by CeeCee James
Leaning forward, Elise could just make out an old man in the picture before Sonya picked it up. The wedding planner studied it closely before handing it back with a small nod. “I’ll see what I can do. But don’t hold your breath, okay? You might just end up getting married right in here if we can’t get things squared away in two weeks.”
A smile broke out across Catalina’s face and her eyes shone with happiness. “Thank you so much!” Like a child, she clapped her hands together.
Elise blew out a breath of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Talk about being out of the frying pan and into the fire. Two weddings in two weeks? This just seemed to be a disaster in the making.
Catalina tucked the picture back into her purse. Elise couldn’t help but wonder why her all of family would be in town. Seemed convenient. Was poor Catalina’s father’s death that imminent? Why have a wedding at all then?
BOOM!
A loud bang from outside startled the four of them. When it happened again, Sonya jumped up and raced for the entrance door.
Chapter 3
The four of them elbowed for room around the boutique’s display window.
“What was that noise?” Catalina asked in a breathless voice. Cook hovered protectively around her.
“I don’t know, but there’s a siren now.” Elise responded, her heart pounding.
“I think it’s coming from the jewelry store,” Sonya murmured, her forehead creased. She moved away from the window and reached for the door. The three others followed her as she threw it open.
Sure enough, Grandstone Jewels rattled its alarm. People fled the building like a stream of trout, panic on their faces. But what struck Elise as bizarre were all the painters milling around the jewelry store’s entrance.
Painters?
Clad in white coveralls and hats, most even had particle masks over their mouths or hanging by the straps around their necks. A white van was parked against the curb.
Masks.
“Shut the door.” Elise said as premonition tickled the back of her neck. Sonya didn’t respond, frozen with concentration.
Elise touched the owner’s arm to get her attention. “Hurry, shut the door.”
“Will you stop? I’m trying to see what’s going on.” Sonya jerked her arm away and leaned out farther. Cold air swirled along the floor.
Another quick glance outside showed Elise that some of the painters now faced their direction, their eyes dark over the tops of the white masks.
“Oh, sweet heavens,” Elise hissed. “Now, Sonya!”
Sonya’s eyes widened and she slammed the door shut and locked it tight. The three women, along with Cook, crowded back around the display window of the boutique. Catalina pushed the taffeta away from the wedding cake display and climbed up on the stage.
Elise watched silently. All four of them were quiet, actually, trying to make out what was happening outside. She still couldn’t understand it. The painters weren’t acting like she’d expect. Why weren’t they running? Didn’t they just rob the jewelry store?
Instead, although the alarm continued to wail, the painters stumbled about looking very disassociated. Some buckled together in a group. A few lowered their dust masks and talked to one another with arms waving.
“What in the world is going on?” The words dropped slowly from Elise’s mouth. Finally, a police car arrived with its lights flashing. Red and blue splashed across the painter’s faces and white coveralls.
More police cars arrive and soon Grandstone Jewels was surrounded by officers. The painters were cordoned in a group to one side, the customers on the other. Both groups were slowly interviewed.
Yellow tape was draped about like May-Day ribbons. One by one, both the customers and painters drifted away.
The three women and Cook watched all of this in shocked silence. Finally, Sonya pushed off the display case as the last painter walked away. “Well, you don’t see that every day.”
“They just let them go,” Catalina murmured. “The cops just let those painters go.”
“It must have been a coincidence they were there,” Cook answered, looking confused as well. He rubbed the back of his neck with his brow furrowed.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I could use some champagne,” Sonya announced as she stalked back to the conference room.
Catalina and Cook followed, looking like half-deflated hot-air balloons. The excited energy was gone, replaced by uncertainty and adrenaline fatigue.
Elise watched out the window some more. Most of the officers were inside the building now. A stray piece of yellow tape fluttered in the wind. She shook her head with her own confusion, and turned to join the other three.
The next few days passed in a blur for Elise. Sonya was a demanding boss, every bit as hard as she’d warned that first day. Elise found herself constantly on the run, either literally or coaxing her Pinto around town, as the boutique prepared for the first wedding.
But, as crazy as the preparations was, it was a crash course in wedding planning too. Each morning began with a long note from the owner—Sonya still worked off of paper lists—filled from top to bottom with the day’s assignments. In just those two days, Elise familiarized herself with the boutique’s favorite hairdresser, dry cleaner, bakery chef, and florist.
Each night, Elise collapsed on the couch, exhausted. In fact, after a particularly grueling day trying to locate a missing veil, she’d gone to straight to bed still dressed in her work clothes.
Tonight was no different. It was supposed to be a date night, and Brad’s car was in the driveway when she pulled up. They’d been seeing each other pretty steady for the last few months, and had just swapped house keys with each other.
She stumbled in through the door, so thankful he was there.
“Hey, gorgeous,” Brad greeted from the kitchen. He peeked his head out the doorway, his dark hair tousled. “Wow, you look wiped out.”
Elise half-laughed and rubbed her cheeks, hoping to bring color to them. She could only imagine the zombie state she must look like, considering how she felt.
“I mean,” he amended, his green eyes crinkling at the corners with a gentle smile, “it’s a beautiful tired. You eat anything?”
