“Very well then.” Tyler smiled, nodded, executed an about face, and disappeared.
“How many times have y’all been greeted and asked if you were celebrating a special occasion?” Nate grinned.
“I’ve lost count,” said Zach.
“How was your flight?” I asked.
“Fine,” said Zach. “We arrived safely, on time, and our luggage arrived with us. You can’t ask for much more than that these days.”
“I remember when flying was a treat,” said Glyn. Her forehead creased. “I declare, it’s amazing that piano player’s fingers can move so fast. I’ve never heard ‘Jingle Bells’ at quite that pace.”
Her right hand moved to her temple. I couldn’t help but notice the two carat round diamond ring with sapphire side stones. I’d returned it to her when Scott and I divorced. It had been Zach’s mother’s ring and was meant for Scott’s wife.
I played with my current engagement ring. It had been Gram’s—my grandmother’s—engagement ring. Nate would’ve bought me anything I wanted, but I wanted to wear Gram’s ring. It was a lovely emerald cut stone, too pretty to leave in a box. For the first time, I missed having something he’d given me on my hand. Three more days.
“…to Florida to see us in the spring.” Zach and Nate had been chatting.
Glyn said, “Yes, of course you must come. Before it gets too hot. We’ll likely go back to Greenville for the summer. Or somewhere farther north. I can’t stand the heat the way I once could.”
“Highlands, North Carolina is nice,” I said. “The summers there are milder, I understand.”
Tyler brought our cocktails. As he set them in front of us, he said, “Sir, I’ll be happy to send the sommelier over to help you select a wine.”
Zach’s smile was tight. “No, thank you.”
Tyler did his about face again.
Zach raised an eyebrow, took a deep breath, and let it out. “Let’s toast, shall we? Welcome back to the family, Liz.” He lifted his glass.
I started to giggle, but smothered it.
Glyn said, “Zachary, really.” She sipped her cosmopolitan.
“Thank you so much,” I said.
Nate smiled. He was happy his parents were here. Things hadn’t been easy for their family since Scott had fled the country.
The piano player raced through “The Christmas Song.”
A gentleman in a suit approached the table. “Hey, y’all. I just wanted to stop by and make sure everything was all right here. How’s your dinner?”
Zach said, “We haven’t ordered yet. Our cocktails were just served.”
“I hope they’re all right,” said the gentleman, who hadn’t identified himself.
Glyn smiled, “They’re fabulous.”
“Wonderful,” said the anonymous gentleman in the suit. “Enjoy your dinner.”
He’d no sooner left, than another gentleman approached the table. “I’m Eduardo, the sommelier. May I help you select a wine for your dinner?”
Zach appeared to have trouble forming a response.
Nate said, “No, thank you.”
“It’s really no trouble at all,” said Eduardo.
I sipped my drink.
Glyn took a long pull of hers.
In carefully parsed words, Zach said, “No. We would like to choose our own wine, thank you.”
The sommelier left. We all drank. The piano raced through “Oh Christmas Tree.”
Zach said, “Perhaps we should decide on food.”
We all studied our menus. The dishes did sound delicious—lots of creative variations on Southern standards.
“Why don’t we start with some oysters?” Nate said.
We all agreed that sounded good. The shrimp and blue cheese grits were calling to me. In short order we’d all decided on entrees. Zach chose a pinot noir that would work well with the steaks he and Nate had chosen, my shrimp, and Glyn’s vegetable plate.
As soon as we’d placed our order and the menus had been cleared, I reached into my bag and pulled out the Purell. I smoothed on a generous coat. Who knew who all had handled those menus and what they might be carrying? I returned the hand sanitizer to my purse and glanced up.
Glyn stared at me. She executed a dramatic eye roll and downed the last of her drink. She set down the glass and looked at Zach.
Zach flagged down a waitress. “Could you please send Tyler by, and let him know we’d like another round of cocktails.”
“Certainly, sir.” Her expression was something akin to fear. Happy fear. She scampered away.
“Excuse me,” I said. “I’ll just run powder my nose.” I had no intentions of going to the ladies room. I avoided public restrooms whenever possible. But they were likely near the back, where I’d have a good view of the room.
When I found the restrooms, I took in the scene before me. In addition to the waitstaff, several gentlemen in suits or sport coats, along with two women, one of them the older woman who’d been at the upstairs hostess stand, worked the room. They seemed to be performing an odd square dance, moving from table to table in time to the frenetic music. One of the dancers was Henry Prioleau.
I noticed a recessed area in the wall between the two restrooms. I stepped into the hallway. To my right was the elevator Nate and I had ridden to the third floor offices. It would be an easy matter to take it down and slip outside. I pondered our timeline for a moment. If Henry had slipped out, his intention had been to visit Heather. Since he didn’t arrive, something had changed his plans.
“Did you get lost?” Henry stood in the doorway to the hall. His expression was openly hostile.
“I must have.” I pushed past him and walked back into the dining room. It was in constant motion. If one of the folks moving from table to table were off the floor for a while, would anyone notice?
