“Oh, dear. He’s just as nervous as I am.” I chuckled.
“You’re beautiful,” Aaron whispered, and kissed me.
“Do you have the items?” I asked.
“They’re right with me.” Mr. Nye patted his briefcase. “We picked them up after we left the airport, then came right here. Where are the guards?”
“They’re outside, keeping watch,” Aaron said. “Brad showed up also, to make sure that the tables are set correctly. He’s down in the basement retrieving another wine case. We’ll keep it in the back entryway.”
“I’m not sure that I like the idea of him being around.”
“I’ll be fine, Liv, he’s a friend.”
“I’m not convinced of that.”
I tried to toss it from my mind as I hurried into the house.
It was now eleven and the photographer we had hired was due to arrive at one.
“Maggie!” Glancing around the meticulously decorated room, I marveled at its beauty. The wonderful scent of roses and pine filled the air. I took a deep breath, and smiled.
“Up here!”
I dashed up the stairs, knowing I’d find Maggie in my old bedroom. I burst inside, then we gave each other a big hug. “The big day! Finally!” We jumped up and down, holding each other.
“Next, it’ll be me and Tim.” Maggie smiled. “I hope, anyway.”
“I’ll make sure you get the bouquet when I throw it.” I began removing my clothes. I snagged a ringlet, which caused me to wince. “Ouch.”
Grandma’s version of Here Comes the Bride echoed as she climbed the stairs. I peeked out before opening the door completely.
“Where are the men?”
“They’re all over at Aaron’s. The men will dress there. That’s where Mr. Nye and Don will stay until the wedding begins.” Grandma entered the room. “The two guards are with them. You might know who they are, since they work with Aaron and Tim.”
“Good,” Maggie said.
“Brad is here also, he’s fetching the wine cases from the basement.”
“Does he know the code for the cellar?” Maggie asked.
“I heard August giving it to him,” Grandma said.
“I’m not sure how much to trust him, but there’s nothing harmful about wine,” I said, giggling.
“Is Aaron wearing the cufflink set throughout the ceremony or only for pictures?” Maggie asked.
I slipped my dress over my head, shimmying as Grandma helped pull it down.
“Throughout the ceremony, but he’ll remove them immediately afterwards. Aaron will make an excuse to head for the bathroom, and someone will be with him at all times.”
“Let me fasten your pearl buttons, and then Maggie can do the train.” Grandma smiled at me and gave me a kiss. “You’re as beautiful as your mother. She was lovely in this dress, but you’re even lovelier.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m so proud of you.” She choked back tears as she began fastening the buttons.
After Grandma finished my buttons, I helped Maggie into her dress. She looked gorgeous. The deep red fabric made her blue eyes look like the sky. Grandma scooted over and I zipped the back of her dress for her. Right up until picture taking time, we continued primping and fussing over each other.
I began singing What a Wonderful World but had forgotten some of the words. I thought of Mitch Miller and the bouncing ball. That tickle in the back of my mind began once again. When I started singing, True Love, by Bing Crosby, causing me to picture the bouncing ball, a smile crossed my lips, I felt as if I was on to something.
I knew I had to find Aaron if only to see those cufflinks.
Just before our photo session, I reached for Aaron’s hands to hold them, which gave me a chance to stare at the cufflinks. The sapphires waved like a flag, the diamonds sparkled like stars, and there were thirteen that I counted on each one. The four ruby-red stripes reminded me of the four-sided strawberries on the samplers. I wanted to say something but didn’t dare.
“I’ve got it.” I pictured and thought of the bouncing strawberries and the four specifically placed motifs on each sampler. The flag on Grandma’s sampler, stood for what? I thought of The Star Spangled Banner, when it was penned, and the history behind it. The flag waving after the fighting at Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key witnessing the bombardment from inside of a Royal Navy ship in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle in the War of 1812. The rose stood for the love of our national anthem. I was uncertain what the fourth sampler corner meant. A tombstone? How strange. Or not? What was the third corner motif? A candle? The wickless candle had to symbolize the passing from one president to another. Or what else? Passing of the torch? It didn’t make sense, but I knew I was heading in the right direction for solving the ‘secret’ mystery.
