As soon as I returned from lunch on Friday, I called Rosalind to ask if she’d made any headway finding Harold Lester Davis.
“Sorry, Carrie. It’s a madhouse here. Believe it or not, three new cases have come in today. Three! Dylan had to reschedule an interview.”
“Wow! That’s wonderful.”
“I promise to get on your missing person as soon as things settle down,” Rosalind said. “Want to say hi to Dylan?”
“Not if you guys are busy.”
“He’s right here and wants to talk to you. I’ll put you through.”
I bit my lip, hoping that Dylan wasn’t about to tell me that he’d be getting home too late to make the rehearsal dinner.
“Hi, babe,” Dylan said. “Three new cases! Business is picking up.”
“It’s a good thing you’re about to hire an investigator.”
“Just a few more interviews to go and I’ll decide on my man.” Dylan laughed. “I may have to insist that he stay at this office to work on current cases instead of going to Atlanta for training with Mac.”
“Will you still be able to make the rehearsal dinner tonight? We’re supposed to be at the restaurant at seven o’clock.”
“Of course. I’ll pick you up no later than twenty to. Gotta go.”
I put down the phone, pleased that Dylan had wanted to tell me the news about his new cases himself.
The next two hours I read and responded to emails, then looked in on the programs in progress. Getting through my pile of paperwork took longer than usual because I was too excited to concentrate properly. Angela was getting married tomorrow!
I hadn’t brought Smoky Joe to the library today because the wedding rehearsal was scheduled for four o’clock and I’d be going there directly from work. Trish had arranged to work from one till six and Susan would work from four until closing time. They would cover tomorrow as well and attend the wedding reception at night. I was scheduled to work on Sunday, after the big event was over.
At three forty-five I said goodbye to Trish and drove to St. Stephen’s, which was a few minutes’ drive from the center of town. St. Stephen’s was a white wooden-framed church with a steeple, typical of the architecture in the area. I pulled into the side lot, where eight or nine cars were parked.
As soon as I entered the church, Angela dashed over and enveloped me in a fierce hug. “I’m so glad you’re here, Carrie!”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing. Everything!”
Her cousins Frankie and Tina, both bridesmaids, were going to be late. And Steve hadn’t arrived.
“Calm down,” I said as we entered the nave. Further down the aisle, family members stood around chatting while the organist ran through chords. “We have plenty of time.”
“Actually, we don’t,” Angela said. “The priest has an emergency appointment at five o’clock.”
“Why did he cut it so close?” I asked.
“You tell me!” Angela said. She was close to tears.
The young priest came over and said a few comforting words to Angela as the three of us joined the family group. The priest greeted everyone with a warm smile and invited us to call him Father Dan. I had no idea how he managed to establish calm and order, but in minutes we were lined up in the vestibule, ready to begin, when Steve and Frankie appeared.
We were four bridesmaids—Steve’s sister Donna, Frankie, Tina, and me—four groomsmen, Steve’s best man Jake Borelli, the small ring bearer—Liam—and even smaller flower girl—Emma. The organist began to play for real when Tina came huffing through the front door.
Marie, a pleasant woman in her sixties, told us she was the parish’s unofficial wedding coordinator. Her job was to let each of us know when it was our turn to start down the aisle and where we were to stand during the ceremony. All went according to plan, and the rehearsal was over at ten to five.
I hugged Angela’s mother, Steve, and various other people, then drove home to change for dinner.
Smoky Joe greeted me with loud meows to make sure I knew how unhappy he was that I’d left him cooped up all day on his lonesome instead of spending time with his library pals. I picked him up for a cuddle, then fed him his dinner, along with a generous handful of treats. That taken care of, I showered, then put on the dress I’d recently bought for the occasion along with my favorite pieces of jewelry—a gold heart pendant with diamonds that Dylan had bought me for Christmas and gold hoop earrings with a sprinkling of diamonds from my father. My two favorite men, I thought, as I reached for my blue eye shadow and got to work on my makeup.
“Don’t you look stunning,” Dylan said as I stepped into the BMW.
I leaned over to kiss him, breathing in the subtle woodsy fragrance of his cologne. “And you smell delicious.”
Dylan reached for my hand and we drove through the Avery property in companionable silence. “How did the rehearsal go?” he asked, turning onto the main road that led back to Clover Ridge.
“Oh. The usual hysteria when a few people were late, but the young priest calmed everyone down and the rehearsal went smoothly from there.”
“I’m sure everything will go according to schedule tomorrow,” Dylan said.
I laughed. “If Liam doesn’t drop the rings and Emma remembers to scatter the flowers instead of running to her mommy. Tell me about your new cases.”
“Well, two involve small businesses whose owners believe an employee is stealing from the company.”
