Weddings Can Be Murder (13 page)

The Killer Bridegroom?
I literally
saw red as Ron aimed the remote and shut down the offensive
pictures. How dare they! I spun around, ready to pick up the phone
and get the perky Jill Maldonado on the phone. Sally turned, her
face white with shock. Ron’s was a mask of steel. He stood so still
I momentarily wanted to make sure he was breathing.

Chapter 12

Juliette stretched under the featherweight
comforter, reaching to the other side of the bed, finding it empty.
No surprise. A little disappointment. She rolled to the side facing
wide sliding glass doors where she could see the ocean through
white sheer drapes.

I must be the luckiest woman in the world
right now, she thought, massaging the thick quilted mattress cover
beneath her. How life had changed in these last few weeks. Ever
since New Year’s Eve.

Al had come into her office right after
Christmas, during Sheila’s lunch hour when the place was virtually
deserted. With a hip propped on the corner of her desk, he sent one
of his brilliant smiles her way.

“Do you have plans for New Year’s Eve?” he
asked.

She shook her head. Every year she and Carol
Ann had done something together—dancing at a club, taking in a
purely chick-flick movie, going somewhere with friends—but with
Tommy in the picture Carol Ann had given the no-argument impression
that the evening was already planned and the plans didn’t include
Juliette.

“Hm?” He’d apparently seen a flash of
irritation on her face. “I thought maybe a nice dinner, some
dancing, just you and me.”

What the heck. Why not? She nodded
enthusiastically. She was not sitting home alone in that drab
apartment just because Carol Ann couldn’t be bothered with her
anymore.

Al had picked her up in the Porsche and
without explanation drove straight to his mansion. She expected his
kiss this time. Even though he’d been very proper at the office,
ever since the Christmas party she’d felt the burn of his eyes upon
her, every bit as potent as the heat of his lips against the chilly
evening, out on the veranda. This time they’d hardly gotten inside
the door when he pulled her into his arms.

“I’ve never wanted a woman the way I want
you,” he said, his breathing hard, his voice hushed.

“Al—we talked about this.”

“We aren’t at the office. We don’t have to
answer to anyone. I want you Juliette. I want to take care of you,
to give you everything.”

This time the kiss probed to her very soul
and she felt herself swept away. He led her upstairs to the master
bedroom, which looked like something out of a palace, complete with
canopied bed and satin sheets. Hours passed. A short break for the
promised dinner, back to the bed, a moonlit night on the veranda
with soft music and slow dances. Back to the bed. The evening
stretched into two days in which he truly did take care of her.

When he took her home Sunday night, walking
into her old apartment was like being thrown against a dirty
concrete wall. The rooms, the furnishings … it all depressed her.
She had gone straight to bed and closed her eyes, putting herself
back into the fantasy world where she shared time with Al.

Monday morning at the office he handed her a
tape of dictation and a plain white envelope.

“Look inside,” he said with the grin she’d
come to adore.

The envelope had contained a sheet of paper
and a key.

“It’s the lease to your new condo.”

“What? Al, you can’t—”

“I can, and I did. We’ll go see it at lunch
time. If you like it, I’ll get a crew over to move your stuff
in.”

And that was it. Spacious rooms on the
eighteenth floor, living room and bedroom facing the ocean, a
kitchen far bigger than she needed, a bedroom larger than her
entire apartment. The look on her face said
yes
, long before
she found the actual words to thank him.

“It comes with the furniture,” he said, “but
if you don’t like any of it I’ll have it changed for you.”

“It’s—it’s perfect. I’m speechless.”

“Well, we don’t have to
talk
.” He led
her to the bedroom and they officially made the new residence
hers.

For the first two weeks he was there every
night, usually staying until midnight or so, only staying all night
on one occasion. When her monthly inconvenience came, he stayed
away for a few nights, but the days were filled with passionate
kisses behind closed doors at the office.

