Marriage Vow Murder

by Leslie Langtry

  At long last, I herded him back into the enclosure, where he ran over to Philby, locked in her cage, looking just as angry as she had when I'd found her outside.

  The bird walked all the way around the cage, looking the cat up and down. Philby met his gaze with furious intensity. Finally, the vulture climbed on top of the cage, made some weird noises, and barfed through the bars onto the cat.

  * * *

  "It's your own fault," I said for the fiftieth time.

  I'd managed to finagle the feline into the sink of the restroom and was rinsing her off. By the way, regurgitated Oreos are a pain to get out of white fur. Philby gave me the stink eye even as I tried to blot her dry with the brown paper towels from the motion-sensitive dispenser.

  Why hadn't I packed any towels in my go bag? I'd have to do that next time. The paper towels didn't work out very well, and I had one angry cat when I was done.

  "Now we have to go." I sighed. The safe house wasn't turning out to be very safe after all.

  My cat yowled as I stuffed her back into my coat, collected my things, and left after making sure things were marginally clean. Someone was going to find some seriously agitated birds and several pounds of wet cat hair and paper towels in the bathroom. I kind of wished I could be there to see that.

  Back in Rex's car, I realized I couldn't exactly go on the run with Philby. If anything, she'd proven to be a loose cannon in the aviary. Not that I thought Rex was being held in a place surrounded by bird guards (in which case, I would need her). It was too cold to leave her in the car.

  Bart! Philby had to have been taken from Rex’s house! Was Bart okay? I called the house but got no answer.

  So I drove to Kelly's house.

  "What's going on?" Kelly yawned as she opened the door. She stared at the large bulge in my coat. "What is that?"

  Philby popped her head out of my chest, and Kelly hurried us inside, where I told her about the clue while not telling her about the zoo.

  "I can't keep her here," she said. "Robert's allergic."

  I nodded. "I know. I just want you to take her to Rex's house and give her to Bart."

  I thought about this. Either Bart was going crazy, looking for the missing cat, or he didn't even realize she was gone. The third option would be that whoever took her, tied him up…or worse.

  "You should probably make sure he's okay too," I added.

  I waited for her to argue, but instead, Kelly took the damp cat from me. "What are you going to do now?"

  "I'm going to Linda's. We have all four clues now, and that means Rex has run out of time."

  "It's two o'clock in the morning!" Kelly said.

  "That's a good point. Call her and let her know I'm on my way so I don't surprise her." With that, I left.

  Was I too cavalier with my co-leader? Not really. She'd drugged me three times. Paybacks were hell.

  Linda met me at the door, fully dressed. I smiled. She was a real trouper. And she had cinnamon rolls and hot tea waiting. Forget trouper! She was the best!

  The teacher looked over the last clue. "And you said that there wasn't anything else? There should be something. This gives you no insight into the endgame."

  I had to agree. The kidnapper left us hanging with this one. I took a sheet of paper and wrote out the four clues, trying to see if there was something we'd missed.

  Wedding traditions as good as gold…Let's start out with Something Old.

  Weddings make a family of two…Let's add in Something New.

  There will be no honeymoon tomorrow…Let's turn next to Something Borrowed.

  This is the bride's very last clue…Let us end with Something Blue.

  "I don't suppose there's an anagram in there somewhere?" I asked hopefully.

  Linda shook her head. "I don't think so.

  "Does it look to you like there's something hidden in these clues?"

  Linda studied them while I wolfed down three cinnamon rolls. She took out a pencil and played with the words, rearranging them into several combinations. But all she came up with was nonsense.

  "Are you wet?" my former teacher asked. "In this weather?"

  I nodded. "Wet cat. You don't want to know."

  "I'll grab a sweatshirt. You get that coat off and the shirt too."

  Something scratched me as I unzipped the coat and fell on the floor when I removed it. It was just Philby's collar. Must've come off when he was under my coat. I picked it up and set it on the table. Linda returned with a sweatshirt, and I went into the bathroom to change.

