a bridesmaid too, K.C.?” she made a sidelong glance at Christie.

  “Oh, no, honey. I think one of those is the toss bouquet. Right, Quincy?”

  “What’s that?” Pam asked.

  “It’s a little bouquet we make so that Christie won’t have to throw her bouquet over her shoulder. She can toss this instead.”

  Another of the women who had been in the front corridor came in to the design room. “Hi Eva,” Pam said. “Do you believe all these gorgeous flowers?”

  “I know, right?” Eva rushed over to Christie and took her hands. “Everything is so pretty, Christie. Just like we wanted.”

  Sweet Pam’s expression changed. She was obviously unhappy, but Christie didn’t react as if she minded Eva sharing the credit.

  Eva turned toward us. “I just wanted to tell everyone that lunch will be served in fifteen minutes in the garden room.”

  “Thanks, Eva. I’ll come with you.” Christie came over to where we were standing. “London, Quincy, I’m in love with all the flowers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

  “You’re so welcome,” London said.

  “It’s my pleasure, and thank you for inviting me to be a bridesmaid.”

  “Who was that bossy pants?” K.C. asked after Eva and Christie had left.

  “Eva is a maid of honor,” Pam said.

  “Do I detect a little something in your voice, there, Pam?” K.C. asked with a smirk.

  “I shouldn’t be so catty—oops—” Pam covered her mouth with her fingertips.

  “Catty! Good one, Pam.” K.C. loved herself a good pun. And a mediocre one. Really, any pun would make her laugh.

  Pam’s cheeks flushed. “After Christie asked me to be the maid of honor, Eva found out. She’s one of Christie’s best friends too. We met her in college.”

  “Sounds like you and Christie have known each other a long time,” I said.

  “Since elementary school.”

  “Wow, that’s a long time to have a pal. Good for you gals,” K.C. said.

  “Yeah, well, Eva felt really bad she wasn’t asked to be maid of honor, so Christie asked me if I would mind if Eva and I could be co-maids of honor.”

  London made her way over to a small desk and gathered some files into a large bag. I followed.

  “You carry your life in a bag too, huh?”

  “I would be lost without it.” Her laugh reminded me of the way Christmas tree lights twinkle. “It looks like you’ve got everything handled here on your end. I’m going to head down to the valley unless you need anything.”

  “I think we’re good here. What should I do about cleanup?” I asked.

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ve got a cleanup crew coming on Monday for all the big stuff. I’ll have two helpers here in the morning, and they’ll place the centerpieces for breakfast then. If you need anything, call my cell from the landline. I’ll be working in my studio all day.”

  “It was such a pleasure working with you, London.”

  “I feel the same way! Let’s collaborate again, this was great.”

  “Absolutely.” The fun part was coming to a close. Working with London and sharing in each other’s ideas and talents was so energizing. Now I faced being a bridesmaid to a bride I’d just met and hanging out with a bunch of strangers until morning. At least I had Alex. And really, it wasn’t so terrible was it? An elegant setting, a beautiful dress (I assumed) and certainly the food would be fantastic. What could be bad about any of that?

  * * *

  Pam led us to the room where lunch was being served. The guests still wore their hiking clothes, but the décor was anything but casual.

  French doors topped with stained glass windows lined an entire wall. Chintz patterned fabric gave the furniture a comfortable, yet elegant look, beckoning you to sit down. The size of the room had obviously been designed to accommodate large groups, but it felt cozy due to the sofas, overstuffed chairs and tropical plants strategically placed throughout the room. Large pastoral paintings nearly covered the ornately papered walls.

  Lunch had been set up on a long antique buffet decorated with gold and metered glass compote dishes filled with white carnations, cream colored Vendela roses and white hydrangea. Simple and understated, yet elegant.

  Pam left us to go talk to another member of the wedding party and Christie came over with a tall, handsome man with black curly hair and dark eyes.

  “Mike, this is Alex’s fiancé, Quincy. And this is K.C., she works with Quincy at her flower shop.”

  “Hi, Quincy. It’s so cool you get to work with your sister.” He winked for effect.

  “Well aren’t you a handsome liar?” K.C. said. “But flattery will get you—” she lowered her voice like Ursula the Sea Witch, “everywhere.”

  I’m not sure if Mike’s hesitant laugh was from humor or fear.

  “K.C., we’ve had such a good time meeting you. Do you think you might be able to stay for the reception?” Christie asked.

