by Sophie Brent
Zoe waved to her from the other side of the large comfortable hotel bar, where tables and chairs had been arranged to create a temporary dining area. The bar served as a breakfast buffet table, already loaded with pastries, fruit, and cereals.
Erin could see that only a few hotel guests had ventured down to breakfast so early on a Saturday morning, but her gaze focused on one round table where four women were huddled together with beakers of steaming tea and coffee in front of them.
Fiona was wearing a pretty blue pattern summer dress and looked amazingly relaxed and happy for a woman who had probably enjoyed only a couple of hours sleep.
“Erin. It’s so good of you to come out at this time in the morning,” Fiona apologized and leaned forward to hug Erin, but reared back before she touched her. “Sorry, lovely, but you stink of smoke. You’ve obviously been outside,” she blinked and wafted her right hand from side to side in front of her face.
“I certainly have,” Erin sighed, then locked eyes on the bride, her heart in her throat. “Fiona. I am so sorry. Your wedding cake was destroyed in the fire.”
Then she held up both hands, palm forwards. “But don’t you dare worry for one moment about that.” Erin gushed. “I am heading back to the deli right now to make you another one. Bottom layer chocolate and Morello cherry. Top layer lemon and vanilla. I can’t promise you that the decoration will be as intricate, but I will try my best. I promise.”
“Erin. Slow down.” Fiona smiled and took hold of Erin’s arms. “Come and have some breakfast. Then we’ll talk about cake. Okay? Good. Oh, where my manners? Anyone would think that I was getting married today or something. You probably don’t know any of my bridesmaids.”
Fiona gestured around the table, starting with a very slim woman with long blonde straight hair, then a girl in her late twenties with a sharp pixie cut. “Say hello to my best friend, Maya, and this is Ethan’s sister Kate. Ladies, this is Zoe’s friend Erin who stepped in at the last minute to make my fabulous wedding cake.”
Erin waved to both ladies, who smiled back at her. “I won’t sit down, thank you, Fiona. I’m far too smoky. But I’ll grab a coffee and be right back.”
“That’s a great idea,” Zoe said and slid out of her chair and stepped over to the buffet table with Erin.
“I don’t know what Fiona is taking, but can I have some?” Erin whispered to Zoe as she sliced a decent looking blueberry muffin in half and poured herself a strong coffee from a heated jug.
“The hotel manager has just been with some amazing news,” Zoe grinned. “I can’t quite believe it, but the kitchen will be back in business by lunchtime. This wedding is on!”
Zoe shook her head in astonishment and looked over her shoulder at the bride and her bridesmaids. “Talk about bouncing back! These girls spent almost an hour sitting on the patio at some silly hour of the morning when the fire alarms went off. Maya and Kate were seriously cheesed off until they saw the smoke and the firefighters.”
“I’m just pleased nobody was hurt,” Erin replied in a soft voice. “Cakes can be replaced.”
“Well said, Erin,” Fiona said as she walked to them and wrapped her arm around Zoe’s shoulder. “Now before you go tearing off to make loads of cakes, I want to make it easier for you. Can I ask a huge favour? Can I stick to the lemon and vanilla? And how about just one layer?”
“Absolutely. I can make whatever you like,” Erin blinked in surprise. “Didn’t you like the chocolate cake?”
“Just the opposite. We loved it. Only Emma forgot to mention one tiny little detail until yesterday.” Fiona paused, took a breath, then pursed her lips before going on. “She changed the menu for the wedding reception yesterday morning and the dessert is now black forest gateau with a cherry compote. Not the passion fruit and vanilla custard tart we had ordered weeks ago.”
She tilted her head to one side slightly. “It won’t be as nice as your cake, I already know that. But you can see the problem. Chocolate and cherry dessert followed by chocolate wedding cake is way too much. Besides, we all loved the lemon cake. It was so moist and light. It’s going to be perfect after a large lunch.”
“Leave it to me,” Erin smiled, then looked around. “You know, I didn’t have a very good start with Emma yesterday. Has she come down for breakfast? I’d like to have a quick chat and reassure her that you will have a wedding cake today.”
