Random Acts of Deceit (Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries Book 2) Page 17

  In between all those phone calls and questions, there was my mom. She was trying to get everything ready for the wedding. William’s family was in town, and she was showing them around, as well as confirming floral arrangements, photographers, caterers, etc.

  Maybe I’d just go to the mountains for my own wedding one day. Or go to a small chapel where only my family and friends would attend. I just didn’t want all this stress in my life.

  All these worries really meant nothing, however, with the lives of those I loved on the line.

  My life was the picture of chaos.

  I stood in the wings as the press conference began. Just as Ralph took his first question, my cell phone rang. I saw Mom’s number and stepped to the side.

  “Everything okay?” I whispered.

  “No, it’s not. You’ll never believe this.”

  I braced myself for another whammy. What would it be this time? Had she been injured? Had someone else’s house exploded?

  “It’s your sister’s dress. The woman altering it ruined it. She absolutely ruined it.”

  “What?” I tried not to sound irritated, but I kind of did. I mean . . . I supposed I would take that catastrophe to the kind that had been brewing in my mind.

  “She gathered it in the waist too much and made it a size 2 instead of a size 6. And it’s four inches too short. Four inches!”

  I paced away from the stage area and lowered my voice. “Can’t she fix it?”

  “No! The material is gone. She cut it off. You can make clothes smaller but never bigger. Didn’t I teach you that?”

  This was no time to rehash my home economics lessons Mom had reviewed with me over and over as a preteen. No, I had to stay focused right now. “How did this happen? I mean, Alex went in and the seamstress took measurements, right?”

  “She did, but she claims all the numbers got changed after she entered the information in the computer. Can you believe that? It seems like an unlikely story. What am I going to tell Alex?”

  “Nothing yet. She can’t handle it if you do. Let me think if there’s another way to solve this.”

  “Your poor sister. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong with her wedding. First the baker, now her dress . . .”

  “Even if the wedding goes wrong, it’s the marriage that’s important, right?” I sounded like my dad. And I didn’t sound like a woman, for that matter. I mean, didn’t every girl want her wedding to be a fairy tale?

  “Holly, at least make sure she has a nice bachelorette party, okay? Promise me that.”

  “Of course, Mom.” At that moment I wondered if I had truly put enough time and effort into making it special. I’d been so distracted lately.

  Before I could think about it any more, I heard someone tell Ralph that it was easy to sit in his office and wax philosophical about life, but that he needed to get out on the streets and put his money where his mouth was.

  Could this day get any worse? As I saw Henry approach, I knew it could.

  ***

  Henry cornered me as Ralph’s voice droned on in the background. The man, at one time, had not seemed imposing. But knowing what I did now, I felt uncomfortable around him, to say the least.

  He flashed a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. His hands were tucked into his black slacks, and an odd emotion lingered in his eyes. Malice? Boredom? Something else? I wasn’t sure.

  “I’m excited about the wedding this weekend,” he started. “I figured I should probably accompany you to the rehearsal dinner also, but I don’t know the details yet. What time should I pick you up?”

  My lips parted at the man’s guts and gusto. He had some nerve. “I don’t believe I invited you to either of those things.”

  He stepped closer and crouched toward me, looking more serious than I’d ever seen him. “Come on, Holly. You know the deal. I’m going with you.”

  I narrowed my eyes and leaned toward him, even though the pervasive smell of onions on his breath made me want to barf. “How could you be a part of this?”

  “That’s not important.”

  “It’s important to me.” My voice sounded hard, harder than I thought it could sound. It made me feel tough for a moment.

  “Look, let’s get this over with, okay? Then we can both move on.”

  “You think you’re going to move on here in Ralph’s office after being a part of something like this?”

  “If you know what’s best for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut.” His lips moved, but his teeth remained clenched together.

  I sucked in a quick breath. “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s the truth.” He straightened as a couple of other staffers got closer, and his voice changed from threatening to friendly. The press conference had ended, and people began dispersing. “Now, what time was that rehearsal again?”

  I had to unlock my jaw before answering him. “I’ll meet you there.”

  “Where’s there?”

  “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

  “Oh, come on.” He narrowed his eyes and hissed out a sigh.

  I crossed my arms. “It’s on a need-to-know basis. And we’re not there yet.”

  “You don’t know what you’re playing with, Holly,” he warned as soon as the other staffers were a safe distance away. “You’re in over your head. So am I, for that matter.”

  “Who is this guy who’s pulling the strings?” I asked.

  His face hardened, and he looked around. “I can’t tell you.”

  “How are you connected?”

  He stepped away, ready to brush me off. “I can’t talk about it.”

  “Henry—”

  He paused and jerked his head toward me. The dark gleam in his eyes shook me to the core. “Just drop it, Holly. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll just be compliant. Understand?”

  I stared at him, stared at his eyes. That’s when I identified one of the emotions there. How could I not have seen it earlier? It was fear. Henry was afraid of something or someone.

  Before I could say anything else, he turned and stormed away.

