Murder at the Wedding

by M A Comley

  “Not really. Actually, there is. We could change feet. Mine are worn out.”

  They both chuckled. Geraldine moved off to circulate the room once more. Intrigued, now the question had been raised as to where Bradley was, Ruth went in search of him, searching room to room on the ground floor—well, in the rooms that Lady Falkirk was allowing them to use. Nothing, not a sign of him. She was just heading back to the main hallway when a man yelled. This was followed by several women screaming.

  Fear filled her as she shoved past people to get to the main door. Outside, on the gravel, she found the groom. He was lying facedown on the drive, his neck twisted at an odd angle.

  Her first thought was that he was already dead and there was little that could be done to revive him. Ruth glanced around her. Seeing James, she beckoned him. He rushed to be by her side. Everyone surrounding her was in a state of shock.

  “Quick, give me your phone. No, on second thoughts, you ring for an ambulance. I need to find Geraldine,” she said.

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. Just do as I ask.”

  A bloodcurdling scream sounded just behind her, nearly propelling her into outer space. She turned to find Geraldine standing there, staring down at her new husband. Ruth reached for her best friend just as her legs gave way beneath her.

  Ruth scanned the crowd again. Where has James gone? I need him to help me.

  A breathless James appeared out of the blue as if she’d managed to summon him telepathically. “How did you get on?”

  “The police and the ambulance are on their way.”

  “Good. We need to get everyone inside. They’ve all got to stay here, the police will need to speak to everyone. Can you do that for me, James, while I take care of Geraldine?” Ruth instructed, momentarily forgetting that James was a cop himself.

  “Leave it with me. Come on, folks, let’s give them some room. Please go back inside the hall, there’s nothing we can do out here.”

  The murmuring crowd shuffled away, their gazes still transfixed on the dead body also known as the ‘happy groom’.

  “Are you all right, Geraldine?”

  Her best friend was numb with shock, neither crying nor sobbing as expected but still, only her darting eyes moving.

  “Please answer me, love. Are you all right? I need to get you inside, away from here.”

  She shook her head, slowly at first, and as the intensity rose, the tears finally began to fall. “What happened? Why isn’t anyone helping him?”

  Ruth gulped. “Because he’s dead. No one could help him now. Please, come on, let me help you stand up.” Ruth supported her friend by the arm and tugged her a little to get her moving. Her wedding dress was tangled around their legs, making the task a complex one. Eventually, one of the groom’s mates saw them struggling through the window in the hall and came to their rescue.

  “Here, let me help. Ups-a-daisy, Ger. Grab my arm, girl, and we’ll have you up and inside in a jiffy.”

  Ruth nodded and smiled her appreciation. Without his help, she feared they would have been stuck in the same position until the police arrived. Talking of which…I can hear sirens in the distance. She was unsure if they belonged to the police or the ambulance at this point—that was until a car bearing a flashing blue light on its roof climbed the hill.

  Ever the professional, she fished her phone out of her pocket and began snapping the scene with her camera, thinking the images would come in handy later.

  The job in hand completed, she turned to watch the police car arrive, along with the crowd. Her heart sank even lower than it was already when she recognised the damn car. In it was her nemesis in the force. The one woman she detested more than walking alone through the streets on a dark night. She had a few seconds to prepare herself to deal with what lay ahead. It wasn’t going to be easy. She and this policewoman had history—they disliked each other with a passion.

  Crap! That’s all Geraldine needs. An unemotional, uncaring detective on her case. What she really meant was a heartless detective. Maybe she should give the policewoman a chance this time round, not to let past experiences cloud her judgement before she’d even stepped out of her vehicle.

  They had just managed to get Geraldine inside and deposited her with her mother and father, who had apparently sobered up pretty sharpish after what they’d witnessed, before the detective’s car came to a standstill on the drive.

  Ruth tried to calm her nerves by sucking in large breaths and letting them escape slowly through her scarlet lips. It didn’t help one iota. Once Inspector Janice Littlejohn locked gazes with her, Ruth’s heart pounded harder and faster against her ribs. No smile developed on either of their faces.

