Chapter Nineteen
Wes was happy for Tommy and Sharise, but he was exhausted. He wanted to head home, but being the best man didn’t give him that luxury. It had been a hard week, and he didn’t feel like he had accomplished much. He had his suspicions, but he didn’t have anything new on Melanie Stowe to bring back to his producer. He knew that first thing on Monday morning, Alan would be on him to dig deeper.
“Hey, man, you’re not supposed to be looking glum. I’m the one who just got married.” Tommy came up beside him and sat down.
Wes looked at him. “You should be the happiest man in here. What are you doing over here? Where’s Sharise?”
“She went to talk to her best friend. So, I decided to see mine.”
“Okay, y’all are going to have to do a little bit better.”
“Oh, we will as soon as we get out of here. I’m happy to be married, but planning this wedding has been one big ordeal. I’m happy everything turned out great.”
“Sharise was a beautiful bride, and I’m sure you two are going to be great. So, when are the kids coming?”
Tommy widened his eyes. “What? No. No. Don’t start talking about that yet. Let us get to the honeymoon first.”
Wes laughed. “I can’t wait to see the first little versions of you and Sharise.”
“Okay, now you are scaring me. That’s coming just no time soon. Hey, there is my lovely bride. I’m going to get her away from her friend, and I will catch you later.”
Wes nodded. “All right.” As Tommy walked away, Wes turned his attention to the corner of the room. He had noticed Angel earlier but didn’t know what to say or do. She hadn’t returned any of his messages. Right now she appeared to be upset with the guy standing next to her. Wes couldn’t remember his name, but he was at the bachelor party last night. The guy was a real jerk. He was the kind of guy who demanded attention, despite the evening not being about him.
Wes got up from his seat and weaved his way around tables toward Angel. He figured he might do a bit better than this guy with getting a conversation going. As he approached, Angel looked up. Was that relief in her eyes, or maybe it was his imagination?
“Hello, Angel.”
She was definitely smiling at him with her mouth and her eyes. Once again he was reminded how much he loved her eyes.
Angel stepped away from the guy. “Hello, Wes. I didn’t realize you were in the wedding party.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve known Tommy and Sharise for years. Tommy since high school. Sharise and I met in college. They met each other and have been a couple ever since.” He turned to the man. “You were at the bachelor party last night. Looked like you were having a good time. What was your name again?”
Kenneth looked from Angel to Wes. “Kenneth. Kenneth Morgan. It was a great party. So, you and Angel are friends?”
Seeing the question in Kenneth’s eyes, Wes couldn’t resist. “Yes, we have become fast friends.” Wes was happy to be rewarded with a smile from Angel. He had done something right for a change.
“I will leave you two. Good to see you again, Angel.”
As Kenneth walked off, Wes turned to Angel. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Angel shook her head. “Believe me, you saved me.”
“Boyfriend?”
“Ex-boyfriend. Long time ago.”
“Weddings bring out the romantic side of people.”
“Not. He’s going to be getting married this summer. To my ex–best friend.”
She smiled, but Wes could tell the attempted humor didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m surprised you said he’s going to be getting married soon. He didn’t appear to be tied down to anyone last night. I would say he was the life of the party.”
“Kenneth likes attention. So you said you went to high school with the groom?”
“Yes, we both had the honor of being church boys.”
She raised her eyebrow. “Church boys?”
“Let’s just say that Wanda and Tommy’s mom enjoyed keeping us in church and out of trouble. We, of course, would find a way to cut up and get into foolishness, anyway.”
Angel giggled. “I bet.”
To keep the conversation going, he asked, “How’s your grandmother doing?”
“She’s been transferred to a rehabilitation facility. It’s hard to see her, but she is trying hard. It can be really frustrating for her. She was so energetic before.”
“I can imagine.”
She asked, “How’s Detective Cade doing?”
“Last I talked to my mom, he seemed in good spirits. It’s kind of sad to be around him. We used to hang out all the time, and then . . . some days he doesn’t know me or Mom. It’s like we don’t exist. In his mind he could be back thirty or forty years.”
Angel said, “That must be difficult. I read a bit about Alzheimer’s. It affects the short-term memory first.”
“Yes, it’s hard. Mom is a nurse, and she mainly takes care of him. Lately, I think it’s taken a toll on her, though. She seems older, and I don’t mean age-wise. She is just tired. She would have attended the wedding today, but someone has to watch him. She doesn’t want to put him in a nursing home, but he has run away a couple of times. It’s just scary when he goes missing.” He looked at Angel’s face. “Oh, I shouldn’t have brought that up.”
Angel frowned. “What do you mean? You were saying he can get lost. It can happen when he gets confused.”
“Sorry. I just thought about . . . Well, I have been working on the Melanie Stowe case and . . . you know, your mother.”
“It’s fine. Do you know if the police have any clues about what happened to Melanie? It’s been a week and a half now. I’ve been trying to follow her case a little.”
“No. It’s pretty cut and dry. Someone snatched her up in the parking lot on the way to her car, and no one saw it. It could be a crazed fan that became obsessed with her on American Voices. There are not a lot of clues.”
Angel responded, “When I saw the story on the news, it reminded me of my mother’s disappearance. I guess because they both had these singing careers they were pursuing.”
Something about what Angel said struck a chord somewhere in Wes. Possibly because he was investigating both cases at the same time, he, too, thought the similarity was interesting. Still, the missing person cases were twenty years apart.
Wes noticed the band had started to play a slow number. The conversation between him and Angel, along with the other conversations at the reception, came to a halt as all eyes were on Tommy and Sharise on the dance floor. Wes wondered what that felt like. To stare into the eyes of the woman you would spend the rest of your life with. He looked over at Angel, who had directed her attention to the camera on the tripod.
She turned to look at him, and they just stared at each other for a brief moment, until Angel looked away to focus on the camera with a slight smile on her face. Wes forgot that only about twenty minutes ago he had felt exhausted and had been ready to call it a night. Now staying for a little while longer was a bit more appealing. He just needed to keep the reporter’s hat off so he wouldn’t spoil the growing friendship he had with Angel Roberts.