For Better or Hearse (17 page)

“I hope you know that I cannot work under these conditions, Annabelle.” Fern clutched my arm as Kate and I entered the bride's suite at the Park Hyatt Hotel. His sunflower yellow shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. He tapped a round hairbrush nervously in the palm of his hand.

“What now?” I dropped my heavy emergency kit on the floor and sized him up. I'd never seen him so informal or so frazzled.

“Fern!” Nadine bellowed from where she sat across the room by the window. “I'm ready to try again.”

“I've already done three updos and she's ripped out every single one.” He wrung his ring-laden hands. “I haven't even started on the bridesmaids, and they're all supposed to be ready for pictures in two hours.”

I looked at the sullen bridesmaids who sat around the room on plush taupe furniture, silently nibbling on muffins and watching the Weather channel. The dining room table was filled from end to end with trays of
fruit and baskets of bagels that looked severely picked over. Celedon green bridesmaid dresses hung off the backs of doors and over chairs, and duffel bags were scattered around the floor. A typical prewedding scene.

“Didn't you do a trial?” Kate asked.

“Two.” Fern shot a menacing look over his shoulder at the bride. “But apparently she's been pulling out magazine pictures of other styles since then.”

I cringed. If Nadine was as indecisive about her hair as she had been about everything else with the wedding planning, we'd never get her down the aisle.

“How I am supposed to do this?” Fern waved a glossy magazine page in front of us. The bride in the photo had her hair teased up about half a mile, with a snake winding its way around her shoulders and through the top of the hairdo. “Unless you happen to carry a spare snake?”

“Do you want me to check, Annie?” Kate motioned to the emergency kit, and then pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

“I'm waiting,” Nadine called in a singsong voice that bristled with impatience.

“I wish I did have a snake,” Fern muttered.

“I think what we need is a change of atmosphere.” I picked up the phone on the wooden end table, dialed room service and ordered three bottles of champagne. I turned off the television and turned on the stereo, adjusting the dial to a hip-hop station. “All right, ladies, champagne is on the way, so why don't we start the celebration a little early?” The room quickly filled with excited chatter.

“Not bad.” Fern gave me an appreciative nod. “I'd better get back to work. Let me know if you make any headway on the snake.”

“This is quite a change.” Kate smirked at me. “Usually you're warning brides not to drink so much on the wedding day.”

“In this case I think it might help.” I heard the muffled ringing of my cell phone and dug into my purse. I crossed my fingers that it wasn't another wedding crisis as I flipped the phone open. “This is Annabelle.”

“It's me. You're not going to believe what I found.”

“Me who?” I asked, pressing the phone closer to my ear so I could hear over the giggling of the bridesmaids.

“Joni,” she said breathlessly. “I'm watching the tape of last week's wedding again.”

I let out a long sigh. “So you made a copy?”

“Of course I made a copy. You think I'd give away my master?”

“Well, no.” I felt silly. “So, what did you find?”

“I got this new editing system last week. It's the latest thing on the market. You'd kill me if you knew how much it cost, but anyway, it's the top of the line and it has tons of new features. No one else in town has anything close to this—”

“Does this have something to do with the tape?” I tried not to sound impatient.

“I'm getting to it.” She took a quick breath and then continued. “So I was playing around with some of the new features. You know, getting to know the system. When I heard your message, I thought that I'd put the footage on the new system and see what it could do.”

“And?” I urged her on.

“By using the new zoom feature, I was able to home in on the figure that comes into the room with the chef that was killed. I cleaned up the image and focused on the name on the jackets.”

“That's brilliant.” I held my breath. “So you know the name of the killer?”

“Actually, the
names
of the killers,” she said. “Plural.”

“What?” I held tight to the phone to keep from dropping it.

“That's right. Three different dark-haired men had a part in killing the chef. I wrote their names down. Gunter, Emilio, and Jean.”

“Oh my God.” I could barely breathe. “They all did it. Jean must have gotten rid of his accomplices in case they decided to turn on him.”

“What?” Joni asked. “You're breaking up a little.”

“Nothing.” I had to get off the phone so I could call Reese. “I've got to run. This is great, Joni. Thanks for everything.”

“Don't mention it. I'm glad I decided to spring for the new system. I'll be paying it off forever, but you should see the things it can do—”

“I'm losing you. I'm going through a tunnel.” I snapped the phone shut and turned to Kate, who was perched on the arm of the couch reading the wedding schedule.