“You’re not gonna believe this,” I whispered. My heart almost beat out of my chest when I kissed him. “Don’t forget to ask Don what’s written on the brooch gadroon.”
“I will, babe.” Aaron wrapped his arms around me.
“And, show him the letters.”
“Gotcha.”
The photographer took several more pictures.
Jessica started playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. Dorrie and Brad seated themselves. Mikal arrived. Max arrived with a girlfriend—and they all sat near the front. The other guests were arriving, and before long the seats were filled. I looked around for the two guards, and finally spotted them. Mr. Nye and Don weren’t in view, so I suspected that they were still at Aaron’s. Grandma took her seat which gave Jessica a cue to begin the prelude to The Wedding March. Aaron and Tim stepped up to the front.
My heart skipped, causing me to lean into Grandpa, who took my arm and cradled me like a baby girl. Maggie, Grandpa, and I stepped outside, and The Wedding March began.
The ceremony happened quickly, and we were soon presented as husband and wife. An undercover guard cajoled Aaron to leave. Aaron chuckled and smiled before disappearing.
During those few minutes without Aaron, I hurried to the bathroom to refresh my makeup. My grandparents greeted guests, and made sure they were comfortable and had something to eat and drink.
When Aaron returned, he whispered, “Everything matched. I gave them the letters. But he wouldn’t tell me what was on the gadroon.”
“Darn it. But now I know. I’ve got it figured out.” We laughed and hugged. “Let’s go meet our guests.”
Grandma and Grandpa were still milling around, greeting everyone. A few people had found their way over to the refreshment bar, or were waiting in line. When Dorrie came through the line, she whispered that she was unwell but Brad wanted to eat before leaving. The motion of the Cadillac leaving the curb caught my attention as I glanced through the window. I was relieved that the cufflinks and letters would soon be in the museum where everyone could enjoy viewing them.
The caterer and her helpers were busy with the final dinner preparations as Aaron and I wandered near. Since the champagne for the toast was cooling, we each had a glass of wine. When the caterer was ready to serve, she signaled us and we all found our tables. Pastor Dahl said a prayer, and we began to line up at the buffet table.
The wedding guests stayed well into the night. When the guests were gone and Aaron and I were getting ready to leave for our motel, Grandpa hollered upstairs to us. As I’d slipped out of my dress and hung it on the hanger, Aaron said, “Better find out what he wants.”
“I suppose.” I stuck my head out the door. “What’s up? It’s midnight. We want to get going.”
“Let’s have a glass of champagne before you leave.”
“Good grief,” I moaned under my breath. “Okay,” I hollered down to him.
“We’ll satisfy them, then head over to our house to grab what we need.”
I wanted to club Aaron for agreeing to the delay in our departure for the motel. But I did pick up on his reference to “our house.” I kissed him before following him out the door. Down in the living room, Grandma and Grandpa each sat in a chair.
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bsp; “You two look so good together.” Grandma got up to give me a hug.
“Let’s have another toast to your happiness before you two love birds sneak away.” Grandpa’s eyes were moist, causing me to feel happy and sad at the same time.
“Okay, but I’ll take down dirty towels first.”
I scooted away to the kitchen to pick up the towels. I flipped the light switch for the stairway, but the light didn’t come on. I wondered about that, since it was recently replaced and I shivered. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it.
The stairs creaked, and I could’ve sworn that I heard a chair scrape.
“Hello?” I tentatively called. “Anyone here?” I found that the bulb for the light at the foot of the stairs was also burned out.
The back of my neck got cold and my heart started beating faster. Quickly, I headed toward the laundry room to drop off the towels. I heard another scraping noise as I walked across the cement floor. A faint vanilla scent made me gasp. I picked up a bottle and threw it toward the scent. The bottle smashed into a million pieces. The deafening noise echoed in my ears, but then I heard someone chuckle softly. I was not alone.
