Braking for Bodies (17 page)

“A
nd by the power vested in me by Mother Earth Ministries, I now pronounce you husband and wife.” Rudy and Irma held hands and gazed adoringly into each other's eyes as the sun dipped into Lake Michigan, setting the world ablaze in reds, pinks and blues.

Friends and family cheered and blew bubbles because throwing food would invite swarms of seagulls. We all burst into “All You Need Is Love”—like Rudy said—led by Idle Summers and the string quartet from the Grand Hotel.

“We did it! Fantastico!” Angelo swiped away tears, kissed Nate on both cheeks, then picked Mother up and spun her around. Luka popped champagne corks, Irish Donna cried and draped a lovely gold shamrock
over Irma's head that set off the yellow rhinestone dress borrowed from Idle and I snuck upstairs to check on the cats. With a house full of friends, Cleveland and Bambino were safe, but I had to check anyway.

“Will you slow down?” Molly panted behind me. She was not in wedding garb but police shorts and jacket. Someone had to hold down the fort while Sutter did the best-man thing, not to mention tie bows, arrange flowers, stream yards of bunting folded from tablecloths and drape enough blush tulle to make any bride happy.

I held up my hands and stepped back. “Molly, we're friends, good friends, and if you say we got a problem I'll scream.” I held out my dress. “I'm in lavender silk here, I have flowers in my hair. I have a bouquet, one that Sutter made for me and I still don't get how that happened but it's lovely, and I'm wearing strappy heels and have on perfume, the expensive stuff. I'm pretty.”

“Zo's dead, at least Madonna thinks she is and she's raising holy hell up at the Grand that nothing's being done about it and we're all a bunch of slackers and the killer is getting away.”

“She's dead? Is Zo breathing or not breathing? Pulse, no pulse? And why does Madonna care if Zo's kicked the bucket? The way those two get along, Madonna should be doing a jig and gulping martinis. Heck, the whole staff at the Grand should be drinking and dancing.”

“Madonna's afraid she might be next. There's no body, but Madonna's been trying all day to get hold of
Zo over some will stuff and couldn't find her anywhere. Madonna convinced the managers that something was wrong, and when they opened Zo's room the place was trashed, not messy trashed but torn up, Johnny-Depp-the-early-years trashed, like someone was looking for something.”

“And you don't want to bother Sutter.”

“Do you? I'm not exactly Perry Mason and you've been in on this dead-guy stuff since you ran over him. I thought we'd go together. It's not a murder scene or even an official crime scene, but Zo is missing and with all that's gone on . . . If something happens to Madonna she's already on her last nerve and the fur will really hit the fan around here.”

“And if you stumble across Zo's body you don't want to be alone.”

Molly gritted her teeth and gave a little nod. “There is that. A reporter from Condé Nast showed up this afternoon to cover the mystery weekend as one of the ten best summer getaways. We've got to find the killer fast before the truth comes out that Peep the dead guy is for real. And you're right, your dress really is pretty.”

“You can borrow it sometime when you and Luka go out. Hope it brings you better luck than what I'm having. Meet you at the Grand in fifteen.”

Molly didn't budge, and bit her bottom lip. “Evie, what if we do find Zo's body?”

“We'll hold hands, scream like little girls and I'll bring vodka.”

“Grazie.”

“Prego.”

“I'm getting good at this.” Molly and I exchanged high fives and she hurried off. Using an excuse of needing more ice because all events need more ice, I scurried out the front door, changed from cute strappy heels to old worn flats, and hoofed it to the Grand. The town was hopping with the festival being in full swing. There was lilac ice cream, lilac fudge, lilac scones and lilac tea at the Blarney Scone; the Island Bookstore had books galore on lilacs; and of course there were lilac bikes. The ones I'd rented out got a day free because we closed the shop for the wedding. Saturday was the parade and Sunday was vintage baseball using gentlemen's rules and no gloves—ouch—and—

I was yanked into the alley next to Little Luxuries. “Fiona?”

“Shh.” She pulled me deeper into the shadows. “I missed Rudy and Irma's wedding.” A tear slid down her cheek. “Was it beautiful?”

“When this is all over we'll have them get married again just for you.”

“And we'll have cake.”

“Yes, cake for sure.” I took her hand. “You look bad.”

