Wedding Mints and Witnesses

by Kelsey Browning

  “Don’t you want to look like a princess for Teague?” Lil asked. “After all, he’s your true love, your perfect match. You don’t want to regret one detail of your wedding.”

  Jenny picked up a dress with big poofy sleeves and a big-ass bow on the back. “I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but there’s no way that I’m wearing this.”

  “Okay, not your style.” Maggie said, snatching it from her and hugging the dress to her chest, but Jenny saw the disappointment in her eyes.

  What would it hurt to try them all on? It would obviously make these gals happy. They were like family to her, and the last thing she wanted to do was alienate them. It wasn’t their fault her mom had kept a secret from her.

  She did want to look like a princess on her wedding day because marrying Teague would be the second best day of her life. Grayson would always be her first best. She smiled to herself. Well, when this baby was born, she’d have two first bests. “I’m sorry, you two. I’m just a little cranky and feeling fat.”

  “You’re not even three months pregnant yet,” Lil said. “You are still skinny as a rail.”

  “I don’t feel skinny.” But she pushed aside her skunky mood.

  “Maybe a bridal dress-up will make you feel better, dear.”

  “Anything to get my mind off being sick,” Jenny agreed. She could use some fun in her life right now, and she hated to disappoint Lil. “Let’s try them on in the den. I have a big mirror in there.”

  One by one, Lil and Maggie helped Jenny get in and out of the stack of dresses. Everything from huge to hugging to a mini-skirt number the dress shop owner had told Lil and Maggie was all the rage for brides Jenny’s age.

  Jenny picked up a simple dress with a sheer skirt, more full than an A-line, but it was the bodice that stole her breath. Intricately beaded on delicate lace, it would look like pearls against her skin. “This one is gorgeous.”

  “Quite elegant,” Lil agreed.

  Maggie slipped the hanger from the dress and let the gorgeous fabric drape into Jenny’s arms. She stepped into the dress, and Maggie went to work on the five tiny buttons that held it all together just above Jenny’s rear end.

  Jenny turned to the side then back to the mirror.

  “That’s it, isn’t it?” Lil clapped her hands. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re positively glowing.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  Her fingers ran across the fabric, then across the tiny beads that added a dash of elegance to the gown.

  Maggie tugged at the fabric, pulling it straight. “Jenny. It’s perfect.”

  Jenny nodded. For the first time, she felt like a real bride. A fairytale kind of bride.

  A sudden movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. The unmistakable black and gray of her mom’s spiky hairdo bobbed just above the windowsill at the far side of the room.

  Jenny’s heart broke again, because she knew this was the dress her mom had picked out for her. Yes, she was still so mad at her mom, but a tiny voice inside reminded her of all the years when it had been just the two of them against the world. They’d made a good mother-daughter team, and she hated that it suddenly seemed as if they were on opposing sides.

  “This is the only gown your mother picked out,” Maggie said, confirming Jenny’s thoughts. “She knew it was the one.”

  “I’d skip the veil,” Lil said. “It would take away from the simplicity of the dress. Maybe an updo with your hair, and some small flowers. You want the back of your dress to show.”

  “I think so too,” Jenny said, glancing back toward the window. She caught her mom gazing longingly at the dress. Then she looked up and realized Jenny had spotted her. That wistful look in her eyes vanished and her mouth tightened, but Jenny knew her mom well enough to understand what she was seeing was a defense mechanism. Her mom didn’t want her to know how much this wedding meant to her too.

  How in the world would they get through this?

  Jenny’s instinct was to turn her back, but with a tight feeling around her chest, she glanced over her shoulder and gave her mom a little wave.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Another morning. Another road trip. Hopefully, to Lil’s way of thinking, another lead.

  She and the other girls had been back and forth to Atlanta so many times over the past few months—for Abby Ruth’s cancer treatments and now for all the wedding hullabaloo surrounding this case—that Lil had almost every landmark and billboard memorized up Interstate 75. Every time they took this road her stomach growled, begging for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, and there were at least four on this route.

