Wedding Duress (Events By Design Cozy Mystery Series Book 2)

by Ally Gray

  “You don’t mean that. I’m being serious. Something really strange is going on. I did a tiny bit of investigating before I came out here, and something’s not adding up. Besides, how can Diana and her mother do something so cold as to continue with the wedding at a time like this? No, I don’t understand what got into her sister and I don’t think petty jealousy is enough to cause her to do something this awful, but having her arrested and then moving on like nothing happened? There’s still blood and a chalk outline in the next room, for crying out loud!”

  “Well, don’t forget, she supposedly drugged Diana, too. The cops found the residue from crushed up sleeping pills in the water glass beside her bed. She didn’t even try to hide it. That’s how she was able to take the scissors to Diana’s hair without her waking up. As for the murder, I guess she really didn’t want Diana’s special day to move on. When Sandrique came out to assess the damage and see what he still had to work with, she must have just flown into a rage. I don’t know how well you got along with your siblings, but drugging someone and murder takes this way past jealousy and rounds the corner into pathological land.”

  “I don’t know, this is all too bizarre to be real. Why would her sister do such a thing?”

  “You didn’t hear this from me, mostly because I didn’t hear it from Sandrique last week who didn’t hear it by mistake when Mrs. Barber was talking to Mrs. Perkins. Wow, that’s quite a roundabout way to get to some gossip,” Tori said, almost to herself. “Anyway, the mother of the bride says that the younger sister, Brianna, has always been jealous. She’s lived in Diana’s shadow her whole life, and has always come in second best. The final straw for Brianna was not getting into her mother’s sorority, even though she was a legacy through her mom and even though Diana was an active sister at the time.”

  Stacy’s mouth fell uncouthly open in shock, wide enough that a small bird would have been in danger of being eaten if the two of them happened to meet forcefully.

  “I know way too much about this stuff, but are you freaking kidding me?! How did Brianna not get in if her mother and Diana were sisters? She’s a double direct legacy! Oh god, I do know too much about this stuff.” Stacy shook her head to clear her thoughts. “She had to have a murder record or a history of drug abuse or something… run over an old lady? Been involved in pit bull fighting?” Tori shook her head.

  “No, that’s the weird thing. Spotless. She was a majorette in high school, a member of the student council and the homecoming court every year, volunteered at the nursing home and played the piano in her church. A sorority’s wet dream, if I’m not mixing my metaphors. Do sororities even have wet dreams?”

  Stacy swatted at Tori’s arm and reminded her to behave herself like a lady. They watched with genuine-looking smiles plastered on their faces as Diana, her eyes still red from crying but everything else about her appearance as flawless as always, worked on building a new look for her wedding now that she was wearing someone else’s hair.

  “I refuse to buy this. Something’s not right here. Look at Mrs. Barber,” she said, pointing surreptitiously with a slight jerk of her head. “The woman’s practically beaming. It’s like she doesn’t care that her daughter’s just been locked up, as long as her other daughter, her star child, looks perfect for the spotlight. I don’t like it. And I’m not about to let this firm be dragged into something suspicious.”

  “Stacy, let it go. We can’t afford to have anyone looking into Events, remember? If you go nosing around in their plans, no matter how crazy they may be, someone could take a good hard look at Abigail’s current address!” She leaned her head towards the bride and what was left of her family and friends, raising her eyebrows to drop the hint.

  “I know,” Stacy said with a deep sigh, “but something’s not right. I can’t stand this feeling of being fooled, and we owe it to Sandrique to get to the bottom of this!”

  Chapter 7

  “Miss East? May I have a word with you?” Diana’s mother called out in a pinched voice when Stacy and Tori finally made ready to leave. They stopped and turned back, but Mrs. Barber’s piercing gaze bored into Tori until the young woman realized she wasn’t wanted.