“Zo's missing and her room's a wreck. I borrowed a maid's uniform and some of Idle's makeup and a wig, and I've looked all over that hotel for Zo and she is not there. Nothing. She's gone. Someone made it look like I did in Peep, and now with the missing-bracelet mess I think they're going to pin Zo's murder on me too.”

“Hey, we don't even know for sure that Zo's dead.”

“She'd dead, all right, and don't even mention Idle as a suspect in all this. The only other person who could have killed Peep and Zo is that desk clerk, Penelope. She and one of the hotel managers are awfully chummy, and they've got some kind of operation going on, but I can't figure out what and I think Peep knew about it.”

I held Fiona's hand tighter. “Someone locked me and Madonna in one of the back rooms of the Grand and threatened to catnap Bambino and Cleveland. I thought it might be Zo; I actually thought she might be the killer. She has that alibi, but she could have paid someone off to give old Peep the heave-ho over the side. I think being trapped in the room was a threat to get me to stop looking for the killer. We're close, really close. We just need to live long enough to figure it all out. Meet me at the Good Stuff at midnight. You can spend the night in my attic. You'll be safe there.” I gave her a hug. “I cleaned.”

The Grand was packed. It was always that way, but tonight it was elbow to elbow with guests all decked out to see and be seen.

“Finally,” Penelope grumped as she rushed up to me. “That policewoman said you were on your way. This place is going to the dogs. Zo's missing, Madonna is having a meltdown and someone broke into Annex 1 and tore it apart for God only knows what reason.”

“No!” I stage-whispered.

“Yes!” Penelope stage-whispered back. “Nothing was taken, far as we know, and someone crashed the
Fallers' wedding reception and now they want a full refund.”

“Hey, congratulations were offered along with sage advice.”

Penelope gave me a wide-eyed look and I quickly added, “So I heard.”

“I want this over with. Zo's disappeared and if Madonna would too, then all these L.A. la-la people are out of our lives.” She nodded as if agreeing with herself. “We need them gone. Everything was fine until they showed up with their sneaky phone and threats. Why can't they mind their own business? That's what we do around here; this is not Hollywood.”

“What threats?”

Penelope jumped up, smoothed back her hair and pointed to the steps. “You should go on up. The mystery groupies are outside looking for Zo now. It won't be long before they want to see her room, and I have to let them so they think it's part of the game. I swear, some people are so gullible you can get them to believe anything.”

I took the stairs to the second floor and made for the back of the hotel. Penelope seemed genuinely surprised over Annex 1. If she'd been the one to trap Madonna and me, she probably wouldn't have brought it up. But she did. Unless she brought it up to cover her tracks.

I knocked and Molly answered the door. “Whoa,” I said as I walked in to see all the bedding torn off,
drawers overturned, the dresser and nightstand and even the bed pulled away from the wall and toppled. “Trashed is an understatement. If the phone was here, whoever did this found it.”

“If the phone was here at all. And if it was, I bet they got rid of the phone and Zo as a package deal. All of Zo's stuff is still here and no one's seen her since last night. There was a
do not disturb
sign on the door handle and housekeeping came back twice. When no one answered this evening and Madonna asked about Zo at the desk, managers checked her room and found this. Madonna screamed and fainted dead away.”

“I'm sure housekeeping did too; they'll have to clean this up. Okay, so if Zo isn't here, where is she? If there's no body here, where is it?”

“I hate this body stuff; I hate the word.” Molly swallowed and made a little whiny sound.

I put my arm around her. “Why did you go into police work? Bodies and—”

Molly made another whiny sound.

“Criminal things are part of this. You had to know that just from watching TV. Why take the job?”

“It's a good job. Nate's really sweet and the chief before him was too. I look hot in the uniform and the pay's not bad. All my friends bring me strawberry smoothies and we chat and this is Mackinac Island, so people behave; rich families hate scandal and the b-o-d-y thing never happened around here . . . until you showed up.”

“Sorry about that.”

“It's the cloud. You won't tell Luka about the b-o-d-y thing, will you? He thinks I'm badass.”

I looked at Molly's sparkling blue eyes, slender build, freckles across the bridge of her nose and unicorn hair clip holding back her blonde hair. “Totally badass.”