She glanced up at me and did a double take. “You're white as a sheet. What's the matter? Is the photographer stuck in traffic?”

“That was Joni on the phone. She had a copy of the video and used some new system she got to zoom in and read the names of the killers on their jackets.”

“Killers?”

“Gunter, Emilio, and Jean. They all did it.”

“Tag team murder?” Kate's hand flew to her mouth. “No way.”

“Way,” I said, and flipped open my phone again. “I have to call Reese and tell him.”

Kate shook her head. “So Jean killed everyone, then?”

“He must have.” I punched the numbers on the keypad. “Maybe he thought the others would confess or maybe he was on a roll.” I counted the rings and wondered if Reese would be working on a Saturday.

“Precinct Two.” A clipped woman's voice answered on the fifth ring.

“Detective Reese, please. Tell him it's Annabelle Archer and it's an emergency.”

“Hold on.” The phone clattered against something, and I heard voices in the background. I guess their phones didn't have hold buttons yet.

“Reese here.”

“Detective, this is Annabelle Archer.” The words tumbled out of my mouth. “Sorry to bother you on a weekend, but this is urgent.”

“It's okay. I'm working, anyway.”

“Champagne for everyone!” one of the bridesmaids squealed as a waiter wheeled a cart with silver ice buckets into the room.

“I won't ask what you're doing.” He sounded amused.

“I'll have you know I'm at a wedding.” I tried to keep the irritation from creeping into my voice. “But I called you about the Fairmont murder case. I know who killed Henri, and I have solid proof this time.”

He sighed. “At this point I'm willing to listen to anything.”

“The videographer from the wedding kept a copy of the tape that you lost. She was able to zoom in and read the names off the jackets of the people who were in the room with Henri.”

“I'm listening.” Now he sounded interested.

“There wasn't one killer. There were three. Gunter, Emilio, and Jean all had a part in killing their boss. It's on the tape.” I gasped for air and waited for Reese's reaction.

“So Jean must have gotten rid of his accomplices to make sure they wouldn't turn on him.”

“That's what we thought, too. Now you have to release Georgia, right? If we've proved that someone else did it?”

“Georgia? We released her last night. That's one hell of a lawyer she got herself.”

“She's free?” I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.

“I've never seen anyone as eager to get back to work as she was. She said she hadn't missed one of her weddings in ten years and she wasn't going to miss the one she had today. People in your business really are obsessive, aren't they?”

A chill rushed over me. “She's going back to the hotel today? But Jean is still there. What if he's the one who set her up for the murder? He's not going to be too happy that she's out. He's already killed three people. What's to stop him from killing another?”

“Calm down, Annabelle,” Reese said, but I could hear the edge in his voice. “I'm on my way to the Fairmont right now. Whatever you do, don't go in there without me.”

“Then you'd better hurry.” I hung up and dialed the Fairmont switchboard with shaking fingers. I asked to be put through to Georgia's office, and I held my breath as the phone rang. My heart sank as my call went into voice mail.

“Georgia, it's Annabelle,” I said after the beep. “You're in danger. You have to get out of the hotel right now.” I hung up the phone and dropped it in my jacket pocket. Kate caught me as I reached the door.

“Where do you think you're going?”

“Georgia's over there with Jean and she doesn't know that he's the killer. If she's walking around the hotel, she won't get my message in time. I have to warn her.”

“Are you insane?” Kate grabbed me by the shoulders. “This guy is dangerous. He's already killed three chefs and tried to kill Leatrice.”

“It's okay.” I shook loose of her grip. “Reese is meeting me over there. I need you to run things for a few minutes while I'm gone. I'll be back before you know it.”

Kate darted her eyes to Nadine, who now wore a beehive and tossed back a glass of champagne in one gulp. Kate's eyes filled with panic. “It's too dangerous over there. I'll go.”

“Nice try. You'll be fine here,” I said. “You've got Fern to help.”

Kate looked at Fern, who brandished a brush in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

“I'm telling you girls.” He took a swig of champagne. “Sex is the last thing you'll want on your wedding night. After being on your feet all day and seeing all those people? Not on your life! Take it from an expert.”

“Right.” Kate raised an eyebrow. “Why was I worried?”