I navigated my way back to the table. Our second round of cocktails had arrived and Glyn had already downed half of hers.
Nate stood and held my chair for me.
Glyn said, “Ah. Such a gentleman. Someone raised you right.”
“Yes, someone did,” I smiled.
Nate said, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to give you.”
I tilted my head at him.
“We never did go shopping for engagement jewelry.” He pulled out a large velvet box.
My heart went to fluttering.
“This was my grandmother’s. She left it for me to give my wife.” He opened the box.
The diamond and sapphire necklace was spectacular. The stones glittered in the candlelight.
“Ohh. Nate, it’s gorgeous.”
“Shall I help you put it on?” he asked.
“Please.” I lifted my hair, trying hard not to think of the matching ring on Glyn’s finger. Did she wear it all the time, or did she wear it for me special?
Nate closed the clasp and I let down my hair. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m honored to have this lovely family piece.”
Glyn finished her cosmopolitan. “Zach, would you order me another drink, please?”
Zach looked at her for a three count. She returned the stare. He flagged down the waiter. “Anyone else?”
“No, thank you,” Nate and I said in unison.
Finally, Tyler brought our oysters. I needed a little food on top of a martini and a half. We passed them around. Everyone but Glyn took two.
“Darling,” said Zach, “won’t you try one of the oysters?”
“No thank you,” she said. “Ah. There’s my cosmopolitan.”
One of the waitstaff set it in front of her.
A few sips in, she said, “Have you children considered adoption?”
Nate said, “We have plenty of time to think about that, Mother.”
“Nonsense,” she said. “You want to have children when you’re young enough to run after them. Past a certain age it gets so much more difficult.”
Whatever Nate might have said in response, I’ll never know. Henry Prioleau appeared at our table. “Hey, how are y’all this evening?”
“Fine.” Nate forced a smile.
“You know, it’s the strangest thing,” Henry said. “I checked our reservations for Monday night. It bothered me so bad to forget a customer. We didn’t have a reservation in either of your names Monday night.”
“That’s odd,” Nate said. “Computers so often lose things, don’t they?”
“How’re the oysters?” Henry’s fake smile nearly reached his ears.
“They’re excellent,” said Nate.
“Wonderful, wonderful. Are y’all celebrating a special occasion with us this evening? Well, I guess you are. The big day’s almost here. Did you work everything out for your rehearsal dinner?”
My insides clenched.
Glyn said, “Really? Are we never going to hear the end of this rehearsal dinner business?” She downed half her third drink.
Nate said, “Mother, everything is fine. We just had a last-minute glitch, but it’s all been taken care of.”
Henry said, “Y’all enjoy your dinner.” He moved on to the next table.
“Honestly,” said Glyn. “You’d think the steak Oscar for a hundred the first time you married one of my sons would’ve satisfied our rehearsal dinner obligation.”
“Mother,” Nate said, “the rehearsal dinner is a non-issue. Would you like some bread?”
“Bread? You know I don’t eat bread. I work hard to maintain my figure.” She gave me an appraising look. Glyn was likely a size four.
At five-eight, I was a size ten. I was comfortable with my size. I was fit. All during my three-year marriage to Scott—and even during our engagement—Glyn had sent me diet and self-help books. I glanced out the window.
Zach said, “Perhaps tonight you could make an exception.”
A server arrived with our salads. He placed them in front of us and pulled out a peppermill.
Glyn said, “There’s dressing on this salad. And croutons. I specifically asked for no dressing or croutons.”
The server smiled and nodded.
“I’m terribly sorry. I’ll replace it right away.”
He took Glyn’s salad and disappeared. He returned momentarily with a new one.
As he set it in front of her, Glyn said, “I’d like another cosmopolitan.”
Zach said, “My dear, do you think that’s wise?”
She tossed him a look that could’ve wilted all our salads.
The server ran away to find another drink. “Carol of the Bells” raced across the keyboard. I sipped my martini. Nate put his hand on my leg. I picked up my fork. “These salads look delicious.”
Between the salads and the entrees, Zach excused himself. Nate squeezed my knee.
Glyn said, “Elizabeth, really—”
Henry appeared and interrupted her. “How are those salads?”
Glyn said, “Well, if you must know, I was first served one with dressing and croutons. I specifically asked for neither. This one seems satisfactory, though unremarkable.”
Henry turned red in the face. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the woman I assumed was his mother grabbed his arm. “Henry, I need to speak with you for a moment.”
He gave me a look of pure hatred, but walked away. Why me? I hadn’t complained about the salad, though he’d likely poisoned mine. Did his mother keep him on a short leash after reading some of the negative TripAdvisor reviews? If so, perhaps he couldn’t have slipped out.
Zach returned to the table.
Glyn said, “You missed the young man who stopped by earlier.”
“No I didn’t,” said Zach. “Apparently, you have to shake his hand before you can go to the bathroom here.”