  K.C. looked at me and I nodded encouragingly. “Well, I did bring a change of clothes just in case, but—”

&nbs
p; “Don’t worry about the theme. Most of the other guests won’t be in costume. It was listed as optional on the invitations.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  “Oh, and before I forget…” She took a quick survey of the room. “I just wanted to say this before she comes back over here…”

  “Who?” K.C. asked.

  “Pam,” she continued. “It’s been so good of you both to let Pam tag along,” Christie said.

  I stole a quick glance at K.C. who looked as surprised as I felt. If anything, Pam had been the most welcoming and friendly of all the wedding party.

  “It’s kind of weird,” Mike said.

  “What is?” I said.

  Christie looked up at Mike before she spoke. “Well…Pam’s never tried to hide the fact she’s had a crush on Alex since she met him.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  “That’s not so unusual,” K.C. said. “I call Alex my future third husband for a reason. Hell, everyone has a crush on him. Speak of the devil and his crushees…”

  Alex walked in escorted by a tall woman with gorgeous, flowing, auburn hair. Her clothes looked as if she’d gone to an upscale outdoor gear store, asked for the most expensive items they had, and wore them directly to the lodge. The creases in her trim hiking shorts were just as crisp as if they’d come right off the shelf.

  “Hey, Coop,” Mike said.

  K.C. subtly leaned in next to my ear, which must have taken extreme effort based on her usual lack of the ability to do anything with subtlety. She whispered, “Boy, I wasn’t kidding about everyone having a crush. Have you noticed the attention your guy has been getting today?”

  “I’ve noticed,” I replied dryly, probably with less subtlety than K.C. had managed, given how the red head looked directly at me after I said it.

  “Hi, I’m Quincy.”

  “I’m Audra.” She cautiously accepted my offered handshake. “And you are…”

  Alex stepped over so that he was standing by my side. “Quincy is my fiancé. And this is our friend, K.C.”

  “Enchante,” K.C. said.

  Audra did a once over assessment of me and K.C. “It’s a pleasure.” She didn’t sound very pleased. “If you’ll excuse me, Alex, I’ve got to talk to Ben.” She walked through the middle of our little circle and headed toward the buffet.

  “Mee-ow,” K.C. said.

  Mike and Alex did simultaneous nervous throat clearings, which was enough to make all of us laugh.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving,” Mike said. “Let’s go eat.”

  “Best idea I’ve heard all day,” K.C. said.

  Alex hung back and he tugged on my sleeve as I followed the others.

  “Um, Q?”

  “Yes, dear?” I batted my eyelashes at him.

  “Have I ever told you how pretty you are?”

  “Am I as pretty as Audra?”

  “Not even close.”

  I stepped back, stunned.

  He held both hands up. “I meant…the competition isn’t even close. Not that there’s a competition…she…no one could compete…with you.”

  I shook my head slowly. I knew what he‘d meant, I just thought I’d let the ladies’ man wriggle a little bit before I let him off the hook.

  “Maybe that head injury was worse than you thought.”

  “I think you’re right.” He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me next to him. “What I meant to say, is that there is no comparison, no one even comes close to you.”

  “Are you two going to eat or are you going to canoodle all day?” K.C. asked.

  “It’s a tough decision,” Alex said.

  “Not if you’ve tried these sandwiches. Oh, and look at the cute little flyers I found in a basket at the end of the table.”

  She held up a piece of black and white card stock. The gold-foil lettering on the front, in a typeface from the 1920’s, listed common phrases from the era.

  “If everything is ‘Jake’ here with you and the ‘Sheik’ I’m gonna grab a cup a ‘Joe’ and sit down,” K.C. said.

  Alex perused the list. “Say, doll, why don’t we get a wiggle on and get over to that buffet before the food is gone?”

  I grinned at him. “Now you’re on the trolley.”

  “This is fun,” K.C. said, then found a spot on a couch.

  “The thing is,” I said, “she doesn’t sound any different than usual.”

  “Yeah,” Alex said with a little chuckle.

  The tinkling of a glass being tapped by a knife got everyone’s attention.

  Christie stood next to Mike, who was holding the glass. “Hey everyone,” she said, “we’re so glad you could all join us on this special day. Are you having a good time?”

  Everyone whooped and woo-hooed.

  “We have a surprise. As most of you know, we are mystery nuts. And not just because of Mike’s job.” Their goofy exchange of glances was just barely tolerable, and only because they were the bride and groom on their wedding day. “Okay, maybe it’s more me than him. Anyway, because you’re all our good friends, we’re letting you in on a little secret. Tonight, besides joining us on our special day, you are all going to be part of a mystery plot. Surprise!”