  After a quick stop to drop off the Hawaiian destination wedding and honeymoon package details to Hannah and Brandon, they were on their way.

  On the bright side, an investigative trip to Everything Elegant should mean cake. Maybe even some coffee or hot tea, and that was almost as good as hash brown casserole.

  They followed the GPS directions on Abby Ruth’s phone. In a quarter of a mile, you will reach your destination on the right.

  Lil scanned the horizon. “There it is,” she said, pointing toward a large building with pretty metal awnings.

  They drove by the storefront in search of a parking spot. The store windows were framed with sparkling lights. On the right was a display of wedding gifts wrapped in pearlescent paper and tied with looping organza bows. The front left corner was dedicated to the bakery. A beautiful table set for two with dainty china and delicate wineglasses looked like a scene straight out of a romantic movie. Between the two settings, a seven-tier cake was decorated with swoops of white and lavender icing. So pretty.

  Although it was midafternoon, the parking lot overflowed with cars. “Don’t people work in this town?” Abby Ruth said.

  Maggie sat forward in her seat. “Business is booming. That’s for sure.”

  “This is not your everyday cake shop,” Lil said. “This bakery does treats and homemade bread too. Not to mention the gift shop. I’m sure that draws in a lot of traffic.” Her kind of place.

  Maggie got out of the truck. “The smell is making me drool. Can we sample cakes for Jenny and Teague while we’re here?”

  “Too late,” Lil said. “I talked with Honey and she said we’d have to make do with what Hannah and Brandon chose because it was special order—a six-tier violet-infused cake.”

  “Violet-infused—what does that mean?” Abby Ruth snarled. “Violet is a color. Not a flavor.”

  Maggie tsked. “I don’t know, but from the looks of those cakes in the window, these folks are doing some pretty elaborate stuff with their baking and decorating.”

  Abby Ruth eyed the cakes in the window. “How bad could a pretty cake taste?”

  “You’re right,” Lil said. “Nothing we can do about it now anyway.”

  “We need to hit both sides. First we’ll ask if they’ve had an increase in returned gifts or anything strange with the registry process. Then we’ll move on to the cakes.” Abby Ruth walked on without waiting for an answer.

  Maggie flashed Lil a quick look. “She had to save the best for last, didn’t she?”

  “Think of it as incentive for getting the job done.”

  When they strolled inside, they set off a doorbell that played the “Wedding March.” The shop smelled of fruit, chocolate, and old money. People were everywhere. Mothers and daughters pored through catalogs, and young couples tasted cakes trying to make decisions for their big day.

  Lil jabbed her elbow into Abby Ruth’s side and pointed to a corner table. “Look.”

  A rusty-haired man wearing a batter-smeared apron sat at a table with Honey and her boss. Elisabeth looked coolly professional in pumps, skirt, and a sleeveless top that left her toned arms bare.

  “Elisabeth with an S,” Abby Ruth mocked, tilting her nose in the air.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Lil said. “Look at the man sitting with them.”

  Abby Ruth visibly perked up at the sight of the man. �
�Do you think he’s the baker?”

  “Seems to be, with the way he’s dressed.”

  “He fits the profile of our suspect, too. With him and that suspicious Elisabeth sitting at the same table, we need to get over there and—”

  Lil held out her arms in order to clothesline her friends. “Slow down. We don’t want to be conspicuous. Let’s wander over to the gift shop and pretend to be real customers.”

  “But—”

  “Don’t worry. They look like they’ll be here for a while.”

  Maggie stopped just out of sight of the table. “I’ll stay by the door and keep an eye on them while y’all get started.”

  Lil and Abby Ruth wandered over to the side of the store that made up the gift shop. The walls were lined with bakers’ racks full of unusual items, a cute way to tie the two places together. The well-organized space was divided into sections like a house. Bedroom, kitchen, bath complete with a clawfoot tub filled with spa essentials, closets of organizers, and outdoor goods under a pergola. Very clever. Someone had an excellent eye for merchandising.

  Some shelves were filled with traditional items too, like crystal candlesticks and silver serving pieces. Intricate handmade sculptures by Georgia artists were placed throughout the room.

