Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 08 - Vows & Victims (2 page)

I really felt bad. This was definitely not a series of events any bride–to–be wanted on their wedding week. So I just needed to help her put this unpleasantness out of her mind and enjoy wedding stuff.

“Maybe it will take my mind off all this negative stuff,” she added.

“Is Chris going to come with us?”

“No, it’s just us girls. He has to go back to work.”

That was another thing Chris had struggled with in the past—consistent gainful employment. He wasn’t a bad guy or even lazy. It was more that he couldn’t ever really commit and follow through, whether to Katy or to a job. So this was a good thing. Still, a part of me couldn’t help but wonder if the reason why Chris was ready to marry Katy was her financial stability. Maybe this meant I was wrong. I really wanted to be happy for Katy.

“What are we waiting for, then? Let’s go to the caterer.”

Katy gave Chris a kiss goodbye and then jumped into my vehicle.

“I know you’re not thrilled about me marrying him, but I promise he’s changed. You’ll see it,” Katy said as we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Katy, if you’re happy, I’m happy. That’s all that matters. Now, where are we going?”

“You remember the old Ships Inn restaurant? Someone bought it and turned it into a banquet facility. It’s absolutely gorgeous inside.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

We chatted for the ten–minute drive, mostly about the wedding, and soon pulled up to the Towne Banquet Hall. As we walked in, I realized Katy had been right. It had been beautifully redone. Very elegant and upscale.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Katy said, “and it looks much pricier than it is.”

An older, probably late fifties, woman walked down the hall toward us. “Katy, so wonderful to see you. I bet you’re getting excited for the big day,” the woman said with a level of cheerfulness that should have sounded fake but didn’t at all. Probably made her very good at her job.

“I am. Just want to get all the little details ironed out. Joy, this is my friend and maid of honor, Presley Thurman.”

“Hi, Joy. Nice to meet you.”

“You aren’t by any chance Sue Thurman’s daughter are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Such a lovely woman. We share a passion for flowers and are on a few gardening club committees together.”

Of course they were. My mother knew everyone in this town, which had always meant she knew everything I did minutes after it happened. Something that had driven me crazy when I was twelve and that still drove me crazy now.

I just listened while Joy and Katy ran through the list and gave my opinion when asked. Katy had always been extremely organized, and this was no different. She didn’t actually need me, except for moral support. She had this handled. We were out of there in thirty minutes and onto the next stop, the flower shop. I was happy with how well this was going.

Once again, I just stayed in the background unless asked for my opinion. My mind kept wandering off to the dead body found in Katy’s salon. Alkon was typically a safe, relatively quiet town. Not a town where dead bodies were found in unusual places. I was so lost in thought that I jumped when Katy poked me.

“Earth to Presley,” Katy said. “I was asking you which ribbon you like best. The inch or inch and a half?” she said holding up both for my inspection. Katy’s wedding colors were a beautiful icy pale green and cream, and those were the ribbon colors she was holding up in the different sizes.

“Sorry. My mind was wandering. I like the inch better.”

“Good. Me, too.” She turned to the florist and laid the samples back down. “The one–inch it is. And you will have the bouquets delivered to the church by noon Saturday and centerpieces to the Towne Banquet Hall by two?”

“We sure will, Miss Smythe,” the florist said.

As we walked out, I asked, “How does it feel to know soon you will be Mrs. Stone instead of Miss Smythe?” I teased.

“Weird. But at least my initials don’t change,” she joked back.

“Now where to?” I asked as we got back in the car.

“Dress shop for final fittings.”

I groaned. This was a stop I definitely wasn’t looking forward to.

“Oh stop. It’s not going to be that bad.”

“I’ve been eating a lot of things lately that I shouldn’t. Why do you think I’m wearing yoga pants?” I said, pointing to my black pants with the hot pink piping with matching jacket. “They’re stretchy and accommodating.”

Katy rolled her eyes.

Chapter 3

K
aty’s phone rang and she dug it out of her purse. She frowned.

“I don’t recognize the number,” she said to me.

“Ugh, I hate that.”

“Should I answer it?”