“Emma?” Fiona frowned. “Come to think of it, no, I haven’t seen Emma this morning. She’s not answering her phone, so she has either overslept or is on her hands and knees scrubbing out the kitchen.”
“Now that sounds more like the Emma I have come to know,” Erin snorted, between slurps of coffee. “She must be exhausted.”
“It’s alright,” Fiona admitted. “You can say it. I’ve known Emma Wilson for over ten years. She has always been this intense and impulsive, even at university. Some things don’t change.”
She checked her watch and sucked in air between her teeth. “The hairdressers are due in two hours, then the make-up teams. I’d better go and track Emma down and persuade her to actually let someone else do their jobs. I need an excuse to check the kitchen for myself. Just in case the hotel management has been a little optimistic about the clean-up timeline.”
“Would you like some company?” Erin replied, chewing the last of the muffin. “I would like to break the bad news about your wedding cake to Emma in person before I head back.”
“Great. Give me five minutes to finish my coffee and I’ll be right with you.”
Erin stood in the doorway to the main hotel kitchen and watched the ninja hotel team as they steam cleaned the surfaces, walls, and floors until they were sparkling. Fiona came and stood by her side, so they were not in the way of the kitchen staff.
“Well, Emma’s definitely not in reception, the restaurant or any of the coffee bars. Maya has just checked the carpark and her car is still there, so she hasn’t run into town for some last-minute essentials.”
“When did you last see her?” Erin asked, picking up the concern in Fiona’s voice.
“When the fire alarm sounded, we fled out to the main patio and stayed there until we had the all-clear from the hotel manager. The last time I saw Emma she was pacing up and down on the lawn in her dressing gown screaming for more dry ice for the freezers. She was totally panicking about the ice sculptures. That was about half one this morning, something like that. I told her that it would be fine and to leave it to the kitchen staff, but she insisted on coming down here and we left her to it.”
“Ice sculptures?” Erin exclaimed and stared at Fiona, her eyebrows heading for the kitchen ceiling.
“Emma’s idea. Not mine. And definitely not Ethan’s. Emma is the kind of person who likes to take over and we have all been so busy we haven’t had the time or the energy to help her. So. Ice sculptures. They’re in those huge walk-in freezers. Want to have a look?”
“Sure. At least we can tell her that they are fine when she turns up.”
“Good point.” Fiona grinned and looked around the kitchen until she found someone she recognized.
“Mr. Blake! I wonder if you could help us with something?”
The deputy manager strolled over to them, looking completely out of place in his smart business suit and carrying an old-style clipboard.
“Ladies. As you can see, the cleaning is on track. You need not be concerned. Your reception will go ahead as planned, Miss Hanson.”
“That’s good to know,” Fiona nodded. “Actually, I was wondering if I could take a quick peek at the ice sculptures. Erin would love to see them.”
“Of course, Miss Hanson. Although your friend Mrs. Wilson was very thorough after the storage conditions. We only lost power for about an hour and these freezer units are very efficient. The amount of dry ice we added was more than... oh. That’s strange.”
He put the clipboard down and tried the right handle on the freezer doors, but it would not move. Instinctively he turned the key sticking out
of the handle and there was a distinct clicking sound. “Why were the doors locked?”
“Is there a problem?” Erin asked.
He half turned and gave a low cough as though he had suddenly realized that he had been talking out loud.
“Not at all,” he replied with a polite smile. He lifted the handle and released the lock, then stopped. “Better step back ladies. We put a lot of dry ice in here last night to control the temperature and most of it will have evaporated by now. Let’s give it a few seconds to clear.”
Erin and Fiona walked over to the nearest stainless-steel bench and watched Mr. Blake swing open the heavy freezer door and hold it open wide.
He stared into the space for a few seconds before turning back to them, his face ashen white.
“Call an ambulance. There has been a terrible accident.”
“What is it?”
Erin stepped forwards but he stopped her and blocked the view with his body. “Please stop. You don’t want to see this.”
