Lancelot's Lady (49 page)

Maid of Dishonor

(Myrtle Murphy Mystery #3)

Myrtle Murphy thought she had everything out of life, like a dead husband buried in the woods and a mother-in-law thankfully flattened by a sleeping cow. However, she began to feel rather lonely. After all, now that Norm was gone, the house was deathly quiet. So quiet that even her breathing seemed to echo down the hallway of the dreary two-story Victorian home. And there was an emptiness that pervaded each room, as if every molecule of oxygen had been vaporized and replaced with a void of stale, shadowed nothingness.

Like a tomb, Myrtle thought one day. And there
'
s no Harrison Ford coming to my rescue.

It was time to do something about it.

She picked up the phone and carefully flicked through the Rolodex.

No telling who
'
s in here.

Her hand paused suddenly.
"
Rick Ferelli? Well, lordy, how did that get in here?
"

She plucked out the small rectangular card and squinted. She recognized Norm
'
s handwriting immediately. But what the hell was he doing with her sister
'
s ex-husband
'
s phone number?

Good God, did Norm find out what I did?

Her wrinkled hand crept to her throat as she recalled the catastrophe that was her sister
'
s wedding day thirty-five years ago…

* * *

"
Are you ready yet, Myrtle Anne?
"
her mother shouted, pounding on the bathroom door.
"
You know, other people could use the mirror more than you.
"

Myrtle adjusted the blue satin dress and twirled in the mirror, admiring her new hairdo. Turning her head to examine her profile, she couldn
'
t help but notice how closely she resembled Eliza, her sister. Eliza was getting married in a few hours, and thank God she had the brains to order decent dresses for her bridesmaids and maid of honor.

"
I should
'
ve been her maid of honor,
"
she muttered.

Myrtle was still hurt by the fact that Eliza had chosen her best friend for the highest honor. How could Eliza do this to her?

"
Always a bridesmaid,
"
Myrtle said to her reflection.

Just that morning, her mother had warned her that she
'
d better hurry up and get married if she wanted children. She
'
d just turned twenty-six. A spinster, by her mother
'
s terms.

"
For crying out loud, your sister who is six years younger than you is getting married before you. What
'
s wrong with you, Myrtle Anne? Why can
'
t you find a man?
"

Myrtle frowned in the mirror.
I did find a man, Mother.

Unfortunately, Eliza had beaten her to him.

Rick…

Ricardo Ferelli was a young legal assistant when Myrtle had first met him. Tall, handsome, with a mind bent on a career as an attorney, he had all the qualities she was looking for. They
'
d gone out for six months when he finally convinced her to invite him to dinner at her family home in Sherwood Park. Her mother had been more than thrilled.

So was Myrtle. Things were looking serious. She
'
d finally found her man—until Rick set eyes on Eliza.

Although Ricardo Ferelli had swept into both of their lives, he
'
d been swept out of Myrtle
'
s faster than she could say
"
I do.
"
In fact, she never even had the chance to contemplate those words. Eliza would be saying them instead.

Myrtle glanced at her watch. It was nearing 7:00 PM.

Almost time to leave for the church.

She emerged from the bathroom, ignored her mother and headed downstairs. From the top step, she could see a small group of women standing in the living room. Eliza was in the center, all bride-like and glowing in her form-fitting, white satin wedding dress with the tiny diamonds on the bodice. Beside her stood Stephanie, her maid of honor and best friend.

Myrtle
'
s face transformed into a hardened mask of anger and jealousy.
Eliza, you traitor!
Resentment boiled with each step, threatening to erupt like a bad case of acid reflux. In that moment, she didn
'
t know who she hated more, Stephanie or her own sister.

"
Myrtle!
"
her sister exclaimed over the loud music.
"
I was wondering where you were.
"

Like you really care,
Myrtle wanted to say.

She glared at Stephanie.
"
How come everyone
'
s inside?
"

Eliza pouted, something she was very good at.
"
It
'
s raining.
"

Myrtle glanced out the window. Sure enough, a light drizzle watered the yard and disturbed the dark surface of the barely visible swimming pool.