“I would, only because with the wedding so close it could easily be someone wanting to discuss wedding details, and you don’t want to miss a wedding call.” I smiled.

“Good point,” she replied. “Hello? Oh, hi, Officer Schultz.” She looked at me to make sure I heard it was the police calling her.

I was hoping he was calling Katy with some information. I was quite curious to find out who that was at Katy’s salon. She listened for a few more minutes before getting off the phone.

“Well?” I said impatiently. “What did Officer Schultz have to say?”

“He told me that the woman who was found in my shop was Bethany Granville.”

“Hmmm…why does that name sound familiar?” I asked, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel to help me think.

“She’s a realtor. Apparently, a really good one. You’ve probably seen her billboard on your way into town.”

“Oh yeah. Blonde, mid–thirties,” I assumed from the giant headshot. “Her tagline is ‘List with me to close the deal.’”

“That’s the one.”

“If she’s such a good realtor, you’d think she could pay someone to come up with a catchier slogan.”

“Doesn’t matter now,” Katy said

“So why would someone kill her in your shop? Or was she killed? Did he say?”

“He said it was definitely a homicide but didn’t share any other details. I’m sure he just told me that because he had to give me a reason why my salon would have to remain closed at least a few more days. Man, this is such bad timing,” Katy said in frustration.

“I’m sure Bethany feels the same way.”

“Oh, stop. That’s not even funny. You know what I mean.”

“I know, Katy. I was just trying to lighten the mood. Yeah, it sucks, but there’s nothing you can do about it. So we just need to forge ahead with the fabulous wedding planning. This had nothing to do with you, it just unfortunately happened in your place of business. Bad circumstances.”

“You’re right.” Katy sighed.

“Is Tobey still working at the Alkon Authority?”

The Alkon Authority was the local newspaper in our town. Tobey Stone, who was Chris’s brother, had been an aid to the senator who’d been killed. He had decided to stay in Alkon after that mess and had taken a job as a reporter.

“Yeah, why?”

“Let’s stop by and say hi.”

Katy looked at me suspiciously. “You’re here to do wedding stuff not detective work.” She knew I was curious about what had happened. I couldn’t help it.

“I just want to stop and say hi to a friend. What’s so wrong with that?”

“Right. You’re hoping Tobey knows something about the murder.”

“That would be a nice coincidence,” I said.

“Fine, but we can’t stay long or we’ll be late to the dress shop.”

“I’ll make it quick. I promise.”

It didn’t take long to make our way to the newspaper offices. We walked in and asked for Tobey, and the receptionist pointed over to a cubicle in the far left corner. We walked down the short aisle and stood in front of Tobey’s cubicle. It took a couple of seconds for Tobey to realize there were people staring at him, but when he finally looked up, he quickly broke into a broad grin and jumped up to hug us.

“Presley. Katy. It’s so good to see you. How did I get so lucky today for this visit?”

“I just got back into town a few hours ago to fulfill my maid of honor duties. We were driving by and thought we would stop in. I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I’ve just been here writing about all of the exciting happenings her in Alkon, which isn’t usually all that exciting. Until today. You certainly had some excitement in your morning, Katy. Are you OK?”

Katy nodded.

Finally, the opening I was looking for. “What have you heard, Tobey?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Not much yet. Her name was Bethany Granville. She was supposedly the top realtor in Alkon and the surrounding areas.”

“We know all that,” I said impatiently. “Officer Schultz called Katy and confirmed it was a homicide. Do you have any details?”

“Presley, you are always so nosy,” he said, not unkindly.

“I know. One of my less endearing traits, I suppose. This is just so close to home with it happening in Katy’s salon and all. “

“I understand.” He nodded. “But all I know is she was killed by a blow to the back of the head. The cops don’t think she was killed there. Did you even know her, Katy?”

Katy shook her head. “No, I knew of her, but I didn’t know her personally. She didn’t even get her hair done at the salon. She went to some place out of town.”

“Wonder why the killers left her there then?” I mused. “See, Tobey, this is a good story.”

