Wedding Cake and Widows: A Comedy Cozy Mystery (Mom and Christy's Cozy Mysteries Book 8)

by Christy Murphy

  I hurried to the bathroom to change and pee. I didn’t want to wear a diaper or have to hold it for three hours.

  That was when I spotted two women who looked familiar. They saw me looking at them and approached me.

  “Thank you so much for inviting us,” the younger woman said.

  “It looks like we’ll be in the widow section of the bus,” the older woman joked. That was when I realized that it was Lexi and Sylvia from Ford’s house. Cal’s widow and his ex-wife!

  “I needed something to take my mind off of things, and this is just so fun,” Lexi said.

  “Party!” Sylvia said.

  “We even got free diapers,” Lexi added.

  The joy in her voice struck me as odd. She must’ve noticed my expression, because she explained. “I’m going to give them to my nana.”

  Wenling, who was passing by, turned to us. “I’m going to use mine so I never have to leave a hot slot machine.”

  “That’s brilliant!” Lexi said. “Are they comfortable? How do you know which slot machines are hot?”

  Wenling shared her gambling secrets with the young widow as they headed for the bus.

  Why was Wenling being so friendly? Her competitive streak didn’t lend itself to sharing gambling secrets. Something told me the case might not be closed after all. With the wedding two weeks away, this couldn’t be good.

  11

  The bus arrived at our hotel in Vegas at 6 PM. I’d wanted to talk to Mom and the rest of the Nancy Drew crew about Sylvia and Lexi, but the two widows were seated too close to us.

  I dashed off the bus and headed straight for the bathroom. Mom had stocked plenty of beverages, cocktails, and snacks for the bus ride. It’d been a lot of fun. Most of the mystery book club had come, and the ladies from the rest home were rowdy.

  Being one of the few people not wearing an adult diaper, the last forty minutes of the ride had stressed my bladder. Desperate to get to the bathroom, I shuffled across the lobby of the Golden Nugget. They’d picked an old school Vegas place for me, and I loved it.

  Mom and Wenling had spent a considerable amount of time bonding with them, and several other older ladies were also widows. They’d all spent a lot of time talking to Lexi and helping her through some of her grief. As much as that might’ve sounded like a bummer, it was really sweet.

  Was I just being cynical about the case?

  I rushed into a stall and heard some of my fellow bachelorette party attendees entering the bathroom after me.

  I could tell it was them by the sound of crinkling adult diapers. At the rest stop, we’d filled the trash and then some with diapers.

  I tried not to think about the ecological impact of Mom’s new venture. Was she starting a trend of people wearing diapers even if they didn’t need them?

  After having held it for forty minutes, I contemplated getting one myself. But that was a bridge too far. Right?

  I found Darwin at the check-in desk, making sure there were keys and rooms for everyone. He was great at organizing everything. Between Briana, Mom, and Darwin, everything was running right on time.

  “Where are we going to dinner?” I asked.

  “It’s your bachelorette party, so we went with the buffet,” Dar said. Briana handed me my buffet pass.

  This was going to be a good time.

  “So while I have you two alone, tell me, what’s going on with Cal’s widow and ex-wife being here?” I asked.

  The two of them shared a look.

  “Well, we didn’t want to worry you,” he said.

  “Too late,” I answered.

  “It’s nothing,” Briana assured me. “It’s just a hunch. And we needed more people. Not everyone from the book club could make it.”

  “To make it look like I have friends?” I asked.

  “The diaper company wanted to be sure there’s plenty of brand ambassadors,” Dar said.

  “So we’re all brand ambassadors?” I asked.

  “Yes! Doesn’t it feel glamorous?” Dar said.

  I had a lot of feelings about being a brand ambassador for adult diapers, but glamorous wasn’t one of them.

  But I liked the idea of everything being cheaper. The cost of the wedding had been getting out of control, but with the venue being free and now the bachelorette party being free, I felt less guilty about it all. Mom was paying for most of this, and I knew Briana and Dar had spent a lot on their bridesmaid dresses.

