The Missing Groom
by
Kurt D. Frazier Sr.
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PUBLISHED BY:
The Missing Groom
Copyright © 2012 by Kurt D. Frazier Sr.
Thank you for downloading this free ebook. Although this is a free book, it remains the
copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes.
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ISBN: 9781476141992
The Case of the Missing Groom
Dark clouds filled the sky above Central City and rain began falling onto the street below, softly and sparingly at first. Then it seemed as though the water payment had been made and the account was now settled; the surge of water seemed almost Biblical in proportions. Pedestrians scattered around like roaches headed for the darkness under the sink. It was a madhouse on the bustling streets of Central City. The #10 cross-town came to a halt at the corner of 8th and Delmar; bringing with it a tidal wave that washed down the first two rows of waiting passengers.
William Danner sat quietly in the third seat from the front on the left; his usual seat on the #10. The two seats I front of him were empty and the seat across the aisle was occupied by a young lady who looked to be about twenty. Her hair was a bottled blonde color, and she wore a tan jacket that matched the skirt that came just below her knees. He assumed that her eyes were blue, weren’t all blonde girls’ eyes blue? Then again she wasn’t a natural blonde and the large sunglasses she wore hid her eyes anyway. Why sunglasses on a rainy day? Marie, that could’ve been her name; she looked like a Marie to him and so that is what he called out to her. She turned her gaze from the scenes of the street and fixed her eyes upon his face with a questioning look. William had been right on both accounts; her name was Marie and she had the deepest blue eyes that he had ever seen.
The story that this young woman told was indeed a very sad one. She had been engaged to a very wealthy man and had come to Central City for what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. That was last Thursday, the day her dreams disappeared along with her beloved Horace Kingman.
Today was Monday and she was headed back home to her life as a waitress in a chicken and waffle place; Charlie’s Chicken and Waffles. “What about Horace’s family?” I asked gently. “They didn’t know about the wedding, it was to be a secret ceremony, just between the two of us.” Marie replied through tear filled eyes.
It had been two years since I had worked a case of any importance. Well. Mrs. Jones did think that finding her cat Fluffy was of great importance and it was an easy $50.00 seeing that all I had to do was open the garage door and the cat came rushing out into the arms of her distraught owner. Then there was the Case of the Missing Toothbrush; do my own kids count as clients? My wife thought that charging an eight year old $10.00 was to steep. I on the other hand thought that the price was just right seeing that I had to fish it out of the porcelain pot. Of course I didn’t charge him $10.00, that wasn’t right at all. We settled on $8.95 and that was as low as I would go for my services.
I called my wife Liza, and that got me slapped. Liza was my ex-wife. Lisa was my second and last wife; that is what she said and I am inclined to agree with her. I called my wife Lisa and explained that I would be bringing a client home with me for dinner. I knew that it was best to give her all of the details of the case so that she would not feel left out or question my actions in this case.
When Lisa talked with Marie and found out all of the details she exclaimed, “Marie you are going to be the daughter that we never had. William and I will take care of you and he will find your beloved Horace if it’s the last thing he ever does.” The look that came from my brides eyes told me that success was my only conclusion in the matter and there were no other options to be considered. I was also informed that since Marie was the newest member of our family that there would be no need for a fee to be charged in this case. “Not even $10.00 for a new bus pass?”
That remark caused tears to flow from Marie’s already reddened blue-eyes and I nearly lost the left side of my face to Lisa’s roundhouse kick. It was only the lightning fast reflexes that came out when I sensed danger that saved me; not to mention the 100 I’m sorrys’ that left my face as I ran out the back door and fell headlong into the wet grass.
We started out with looking at the location where the two young people were to be married at. The Central City Community Center was where the ceremony was to have taken place at 10:00am last Thursday. The guest list was a small one just eight people; four men and four women of various ages, sizes and cultural backgrounds. I had never mentioned that my first guess was that Horace had gotten cold chills and beat feet away from the situation. Upon questioning these fine folk I found that none of them had ever seen the missing groom and concluded that this was a cold lead.
The next idea was to pass out flyers to the people on the streets and see if anyone there may have any information on him. Yet after two days of walking the hot sidewalks of Central City I still had no leads. The Missing Persons Bureau of the CCPD had no information on our missing man and I was about to give up when I met a man named ********(wishes to remain anonymous) he said that at about 9:00am Thursday a man that looked like him came rushing out of The Singing Pig and bumped into him. “See this new coat that he gave me.” “That is Horace’s coat,” replied Marie.
Now we had a lead and besides that I was very hungry and I love Chinese food; so it was off to The Singing Pig. The waiter at the restaurant remembered Horace being there on Thursday morning because he had been the first customer and the only customer that was supposed to be getting married that day. His meal had been the Sweet and Sour Chicken and Fried Rice with a Coke. It was odd though because the man had jumped up in a hurry and left after he had read his fortune cookie; not only that but he left a $100.00 bill on the table.
“Did you read the fortune cookie?” I asked. “Yes, I have it right here; he left that also.”
"Your life is in danger. Say nothing to anyone. You must leave the city immediately and never return. Repeat: say nothing."...
She noticed the man in the tuxedo sitting by the window with a nervous look upon his face. He must be waiting for someone special, his new bride perhaps. That was not right, the groom was not supposed to see the bride before the wedding. “Why do you think that he is waiting to get married?” her brain asked with a defiant attitude. He just has that look about him and I thought it was a nice idea.
Horace picked the pineapple out of his sweet and sour chicken like a hen would grab the choicest seeds from the ground. It was what he did when he was nervous, and today he was that. Standing in front of a room full of potential clients was easy and his success in the veggie print t-shirt company proved that; Horace could sell a veggie shirt to the grumpiest carnivore and make him think that it was his idea.
Marriage, now that was another story. The thought of him being the husband to the most beautiful young lady in Central City really had him worried; perhaps even scared. At 10:30 he was supposed to be in his appointed place at the community center and scared or not that is where he was going to be.
Horace finished off the rest of his meal and drank the Coke that was sitting in front of him. It was 8:45am Thursday and Horace knew that this was going to be the beginning of a life of adventure that he had not thought possible. In less than two hours he was going to husband and breadwinner to Marie Sinclair (soon to be Marie Kingman, a thought that brought a sense of peace to his troubled mind) Wouldn’t the world of business be surprised that the junior playboy of the t-shirt industry had settled down. Yes, and even more would be the react
ion of his parents; they would be devastated because they had already chosen a bride for him and he was supposed to meet her on Friday when his parents brought her back from France. Horace loved Marie with all of his heart and no one was going to draw him from the love of his life; especially a “hand-picked” bride from France. –her family has connections that would be very profitable for your business son- No, he would not stand for it even if it meant being cut off from the family fortune. Reggie’s Veggies was doing very well and while it was nice to have the security of “family money” he and Marie would do without it if need be. “He had jokingly told Marie that if need be he would become a cook at Charlie’s Chicken and Waffles. Really Horace thought it was not a joke; if need be he would be willing to do that to stay with his beloved Marie. With these
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