Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The (7 page)
Read Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The Online
Authors: Krista Davis
Tags: #Winston; Sophie (Fictitious Character), #Mystery & Detective, #Fiction, #Women Sleuths, #General, #Mystery Fiction, #Women Cooks, #Large Type Books, #Cookery, #Mystery, #Divorced Women, #Cooking, #Divorced Women - Crimes Against, #Weddings, #Crimes Against, #Sisters
Phoebe’s boyfriend, whom Hannah introduced as Joel, barely spoke and hung back the way strangers do. He had an open, agreeable face, but his crew cut did nothing to enhance his looks. Although he was portly, I suspected substantial muscle lurked underneath.
I coaxed everyone into the kitchen, where Joel stroked Mochie, who lapped up the attention. While Phoebe and Hannah chattered, it dawned on me that Hannah wasn’t acting like someone who had canceled her wedding. She was playing the happy bride to the hilt.
I studied Craig with suspicion. Tall and strong, he could have lifted Emily. He wasn’t unattractive, in spite of the flap of hair he combed over his balding head, but now that I knew what he was capable of, dread swelled in me just from looking at him. Poor Emily. Would she have caused such a scene that he was driven to kill her? Or would she have exposed him for the dangerous man he was?
He must have felt my scrutiny because he turned his gaze to me. Level and cold, he didn’t flinch.
“Hannah,” I said brightly, “can we borrow you for just a moment?” To the others I said, “Boring wedding detail.”
I motioned for her to follow me to the living room. Humphrey tagged along, and I thought we maneuvered that fairly well.
Hannah gushed over the growing mound of gifts.
Whispering, I said, “I’m glad you canceled Carlyle House. I know that wasn’t an easy decision.”
“Oh, that.” She said it flatly, like it was a subject she’d hoped to avoid.
I waited for her to continue, but she ignored me in an annoying sisterly way and picked up a boxed gift to inspect.
“Well, did you cancel the wedding or not?” I asked.
She sang her response in one high note. “Not.”
I began to feel like strangling someone myself. She’d canceled Carlyle House but not the wedding? In a hushed voice, I said, “Tell her, Humphrey.”
He whispered the bad news, and Hannah lifted a hand to her mouth exactly as our mother had earlier. Unlike Mom, she squinted at me and said, “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
I didn’t argue. Just raised my eyebrows and waited.
“It could have been someone else.” Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath. “He wouldn’t kill anyone. He wouldn’t. The fact that you’re jealous doesn’t make my fiancé a killer.”
“Jealous? Of Craig?” I said it too loud.
“Face it, Sophie, Wolf won’t even take you out. And you lost Mars to Natasha. Do you really think I’m going to listen to your advice on love or marriage?”
I intended to shoot a clever remark back at her, but just then I saw a flash of green in the dining room. Tiptoeing as softly as I could across the old hardwood floor, I caught Craig returning to the kitchen, his kelly green shirt unmistakable.
When I turned back to the living room, Humphrey hugged Hannah. I should have done the sisterly thing and joined their little hugfest, but at the moment I wanted to shake some sense into her.
“Did you tell Mom and Dad?” Her mouth twisted into a pout.
I couldn’t believe she even asked. “This isn’t like you lost the keys to the car, Hannah.”
She blasted me with a steamed expression before stalking toward the kitchen.
Humphrey looked like he might be sick. “She’s in denial. We can’t let her go through with the wedding.”
Dad ambled down the stairs. “We ought to put up the tables and chairs in the backyard. Maybe I can convince some of these strong young men to give me a hand.”
Humphrey volunteered immediately. While Dad and Humphrey arranged tables in the backyard and Mom looked through my refrigerator, I walked to Nina’s house to pick up her grill, something I should have done days earlier.
Nina opened the door before I could knock. Words spilled out of her mouth in a torrent, and she paid no attention to a little blur that shot past us into the living room.
“Everyone is talking about Craig’s wife. She got into town last night and stayed at that B&B with the pretty gate out front.”