  “I’ll just wait by the car, Miss East,” Tori said, reverting to the formal address for the woman who was technically her boss, a tactic she only employed when the situation warranted it. Where this crazy woman was concerned, this was one of those warranted situations. She walked down the brick steps in her high heels, willing herself to walk carefully to avoid planting on her face in front of Mrs. Barber.

  “Thank you, Miss Michaels.” Stacy turned her attention back to Mrs. Barber, steeling herself to face the tongue lashing that was surely headed her way. She held her most patient-looking smile in place and waited for the wrath of momzilla.

  “I’m sure you think you’re doing a fine job of running Ms. Prudell’s company, but I want you to know I think you’re running it into the ground. I do plan to tell her all of that when I speak with her, along with the laundry list of your incompetent work. I’ve contacted her personally and she’s agreed to meet with me next week. You’ve been nothing but sloppy and unprofessional in all the months that I’ve had to work with you, and I want you to understand that it won’t go unreported.”

  “Well, Mrs. Barber, I’m genuinely sorry that you’re unhappy with my work and with the services provided by Events by Design. I assure you, every effort is being made to provide you with an event that pleases you,” she stated, not even trying to hide the monotony in her voice as reciting the wording on the company’s legal forms verbatim, not that Stacy was used to having to say those words to any clients. Most, if not the upper majority, were thrilled with Stacy’s services, but there were documents in place just in case. This was one of those times.

  “Don’t give me that canned answer,” the woman replied, seeing straight through Stacy’s carefully manicured detached reaction. “I want to know how you plan to make this right.”

  “I’m sorry,” Stacy said, genuinely taken by surprise, “but make what right? Today, you mean?”

  “Of course I mean today!”

  “You think my company or I had something to do with your daughter losing her hair? Or the stabbing death of one of the most sought after stylists east of the Mississippi River? Might I remind you, this happened at your house, under your watch? But I’m somehow in charge of preventing your other child from becoming a psychopath and removing her sister’s hair in her sleep before stabbing a man with a pair of scissors?”

  “You were in charge, Miss East, of making sure this wedding is perfect! So far, you’ve done nothing but destroy a gown and render my daughter bald! And no thanks to you, there’s no one to do Diana’s makeup on her wedding day.”

  “Well, again, I’m sorry you feel that we’re at fault, and even more sorry that Diana will just have to make herself look flawless without help. If you will check your contract, you’ll see that Events by Design is not responsible for anything that happens off the property or away from the event venue. By the way, have you had any word on Brianna’s bail?” she asked, staring Mrs. Barber down. Stacy had had plenty of experience in dealing with bullies, even ones whose picnics are short of a few sandwiches, and it was time for her to turn the tables back on the older woman.

  Mrs. Barber didn’t disappoint. She turned a shade or two paler than her carefully caked on foundation, pausing for only a beat before the blood flooded her cheeks, her anger turning her several shades of red before settling on crimson as her emotional color palette.

  “My other daughter is not up for discussion here,” she answered coolly. “Your inability to follow simple directions and follow through on your promises is the issue.”

  “Hmmm, that’s odd. I would have thought the issue is why there’s red paint on the handrail of your porch, the exact same shade as the paint on Diana’s dress.” Stacy pinned the woman back with a cold look, daring her to argue.

  “Obviously, Brianna must have made as big a mes
s of things here as she did in your offices.” Mrs. Barber crossed her arms in front of her, a smug look announcing her intention of winning the argument.

  “That’s very strange, since Brianna wasn’t in town until two days ago. Yes, Mrs. Barber, I do keep up with your daughter’s whereabouts,” she explained when the woman blanched. “It’s my job to know the locations of all members of the wedding party, leading up to the wedding and until the moment after the last guest leaves the reception. So can you explain how Brianna was in my offices defacing her sister’s wedding gown while she was supposedly two hundred miles away at a function for her sorority, a sorority which she had to settle for after you and Diana blackballed her from your own sisterhood? Yes, I did a little digging and found out about that, too.”

