Missed You In Church: A Hunter Jones Mystery

by Charlotte Moore

  “Well, any place they sell fabric, for heaven’s sake,” Clarissa said.

  Mallory was in a mood to get things over with, so she promised to take care of it.

  “Oh, I’ve got two yards of that stuff, and the ribbon too” Novena Baxter volunteered when she brought it up at work that afternoon. “We did that for my nieces wedding, and I bought twice as much of everything as we needed. Then they forgot to give the silly things out. I can bring the nylon net in tomorrow morning. It’s white, though, not pink.”

  “I’ll get some pink ribbon, then,” Mallory said. “I know Miranda doesn’t care. It’s Aunt Clarissa who thinks we have to have these little bags of birdseed. Will you show me how to do it?”

  “Of course,” Novena said.

  “Bethie and I can help with that tomorrow afternoon once we get the paper out,” Hunter said.

  On Wednesday afternoon, after the paper came off the press, Mallory used pinking shears to cut squares of nylon net, Hunter placed a little birdseed on the center of each and Bethie tied them into small packages with pink ribbon. After they had finished about two dozen, Hunter noticed how weary Mallory looked.

  “It’s time for you to go home,” she said. “You need an afternoon all to yourself because it’s going to be nonstop for the next three days. Bethie and I can make sure that the bags of birdseed are all put together. You just ask your Aunt Clarissa whether she wants us to drop them by her house or bring them with us to the reception.”

  Mallory had already asked to take Thursday and Friday off.

  “I really do not expect to be paid,” she told Hunter. “I haven’t worked here long enough to have vacation time.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Hunter said with a smile. “You’re invaluable to us. Now go and have a good time.”

  “I’ll try,” Mallory said, “But I’ll be so glad when all this is over. I’ve forgotten what a normal life is like.”

  On Thursday, Clarissa insisted on going through a checklist with Miranda and Mallory.

  “What’s your ‘something old?’” she asked Miranda, although it had been discussed several times before.

  “Grandmother Bremmer’s lace handkerchief,” Miranda said. “I’m tucking it into my bra.”

  “I still think that my mother’s pearl earrings would be a good choice,” Clarissa said.

  “Well, they’re yellow,” Miranda said, making a face. “In fact, the handkerchief is, too, but at least nobody will see it.”

  “If you’re wearing your hair down, they won’t see the earrings, either,” Mallory said, just for the mischief of it.

  Clarissa sighed. She knew she had lost the battle about Miranda’s hair. Clarissa had thought an upsweep would look best with the dress and had suggested bringing a hairstylist down from Macon on the day of the wedding. Miranda had said that Chad liked her hair long and curly, and that was that.

  “And her ‘something borrowed’ is from me,” Mallory said, to move things along. “I’m lending her my gold bracelet that Mom gave me.”

  “Isn’t that sweet,” Miranda said. “She’s never taken it off once since Mom gave it to her on her 16th birthday, but she’s letting me borrow it.”

  “That’s very sweet,” Clarissa said. “Your mother would like that. Now about the ‘blue’.”

  “I thought I told you,” Miranda said. “Caitlyn gave me a beautiful blue garter at the lingerie shower.”

  “No, I don’t think you mentioned that,” Clarissa said with a slight frown, checking the item off. “I was going to offer you the one I wore at my wedding, but if you’ve got one already that will save me a trip up to that hot attic to get it. Now, let’s talk about what you’re planning to wear to the rehearsal and to the bridesmaid’s brunch…”

  “Aunt Clarissa,” Mallory said. “We promise to wear dresses and have our hair combed. I’ll even make sure Miranda brushes her teeth and washes her face. We’re not going to let you down.”

  Miranda giggled.

  Clarissa sighed and moved to the next item.

  “Has your father gotten his tuxedo?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Miranda said with a smile. “He even modeled it for us. He looked great.”

  “What about that bruise around his eye?” Clarissa asked.

  “It’s just sort of yellowish now,” Mallory said. “I don’t think anybody will notice, but it’s not like everybody in town hasn’t already seen it.”

  “Well, I hope they’re through talking about it,” Clarissa said wearily.”