She glanced at the clock—ten pm—before shaking her head no, too tired to speak. She flopped down on the couch and rested her head against the back. Her cat, a beautiful orange tabby she’d rescued named Max, jumped beside her. She stroked his foot with one finger.
“Aww, you poor baby. Let me dish you up some food.” Brad said, disappearing back in the kitchen.
Elise rolled her head to the side toward the TV. The news was on, her least favorite show. Her fingers slowly scrabbled across the couch cushion for the remote but it was just out of reach. Too tired to care, she closed her eyes.
“Thank you for joining us for the ten o’clock news. Tonight, we bring you the latest information on the jewelry store robbery that occurred earlier this week in Angel Lake. Police finally feel that they have evidence that links this robbery to others that have been happening around the state since Thanksgiving, including the last one in Meadowford.”
Elise opened her eyes and straightened up.
“In a bizarre twist, the police have located an ad posted to Craigslist promoting a house painting service. The ad reads, and I quote, ‘everyone who shows up in painter’s gear, ready to go, will be hired.’ According to jewelry store witnesses, the robber also wore painter’s gear and may have disappeared in the crowd of painters waiting outside.”
Elise paused the TV. “Brad, did you see this?” she called toward the kitchen where plastic could be heard crinkling.
The plastic bag rattling escalated, followed by a rip and then the patter of a thousand flimsy things hitting the floor at once. Silence followed. Max jumped from the couch and, after licking his back a few times as though disinterested, sauntered into the kitchen to investigate.
“Brad,” Elise asked cautiously. “Do you need help
?”
“Everything’s fine in here,” came the answer, laced with sarcasm.
Elise nodded and tossed the remote to the coffee table before standing up. Every muscle screamed. “What’s going on in there?” She walked to the kitchen and peeked around the entryway.
Brad was standing in a sea of potato chips, a sandwich before him on a plate. Max sniffed at one before batting it with his paws. As soon as the chip moved the game was on, with Max swatting it again and chasing after the skittering chip.
Brad held out the offending chip bag, now torn length-ways down its side. “It wouldn’t open,” he explained. “I was looking for a snack for myself.”
She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up at his cute look. “No worries. I have—Max! Stop that!—I have some popcorn.”
Brad dropped to his knees to gather the chips, grumbling, “No one can eat just one, unless they have cat hair all over them.”
“Ew!” Elise stooped to help him. “My floor’s clean. The top layer of chips is probably fine.”
He popped one into his mouth and crunched. “Not bad.”
Elise swept the pile into the bowl that had been waiting for them. “Anyway. Did you hear about that jewelry store robbery? It’s on the news right now and they’re calling them the Craigslist Bandits.”
“Oh, they’re releasing that information now, huh?” He stood up and brushed his hand on his pants.
Elise threw a dishtowel at him on her way to the pantry.
“Yeah,” her voice was muffled as she searched for her popcorn amidst the crowded shelves. “So you already know? Aha!” Holding the microwave popcorn triumphantly, she shut the door and turned.
Brad had crossed his arms and was leaning against the counter. His eyebrow lowered over one eye as he gave her a cocky grin. “It’s this weird thing about being a cop. I kind of know how an investigation is going.”
“Whatever, smart-aleck. I didn’t know if this robbery in town was for sure connected to the ones across the state.” She opened the cellophane bag and placed the popcorn in the microwave.
“Sorry. We just confirmed it last night,” Brad said.
“The Craigslist angle is pretty wild, huh? It’s kind of cool.”
“Yeah, it’s been interesting. Usually, we get the dumb as a cockroach criminals, but this one actually put some thought into it.”
“How did you find out about the ad?”
“Just interviewing the painters. All those workers had responded to an ad that said, show up at noon at this parking lot, dressed in full gear. And boom, there they were.”
“So there were ads connected to the other robberies?”
He nodded. “Yeah. One was a flash dance mob, and the other a group of protestors.”
“A dance mob? You’re kidding me! What was the dance?”
“Can’t Catch Me.” Brad’s lip quirked up at the corner. “Apparently, the robbers are a little arrogant.”
“And what was the protesting about?”
“A rally to raise minimum wage.”
“Mmm,” Elise said. “And at a jewelry store. Spread the wealth.”
“We seem to have robbers well-versed in the art of irony.”
“But this one has painters. That doesn’t seem as similar.” She stood on her tip-toes and grabbed a bowl from the top shelf.
“The ad was for Bandit Painting Services.”
Elise laughed and nearly dropped the bowl. “You’re kidding me. That’s hilarious.”
“Hilarious or not, we’re talking about someone’s property.”
“It’s all insured though, right?”
Brad narrowed his eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re falling for the whole Robin Hood aspect of this. Just because there’s insurance doesn’t mean it’s okay to just take it.”
“Oh, I know. I’m not thinking Robin Hood. I was really scared to the bone when I heard that alarm go off and saw all those painters standing out there.”
She retrieved the popcorn and poured it into the bowl, shaking the bag to get out the last few pieces.
“There’s nothing harmless about entering a room full of people and saying it’s an armed robbery.” Brad refilled his glass from the sink.
