“I take it she’s never been out for a visit?”
“Nope. When I told her I was dating she was paranoid, worried for me. When I finally told her that Joseph had money...”
“She thought all her dire predictions were coming true.”
“Yeah. She just wouldn’t hear what I had to say. I mean, for someone with his kind of money Joseph is the most opposite of the jet-setting crowd as he possibly could be.”
“That’s true.”
“I knew that if they met him, gave him a chance, he’d win them over. I think you actually really got them to calm down. I think they just needed someone other than me to tell them things were okay.”
“Glad I could help.”
Cindy’s phone rang and she answered it. A minute later she handed it to Geanie with a grin. “I think I just solved one of your other problems, too.”
Liam called Mark halfway through the drive, a fact he was immeasurably grateful for.
“Found something interesting,” the other detective said.
“What?”
“I pulled up Amanda’s financial records. The house did indeed appear to close just recently. In fact, she deposited a check for just over half a million into her bank account.”
“So, her story holds up so far.”
“Yes, but here’s where it gets interesting. A few days later she took out five hundred thousand. All in cash.”
“Cash?”
“Yup. And, she told us she was moving into an apartment? Well, there’s no record of any checks or credit card purchases made out to anything like that. No deposits, nothing. There haven’t been any credit checks run in the last three months either.”
“And apartments always run those before they let someone sign a lease. So, unless she’s moving in with someone else, she’s lying about moving into an apartment.”
“Makes you wonder where she thinks she’s going to go,” Liam said.
“And what she’s done with all that cash.”
“I know you had to dash, so I submitted the paperwork to get the search warrant.”
“What would I do without you?” Mark asked.
“Be a month behind in all your cases?” Liam teased.
Mark smiled to himself as he ended the call. He was really beginning to enjoy having Liam as a partner.
“Sounds like that was important,” Veronica said, eyes wide.
“It was,” Mark admitted.
He picked up the phone and tried calling Traci, wishing they could finish their conversation from earlier but also desperate to end the one with Veronica.
“Coming home yet?” Traci asked.
“No, I’ve got the second bridesmaid with me, though, and we’re heading for Joseph’s. I’ll be there for a while. Then, unless I get the search warrant I want, I’ll be heading home. You might as well have dinner without me. Either way it’s going to be a long night.”
“I’m not enjoying all this time apart,” she said with a sigh.
“I know, but it can’t be helped.”
“All of your cases take up a lot of time, but this one seems especially time-intensive.”
“Tell me about it, I feel that I’ve been living either at the hospital or at Joseph’s. It’s ridiculous.”
“Well, I’m going to hold off in hopes of a late dinner. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” he said.
He hated the fact that right after finding out the biggest news of their lives it felt like they got no time together to marvel, to talk, to just be together before their lives changed forever. It wasn’t fair. He was tired of asking her to put up with that kind of craziness.
“You’re the best, you know that?” he asked.
“Oh, you have no idea,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.
He finally hung up as he exited the freeway near Joseph’s house.
“Now, just so we’re clear,” he told Veronica. “You’re going to be here for the next week. No side trips, no running out to get things. If, and only if, there is a pressing reason to leave you will be escorted by police officers. Is that clear?”
“Perfectly,” she said, still looking excited.
He realized there was no way he was going to be able to impress upon her just how dangerous this whole situation really was, so he might as well stop trying. The truth was, as much as he wanted all the potential targets in one place because it was easier to concentrate the manpower to protect them, it was a huge gamble. He literally was putting all his eggs in one basket and if anything should upset that basket, they could all be killed in a moment. It was a risk they had to take, though. Hopefully the gamble would pay off.
They headed up the hill to Joseph’s and he waved at the officers he could see as he parked in front of the house. Cindy came out and helped grab a couple of Veronica’s bags from the trunk.
“How are the patients?” he asked.
“Restless, but behaving.”
“Can’t ask for any more than that,” he muttered.
He followed her into the entryway, a bag in each hand. Geanie walked in from the kitchen just as a woman started down the stairs wearing a green dress.
Mark looked up and his jaw dropped as the bags slipped out of his hands. He turned on Cindy. “What is she doing here?” he demanded.
13
“She volunteered to replace Melissa as a bridesmaid,” Cindy said with a grin.
“And I figured this would allow me to spend more time with my husband, so I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone,” Traci said as she made it to the bottom of the stairs. She was wearing a forest green gown made out of satin that looked like a bridesmaid dress. “And don’t worry, the neighbors are watching Buster.”
“Although we did tell her that she could bring him,” Cindy said.
Mark was dumbfounded. He’d never guessed Traci would go and do something like this.
“Well, aren’t you going to say something?” Traci teased. She did a slow turn. “At least tell me how I look. It turns out Melissa and I wear the same size.”
“Can I talk to you...outside,” he said, unable to mask the stress in his voice.
“Sure,” she said, her smile faltering slightly.