  "Much better," I said as I joined her.

  She was staring at the collar.

  "That's just my cat's collar. It came off in my shirt."

  And then I froze. Philby didn't wear a collar. I'd tried several times to put one on her, but she always managed to shrug it off. This was easy because her body was larger than her neck and head.

  "Did you notice?" Linda handed it to me. "It's blue."

  "And it has one of my old Girl Scout Leader pins on it," I murmured.

  Linda said, "Something old. And the collar is brand new."

  I almost dropped it. "And it's something blue!"

  We scrutinized the collar and found that the loop that held it all together was a ring. A gold wedding ring.

  "Something borrowed!" Linda said.

  But I didn't hear her. Pulling it off the collar, I looked for the inscription that I hoped wasn't there.

  To R from M with love.

  It was Rex's wedding ring.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  It felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I squeezed the ring in the palm of my hand as if that would bring him back. We were out of time. We'd failed. I had no idea where to look for my missing fiancé. I'd blown it. Rex was still in danger, if he wasn't already dead.

  "Merry!" Linda tugged on my elbow, and I turned to stare at her. "Look!" She held up the collar, showing me the underside. A piece of paper had been folded and taped there.

  "There's always hope." She patted me on the shoulder and then worked on removing the piece of paper.

  Linda Willard unfolded it and laid it on the table.

  "It's sudoku!" she cried. "I can solve this!"

  "But there's nothing highlighted." I shook my head. "All we'll have is a bunch of numbers. How will that help?"

  "Merry Wrath!" The teacher drew herself up to her full height, which was still a foot shorter than mine. "What have I taught you about giving up before trying something?"

  I slouched, chastened. "You don't give up until you've tried and exhausted all options."

  "That's right. I'll get to work." She sat at the table and began.

  I walked into the living room and checked the windows. No police. Maybe they'd given up on the idea that I was the bad guy. Ted Weir wasn't so bad. This was his job. He'd make a fine detective someday. I shouldn't be so hard on him. And he had Kevin Dooley for a partner. The man deserved a prize for that.

  Sheriff Carnack was another matter. While we weren't close, he had helped me with a couple of cases. He knew about my past, and I was sure he trusted me. But back at the police station, he didn't say a word. And it made me worry. But Carnack had given me carte blanche to investigate.

  My cell buzzed. It was Kelly.

  "Is Bart okay?" I asked before she could speak.

  "He's fine. He'd been sleeping and woke up to find the back door open and Leonard barking. I dropped off Philby."

  I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you. Go back to bed. I'll call you in a few hours."

  Next I dialed Riley. He answered on the first ring.

  "Merry! Where are you?"

  Awww. He sounded concerned.

  "At Linda's. She's working on the last clue."

  "I'll be right over," he said and hung up.

  I watched at the window. His neighborhood wasn't far from here. After what I'd gone through this night, I should have been exhausted. Instead, I was hopped up like a speed junkie who'd been given an adrenaline shot.
We were close.

  "I found something," he said as I answered the door.

  Back in the living room, we sat down. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. I was getting kind of sick of paper clues.

  "Lana," Riley said, "might be here after all. She's gotten in touch with an old ally—Vladimir Shoshenko. He's in Omaha."

  I snatched the piece of paper. "Phone records?"

  He pointed at several highlighted numbers. "The Feds are watching him. Have been for months. On a gun-running charge. According to this guy I worked with there, they kept hearing phone calls between him and a woman he called Svetlana."

  I felt like I already knew this. Sort of. I asked a different question.

  "Riley, your theory that Rex and I have crossed paths. Have you thought about that?"

  He frowned. "Not really. I kind of gave up on it. Why?"

  This was going to sound crazy, but Riley was used to that with me. "Because I have the feeling that something like that did happen. Only it was something Rex did before I did." I explained the dreams.