Her mouth dropped open. “They had guns?”
“No one has verified them yet, but, yeah, they threaten to use weapons. I’m not sure why they haven’t flaunted them during the robbery. Maybe they keep them under wraps because they know jewelry stores have protocol to comply with demands like that.”
Elise grabbed her sandwich and kissed him. “Thank you, sweetheart.” The two returned to the living room and settled back into the couch.
On the TV screen, the reporter’s mouth was still frozen in mid-sentence about the Craigslist Bandits. Brad placed his cup on the table as Elise set the popcorn bowl between them on a cushion.
“Protocol, huh? Do you think the robbers work in a jewelry store?” Elise took a bite of the sandwich. Mmm, turkey and lettuce, one of her favorites. Chewing, she sighed with contentment.
“Not sure. It’s one possibility we’re looking at.”
“Maybe a disgruntled employee?”
Brad snorted. “No, we’re looking more into debts, who just incurred a debt, who might need money to get out of debt. Believe it or not, credit scores can really help.”
“You can just get someone’s credit score without their permission?”
“They give their permission when they get hired on at the jewelry store.”
Elise’s phone vibrated. She pulled it free from her pocket.
It was a text from Sonya.
9 am sharp. See you at the church.
Chapter 4
A quarter to eight found Elise driving through the outskirts of town searching for the church. Two more turns and finally the church’s steeple came into sight. The fleet of cars already parked in the lot was reassuring, but Elise double checked her directions anyway. Yep. This was where the wedding was at.
She pulled around the back side of the building and found a spot to park. Then, after gathering her duffle and sweater, she ran for the entrance, passing Sonya’s VW bus on the way in.
I’m not late. Don’t stress. Still, her pulse raced as she flew up the concrete steps and opened the big oak doors.
Inside, the chaos and noise was like nothing Elise had ever seen.
Someone shouted to her left, and she ducked out of the way of a man carrying an armload of roses. Straightening her shoulders, Elise took a big breath and walked toward the sanctuary.
Sonya was in the center of a human foray, waving black taffeta covered arms in a series of directions. Elise was amazed at the proprietor’s transformation, from tough biker woman to a vision of elegance in her high heels and fitted pencil skirt. Elise brushed down her own skirt and hurried over.
Sonya lifted her soft voice so that it carried over the crowd to a pair of men holding two green floral arrangements. “Toward the altar please, with those. Careful!”
The men grunted as they carried the huge planters. With a look of worry, Sonya watched after them a moment before she caught a glimpse of Elise. “Oh! There you are!”
“I’m sorry. I thought you said to be here at nine.”
Sonya’s lips tightened. “I just assumed you’d understand that we need to be here as soon as possible to get things ready. We want everything perfect, and it takes eyes and bodies to make sure that happens.”
Flustered, Elise nodded and clasped her hands before her. “What would you like me to do?”
Sonya flipped through her sheath of papers before passing over a stack. “Go to The Farm’s banquet hall. Make sure it’s all set up like it’s supposed to be. And check on the flower deliveries. Darrel!” Sonya interrupted herself to address a harried looking man rushing by. “Did you call the catering company?”
The dark-haired man held his hands up as if to ward her off as fear came into his eyes. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve been chasing down the pastry chef to make sure he had the new cake
topper.”
“When I give you a job to do…” Sonya warned.
“I’m sorry! I’ll call him right now.”
Her gray eyes narrowed. “Forget it. You’re fired.” She turned to Elise and once more rifled through the paperwork in her hands. Pulling out another sheet, she handed it over. “Call the catering company too, and make sure everything is as scheduled.”
Darrel stood with his eyes wide with shock. “Are you serious right now? You can’t just fire me!”
“I just did,” Sonya deadpanned. She turned on the toe of her shoe and marched across the room.
Darrel watched her, slack jawed. Finally, he flipped her off and hurried for the door. One of the female assistants who stood watching sidled up to Elise. “Let me give you a piece of advice. Always come two hours before she asks. It’s when she shows up, and she expects everyone else to do likewise.” The girl tapped the papers in Elise’s hands. “And I’d hurry to get this done if I were you.”
Elise drove another ten minutes in the opposite direction, on her way to the Farm Banquet Hall. She thought about Sonya. That woman is so hard. Is that what it takes to own a business like this? How long has she owned Wedding Dreams? I’ve always wanted to own my own business, but not if it takes that kind of attitude.
She turned up the radio, smiling as she caught the end of her favorite song. I need to make time to run again. Probably help my stress a ton.
The next street led to Angel Lake’s central park. The Farm Banquet Hall butted up against a grassy knoll of the park and was gorgeous with its landscaping. Lattice arches covered with purple wisteria led to the main entryway.
Elise had loved this place as a little girl. Both she and Lavina had picked the fallen wisteria blossoms every year and hung them to dry in their bedroom windows. They’d sworn at the time that crumbling the dried flowers on their pillows at night would bring them dreams of their future husbands. She smiled as she parked the car.
As Elise walked up the sidewalk to the hall’s entrance, a man loped up from the opposite direction. His reek of alcohol hit her and her first response was to shy away.