Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part

by Peggy Dulle

“This makeup isn’t flammable, is it?” I asked.

  “No,” she said immediately, then picked up the bottles and started reading the labels. When she was satisfied, she asked, “Why?”

  “No reason. I’m just making sure.” I smiled.

  When she was finished, I looked like me, but better. It was subtle and my face didn’t break out in a rash nor did her finishing spray catch fire. All good signs.

  Jordan and Julie both looked wonderful, too. They each wore a simple black cocktail dress. Jordan’s was off the shoulder and Julie’s had short sleeves. The silver and red jewelry looked wonderful with both dresses.

  “Okay, it’s almost four. Time to put on the wedding dress,” Jordan announced.

  Amelia brought the dress out from a closet. Everything about me was perfect – my hair, nails, feet, and face.

  “I can’t wait to see your dress,” Julie said.

  Jordan was smiling, too.

  I was afraid to pull down the zipper. First my feet and then the fire. What are the chances that my wedding dress is one, the right dress, and two, not ripped to shreds or covered in mud or blood?

  Amelia pulled down the zipper and screamed.

  I put my head on the vanity and groaned.

  Chapter 37

  “It’s beautiful, Liza. It’s one of the prettiest dresses I’ve ever seen. It must have cost you a fortune,” Amelia said.

  Jordan and Julie rushed over and looked at the dress.

  Jordan looked at me. “My practical sister chose this dress? I think those are real diamonds on the dress.”

  “It is breathtaking,” Julie agreed.

  Okay, I knew I picked a nice dress, but certainly not the most expensive nor the most elaborate.

  I stood and walked over to inspect the dress. It was the vintage ball gown wedding dress I saw in the bridal shop, right down to the crystals that were sprinkled between the embroidered lace on the front of the overskirt.

  “This isn’t my dress,” I told them.

  “Then they brought the wrong dress. But it’s only forty-five minutes until the wedding, I hope this one fits,” Jordan said as she pulled it off the hanger.

  “I can’t wear someone else’s wedding dress,” I told her.

  “Strip down, Sis. This is the one that is here, so I hope it fits.”

  What else was I going to do? There wasn’t time to get my dress from Walnut Creek. I hoped the other bride was at least close to my size and that she wasn’t too disappointed with my choice.

  I closed my eyes. Jordan slip the wedding dress over my head and then she zipped it up. I thought that it would have to be buttoned up, but the buttons were cleverly placed so you couldn’t see the zipper.

  “Oh my goodness,” Julie sighed.

  “Does it look that bad?” I asked, not opening up my eyes to see the disaster that awaited me.

  “Open your eyes, Sis,” Jordan said.

  I slowly opened one eye and then the other. The dress fit as if it was made for me. The lines were smooth and actually made me look taller. Since I am just barely five feet tall, that’s a good thing.

  “I love the long train. Let’s open the veil and see what comes with this beautiful dress,” Julie said.

  Jordan opened the next garment bag. The veil was a cathedral veil and extended in the back as long as the dress. On the edges were little crystals that matched the ones on the dress. The front veil hung to my shoulders and contained the same edging as the other veil.

  The hairstylist helped secure the two veils and then said, “I’ll pull the smaller one over your face when you come out.”

  I nodded.

  There was a knock at the door and Kenny said, “Can I come in?”

  Jordan looked at Julie and said, “Let’s give Liza a few minutes.”

  Julie nodded and she, Jordan and the hairstylist left as Kenny came into the room. He stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes wide open and his eyebrows practically flying off his face.

  “What?”

  “Oh God, Stretch. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Do I look like an idiot?” I closed my eyes again and cringed. Kenny would never lie to me. He’ll tell me exactly how stupid I look.

  He came over and took my hand.

  Oh great, he thinks I’m going to have a panic attack when he tells me that I look like an idiot.

  “Open your eyes, Stretch.”

  I opened my eyes slowly and Kenny’s were bright and filled with tears. “You look absolutely gorgeous, Liza.”

