“Check.” Angela nodded. She scribbled something in a post it note and stuck the wad back into her pocket.
“Nora!” Janina entered, looking especially pretty in a pale blue dress. “Everything good here? Matt here is one of the groomsmen and he wanted to check.”
Matt Harris had a granite jaw and a full head of brown hair. He looked extremely uncomfortable in his suit, and was fidgeting with the collar every few seconds.
“That the cake?” He pointed to the cardboard box Nora had kept carefully on a side table. “Let’s have a look, shall we?”
Nora opened it up slightly, and Matt nodded, “Looks good. Hey, Charlotte was mentioning something about a special statue on it?”
“First I’ve heard of it,” Nora said. “I have the traditional man in tux, bride in white cake topper with me.”
“No, Charlotte has a special topper,” Matt said. “She’ll send it down soon enough, I suppose. At least… maybe I better remind her,” he said, suddenly shaking his head.
“It sounds like a job for the maid of honor,” Nora said gently. “The bride might be busy right now.”
“Right, right. Of course. Maria is my girlfriend. I’ll tell her.” Matt nodded and wandered off.
Father Mackenzie entered the kitchen, and looked approvingly at the trays of food set up there. “Got something sugary I can drink?”
“Coke?” Angela asked. “Or you can have a sip of the pomegranate lemonade?”
“The lemonade sounds perfect,” Father Mackenzie said. “How do I look, Nora?”
“Fantastic.” Nora smiled. “They’re getting married out in the garden, aren’t they?”
“Between a row of lilacs, underneath an arch of roses.” Father Mackenzie smiled. “Janina, your home is nothing short of magical.”
“Thanks.” Janina smiled. “The upkeep of the gardens is more costly than you’d know, but it’s worth it. People love it so.”
Father Mackenzie downed the lemonade in one gulp, and smacked his lips. “Perfect. You know, you’d think I would be used to speaking in public by now, but I’m always nervous when I’m officiating. I haven’t yet had a wedding where someone objected, but every time I say that line, I wonder what I’d do if someone did object.”
“Let’s hope you don’t have to find out any time soon,” Nora said. “Good luck, Father!”
Almost as soon as he left, the maid of honor entered. She was a tall, gangly girl with wire-rim glasses and a rather nervous disposition.
“Matt just reminded me about the cake topper,” she said breathlessly. “Here it is. Charlotte had it specially made. She’d have been furious if I forgot! Oh I’m so useless at this, I’ve been running around all morning! First one of the flower girls fell ill, and then Charlotte had some problems fitting into the dress and then Eliza got drunk and… and I think I’m going to go mad!”
“Deep breaths now,” Nora said soothingly. “What’s your name, again?”
“Maria,” she said. “Charlotte and I have been best friends since we were in second grade. She’s been planning this wedding nearly as long. I mean, not that she knew who the groom would be, but we’ve dreamt about it all our lives, you know? Every detail needs to be perfect. Speaking of which, I need to go talk to the DJ. Charlotte doesn’t want Here Comes The Bride, she wants to play The Beatles’ Love Is All You Need when she enters, because that’s their favorite song.”
“Is… is that wise?” Janina looked taken aback. “I mean… it’s highly unusual. Some people may not like it.”
Maria shrugged. “What Charlotte wants, Charlotte gets. Speaking of which, I better get. Get going.”
“Oh, dear.” Janina sighed. “Well, I have to go usher the guests, Nora. You sure you have everything you need back here?”
“We’re fine.” Nora smiled. “Go on, Janina. I can ask Wyatt if I need any help.”
“All right. Take care then. The ceremony will begin any second now.”
And after that, there would be 200 hungry guests waiting for a feast. Nora took a deep breath and got to work. The appetizers needed no prep, luckily. The bride had wanted tapas style appetizers, so all Nora and her team needed to do was assemble the Pan Con Tomate, or the Spanish style tomato bread. The dips, olives, stuffed peppers and cold cuts were already done. The main meal would be buffet style, with chickpea salad, pasta arrabiata, grilled lamb shanks and pan-fried lemon prawns. The dessert was giving Nora a bit of anxiety. She’d baked twenty chocolate tortes, and left a margin for those who took third and fourth slices, but part of her still felt that they might not be enough. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if they ran out of dessert, but then again, she really didn’t want it to happen.
