The Honeyed Taste of Deception

by CeeCee James

  Sonya made a face. It quickly changed to into stiff professionalism as Cook answered on the other end. She thumbed on the speaker and set the phone in the middle of the desk.

  “Hello, Cook. I’m glad I was able to get a hold of you. I wanted to discuss the possibility of a meeting with both you and Catalina tonight?”

  “Sure. What’s going on?” Cook’s deep voice answered.

  “Well, we were informed by Catalina today of a possible wedding theme change. Elise met with her. You know how we are already under the gun with a two week deadline. Well, these new ideas are acting like the proverbial monkey wrench to our plans.”

  “Really? She still wants to marry me, right?” His voice was tinted with amusement.

  “Oh, of course. But you're gonna think this is awesome,” Elise bluffed with a wink at Sonya. “Actually, what she said is that she wants a circus-themed wedding.”

  Cook’s laugh cut her off, making both Elise and Sonya smile in relief. Finally, he said, “That’s my Catalina. Always changing things up and making life crazy.”

  Sonya scratched at the plastic wrap. “Isn't that the craziest thing you ever heard?”

  “Well,” Cook said. “I can't believe she said that. But it’s really not a bad idea.”

  Sonya’s laugh choked to a stop in her throat. “I’m not sure I understand. You must see how this would be impossible.”

  “I mean her dad is a carny and everything,” Cook continued. “It’d be a nice tribute to her family. Besides, it has a double meaning because I actually took her to the carnival on our first date.”

  As she listened, Sonya’s mouth pressed into two white lines. She glanced desperately at Elise.

  Elise tried again, “Well, Cook, it might be kind of difficult to pull off without having it look silly. Also, another thing to consider is that a lot of people are scared of clowns. You may end up actually frightening all of your guests.”

  Cook laughed. “Her entire family are carnies. And it might do my side some good to have a few scares. I’m actually liking this idea more and more.”

  The two women fell quiet, with only the ticking of the clock breaking the silence. Sonya rubbed the back of her neck. “How about if you and Catalina take the evening to think about this and we’ll talk in the morning. Honestly, I’m just not sure I can pull this one off. We steer more toward fairytale weddings.”

  Cook cleared his throat, which sounded loud over the speaker, and his next words were patronizingly slow. “Doesn't your ad say that you make the bride's dream come true?”

  Sonya winced.

  “After all,” Cook continued. “This is her dream, and so I guess that makes it my dream too. Money’s no object. You guys need to make this happen because we only plan on getting married once.”

  Sonya closed her eyes, and her eyelids fluttered in stress. Elise could almost feel her boss’s will shriveling in defeat.

  “Okay, Cook,” Sonya said. “I’ll look into it. But please, think about it just a little bit more. Give me a call in the morning if you both decide this really is the direction you want to go in. Take the night to give those emotions a bit of time to subside. I did hear she had a doozy of a day with her hair.”

  “I’ll talk to her tonight and let you know for sure tomorrow.”

  They said their goodbyes and Sonya hung up. Thoughtfully, she rolled the cell phone in her hand before glancing at Elise. “I’m not sure what we've gotten ourselves into. This has the potential to put me out of business.”

  Elise shook her head adamantly. “No! Don't even think that way. We’ll totally figure this out and rock this circus wedding. Don't worry about it.” She smacked the table. “In fact, it's gonna be such a rocking wedding that we’ll be famous for it and people will come from all around just so we can put on their circus weddings.”

  Sonya sighed. “When I said I was gonna make a bride’s dream come true I wasn’t expecting novelty weddings.”

  “Well, some people are into novelty weddings. It's becoming all the rage. I've heard of medieval weddings and gamer weddings. Trust me, this will be great.” Then Elise laughed. “At least she's not asking for a unicorn.”

  Sonya pointed at her with a fierce scowl. “Don't even joke about that.”

  The rest of the day passed in the type of frenzy that didn’t accomplish anything. Sonya was busy on the phone trying to locate a government official to clear a permit for a circus tent at the local park, while Elise called wedding dress shops to find out the different types of wedding attire they offered. So far, she was three for three on having them hang up when she got to the line “And clown suits? Do you carry those?”