“Who’s here?” It suddenly occurred to me who the mastermind of this whole situation was, Brad. Because of the excitement, also not being in direct contact with him, I hadn’t smelled vanilla. Now, I realize that he’d been the person who had entered the house, spilled out all the jewelry and murdered Jackie for the cufflinks. I began moving backward. Another floor scrape. Glass crunched underfoot, so I stopped. I trembled from the top of my head to my toenails. Suddenly, he snapped on a flashlight and shot the beam over me. I noticed he stood near a chair, and in his other hand was a huge gun, the size of a cannon, aimed right at me.
“Get over here. Right now,” he said. “I’ve waited all day. I’ve searched your house, combed the attic. Collected odd jewelry to sell from the cache in your grandma’s room. The cufflinks are here. Give them to me.”
“Was Dorrie in on this, too?”
“No. Hand them over, and I’ll leave.”
“Yes, sir.” I raised my arm and threw the towels in his direction. He pulled the trigger, but I’d successfully ducked. I shouted, “Aaron!”
“Sit.” Brad motioned me over with the gun. “One more time and you won’t be so lucky.” When I was within arm’s reach, he dragged me over, plunking me down into a chair. “Tell me where the cufflinks are.” He started wrapping tape around my wrists, taping them against the chair arms. “Start talking, Liv.”
“You think we have them? Then you’re dumber than I thought.”
He snarled at me.
“You’re not getting anything else out of me.” I clamped my mouth shut tight and shook my head.
“Where are they?” Brad slapped my face. “Tell me. You dumb bitch. You have any idea how much those are worth on the open market? All our loans paid. We could live comfortably for the rest of our lives!” He towered over me while holding the gun to my forehead. “Talk.” He slapped me again, but this time my nose bled.
“They’re gone!”
“Lady! Talk!”
“No way.” I closed my eyes and tried to figure a way out of this situation. As he leaned over to anchor my ankles to the chair with the tape, I raised my knee, catching him in the groin. When he dropped the gun, I was able to kick it further away. As he grabbed my leg, I caught his shirtsleeve with my mouth, biting him. He hollered, “Ouch!” and tried stepping back. I thought my teeth would come out of my mouth. “You’re going to pay for this!” He backhanded me. At the same time, I heard my name being called. “Watch out! He’s got a gun!”
Grandpa clicked his flashlight on while Aaron jumped for the gun. I’d kicked it far enough so it wasn’t within Brad’s easy reach. Aaron held the gun steady on Brad and said, “You’re not going to dodge it this time. Should’ve known it was you.” My gutsy Grandma reached up and screwed in the loose bulb, lighting up the room. Aaron stood near the storage shelves that lined the wall near the dryer, keeping the gun pointed at Brad.
“I’ve called for backup and an ambulance. Not that I care about him.” Grandpa stared at Brad. “You’ll pay dearly for this, sonny.” He growled under his breath before clenching his jaw tight.
I focused on the gun that Aaron was aiming at Brad.
“Let’s talk this through,” Brad softly said, backing toward the laundry sink. “We can work this out. Hand over the cufflinks, then I’ll leave.”
“You’re dumber than I thought,” Grandpa said.
“I’ve got to untie Liv,” Grandma started for me.
“Stay where you are,” Aaron said. “The police will soon be here.”
I figured Brad was heading for the jugs of laundry detergent. I watched as his eyes darted from one corner of the room to another. It all happened so quickly that it’s hard to remember in what order things occurred, but Brad lurched at Aaron. Aaron pulled the trigger which wounded Brad in the shoulder. I was scared out of my wits when Aaron shot a second time, nicking Brad’s arm and causing him to double over in pain.
“You okay, honey?” Aaron looked at me with glazed eyes.
“I’m fine, baby. Untie my wrists.”
As soon as I was free, I looked down at Brad, and asked, “What do you know about the family ‘secret’?”
“I thought the cufflinks are the ‘secret’,” Brad answered, wincing in pain.
“You idiot,” Aaron said. “What were you planning on doing? Holding the first person hostage who came down the stairs?”
“Nope. Tie up Liv, and get the cufflinks. I figured Grandpa must have them hidden.”
“You didn’t find them,” Aaron said. “Dorrie played you for a fool.”
“I told you she didn’t have anything to do with this.” Brad glanced from Aaron to me.