  “You! What are you doing here? How did you get here before us?”

  Doh! You think I wear a fancy suit for my everyday job? She swept her hands down her body, motioning towards her suit. “I’m a guest at the wedding. I would’ve thought that was obvious; maybe not in your case.” She bit down on her tongue. Way to go, girl. Get on the wrong side of the detective from the get-go!

  “Then you’ll be better off inside with the other guests. In other words, leave us to do our job without any interference, for a change.”

  Ruth narrowed her gaze at the crass remark. “And what if the bride is my client?”

  “I couldn’t give a damn. This could be a crime scene. You’d be well advised to keep your distance if you know what’s best for you. Now, if you don’t mind, we have a job to do.”

  “Don’t you want to know if anyone witnessed what happened?”

  “All in good time. Go back inside, Miss Morgan. Keep out of the way of this investigation. I’ll speak to you when I’ve dealt with the corpse.”

  “That corpse happens to be the groom.”

  Inspector Littlejohn’s left eyebrow rose. She’d probably spent several hours at her desk, sculpting the fine line into shape instead of chasing criminals like she should have been. “The groom? Thanks for the heads-up. You’re dismissed.”

  Dismissed? Any other inspector or cop around here would have taken me to one side to ask my opinion about the case. But not you. You’re going to dig your heels in like you usually do and go about things the hard way, as usual. In the past, Ruth had solved several cases before the Inspector’s investigation had seriously got off the ground. That was why the woman appeared to be permanently narked with her.

  Ruth had a great rapport with most of the cops in the town. Maybe that was what ticked dear Janice off as well. Either way, Ruth knew when and where she wasn’t wanted. Giving an exaggerated shrug, she left the inspector and her lacklustre sidekick, Joe Kenton, who looked suitably embarrassed by the way Littlejohn had spoken to her, and went inside as instructed.

  Once inside, James quickly joined her. “My heart sank for you as soon as she turned up. Did she give you hell as usual?”

  “How did you guess? She won’t win. I’m going to stand at this window and watch her and her waste of space partner like a hawk. She’ll mess up like she usually does. She’s too damn obstinate to ask my opinion on anything, let alone a death that occurred right under my nose. You know what? It wouldn’t bloomin’ surprise me if at one point during the investigation she comes knocking on my door to blame me for the incident.”

  James gasped. “She wouldn’t dare!”

  “We’ll see. She’s an obnoxious cow, and if I can bring her down a peg or two, I will, at every opportunity. All the other cops appreciate my help in this town, bar that one. Why? Does she think I’m better than her? Maybe that’s what claws at her throat the most.”

  “You want my take on it?” James whispered, making sure he wasn’t overheard by the other guests, vying for a position at the window to observe the investigation.

  She frowned. “What’s that?”

  “It’s because she’s black, and a woman, of course. A double whammy. I don’t think it’s personal with you two. I just reckon her job is that much tougher because of not only her ge
nder but also because of the colour of her skin. And no, that is definitely not a racist comment.”

  Ruth placed her thumb and finger around her chin. Maybe James was right, for a change. Perhaps that was Littlejohn’s problem, after all. “Maybe you’re onto something, although I wouldn’t go shouting about that down at the station if I were you. Let’s just keep those thoughts between you and me, all right?”

  He leaned his chin on her shoulder. “Feasible though, right?”

  She turned her head and pecked him on the cheek. “Too right. Good thinking, lover boy.”

  Ruth watched numerous other vehicles arrive at the scene, including the ambulance and the SOCO team. The latter erected a small marquee over the body which blocked the guests’ view from the hall window. This infuriated Ruth more than anything, although she hid her annoyance from the inspector, who was keenly keeping an eye on her every now and again with a sneaky glance when her head was bowed.

  Did she really think Ruth couldn’t see her? What an absolute amateur she was. Compared to Ruth anyway.