Bret, who was working side by side with Angela, grilling the lamb, said in a panic, “Nora, I can’t find the parsley!”
Nora handed it to him, and then said, “Bret, you were in charge of the cake. Where did you keep it?”
“Eliza wheeled it away,” Bret said. “Said she’d keep it in the hallway cupboard so it’d stay safe.”
“Are you serious? Eliza?” Angela exploded. “Bret, you madman, how could you let her near the cake?”
“It’ll be fine,” Nora said, nervously. “Bret are you sure it was Eliza?”
“I…” Bret shrugged. “I was busy and I barely noticed.”
Dread filled Nora. Eliza had no reason to be near the cake. But she told herself Eliza couldn’t possibly be that bad. Surely she wouldn’t do anything to ruin the cake, would she? Immediately, she exited the kitchen, determined to find out.
*****
Chapter 6
Death At A Wedding
Dread still lingered in Nora’s stomach five minutes later. She’d found the box unmanned, in the middle of the hallway. It didn’t appear to have been tampered with, but the special topper, little mini-figurines of the Jeremy and Charlotte, had been destroyed. Both necks had been snapped off clean. Luckily, a little glue helped Nora restore them to normalcy. Still, she couldn’t help but feel outraged. If it weren’t for the fact that the ceremony had already begun, Nora would surely have complained to someone. As it was, by the time she headed to the garden, the bride was already walking down the aisle.
What a sight she was, too. Charlotte looked positively radiant in a sweeping lace-embroidered white gown with taffeta sleeves. Her hair was done up in a bun with flowers woven through it, and her eyes seemed to sparkle in delight, their gaze fixed on Jeremy. Jeremy himself looked nervous, as if his knees were about to give out. Nevertheless, he looked handsome in his midnight blue tux with a polka dotted bow-tie and matching cuffs. As they said their vows, more than one lady in the audience dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, and even some of the men looked quite emotional.
Nora noted disapprovingly that while all attention was on the bride and groom, Eliza was too busy flirting with Wyatt at the back of the hall to even look at her sister. So she’d moved on, and was busy flirting with the next man, Nora thought. Good for her, as long as she didn’t try any more stunts. Nora pursed her lips in distaste as Eliza raised her phone and took a winking selfie of herself with her arm around Wyatt. Some people!
Still, nothing Eliza did distracted Charlotte or Jeremy. They had eyes only for each other, even as they recited their vows with heartfelt love. There were tears sparkling in both their eyes, and when Father Mackenzie finally pronounced, “You may now kiss the bride!”, cheers erupted from the onlookers. There were more cheers as Jeremy dipped Charlotte nearly to the floor, and planted a strong kiss on her. Then he swung her up again, and lifted his hand as if in victory. The audience laughed. Only Nora noticed the little tremor on Charlotte’s face. Was she remembering the moment he had kissed Eliza? Nora hoped not. It would be a great pity to ruin the day with bad memories.
With the wedding over, Nora headed back to the kitchen to supervise as they laid out the food in the oak room. She personally wheeled the cake over to the centre of the display, and watched as Jeremy and Charlotte set the da
nce floor on fire while dancing to The Time Of My Life.
“Nora. Psst.” Janina beckoned her over from a side door, and Nora went to talk to her.
“I was wondering if you needed any…” Janina paused, as Wyatt came strolling up to them.
“Wyatt, honestly, look at your hair,” Janina said. “Aren’t you ever going to get it cut?”
“Only when I start balding, and then I’ll shave it all off,” Wyatt said. “I like this style, you know, ascetics in ancient India used to stay for years without cutting their hair, and sometimes, entire families of birds would live out their lives in them. I could do the same.”
“You will certainly not,” Janina said. “I’ll come to your room when you’re asleep and snip it all off. Honestly, Wyatt, you’re such a handsome lad, I wish you’d pay attention to your grooming. Look at your shirt. You’ve dropped something on it. You act like a ten year old sometimes.”