  “When is Sebastian coming with all the flowers?” Miranda asked.

  “Tomorrow afternoon. I just left a message for him right before you two got here,” Clarissa said. “I’m afraid he’s really naughty about not checking his messages, but I reminded him that he’s got three different places to decorate, and I need to know exactly when to expect him.”

  CHAPTER 24

  MINDY MARSHALL STOPPED BY THE NEWSPAPER office on Friday to pick up ten more copies of the issue with the ostrich feature. After Hunter had gotten them for her, she stayed to talk.

  “I wanted to ask you something,” she said. “Is the girl who wrote this related to that Bremmer lady who got killed?

  Hoping to get back to her writing, Hunter kept her fingers resting lightly on her keyboard. She smiled and said, “Yes, Noreen Bremmer was her stepmother. Mallory was very fond of her.”

  It seemed that Mindy wasn’t leaving quickly. She leaned across Hunter’s desk.

  “It was so awful about that poor woman being murdered,” she said. “You know, I thought she might be related. I didn’t want to mention it when you three were out there, but we saw that dog of theirs out running on the road the day Mrs. Bremmer was killed.”

  Hunter gave Mindy her full attention.

  “It just gives me the shivers to think she was probably lying in that house all that time, I mean even when we drove by.”

  “You’re sure it was the day of the murder?” Hunter asked.

  “Absolutely,” Mindy said. “I checked it on my calendar. That was the Saturday that Billy and I drove up to South Carolina to get the second pair of ostriches. We were pulling Billy’s brother’s horse van. That black and tan cocker spaniel was running around the road, and I came close to hitting him before I could get the truck and the van stopped. Anyway we were gone until that Wednesday so we didn’t hear about the murder until we got back.”

  “Did you tell anybody from the sheriff’s office about seeing the dog?” Hunter asked.

  “Well, no. The sheriff’s your husband, right?”

  “Yes,” Hunter said patiently.

  “Well, see, Billy’s brother lives over there near the Bremmers and he just mentioned the other day that on the day they found the body some of the sheriff’s people had been asking if any of them saw the dog out. I told Billy he ought to call and tell somebody, but he said he’d heard they already knew who did it and the dog didn’t make any difference.”

  “The case isn’t really solved,” Hunter said. “It could help them pin down the time because they think maybe the dog got out when the shooter left the door open. The whole family was really careful not to let him run loose. He was bad about chasing cars.”

  “Yeah, I guess he was lookin’ for a car to chase,” Mindy said. “I really had to slam on the brakes and then he kept jumping on the truck and the horse van. Billy got out with a piece of the fried chicken we picked up for our lunch and got the dog to smelling it, and then he tossed it way up in the yard toward that two story white house. That’s the Bremmers’ house, isn’t it?”

  Hunter nodded and was about to suggest that Mindy go across the street to the courthouse and tell somebody in Sam’s office about the dog when a tall dark-haired young man wearing dusty clothes came in.

  “Mindy, come on!” he said. “We’ve got a long drive.”

  “Gotta go!” Mindy said with a smile. “You tell Sheriff Bailey if he wants to talk with Billy or me about the dog, we’ll be back on Monday. We’re going up
to Dahlonega for my family reunion. That’s why I wanted these extra papers. They all laughed at us for getting ostriches, and now they’ll know somebody took it seriously.”

  CHAPTER 25

  ROBIN HILLIARD STOOD BACK AND TOOK a look at the formal dining room in Hilliard House. He and Colin had moved the dining room table to one end of the room and set up three smaller tables, all with spotless tablecloths.

  They had expected to meet the mysterious Sebastian from Perry, who was to arrive with potted hydrangeas and bouquets of snapdragons and long-stemmed white roses. Instead, Clarissa Scarbrough had just darted in, looking frenzied, to tell them that Sebastian seemed to have closed his shop in Perry and now his phone was disconnected. She had to arrange things with the local florists, and they’d be in first thing in the morning.

  “Oh, they’ll do fine,” Colin said in what he meant to be a comforting tone.

  “Humph,” Clarissa said. “All they have is carnations and roses in every color but white and, of course, baby’s breath.”