Too late for that. Fiona had already started screaming.
Emma Wilson was lying on the floor of the freezer with her feet facing the door. Clouds of dry ice vapor rose up around her and Erin could see that one of her sandals had slipped off. Her toenails had been painted in a shade of dark red nail polish that matched the colour of the stain on the side of her head. But her skin was as blue as ice.
Chapter Three
When Erin was studying for her degree in hospitality and hotel management, she’d spent a year of practical training in Italy, working for the Russo family restaurant. Her mother’s family had been so welcoming and warm to a strange red-haired girl who had arrived barely speaking Italian.
She’d soon learned that the heart of any hotel or restaurant was the manager’s office and it didn’t matter whether that was in Florence or Florida. Erin had seen a lot of hotel offices over the years and the one at Abbotsdown Hall was not so very different from the rest.
It had fresh orchids on the desk instead of stray samples of new pasta varieties, and the biscuits had been made in the hotel kitchen rather than the local supermarket.
Right now, they tasted like nectar. She needed that hit of sugar washed down with scalding hot coffee like never before. The sun might be burning hot outside, but Erin could still feel the chill of the dry ice in that freezer deep inside her bones.
It was going to take a lot of hot coffee to warm away that shock.
“Have another biscuit, Fiona,” Maya said calmly, as she cuddled her friend closer. “You hardly ate anything at breakfast.”
Fiona replied with a shake of her head. “This is all my fault. If I hadn’t invited Emma here for the wedding, then....” Her head fell forward and more deep sobs shook Fiona’s thin body. Maya held her closer, but Erin could see the tears streaming down Maya’s face.
She had only met Emma for a few minutes, but these girls had known her for over ten years. They had seen and loved a different Emma to the one Erin had met. One who they had cared about and understood.
That was special. And now their friend was gone.
Erin looked across at Zoe who was standing outside the office in the reception area of the hotel, talking to an older man in a suit who must be the hotel manager. The deputy manager, Mr. Blake, who had opened the freezer door, was still being interviewed by Constable Harris and Sergeant Murphy. The police had arrived within ten minutes of the call, which by Kingsmede standards was something close to a miracle.
Constable Harris had only taken a few moments to realize that Fiona was too much in shock to answer any of his questions, so Erin had told him what had happened and explained why Emma was staying at the hotel. He looked as horrified as they were but did his job and noted down what she had told him. He was the one who asked if he could take the girls to a private office rather than abandon them weeping in the bar breakfast room which had filled up with other hotel guests.
Fiona’s bridesmaid and future sister-in-law Kate was standing next to Zoe for moral support and Erin could see the anxiety on her face.
She couldn’t imagine the pain she would feel if anything happened to Zoe, Prisha or Carol. They had been her best friends since junior school, and they had stuck together through thick and thin. Even her father used to call them the three musketeers. You only got a few real friends in your life and she felt lucky to have three of them.
Emma had been Fiona and Maya’s best friend from university. That might have been ten years ago, but the bond was still there. She could see that there was no place for criticism and her heart broke for these friends.
“Is Ethan coming over?” Erin whispered to Fiona when she lifted her head and took a sip of coffee.
Maya nodded and answered for her. “He’s on the way now. Ethan and his family are staying at the Manor House. Do you know it?”
Erin nodded. “It’s on the other side of Kingsmede, but it shouldn’t take them long to get here.”
Maya replied with a small smile, grateful for anything close to good news at that moment.
To make it worse, other guests were coming in and out of the reception area, laughing and having fun, clearly oblivious to the tragedy that had just occurred while they were cuddled up in their luxury suites.
Suddenly Zoe and Kate said something to the hotel manager and as Erin watched he walked briskly over to the front entrance of the hotel and ushered an older man and woman into his office, followed by Zoe. Erin vaguely recognized Fiona’s parents. It had been years since the last time she had seen them.
Fiona instantly flung herself away from Maya into her mother’s warm embrace.
