Clearly Mark was, too. At this rate they were all going to be the walking dead by the time Saturday rolled around. She just prayed this whole thing would be over soon so they could relax and get some rest before then.
Her phone rang and she saw that it was Gerald. Surprised that he would be calling this early she hastily answered. “Hi, I was planning on calling you a little later,” she said.
“What I have to say couldn’t wait,” he said, his voice strained.
“Why, what did you find out?” she asked.
“You better sit down.”
“I am sitting down.”
“Good, because you are not going to believe what I just found out.”
“Tell me,” she said, breathlessly.
“Okay, I did some digging and I followed a lead down to New Orleans. Matthew is-”
Gerald shouted, she heard a crash and then the line went dead.
15
“Gerald? Gerald!” Cindy was shouting into her phone.
Mark felt himself come fully awake as he stared at the horrified expression on her face. She tried calling the man back but he could hear the voicemail pick up.
“Please, Gerald, call me back. Let me know you’re okay,” Cindy pleaded.
Finally she put her phone down on the breakfast bar and stared at it as though she could will it to ring.
“What happened?” Mark asked quietly.
“Something terrible,” Cindy whispered, sounding heartbroken.
“Look at me,” he said sharply.
She did as she was told.
“Tell me what just happened,” he demanded.
“He said he found out something about Matthew that I wasn’t going to believe. He followed a lead to New Orleans. I think he might have actually gone there, I don’t know. He said I wasn’t going to believe what he had to say. He said ‘Matthew is’ and then he shouted and there was a crash before the line went dead.”
“Matthew is...what?”
“I don’t know,” she said, her eyes tearing up. “And what if the answer to that just got him killed?”
“But why, by who?”
“There has to be something we can do,” she said. “I got him involved in all of this. I asked him to help.”
“He was already involved. He wrote about that cult and whatever questions he was asking were reason enough for Paul to threaten him. Something is going on here that is bigger than we think it is. This can’t all be about keeping the past buried, especially since that mass grave has been found.”
“But-”
“No, whatever is going on is not your fault. Look, I’ll put a call in to the New Orleans police and see if they know anything, and ask them to notify me if anything comes up.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Hey, it’s the least I can do. And besides, if anyone is responsible for getting him into whatever mess he’s in, it’s me. I’m the one who asked for help from anyone and everyone figuring out the whole Paul thing. Believe me, if I could put an end to all that I would in a heartbeat.”
“The truth will come out, I’m sure of it,” she said.
“I hope so, for all our sakes,” he said grimly.
“Now, give me a few minutes, I have to make some calls.”
She nodded, grabbed her tea and her phone and left the kitchen.
Cindy sat in a chair in the living room, quietly sipping her tea and trying not to freak out. When she’d walked in the room she’d had a momentarily insane thought of waking Joseph and asking to borrow money for airfare to New Orleans. The thought was short-lived, though, as she realized she wouldn’t even know where to begin when she got there and she could search for weeks and still not find Gerald or anything about him.
Plus, there was no way she could abandon everyone here. Whatever was happening to Gerald was happening now. There was nothing she could do to stop it or help. On the other hand, there were people here and now who she could help.
Why did life have to be so complicated? Why did she have to choose which of her friends to try and help? The longer she sat there, spending too much time alone in her own head, the worse she felt.
It was with relief that she waved silently at Geanie as she entered the room. Geanie waved back and then went to look at Joseph who was still sleeping. She turned finally and came to sit down in the chair right next to Cindy.
“Good morning,” Geanie whispered.
“Morning,” Cindy said, forcing a smile for the other woman’s sake. Geanie had enough stress of her own without adding Cindy’s to it.
“I wonder what surprises today will bring.”
“I don’t know, but Mark nixed the barbeque for this afternoon.”
“I heard. I’ll have to make some calls.”
“I can do that,” Cindy said. It would give her something to do.
“Joseph’s going to be disappointed.”
“We could always have a barbeque just with the people here,” Cindy said. “After all, there’s enough of us that it will still be pretty lively.”
“That’s a good idea,” Geanie said, perking up.
“We could even play croquet. I mean, we’re stuck here, but we don’t necessarily have to be stuck inside. The whole mountain is under guard, after all.”
“Do you think Mark will object?”
“Probably, but I bet I can make a good argument,” Cindy said with a smile. At the very least, she could sic Traci on him. She knew that woman could be persuasive.
“Did someone say barbeque?” Joseph asked groggily.
“Yes, now go back to sleep,” Geanie whispered.
“Not a chance. I’ve slept too much,” Joseph said, struggling to sit up. Once he had achieved that he yawned and stretched.
“You know what?” he said at last.
“What?” Cindy asked.
“I’m going to go take a shower and get into some clean clothes and no one can stop me.”
“I don’t think anyone other than Mark will object,” Cindy said.
“And Cindy’s already working on ways to make him see reason,” Geanie said, moving to sit over next to Joseph.
