Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part (18 page)

“Okay, if all of you will be in my house, I want to know your names,” I insisted.

The almost seven foot tall agent, who was built sleek as a panther with a luxurious crop of jet black hair, raised his hand and said, “George.”

The thick set, short man in his mid-40’s put down his taco, raised his hand and said, “Bill.”

The youngest agent, who looked barely twenty, had a heart-shaped face dusted with a sprinkling of acne, a strong impertinent chin and thin lips, raised his hand last and said, “Brandon.”

“Welcome,” I said, then narrowed my eyes. “Where are you all sleeping?”

All three men laughed and shrugged.

Art looked at Kenny. “Can they stay at your house?’

“Sure, I’m leaving in the morning for the day and, hopefully,” Kenny winked at me and then continued, “I won’t be back until Sunday night.”

“How long is this all going to go on?”

“What?” Art asked.

“
Me being watched twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week.”

“Until you get married and move. Then Chief Owens will take over watching you.”

“Or until your Dad testifies,” added George.

“I’m not getting married for several weeks. You all will be here until then?”

They all nodded.

This was ridiculous. I went into my bedroom and called Jordan.

“Hi, Sis. How’s the wedding plans going?”

“Fine, I’ll tell you all about them but I have a question.”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“When’s Dad supposed to testify?”

“In January.”

“That’s seven months from now.”

“So?”

“Any chance of moving it up?”

“Why?”

“I’ve got four FBI agents sitting in my kitchen and they’re planning on staying until I get married or Dad testifies. I do not want them under my feet.”

“Why are they all
in
your house? I can understand one being there but the rest of your FBI protective detail should be blended into the neighborhood.”

“Mrs. Crasten,” I said by way of explanation.

“Oh, I forgot about her. She would make it impossible for them to park a car anywhere in your neighborhood. Let me make a few calls and see what I can do. I’m not sure they’re ready to go to trial yet.”

“I’d appreciate any help you can give me.”

“It’s so much easier for them to blend in New York. Nobody pays attention to anyone.”

And because I was trying to be a better sister, I asked, “How are you and Sam doing?”

“Great. He’s really looking forward to coming out for the wedding and seeing you again.”

“Me, too,” I told her, although I wasn’t sure if it was the truth or not. Sam was a bit crazy, with a serious temper and manic-depressive episodes. But now that he was fully medicated,
holding down a full time diabetes research job, and not maxing out their credit cards, I guess I would give him another chance.

“Tell me about the wedding plans,” Jordan said.

I went into the office and went through the entire plan. It was easy with all the information scribbled on the white board.

“Wow, you’ve got a lot accomplished in just a few days.”

“It was Savanah, she’s fantastic.”

“She
was
always a brain in high school.”

“Well, wedding planning is her forte.”

“Has she changed much from my description,” Jordan asked.

“Replaced her extra pounds for muscle and added highlights to her hair.”

“Good for her. I’m still wearing a black cocktail dress to the wedding right?” Jordan asked.

“Yes, you can wear any black dress you want. I’m putting Kenny and Tom in gray tuxes.”

“Great. I’ll start making calls and seeing if it is possible to move Dad’s court date up.”

“Thanks, Jordan. I appreciate it.”

“Talk to you soon, Sis.”

She hung up and I turned my board around. The pictures all stared at me. I needed to get started looking into these people’s deaths. I dialed Justin’s number.

“Hey, Teach,” Justin answered on the second ring.

“Did you pull the information on all of these people yet?”

“Yeah, I did. I sent you an email. I condensed the information into just one page, so you can print it and put it with the picture after you’ve reviewed it.”

“Great. I’ll print them now and start matching up information with faces.”

“Let me know if you want to know anything else.”

“Thanks, Justin.” I turned on my laptop and brought up my email account. Before getting to Justin’s, I deleted lots of junk mail and, responded to Julie’s latest email. She was cruising in the Bahamas. I told her about my wedding in a month and I asked her to be one of my bridesmaids, Julie was excited and said she’d be at my house on the Friday before the wedding, so she could get a ride to the rehearsal. Then I sent a group email out to the staff at my school, telling them to save the date. Even though it was summer, I was sure many of them still checked their school emails, as I do. Besides, everyone seems to have their email on their phones, so it makes it very easy to keep up with them. I hate when I go back to school and have hundreds of emails I need to go through.