  “I hope you didn’t give that Sebastian guy a deposit.” Colin said, and Clarissa gave him a sharp look.

  “I’m sure we’ll hear from him in due time,” she said. “Maybe even today, but I can’t take the risk of waiting. Now let’s go through the checklist. Where are the picnic baskets?”

  She looked around in a panic.

  “They’re in the kitchen, “Colin said soothingly. “You know we have to put food in them. They’ll be ready, Clarissa. In fact we’ll have almost everything done tonight because we’ve got guests for breakfast in the morning.”

  “And the punch?” she asked, sounding a little calmer.

  “Ready and chilling,” Robin said.

  “And I’ve got the parasols and the bridesmaids’ gifts in the car if you two would be sweet enough to come and help me with them.”

  As they were emptying her car, Chad Montgomery arrived in a Lexus. He smiled and waved before pulling two garment bags out of the back.

  “Oh, Chad!” Clarissa said, suddenly all smiles. “I do need to talk with you.”

  He tossed the bags on top of the car and smiled back.

  “You know,” Clarissa said, “That we’re having the bridesmaid’s brunch here tomorrow morning. It’s so much the nicest place, and we didn’t know when we planned it that you and your friends would be staying here tonight.”

  “We don’t want to come to the brunch,” he said with a good-humored grin. “We’re going to eat at R&J’s and have guy food.”

  “Oh, silly!” she said and giggled. “I just wanted to remind you that it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride on her wedding day. If you are still here while they’re having the brunch, please be careful not to come out the front way.”

  Chad put his arm around Clarissa’s shoulders and said. “Don’t worry so much. We can’t possibly have any bad luck.”

  “It’s a tradition,” she said in a pleading tone. “Now I let you have your way about the horse and carriage, so please let me have my way about this.”

  “Right,” Chad said. “I’ll stay invisible until I see her coming down the aisle.”

  “Don’t you know he’s glad they’re going to be living in Mobile?” Robin whispered to Colin.

  Hunter stirred her spaghetti sauce, and waited for a pot of water to come to a boil while she told Sam what Mindy had told her. He took out his notebook and made a note to himself.

  “We’ll chase it down,” he said. “It could help. I’ll get Skeet to go talk to Billy on Monday.”

  “Oh, you’re going to interview the husband instead of the wife?” Hunter asked with a slight smile. “He was the one who didn’t even think you needed to know.”

  Sam gave her a solemn look.

  “Who did you pass on your way home this evening?” he asked.

  “Nobody… that I remember.” she said, hands on her hips. “Well, there wasn’t much traffic.”

  “Well, on my way home, I passed Mary Beth Harrison who had a car full of kids, and I passed Burt Roland’s daughter,” Sam said, “and some guy in a silver Lexus who had a Bibb County tag, so I figured he was probably here for the wedding. Oh, and Sally Richardson already has a dent on the side of her new Miata.”

  “You’re impossible,” Hunter said with a laugh.

  “And, one more thing,” Sam said. “Hazel McLeod was mowing her front lawn in shorts and a bikini top.”

  Hunter pretended to scowl, as she estimated the amount of spaghetti to drop into the boiling water.

  “You mean you think men notice more?” she asked. “I could argue with that.”

  “It’s not about gender,” Sam said. “It’s just that Billy’s from here, and Mindy isn’t.”

  At 7:15 p.m., Miranda Bremmer’s wedding rehearsal was underway. Mallory was about to practice her walk down the center aisle of the sanctuary of Merchantsville Baptist Church.

  Miranda’s six bridesmaids were already waiting in place.

  Chad and his father were standing in front of the altar, with the Rev. Thomas Hale. The organist, Murray Thomas, had stopped and started a dozen times. He looked exasperated. The soloist, a friend of the Montgomery family, was whispering to her date that they really did have to go to the rehearsal dinner and there would probably be a bar, since it was at the country club.

  “Now don’t just walk,” Clarissa said to Mallory, as she had to each bridesmaid in turn. “You take a step forward with your right foot and then bring your left foot up to meet the right and then take another step, all in tune with the music, almost as if you were waltzing, but in a straight line, and here, hold this hymnal as if it were your bouquet.”