  “Let me know if you need help.” A man’s voice came from behind a rack of organic bamboo towels in muted tones of brown, green, and blue. “I’m John Erik.”

  “Thank you.” Abby Ruth waved a hand. “When you get a moment, I need to set up my daughter’s registry.”

  “No problem.”

  But the next thing Lil knew, the man was walking away from them toward what she assumed was the storeroom. “Young people have no sense of customer service these days.”

  “Maybe he had to pee.”

  A few minutes later, a woman approached them. “John Erik mentioned you needed some help.”

  “Thank you. Yes, I need to set up the registry for my daughter’s wedding.”

  “I can help you.” She pulled an electronic tablet out from her apron and started clicking away. “What’s the groom’s last name?”

  “Castro. Teague. T E A G U E.” Abby Ruth patiently gave the information to the woman, who seemed to be in no hurry at all.

  Out of another pocket, she pulled out a taser-like contraption. “This is for you. Just select the items she wants to add to the list.”

  A wicked grin crossed Abby Ruth’s face. “Sweet!” She gripped the scanner like a pistol. “Right up my alley.”

  “So it is,” Lil said.

  “If you can’t find what you like in the store, we have the catalog you can scan barcodes from,” the woman explained.

  Abby Ruth spun the barcode scanner on her pointer finger like Annie Oakley. Oh, goodness. Lil would need to keep a close eye on this process.

  “You’ll be able to check the registry to see what’s been purchased or put on hold all the way up to the wedding date.”

  “Isn’t that handy?” Abby Ruth scanned a meat cleaver. Ding. “So, how often do gifts get returned? And can people return them for cash or merchandise?” she asked so casually that Lil momentarily forgot finding out those details were the real reason they were there.

  “We have a full cash return policy within thirty days of the wedding, as long as you’re registered with us. Otherwise, merchandise returns only.”

  “I see.” She walked over to the first aisle with Lil at her side. She scanned a two-hundred-dollar chef’s knife and a margarita machine. Then she picked up what looked like a whiskey barrel. “Hey, do-it-yourself liquor.”

  “Don’t you dare scan that.” Lil said.

  “Like a moonshiners beginner’s course,” Abby Ruth said. “But I could see how some folks like my friend here might take offense to it. You probably get a lot of these coming back.”

  “Our returns are extremely low. We only offer the highest quality housewares.”

  Abby Ruth’s phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket. “Excuse me.” She grabbed Lil by the arm and made hasty spin. “Maggie just sent a 911 text,” she whispered.

  “Gotta go. Thank you.” Abby Ruth tossed the gun back to the woman. “That should get us started.”

  They hustled over to the bakery side where darned if it didn’t look like Maggie had just tripped over Elisabeth’s bag on the floor and tried to catch herself by snatching a handful of the woman’s hair.

  Lil hurried to Maggie’s aid. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” But Maggie suddenly went off-kilter again, grabbing for the wedding planner’s arm and pulling her to the floor. In an awkward attempt to stand, Maggie used Elisabeth’s body as a sort of ladder. Once on her feet, she weaved and stumbled off to the side to land on a bench near the window.

  Elisabeth rubbed her head and frowned up from her less-than-graceful perch. “You three again?”

  The baker hopped up to help Elisabeth to her feet.

  While they were occupied with brushing off the wedding coordinator’s designer skirt, Lil asked Maggie, “What in the world is happening here?”

  Pulling Lil away a few steps, Maggie winked and whispered, “I was checking to see if she was wearing a wig.”

  “Good work, Mags.” Abby Ruth chuckled. “One heck of an act you put on. Had me convinced.”

  “Maybe.” Maggie’s dejected exhale didn’t bode well. “But she’s not our baddie.”

  Abby Ruth’s mouth twisted and her eyes went squinty. “How can you be so sure?”

  “She’s a woman.”

  Oh, goodness. “Mags, you didn’t…”

  “I did, and I can tell you those are God-given boobs that woman is wearing.”

  Abby Ruth stomped her foot. “I was so sure she was involved.”