I immediately got several responses telling me congratulations and that they would be at the wedding. Did I have to send out invitations? Everyone seemed to do everything by email, these days. Speaking of invitations, I wondered when they would be in, so I dialed Savanah’s number, figuring to leave a message.

“Wooding’s Bridal Consultant, how can I help you?”

“Savanah?” I was surprised when she answered the phone.

“Hi, Liza.”

“You still working?” I asked.

“Yes, and thinking very seriously about hiring that temp. Did you buy the frame for your wedding picture or the attendant’s gifts yet?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Don’t leave it until the last minute or you’ll stress yourself out. It’s better to get everything and then relax.”

“Okay, Tom and I will go out and get them this weekend.”

“Great.”

“I was wondering when the wedding invitations will be in.”

“I rushed them since the time is so short. They should be in my office on Monday. As soon as I get them, I’ll bring them to your house. I’m really busy on Monday, so I may just drop them off. That reminds me, do you have your list ready with addresses? And Tom’s list, you’ll need that too.”

“I’ve started working on mine,” I lied. I didn’t want her to think I was a total slouch. Or that I spent the day at Pier 39 instead of taking care of wedding business.

“Well, get it finished by Sunday night. I’ll bring over the invitations as soon as they arrive. You need to get them out on Monday. We’re already behind schedule on the invitations.”

Before I could comment or even thank her, she continued, “The purplish red bougainvilleas aren’t available so I had to go with the pinkish ones. I changed the invitations, linens, and floral arrangements to match.”

“I’m not much of a pink girl,” I told her.

“It is a pinkish red, so it’s still red, Liza.”

“Okay, as long as it is more red than pink.”

“Have you picked out the jewelry you’ll wear with your wedding dress?”

“No,” I told her.

“You should probably get started on that too. It’s only three weeks until your wedding and if you have to order something or buy it on-line, it may take a while to arrive.”

“Okay, Tom and I will do that this weekend too.”

“Did you write it down?”

“What?”

“The things you need to do. If you don’t, you might forget.”

“Another good idea,” I told her and got a piece of paper from the printer. I wrote down: Guest addresses – mine and Tom’s, frame for picture (can be signed), attendant’s gifts, and jewelry for wedding dress. “Anything else you can think of?”

“Not at the moment, Liza.”

Then remembering my sister’s question, I said. “You are so efficient; your husband must really appreciate that when you’re going on vacation.”

A beat of silence and then, “I’m a widow, Liza.”

“I’m sorry, Savanah.” I would kill my sister.

“That’s okay. Henry was killed several months ago.”

Oh great, she’s a recent widow and I bring up her dead husband. Did she say killed?

“I am sorry, Savanah. How awful for you,” I sympathized and then because I couldn’t help myself I added, “When someone is killed, it is so sudden, there’s no time to prepare.”

“
Plotting revenge in my mind works well,” she said in an even tone.

“Excuse me?” I sputtered.

“Just thinking about getting back at the people who killed him helps me sleep nights.”

“Malpractice suit, civil suit, a criminal proceeding or murder?” I asked jokingly.

Savanah laughed and said, “I like you, Liza. You’ve got such a quick mind. I want to keep my options open, so I’ll consider all of your suggestions. I like making plans, that’s half the fun. And it’s always fun to plan how to spend the money.”

“Yeah, most of the cases are settled out of court, so you don’t even have to go. What do you have planned for the money?” I asked.

“I’ll donate any money that I get to a charity. I’m not in it for the money.”

“What charity are you giving the donation too?” I asked, thinking I could make a donation in his name, too, and maybe get Jordan to make a donation too. After all it was her curiosity that made me bring up Savanah’s dead husband.

“The SPCA. Henry loved animals. Have fun shopping, Liza.”