  The two women left at six with Sonya promising she’d call Elise as soon as she heard anything.

  Back at home, Max did his normal meow greeting from the top of the china buffet as Elise came in and dumped her purse and keys. The sparkling heel on the kitchen table caught Elise’s attention. The day had gone so long, she’d forgotten about her morning adventure in the alley.

  Max jumped down with a loud thump and sauntered over to rub his head against her ankle. Elise smiled to see the empty space where the cat treats had been from the morning and reached into the bag for a few more.

  “You have a good day, ol’ boy?” she asked, scratching his back. He ignored the treats and blinked up at her as his purr began to roll.

  Hmm, no yummy dinner smells. That meant Brad wasn’t there, unusual since he normally beat her home when he worked the third shift. She hurried to the freezer for some breaded chicken and dumped the box unceremoniously onto a cookie sheet. She shoved it into the oven. Then, glancing at the clock, she hurried to her room to change her shirt and brush her hair.

  A few minutes later, she heard the familiar key at the door. Brad walked in dressed in his police uniform.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said before snuggling into his arms. “You work late?”

  “All questions will be answered after a kiss.” He grabbed her and gave her a scratchy kiss. As they pulled away, he stroked her chin with his thumb. “Sorry about that.” He pooched his lips out and gently kissed her chin. It made her laugh and she pushed away. “Tell me why you’re late.”

  “I got a tip on a suspect in the Grandstone Jewelry store robbery. And you’ll never guess who.”

  Chapter 9

  Brad bounced up and down on his toes with a big grin. Elise noticed the sparkle in Brad’s eye that matched his hyperness. He always acted this way when things started to come together in his investigations.

  “Well? Don’t keep me in suspense? Who?” Elise asked.

  “Emily Rose, waitress extraordinaire. Winner of the last three months’ employee of the month at Kelli’s Diner.”

  “You’re kidding me. The restaurant right next to the jewelry store?”

  “Yep.” His grin grew even bigger, if that was possible. “Get this, she hasn’t been back since the day of the robbery. Disappeared at the same time. And, get this, she’d been telling her co-workers that she was going leave it all to escape to a new life.”

  “Whoa….”

  “Yep.” Brad sniffed the air. “What’s that I’m smelling? I’m starving!”

  “Oh!” Elise’s hand flew to her mouth. She ran into the kitchen and yanked open the oven door to reveal very crispy-looking chicken. Biting her bottom lip, she flashed him a guilty grin. “Golden black. I’m sure it’s still delicious.”

  He had followed her and now looked over her shoulder at the chicken pieces. “Doesn’t look too bad at all.” Swinging around, he opened the fridge. “We still have the salad from last night?”

  He spotted the bowl before she had a chance to respond, and pulled it out along with the ranch dressing. Elise set the cookie sheet on the top of the stove with a clatter and reached for the plates. Soon, they were dished up, with Max sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor slowly blinking at them.

  Brad tossed a piece of the burnt chicken skin toward the cat. Max didn’t even turn his head to l
ook.

  “So, tomorrow I’m headed to the diner to do some interviewing. Wanna come?” He crunched on a piece of chicken and hurriedly took a drink of water.

  “Is that a date?” she asked, teasing him with her toe dragging along his leg.

  He grinned and reached for her foot. “Of course it’s a date. You free for lunch?”

  “I think I can get away for a quick lunch. But things are pretty crazy at work.” Quickly, she filled him in on Catalina’s wedding plans.

  “Well, you might be able to get a tent from the actual circus. It’s over at the next town.” Brad pushed up his shirt sleeves and leaned back with a satisfied sigh.

  Elise’s mouth dropped open. “I forgot about that! Some guy was telling me about it the other day.” She made a face and grabbed his arm. “I’m so dense. I bet that’s Catalina’s family. She’d mentioned that her family was in town.”

  “Mmm. Might explain her wedding theme.”