Sure enough, his navy blue shirt had a spot on it. Wyatt rolled his eyes. “Honestly,” he said to Nora, “I’m going to stick my head in that fancy new oven of yours if my mom doesn’t stop with all the lectures.” When Nora’s eyes grew wide, he shook his head. “Just kidding.”
“Go on, what are you waiting for?” Janina egged him on. “Go change your shirt this minute.”
“Ugh. Fine mom, I’ll go change. See you Nora, save some food for me.”
As he left, Janina’s sharp eyes focused on the girl standing behind him. She frowned. “What’s Eliza doing?”
Nora whirled around. While everyone was standing on the dance floor, clapping and hooting as Charlotte and Jeremy danced, Eliza was heading towards the food. Instinctively, Nora knew she was up to some mischief. Perhaps she intended to break the topper again! Not on Nora’s watch.
But Eliza had something much worse in mind. Grabbing the knife placed next to the cake, she’d cut off a slice and eaten it even before Nora could cry out in dismay. How could anyone be so cruel! Everyone knew the first slice should always go to the bride! Nora wondered if Eliza was completely evil, or perhaps even slightly deranged. Nora rushed to her as fast as possible, unclear about what exactly she was planning to do.
The crowd had noticed too, and one by one, they turned away from Charlotte, to gasp at Eliza’s misdeed. Eliza, for her part, had frosting on the side of her mouth, and a big grin on her face. She seemed to revel in the fingers that pointed at her, and threw her shoulders back as if she wanted a fight.
Then, as Nora had almost reached her, something changed. Eliza’s eyes grew wide, and her face began to redden. Her hands crept up to her throat, and she began to give out little choked coughs. In seconds, she had fallen to the floor and was convulsing.
“Eliza!” Nora reached her and began shaking her by the shoulders. “Eliza! What’s wrong?”
The crowd had surrounded her, and Sean, who was attending along with Karen, stepped forward. “Call an ambulance!” he demanded angrily, as he bent down to administer first aid.
It was too late. Eliza had already stopped breathing.
*****
“I’m in shock,” Nora said. “Honestly, Sean, I don’t know what happened, or how it happened.”
“I understand.” Sean nodded. “I don’t quite know what happened either. I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest.”
“It’s horrible, isn’t it?” Nora said. “I mean… one minute, we’re celebrating a joining of two lives, and the next… Eliza is dead!”
Sean stretched a little, and then took a sip of his coffee. His eyes look sharp, as though he were mentally cataloguing everything that had happened that day. He pushed a cup across the grey desk to Nora, who gratefully took a sip. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“The family’s in shock, of course,” Sean said. “Charlotte and Jeremy especially.”
“I can imagine,” Nora said. “What a horrible day this has turned out to be for them both!”
Sean nodded. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, Nora. I’m assuming you’ll cooperate for once?”
“You know I always do,” Nora said.
Sean smiled. “I guess so.”
“How’s Karen doing?” Nora asked.
“She was consoling Jeremy, last I saw her,” Sean said. He sighed. “Nora, have you thought this through? I mean… thought about what it means to you?” Nora looked at him blankly, and he said, “You have an excellent reputation in this town. But if you and Tina were planning to expand your catering outside town, well, this is a deathblow, pretty much. Everyone will remember you as the makers of the poisoned cake.”
Nora felt her stomach sink. It wasn’t like they really needed the money, but she valued their reputation for quality very much, and a reputation once destroyed wasn’t easy to rebuild. Tina especially would be heartbroken, since she’d had grand ambitions for the catering side of their business.
“So,” Sean said. “I suppose I might as well warn you, there’s going to be media attention on this case. Eliza Raclette has apparently been on a reality TV series of some sort. As you can guess, media attention means that your diner’s name and its association with the murder will be flung around.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Nora said, though her stomach twisted even more at the thought. “What matters is that we catch whoever did this.”