  Finally, after a couple of hours and dozens of people complaining, the inspector began questioning the wedding guests. They were led into a room just off the main hallway where the interviews took place. No one was allowed to leave—the inspector had ordered two uniformed officers to remain at the front door to ensure that didn’t happen.

  After each of them was interviewed, they were given permission to leave the hall. It had been an exceptionally long day already, and now they were expected to hang around and wait to be called to give their account of what had gone on. There were over a hundred guests at this damn wedding, for goodness’ sake. The thing that ticked Ruth off the most was that she knew the inspector would leave her until the end.

  She watched the paramedics stretcher the groom and place him in the back of the ambulance. He was covered over with a white sheet. Ruth rushed to console Geraldine who had also witnessed the manoeuvre and was now in the process of breaking down. So far, she’d been numb to all that was going on around her. Ruth had kept half an eye on her best friend as well as watching what the inspector and her team had been up to.

  Ruth sat alongside Geraldine, grasping her hand in both of hers. “It’ll be all right, love, you’ll see. We’ll get to the bottom of what happened.”

  “Why would he jump like that? Take his own life when we’d only just tied the knot? Surely, if he had any doubts he was doing the wrong thing marrying me, he could have called the wedding off at any time. Was it my fault? Did I pressure him into walking down the aisle? I didn’t think I had. Maybe I wasn’t listening to him enough during the preparations. I thought all his negative comments were the usual things men said at times like this. If I’d known he would take his own life, I would never have organised such a big wedding. I loved him, I would’ve willingly eloped if that’s what he’d insisted upon doing.”

  “Please, Geraldine, you mustn’t blame yourself for this. If Bradley had issues that he wasn’t willing to share with you, then that was his problem, not yours. Don’t do this to yourself, I won’t allow you to.”

  “Why leave it until the day? And why do it after we’d exchanged our rings? That’s what I can’t fathom. I’m at a loss as to what to think about this, Ruth. I need answers, and how likely is that going to be that I’ll get them?”

  Ruth sighed. “My guess would be highly unlikely. Let’s leave it to the police, see what they can come up with.”

  “The police? Are they likely to find the truth? Won’t you get involved in the case? I’ll pay you the going rate. I have a little money set aside that was intended to be spent on the holiday. I can pay you instead.”

  Ruth sat back in her chair, floored by the suggestion. “You want me to find out why he would kill himself?” Geraldine nodded. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to do that. If you didn’t have a clue what was going on inside his head…You were the closest person to him, after all.”

  “I hear what you’re saying, but how does a man who has everything, think of his life as being worthless on the day of his wedding? That’s the part I don’t understand.” She ran a tissue under her eye, smudging her mascara even more than she had already.

  “Let the detective and her team work it out for you, sweetie. I’m too close to look at this objectively.”

  Geraldine stared at her for a moment or two until she found her voice. “You’re refusing to take me on as a client? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Not outright, no. Let’s bide our time on this one.”

  The door to the interview room opened, and DS Joe Kenton led the previous interviewee to the front door then stopped next to them. “Mrs Sinclair, if you’d like to come with me.”

  Geraldine frowned. “Sorry, gosh, that’s me. I haven’t got used to my name yet. Can Ruth come with me?”

  “Why would you need someone to accompany you, Mrs Sinclair?” Kenton replied, tilting his head to one side.

  “I…I don’t think I can do this on my own.”

  “No. You can take your time, we’re not in any rush. All we want is to get to the truth. If you’ll follow me.”

  Kenton didn’t even look in Ruth’s direction. She didn’t have the courage to speak up for what her friend wanted and plead with him to let her accompany Geraldine, because she knew she’d be slapped down in an instant.

  Ruth squeezed her hand tightly before releasing it. “Good luck, love. I’ll be here waiting for you.” Ruth rose and helped Geraldine get to her feet. “Would it hurt for you to assist her?” she snapped when the sergeant refused to lend a hand.

  “Are you able to walk by yourself, Mrs Sinclair?” he asked, scowling at Ruth.