She hung up. I hate shopping. I opened my email account and sent a note to Jordan about Savanah’s husband, yelled at her for making me curious, and told her to make a donation to the SPCA. Finally, I opened Justin’s email and printed the thirty pages but I was just too tired to match them up, so I put them into a drawer.

When I came out, the FBI agents were all gone. They were probably at Kenny’s house and Art was in his room. I could hear the dogs outside barking at each other, so I went outside.

Kenny sat on one of the chairs watching the dogs play. He had one of the blankets over his lap from the wicker chest I kept between the chairs. He turned when I came out the sliding glass door.

“Get all your phone calls made, Stretch?”

I nodded.

He patted the seat in front of him and said, “Have a seat. It’s getting cold out here.”

I sat down in front of Kenny and nuzzled into him. He wrapped the blanket and his arms around me, holding me close.

“This is nice,” I said.

“Yes.” He set his head on my shoulder.

It felt totally right and comfortable snuggling into Kenny but not the same as it was with Tom. How could that be? I returned to my earlier musings about the two men in my life. Kenny was exciting, fun, explosive, and comfortable because I knew him like I knew myself. Tom was gentle, loving, a bit controlling and not as comfortable. He was an unknown and I guess that was part of my apprehension. What would living with him be like? And where did I see myself in five or ten years? If Kenny and I hadn’t lost track of each other, would our friendship have grown into something else? With Kenny, it would continue to be the roller coaster we both liked. With Tom, it would be children and eventually grandchildren. I remembered how I felt that night in Monterey when he apologized for arresting my dad and then sat behind me, the way that Kenny was doing right now. With Tom, it felt like coming home.

I don’t know who went first, Zoie, Shelby, Kenny or I, but soon I was sound asleep.

I jerked awake when someone picked me up. Had Angelo gotten by all those FBI agents or had he killed them?

Chapter 21

“Easy, Liza,” a voice cut through my sleepy head.

I knew that voice, didn’t I? “Kenny, put me down! Last week when you carried me to bed, you dropped me.”

The body under me stiffened.

“Liza,” the voice said, again.

I opened my eyes and saw Tom’s beautiful green eyes. “Hi, Tom.”

“Hi, honey. You want me to put you down?”

“No,” I said, sleepily and wrapped my hands around his neck. “You’d never drop me.” And I was asleep again.

When I awoke, the sun shone through my bedroom window. It was morning? I could feel someone behind me and realized two things: Tom came home and carried me to bed and I wore one of my nightgowns. He knew I hated to sleep naked so he took off my clothes and put on my nightclothes.

I turned around, pushed Tom’s hair out of his eyes, and watched him sleep. This man – who arrested my father, was controlling, and used a tone with me that made me want to run for the hills – was also the most loving, gentle, and respectful man I had ever met. I ran my fingers down his cheek, over his chin and brushed them on his lips.

Tom slowly blinked his eyes open. His face morphed into a smile and his eyes sparkled, “Good morning, Liza.”

“Good morning, Tom. I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey.”

“No, I really do love you.”

He raised his eyebrows and said, “There was a doubt?”

I had never lied to Tom about anything important and I wouldn’t start now, so I said, “For a few moments, I wondered about Kenny and me. We almost kissed yesterday, I mean really kissed and I was confused. We don’t have that kind of relationship and I wondered if our best friend bond would have grown into something else if we hadn’t lost track of each other all those years ago. But last night we were sitting on one of my chairs in the backyard, cuddled up together, and I realized how different it felt when I was in your arms. And even though you drive me crazy sometimes and I’m not sure about living every day of the rest of my life with you, I don’t even know if you leave the cap off your toothpaste or not, I do know one thing.”

“What?”

“I love you.” I leaned over toward him.

He put his arms round me and brought my body so that it was touching his. “I always put the cap on the toothpaste because I hate all that white stuff all over my sink.”

Then he leaned over and kissed me, long and deep. I sighed, feeling his love warming my heart and then the fire of his passion and mine ignited the kissing and spurring it on until we were both pulling off clothes, wanting to touch and be united with each other.

Afterwards, my legs were tangled with Tom’s and I said, “Did I tell you that I love you?”