We walked through her house to the back door, followed by the brown blur, who appeared determined to sneak up behind us. I paused and looked over my shoulder at a nervous dachshund who sniffed my ankles.
I stooped to pet her, but she ran away from me and barked from a safe distance.
“Abused, I’m afraid,” said Nina. “I’m trying to prove to her that no one will hurt her anymore. Her name’s Hermione.” We stepped outside and Hermione whimpered behind the screen door, brave now that I was ten feet away.
“The cops have been swarming the B&B and the owner is none too happy about that. Apparently Emily paid cash for her room for two nights. Now why would she do that if she planned to kill herself?”
“She didn’t. Someone murdered her.”
Nina’s eyes flicked wide. “I have
got
to get better sources of information.”
got
to get better sources of information.”
I told her what Humphrey had learned.
She stopped in front of an enormous stainless steel grill. “Might have been two people, huh? I mean, it took some strength to string her up like that.”
Nina was too considerate to come right out and say it, but I knew what she meant. What if Hannah had helped Craig murder Emily and then they staged the fight? No. That couldn’t be what had happened because I knew my sister. She might lose touch with common sense when it came to Craig, but even her addled love for him wouldn’t cause her to do something against her core principles.
But the cops didn’t know that.
I wished I could roll back time. I felt certain Emily didn’t deserve her terrible death, and I wished Hannah could return to being the feted bride instead of a murder suspect.
Why had Emily come in the first place? “How many nights did she pay for?” I asked.
“Two.” Nina inhaled sharply. “I see what you mean. If she came yesterday and only paid for two nights, then she didn’t intend to stay for the wedding.”
“So much for Craig’s claim that she meant to ruin the wedding. But then why did she come?”
NINE
From
“Ask Natasha”
:Dear Natasha,I found the wedding dress of my dreams. But my fiancé’s sister, who is getting married one month before us, has bought two wedding dresses! Everyone will compare our weddings. What’s up with the extra dress?—Dressed Up in Duck SpringsDear Dressed Up,A chic bride wears two haute couture wedding dresses on the day all eyes are on her. A demure, traditional gown for the ceremony and a slinkier dress for dining and dancing at the reception. Those who go all out with a post reception party may wish to change into a third high fashion dress for dancing.—Natasha
I lifted the lid of the grill. Three huge burner compartments gleamed. “Have you ever used this?”
Nina hesitated. “There are people who believe I’ve used it.”
I couldn’t help chuckling. Nina loved to eat but hated cooking.
“The barbecue joint over on King Street is terrific,” she whined. “I couldn’t make anything that delicious if I tried. Actually, you’re doing me a big favor by using it. My story will be much more believable if the grill gets a little charring on it.”
We rolled it through her service alley and out to the sidewalk. The thing weighed a ton, so we would have to be very careful getting it over the curb. I focused on the wheels, ready to help the first set over the hump.
“Can I give you a hand with that?” Craig called from across the street. He and Hannah dashed over. He planted his feet firmly and scooted the whole thing off the curb. Before I knew it, Hannah had stopped oncoming traffic and Craig was lifting the grill over the curb in front of my house.
Meanwhile, Humphrey joined us on the sidewalk. “I must return to work. But I look forward to dining with you this evening.”
I feared he was leaning in for a peck on the cheek, so I rotated and called out to Hannah. Now was as good a time as any to find out what was really going on with her wedding. “Wait a sec, Hannah.”
Craig rolled the grill through my gate and disappeared into the backyard, but Hannah crossed the street and joined us.
As sweetly as I could, I said, “See you tonight,” to Humphrey. He walked away, looking dejected and making me feel terrible.
I didn’t have time to dwell on it, though. Addressing Hannah, I asked, “If you canceled Carlyle House, where will the wedding take place?”
Hannah tossed her hair dramatically. “Natasha booked a better venue. They squeezed us in as a favor to her. I only wish we’d made the change sooner because we could have invited so many more guests.”