  Stacy walked closer, enjoying the rush from watching Mrs. Barber falter for a moment on her sensible heels, a pair that matched her suit perfectly. She eyed the older woman up and down briefly, wondering what occasion had caused the woman to select this outfit for so early in the day, given that she was wearing it when Stacy had arrived that morning. She continued her cross examination.

  “But what I really want to know, Mrs. Barber, is what you know about Heaven Cotter.”

  Stacy’s arrow had hit its mark.

  “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” she answered. Wow, she’s good, Stacy thought ruefully. Deny, deny, deny.

  “I think you do, especially since your name is on her arrest affidavit. You filed charges against her three years ago. The funny thing is, her case never had anything to do with Diana. You had her arrested for harassment…of Ben. Tell me, Mrs. Barber, how does the mother of the bride wind up involved in a case involving a man her daughter hadn’t yet met?”

  “I don’t answer to you, and you’d do well to remember that. I’m very well connected, and when Ms. Prudell hears about your insolence…”

  “Ms. Prudell is never going to hear about it. I know for a fact you’ve never contacted her, and that the appointment you claim to have with her is a lie. So cut the crap and tell me what’s really going on.”

  Stacy and Mrs. Barber regarded each other, the air between them so charged with spit and venom that it was almost a tangible feeling. Instead of answering, the older woman turned on her heel and stalked back in the house, leaving Stacy to fight to keep her composure until she made it to the car. She flung the door open to Tori’s surprise, and sank behind the wheel where she let her head fall back against the leather seat until she felt well enough to drive.

  Chapter 8

  The wedding day dawned as perfectly as everything else in Diana’s life, just as if Mrs. Barber had orchestrated this, too. Even the sun followed the old bat’s orders without question, Stacy thought sourly. She awoke at her usual four am time and went for a two-mile run, cutting short her usual route due to the importance of the day

  The last forty-eight hours had not been the nightmare she’d expected them to be. They were bad, there was no mistaking that, but they were far more pleasant than she’d expected after tangling with the mother of the bride. Her only real luck had been that the groom’s mother must have finally realized it was time to cut her losses and avoid the family until this whole event was behind them, so at least Stacy didn’t have to contend with the united front of Team Moms like she’d feared.

  Unfortunately, Nathan had been just as absent as the members of the wedding. She found herself missing his usual annoying presence, missing his sly jokes and his efforts to win over her heart. She missed the surprise lattes, too, but even Stacy had to admit that wasn’t all she liked about Nathan. There was just something so endearing about him, and she found herself thinking about the times they’d spent together. It was true what they said about absence and the heart growing fonder.

  “Rise and shine, Miss East,” Mandy’s voice said through the phone when Stacy answered her cell on the second ring.

  “Oh no you don’t, I’ve been up for an hour. And remember, Mandy, you only need to call me Miss East in front of clients. It’s an Abigail thing. She had the same rule for me, it just looks more professional. But when it’s just us, Stacy is fine.”

  “Sure thing, Stacy. I’ll try to keep that in mind. Anyway, there’s someone here to see you, he’s waiting in your office.”

  “Who is it?” she asked, her thoughts already turning to fear of surprises on this important day.

  “He said not to tell you, but I don’t work for him. I work for you. So it’s Nathan.”

  “Uh, Mandy? Technically, you work for Nathan!” Stacy reminded her sarcastically. She could already see the young woman’s bouncy curls moving as she shook her head.

  “Nuh-uh. I don’t work for him unless he plans to come to work. If he wants to keep jetting off to the country club for a three-martini lunch while you run the family business, he’s just plain old Nathan and he’s not entitled to any special favors.”

  Damn, I like this one! Stacy thought with a grin, thinking back to her horrible luck with assistants over the years. It was like there was a mark on the doorpost written in lamb’s blood telling all applicants that only the crazies could apply for this position. I hope she stays…

  “Well, if you’ll tell him he’s welcome to stay in my office as long as he gets to work folding the program inserts, I’ll hurry. If he’s just going to sit in my chair with his feet on my desk, I’m going to take another long shower first.”

  “I’ll tell him… boss.”