  “Yeah. She said she wanted to honor her sick dad.” Elise glanced over at the counter. “Hey, that reminds me that I had something to show you.” She got up and retrieved the sparkling, green heel from where it’d been hidden from sight under a discarded kitchen towel. “Look what I found.” She handed it over to him.

  Brad’s forehead wrinkled as he spun the heel in his hand. He set it on the table and looked at her. No words, just gave her that look.

  “What?” she asked, feeling slightly nervous.

  “You getting into trouble again?”

  “Pish,” she said, waving a hand as though he were ridiculous. “Please. I found it while jogging.”

  “Jogging where?”

  She licked her lips before shrugging casually. “Behind the jewelry store.”

  He closed his eyes and groaned. “No. Not again.”

  “I swear it was just a fluke. I’m not getting involved.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it.

  “I’m starting to second guess that date of ours. You don’t need any more intrigue.”

  “Stop! It was just sitting there, so I went and grabbed it.”

  “Grabbed it, huh? No thought that it might be a crime scene, fingerprints….”

  She blanched and covered her mouth. “Oh, crap. I guess I did do it again. I’m sorry.”

  Brad sighed and studied the heel again. “Well, it’s highly unlikely it would hold a finger print, anyway.”

  “I love you.”

  He laughed. “What did you say?”

  Winking at him, she crawled into his lap and looped her arms around his neck. “You heard me.”

  Max watched them for a moment before deciding there wouldn’t be any more chicken. He flounced out of the room, tail in the air.

  The next morning, 7:05 a.m. found Elise running breathlessly into the Wedding Dreams Boutique. She was furious with herself. This was no time to be late.

  “Good morning. Catalina just called,” Sonya flashed her a brittle smile. “To let me know that her uncle will be joining us this morning.” The blonde woman grabbed her paperwork and tapped it into an organized pile. “Apparently, they want to discuss the circus theme.”

  “Oh, she’s coming with reinforcements, huh?” Elise pulled off her sweater and hung it on the back of her chair.

  “You’re going to take her to go look for dresses later this afternoon. But first, I’ve set up a cake tasting appointment for them after the meeting.”

  “Today? Without Cook?”

  “I guess he’s busy.” Sonya tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You’ve got a lot on your hands. I’m not sure you can find a dress to match her.”

  “What do you mean? White matches everything.”

  “With that spray tan? She’s so orange.” Sonya wrinkled her nose. “You put her in a white dress and she’ll look like she’d emptied a Cheetos bag on herself before the ceremony is over.”

  “Oh that’s terrible.”

  Sonya looked in the mirror and smoothed back the gelled sides of her short hair, smiling with admiration at the blonde wave on top swooping back. “But, what am I thinking? With this circus theme, I’m fully expecting a purple gown. With rows of ribbon.”

  “That’s so mean.”

  “Bedazzled,” Sonya shot back. She raised her eyebrow as if daring Elise to respond.

  “It’s going to be okay. I’ll figure this out.” Elise tried to be reassuring, although not too sure of her abilities herself.

  Just then, the bell dinged over the shop’s entrance. Elise leaned to peek out the office door. Catalina smiled when she caught sight of her and tugged on the arm of the short man accompanying her.

  The man was built like a barrel, a round chest encased in a blue jacket buttoned smartly with silver buttons. His face was covered in a full brown beard, which he stroked, and his lips curled up in a smile. He didn’t spare a glance at the fancy decor, instead strutted in as if he owned the place.

  “Uncle Rozzo, right this way. Here they are!” Catalina squealed. The man followed her with a big grin. She ran up to Elise and gave her a hug.

  “Good morning,” Elise murmured, smiling at Catalina. “I love your hair.”

  “Thank you!” The short woman tucked a short, stray curl around her ear. “I feel positively Tinkerbelle-ish.”

  Elise caught Sonya’s big eyes at the description. She could only imagine that her boss was picturing a PeterPan/Circus chimera-type wedding. She bit back a grin. “The haircut looks great on you. Hey, it just occurred to me last night, is that your family’s circus in the other town?” Her gaze swiveled from Catalina to her Uncle Rozzo.