“About a hundred times in the last hour, but I never get tired of hearing it,” Tom chuckled under his words as he brushed little kisses up my neck.

My stomach growled and he laughed. “It’s time to feed, Liza.”

“We’ve got some errands to run. Can we get dressed, go have breakfast and then get the things I need to pick up for the wedding?”

“I’d love to help buy things for the wedding.”

“By the way, did you bring your guest list?”

“I emailed it to you late yesterday before I left work. Do you have yours done?”

“I’ve started,” I used the same story I gave Savanah, this was
that
important so it was okay to stretch the truth just a little.

“That means you haven’t even begun.”

I kissed him gently on the lips and said, “You do know me very well, Tom Owens.”

“It’s not as hard as you think; just go through your Christmas card list.”

“That’s a good idea. You are so smart.” I kissed him again.

That kiss led to others and it was another hour before we got out of bed, showered, and left for breakfast.

“I want to take your car, Liza,” Tom said as we left the house.

“Really? You never like my driving.”

“I didn’t say you were driving, Liza. I parked my squad car in your driveway. I want people to see it there.”

“Thinking Angelo will think twice with it parked there?”

“Any added advantage I can get, I’ll take it,” Tom said as he opened the passenger side door for me.

I could have argued about driving but it wasn’t worth it. Sometimes it was just easier to let Tom think he was in control.

“Where’s my FBI entourage this morning?” I asked as I got in.

“Art went home. George, Bill, and Brandon will follow us in their car.” Tom closed my door and got into the driver’s seat.

Tom adjusted the seat and both side mirrors.

“It would have been easier for me to drive,” I mumbled.

“What?” Tom asked, as he adjusted the rearview mirror.

“Nothing.”

“Where to first?”

“Breakfast.” My stomach growled again.

Tom started my Jeep and we pulled away from the curb. Several seconds later, the black sedan pulled in behind us.

“Are George, Bill, and Brandon coming to Gainesville with us?” I asked.

“No, I’ll have one of my officers provide the added security. It’s only until your dad testifies and those guys are all put away for a very long time. Then we shouldn’t have to keep protecting you and Jordan.”

“What about retaliation from one of their family members?” I asked as I rolled down the window to let in some of the warm summer air.

Tom let out a huge sigh.

“What?” I asked.

“Nobody thought about that.”

“I’m not having a bodyguard for the rest of my life, Tom. That would be ridiculous.”

“I’ll have the agent in charge of your dad’s case look into family members or others who might hold a grudge once these guys are put away. Now, no more about that. Where do you want to go for breakfast?”

“Katy’s
Korner. They have great food and it’s only a few blocks from here.”

“Perfect, you give the directions and I’ll follow.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that.”

Katy’s is nestled at the end of a strip mall on San Ramon Valley Boulevard. The wait staff is very friendly and efficient and the food is great and comes in ample quantities. I love the country motif and how they decorate with sayings. As we opened the door, the smell of frying meat, cooking eggs, and fruit assailed my senses and my stomach growled in anticipation.

“Hi, Ester,” I said.

“Hey, Liza. It’s the summer, what are you doing here?” Ester pushed back a loose strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear, which showed off her great candy tattoo on her wrist.

“I can’t stay away from your great food,” I said.

She laughed. “Who’s your friend?’

“Ester, this is my fiancé, Tom,”

“Well, I finally get to meet the mystery man,” she said.

Tom nodded at Ester and said, “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

“Take any seat, Liza, and grab a menu if he needs one.”

I took a menu as I walked by the cashier station and we sat at a table on the right side.

I pointed to the sign above the table.

“Better to have loved and lost then to have stayed with the crazy man one more day,” Tom read aloud.

“It’s my favorite saying here, that one and ‘I have a teenager, now I know why some animals eat their young.’”

Tom laughed and said, “I deal with the kids at the high school on a daily basis, I can sympathize with that.” He opened his menu. “What’s good here?”

“Everything.”

Ester came over, handed me an iced tea and asked, “The usual?”

I nodded.

“What’s your usual?” Tom asked.

“Two eggs with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese on the inside, plus fresh fruit with berries and an English muffin.”