  The use of my real name and his words brought tears to my own eyes.

  Kenny sniffed, then said, “Now, don’t get us both crying or you’ll have to do your makeup again.”

  I sniffed and smiled.

  Kenny winked at me.

  “How’s everything out there?” I nodded toward the door.

  “It’s great. I’ve got everything ready to go. Pedro, the floral designer, really is a great guy. He’s helped with everything. He and I have taken over for Savanah.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, we’ve made sure that everything is set up correctly. He helped me with the cake and the candy bar tables. Pedro and I have the entire event timed down to every minute, from you walking down the aisle to you and Tom leaving for your honeymoon. I rearranged the head table because we needed to add a person to it. We also helped Joe, the DJ guy, and Charles, he’s the guy that drives the carriage. Pedro added more flowers to the carriage and it’s beautiful. It’s like a fairytale, Stretch. It’s going to be magical.”

  Kenny, using my same words, meant that it was all just right. He is so quick and efficient. I couldn’t have asked for a better maid of honor.

  Then I frowned.

  “What’s the matter, Stretch?”

  “I never got you a present. I’m supposed to get you one but I never found one that was just right.”

  Kenny chuckled, then his face turned serious.

  “What?”

  “Can I ask for what I want?”

  My mood lightened. “You can have anything I can give you, Kenny.”

  “Love me?” Kenny asked.

  “You know I do,” I told him, squeezing his hand.

  Kenny pulled a chair over and sat in front of me, clasping both my hands in his, and taking a deep breath. This was his serious pose. What did he want?

  “You know that case you’re working on right now?”

  “Huh? You mean the one with the thirty, no make that twenty-seven, dead people?”

  Kenny nodded.

  “Sure, you want to help me and Justin solve the cases?”

  Kenny shook his head, leaned toward me and whispered, “I want you to forget them.”

  And then, just as things sometimes do … everything clicked into place, like tumblers on a lock.

  Click – Kenny’s pro bono work. Although he did some for environmental groups, most of it was for victims of abuse.

  Click – Kenny’s computer ability, which probably was even better than Justin’s. He would be about to maneuver the chat rooms to find the victim and, most importantly, to find the abusers.

  Click – the trinkets, just like Earl gave his mother, for others to think you are sorry for what you did, but you’re not.

  Click – the way Kenny killed Emily, quickly and efficiently, like all the other people, all the other abusers – the monsters we all feared.

  All the tumblers were in place and I knew.

  I raised my eyes and met Kenny’s. “You …” I began.

  Kenny placed his finger over my lips. “Sh, Stretch. Don’t ask a question that you don’t want to hear the answer to because I’d never lie to you, not ever.”

  I kissed Kenny’s finger, he chuckled and moved it.

  “I want something,” I told him.

  Kenny tilted his head. “I already gave you a gift.”

  I held up the beautiful antique bracelet and nodded. “I want something else, too.”

  “You name it, Stretch, and I’ll get it
for you.”

  “You know how when I’m starting to have a panic attack and you take my hands and ground me to keep me from falling into the abyss?”

  He nodded.

  “I want to ground you. When you feel like you need to go into that abyss, I want to stand and hold you on the edge and not let you fall.”

  “But the victims …,” Kenny began and I placed my finger over his lips.

  “There are always victims, like Jessie and Danielle, Sally and James, but you and I, we can help them without becoming the monster.”

  “Like superheroes,” he murmured with my finger still on his lips.

  I nodded.

  Kenny grinned and I removed my finger.

  Then he said, “I’m not going to be a sidekick.”

  “Never! You’ve always been my partner – since the first day we met, I’m not changing your status now, Kenny.”

  “I can live with that,” he said, then leaned toward the door.

  “Can I ask one question?” I thought about the one victim that plagued my mind.

  “Penelope?” he asked.

  I nodded.

  Kenny ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “She was the one mistake I’ve made in fifteen years.”

  “She didn’t have a secret?”