  It was Catalina who nodded. “Yes! Petrovitsky Family Circus! It’s positively amazing that they’re all going to be able to come to the wedding.”

  Sonya’s mouth dropped open. “Well, that gets us out of a heap of trouble. Maybe you could get married down there?”

  Catalina shook her head. “No, absolutely not. I want an outdoor wedding. Preferably at a park.”

  Sonya blew out a heavy sigh. “Okay.” She typed on her keyboard and turned the computer monitor towards Catalina. “Here are three places I’ve found so far that might be available. But we have to jump quick.”

  Catalina leaned in to see and squealed again. “Those are absolutely fabulous! I love them all! But especially here.” She tapped the screen, pointing to Angel Lake.

  Sonya frowned. “Okay, I’ll try for that first. But I think this one here would be more practical.” She gestured to another park in a neighboring town.

  “Get the first one. That’s the one I want,” Catalina said firmly. “It’s absolutely divine.”

  Although it was the merest flicker of the eyebrow, it was apparent to Elise that Sonya was near her breaking point. Elise cleared her throat and addressed her boss. “Didn’t you say we have a cake tasting scheduled?”

  Sonya hummed a response before pushing a paper with the address across the desk. “Yes, here is the address.”

  “Oh, good! I know exactly what kind of cake I want. I’ve wanted it since I turned thirteen.” Catalina said, eyes sparkling.

  “Do tell,” Sonya said, drolly.

  “An ice cream cake!”

  Sonya winced as though she had a sudden migraine. Rubbing her temple, she cleared her throat and continued. “Be sure to ask them. And, I also have a bridal shop appointment for you to try on dresses. Think simple because there won’t be a lot of time to get it fitted. Have you thought about what you want your bridesmaids to wear?”

  “Yes, I think we’ve got that covered,” Catalina nodded enthusiastically. Elise smiled. She really did look pixie-like.

  Elise touched Uncle’s Rozzo’s arm to get his attention. “Are you going to join us for the cake testing?”

  Uncle Rozzo’s muscles flexed as he drew his arm away. Elise could feel how, despite his short stature, he really was quite strong. “Cake tasting, you say? I should be watching my diet, but I guess I’m game.”

  Catalina giggled. “Oh, Uncle. When have you ever turned down free foo
d?”

  “As long as the meal isn’t being served in jail, I guess I’m always up for a bite,” he countered back, smiling so hard his wrinkles nearly hid his eyes.

  Chapter 10

  Uncle Rozzo held the boutique’s door open for the two women as they exited. He followed behind, giving a nonsensical whistle between his teeth.

  “You don’t mind riding in my Pinto, do you? It’s pretty small. I think it’s all cleaned out, but that doesn’t help a lot,” Elise asked. Lovely. When was the last time I cleaned it? She gave them a nervous grin and started rummaging in her purse for the keys.

  “Oh, sugar. Us carnies aren’t afraid of small spaces.” Catalina giggled. “Haven’t you seen the clown cars?”

  Elise paused, keys in hand. “Are those a real thing?”

  Catalina laughed even harder.

  “Oh, you’re teasing me.” Elise rolled her eyes and led them to the car.

  Cake testing was a success despite Catalina’s new demands. Elise was rather surprised at the baker’s confident attitude as he took the request. Almost blasé, as if the bakery were asked for ice-cream cakes all the time. Elise did insist that they try the samples already laid out before them—which were delicious. In the end, Catalina still remained adamant on her final choice. The cake was ordered with the chef mentioning that the final decorating always took place on site.

  Elise glanced at her watch and herded them all back to her car. “I’m supposed to meet someone at Kelli’s Diner right now. Would you both like to join me for lunch?” she asked.

  “Honestly, I couldn’t eat another bite.” Catalina said, patting her stomach.

  “Kelli’s Diner?” Uncle Rozzo leaned forward between the seats to hear better, his bushy eyebrows furrowed questioningly.

  “Yeah. It’s across the street from the bridal boutique.”

  “I know where it is.” He sat back with his arms crossed.

  Elise glanced at him in her rearview mirror. His chipper attitude seemed to have ebbed away as he frowned out the window.