I opened the door to study the hall and literally ran into Sutter, still in his gray suit, white shirt open at the neck, tie trailing out of his pocket, lilac boutonnière still in place. A man in a good suit . . . was there anything sexier? Except maybe taking that good suit off piece by piece and dropping it on the floor as—

“Any sign of Zo?” Sutter asked, snapping me back to the hotel hallway, and that was a real shame.

“How'd you find out about this?” Molly asked Sutter. “We wanted you to enjoy your mom's wedding.”

“Irma and Rudy have a whole town to celebrate with, and there's no place better for gossip than a wedding. Zo missing is top billing.”

“There you are, you,” Abigail purred, drawing up next to Sutter, hooking her arm through his. “My room's back the other way; why don't you stop in? There's this drink called Sex on the Beach; I do great Sex on the Beach. I do great sex anywhere.”

“I'm kind of busy here,” Sutter said, looking in Zo's room.

“Of course you are.” Abigail paused and blinked a few times. “Evie? I didn't even notice you standing there. Nice dress, so last year but nice. Were you at the
wedding?” Abigail did the dismissive hand gesture and turned back to Sutter. “I nearly lost you in that crowd in the lobby, sweet thing. The elevators here are so slow. This afternoon one of the maids coming out of this very room took me down on the back service elevator. She had a laundry cart and it was hard to get through the crowd, and I might have been misbehaving just a teeny bit because I just hate waiting on things, so she suggested I come with her.”

“This room?” I asked, feeling a little sick.

Sutter pulled out his iPhone and punched up a picture of Zo.

“No, not her.”

Sutter flipped to Fiona.

“That's her,” Abigail said. “She was nice, but her hair needed product and her nails weren't done.” Abigail batted her eyes at Sutter. “I'm in the deluxe rooms. I had to pay a holiday surcharge, but it was worth it. Room three fourteen, don't forget.” Abigail pressed her voluptuous self up against Sutter and kissed him full on the mouth, adding a little tongue. She strutted down the hall, waving over her shoulder. “Ta now.”

“You worked for her?” Molly asked, shaking her head. “No wonder you have a dark cloud.”

I looked up at Sutter, with Abigail's lipstick on his mouth. I could strangle her, but we had a surplus of dead bodies at the moment. “There's an explanation for this,” I told Sutter. “Fiona didn't do anything to Zo. She was here at the hotel looking for her just like we are.”

“Then where is Zo, and where the heck is Fiona? Maybe Fiona found Zo and she wouldn't give up the phone.” Sutter strode off toward a waiter in a white coat pushing a room service cart draped in a white tablecloth with dishes, silver serving bowls and a rose centerpiece. The waiter stopped in front of a wide unmarked door as Sutter pulled up behind him. “Guest elevators are around the corner,” the waiter said to Sutter.

Sutter flashed his badge. “We're taking this one down with you.”

“Hey, you're the boss.”

Sutter cut his eyes my way. “Something I don't hear nearly enough around here.”

We all crowded into the elevator and chugged our way to the lower level, where the door slid open to a hallway. We could see the kitchen off to the right. “What's down there?” Sutter asked, nodding in the other direction.

“A ramp out to the loading area so we can roll in supplies and take out trash.” The waiter pointed in the other direction. “Laundry room's over there to the left. The late crew's back there now. It's been a heck of a week around here for everyone.”

“See,” I said to Sutter. “The laundry is right here and that's what Fiona was pushing. Probably trying to help out the overworked staff; she knows a lot of the girls.”

“And they won't rat her out. My guess is she's been hiding out here with Idle and living off room service.”
Sutter headed outside, with Molly and me following. The parking area was lit; night crew bikes jammed the racks and Shakespeare was parked off to the side snoozing.

“Hey,” Gabi called out, as the Corpse Crusaders rushed up to Sutter. “Look what we found, the gold turtle bracelet. Isn't that great?” Gabi held it up, as the shiny gold caught the fluorescent light. “We heard about Zo missing, so we started looking around for clues, and there it was over by the side of the hotel. This is so exciting, another body, and with this bracelet the clues are pointing to Fiona being the killer all along. This is her bracelet and Zo said she stole it, and I think she was right. My guess is Fiona wanted to shut her up once and for all.”