  “No. There was a little girl named Miranda in her class. She was being sexually and physically abused by her father and I couldn’t get to him.”

  “What about the girl’s mom?”

  “She died of an overdose of heroin, two years ago. I tried everything, but the guy was rich and untouchable and, for once, I couldn’t find anyone to leverage against him.”

  “Leverage?”

  “Yes. Everyone, well, almost everyone, has someone that would be affected by the release of certain damaging information, sometimes it’s a family member but other times it’s a corporation or some other organization. Since I couldn’t find it on Miranda’s dad, I went to her teacher and gave her the information. I thought she’d call CPS the next day and turn the information over to them.”

  I put my hand on Kenny’s arm. “What happened?”

  “Miranda was killed that night. Her dad slapped her so hard that she fell and hit her head on a coffee table. I guess they called Penelope to let her know.”

  “She couldn’t live with the fact that she hadn’t known about Miranda’s abuse.”

  Kenny nodded.

  “And the race car?”

  “It was a gift from one of the boys in her class that day. She was sitting on a bench and was offering it to a little boy at the park when I found her and gave her the information. The little boy left when I came up and she put it into the pocket of her jacket. I guess nobody knew it was hers.”

  “I have several more questions, Kenny.” I said, thinking about the gunshot victims and the FBI’s professional hitman scenario.

  “I’ll explain everything,” He glanced at his watch, then continued, “but now, it’s time to get married, Stretch.”

  I thought about what he’d just told me. Kenny was the nail in all those people’s coffins, he was the reason they were all dead, he was responsible – but he wasn’t the hammer.

  Kenny slugged me on the arm.

  “What?” I said.

  “You thought I killed all those people?” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  “Just for second,” I rubbed my arm, then said, “It’s time for me to get married.”

  Kenny took my arm and led me to the door.

  He opened the door and I heard a voice say, “I’ll take over now, Kenny.”

  I looked over and my dad stood next to the door in a tailored gray tux.

  “Dad!” I screamed and flung myself into his arms.

  “Easy, Bobby, you’re going to wrinkle your dress and my beautiful tux.”

  “I’ll go take my place. You two have maybe two minutes before she needs to come down the aisle. It’s all in the timing, remember?” Kenny said, then left us.

  I nodded and squeezed my arms around my dad. He was here! I didn’t even care that he used the nickname I so disliked. He called me Bobby as a child because he said I could bob and weave better than him on the basketball court. I was ecstatic that my dad would walk me down the aisle and into Tom’s arms.

  Dad leaned back and said, “You’ve got to let go or we’re going to fall, Bobby.”

  I released my grip and said, “How’d you get here? How’d you’d even know I was getting married?”

  “You can thank Tom for that. I think he called in a million favors and promised a million more. I found out about the wedding a week ago.” Dad took a step away from me and said, “I knew you’d look spectacular in that dress.”

  I glanced down at the dress, then said, “How?”

  “I called the shop where you bought the other dress because I wanted to pay for it. When I found out that you’d bought a dress that only cost a few hundred dollars I asked the sales lady if there was one that you’d seen that you really liked, but didn’t get it because it was too expensive. She said yes, so I had it fitted to your size.”

  “It was a designer dress, Dad, and too expensive.”

  “Your mom and I opened a special account on the day you were born. I’ve been putting money in it every month. It was for your wedding.”

  “You paid Amelia and Savanah?”

  He chuckled. “I didn’t know that I’d gotten a cashier’s check to pay the hit woman that tried to kill me. That’s quite the turn of fate.”

  Then I finally noticed his tux. It was the same color and style as Tom’s. It was perfect.

  Dad chuckled, brushing the lapels of his jacket. “Oh by the way, I changed Tom’s tux. According to the lady at the dress shop, your dress is from their vintage collection so she thought a gray pinstriped tux would look better than solid gray. I hope you don’t mind.”

  I reached over and hugged him again. “Dad, you could have come in a clown suit and I would still have been thrilled.”

