The Brides' Club Murder: the 3rd Jasmine Frame novel (Jasmine Frame detective)

by P R Ellis

  ‘No, no, no!’ Emma cried.

  ‘Then you realised what you had done.’ Jasmine was guessing now, embellishing the story, trying to explain the evidence, ‘Amazingly, you didn’t panic at having killed a man. You coolly decided to make it look like suicide. You pulled him from under the water. A fruit knife, thoughtfully provided by the hotel for the occupants of the suite was sharp enough to cut Vokins’ wrists. You left it by the side of the bath to make it look as though he may have dropped it.’ Emma covered her ears with her hands so as not to hear the tale.

  ‘Then you headed out of the suite. You saw his keycard on the table by the door, and took it with you. That enabled you to lock the door as you left. I’m sure you thought that locking Vokins’ body in his suite would give you more time as visitors would knock, receive no reply and go. As it happened, Valerie had a meeting planned with Belinda at four-thirty. Belinda knew that Valerie Vokins would not forget or miss that appointment so was surprised to get no reply. She feared an accident or illness so got the master key and found the body.’

  Emma was shaking and held her face in her hands.

  Jasmine went on. ‘Now you had a keycard to dispose of. You could have just dropped it anywhere but you decided to plant it on one of the Belles. I guess that was because despite the suicide story you knew it was murder and felt it would be useful to make someone else a suspect. During the Wedding Breakfast yesterday, you chose one of the brides’ bags to drop it in, possibly at random. Tammy found it in her bag. She mistook it for her own and may have thought it had gone wrong when it wouldn’t open her door, but I happened to be with her and knew that Vokins’ keycard was missing.’

  Jasmine stopped for breath and looked down at Emma.

  ‘There. I’ve finished,’ Jasmine said. There was no sound from anyone in the room.

  DCI Sloane stepped forward, ‘Emma Preston, I arrest you . . .’

  Emma jumped to her feet, slamming her chair back against Slone’s shins. She rammed her arms into Jasmine’s chest. Jasmine sprawled back on the table. Emma ran, slaloming around the small tables, avoiding the stuck out feet of the guests, heading towards the exit. Tom Shepherd was already moving to intercept her. Just short of the door he caught Emma, wrapped his arms around her, swept her off her feet. She swung her fists battering Tom’s arms, but he tipped her up and lowered her to the floor. With Tom’s weight on her she couldn’t move. He pulled her wrists behind her back. Patel arrived, handcuffs at the ready. Emma was hauled to her feet, hanging limply from the arms of the two detectives. Sloane arrived and completed the arrest.

  ‘He was a vile, vile man. I’m glad he’s dead,’ Emma cried.

  ‘Take her away,’ Sloane said. Tom and Sasha dragged the woman out of the room.

  Jasmine slid off the table and stood up examining her peach coloured suit. There were no marks of food or wine which pleased her as she liked the dress and its accompanying jacket. The silence was broken by whispers and mutters of people at the small tables making sense of what they had heard and seen but, as Jasmine looked around the high table, she could see that the Belles were still too stunned to talk.

  Sloane approached her. ‘Well done, Frame. A good result. Now I had better remove Mr Preston and read him his rights too.’

  Donna shrank away but at Sloane’s urging got to her feet and left the room with her head bowed. Jasmine realised that all the police officers had left and she was on her own. Everyone’s eyes were on her.

  ‘Um, that’s all folks. I suppose you can, er, get on with the celebrations. Melody and Geraldine, I’m sorry about all this. I hope it hasn’t spoiled your wedding.’ What was she saying? Of course, it’s spoiled. Who wants a wedding where two of the guests get arrested, one for murder and the other for attempted murder or something as serious? ‘I’d better go,’ she went on, ‘and leave you to get on best you can.’

  She started to move away, heading to the exit to catch up with Sloane and Tom.

  As she passed Melody, the bride grabbed her hand. ‘No, Sindy, er, Jasmine. Wait, Don’t go. You don’t have to.