  “I appreciate all the trouble you guys are going through,” I said. “Don’t worry about worrying me. Spill the beans on the case.”

  “We can’t,” Dar said.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “Your mom said it was only a hunch and that’s all we know. So there’s not much to say,” Briana said.

  A man in an expensive suit approached us. “Are you with the promotional company?”

  “Yes,” Dar answered.

  “Listen, I’m Ken Taylor, the manager here,” he said.

  Dar extended his hand to the manager. “Thank you for welcoming us to your lovely hotel. I’m one of the head ambassadors.”

  He made it sound like he was a member of the United Nations of diapers.

  “Yes, welcome. But you’ve got to tell your people to not flush those diapers down the toilets,” he said. “And when you pass out the samples at the promotional event tomorrow, make it known to all there as well.”

  This was the first I’d heard of a promotional appearance at the hotel. A small army of maintenance men rushed by us carrying mops and buckets bound for the bathrooms.

  Oh boy. We’d only been in the hotel for fifteen minutes, and we’d already trashed the place.

  12

  Wenling went off to the bar where we had a tab going.

  “You better watch her,” I said to Mom.

  “She’s stubborn. She’ll learn when she gets sick,” Mom said.

  “At least we won’t have to hold her hair,” Darwin said.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Wenling’s hair was too short for us to worry about having to hold it while she puked.

  After we reserved our seats, we hit the buffet.

  I spotted Lexi at the tri-tip station. Perfect. I could kill two birds with one stone. Tri-tip and a little clue digging.

  “Thank you so much for inviting me,” Lexi said. “I’ve been so bummed.”

  It came to her turn, and she asked, “Can I get three orders?”

  “Just tell me when,” the server said as he cut off several slices.

  “You can keep going,” she said and proceeded to remain silent as he continued to slice.

  The guy smiled and continued to carve. “You can come back for more. I don’t want to get into trouble,” he said.

  “Wow!” Lexi said. She turned to me. “I’d been dieting to look good for my wedding and honeymoon. But now, all bets are off.”

  “I totally understand,” I said.

  “I’ll have the same as her,” I said.

  Lexi’s eyes grew wide. “Aren’t you getting married in two weeks?”

  “The dress fits, and I’ve been the same weight for three weeks now,” I said.

  “You’re brave,” she said.

  My former goodwill toward Lexi diminished just a little bit. I liked being called brave, but I didn’t really like her dampening my buffet high.

  “I’m going to get some crab legs,” she said. “Will you join me?”

  “I didn’t even see the crab legs,” I said.

  “I scouted everything while everyone was checking into their rooms,” Lexi said.

  Goodwill restored.

  “So how did you and Cal meet?” I asked.

  “I was buying a car,” she said. “My business, it finally hit its first 30 million in revenue, and I told myself that I was going to get a new car. Or what I would call a new to me car.”

  “That’s what my family says too,” I said.

  The Murphys had bought a few “new new cars,” but mostly we bought a lot of new to us,
a.k.a. used cars in our lifetime.

  “He saw me in the finance office, and I negotiated the lowest price. Then I paid for it all at once without financing," she said.

  “Very nice,” I said. I was impressed she could afford to buy a car on her own.

  “Most men like me because I was a model,” Lexi said. “I’m sure Cal didn’t think I was ugly, but he seemed to really like that I was good at negotiating, you know?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “It’s nice to have somebody love you for who you are on the inside and the stuff that you enjoy about yourself the most, rather than who they think you are.”

  “Exactly,” Lexi said, her voice cracking just a little.

  I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. I didn’t know what I’d do if DC died just a few days after we got married.

  “But I don’t want to bum you out,” she said. “And I’ve already been sad for a solid month. Let’s eat all this food and then gamble.”

  “I’ve already been gambling on the buffet, but I’m in,” I said.

  “You’re so funny,” she said as she laughed.