  Dad shuddered and mumbled, “No clowns.”

  Just then a short thin Hispanic man came up to us and said, “Timing, it’s all timing. We need to get you to the runway, girl.”

  “You must be Pedro,” I asked.

  He nodded, flipped over the small veil to cover my face, then Dad and I stepped forward. He pulled out the train to my dress, laying it perfectly flat against the ground, and then adjusted my cathedral veil, too.

  “Okay, walk slowly,” Pedro said.

  I looked at Dad and he smiled. We walked around the house with Pedro fussing with the dress’s train and the veil the entire way. I could hear the music, a soft instrumental.

  When we came to the end of the white cloth aisle I could see the beautiful arbor, all the attendants, and Tom. Michael was fidgeting; he had already stood too long waiting for me. Jordan had tears in her eyes and Kenny wore the biggest smile I had ever seen on his face.

  I met Tom’s eyes. He was smiling and my heart felt light and happy.

  “Are you ready, Liza?” my dad asked.

  I nodded. The music changed to the wedding march and Dad led me down the aisle. When we got to the end I looked into Tom’s eyes and mouthed, thank you. He gave a slight nod of his head to acknowledge my words.

  “Who gives this woman in marriage?” The minister, a graying middle-aged man dressed in a black clerical robe with a white stole embroidered with red flowers said.

  My dad raised the short veil in front, kissed me on the cheek and whispered, “I love you, Liza.”

  “I love you, too, Dad,” I whispered back.

  Then Dad pulled the veil back over, squeezed my hand and said, “Her mother and I do.”

  Tom extended his hand; my dad shook it and then led my own hands into Tom’s.

  We repeated our vows, exchanged rings, and then the minister said, “You may kiss your bride.”

  Tom lifted the veil and we both leaned together for a very long kiss.

  “Stretch,” I heard Kenny whisper, “Save it fo
r the honeymoon.”

  Both Tom and I chuckled and then turned toward the guests. It was kind of a funny scene. I didn’t have any family except my Dad and sister, so my side was filled with teachers. Tom’s side was mostly cops and FBI agents, and Doreen, David’s wife, and a few of Tom’s relatives.

  “I have the pleasure of presenting Mr. and Mrs. Tom Owens,” the minister said.

  The crowd clapped and Tom and I walked down the aisle as husband and wife to the song When I’m Sixty-Four by the Beatles. It was perfect.

  We went into the little room where I got dressed and waited while the guests filed into place under the white tent where they would enjoy appetizers.

  Tom held my hand and never let it go.

  Then a man holding a camera came in and said, “My name is Ted and I’m the photographer. Let’s get those pictures taken so you can enjoy your reception.”

  We went back to wedding arbor and Ted, with Pedro’s help, took what felt like a million pictures with multiple arrangements of me, Tom, the attendants, and family members. Then Pedro brought us back to the dressing room, so Julie and Jordan could take off the veils and bustle up my dress. It was amazing that you could loop that much material under the dress not make it look like I had a huge butt!

  “You need to go outside and get into the carriage,” Pedro said.

  “Let’s give them a few minutes,” Kenny said.

  I looked at Tom. We hadn’t actually even spoken to each other since we exchanged vows.

  “We’ve got a schedule to keep,” Pedro told him.

  Kenny nodded and said to Jordan, Julie, Duane, David, and Michael. “Let’s go take our place for our introductions. That will take a few minutes.” Then to Pedro, he said, “You go and make sure the carriage is ready.”

  Everyone left with Pedro nodding and ushering them out.

  Kenny looked back from the door and said, “You’ve got a minute, maybe two.”

  When the door closed, Tom pulled me into his arms. I melted into him like we were two parts of the same whole. He brushed his lips up my neck and whispered next to my ear, “Hello, Mrs. Owens.”

  I sighed and said, “Hello, Mr. Owens.”

  I felt him smile against my cheek. We just stood there and held each other.

  We were interrupted by Pedro’s voice, “it’s time for you two to get into the carriage.”