  ‘Don’t I?’ Jasmine replied not sure what Melody was getting at. Melody tugged her back to the high table.

  ‘Look, it’s been unusual and unexpected,’ Melody said.

  ‘That’s an understatement,’ Petula added.

  ‘But, I realise you had a job to do,’ Melody went on, ‘and if you hadn’t done it Geraldine and I may not have had our wedding at all.’ Geraldine and the others around the table nodded in agreement. ‘It’s appalling what Emma did, but you were right. We all had motives for wanting rid of Vernon.’

  Geraldine took up the theme. ‘Perhaps we should have done something to stop Vernon before he started blackmailing Donna and Emma; but you were right. We have all been so focussed on ourselves, on pretending to be brides, that we didn’t see where Valerie’s behaviour would lead. So we’re all a bit responsible.’

  ‘What will happen to Emma now?’ Petula said, almost as if she was asking a special favour of Jasmine, ‘I mean, I know she will go to court and to prison, but how long might she get?’

  Jasmine thought. ‘I don’t think the murder was premeditated so that will count in her favour as will the provocation of the blackmail.’

  ‘You said we all had motives to kill Vokins,’ Tammy said, ‘If the court knew that and knew all about Vokins’ hate-crimes, would that help Emma?’

  ‘Perhaps,’ Jasmine replied, not certain of the court’s view of such testimonies.

  ‘Well then, we will all be character witnesses,’ Petula said finding her authority again, ‘The Wedding Belles stand up for their members, and their partners.’

  Jasmine smiled. Perhaps the worst was over. People began chattering again, gossiping and re-telling the story Jasmine had told. Flamboyancé sidled up to her with a glass of champagne in her hand.

  ‘I think you might need this,’ she said offering the glass to Jasmine, ‘You did quite a bit of talking back there.’ Jasmine took the glass and sipped the wine. It was just what she needed.

  ‘The cake,’ Geraldine shouted, leaping up from her seat. ‘We’ve forgotten the cake.’ She grabbed her wife’s hand and drew her to her feet. They moved to the buffet table with the rest of the guests gathering behind them. Geraldine picked up the cake knife and put it in Melody’s hand.

  The cake had been there all along but Jasmine hadn’t noticed it. She’d had other things on her mind. It wasn’t as huge and grand as Petula’s anniversary cake of the previous day. It was just a single tier, square, covered with white icing with two plastic brides standing together on top.

  Geraldine started to make a speech.

  27

  The Butterflies were leaving, most of them anyway, their final afternoon event at an end. They departed from the foyer to their cars and taxis, many reverted to male attire but some determinedly feminine, stretching out their period as women to the limit. They disappeared into the dark, now watery, winter evening.

  Jasmine watched them, wondering at the variety of men who enjoyed and relished a weekend of becoming their female personas. She stood at the window keeping an eye on the drive awaiting Viv’s arrival. Her suitcase was at her feet with the wedding dress in its plastic cover folded carefully on top. The last couple of hours had passed pleasantly enough.

  Once Geraldine had finished her speech, tea and cake had been served to all the guests. The Belles had been friendly to her, urging her to explain again and again how she had worked out that Emma Preston was the culprit. Eventually she had made her farewells, returned to her room to pack and phoned Viv to pick her up.

  Wendy and Katie, walking by, saw her and stopped.

  ‘We thought you’d gone a while ago, Jasmine,’ Wendy said.

  ‘Just waiting for my lift home,’ Jasmine said.

  ‘Not celebrating with your police friends?’ Katie said.

  ‘No, although I suppose I will have to write a report for them.’ That thought had suddenly occurred to Jasmine and s
he groaned, inwardly, at the prospect.

  Wendy noticed the wedding dress at her feet. ‘I’m sorry I didn’t see you in the dress yesterday. ‘I’m sure you looked lovely.’

  ‘I can’t say. Look would you like to take the dress with you.’ Jasmine reached down to pick it up.

  ‘No, Jasmine, it’s yours. The police are paying for it. Perhaps you’ll have another use for it – your own wedding perhaps.’

