Murder of a Wedding Belle (6 page)

Wally sat next to her, putting his arm around her. “Sweetheart.” He cupped her face, cradling her cheek in his calloused hand. “Are you all right?”

Skye shook her head. “I know it’s not as if I’ve never discovered a dead body before. In fact, I’m beginning to think I might be a magnet for them. But I feel worse each time.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything else.” Wally radiated a strength that drew Skye like a hummingbird to sugar water. “If you didn’t feel that way, you wouldn’t be the woman I love.”

Skye gave him a quick kiss, then resolutely pulled herself together. “Should I tell you what happened?”

Wally gave her hand a squeeze. “Start with why you think this wasn’t an accident.”

Skye explained about the refrigeration unit being locked from the outside, then told him about her search for Belle, concluding with, “And the door to cabin four was half-open, which is unusual considering there’s tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of goods being stored inside.”

“So you’re thinking maybe whatever happened to Belle started while she was working inside number four.” Wally had removed his arm from around her to take notes.

“It makes sense.” Skye gestured over her shoulder with her thumb. “Since it’s right there.”

“I’ll take a look while we wait for the crime techs and the coroner. Why don’t you check and see if Martinez is doing okay.”

“How’s she working out?”

“So far, so good.” Wally took Skye’s hands to help her stand. “But she’s only been here a little over a week, and this is her first job after college.”

Skye nodded. Like small-town schools, small-town police departments often hired new graduates because they couldn’t afford more experienced officers.

As Wally walked over to number four, Skye approached Officer Martinez, who had taken up a position in the center of the parking lot where she could see all the cabins. “Hi. Everyone behaving?”

“More or less. They complained about having to stay in their rooms. It seems several have hangovers and are in desperate need of caffeine.”

“Mmm. We may be able to use that to our advantage when we question them.” Skye shook her head. “Who knew that Uncle Charlie’s refusal to provide coffeepots in the rooms would turn out to our advantage?”

“I don’t know,” Zelda deadpanned. “Withholding caffeine might be considered torture.”

Skye lips twitched. It appeared that Zelda had quickly learned that cops, like mental health workers, often used humor to cope with the grim reality of their jobs. “Guess there’s not much we can do until the forensic team shows up.”

Zelda adjusted her sunglasses. “I checked out the rooms, and I know they don’t have back doors, but do you think any of them are desperate enough to try and climb out the bathroom window?”

“Those windows are pretty small,” Skye pointed out. “But how about I do a roll call to make sure everyone is still where they’re supposed to be?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Zelda nodded. “Just yell if you need me.”

Skye started with Zack and Paige in cabin one, then worked her way around the circle. Zelda had been right about the group being unhappy with their confinement, but Skye soothed them with promises of coffee after they’d answered a few questions for the police.

No one answered the door to number ten. Frowning, she checked her list. Hallie Jordan was supposed to be occupying that cabin. She remembered that Hallie and her brother were the only guests who hadn’t shown up when the ambulance arrived.

Hale was assigned to number eleven, so Skye moved on to that cottage. When there was no response to her knock there either, she decided she’d better let Wally know that the twins were AWOL.

She found him conferring with Simon Reid next to the cooling unit. Besides being the county coroner, Simon owned the local funeral home and the town bowling alley—which his mother, Bunny, managed. He was also Skye’s ex-boyfriend.

They had dated on and off for nearly three years, until Skye caught Simon cheating on her. Actually, he really wasn’t, but he’d been too stubborn to explain. Shortly afterward, Wally and Skye became an item. To say that the three of them working together presented an awkward situation was an understatement.

As Skye approached them, both men turned toward her, and as soon as she was near enough, Wally put his arm around her shoulders and said, “Everything okay?”

At the same instant, Simon took her free hand and asked, “Are you all right? Anything I can do?” In appearance, Simon was the antithesis of Wally, tall and lean with stylishly cut auburn hair and golden hazel eyes.

“She’s fine,” Wally said, stepping back and bringing Skye with him, which caused her hand to slip from Simon’s. “I’ve got it covered.”

The two men glowered at each other, and Skye quickly said to Wally, “Two members of the wedding party are not in their cabins.”