  "Okay," he reasoned. "You think that Rex, in his past, came across something that you later were involved in? Interesting."

  I threw my hands up. "But the possibilities are endless. And I have no idea what it could be!"

  Riley looked at the kitchen. "We have to start somewhere. Let's go through your tenure at the Agency."

  I was desperate for anything that would help. And it was the one thing Riley and I could recall together. For the next two hours, we ran through our field assignments. I can't tell you about them because many of them are still classified. Except for the time we got "married" in Norway.

  "Maybe that's it?" I asked. "You kind of married me, and Rex is going to marry me?"

  He sat back. "You might be onto something there. Has Rex ever been to Norway?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't discussed it with him."

  It was hard to be a spy, even an ex-spy, and know that there were some things you just couldn't discuss with your loved ones. Now, I regretted that because there was possibly something in my past that connected with Rex.

  "I think we've hit a dead end," I said finally. "It was a good theory. What made you come up with it?"

  Riley stared off into space. "I don't know. It just popped into my head. When Bobby Ray Pratt's body was put in my house, I couldn't figure out how I fit into this being revenge on you and Rex."

  "Well, like I said, it was a good idea. Those dreams were probably just psychosomatic."

  He smiled. "You know, I took a class in that in college. It was pretty interesting. The things you say can pop up in your dreams. Sometimes they really do mean something."

  "And sometimes they don't?" I added.

  "And sometimes they don't. Anyway, it was just a low-level class that I needed for my transfer."

  I smothered a yawn. "I thought you went to Cal State all four years. You majored in political science, right?"

  "True. But I started somewhere else and transferred. I missed the ocean. But hey, sounds like you know more about me than you do your fiancé," he teased.

  I shook my head. "That's not true. I know that he also majored in political science. At Iowa State."

  Riley's jaw dropped.

  "What is it?" I suddenly felt very alert.

  "The school I transferred from"—he took a deep breath—"was Iowa State."

  It was as if the sound was turned way down and the lights were turned way up.

  I could barely get the words out. "What years were you there?"

  "2006 to 2008, I think."

  "Rex was there 2006 to 2010." My voice was barely a whisper. "It's you! You are our connection."

  We sat there in silence, our minds working through the problem. This was a puzzle on another level. While Linda was in the kitchen scratching out the answers to her sudoku, we were concentrating on ours.

  "You must've had a class together," I mused. "Or dated the same girl?"

  That would be something, because Riley was a player. He dated more women in his lifetime than a normal man after three reincarnations as George Clooney. The good news was that Rex only dated a few women. I'd heard their names and even met one, but was that the connection?

  "Well, we do have similar tastes in women." He grinned.

  "You and I dated for, like, a minute. Focus!"

  He shook his head. "I don't think it was a girl. Rex is more serious about relationships than I am. I dated a lot of, shall we say, less serious girls in college."

  I sighed. "What does it mean anyway? Maybe nothing. Coincidences happen all the time."

  He held up one finger. "It might explain how I became involved. If this is about you and Rex, why leave the body at my house?"

  "Because you and the victim worked at the CIA? Because you're related to Vy Todd?"

  "Both good points," he agreed.

  "Besides," I grumbled. "This might be only about one of us. They might be throwing stuff about the unrelated party just to get us on the wrong track."

  "Or go in circles…" Riley said.

  We were spinning our wheels. And getting nowhere fast. Our only hope was in a bunch of numbers.

  I picked up my cell and punched the keypad.

  "Who are you calling at this hour?" Riley asked.

  "Officer Weir," I said through the ringing. "I need his help, and I think it's time I turned myself in."

  Ted met us at the station. Linda assured us that she'd keep working the puzzle but thought it would take a while.

  The young policeman rubbed his eyes. He looked like he'd just gotten out of bed.