“Great,” he said, giving her a quick kiss. “Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I need to go get cleaned up so I can feel like a new man. Or, at least, a less abused man.”
As soon as he’d left Cindy turned back to Geanie. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. I was hesitant to bring it up, but it occurs to me that if I wait any longer it will be too late.”
“What is it?” Geanie asked, looking concerned.
“What are you planning to do about your wedding dress?” Cindy asked, wincing even as she said it.
The second dress, the one Geanie had been wearing when the bridal shop exploded, had been singed beyond repair. If they were going to have to find a new dress they were going to have to get one of the police officers to take them shopping as soon as possible. Even still, it would be cutting things painfully close.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Geanie said. “I think I’ve decided that the smartest choice is to go with the first dress.”
“You mean the one Joseph’s seen?” Cindy asked, surprised.
“He swears that all he saw was the faintest peep of white satin, which, hello, isn’t really that much of a surprise. I mean, sure I could have gone for something covered in lace, or broken with tradition and worn some other color, but really, that wasn’t going to happen. So, as long as all he knows is that it’s white satin, I think I can live with that.”
“I think that’s probably a smart choice,” Cindy said.
Geanie nodded. “The dress is here, it’s safe, no other businesses or people will be harmed by my making the choice to stick with what I’ve got.”
“And it really does look amazing, even more you than the second one.”
“Yeah, I’m just sorry there’s no way to repair that second one. It would have made a great wedding dress for you someday.”
Cindy
blushed, but didn’t argue with her.
“Plus, everything else I’ve got already works with that dress,” Geanie said. “It’s the logical choice given...everything.”
“I think it’s the right choice regardless of everything,” Cindy said with an encouraging smile.
“Thanks.”
“So, has Joseph given you any hint yet as to what kind of clothes to pack for the honeymoon.”
“That man is impossible,” Geanie said with a roll of her eyes. “All he’d tell me was that I should pack one suitcase for warm weather and one suitcase for cold.”
“That’s not even a little helpful.”
“I know, right?”
“What are you ladies talking about?” Jeremiah asked as he walked into the room, making them both jump slightly.
“Honeymoons,” Geanie said brightly.
“Ah.”
“Has Joseph told you where he’s planning on taking her?” Cindy asked.
Jeremiah smiled sheepishly. “Yes, and at the same time, no.”
“Okay. Can you at least tell us if she should pack for warm or cold weather?”
“No, I really can’t. What did Joseph say?”
“Pack a bag of each.”
He laughed. “That...makes sense.”
“Okay, tell us what you know,” Cindy demanded.
“I’m sorry, I was told to treat this like a state secret. These lips are sealed,” Jeremiah said.
“Go over there and see if you can unseal them,” Geanie whispered roguishly.
Cindy felt herself turn scarlet, but she didn’t dignify the suggestion with a response. Instead she changed the subject. “I heard from Gerald, and I think he’s in trouble.”
“What happened?” Jeremiah asked.
Cindy filled him in and at the end of her story he was nodding. “It sounds like he probably is in trouble. He knows how to handle himself, though. Hopefully everything will set itself right.”
“I wish I had your optimism,” she grumbled.
Jeremiah forced a smile. At the moment he was far from optimistic about anything so what Cindy said seemed funny to him.
“I did want to get a few things straightened out about Thursday,” he said.
“Bachelor and Bachelorette parties?” Cindy asked.
“Exactly.”
“I don’t want to know,” Geanie said with a laugh as she stood up. “I’ll leave you two to scheme.”
“I had planned a night out at an old-fashioned vaudeville show,” Jeremiah said. “How about you?”
“Vegas,” Cindy said with a straight face.
“Are you kidding?” he blinked. “I mean, I know it’s about five hours away, but still.”
“Relax,” she said with a grin. “Lingerie party and crazy games. Although, I’m beginning to think Geanie doesn’t need any more lingerie. Clothes, maybe, but lingerie she seems to have covered.”
“I don’t need to know. I don’t want to know,” Jeremiah said. “Obviously, though, there has to be some rethinking of all of this, especially since both parties are going to be happening simultaneously and they now have to be happening here.”
“So, you want to stake out territory?”
“Something like that.”
“Okay, what did you have in mind?”
“I was thinking the guys could take over the basement area with the movie theater and the pool table and all of that.”
“You know, I still haven’t even been down there,” Cindy said with a sigh.
“It’s pretty amazing.”
“Okay, but we get the formal living room and the formal dining room, and you have to help me rearrange furniture before the event.”
“Done,” he said.
“Well, that was easy.”
“Maybe for you. The plans for your party didn’t change, just the location. I have to rethink the whole thing.”
“Why don’t you get the vaudeville group to come here?”
He shook his head. “I thought about it, but we hadn’t sold out the theater, so there will be other patrons there. Plus, there’s no way Mark would let that many strangers into the house two days before the wedding. And rightly so,” he added hastily at the end.
“Need some help brainstorming?”
He grinned. “Not that I don’t value your opinion, but I think I want to talk to another guy about this. I’m thinking Dave and I can work something out between the two of us.”
“I don’t know, I think you’re missing out on a fabulous opportunity,” she teased. “I could have helped you throw Joseph a gothic high tea or something equally creative.”
Jeremiah couldn’t help it. He started laughing. “Creative? Yes. Manly? No.”
“I bet Joseph would have liked my idea,” she said.
“Are you kidding? Joseph’s going to be thrilled with anything as long as there are no strippers or anything of that nature,” Jeremiah said. “Not that I would have done anything like that, but he made it painfully clear anyway.”
“I knew he was a good man,” Cindy said with a grin.
“I think this will work out fine. We should be able to salvage both parties and make them memorable, in a good way.”
“Isn’t that what a wedding is all about? Getting the bride and groom married off with a bunch of happy memories to start their life together.”
“I guess it is at that.”
He stood up. “I’m going to make sure the dogs get their breakfast and then I’m thinking it’s time we humans got ours.”
“Sounds good. I’ll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes,” she said.
“Works for me. Everyone will probably be getting up soon.”
Jeremiah left the room, his mind whirring. It seemed ridiculous with everything that was going on to be fretting about the bachelor party, but he did care. He liked what Cindy had said about a bunch of good memories to start a life off together. That’s what Joseph and Geanie deserved and he was going to do what he could to see that they got it.
Of course, he was going to have to get creative. He hoped that Wildman and he could come up with something fun to do. Of course, Wildman was used to planning activities for high school boys and not grown men. Deep down, though, there were fewer differences between the two groups than most liked to admit. The thought made him smile.
It took about half an hour but Mark finally got through to someone on the New Orleans police force who could help him. As it turned out they hadn’t heard anything about Gerald, but he left his contact information and the woman on the other line promised to notify him if anything came to their attention.
He was about to go find Cindy and tell her, hoping it would ease her mind a little bit, when he realized his partner was calling.
“Liam, what do you have for me?” Mark asked as he answered his phone.
“A lot, actually. I talked to the realtor who sold Amanda’s home. According to him she’s not moving into an apartment.”
“Oh? Where does he think she’s moving to?”
“Apparently she told him that she was going to be moving in with her fiancé, but that it was just going to take a couple of weeks to straighten everything out.”
“Hunh. Does this fiancé have a name?”
“No, but she told the realtor that he was very, very rich.”
“I didn’t see any ring on her finger.”
“Neither did I. I’ve got a feeling I know who she thinks her fiancé is.”
“This woman just gets crazier and crazier seeming,” Mark said.
“Well, we’re in luck. I’ve got the warrant.”
“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Mark said, jumping down off the stool he was sitting on. “Meet you at her house?”
“Actually, I’ll pick you up, I’m three minutes away.”
“Perfect.”
Mark quickly finished his coffee, ran upstairs and, careful not to disturb Traci, retrieved his gun and badge from his nightstand. When he made it back downstairs he found that Liam was wa
iting for him outside.
“Hopefully we can put an end to all this right now in time for a wonderful ‘happily ever after’ moment,” Mark said as he slid into the passenger seat. “Weddings are stressful enough without this crap.”
Four other officers met them outside Amanda’s house.
“There doesn’t appear to be anyone home,” the first one said.
Mark nodded. “Then I want someone to keep an eye out for the homeowner. If she comes near this place I want to talk to her.”
The man nodded.
The rest of them entered the house and spread out. “Okay, search everything. We’re looking for anything that could tie her to Geanie, Joseph, or an assassin,” Mark instructed.
Two officers headed to other parts of the house while the third started opening the boxes in the living room.
“I want a look behind that door she didn’t want us looking behind,” Mark said.
“Right there with you,” Liam affirmed.
They strode to the back of the room and yanked open the door in question. It turned out to lead to a set of stairs heading down to what had to be a basement. Liam flipped the light switch on the wall, but they couldn’t see down into the basement itself.
“Police officers,” Mark called down, but there was no sound. He drew his gun, just to be on the safe side and Liam did the same.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Liam muttered as they walked downstairs slowly.
“Don’t say that. You know what happens when you say that. Now I have a bad feeling, too. I was just feeling hopefully optimistic before.”
“I call them like I see them,” Liam said, barely whispering now.
Mark could feel his heart pounding. Liam’s bad feeling really was contagious. There had to have been a reason Amanda didn’t want them down here. She had shut the door so quickly during their visit that it had been clear that she was hiding something. He just hoped they weren’t walking into some sort of trap.
When they reached the bottom, Liam reached for and flipped another light switch. Overhead lights came on revealing what looked like a guest room. Mark looked around slowly, trying to take everything in. There was no one there so he lowered his gun and next to him Liam did the same.