  “At least we’ve marked someone off the list. That’s a step in the right direction,” Lil said. “Now we need to get close to the baker. Maybe we can just wait until Elisabeth and Honey—”

  Maggie suddenly waved her arms behind the assistant, then pointed to her own wrist. Then to the woman.

  What was Maggie trying to get across? Something important by her vigorous gestures.

  Honey’s sleeves were rolled back. Gracing the woman’s wrist was a tattoo in the shape of what looked like a hummingbird on a scrolling vine and a bright yellow flower.

  “Girls, it’s time for us to go,” Lil reined Maggie in and shooed Abby Ruth out the front door.

  “Why did you pull us out?” Maggie said. “The little wedding assistant had a tattoo. So did the guy you think snatched your rings and the one Stella thinks could’ve taken her purse.”

  “She doesn’t fit the profile at all,” Lil said. “Not her gender, height, nor hair. Not everyone who has a tattoo is a suspect. Heck, if that were the case, we’d have to strip-search half the population of Georgia. Besides, all these tattoos are in different places—neck, biceps, wrist.” And they wouldn’t find her wedding rings and the other missing items by running down dead-end trails.

  “She has a point,” Abby Ruth said.

  “What if they aren’t real? What if the thief wears different temporary tattoos to avoid suspicion?”

  “Even if that were the case, Honey can’t be more than five-two, tops.” Lil didn’t have to have been on as many cases as Maggie and Abby Ruth to recognize that difference.

  “And Elisabeth obviously wasn’t wearing a disguise,” Abby Ruth added, her entire body seeming to collapse on itself. “Lil’s right. Let’s just give it up. What’s done is done.”

  “We do not give up,” Maggie announced. “Since when were we quitters? What is wrong with y’all? We’re the G Team, and I think we should give a little thought to all the tattoos.”

  Abby Ruth didn’t smile. Didn’t snicker. Didn’t even raise that eyebrow like she was known to do. “Get real. We’re just bored women with business cards.”

  Maggie and Lil were silent for a three-beat.

  “Speak for yourself,” Maggie said. “We’ve solved some pretty important case
s, and we are good at this. I think we’re closing in on the real culprit. We can’t give up now. We need to tail Honey.”

  “I don’t think so.” Abby Ruth’s lips puckered.

  Maggie’s eyes brightened the way they did when she got an idea she loved. “We should set up a sting to see if she’s involved.”

  “We don’t have time for all that,” Lil said. “We have a wedding in just over a week.”

  Maggie tapped a finger to her lips. “As will Honey.”

  “What exactly are you suggesting?” Abby Ruth demanded.

  An idea buzzed in Lil’s brain. “If she is involved, we could take her down that day.”

  “We know what this thief has hit before,” Maggie said. “Jewelry. Cash. We can bait them at Jenny’s wedding. It’s the perfect setup. I know you like Honey, Abby Ruth, but I think she’s involved. I feel it.”

  “No. No way.” Abby Ruth’s mouth was a mutinous line. “I’ve already put my relationship with Jenny in the toilet. If you can call her waving at me a positive step, I’m taking it. I’m not doing anything to add to the strain.”

  “Look,” Lil said. “Don’t bite off our heads just because your personal life is in a bit of a mess.”

  “A bit of a mess?” Her eyebrows near to her hairline, Abby Ruth glared at Lil. “Really? We need to put a stop to this investigation. It was my idea, but we’re making mistakes. There’s too much at risk. I say we stop right here and now.”

  “You don’t get to decide everything, Abby Ruth, and you can’t fire Honey and lose all those vendors at this late date.”

  Abby Ruth said nothing.

  That was what Lil thought. “Then wait here.” Lil pivoted and hotfooted it back toward the bakery.

  “What are you doing?” Abby Ruth yelled.

  Lil put on more speed and slipped back inside the building before Abby Ruth could catch her. She scanned the space to find Elisabeth standing across the room talking on her phone. Thank goodness Honey was sitting by herself.

  Lil hurried over to take advantage of the opportunity. “Honey?”

  The blonde girl looked up, her expression wary. “Do I know you?”