He laughed. “I’m not a crime reporter. That would be Al Galvin. Me, I strictly stick to covering the social highlights of Alkon.”

“And there’s enough social action here to warrant a regular feature?” I teased.

“You would be surprised.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t. My mom lives for the social scene here, and she’s always busy.”

“Presley, we really need to get going. We’ll be late as it is,” Katy said. “Dress fitting,” she told Tobey.

“Listen, why don’t we meet up tonight for drinks?” Tobey suggested.

“I would love that,” I said. “Does it fit into our agenda for the day?” I asked Katy.

“Yes,” she said, pushing me down the aisle. “I’ll text you, Tobey,” she called over her shoulder.

“OK. You ladies have fun.”

I lifted my arm above my head and waved bye as Katy propelled me out of the offices.

“OK, OK, I get it. Dress fitting it is.”

Chapter 4

W
e walked into the bridal shop late and Katy’s other bridesmaids were already waiting for us.

“It’s my fault we are late,” I said to the other three girls as we gave hugs all around. These were girls that she and I had been friends with forever. We had grown up together, had gone to school together, had been through a lot together. One of the great things about being in the same town your entire life was having close friendships with people who’d known you since second grade and with whom you could fall right back into easy conversations with even if it had been months or years since you’d last seen them.

“You need to come visit more,” Robin admonished me after our hug.

“I know, I know. How often do you get back, Charity?” I asked her.

Katy, Robin and the other bridesmaid, Shelly, all still lived here in Alkon, but Charity, like me, had moved away after getting married just out of college.

“More often now that Jeff and I have kids. My parents are always begging me to bring them. We’ve even been talking about moving here. Something I never thought I would say.”

“Charity has the most adorable kids, Presley,” Katy gushed.

“You have two, right?” I asked.

“Yep. A little girl, Rosie, who is almost five, and Garrett, who is eighteen months.”

I felt a small pang of jealousy. I’d always said I wanted to be a career woman and didn’t want kids until I was established. But after I hit the thirty mark and went through all the changes my life had taken professionally, I started to think more and more about kids, a husband, and the whole family thing. Wondering now if it would still happen or if I would end up without either a career or a family.

Before I could get too melancholy over something I had claimed I didn’t want, one of the bridal shop employees walked over to us.

“Are you ladies ready? We’ve pulled all the dresses and put them in the fitting room with your names on them.” She started walking toward the fitting rooms and we all followed her.

“Over on the table in the corner”—she pointed—“is coffee, water, or white wine if you prefer.”

“I don’t think there’s much question of what we would prefer.” I laughed as all five of us headed toward the glasses on the table and Barbara, the bridal shop employee, started pouring.

“Now just be careful taking the wine into the dressing room,” Katy warned. “We don’t need to deal with any wine stains.”

“It’s white, it won’t stain,” I called out.

“Not funny, Presley. I can’t take any more shocks today.”

For a few minutes all you could hear was the rustling of material, and then we finally made our way out to the mirror. Surprisingly enough, we all looked pretty damn good. Let’s face it; bridesmaids dresses weren’t always designed to make women look their best. However, bridesmaid dresses had come a long way since the last wedding I had been in, which was years ago. The green Katy had chosen for the color of our dresses looked good on all four of us and, as was more the trend now, the dresses, while the same color, were different styles. Katy, in her great fashion sense and knowing what it was we each really liked, had picked out a flattering style for each of us.

“These look great, Katy,” Charity said.

“I’m just happy I was able to zip mine up.” I said. “I haven’t been to yoga in forever. And haven’t stopped with the lotus.”

“You ladies all look wonderful!” Katy cooed.

“Thanks Katy, but what about you? Do we get to see your beautiful dress?” I asked. I was the only one who hadn’t seen it yet because I hadn’t been able to make it down for dress shopping. I had seen pictures of course, but that was nothing like seeing it in person.

“I was in last week. I don’t need to try it on.”

“Who cares about need? Let’s see it, Katy,” Charity said, and if she hadn’t I would have. So I seconded her request.

“Yes, Katy. Please! Try it on!”

“OK.” She smiled. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”