By the time we’d finished our entrees, which were excellent, no fewer than eight people had stopped by to say hey and make sure our dinner was all right. The constant interruptions were almost a blessing in that they limited the need for conversation.
Glyn had picked at her food, but kept her thirst quenched. “Elizabeth, if you manage to drive Nate to a life of crime with your excessive demands for material things, I’m afraid I’m all out of sons.”
I stared at her. Excessive demands? Material things? Scott was the materialistic one, not me.
Zach said, “Glyn, you’ve been overserved. That was uncalled for.”
Nate looked at his dad as he rose, pulling me up along with him. “I’m going to take Liz home now. We’ll see y’all on Friday.” He tossed his napkin on the table, and with one hand at the small of my back, he escorted me downstairs.
The piano player dashed out “Hard Candy Christmas.”
“Happy anniversary!” the bevy of hostesses shouted as we walked out the front door.
Twenty-Two
Thursday morning, I was so relieved to wake up in my own bed, I hated to get out of it. Nate and Rhett encouraged me into my running togs. We ran our usual route, with Rhett particularly happy for a return to our routine. Waves breaking, rushing to the sand, and sluicing back out made a perfect harmony. Pent-up stress left my body.
“If I apologized every day for the rest of my life, I don’t think it could possibly cover last night. But I am so sorry,” Nate said. We climbed the steps to the walkway across the dunes.
“You have nothing to apologize for. And yet you have, several times. Let’s just forget it.”
“When she drinks—”
“The filter comes off her mouth and she says what she really thinks.”
Nate sighed. “We won’t see them often.”
It hurt my heart that he felt like he had to reassure me on this. I knew he loved his parents. Family meant so much to me, and I didn’t want to stand between him and his. “In time, maybe she’ll be okay with us. We’ll go down in the spring like they asked. Just keep her away from the vodka.”
Nate grabbed my hand. “Maybe we can get Dad to purge the house before we go.”
“Maybe the first trip we can stay in a hotel.” I grinned.
After breakfast, I settled into the office to pull all our case notes together and work on the report. Nate finalized our grocery order for St. John. Our villa would be stocked when we arrived. I was so looking forward to being alone with Nate for two weeks.
My phone boink-boinked.
“Hey, Sonny.”
“Liz.” His voice was tight.
“How did the search go?”
“Long. It went very long. We found a rent ledger in the desk drawer. Not much else of note indoors except an astounding variety of bedroom toys.”
“I see.” My chest tightened. Sonny was working up to why he’d called.
“Outdoors was much more interesting.”
I’d seen the crime scene tape when we’d gone back to the bed and breakfast to get our things. “What did you find?”
“Two deceased white females, one who’s been under a flowerbed for approximately a year. The other has been under an older flowerbed behind the garage for—we’re not sure how long yet. ME’s preliminary estimate is three years, give or take.”
I breathed in and out. Two?
“Liz?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Any idea who they are?”
“We suspect the newer body is Roxanne Trexler. She’s been missing for about a year. Trident Tech student. Her family’s on their way in from Ohio. The older body, no idea.”
“What did Miss Dean say? She doesn’t know who it could be?”
“Miss Willowdean has a bad memory. She’s very upset, naturally. Also seems disoriented. From
her point of view, everyone in her home disappeared while she was asleep. I thought maybe you and Olivia could talk to her. She may recall more if she sees a familiar face. I don’t know that it’s a good idea for Olivia to speak with her alone. Too much up in the air.”
“What do you mean?” I felt my face scrunch.
“I don’t know yet how involved Olivia is in any of this. I’d prefer to have someone I trust be a party to the discussion.”
“You don’t trust Olivia?”
Sonny blew out a breath. “Someone more stable.”
“Sure. Of course. I’ll grab Olivia and we’ll head on over.”
“Thanks. I’m coming over there to get Seth. Fiber analysis connects the rug we found in North Charleston to the back of his truck. They’re still working on some stray hairs, a few other tests. It seems William Rutledge was found wrapped in a similar rug. They’re pulling that from evidence. I don’t think we’ll be letting go of Seth anytime soon.”
“That’s good to hear. Talk to you soon.”
I filled Nate in. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come with Olivia and me. Miss Dean will be more forthcoming if it’s just the two of us.”
Nate shrugged. “I’ll finish the paperwork and get it to Robert. As far as we’re officially concerned, that case is closed.”
Olivia insisted on taking her own car to Charleston. “I have some shopping to do. I still haven’t decided what I’m wearing to the rehearsal dinner. I want to wear something nice, but I don’t want to have to change before the bachelorette party. I still wish we could’ve done that last week.”
“Merry’s fundraiser—” Merry was the executive director of a non-profit agency in Charleston that worked with at-risk teenagers.
“I know, I know.” Olivia held up her hands. “I’m just sayin’…I need to go shopping.”
We parked in the same spots we had Monday night. I got out of the car and waited. Olivia was still in her car. I walked up to the driver’s side window. Her face covered her hands. “Olivia?”
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