Tom glanced at the menu, “I don’t see that here.”

“It’s not on the menu,” Ester said. “We can make an omelet any way you’d like it.”

“Great, can I have three eggs with everything in it, all the meats and veggies you have in the kitchen, plus cheeses?”

“Of course. You want salsa or guacamole on the top?”

“Both would be great.”

After listening to his other choices, Tom settled on country potatoes, wheat toast, and lots of coffee.

“All of it’s on the way,” Ester said as she walked away from our table.

“How often do you eat here?” Tom asked.

“There are three of us that come every Friday during the school year and then a larger group that comes once a month.”

The food arrived and Tom’s eyes grew as large as his omelet.

“If you eat all of that, it will be a miracle,” I told Tom.

“I love a challenge.” Tom took a bite of the omelet and murmured his appreciation.

We didn’t do much talking, just ate. And the food didn’t disappoint. Tom barely finished his.

Afterwards we went to the mall and into the Hallmark store. I found my wedding picture frame. There were places around the outside for people to sign, using a special pen designed for metal.

“This is perfect,” I told Tom.

“We’re going to hang that up after the wedding?”

“Yeah, people will sign their names or write things to us on it.”

“What if someone writes something stupid?” Tom asked.

“Who would do that?” I asked.

Tom stared blankly at me, then I said, “Kenny.”

“I know exactly what he is going to write on it,” Tom said.

“What?”

“Your favorite saying,” Tom nodded at the picture frame. “Are you sure you want that on our wall?”

I took the frame up to the cashier. “What if someone writes something inappropriate on this frame? Is there a way to get it off?”

She laughed. “No, but it won’t matter. When you see it flat, you can see all the writing, but when it is hung up the lights hit it in such a way that you really can’t see the writing unless you look really close. It will just look like a metal border around your picture.”

I glanced at Tom who smiled and nodded.

“We’ll take it.”

When Tom tried to buy it, I said, “I’m the bride. I’m supposed to pay for the wedding.”

“That would be your dad, not you.”

“I’m too old to have my dad pay for my wedding. I’m a working woman. I can pay for my own.”

“I’m a working man and I can help pay, too.” Tom held out his hand.

I put the frame in his hand. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to let him pay.

As we left the store, I asked, “Do you know what you are giving your attendants as gifts?”

“I’m getting Michael a new skateboard. That will make him happy.”

“And what about David?”

“He needs a new girlfriend; can I buy him one of those?”

“He and Doreen are still fighting?”

“Always, they say they love each other but that’s not love, it is domestic violence.”

“You can’t dictate who someone will love,” I told him.

“I know, what’s next?”

“I need to find jewelry to wear with my wedding dress.”

“Isn’t it bad luck for me to see it before the wedding?” Tom asked.

“No, that’s the dress and I don’t believe in that stupid superstition. If the dress was at my house, I’d put it on for you.”

“I didn’t see Pamela before the wedding,” Tom said.

“And look how well that worked out,” I added.

Tom nodded.

We tried several jewelry stores, then a couple of boutiques, but I couldn’t find anything that was just right. I wanted it to look antique, but not old. I wanted silver and not gold. I wanted some red color in it to match the invitations, flowers, and my bouquet. It was a tall order and I wasn’t having any luck.

“Why don’t you try the internet, Liza? You’ve got time to get it.”

“I guess I’ll have to.”

“You’re not on a case, so Justin’s not busy right now, get him on it.”

I hadn’t told Tom about Justin’s discovery of the thirty dead people and I wouldn’t until I was sure that it actually was something worth bringing up. Just because things were found at the crime scene doesn’t mean that they didn’t belong to the victim.

We ate lunch at the mall, then Tom bought Michael’s skateboard and even found a football signed by Joe Montana for David. I still didn’t have a gift for Kenny or Jordan.

“What about jewelry for Jordan? Something she can wear with her black dress?” Tom suggested.

“I could get her something like whatever I wear.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“What am I going to get Kenny?” I asked.

“I can think of a few things, like …,” Tom started.

I put my finger over his lips. “I don’t want to hear your suggestions. I’ll know it when I see it.”