“Where's Georgia?” I rushed up to the Fairmont's concierge stand, panting from my dash through the Park Hyatt lobby and across the street. “Has she come in yet?”

Hugh jumped when he saw me, then straightened his formal concierge jacket. “Take it easy, Annabelle. I know you're as excited to see her as we all are, but there's no need to—”

“I have to find her,” I pleaded. “She could be in danger.”

Hugh leaned over his desk. “What kind of danger? Are you sure?”

“I need to find her before she runs into Jean.”

“Do you mean that Jean had something to do with the murder?” Hugh lowered his voice as a guest walked past us.

“I think Jean had something to do with all the deaths in the hotel, and I don't think he'll be too happy that the person he set up to take the fall for killing Henri is
free. If he's crazy enough to kill three times, then he's crazy enough to come after Georgia.”

“That's such a shame.” Hugh shook his head. “He's the best pastry chef we've had in years. I'm going to miss his chocolate decadence cake.”

I rolled my eyes. “So have you seen Georgia?”

“She came in a little while ago, but she was running around saying hi to all the departments.” Hugh smoothed his moustache with his index finger and looked puzzled. “I don't know where you'll find her, but wherever you do, Reg won't be far behind. He's been following her around like a puppy. Oddly enough, she doesn't seem to mind him. Jail must have had a profound change on her.”

“Now that I'd like to see.” I grinned at the thought of Georgia reevaluating her life. “Any idea where I should start looking for her, though? I'm not exactly in the mood for a wild goose chase.”

Hugh snapped his fingers. “She does have a wedding later today in the Colonnade. I know the tables are down, and Jean was going to start setting up the cake. Apparently it's six tiers and blue.”

Blue? Apparently no one wanted a traditional wedding cake anymore.

“So she might be in the Colonnade with Jean? If the police come, can you tell them where I am?” I didn't wait for Hugh to answer before turning and hurrying across the lobby. I leapt the two steps into the sunken lobby lounge and ran on tiptoes down the marble hallway to the Colonnade so my heels wouldn't announce my arrival. I stopped and caught my breath before entering the room.

The tables were set up and covered with pale blue satin tablecloths, giving the room an icy look. I slowly walked around to where Jean stood with his back to me,
assembling a giant blue wedding cake on the baby grand piano. A metal pastry cart on wheels stood beside him with piping tubes and extra bowls of blue icing.

“I am not fond of spectators while I work.” He gave me a disdainful glance over his shoulder, and then resumed piping a pearl border on the cake.

I quickly assessed that the pastry cart didn't hold any knives. “I didn't come to watch you work. I came to talk to you about the murders.”

“This again?” He sighed impatiently, but continued his work. “I have told you everything.”

“You failed to mention that you and your chef buddies conspired to get rid of Henri together, and then you killed off your accomplices.”

“Absurd,” he spat out. “You think I killed my colleagues? My friends?”

“Henri wasn't your friend.”

He slapped his piping tube down next to the cake. “True enough. His death was well-deserved. But I didn't do it.”

“Not alone, at least,” I pressed. “We have evidence that you, Gunter, and Emilio killed Henri together. It was caught on tape.”

“I heard about the tape.” He turned to face me. “I suppose it was recovered?”

How did he know about the tape? And how did he know it was missing?

“The police have it, and it proves that you were involved,” I bluffed. “It's only a matter of time before they find evidence to link you to Gunter's and Emilio's deaths, too.”

“I don't have to stand here and be accused of murder.” His eyes flashed. “If you'll excuse me, my work here is finished.”

I took a step forward. “I can't let you go.”

He turned back slowly, one side of his mouth crooked up in a smile. “And what do you intend to do? Subdue me yourself? Arrest me?”

The thought of a citizen's arrest didn't seem realistic at the moment since Jean had a good fifty pounds advantage over me. He fisted his hands and stepped from behind the pastry cart.

“Well, no, but…” I stammered.

“I can handle that part,” Reese said as he strode into the room, several uniformed officers following behind him. “We're going to need to take you in for questioning regarding the murder of Chef Henri.”

Jean arched an eyebrow but didn't move from his spot. An officer grabbed him by the elbow and started to lead him out of the room. He seemed totally uninterested in the process, but his eyes didn't leave mine.

“Don't believe everything you see,” Jean said so quietly that I could barely hear him.

“You okay?” Reese asked, waving a hand in front of me.