  “I think so. Maybe Ruth can come with me some of the way?”

  Ruth didn’t need asking twice. She held on to Geraldine’s elbow and guided her towards the room, the sergeant huffing his impatience as he strode ahead of them. “Good luck again.”

  Geraldine’s smile was a weary one. “Thank you. There’s not a lot I can tell them anyway, so they’re going to be disappointed. Thank you for caring and giving me a hand, Ruth.”

  “No problem.”

  Ruth stared after her friend until the door shut in her face. She was tempted to place her ear against the door to listen to the conversation but changed her mind when James waved at her to get her attention.

  She walked back to him. “What’s wrong?”

  “How long is this going to take? One of us needs to get back to Ben. He’s been cooped up in that house alone for hours. He’ll think we’ve deserted him if we’re much longer.”

  “You’re right. The poor baby. Why don’t you ring Mrs Sanders, ask her to let him out? She’s still got a spare key from when we went on holiday last year.”

  She left James calling their old neighbour, a dear old soul who loved looking after Ben when she was called upon to tend to him, and crossed the room to where Geraldine’s parents were sitting. “How are you both holding up?”

  “We’re surviving, Ruth. Do you think Geraldine will be able to cope in there by herself?” Valerie asked.

  She hitched up a shoulder. “I don’t know. I’m hoping she will.”

  “It’s taking a bloomin’ eternity. Why? You know about these things in your line of business, don’t you?” Geraldine’s father demanded, sounding peeved.

  “It’s going to take however long it takes. There are a lot of guests to speak to.”

  “Humph…guests who never saw a damn thing. The idiot jumped, what was there to see? Crikey, fancy doing that after you’ve tied the knot. Mind you, can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind a number of times over the years.”

  “Ted Cruise, how dare you speak like that?”

  “Wind your neck in, love. It was a figure of speech. Don’t go flying off the handle.”

  Valerie sniffled. “You think it’s been easy for me living with an alcoholic? Look at the state of you. The one day your daughter really needs your help, and you’re sat here in the corner
nursing another damn whisky.”

  Ruth wished the ground would open up and swallow her. The last thing she wanted, or needed for that matter, was to get involved in a domestic between the bride’s mother and father. She had no words for either of them—correct that, she could think of a hatful she could direct at Mr Cruise but knew if she did that, she would lose Geraldine’s friendship in a second. No, she would have to bite on the inside of her mouth until the argument died down.

  “Has it ever occurred to you why I drink, woman? Well, has it?” Mr Cruise slurred.

  “It doesn’t take much for a man to turn to the bottle. How dare you blame your inability to curb such urges on me? How very dare you?”

  Mr Cruise closed his eyes and tilted his head from side to side as he mimicked his wife’s words, obviously thinking she was in the throes of nagging him.

  Ruth looked on in amazement, her mind whirring. If this is married life years down the line after a wedding takes place, then I’ll definitely be staying single in the foreseeable future.

  “That’s what you women do, drive your men to drink with your nagging. I’ve had my share of it over the years. After the honeymoon period is over, that’s when you women think you can control us.”

  “Really? Well, if that’s what you think, I’ll be knocking on my solicitor’s door first thing in the morning.”

  “Ha! It’s Sunday tomorrow, you daft mare.”

  “Please, Mr and Mrs Cruise, falling out like this isn’t helping. Won’t you both calm down and consider what your daughter is going through? She’ll be relying on you over the coming weeks or months to help her through this.”

  Valerie faced her husband and nodded. “Ruth is right, dear. We should stop all this pointless bickering and think of what’s best for Geraldine. I’m aware it’s only the drink talking.”

  “It is not. All it does is make me think straight. I’m trapped. If you want a divorce, I’ll give you one without a moment’s hesitation.”

  Ruth sighed and rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder to see if she could urge James to rescue her. He was busy chatting to a few stragglers who’d already been interviewed and hadn’t as yet taken the hint from the police to go home.