“Were they here earlier?” Wally whipped out a pad of paper and a pen.

“No. I haven’t seen them today. I hope they just went for an early breakfast or to church.” Skye wasn’t sure that they were religious, but it was Sunday morning, and there weren’t many other places they could be.

“Names.”

“Hallie and Hale Jordan. They’re twins. The groom is their father.”

Simon interjected, “They’re children?”

“No. College age.” Skye turned to him. “Nick is quite a bit older than my cousin.”

“Oh.” Simon raised a brow and looked between Skye and Wally. “Dating older men must run in the family.”

Wally’s expression hardened, but he didn’t comment. Instead he reached for his cell. “Thea, call in Sergeant Quirk. I need him to locate Hallie and Hale Jordan. Tell him to start with the restaurants in the area, then try the churches.” He told the dispatcher to hold on and asked Skye, “Do you know what religion they are?”

“Not a clue.” She shook her head. “I know Riley can’t get married in the Catholic Church since Nick is divorced.”

“Just like Chief Boyd,” Simon murmured. “Something else you and your cousin have in common.”

It was Skye’s turn to glare at Simon. What was he doing? He almost sounded jealous. After the last case they’d worked on together when Wally was out of town, Skye thought she and Simon had made their peace and that they were on the road to becoming friends. In fact, for the last eight months, they’d fallen into the habit of having coffee together on Sunday mornings after Mass. So why was he acting like such a jerk now?

At the thought of those get-togethers, guilt nibbled at Skye’s conscience. When she’d mentioned them to Wally, he’d been unhappy, but she’d insisted that she and Simon were friends and there was no harm in her talking to him. Had she misinterpreted Simon’s intentions?

Before she could think about it, Wally clicked off his cell and said to Skye, “Reid processed the body and Xavier is taking it to the hospital in Laurel for the medical examiner to perform the autopsy.”

Skye nodded. Xavier Ryan was Simon’s assistant. She asked Simon, “Do you have a cause of death?”

“My best guess is she died of suffocation. There’s a suspicious bruise on her temple, some abrasions on her face, and it looks as if she was hit on the head before being stuffed into the floral refrigerator, which is airtight.”

“How about a time of death?”

“No.” Simon shook his head. “I wasn’t able to determine TOD because the body was refrigerated. But according to FEMA, a unit this size has enough air for about five hours, so she was probably locked in here no later than three a.m.” Simon tapped his chin. “Nothing suggests she tried to get out of the unit, so she
was
probably unconscious the whole time.”

“I sure hope so.” Skye shuddered. “I pray she didn’t know she was dying.”

The three of them were silent for a moment; then Simon said, “I’ve got to get going.” As he walked away, he added over his shoulder, “I’ll let you know when I get the autopsy results.”

Wally turned to Skye. “A couple of boxes were knocked over in cabin four, but the room doesn’t appear to have been searched. I checked out the victim’s cottage, and her door was unlocked, but there’s no sign of a struggle.

“So whatever happened probably started in number four.”

“That’s my working theory.” Wally shoved a hand through his hair. “The county crime-scene techs got here about the same time Reid did, and after they finish with the floral refrigerator, they’ll check out the victim’s cabin and number four. In the meantime, I want to start interviewing people. Who-all is staying here at the motor court?”

“The floral designer, two bridesmaids, three groomsmen, the matron of honor and her husband, and the best man.” Skye paused. “But, as we just discussed, the twins aren’t actually here at this moment.”

“There are twelve cabins.” Wally counted on his fingers. “Taking into account Belle’s and the three being used for storage and work space, that leaves one cottage empty. Is the bride or groom in it?”

“No.” Skye explained, “Riley’s at her mom’s house, and Nick, his parents, Jay and Natasha, and his six-year-old half brother, Luca Jay, who’s the ring bearer, are staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago. The California guests are arriving by private jet on Saturday. They’ll be driven to Scumble River that afternoon, then will spend the night at the Ritz-Carlton and fly home the next day.”

“So is number twelve unoccupied?”

“Yes. It’s being held for the makeup artist and hairstylist to share when they fly in from L.A. Thursday evening.”