  Jasmine laughed, ‘No, way.’ She saw Viv’s big Audi approaching slowly through the rain. Her own wedding? With Viv? No, it was too much to hope for. Certainly not while she still had the dangly thing between her legs.

  ‘Well, come and see me again,’ Wendy went on, ‘Perhaps you’ll be invited to other weddings.’

  ‘I’ll see you a week on Friday,’ Katie said, with more certainty. ‘Let’s tackle some more of those bristles.’

  Jasmine touched her lip. The soreness had eased. ‘Yes, I’ll be there.’

  The ladies left just as Viv came through the doors. He saw her straight away and hurried to her.

  His Birmingham-Caribbean lilt filled her with joy. ‘Jas! It’s a foul evening out. How’s it been?’

  ‘Fine,’ she replied, ‘just fine.’

  ‘You solved the murder?’

  ‘The killer was arrested,’ Jasmine replied more accurately.

  ‘Well done. I knew you would.’

  Tom Shepherd ran into the foyer, his jacket collar turned up. He shook himself to displace some of the rain water and smoothed his hand over his head.

  ‘Jas. I’m glad I caught you.’

  ‘Hi, Tom. What are you back for?’

  ‘Need a few statements. Susan for one to confirm the time when she saw Emma Preston in the pool, and we need to arrange to see the other Wedding Belles to go over all those issues with Vokins that you mentioned.’

  Jasmine was relieved that those chores were not part of her job. ‘What’s happened to Emma?’

  ‘Oh, she confessed pretty much as soon as we got her into the interview room. She’s in a cell now waiting to be formally charged. Then I expect she’ll be remanded.’

  ‘And Donna, I mean, Matthew?’

  ‘Made a statement. We’re waiting to hear what he will be charged with. He’s still at the station too. Pretty emotional. Thinks it’s his fault that his wife is in so much trouble.’

  Jasmine shrugged. ‘I suppose it was his fault that Emma was involved with Vokins at all.’

  Tom dipped his head towards Jasmine and dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘I didn’t have a chance before, but how did you do it?’

  ‘What?’ Jasmine said wondering what Tom was asking about.

  ‘Work out that Emma Parsons was the killer? That was a fantastic bit of deduction. When did it come to you?’

  ‘I’d like to hear all about it too,’ Viv said.

  Jasmine laughed. ‘That’s the whole point. I didn’t. When Flamboyancé blew my cover I had no idea who’d done it. It literally could have been any of them. That’s why I went through that great rambling story of how each of them had been persecuted by Vokins. I didn’t know what else to say. Then I realised that they still came back for more because they were so set on dressing as brides and showing off. That left the partners. It couldn’t be Sally because of her disability, and I didn’t think Robbie cared enough. So I just worked Emma into the tale and it sort of turned out as it did.’

  Tom shook his head and laughed, ‘Well, Jas, I think you were brilliant, and so does Sloane.’

  Viv hugged her. ‘Fantastic, love.’

  Love? Was that the Midlands use of the word or did Viv mean it? It sounded like it.

  ‘Let’s get you home,’ Viv went on, ‘I’m sure you need to relax, and I’ve got some property brochures for you to look at. I think there’s one or two you’ll like.’

  ‘Moving?’ Tom queried.

  ‘Yes,’ Viv replied, ‘in together.’

  ‘Congratulations,’ Tom said, grasping Viv’s hand and pumping it vigorously. ‘Will there be a celebration?’

  Viv smiled coyly. ‘Perhaps.’

  ‘He means a house-warming,’ Jasmine said, ‘Don’t go thinking that you’ll see me in a wedding dress any time soon.’

  Tom roared with laughter. ‘But you made a beautiful bride, Jas!’

  …………………………………….

  Jasmine Frame will return in

  Molly’s Boudoir

  The 4th Jasmine Frame novel

  Jasmine is recovering from her gender reassignment surgery and exploring her new body. A suspicious case of arson in a retail premises brings DCI Sloane to Jasmine’s door asking for assistance. Jasmine takes the case and finds herself in a world she thought she had left – the world in which prosthetics can give you the body you dream of. It’s big business and someone is trying to take it over. . .