“The police will get to the bottom of this,” Aaron said.
“You’re stupid,” I said, and almost kicked him, but I raised my chin and marched out of the room, going right up the stairs. The cufflinks are part of the ‘secret’. I was in the living room when the police entered. Behind the uniformed policemen, in walked the two detectives, Erlandsen and Mergens. I pointed toward the basement. When Detective Erlandsen asked me what kind of gun it was, I said, “Very big, about the size of a Civil War cannon.”
I slumped on the couch with Grandma right beside me. It took the police another two hours before they left, and we knew that they’d be back the following day.
Along with all of the excitement of the wedding and the events in the basement, the tea made me sleepy, but I couldn’t sleep. The image that I kept seeing was the barrel of a Civil War cannon, aimed right between my eyes.
Chapter Twenty-three
When the airplane descended onto the tarmac, I held my breath and clutched Aaron’s hand. Reagan National airport was finally coming into view and, as I peered out the window of the jet, I could see the Washington Monument and Capitol building. The plane circled and the aerial view of all the magnificent monuments was breathtaking.
After disembarking, we wound our way past all the checkpoints and searches, strode toward the baggage handling area, and retrieved our luggage. My personal suitcase stood out like a sore thumb. It had a U.S. flag on one side, and I’d plastered a picture of Dolley on the other.
Don had arranged for a chauffeur to meet us at the airport. He drove us to the Montpelier estate, two hours south of Washington D.C. It was two days since our adventure in the basement.
When we arrived at the estate we were directed to the museum, where the rubies, brooch, and cufflinks were displayed beside Dolley’s red empire waist dress.
“It’s lovely.” I could barely speak, and needed to keep pinching myself just to make sure that I was alive, and hadn’t died and gone to heaven. “What does the gadroon inscription on the brooch say?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute. Right this way,” Don escorted us down the hallway and into his office. His large oak desk filled half the room and floor to ce
iling bookcases surrounded him. Aaron and I took the offered chairs while Don walked around, sitting in his oversized desk chair. He gave us a smile and said, “Williamsburg.”
“I knew it.” My eyes lit up. “We researched Bruton Parish Church at Colonial Williamsburg when it came up in one of the letters. That’s where The Star Spangled Banner manuscript is hidden.” My breath caught in my throat. “The rose signifies the song. It’s loved by all.”
“Explain all the clues to me. I’m puzzled,” Don said.
“Here goes—I think, that the flag represents The Star Spangled Banner, the rose is a symbol for love of it. The gadroon, Polly, has me a little stymied, but it must be the name on the tombstone. The tombstone and the letters point to Williamsburg and Bruton Parish since it’s been a congregation from the beginning of our American journey. The candle signifies the passing of the torch, I believe, but am not sure.” I smiled. “That’s my interpretation of the combined clues.”
“Your interpretation at the moment,” Don said.
“Correct.”
“Honey, we have to find it first.” Aaron winked at me. “We’ll take a quick tour here before continuing to Colonial Williamsburg.”
“Dolley was an amazing woman. Who’s to say that she didn’t do that? There’s the copy with the music and one without. How do we know that she didn’t receive the first copy directly from Mr. Key? She was so well-loved that it’s quite possible.” Don gave me a smile as he handed me the necessary legal papers for signing over the letters. “I believe the letters are authentic.”
“I thought so.” My palms were moist as I signed my name. The pair of cufflinks were already legalized. “Have you heard of a wickless candle once belonging to Dolley?”
“Sorry, but, no,” Don said. “Can’t help you out.”
The tour of the estate was magnificent. We strolled past the well where Dolley had drawn cool water for making her fresh lemonade, and where she used to churn her heavenly strawberry ice cream. The Temple, with its view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, was breathtakingly magnificent. It is said that the Temple is where Mr. Madison drafted the Federalist Papers, which led to the design of our Constitution. We visited the graves of James and Dolley Madison, the nearby slave cemetery, and walked along Dolley’s flowerbeds, which were all covered with compost for the winter.
The Blood Spangled Banner: A First Ladies Mystery Page 22