Even though I was stunned, I managed to choke out, “And where is this better place?”
“It’s a big hotel, very modern. They can set up an after-dinner ice lounge for dancing the night away.”
“Ice lounge?” She rendered me speechless. Hadn’t we sat at my kitchen table and planned it all? I distinctly recalled her saying she wanted a garden wedding, refined but not stuffy. And Craig had been adamant about a small wedding. When we found that Carlyle House had a limited capacity, that solved everything.
“I saw a picture on the Internet. It’s all blue with dim lights and acrylic chairs and everything in it, the tables and the bar and the vases, are all made of ice.”
“I know what an ice lounge is,” I said, a wee bit of frostiness creeping into my tone, “but that will cost you a small fortune. Did you or did you not sit in my kitchen and tell me that you had a firm budget?”
Hannah placed her fists on her hips. “You see? There you go, trying to spoil my wedding. This is exactly the reason I’ve asked Natasha to help you. She doesn’t hate Craig like you do, she’s not jealous that I’m getting married, and she’s much more in tune with modern weddings.”
As though the devil had been summoned by mere mention of her name, Natasha strode toward us, every last hair in place, carrying the heart topiary I’d forgotten about. “Hannah, come on, we have so much to do. These things never should have been left for the last minute.”
That barb hit home and I could feel my ears flushing. Nothing had been left undone, and I resented the implication.
“Phoebe’s coming with us,” said Hannah. “Wonder what the guys will do to keep busy? Uh, Soph, could you change the flowers on your house to tans and chocolates? Before tonight’s party, if possible.”
My sister had officially lost her mind. As if I had the time or inclination. Tans and chocolates? Did flowers even come in those colors?
Natasha handed me the topiary. “Try not to lose it this time. If we return early, I’ll come over and help you wash your windows.”
My windows glistened. “I had them done last week.”
Natasha squinted at my house. “I wouldn’t use that service again.”
I hadn’t noticed all the brown and black cloths hanging over her arm. She peeled them off one by one with detailed instructions about which ones went over the other ones and where ribbons and bows ought to be placed. She loaded them over my forearms and finally said, “You’ll never get this right, but I don’t have time now that I have to pick up the pieces of the wedding and make it happen. Well, try your best. Maybe your mother can help. She has good taste.”
What nerve. I never should have left Hannah with Natasha, even for a few minutes. I knew exactly who had fueled the bridemania in my sister.
As Natasha and Hannah strode away, Nina couldn’t contain herself and shrieked with laughter. “Change the plants on your house? Maybe she’d like you to dig up your backyard, too.”
Although my immediate instinct was to pack up my toys and walk away, instead I closed my eyes and counted to ten. Slowly. I opened them again and took several deep breaths. I couldn’t let everyone down, even if Hannah had turned to the dark side. We would have the party tonight and it would be fabulous. And pink. Very, very pink.
“Well,” said Nina, “the good news is that it appears the wedding is Natasha’s problem now. Except for that pesky detail of the groom being a killer.”
“Maybe Wolf will arrest Craig before the wedding. That would prevent the marriage, or at least delay it.” But as I spoke the words, I knew the truth. We would have to stop Hannah from making the biggest mistake of her life. And considering the mistakes she’d made with her first two husbands, that was asking a lot.
I might have vowed to butt out, but this was entirely different. Eventually Hannah would change from a Bridezilla to my good-natured sister again. She couldn’t be reasoned with now, though. I needed proof to make her see Craig for what he really was.
Nina returned to her house, and I carried the topiary home feeling like I’d been demoted. I had been. But that was okay. If I didn’t have to worry about the wedding, I would have more time to bring Hannah to her senses. But how?
I spied Phoebe’s boyfriend, Joel, hanging out in front of my house studying the historical plaque. Maybe I could get Craig out of the house long enough to do a little snooping. I strolled toward Joel. “I hear you’ve been abandoned.” When he smiled, I could see why Phoebe was attracted to him.
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