  The two of us walked over to our table and sat down. I was surprised to find Mom sitting with just a small salad, and Wenling drinking a martini with no food.

  “Aren’t you guys going to have a main course?” I asked.

  “In a minute,” Mom said, her eyes fixed on something behind me.

  “Maybe two,” Wenling said, sipping more of her martini with an eye to the same place as Mom.

  I turned to see what they were looking at, and all I saw was the swinging door to the kitchen.

  One minute later, a server emerged with a fresh plate of lobster tails.

  “I’ll get you one,” Mom said as she and Wenling launched in the direction of the seafood buffet.

  “Gettin’ it while it’s fresh,” Lexi said. “I like their style.”

  Briana and Dar joined us. Dar sat next to me. Briana sat next to Wenling’s empty chair across from Lexi and me.

  “I deliberately avoided snacks on the bus so I’d be ready for this,” Briana said.

  “I didn’t, but I never get tired of how much food they have here in the U.S.,” Dar said.

  A part of me wondered if I should have paced myself better.

  “Where’s Wenling and your mom?” Briana asked.

  I pointed to the seafood station.

  “Oooh, I’m going to have to go there next,” Dar said.

  Sylvia came up to our table carrying two cocktails. “There you are! I got you a margarita,” she said, handing Lexi a cocktail.

  “Should I bring back more for the guest of honor and the rest of you?” Sylvia slurred. It looked like she might be in competition with Wenling.

  “You can get your food,” Briana said. “I’m going to get a mojito. What’s everyone else having?”

  “I’m good with diet soda,” I said.

  “I’ll come with you,” Dar said. “I want to see where the bar is.”

  “We’ll watch your food,” Lexi said as the two of them got up to grab drinks at the bar.

  I wondered if Dar and Briana had strategically left me alone with two Mrs. Warringtons to dig for clues.

  “How’s it going? Are you liking the party?” Sylvia asked.

  “Loving it. It was a total surprise. The tri-tip is great,” I said.

  “I’m a vegetarian, but it looks good,” she said.

  “Really?” Lexi said in a surprised tone. “Were you a vegetarian when you were with Cal?”

  “Oh god no. That came later, after I got my cholesterol numbers five years ago,” Sylvia said.

  “I was going to say. I didn’t know how you’d be able to stand living with him. He was addicted to barbecue,” Lexi said.

  “It’s fitting he died within ten yards of his grill,” Sylvia said. “But we shouldn’t talk about sad things. It’s a party.”

  “Oh that’s okay,” I said. “I was there just a few minutes after Ford found him.”

  “When did he start wearing speedos is what I want to know,” Sylvia said. “I’d rather be found naked than in unflattering swimwear.”

  “I guess I’m the one that’s responsible for that,” Lexi said.

  “How? Why?” Sylvia slurred.

  “He was feeling really self-conscious about going out on the beach with me. I thought a tan would make him look better,” she said.

  “Well, at least he wasn’t seen in public in it,” Sylvia said.

  “Yeah,” Lexi said. “But I think in a way, being in his swimsuit to sunbathe tempted him to go into the pool. Even though he shouldn’t have been swimming with his new medication.”

  “What medication?” Mom asked.

  Mom and Wenling had come back with two plates, each filled with lobster tail, salmon, and crab legs.

  “I was just saying how it was a shame that Cal went out to sunbathe and decided to take a swim,” Lexi said.

  “Because of his medication?” I asked. “Had he had a problem in the pool before?”

  “His new heart medication caused dizzy spells. That’s why Ford told him to stay out of the pool. I agreed with Ford. Cal was stubborn, because he’d been a swimmer all his life, but he’d really taken it seriously. Or so I thought,” she said.

  Mom nodded, but I could tell from the look on her face that she was putting something together.

  “You never could tell Cal anything,” Sylvia said. “He was his own man. He would’ve gone in that pool even if you hadn’t suggested that he get a tan. He probably wanted that tan and loved that speedo.”