“Right,” Sean said. “That’s my first priority as a sheriff, but as a friend, I’m warning you, the coming days will not be easy. Be prepared. I’d advise you to get a lawyer, too.”
“It was definitely poisoning, right?” Nora asked with a sigh. “The cake is what killed her?”
“It’s impossible to say right now,” Sean said. “Besides, I can’t just go around handing that information out, you understand.”
“I understand,” Nora said. “Still, Sean, has Charlotte considered that the cake was meant for her and not Eliza? After all, traditionally, it’s the bride who gets the first slice.”
Sean nodded. “I’ve considered that very seriously,” he said. “But I don’t think it’s sunk in for Charlotte yet.”
“I just don’t understand how it could have happened,” Nora said, struggling to hold back her emotions. A big part of her felt guilty. The cake had been in the hallway unmanned, and she’d thought nothing of it. But that was when the murderer had struck. Clearly, they’d somehow poisoned the cake in that short period of time, because the cake had otherwise been with Nora all along.
“There now.” Sean patted her. “Look, I’m asking this just as a formality, you understand. We’ll be doing our own forensics on the cake. But… is there any chance that you could have somehow…”
“Somehow created a poisoned cake?” Nora asked. “No. I baked that cake along with Angela and Brett. There is no way it was poisoned by us.”
“Not poisoned,” Sean said. “I mean… maybe it was an accident of some sort? In hospitals, the best surgeons can sometimes leave a watch inside their patient. Maybe you knocked over a cleaning product?”
“Sean, come on!” Nora protested. “We take great pride in the diner’s cleanliness. I wouldn’t let anything poisonous within fifty feet of my ingredients. Besides, we do periodic taste tests as we’re cooking. I’d have been dead myself if that were the case.”
“Yes. Well… I’ve got some more bad news,” Sean said, looking almost afraid of her.
“What is it?” Nora steeled herself. Sean had never looked scared of her before.
“I’m going to have to shut down your kitchen for a few days. We’ll have to bring by a forensics team to make sure that—”
“This is outrageous!” Nora got to her feet, furious. “Sean, are you really trying to imply that I—”
“Nora, be reasonable.” Sean motioned her to sit. “You know I don’t think you could have done it. But what kind of Sheriff would I be if I didn’t follow due process?”
“A good one,” Nora said. “Because you wouldn’t be wasting time looking at me when the real murderer was someone present at the mansion.”
“Right,” Sean said. “That five minute period of time when the cake was alone in the hallway.”
“That has to be when the murderer got at it,” Nora said. “I told you, the topper was broken in a very significant way. Eliza must have done that, because Bret handed the cake to her.”
“Well, that theory would work well,” Sean said, “if Charlotte had been the one to die. But why would Eliza poison the cake and then eat it herself? That makes no sense.”
“I’m not saying Eliza poisoned the cake,” Nora said. “But someone must have seen her in the hallway, and then after she left, they must have poisoned the cake somehow.”
“How?” Sean asked. “It looked untouched to you, didn’t it?”
“It did,” Nora admitted.
“And if the toppers were broken, how come you didn’t tell anybody about it?”
“The wedding had already started,” Nora said. “I didn’t want to cause unpleasantness. But Sean, it’s obvious, isn’t it? The topper had the bride and groom in gown and tux, with their heads knocked straight off. I had to glue it back together. I mean… I thought it was Eliza’s sick idea of a joke, but now I think it’s something far worse.”
“Sick jokes are one thing, murder is another,” Sean said. “I’m still hoping, for everyone’s sake, that this turns out to be an accident.”
“An accident? If I had an accident like that, why, I’d never be chef again,” Nora said. “My entire career would be ruined.”
“Right,” Sean said. “Which is why I’m going to try my hardest to be delicate in this investigation, and not let word leak out to the press about it.”
Nora sighed. “I don’t think you can stop it, Sean. They’re going to have a field day with this story.”
“Right.” Sean nodded. “So I’ve taken your statement anyway. I’ll be talking to Tina, Angela and Bret later. Stay in touch, and don’t do anything stupid this time.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Nora asked.
The Milburn Big Box Set Page 79