  Mallory took a few tentative steps, and Clarissa said, “Oh, Mallory. Don’t rush. It’s a processional. You need to try to be more formal, and I do wish you’d at least try it without your glasses.”

  “Aunt Clarissa,” Mallory said, “I would like to SEE my sister get married.”

  Clarissa let out a little sigh and called to the organist to start again.

  As Mallory concentrated on her stately procession down the aisle, Miranda was standing with her father near the entrance to the sanctuary.

  “Aunt Clarissa is all freaked out about the flowers,” she told him in a low voice. “Did she tell you about Sebastian leaving town?”

  “No,” Jack said. “You mean the guy from Perry who was going to do everything?”

  “Yes,” Miranda said, “But Mitzi Truelock and Sue-Ellen Larson have promised they’ll get the flowers done.”

  “Well, that’s better anyway,” Jack said, trying to remember if Sebastian was one of the ones he had paid in advance. “We really need to keep our shopping local.”

  The organist began playing the wedding march and Clarissa called out sharply, “Father of the bride, please, this is your cue.”

  She whirled around to the organist.

  “I’m so sorry, Murray, would you mind starting over? Miranda, Jack, please pay attention!”

  “Ooops, it’s our turn!” Miranda said, and put on her prettiest smile.

  CHAPTER 26

  ON THE MORNING OF HER WEDDING, Miranda Jane Bremmer woke her sister up at 6 a.m.

  “Can you believe it? It’s my wedding day!”

  As much as Mallory wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, she smiled and managed to sit up, remembering all the Christmas mornings her younger sister had been up before anybody else.

  “Do you want me to fix you some breakfast?” she asked.

  “No,” Miranda said. “I’ve got butterflies in my stomach. I’ve got to take a shower and wash my hair and set it, and then I’m going over to Aunt Clarissa’s. All my clothes for today are there, and my suitcases are already in Chad’s car. He said he didn’t want any delays when it was finally time for us to leave.”

  She stopped and whirled around like an excited child.

  “Wasn’t the rehearsal dinner nice?” she asked. “Don’t you just love Chad’s mom and dad and his whole family?”
/>   “It was, and I do,” Mallory said, stifling a yawn. “They are very nice people.”

  Miranda wasn’t done.

  “Mallory, can you believe I’m going to be married today and tomorrow we’ll be in Hawaii, and I get to spend my whole life with Chad. I’m going to be Miranda Montgomery!”

  “I’m glad you’re so happy,” Mallory said truthfully, and yawned again.

  “Oh, go back to sleep,” Miranda said.

  Mallory was dressed for the bridesmaid’s brunch and about to leave for her aunt’s house when Miranda called.

  “I forgot the garter!” she said. “It’s on my bedside table. I took it out of the package and tried it on last night. I’m so glad I caught you.”

  “I’ll be there with it in a few minutes,” Mallory said, heading for the stairs. “I’m going to get it now.”

  But it wasn’t on the bedside table or anywhere in sight.

  Mallory sighed and called Miranda as she went back downstairs.

  “I can’t find it in your room,” she said when Miranda answered. “Are you sure you didn’t put it in your overnight bag?”

  “No, I looked already before I called you,” Miranda said, sounding a little panicky.

  Mallory noticed that Merlin was under the breakfast room table chewing on something lacy and blue.

  The wedding garter was a wet tangle of elastic, shredded ribbon and torn lace.

  She thought quickly.

  “Now don’t panic,” she said to her sister, “Merlin got it and he’s chewed it up, but I’ll bet Hunter has hers from her wedding. I’ll call and ask her right now.”

  “Merlin chewed up my garter?” Miranda’s cried. “I’ve got to have a garter.”

  “I’ll take care of this, Miranda,” Mallory said. “You’re going to have a garter. I’ll call Hunter right now. And remember, Aunt Clarissa said she had hers somewhere and it’s blue. Where is she?”

  “She’s either at the church or at Hilliard House bossing everybody around,” Miranda said, sounding exasperated. “Now that Sebastian ran off, she’s fussing about Mitzi Truelock and Sue-Ellen Larson doing the flowers. She thinks they’ll do it all wrong.”