“I'm fine.” I pulled my eyes away from the chef as the officers escorted him away, and I looked up at Reese. “He never really threatened me. As a matter of fact, he seemed more insulted than angry.”

“Some people are like that,” Reese said. “Not all murderers are raving lunatics.”

“Good thing.” I smiled weakly. “I have enough raving lunatics for clients.”

Reese laughed. “You know you aren't a typical girl, don't you?”

“You mean your blondie doesn't get involved in murder cases?” I said before I thought better of it.

He raised an eyebrow at me and held my gaze with
his hazel green eyes. “I didn't know I had a blondie, but no, I don't know any other women who get involved in murder cases.”

“Oh.” I felt the heat creeping up my neck. “Well, I don't go looking for trouble, you know.”

Reese cocked his head to one side. “That's still up for debate.”

“I was only trying to help an old friend who was being framed for murder.” I put my hands on my hips. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

Reese studied me for a moment, and then gently brushed a loose hair off my face. “I'm not so sure about that. You have lucky friends.”

“Thanks.” My mouth went dry and I could feel my heart pounding. I only hoped that Reese couldn't hear it, too.

“Now that your friend has been cleared, I hope you'll stay out of my murder investigations.” He winked at me. “You drive me a little bit crazy.”

“Oh.” My heart sank. “Sorry.”

“Don't be sorry,” Reese leaned in to me and whispered. “It's not a bad crazy.”

“Oh.” I tried keep my knees from buckling.

“There you are,” Richard called as he stomped into the room in jeans and a white button-down. “I've been looking everywhere for you.”

Reese straightened up, and I jumped away from him.

“Richard.” I cleared my throat. “What are you doing here?”

“Kate has been calling me nonstop.” He waved his cell phone in the air. “Lucky for you I have today off and can swoop in and save the day again.” He paused when he saw Reese. “Well, well, it looks like help already arrived.”

“Sorry Kate dragged you down here, but everything's fine,” I explained. “The police just took Jean away.”

“Kate was babbling about Jean St. Jean and a tape and you being in trouble, but I couldn't make any sense of it.” Richard crossed his arms in front of him. “So you aren't in grave danger?”

I shook my head. “Actually, Jean went pretty quietly.”

“So I drove down here and valet parked for nothing?” Apparently his mood hadn't improved since last night.

“Not for nothing,” I said, my mind racing. “Georgia is out of jail and back at work. Do you want to come find her with me and say hi?”

“I suppose so,” he grumbled. “So the trip won't have been a total loss.”

I turned to Reese. “I'd better go.”

“I'm going to tie up a few loose ends around here, and then head back to the station,” Reese said. “I'm glad things turned out well for you and for Georgia.”

“Me, too.” I nodded. I wanted to say something else, but I could feel Richard's eyes on me. “See you later.”

“Count on it.” Reese winked almost imperceptibly before he strode out of the room.

Richard raised his eyebrows. “I'm not even going to comment on that.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” I said in my most innocent voice.

Richard shook a finger at me. “What's that saying about burning the candle at both ends, or is it playing both ends against the middle?”

“Now you sound like Kate.” I started to walk out of the Colonnade. “And I still have no idea what you're referring to.”

“Don't think I haven't noticed your little flirtation with tattoo boy.” Richard followed me. “Although I've had the good taste to overlook it.”

“You're overreacting, as usual.”

Richard gasped and stopped in his tracks. “I never overreact.”

Classic. Before I could respond, my cell phone began singing, and I reached into my pocket to retrieve it. I looked on the caller ID before answering.

“Hi, Kate,” I said as I flipped it open. “Everything's fine. They took Jean away for questioning.”

“That's a relief,” Kate said over a cacophony of women's voices in the background.

I kept walking through the lobby. “How's everything going over there?”

“Everything was fine until Nadine started rearranging her bouquet and made Mack cry. He and Buster went to repair the damage she did, and I ordered more champagne.”

“Good work, Kate. I'll be back in a few minutes.” I started up the staircase to the executive offices. “Richard and I are going to say hi to Georgia really fast.”

“Okay, but if you see Darcy, don't mention the news about Jean.”

“Why not?” I stopped on the landing and waited for Richard to catch up.

“You're not going to believe this, but I just overheard the catering assistants here gossiping about a big secret Darcy's been keeping from everyone at the Fairmont,” Kate said. “She and Jean were dating.”