“Okay.” Wally looked down at his notes. “Let’s start with the people currently at the motor court.”

“Who do you want me to cover?”

“You take the women and I’ll take the men. That’s three each.”

“Okay.” Skye moved to go, then turned back. “I almost forgot. Except for Iris Yee, they all probably have hangovers and haven’t had their morning coffee yet. I promised them as soon as we finish questioning them they can go get some.” She gave him a little smile. “So they’re probably just a tiny bit on edge.”

“You’re evil.” Wally grinned at her. “I like that in a woman.”

Skye winked, then headed to cabin nine. She knocked and said, “It’s me again, Skye.” She had explained on her earlier visit that she was the police department’s psychological consultant.

“Come in.” Tabitha flung open the door. “Did you bring coffee?”

“Sorry.” Skye edged past her and sat in the only chair, forcing Tabitha to sit on the bed, which put her at a slight disadvantage.

“What do you want to talk about?” Tabitha’s bearing was regal and her face impassive.

“How well do you know Belle Canfield?”

“I don’t, except as a wedding planner. Is she the one the ambulance came for?”

Skye ignored Tabitha’s question. “When did Riley hire her?”

“Mmm . . . Maybe six or eight months ago. Did Belle get mugged or something?”

“I was under the impression that a wedding like Riley’s would take a year to a year and a half to put together. I mean, I know Riley only formally announced her engagement here in Scumble River last November, but I assumed she had already put things in motion several months before her visit home.”

“And you’d be right,” Tabitha confirmed. “Riley’s first choice quit, so she went with Belle, since she had done Paige’s wedding.”

“But Belle told me she’s the premiere Hollywood wedding coordinator. Why wasn’t she Riley’s first choice?” Skye was careful to keep to the present tense so Tabitha wouldn’t guess Belle was dead.

“I don’t get involved in the drama, but my guess would be that at first Riley was trying to outdo Paige, hiring a planner even higher up on the food chain than Belle.” Tabitha shrugged. “Riley’s a bit of a hungry tiger.”

“Uh?”

“A person who wants attention so bad, they’re starving for it.”

“Oh.” Skye could think of quite a few hungry tigers, but to be fair they were mostly teenagers who would eventually grow into gentler creatures. “How did Riley come to hire Belle at the last minute?”

“Belle isn’t as famous as she pretends. Plus, Nick pulled some strings and offered her double her usual rate.” Tabitha’s eyes twinkled. “Money talks, you know.”

“I’ve heard that, but money and I are not usually on speaking terms.” Skye smiled. “That is, until I started working this wedding.”

“You too, huh?” Tabitha snickered. “Yes, Nick is the Money Whisperer, that’s for sure.”

Skye nodded, noticing that Tabitha’s lilting Caribbean accent varied depending on her comfort level. “What time did you get back here last night?”

“Around one, I think. I didn’t look at the clock.”

“Was anyone hanging around the motor court when you arrived?”

“No.” Tabitha’s smooth expression didn’t change. “I caught a ride with Gus and Liam, and Paige and Zach took the twins. Both cars got here about the same time, and no one else was in the parking lot.”

“Did you hear anything during the night or this morning?”

“Sorry. I took a sleeping pill. I didn’t hear anything until the ambulance siren woke me up.”

“Do you know anyone who dislikes Belle or wishes her harm?” Skye asked.

“Well, there was The Incident.” Tabitha’s brow wrinkled. “A mother of the bride found Belle naked in the back of the limo with one of the wedding party. Rumor has it she chased her around the parking lot with a cake knife.”

“Why did the mother care?”

“He was the father of the bride, the mother’s husband.”

“Oh.” Skye made a note. “What was the woman’s name?”

“I have no idea.”

“Anyone else who dislikes Belle or would want to hurt her?”

“Everybody in the wedding party.” Tabitha crossed her legs. “She’s a bully.”

“Anyone more than the others?” Skye asked.

“If it were me, I’d be looking at the vendors. That’s who she really holds power over.”

Skye made another note. “Like Iris?”

Tabitha pursed her lips. “You never answered me. Did something happen to Belle?”