"
Your mom forgot to buy new bulbs for the outdoor lights,
"
Stephanie said.
"
If it wasn
'
t raining we
'
d have drinks by the pool before the wedding.
"

Myrtle
'
s brow arched.
"
Looks like you
'
ve already had a few.
"

Stephanie gave her an overstretched smile.
"
One glass of wine.
"

Eliza grabbed Myrtle
'
s arm and dragged her into an alcove.
"
What are you doing? This is my wedding day.
"

"
Yes, it is.
"
But it should have been mine!

"
Look, Myrt, you told me you understood when I told you I wanted Stephanie to be my maid of honor. She
'
s my best friend.
"

I understand that you
'
re thoughtless.
"
I do understand. I just don
'
t like her.
"
At Eliza
'
s shocked expression Myrtle added,
"
So sue me.
"

Thankfully, their mother interrupted them.
"
We
'
re popping open a bottle of champagne in the kitchen.
"
She took Eliza
'
s arm and whisked her away.

Myrtle hung back, tempted to ditch the wedding and head for a bar where she could get seriously drunk.

"
Where is everyone?
"
Stephanie asked.

Myrtle eyed her for a moment, then shrugged.
"
Don
'
t know.
"

"
Can you tell your sister I
'
m moving my car to the grocery store parking lot out front?
"
Stephanie pulled her car keys from a silver handbag.
"
I
'
m in the alley and I don
'
t want to be towed.
"

"
It
'
s dark out there. I
'
ll come with you.
"

In hindsight, if Myrtle had paused to think about her unusual offer, she would have realized that a plan had started to percolate.

* * *

Myrtle snuck a peek in the foyer mirror. A strand of hair was dislodged and she tucked it back behind a hairpin.

"
We
'
re getting ready to go,
"
her mother told her.
"
I
'
ll take Aunt Lucy and the bridesmaids. You
'
re okay to drive your sister and Stephanie?
"

"
Of course. I only had a rum and Coke.
"
Hold the Coke.

Myrtle helped Eliza into the backseat.

"
Where
'
s Stephanie?
"

Myrtle shrugged.
"
She said something about her car.
"

"
What do you mean? She
'
s parked out back.
"

"
I know,
"
Myrtle said.
"
She had her keys out. She must have thought there wasn
'
t enough room.
"

Eliza blew out a breath of relief.
"
So she
'
s meeting us at the church.
"
She laughed.
"
For a minute I was worried.
"

"
Yeah, can
'
t have a missing maid of honor, now can we?
"

Eliza shook her head. Then she took Myrtle
'
s hand.
"
I
'
m so glad you understand, sis. I didn
'
t want you mad at me on my wedding day.
"

Myrtle painted on a smile.
"
Now why would I be mad at you?
"

She was about to close the car door, when her sister let out a loud gasp.
"
My dress!
"

Eliza hauled in handfuls of fabric just in time.

Myrtle swore beneath her breath.

* * *

"
Where can she be?
"
Eliza asked for the millionth time. Her voice crackled with unshed tears.
"
She should have been here before us.
"

"
I
'
m sure Stephanie will be here any minute, dear,
"
their mother said, stroking Eliza
'
s arm.

Everyone was in a panic over Stephanie. Everyone, that is, except for Myrtle. She played the concerned sister and called Stephanie
'
s number on her cell phone. She even left messages.

"
Stephanie, it
'
s Myrtle. We
'
re all at the church. Where are you?
"

Eliza moaned.
"
What am I going to do, Mom? She
'
s my maid of honor.
"

"
Maybe she
'
s here but doesn
'
t know what room we
'
re in. I
'
ll go check, dear.
"

Myrtle watched their mother scurry off in the direction of the church entrance.

"
Oh, Myrtle,
"
Eliza wailed.
"
Stephanie was supposed to help me get ready.
"

Myrtle turned her toward the floor length mirror.
"
I think I did a pretty good job.
"

"
Tell me what Stephanie said to you again.
"

Myrtle let out an irritated sigh.
"
She had her keys in her hand and said she was going out to her car. I thought she was driving here.
"

"
And Mom checked the alley?
"

"
That
'
s what she said. And there was no sign of Stephanie
'
s car.
"

A tear trickled down her sister
'
s face.
"
Then where is she?
"

"
Maybe she stopped off at her boyfriend
'
s house.
"

Eliza
'
s mouth opened, then closed.
"
She doesn
'
t have a boyfriend.
"