  "I'm sorry about running," I said quickly. "I just thought…"

  He held his hands up. "It's okay. We think the evidence that casts suspicion on you is worthless. Sorry about that. We have to follow every lead…"

  I finished, "…and you were just doing your job. I get it."

  Even though he'd accused me, this young man had potential. I was sure that with Rex's guidance, he'd become an excellent detective and a credit to the force.

  "Can we start again?" he asked earnestly.

  I shook my head. "Let's just move on like it never happened."

  Daylight broke through the windows. I'd been up all night. My body was feeling the pains from the car accident. At least I'd eaten. Still, we went over all of the clues so far. I just left out the part about the zoo. No one needed to know about that.

  "I can bring you up to speed too," Ted said. "We got a wiretap for Vy Todd. And she's been talking about some mystery thing that's going to make her crew, aka Oak and Winters, very happy."

  I rubbed my eyes. "You did? Did she say anything about where they're keeping Rex?"

  "Not yet. But Des Moines is on it, and they've promised to keep me updated if it applies to our case."

  "Do you think it might not?" That would bring Lana's and Riley's and Rex's connection theories back into play.

  Ted's eyes shone with empathy. "I'm not sure, but I have a good feeling about this. Remember, it was Vy Todd's fingerprints at your house." He pointed at Riley. "And we have a witness who remembers seeing her at Marlowe's grocery store the day of your wedding."

  I perked up. "So she was in town the day Spitz was murdered—that puts her near the scene of the crime." Could it really be this easy? I hoped so.

  "Is she connected to any buildings in the area?" Riley asked. "Any place where she could keep a hostage?"

  Ted scratched his head. "Let me ask. Hold on." He stepped away from his desk and called somebody. It could be the Des Moines police department or the state police. I didn't care as long as there were results.

  "This could be it!" Riley said. "We might find Rex today!"

  I would've been jumping for joy, but suddenly, with the case almost over, I was crashing. Hard. Riley noticed. He knew from experience that I did not do overnights well. He ran from the room and returned with an energy drink. I gulped it.

  "The whole thing about the connection was a re
d herring, I guess," I said when done.

  He nodded. "I guess so. But it kept us busy. That's good."

  I could feel my energy level growing a little. When this was over, I was going to pass out for a few days. I hoped no one would mind. But I wanted to get married right away, once we got Rex back. Would the pastor mind marrying Rex to an unconscious woman in a three-thousand-dollar dress?

  I wondered, "Do you think we might find Rex before Linda finishes the puzzle?"

  "We might." Riley shrugged. "But don't call her off of it just yet."

  "Great news!" Ted beamed as he joined us. "It just so happens that Vy Todd's cousin rents a little shop here in town."

  "Really?" I jumped up and hugged him. "Where?"

  He laughed. "You're not going to believe it."

  Five minutes later we were standing outside of a florist shop. My florist shop. The one where Lewis Spitz had worked.

  "She's connected to this shop?" I asked. "Well, that explains why my flowers were ridiculously expensive…"

  "The cousin rented the place when Vy was still in prison, so she worked through a proxy." Ted looked around.

  The officer pulled his gun from his holster. That was when I noticed that Riley had a gun too. My bag was still in Rex's car at Linda's.

  "Give me your gun," I said to Riley.

  He gave me a look. "No. Just get behind me."

  I gave him a look that beat out his look. "Give. Me. The. Gun. I'm going in first."

  "Are you serious? You've been in a car accident, been doped, and haven't slept in at least twenty-four hours."

  I turned my full glare on him. "I'm the bride. That's my groom in there. The first person he's going to see is me. And the first person who's going to shoot Vy Todd is me!"

  Riley looked at Ted. Ted looked at Riley. Riley handed me his gun.

  I tried the door. Locked. I motioned for Riley and Ted to sweep around each side of the building. Riley took the right. Ted disappeared on the left. The idea was to cover all bases and look for other exits. Then they'd come and join me. I didn't wait for them as I kicked in the door.