“Take me home, mum. Please, I want to go home.” She sobbed as her father stroked her shoulders.
“Go home? I don’t understand, Fiona,” Maya whispered. “What about your wedding?”
“The wedding is off!” Fiona cried out, her mouth still trembling with shock. “I never want to see this hotel again as long as I live. I have to get out of here.” She thrust her hotel key at Maya. “Can you pack up for me. Just the thought of my wedding dress is making me feel sick and ... I have to get out of here.”
“Of course, darling.” Fiona’s mother replied as Fiona hung onto her for support, and she looked pleadingly at Maya who responded with a quick nod. “We can sort everything out later with the hotel and the police.”
“I’ll take care of that, Aunty Sarah,” Zoe volunteered and was rewarded with a grateful sigh. “Constable Harris knows where we live.”
Fiona was half-carried out of the hotel, supported by her parents on either side. Zoe, Kate, Maya, and Erin walked out into the corridor and watched Fiona collapse into the back seat of her parent’s car, cuddled into her mother’s arms. Her father gave them a quick wave and the girls stood in silence and watched the car drive slowly down the road towards Kingsmede.
It was Kate who spoke first. “I’ll call Ethan and tell him about the change of plan.” She turned to the girls and pressed one hand over her mouth for a moment before speaking. “This is so horrible. I didn’t really know Emma, but I can’t believe that she’s gone. What a terrible way to die.” Kate shook her head, then pulled a mobile phone from her bag and walked slowly onto the lawn and away from the hotel.
Zoe pushed her hands deep into her trouser pockets. “Kate’s right. Emma could be hard work, but she should be getting ready to be a maid of honour right now, not lying on the floor of a freezer.”
Zoe looked from Maya to Erin, then sniffed and wiped the corners of her eyes. “I suppose I had better go and start making the phone calls. There are so many people who need to be told that we have cancelled the wedding that my head is spinning.”
Despite the hot sun beating down on the drive, Zoe gave a shudder. “Let me talk to the hotel about what to do next. Maya, would you mind packing up Fiona’s wedding clothes? I don’t think she’ll be coming back here to pick up her luggage. Is that okay?”
“Sure, Zoe,” Maya replied, then pressed her lips together, but Erin could see
the pain on her face. “This is like a bad dream,” Maya murmured to herself. “Only this time I won’t wake up and everything will be back to normal, will I?”
She looked at Erin and then turned to Zoe. “Fiona was right. The only reason that Emma is dead is because she came here to be part of this wedding and there’s not one thing we can do to change that. Ten years of friendship has just been wiped away in a few hours. How do we get over this? How do we carry on?”
“I’m so sorry, Maya,” Erin whispered.
“I’ll get started with the packing now.” Maya nodded in reply. “Fiona needs me back at the house. The sooner I get away from here, the better.”
Zoe and Erin watched Maya walk slowly back through the high stone portico of the old hall. Her shoulders were high and crunched up and she was walking as though every step was painful.
“I managed to get hold of Ethan and he’s going straight to Fiona’s house with the rest of our family,” Kate sighed as she walked up to join them. “I think the best thing for me to do is book into the Manor House hotel for a few days until we can wrap our heads around what to do next. This wedding meant everything to my brother.”
“Kate. I know Fiona,” Zoe whispered. “Ethan is going to have to wait a long time before she’ll even think about going through all this again. The next few months are going to be so hard for everyone but especially Fiona and Ethan. You might want to warn him not to push too hard for another wedding.”
Kate nodded. “Understood.” She ran both hands back through her short hair and clasped them at the back of her neck. “What a mess. All my brother wants to do is make Fiona happy.”
Tears ran down Kate’s cheeks and she rummaged through her bag to find a tissue to wipe them away. “Look at the state of me. This is not going to help anyone, is it? Time to go back to my room and start packing. It looks like that bridesmaid dress is not going to be used anytime soon.”
“I’ll talk to the hotel manager right now and make sure that you can check out as soon as you’re ready. Catch you later, Erin.” Zoe said and started walking towards the hotel reception desk.