She’d received a raise, to cover additional
expenses he’d said. A brand-new red Camaro convertible appeared in
her assigned parking slot in the condo garage. The existence of the
condo and her new lifestyle was never mentioned in front of the
other employees, but Juliette had a feeling Sheila had figured it
out.

“I want to invite Carol Ann and Tommy for
dinner one night this week. I can cook and it’ll be fun for the
four of us to socialize.”

“What night? I’m pretty booked this
week.”

“Thursday or Friday?”

“Do what you want. I’ll see if I’m
available.” He reached for the door which connected their offices.
“I’ve got a meeting right now.”

The words stung. She was fairly certain he’d
planned to be with her each night. Obviously, he didn’t want to
spend time with her friends. Then again, she wasn’t a hundred
percent sure they wanted to be around him. She’d introduced Carol
Ann once when the girls had plans for lunch and Carol Ann had
dropped by the office to pick her up. Al had been distracted that
morning anyway so, yeah, he didn’t exactly exude personality at the
moment. And her friend’s reaction had been especially
weird—disdain, almost contempt. But surely, that was a one-time
thing. They just needed to get to know one another.

Juliette had called her friend in early
January to tell her everything that had happened and got a lukewarm
reception, and Carol Ann had been occupied whenever Juliette
suggested a girl’s movie or lunch. Well, those things happened.
Friends didn’t always stick with you through thick and thin. Just
surprising that her best high school friend had certainly been
there during the lean times. Maybe it was jealousy over Juliette’s
good fortune. That must be it.

Behind Al’s door, male voices droned. She
looked at her desk calendar to see who the appointment was with,
but there was no note of it. She turned to her dictation. Al was
that way—didn’t always tell her who he was seeing. She fed paper
into the Selectric and began a letter.

The more she thought about her little dinner
party idea, the worse it sounded. She decided to blow it off. Let
Carol Ann be the one to call. Maybe Juliette would just
happen
to be busy and give her a taste of how it felt.

On the other side of the door, the
stranger’s voice rose. Al’s voice responded but Juliette couldn’t
make out the words. The outer office door opened, followed by the
door to the street—all familiar sounds to her. Then Al’s outer door
slammed. Hm … something had not gone well.

The letter was ready for his signature and
he’d told her it was important, so she tapped at the connecting
door.

“Come!” It was definitely a command.

She held the letter up, not saying a word.
He scrawled his name on it, barely looking at her.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

“Just business. Don’t worry about it.”

Since her job was to worry about his
dealings and appointments she felt a little excluded but took a
deep breath and resolved not to dwell on the man’s visit. Even
though their personal lives were increasingly intertwined, there
was no reason for her to know every single aspect of his
business.

“Um, just to let you know … I decided not to
do the dinner party with Carol Ann and Tommy. We’re too busy and
it’s a hassle.”

His mood brightened immediately. “Good. I
like it better when it’s just you and me.”

She walked back to her desk and put the
letter into an envelope. Yes, she had made the right decision.

Al pulled on his jacket and headed for the
door. Juliette carried the stamped letter to Sheila’s desk to join
the other outgoing mail when the postman came by. Marion, the
bookkeeper, stood there with a stack of her own envelopes.

“Who was that man earlier, the one who kind
of stormed out?” Juliette asked.

The two older women exchanged a glance.
Sheila gave a half-shrug and picked up a can of Coke from the
coaster on her desk.

Marion, who rarely interacted with Juliette
at all, was the first to speak. “His name’s Elmer Reddick. He’s
with the county sheriff’s department.”

“Sounded like they had words.”

“They always have words,” Marion responded
before dumping her mail on Sheila’s desk and walking back to her
little cave-like office.

“Okay … What did she mean by that?”

Sheila sent her an inscrutable look, as if
there was something she didn’t quite want to say. “Al and Elmer
don’t always see eye to eye.”

“I gathered that.”

“It goes way back, apparently. I get the
impression they’ve known each other since they were kids.” The
phone rang and Sheila reached for it. The conversation was
over.