They walked outside and Mark closed the door behind them. Then they walked a few more steps before he turned to her. “Are you crazy? What are you doing?”
“I’m helping out,” she said, crossing her arms and arching an eyebrow, a sure sign that she was settling in for a debate.
“You can’t be here. This is the middle of a murder investigation.”
“It’s also the middle of a wedding, and my friends needed me.”
“Geanie and you barely know each other!”
“We know each other well enough and she was thrilled when I volunteered.”
“You volunteered!” he exploded. Until that moment he had been sure that Cindy had been the one to talk her into something so crazy.
“Of course I did. When I heard what happened, I couldn’t leave them high and dry, could I?”
“Oh, so you’re saying this is my fault? If I hadn’t told you about that idiot wanna-be actress you wouldn’t even be here?”
“I never said that, but if you want to look at it that way,” she shrugged. Her eyes were sparking fire and any other day if he had seen that he would have quickly backed down. Not today, though, not over this.
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the other officers retreat, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near this fight.
“What is your problem?” Traci demanded.
“My problem? My problem is that it’s too dangerous to be here!”
“It can’t be that dangerous or you wouldn’t have risked the lives of your friends.”
“I had no choice but to risk their lives. Their lives were already at risk before I even got here! This whole thing is one big gamble. I’m betting their lives on the fact that hopefully I didn’t just make it easier for the killer to blow them all up at once!”
r />
“Still, you have to be pretty confident,” she said, hesitating ever so slightly.
“As confident as a man standing in a dynamite factory with a lit match,” he said. “This thing could blow up in my face at any moment. But what else can I do? I’m certainly not comfortable putting my wife, my pregnant wife, into this situation.”
“It’s a good thing it’s not up to you, then,” she said softly.
He stared at her slack-jawed.
“Listen, Mark. You can’t forbid me. We both know that won’t work. I want to do this. Yes, I want to help out and I want to see more of you than I’m going to, but you have to remember, I’m going through a lot of changes.”
“That’s why I need to know you’re safe,” he pleaded.
“And I feel safer here, surrounded by people I care about than I do at home by myself.”
“But what if something bad happens?” he whispered.
“Then, you’ll protect me, just like you always do. And, let’s be honest, the only times bad things have really happened to me have been when you’ve left me alone,” she said.
She wasn’t wrong, that’s what killed him.
“And given my current state I wasn’t particularly in the mood to be left alone. Besides, with all the police you’re going to have sitting on this place, this should be the safest house in the state. If I were you I’d actually start worrying more about what you’re going to do to secure the wedding and reception sites.”
He snapped his mouth shut before he could say anything else. He’d been putting off thinking about securing those sites because he’d been hoping beyond hope they’d catch the killer before then. She was right, though. At the rate they were going the killer would still be at large next Saturday and they needed to have started planning for that contingency days before.
“You hate it when I’m right, don’t you?” she said, a smile quirking the corners of her mouth.
“You know I do,” he admitted.
“So, first, tell me how I look in my dress,” she said, twirling again.
“Like an angel,” he said, smiling grudgingly.
“Thank you. Now we can get down to the business of figuring out how to make this wedding safer than the real Royal Wedding was.”
“Sometimes it scares me how smart you are,” he said.
“I know. It’s why we stopped playing Monopoly ages ago,” she said with a grin.
He sighed. “I’m hoping you brought everything with you that you’re going to need for this three hour tour?”
“Oh, enough for two weeks at least. Longer if I can get at a washing machine.”
He held out his arm and she took it. “In that case, I’d better escort a certain bridesmaid back inside.”
“You’d better. Rumor has it groomsmen are showing up shortly and I wouldn’t want to have to wait for one of them to escort me inside.”
“If Wildman lays one finger on you, I’ll rip it off,” Mark growled.
Her laughter pealed out across the lawns and it made everything else worth it.
“Everything okay?” Cindy asked, eyeing Traci and Mark as they came back inside. The couple were both smiling now, which was a good sign.
“Glorious,” Mark said. “As it turns out, looks like I’ll be staying the week, too.
“The more the merrier,” Joseph said from the living room doorway.
“What are you doing up?” Mark barked at him.
“Heading to the restroom. And nothing on this earth can stop me,” Joseph said, setting his jaw.
“Fine, just use one of the ones on this level, no climbing the stairs,” Mark said.
Joseph grumbled something but Cindy couldn’t quite make it out.
“Can I get the rest of my bags?” Veronica asked.
“Sure, knock yourself out,” Mark said.
“I’ll help you,” Cindy said.
After they had brought in the rest of Veronica’s luggage, Cindy helped her carry it upstairs. Veronica’s room was next door to Charlotte’s. Traci and Mark’s was across the hall and next door to Milt and Dorothy’s. That left three more guest rooms in that wing, one each for Dave and Jordan whenever they arrived, and one for the final groomsman who was flying in on Tuesday.
Cindy left Veronica to settle into her room and hurried back downstairs. She found everyone else gathered in the living room where Geanie was on her cell ordering pizza for everyone. She hung up at last. “There, food for twelve people.”
“Come Tuesday when Les flies in it will be thirteen,” Joseph commented.
“Quite a houseful,” Mark commented. “Hope no one is overly superstitious.”
Geanie rolled her eyes. “Please, this is a good thing. Thirteen is my favorite number.”
“It always has been,” Dorothy affirmed.
“Ever since she was little she had to be different than everyone else,” Milt said with a laugh.
“What can I say? Normal is boring,” Geanie said with a laugh.
“That, ladies and gentlemen, is my fiancée,” Joseph said.
The pizza dinner ended up having a downright festive feel. It didn’t take long afterward, however, for people to start yawning. It had been an exhausting day for all of them.
After Joseph fell asleep on his couch Cindy, Jeremiah, and Mark moved into the kitchen. She noticed that the detective only rolled his eyes slightly in Jeremiah’s direction. He probably realized that trying to keep him on the couch was a losing battle.
Mark filled them in on everything he had learned from Gretchen about Paul. He also told them about his and Liam’s visit to see Amanda. They both agreed that everything about her seemed incredibly suspicious.
“What about the rose, anything about that?” Jeremiah finally asked.
“Not yet. Probably won’t hear anything back from forensics until Monday morning I’m guessing,” Mark said, sounding irritated.
“I can’t believe tomorrow’s Sunday already,” Cindy muttered.
“I can’t believe that Marie knew I had an accident that was bad enough to get a replacement rabbi for services today, and I still haven’t heard anything from her,” Jeremiah said. “Usually she would have called and given me an earful by now.”
“I told her we were putting you in police protection and no contact with the outside world. You’re welcome,” Mark said with a wink.
Jeremiah smiled. “It might be even worth the third degree she’ll give me when this is all done.”
“At least you have a small respite. Sometimes I get the impression she thinks of herself more as your mother than your secretary.”
Jeremiah chuckled.
Cindy managed not to say anything. The number of dirty looks she got from Marie had not endeared the other woman to her.
“Okay, run me through the schedule for the rest of the week,” Mark said.
“Tomorrow Joseph was going to throw a big barbeque for close friends and Geanie’s family.”
“Consider it canceled,” Mark said. “Make sure to make the phone calls.”
“I’ll get right on that,” Cindy said, unable to hide the sarcasm from her tone.
Mark looked questioningly at her. She just shook her head. She was tired, but he was right, Geanie had too much on her plate to worry about making those calls. She could handle it.
“Monday’s a holiday,” Jeremiah said. “There were plans to take Geanie’s family and the bridal party to The Zone theme park.”
“Also canceled, obviously,” Mark said.
“Tuesday is the last meeting with the wedding planner, which can happen here,” Cindy said.
“Good.”
“Wednesday night was last minute running around and errands.”
“Which, if they are absolutely necessary, someone else can handle. We’ll talk about that later.”
“Thursday night are the bachelor and bachelorette parties,” Jeremiah said.
“Correction, ‘were’ the parties. Next?”
“Hold on,” Cindy said.
/> “What?” Mark asked.
Cindy took a deep breath. “I know there’s a killer on the loose and all kinds of craziness going on, but I refuse to let that ruin what should be the most special time in their lives. There’s no way I want Geanie to look back and think, ‘I wish I could have had a bachelorette party and a normal wedding.’ She’s only getting married once.”
“I agree,” Jeremiah said quietly.
“You two are crazier than Traci,” Mark said. “Look, unless it can be done from the safety of the mansion, there is no way you can have those parties.”
Cindy felt herself beginning to smile.
“What? I don’t like that look,” Mark said.
“It’s settled,” she said. “We’ll have the parties here.”
He groaned. “I know I’m going to live to regret saying that.”
“If we’re smart, we could even use them to set a trap for the killer,” Jeremiah said. “If it worked, then things would be all clear for the wedding.”
“And if it doesn’t work the three of us are going to have words,” Mark warned.
“Okay, we’ll talk logistics in the morning,” Cindy said. “Let’s keep going. Friday all day we’ll be decorating the reception site.”
“The event planner should be taking care of that, right?”
“Not all of it. There are several little surprise touches Geanie is adding personally.”
“I could forbid it.”
“And I could talk to Traci,” Cindy said smugly.
Mark sighed. “And?”
“Friday night is the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. The dinner’s happening at Rue de Main.”
Mark shook his head. “I’ll be seeing a lot of that restaurant this week.” He cleared his throat. “Then Saturday’s the wedding and that’s it, yes?”
“Yes,” Cindy and Jeremiah chorused.
“Great, it’s going to take every cop in Pine Springs and then some to pull this whole thing off,” Mark sighed. “The captain is going to just love this.”
“Don’t forget, you’ve got a secret weapon on your side,” Cindy said.
“Yeah, and just what would that be?” he asked.
“Us,” Jeremiah answered.