  The room remained quiet as people exchanged uncertain and confused glances.

  “Ah, c’mon. Isn’t everyone as excited as we are?” Mike said with glint in his eye. The couple looked at each other again. It was obvious they were holding back some piece of information.

  Mike continued, “Okay, how about we sweeten the deal a little bit. We’ve teamed up with our great friends, Dan and Barb, owners of D and B Mystery Nights. They’ve planned the whole thing.” He raised his glass and nodded toward a couple sitting at a small table. “So, big thanks to them.”

  “What? You didn’t have time to plan it yourselves without this wedding getting in the way?” one of the guys said.

  “Exactly right,” Christie replied, laughing.

  “As a most generous wedding gift, they have offered up a huge prize that we get to award the person who solves the mystery.” Mike paused and surveyed the room. The crowd had become much more animated. “Ah, so now you’re interested?”

  Everyone laughed.

  “Should we tell them what the prize is, babe?”

  “Okay, he’s tortured you long enough. The prize is ten thousand dollars!”

  “Get out of town,” K.C. blurted out, garnering laughter from everyone who heard. She ducked her head and began more subtlety, “I’ve never heard of such a thing. How can they afford a prize like that?” This time she spoke loud enough that only Alex and I could hear.

  “Apparently they do mystery parties all the time. They go all over the place, like on yachts or they rent out ski lodges. Mike and Christie are really into it,” Alex said. “Mike told me they use this company exclusively now. He introduced me to the owners earlier today.”

  Christie waited to speak until everyone had a chance to react to the announcement. “We love you guys all so much, and we thank you again for sharing this special day with us. That’s all for now. Enjoy your lunch everyone.”

  The two of them hurriedly left the room amidst confused glances and murmurs. Another glass chimed out as it was tapped. Pam stood in the same spot Mike and Christie had just vacated.

  “Wow, what a surprise, huh? I had no idea they were going to do something like this. I just wanted to remind everyone that you’ll find your costumes hanging in the closets of your guest rooms if you haven’t already. And our lovely friend, Megan has arranged for a few of her friends to do hair and makeup for both the ladies and the gents.”

  One of the groomsmen asked, “Do I have to get my makeup done?”

  “Strictly optional, but I’m sure she’s got some pomade for your hair,” Pam replied. “Finger waves will take some time, so for anyone interested, you can talk to Megan. And don’t forget, rehearsal is at four-thirty in the music room, casual attire, unless you’ve alread
y changed.”

  “This thing is turning into quite the production,” Alex said. His face seemed a couple of shades lighter than its usual tan. “This isn’t what all weddings are like, is it?”

  “Oh yeah, this pales in comparison to what I’ve got in mind,” I teased. Actually, it was just the opposite of what I envisioned for myself and Alex. But I figured I’d have a little fun with Mr. Flirty Pants since he’d been hanging out with the ladies at just about every turn since I’d arrived. And since it was the new me who’d come to the Harmony Lodge, I wasn’t going to hold on to any anger or jealousy about that—I was just going to have a little fun.

  “I wonder what they’re going to have for music at the reception. I recently did the flowers for a family who hired a band from L.A. to fly in and play at their wedding up at one of the ski resorts.”

  “Is…that…what you want to do?” he said, his voice wavering like he was going through puberty.

  “Oh, no.” I paused, waiting for him to relax. Once he lowered his shoulders and his brows weren’t gathered together in a worrisome grimace, I continued. “I’m looking for something more classical. Like a full orchestra.”

  His eyes closed and his Adam’s apple moved up and down as he swallowed.

  I realized I was no good at teasing. Stressing him out, whether it was a joke or not, just made me feel bad. It gave me no pleasure.

  “It might take a while to save up enough to pay for a wedding like this,” he said. “We’ll have to push back our date.”

  I frowned. “We don’t have a date picked out.”

  “Oh yeah. Well, we’ll have to delay choosing a date too.”

  I grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood. “Now who’s the one resisting getting married?” I teased. I’d told him no the first time he proposed to me. His mother would never let him forget it, either. She, along with everyone else in the world, it seemed, had been there with us for the proposal.

  “Oh, I’m not resisting. I’ll marry you right now,” he said.

  I looked up at him, waiting for the inevitable wink or smile that would let me know he was kidding too.