  Stacy finished getting ready and hurried to the car, not bothering with swinging into a drive thru for breakfast since she knew either Mandy or Nathan or both would have brought coffee and something tasty. She was just thinking she could get used to this spoiling thing and wondered what she’d done right to deserve this kind of treatment from karma when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind her and a voice hissed in her ear, “Scream and I’ll kill you, bitch.”

  The voice, definitely female, was one Stacy couldn’t place, not that she’d ever had that many people offer death threats at her. She froze and shook her head slightly to indicate that she would cooperate, and was relieved when she felt the hand on her face loosen its grip and finally slide away.

  “What do you want with me?” she asked fearfully, desperate to look at her attacker in the rearview mirror but afraid of being noticed trying to identify the stranger. It was better to avoid eye contact, she decided, she’d be more likely to live through this if she couldn’t describe the person to the cops.

  That’s on TV, stupid! she chastised herself, rolling her eyes in the process.

  “We’re gonna go for a little drive, you and me, and we’re gonna have a talk,” the woman continued in a menacing voice.

  “Oh good, just a talk. That’s really good. But you see, I have this important work event today, I really don’t have time to take any detours right now. I’ve got to get to my office and get some things done before the event, so is it okay if we just talk on the way to my office?” she asked, stunned by her own babbling.

  “Are you high?!” the woman shrieked in a deranged voice. “You want to drive to work while I kidnap you?”

  “Well, if you’re not going to hurt me, and if you don’t have any plans other than to take a little drive, I really have to be somewhere. You don’t understand, I run an event planning business and we have an important wedding today…” Stacy’s voice broke off in mid-sentence, finally aware of how stupid she sounded, as realization dawned. “You’re Heaven Cotter, aren’t you?”

  The woman in the back seat stiffened slightly, the motion in Stacy’s rearview mirror making her wonder if she’d already gone too far.

  “How do you know my name?” she demanded, the fight going out of her voice as she witnessed her plans deflating in front of her.

  “I, um, did some looking online,” Stacy admitted. “But don’t worry, I haven’t said anything to anyone about the stuff you’ve been doing. I’m not even sure how much of it was your fault and how much was…”

  “
What stuff? What are you talking about?” she asked, her tone turning angry and threatening again as she heard what sounded like an accusation.

  “Nothing! I don’t mean anything! I just know there have been some strange things happening involving this wedding… the dress? The attack on the bride? The missing invitations from a few months ago?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything like that! All I did was…” She clamped a hand to her mouth, but not before Stacy saw the frightened look in her eyes and the large diamond engagement ring on her hand. She was trained to zoom in on diamond rings from across a crowded arena, let alone one that was situated right behind her head. It was the nature of being in the wedding business to always be ready to spot a bride in need of quality organizational support.

  “What, Heaven? What did you do?”

  “Nothing. It doesn’t matter now anyway. Just drive the car.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Oh, we’re going to that wedding after all. And you’re gonna help me put a stop to it.”

  Chapter 9

  “Um, I’m in the event planning business. It’s kind of my job to make sure the wedding actually happens. If I go around stopping weddings, then I’ll be out of a job!” Stacy purposefully failed to mention that there was probably nothing short of appearing nude and wearing a giant feathered boa that could get her fired as long as Nathan pined for her, but then realized that the naked with a boa look would probably just get her a raise.

  “That’s not my problem. I can’t let him make the worst mistake of his life. Now drive.”

  Stacy did as she was told, backing out of her driveway and taking the curves in the road carefully. She hadn’t noticed a weapon of any kind, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something pokey or shooty in the back seat with her.

  She silently took stock of the situation as she drove. Here was this woman who was obviously capable of breaking into a locked vehicle, who may or may not be armed, who may or may not be crazy, considering the police charges Mrs. Barber had had to file against her. Of course, having Mrs. Barber not like her was actually a check in the woman’s plus column, as far as Stacy was concerned. But how did she intend to stop the wedding, and more importantly, why?