Juliette wondered if the men’s differences
were personal or professional. She didn’t have long to think about
it. The call was for Al and Sheila had already transferred it to
Juliette’s desk.

That night Al came to her condo after nine
o’clock, loosening his tie and heading straight to the built-in bar
for his usual nightcap. While he poured expensive Scotch from one
of the pricey bottles he’d brought when she moved in, she thought
again of the visit by Elmer Reddick.

“Hey, baby,” he said when she mentioned it.
He slipped an arm around her waist. “What have I said about
business and pleasure? We don’t mix ’em. I’d whole lot rather see
you in that little lacy thing I gave you for Valentine’s Day than
talk about some jerk who don’t know what he’s talking about.”

Juliette blushed a little at the memory of
his presentation of the ‘little lacy thing.’ He’d brought in a
shopping bag from Neiman Marcus and right there in the office he’d
pulled out a red lace teddy that left absolutely nothing to the
imagination. He held it up and Sheila caught a good look at it as
she’d walked down the hall. Her co-worker had not said a word about
it, thank goodness.

“Go on now, scoot.” Al tossed his jacket
over a dining chair and removed his tie, undoing a couple of
buttons and stretching out on the huge sectional sofa while
Juliette retired to the bathroom to cut the tags off the teddy.

* * *

A month went by and Juliette had heard
nothing from Carol Ann. Nights when Al stayed late, her world felt
complete. But his increasing absences left her edgy and lonely. She
called Carol Ann’s number one evening, only to find the number had
been disconnected. What on earth?

She realized Carol Ann must have moved in
with Tommy. She struggled to remember his last name, finally coming
up with Henderson. Found the listing and called. An overly-cute
message answered: “Hi, you’ve reached Tommy and Carol Ann (both
voices chiming in). We’re busy (suggestive giggles). Leave a
message and we might get back to you when we’re not so … busy!
(raucous laughter)” Then a beep. Juliette hung up without saying
anything.

Back in Texas she’d always had a library
card. She should get one here. Reading might help fill the long
nights. She’d never heard Al talk about books at all. The library
at his house seemed full of classics he’d never read—nothing that
interested her. She waited up until eleven and went to bed
alone.

Good Friday came. Al had declared it a
half-day at the office but then he left without making any plans
with her for the whole weekend. Marion was out the door precisely
at twelve noon and Sheila had already covered her typewriter and
put the telephone’s holiday message on.

“Even though my kids are teenagers now,” she
said to Juliette, “we always do a little something special Easter
weekend. We said we’d take them to Disney World this year. I better
get out of here. The traffic’s going to be murder.”

Juliette looked up from her typewriter. “No
problem. I’ve got one letter to finish and I’ll lock up.”

The front doorbell chimed as Sheila left.
Juliette had barely typed two more lines before it jingled
again.

“Forget something?’ she called out.

Movement at her doorway caught her
attention; she started when she saw a large man standing there. He
wore tan pants and a plaid shirt, had a shiny bald top and a paunch
that hung over his waistband.

“Where’s Al?”

“I’m sorry, the office closed early today.
May I set up an appointment for you next week?”

He glanced around, his attitude more
proprietary than menacing.

“Nah, I’ll just stop by when I’m in the
neighborhood.”

“May I tell him who called?”

His round face widened into a grin. “My,
aren’t we the formal ones. You must be the little girlfriend.”

How could he possibly know that?

She stood up, preparing to usher him out.
“Is this business or personal?”

Another of those glances around the office.
He pulled a leather case from his hip pocket and flashed a badge.
His voice dropped, barely above a whisper. “Al’s going down one of
these days, hon, and you don’t want to be there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nice. Keep up the innocent manner.” He
raised his voice to normal tones again. “Hell, I don’t care if he
does have the place bugged and he gets every word of this. Al
Proletti, we’ve got your number and you’re going down one of these
days soon.”

Juliette felt her jaw sag. What did that
mean?

“Elmer Reddick, ma’am.” It was all he said
but he reached into the badge case, silently handing her a business
card. Dade County Sheriff’s Department.