  I knew Sylvia was just trying to make Lexi feel better, but I did appreciate that she was probably right.

  I’d been dating DC for two years, and I had to realize that there are some things that men just need to decide for themselves. Sometimes there’s no convincing them.

  “You think he was unsteady on his feet and maybe just fell in?” Mom asked.

  “So?” Lexi asked. “What makes you think he fell? I thought he drowned while he was already swimming.”

  “When they found him, there was a blood spot by the pool,” Wenling said.

  “You didn’t see it when you went in the house?” Sylvia asked.

  Briana and Dar approached the table laughing, but both of them quieted upon seeing Lexi’s face.

  “I guess I was just too busy being upset to go out there and look at it. I also just—” Lexi stopped talking and stared down at the table. A few tears trailed down her face. She wiped them away with her napkin.

  “Are you okay?” Briana asked as she and Dar took their seats.

  “This is supposed to be a party,” Lexi said. “I don’t want to imagine him having been hurt. I thought he just got dizzy in the pool and then lost consciousness. Like he drifted off doing something he loved. The idea of him breaking a hip or a shoulder and then falling into the pool and drowning…” She stopped herself from finishing.

  “Do you want to go up to the room?” Sylvia asked Lexi.

  “I’m sorry, everyone,” Lexi said.

  “No need to be sorry,” Mom said. “We understand.”

  The two of them left.

  I stared at my tri-tip and lobster tail. Of course I would eat them, but I didn’t have to worry about multiple trips to the buffet.

  13

  Mom had snagged adjoining suites for the bridal party. When we entered the room we were greeted with chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne. I wasn’t much of a champagne drinker, but chocolate anything was definitely my style.

  We picked out our rooms and gathered into the living room to chow down.

  “A toast,” Briana said. “To the bride.”

  “And to winning lots of money!” Wenling added.

  We all laughed. Mom had signed several autographs and taken selfies in the lobby. Luckily, it looked like the maintenance crew would be able to repair the bathrooms pretty quickly. It was decided that extra-large trash cans would be placed in the rooms of our attendees, along with extr
a plastic bags.

  “So what’s going on with Sylvia and Lexi?” I asked.

  “It was murder,” Wenling said.

  “She’s not supposed to know, so she doesn’t have any problems with DC,” Mom said.

  “She already knew,” Wenling argued, taking a big swig of her champagne. Wenling didn’t drink often, and I wondered if her face would get red after drinking like Mom’s did.

  “Just tell me,” I said.

  “It still might be an accident,” Mom said, “but it occurred to me that the water in the pool was still cold.”

  “Yeah, it was cold. DC even commented on it,” I said. “But the pool was probably shaded during the day.”

  “But remember what Ford had said after Darwin and Wenling were re-creating the crime in the pool. He said he could’ve turned on the heater for them,” Mom said.

  “Maybe it takes a while for the water to warm up,” I suggested. But even as I heard myself say that, I knew that a man who was used to his own pool would’ve definitely turned on the heater in advance.

  “You don’t think he slipped?” I asked.

  “DC was giving Cal resuscitation when you got to the scene of the crime. That means he thought that Cal had recently fallen in. That means rigor mortis hadn’t set in,” Mom said.

  My mind fluttered back to the picture of the body. “There was no stiffness in the body. And DC definitely would’ve noticed. Maybe he’d just recently fallen in?”

  “Did you guys hear anything when you were outside talking?” Mom asked.

  “No,” Briana said.

  “Did you see anything while you were in the living room?” Mom asked.

  “No, but if you remember, the room is so big, you don’t see the whole pool unless you’re out there,” I said. My mind replayed the moments before we found the body.

  “Oh no,” I said, remembering us standing at the side of the house. “The sliding glass doors were locked.”

  “What?” Wenling said. “How do you know?”

  “DC said he couldn’t get the door unlocked, and nothing in his voice sounded like he saw Cal floating there.”

  “That’s because he was under water,” Dar said.