  ***

  I hardly recognized most of Alex’s girlfriends. A few were from college. One was from high school; three more worked with her at the DA’s office. Then there was me. I wasn’t quite as well versed in partying as the rest of the group, apparently. Or, at least, my parties consisted of dainty cookies, tea, and great dresses.

  Despite that fact, I’d arranged to eat dinner at a trendy restaurant on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. We had a private room on the water. Alex wanted the whole thing to be fun but classy.

  Of course, I hadn’t gone the traditional bachelorette party route. But I had a tasty menu, some silly games, and some ideas for keepsakes that would help Alex remember this, not to mention the “Bride-to-Be” T-shirt and felt-covered headband with a cheesy-looking veil my sister had donned at Heather’s request.

  “What a fabulous room!” Heather said, turning in circles.

  I carried out my duties as maid of honor and welcomed everyone. We played a few games, and then everyone went through the buffet line and sat down at a U-shaped table arrangement to eat.

  I really wanted to think about everything else except this party. I wanted to think about the Shadow Man. I wanted to think about Chase and what it would be like to plan a wedding with him one day. I wanted to think about how to get out of the dilemma I faced.

  But Alex deserved my attention, so I turned my concentration back to the conversation around me. Heather had already been through the fact that she knew Johnny Depp, that she had an inventor friend who’d developed a way to hack into cell phones and eavesdrop, and that she’d been invited to the White House for a special breakfast next month. When she wasn’t talking, she was texting obsessively.

  “I always thought this would be Brandon,” Heather said at a break in the conversation. She slipped her phone back into her pocket.

  Alex snorted before taking a bite of a mozzarella stick. “Really? He’s
so ten years ago, Heather.”

  “Oh, you two were in love. Admit it. You all but forgot about your friends because the two of you were attached at the hip.”

  “We had that crazy kind of infatuation. But I’m much better suited for William.”

  “We’re just glad you’re happy,” another friend chirped. “What’s the saying? You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince?”

  “Oh, come on now,” Alex moaned. “Brandon wasn’t exactly a frog.”

  “And you’re not exactly marrying him now, right?” Heather winked. “Anyway, a bachelorette party is no place for talking about your ex.” She picked up another shrimp and popped it in her mouth. “Now, I brought some stuff that should really help us to have some fun.” She pulled out a bottle of vodka from her purse. Everyone around cheered.

  Oh great. I wanted Alex to object, but she didn’t.

  This was going to be a long night, one out of my normally reserved comfort zone.

  Despite my innocent little bachelorette plans, somehow the whole evening turned into drinking games and an episode of Professional Women Gone Wild. I just stood back and watched the whole disaster unfold before my eyes.

  Two hours into everything, Heather walked toward me holding her stomach, her face pale.

  “Have you had too much to drink, sweetie?” I asked, patting her back. I’d been the girl who’d held her friends’ hair back after parties one too many times.

  “I can hold my alcohol,” she mumbled. “I don’t think it’s that.”

  “What else would it be? A stomach bug? Don’t tell Alex—she’ll freak out at the mere possibility of getting sick right now.”

  She opened her mouth to respond but instead hurled all over the floor . . . and my feet.

  Nausea churned in my own gut at the sight and smell.

  Heather moaned and snapped me back to reality.

  “You should sit down,” I told her, trying to tame my gag reflex.

  I led her to a seat and then scrambled to find a trash can. Before I could, she threw up again.

  This wasn’t good.

  I finally located a trash can. It was huge, lined with a thick black bag, and made to hold way more than vomit, but I pulled it over anyway. Then I grabbed some linen napkins and handed her one.

  “I’ll get you some water.”

  The party seemed to be slowly halting around me as people realized what was happening.

  “Heather? You can’t be sick,” another one of Alex’s college friends said. I thought her name was Sarah, but I wasn’t 100 percent sure. I only knew that she came across as snooty.

  Just as Sarah reached us, she grabbed the trash can and all the contents of her stomach flooded into the bag.

  What in the world was going on?

  Alex started toward us, but stopped in her tracks. “You guys are both sick. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  Just then my phone buzzed. I looked down and saw that I’d gotten a text message.

  Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to eat shellfish?

  CHAPTER 26

  We didn’t know for sure, but it appeared the shrimp was ground zero of the food poisoning implosion that had swept the bachelorette party. It was the only food Alex and I hadn’t eaten, and we were the only two who weren’t sick at the moment.

  The reason Alex and I stayed away from the shrimp probably went back to one of my aunts, who’d once told us that shrimp were bottom feeders and that the ones raised in China were fed pig poop. That had pretty much ruined our chances of ever wanting to eat the food again. Or buy anything edible from China, for that matter.

  Four people had been rushed to the ER, three went back to their hotel and insisted they could handle it themselves, and the health department was now investigating the restaurant. All in all, the bachelorette party had turned into a complete failure.

  So much for ensuring that nothing went wrong on Alex’s big day, other than that which was out of our control—like the trial and her postponed honeymoon.