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The Brides’ Club Murder is the third Jasmine Frame novel that I have published and as before there are a number of people to thank for their assistance. Starting at the beginning there was Kim King. Kim is a beauty therapist who specialises in electrolysis for removing facial hair. She very kindly explained the procedure to me and I underwent a brief series of treatments to “get the feel” of it on Jasmine’s behalf. Kim was extremely helpful but I am relieved that unlike Jasmine, I don’t have to go through the full process.

  Next there is Scott Wood, who has once again provided the superb cover. It’s not easy producing something that looks good on a paperback and also in the postage stamp sized image that appears on a certain retailer’s website. Then there is Sofia Buck who did the copyediting and copes with all my typing, spelling, and grammatical errors as well as making sure that the whole edifice of the plot is not fatally flawed. Thanks also to Peter and Alison for the design and preparation of the manuscript for publication and to Barbara for the final proofread.

  I wouldn’t have got this far without the full support of Lou, my partner and spouse, to whom this book, like all the others, is dedicated.

  As always, I would like to thank all the members of the transgender community, known and unknown. This novel deals with issues and events that may be familiar to some if not all transgendered people, and I hope I haven’t misrepresented them in any way. There are quite a few characters in this novel. None of them are based on real people; they are all figments of my imagination, but concocted from things I have seen, heard or read. Similarly, the Ashmore Lodge Hotel, the setting for the novel is my own creation. There are of course country hotels on the edge of the town on which Kintbridge is based, I have even visited some of them, but none was used as the model for the Ashmore Lodge.

  Finally, thank you for reading this far. If this is the first Jasmine Frame tale that you have discovered, then I hope you will seek out more. Details of other Jasmine Frame novels and novellas follow.

  P R Ellis

  Published 2013. Available in paperback and e-book

  Painted Ladies

  A Jasmine Frame Story

  Jasmine Frame was scared of knives when she was a policeman. Now she finds herself on the trail of a knife killer, but it’s not just her skin that is in danger. Her identity as a woman is under threat.

  Praise for Painted Ladies

  “…Jasmine is a very engaging character, well written and believable. Her emotions and feelings are central to the book and, I hope, will shed light on a situation that cannot be easy to accept and live with in face of everyday prejudice. However, this is a crime novel and stands on its own as such. I found it a page-turner and really enjoyed reading it…”

  Susan White, Eurocrime

  “…Painted Ladies is the first literary examination, that we have seen, of the trans community in the role of both detective and victim, a rare and exquisite treat…”

  Jake Basford, So So Gay Magazine

  Order the paperback for £8.99 inc. postage and packing from:

  paintedladiesnovel@btinternet.com

  Published 2
015. Available in paperback and e-book (Kindle)

  Bodies By design

  The 2nd Jasmine Frame Novel

  Three months after the events of Painted Ladies, Jasmine responds to a call for help and finds herself involved in a murder case by the special request of DCI Sloane. But who or what was the victim? What was the motive? Jasmine’s investigation leads into the murkier regions of the transgender scene. Meanwhile, she is about to take an irreversible step to lose her masculinity. What are the parallels between her situation and that of the murder victim?

  Praise for Bodies By Design

  “I had enjoyed Painted Ladies and was pleased to find that Bodies by Design was if anything even better. Like PL, BBD shows the great range of types of sexual/gender identity – not exhaustively.”

  Sue King

  “…like the first, this is an enjoyable read. Indeed, I ended up reading the second half in one sitting. The character development of Jasmine continues, putting her in difficult situations in the plot. It wasn't clear until the end who the guilty party was, and there were several possibilities, so if you enjoy a good crime story, you'll enjoy this.”

  Simon Whaley

  “An excellent crime novel with a twist. The exploration of gender identity is superbly well handled ”

  Bridget Arreger

  Order the paperback for £9.99 inc. postage and packing from: