Going to the Chapel: A Novella

by Herron, Rita

  “What’s going on?” Caroline asked.

  “Who is he, Izzy?” Daisy’s voice cracked.

  Panicked that Ray would hurt them, Izzy rushed to herd them out of the shop.

  But Ray snatched her arm and swung the pistol toward Daisy and Caroline. “Don’t move, Izzy, or I’ll shoot.”

  Terror seized Izzy. “No, please, Ray, don’t hurt my sisters.”

  Daisy folded her arms in a defensive gesture. “Who are you?”

  “Her husband,” Ray said with a leer. “She didn’t tell you about me?”

  Caroline and Daisy both aimed shocked gazes toward her, but Caroline lifted her head defiantly. “No, but now I can understand the reason.”

  “You leave her alone,” Daisy cried.

  “I thought you guys didn’t get along,” Ray snarled.

  “We don’t,” Caroline said.

  Daisy lifted her chin. “But she’s still a Sassafras.”

  Levi gestured for everyone to stay calm. “Ray, put down the gun and let’s talk. You don’t want to hurt anyone. That will only make the charges against you worse.”

  “What charges?” Izzy asked.

  Levi frowned. “Ray has been scamming women at the country club near your house in Texas.”

  Ray narrowed his eyes. “How do you know what I’ve been doing?”

  “I did my homework,” Levi said. “I know you robbed those women.”

  Suddenly the door burst open, and a woman in black slacks and a white shirt burst in, her hands clenching a pistol. “Hold it right there, LaPone.”

  Daisy shrieked and Caroline stepped in front of her sister to protect her.

  “Who the hell are you?” Ray snarled.

  The woman’s hand tightened around her gun. “Detective Elsa Firestone.”

  Izzy swallowed hard. The brunette with the short-cropped hair and man shoes was the woman of Levi’s dreams? “You’re Levi’s fiancée?”

  Levi scrubbed a hand over his face. “Partner.”

  “Technically ex-partner,” Elsa said. “Now drop the weapon, LaPone. It’s over.”

  Izzy glanced back and forth between Levi and Elsa, her mind racing to keep up. “What do you mean—partner? I thought you two were engaged.”

  “I’m already married,” Elsa said, her voice tight.

  “You’re engaged to a married woman!” Izzy glared at Levi. “And you kissed me.”

  “You kissed her?” Elsa asked.

  “You kissed him?” Caroline asked at the same time.

  “That’s what she didn’t want me to tell you,” Daisy said in a hushed whisper.

  Izzy gulped. Ray’s comment about Levi posing as a client started to seep in . . . he’d lied to her . . .

  Ray hissed. “I should have known I didn’t hear from you ’cause you were hooking up with Izzy.”

  “We didn’t hook up,” Levi said tightly. “Now, stay calm, Ray, and we’ll sort this out.”

  “You called him to come and get me,” Izzy said, a dozen questions pummeling her. “What . . . why would you do that if you thought he was a crook? And what’s this about being Elsa’s partner? And why did you pretend you were marrying her?”

  Elsa gave her a sympathetic look. “That was Levi’s cover story so he could find out what you knew about LaPone and his scam.”

  Levi hated the look of betrayal in Izzy’s eyes.

  She seemed shocked that Ray was under investigation. Was she as naive as she seemed?

  A loud noise startled them all, then a beefy man with tattoos up and down his arms appeared from the back doorway with a Glock in his hand.

  Good God. Was this some kind of party?

  “Who the hell are you?” Levi bellowed.

  “That’s what I meant by my text,” Elsa said, her voice sharp. “Ray did have a partner, but it wasn’t Izzy.”

  Izzy’s lungs churned for air. “Ray had a partner?”

  “He and your husband sold fake oil rights to seniors and promised them a big payout when the company made it,” Elsa explained. “After months, when that didn’t happen and the money didn’t materialize, the men were too embarrassed to tell their wives that they’d lost their savings. Desperate to cover their mistakes and take care of their families, they pleaded with Ray to help them. One man decided to commit suicide, so Ray arranged for his partner Loudon to make it look accidental so his wife could collect on her insurance. When the other men figured out they’d been conned, Ray was afraid he’d get caught so he hired this man—Tate Loudon—to kill them and make it look look like they died of natural causes. He consoled the grieving widows to waylay suspicion from himself.”

  Izzy’s knees buckled. She barely caught herself by holding on to a table of gift items. “Oh, my God. Is that true, Ray?”

  Levi gritted his teeth. What a lowlife. “So, LaPone, you’re not only guilty of fraud, but murder.”

  The sisters darted furtive looks at him, obviously terrified.

  Loudon inched toward Elsa. “Now, lady, lower that gun so LaPone can give me what he owes me, then I’ll leave.”

  Levi traded a knowing look with Elsa. If Loudon and Ray had killed before, they’d kill again. And they probably didn’t intend to leave any witnesses behind.

  Elsa raised her hands in surrender. “All right. Just stay calm. We can all walk out of here alive.”

  Loudon’s gaze locked onto Elsa’s weapon as she slowly lowered it to the floor. Levi took advantage of the moment to tackle Loudon. With one lunge, he knocked the beefy man to the floor and punched him. But Loudon fought back and gave him a hard right to his solar plexus.

  Levi grunted, and the two of them rolled across the floor, fighting. A display of wedding dishes crashed to the floor. Candles rolled beneath him. Loudon’s foot caught on the rack holding bridal gowns, and the dresses tumbled down on top of them. Levi shoved and fought the lace, determined not to let Loudon escape.

  Footsteps pounded, and he heard Elsa shouting at Ray.

  Dammit. Ray was trying to get away. The coward.

  Ray fired at Elsa, though, and a bullet shattered the glass dessert case. Izzy screamed, and Elsa ducked and reached for her gun as cakes and pies slid to the floor.

  Levi slammed his fist into Loudon’s nose and heard bones crunch. Blood spurted everywhere. A loud crash followed.

  He glanced up and saw Ray at the front door. But Izzy hurled the unity candelabra at Ray and caught him in the back of the head. The man yelped in pain, then sank to the floor like a rock.

  Levi rolled Loudon over, and Elsa tossed him a pair of handcuffs to secure him. Then she handcuffed Ray, who lay limp and unconscious.

  Levi heaved for a breath, wiped blood from his forehead and pushed to his feet to go to Izzy.

  But her sisters dashed toward her and surrounded her. “Izzy, are you okay?” Daisy cried.

  Like a mother hen, Caroline pulled both her sisters close to her. “Honey, you scared us to death.”

  Izzy looked at Levi with tears in her eyes, then hugged Daisy and Caroline. “I’m so sorry, I should have told you I left Ray. But I swear I didn’t know about him conning those women. I thought he was just sleeping with them.”

  She choked on her emotions. “Now I’ve messed up here. Aunt Dottie is going to be so disappointed.”

  Her sisters gave Levi the evil eye as they swept Izzy away from him and the mess on the floor of One Stop Weddings.

  Izzy stood in the corner of the shop in stunned silence as chaos continued around her.

  Aunt Dottie raced in with her crutch, her hat askew—its peacock feather dangling precariously—and her face terrified. “My heavens, girls, Uner and Nellie said there was a shooting over here. Are you all right?”

  “Yes, Aunt Dottie,” Caroline assured her.

  “Do I need to call the sheriff back from his vacation?” Aunt Dottie asked.

  “No,” Elsa replied. “I’m a detective, ma’am. This man is wanted on charges in Texas
.”

  Aunt Dottie swayed slightly and Izzy reached out to steady her. “I’m so sorry,” Izzy said. “I shouldn’t have come back here. I put you all in danger. And I . . . broke all your rules, Aunt Dottie.”

  “Hush now, sweetie.” Aunt Dottie folded Izzy in her arms. “To hell with the rules. Being a family means being there when one of us needs help.” She held her head high as always, in spite of the fact that Nellie Needlemyer had trailed her with a camera and was photographing the arrests and remains of what had once been the beautiful displays in the store.

  Yep, rule number four—never make a scene in public, that includes no cursing or being inebriated—down the tube.

  Nellie made a beeline toward Izzy, but Caroline headed her off while Daisy waved their aunt’s crutch like a fly swatter at Uner and the curious locals to prevent them from entering.

  “The show is over, folks. Now go on,” Daisy shouted.

  Elsa escorted Loudon to her police car. Levi dragged Ray off the floor, and Ray stirred, cursing as he realized Levi had handcuffed him and was hauling him to jail.

  After Levi shoved Ray into the backseat of the car and slammed the door, he headed back to the shop, his expression dark.

  Izzy was tempted to throw the other candelabra at him. To knock him out for deceiving her and . . . using her.

  Pain ricocheted through her heart. She’d been such a fool. And soon everyone in town would know it.

  Caroline crossed her arms like a guard and stepped into the center of the doorway, creating a barrier between her and Levi.

  Levi’s troubled dark eyes latched on to Izzy’s. “I’ll tell them you had nothing to do with this, Izzy.”

  Izzy swiped at tears. “I can’t believe you ever thought I did.”

  “I’m sorry. I . . . it was my job. When I heard you telling your sisters that you were happily married, I knew you were lying.”

  Humiliation burned her cheeks as she glanced at her sisters. “I didn’t want them to know what a mess I’d made of my life.” She glared at him, though, as realization dawned. “How did you hear that, anyway?”

  Levi shifted onto the balls of his feet. “I . . . uh—”

  Izzy suddenly had a terrible thought. “You bugged my house?”

  “No,” Levi said quickly.

  “The shop?” Izzy’s gaze shot across the interior. “Where is it, Levi?”

  He reached out as if to calm her, but a raging anger fueled her temper. “Where is it?”

  Levi walked over and plucked a tiny hearing device from the side of the dessert case. “I’m sorry. I had to know the truth.”

  Steam oozed from Izzy. “You got what you wanted. Just leave.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he didn’t reply.

  He’d come here thinking she was a crook and used her to get the goods on Ray.

  And like an idiot, she’d fallen for his lies just as she had Ray’s.

  She’d also put her aunt’s and sisters’ lives at risk because of it.

  Izzy wanted to run away as far as she could. At the same time, she wanted to stay here with her sisters and aunt and go back home with them tonight.

  “I say we close up shop and go get some ice cream,” Daisy said.

  Caroline tugged at Izzy’s arm. “A sundae sounds good right about now.”

  Izzy turned to her aunt. “But I promised I’d make you proud, that people in town would look up to us.” Her voice cracked. “Now they’ll be talking about us again.”

  Aunt Dottie straightened her hat and her spine. “Haven’t I taught you anything? Rule number two: A lady always holds her head up high—”

  “Even if she has dog poo on her shoes,” Caroline and Daisy said with a grin.

  Izzy couldn’t help but laugh as they locked the doors to One Stop Weddings and headed to the Triple D together, her aunt leading the troop.

  For some reason, the manager of the Triple D had closed early. Izzy could have sworn that Nosy Nellie and Uner Pinkerton had warned her they were coming.

  Ruby and Faye met them at the door, frantic over the shootout. “Dottie, are you all right?”

  “Of course,” Aunt Dottie said, her shoulders stiff.

  Ruby fanned her face. “But we heard there was a shootout.”

  “It’s true,” Izzy said, determined not to let her aunt or sisters take the fall for this disaster. “It was my fault. My husband . . . he was a crook.”

  “Oh, dear,” Ruby said.

  “Does that mean you’re closing the shop?” Faye asked, her face pale.

  “No,” Aunt Dottie said. “We just need some time to recover.”

  “Aunt Dottie, why don’t you go with Ruby and Faye,” Caroline suggested.

  Their aunt’s friends flanked her sides. “Yes, come on, Dottie. If we run into that Nosy Nellie or Uner, we’ll deck them with that crutch of yours.”

  The sisters urged her to go with her friends, and their aunt left reluctantly. Izzy figured Aunt Dottie needed time to nurse her humiliation, and she needed time to figure out what to do now.

  Caroline ordered the sisters into her minivan and drove them back to their aunt’s. Daisy raced into the kitchen and whipped up a pitcher of margaritas.

  “Tell us about Ray, Izzy,” Daisy said as she passed out the drinks and they settled in the sunroom.

  Izzy thought about the horrible way she and her sisters had left things, then the way she’d snuck out of Ray’s life and the fact that he’d hired Levi to find her, and for the first time in days, she let the flood of tears fall. “He was a liar and a cheat. I knew that, but I didn’t realize he’d stoop to murder.” She sniffed, licked salt from the rim of her glass, and took a gulp, hoping for liquid courage.

  “I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out,” Caroline said softly.

  “And I’m sorry I messed things up here,” Izzy murmured. “At first I came back to hide out and decide what to do with my life. When Aunt Dottie asked me to clean out the shop, and I saw those dresses, and found the dolls we played with as kids, I thought it was a sign.” She heaved a breath. “I really did think the wedding business was a good idea. But I guess it’s hard to sell something you don’t believe in.”

  Daisy sipped her drink. “But you did believe in it. You just married the wrong man.”

  “Let’s face it,” Izzy said. “I’m always screwing up.” She turned to Caroline, her heart in her eyes. “I’m so sorry I ruined things for you and Blake.” She swallowed back a sob. “But I didn’t sleep with him, Caroline. Not that I didn’t try,” she admitted. “I did sneak into his hotel room and climb in bed to wait on him, but when he came in, he threw me out.”

  Daisy squeezed Izzy’s hand. “Since we’re confessing here, I never slept with him either. He just liked my chocolate pie.”

  Caroline’s expression softened. “It’s not your fault it didn’t work out with me and Blake. Blake wasn’t the settling-down type.”

  “He might have come back for you, except that I didn’t give up. I chased after him when I left town,” Izzy admitted in a pained whisper.

  Caroline traced her finger over the Christmas pillow Aunt Dottie had embroidered. “What happened?”

  Shame filled Izzy, but she was determined to come clean now with the entire story, sordid details and all. Her conscience couldn’t handle any more deceit.

  “I chased him to Texas and threw myself at him again, but Blake told me to go home, that I was just a kid and not his type at all. Of course, dozens of rodeo groupies were hanging on to the fence waiting on him to sign autographs—and their boobs—after his ride.”

  Caroline nodded. “Those girls are still all over him.”

  Izzy frowned. “So you’ve kept up with him?”

  Caroline looked away. “It’s hard to miss his picture in the papers,” Caroline said. “He’s still a party animal. And that’s not my life.”

  “I should have come back and apologized to you before now,” Izzy sai
d. “But I was so embarrassed that I just couldn’t face you.” She had gotten this far; she might as well finish. “And I’m sorry I sent your diary pages to Nellie.”

  “That was pretty awful,” Caroline said.

  “I know. You should have beat me for it.”

  Caroline laughed. “I did give you a black eye at the Triple D.”

  Izzy shrugged. “I deserved it.” She turned to Daisy. “And I’m so sorry I sent that picture of you at fat camp to Blake.”

  Daisy’s cheeks reddened. “I was fat when I was young.”

  “No you weren’t, and you’re not now. You have a beautiful hourglass figure,” Izzy said. “And I shouldn’t have done that to you. I just . . . thought you both had things going on for you, and I was a loser and I wanted Blake.”

  Another silence descended while they each sipped their drinks.

  Finally Daisy cleared her throat. “I messed up, too.”

  “What do mean?” Izzy asked.

  “I can’t go back to Tennessee. I think I killed Donny.”

  “What?” Izzy and Caroline both said at once.

  Daisy’s lower lip trembled, tears slipping out. “I married this guy named Donny, but a couple weeks ago, we were fighting ’cause I wanted to have sex and he didn’t. He said he was too tired from working in the field all day, except I think he was doing the mattress mambo with the neighbor Josie instead of working, ’cause the field hadn’t been plowed. So I called him a liar, and he said I had a big mouth. Then he stormed outside and slammed the door so hard the screen door fell off.” She heaved a breath, then continued on without missing a beat in true Daisy style. “I chased him onto the porch, but he was already stalking toward the barn across the road, and I was so mad I wished he was dead, then . . . then . . . then he got run over by a fertilizer truck right there in front of our house.”

  Daisy dropped her head into her hands and began to wail.

  And just like that, the bitterness of the past fell away as Izzy and Caroline wrapped her in their arms for a big sisterly hug.

  “Men suck,” Izzy muttered.

  Daisy dried her eyes on the napkin Caroline handed her. “Well, mine didn’t,” Daisy admitted wryly. “That was part of the problem. Selfish bastard didn’t want to go down on me.”