  As everyone else trickled away, I followed Alex outside to the deck overlooking the Ohio River. The sparkling lights from downtown Cincinnati glittered on the other side of the glossy black water. Boats slugged atop the glimmering river, and the air was just cool enough to frost our breath. Spring might have been officially declared, but it was still cold here in the City of Seven Hills.

  Alex leaned against the railing a moment. I mirrored her stance—a tip I’d picked up in Counseling 101—and gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. She had the amazing ability to remain composed, despite the chaos around her.

  Then she buried her face in her hands. “It’s like there are signs all around me that I shouldn’t do this.”

  I patted her back, trying to follow her logic. “Do what? Have a breakdown? It’s okay not to be strong all the time.”

  She gave me a sharp look. “I mean get married, Holly. There are signs that I shouldn’t tie the knot.”

  My cheeks flushed with alarm. Alex was not sounding like Alex. She wasn’t a doubter. She made a decision and stuck with it. That was how she’d always been. Confident. Sure of herself. Unwavering in her decisions.

  “You’re reading too much into this,” I started. “It’s just food poisoning. It could happen anytime to anyone. It just happened to occur with your bridal party and closest friends two days before your wedding.”

  My words sounded lame, even to my own ears. But at least I was trying, when what I really wanted to do was bury my head and pretend none of this had happened. I mean, the troubles just kept piling on. I barely had time to absorb one before a new problem was added to the heap.

  “It’s not just this party. There was the baker,” she reminded me.

  That’s right! I promised to make her wedding cake. I’d nearly forgotten, which was a horrible thing because the wedding was quickly approaching. I was going to be up all night, wasn’t I?

  “I’ve got your cake covered. It will be fine.”

  Her frown didn’t budge. In fact, it might have deepened as she continued to stare out over the river. “There will be no honeymoon, thanks to this trial.”

  “At least you can take one later, maybe when it’s warmer. Maybe it will actually be a blessing in disguise. Just think about the Bahamas in the summer.”

  “You mean during hurricane season?”

  “Minor detail,” I murmured.

  “And then there’s my dress.”

  I froze. She wasn’t supposed to know about that. I hadn’t accidentally said anything, had I? “Your dress?”

  “Don’t play dumb, Holly.” Her shoulders slumped as she pulled her goofy veil off. “I know all about it. I called the bridal shop today, and the seamstress confessed everything. She said she’d told Mom and assumed I’d gotten the message. Basically, she didn’t want to be the one to break the news to me. So, as of right now, I have nothing to wear on my wedding day.”

  “You’d look beautiful in anything. You could wear white flannel pants and a baggy shirt, and people would still be in awe. They’d think you were starting a new fashion trend or something. I mean, society is becoming more casual. Who wants fancy stuff anyway?”

  She let out a laugh for the first time since we’d stepped outside, but the sound quickly faded. “There’s also the fact that I’m afraid I’m going to lose my job with the DA.”

  “What? Why would you say that?” All this self-pity wasn’t like my sister.

  “I’ve been so distracted, Holly. I’ve been making dumb mistakes. I mean, the timing on this case was horrible. And so many things have gone wrong with the wedding. My mind is shot.”

  “I’m sure you’re doing great.”

  She frowned. “You’re such an encourager. I wish I saw life from the same perspective as you.”

  I shrugged, wanting to embrace my optimistic side but still remain real and let people know their feelings were important and relatable. “I just try to look on the bright side. It always makes me feel better, even when
things don’t quite work out as I’d hoped.”

  She turned toward me, a new emotion in her eyes. Before I even heard her words, I braced myself. She was about to drop something on me.

  “Do you like William, Holly?” Her eyes left no doubt that her question was earnest and sincere.

  Whoa. Where was this coming from? I replayed our conversations, starting back a few days ago, and finally stopped on the one thing that could be the only possible explanation in my mind. “It’s all this talk about your ex, isn’t it? It is messing with your head.”

  Her face twisted with doubt. “Brandon? No. I’m totally over him.”

  “Then why?”

  “It’s just all the signs—”

  I had to stop her before she went any further. “Come on, Alex. You don’t really believe in signs, do you?”

  She stared at the river a moment before shrugging and looking more melancholy than I’d ever seen her. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m more superstitious than I’ve given myself credit for.”

  “If you and William can weather this week together after everything that’s happened, then certainly you can weather the storms that come in the future.”

  “But what does it take to make a marriage work, Holly?”

  She was asking me this? My sister never asked me for advice. She never had to because she knew everything already. I was both flattered and on the verge of second-guessing anything I might tell her.

  “What do you think it takes to make a marriage work, Alex?” Classic counseling move. Turn the question back on the person who’s asking. Buy yourself some time. Let them come to their own conclusions because then they’ll value the decision more.

  “I don’t know.” She threw her hand in the air. “If the guy makes you happy, if you think you’re a good pair who are willing to compromise and look out for each other, if you have chemistry. All those things play into making a relationship work.”

  “How about if he makes you better?” I asked softly.

  She glanced at me, wrinkles forming in the corners of her eyes. “What do you mean?”