“And the third?”
“Jewelry taken from a home. There’s no sign of a break-in, and the only person outside of the family with free access to the house is the housekeeper. The homeowner can’t believe the housekeeper took it. But someone did. I have to find out who.”
I grinned. “You will! You or your new investigator.”
“I’ve set up two interviews tomorrow. After that, I’ll make my decision.”
“The wedding ceremony starts at five, but I’m supposed to be at the church at four—for photos of the wedding party.” I thought a minute. “You could meet me there then—”
Dylan stopped me in midsentence. “No way, my love. This is the first wedding we’re going to and we’ll go there together. Don’t worry. I’ll be home in plenty of time to get you to the church on time.”
To get me to the church on time. I squeezed Dylan’s arm. “Thank you.”
When we arrived at Due Amici, the main dining room was set with about a dozen round tables for dinner. Some of the tables were already occupied, while other guests stood in groups, chatting and laughing.
Angela and Steve held hands as they came to greet us. Tonight my best friend was a vision in a purple floor-length halter-neck dress that set off her slender figure. I was happy to see she looked relaxed. We hugged and Dylan and I extended our best wishes.
I looked around, surveying the large room that was quickly filling up. “Did you invite the entire wedding?”
Steve laughed. “At least half of the wedding guests are expected here tonight.”
“The dinner is for everyone in the bridal party plus the out-of-towners,” Angela said.
Steve frowned. “As well as most of your relatives.”
“Close relatives,” Angela said. “Since Frankie’s a bridesmaid, my mother felt her parents should be invited, along with Donna and Aiden. And if Donna was coming, it would be rude to leave Roxy off the list. Or her father. Poor Uncle Dominic is still grieving for Aunt Terri.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “Who died two years ago.”
“It’s three years, and for your information, everyone grieves differently,” Angela said.
“Carrie! How nice to see you!”
I turned as Donna in a gold-colored mini-dress joined our group. “Hello, Donna. Nice to see you, too. This is my boyfriend, Dylan.”
Donna and Dylan shook hands. Roxy appeared a minute later, her red hair piled high, and I introduced her to Dylan. Dylan went off to get us drinks and Angela and Steve left to mingle.
“Where’s Aiden?” I asked Donna.
Donna waved her hand. “He’s around here somewhere.”
“Right … over there,” Roxy pointed.
Aiden and Tommy stood in a corner of the room deep in conversation. That is, Tommy appeared to be speaking with a great show of hand gestures while Aiden looked desperate to get away but didn’t know how.
“I wonder what the problem is,” I said.
Donna shrugged. “I have no idea. Aiden’s been acting strange lately. Nick called earlier this evening to tell me he’s worried about him.”
“Who’s Nick?” I asked.
“Aiden’s partner in the practice.”
“Do you think Aiden’s having second thoughts about investing in Tommy’s next movie?” I asked.
Donna shook her head. “I have no idea. I leave all money decisions to Aiden. If he thinks Tommy’s next film is a good investment, then he’ll put money in it. If he’s changed his mind, then Tommy will have to find someone else to back his movie.”
I thought it odd that Donna had so little interest in her husband’s financial decisions. But maybe Aiden’s income was large enough that the occasional investment had little impact on their budget.
“The place is filling up. I think we’d better find a table,” Roxy said.
I looked around and felt a stab of panic when I saw that most of the tables were occupied with people I didn’t know.
“There’s one with enough places for all of us.”
Donna dashed over to the table near the corner where her husband and Tommy had been talking earlier. Roxy and I followed after her.
Two older couples were already seated at the table. We exchanged introductions and learned that they were Steve’s relatives from Chicago. Dylan joined us, carrying our drinks, and Aiden came over a few minutes later. I introduced him to Dylan. The two men struck up a conversation, which became more animated when they discovered they knew some people in common.
The cuisine at Due Amici was always delicious and tonight was no exception. We were served salad and offered a choice of three entrees—I chose eggplant rollatini and had a few forkfuls of Dylan’s sausage and peppers. Later on, we’d have tiramisu or cannoli cake for dessert with our coffee.
It was an enjoyable evening. Donna and Roxy regaled us with amusing family anecdotes. At times it seemed that they were trying to outdo each other, and once they came very close to arguing over an incident each remembered somewhat differently. Perhaps rivalry was a natural result and to be expected of two strong-minded, outgoing female cousins who were the same age and had grown up living close to each other. I could understand why Angela felt intimidated when she was with either Donna or Roxy or with both of them.
The servers had just cleared the table of our main course when Angela and Steve stopped by our table.
“Having fun?” Angela asked while Steve chatted with his relatives.
“I am,” I said. “The food’s wonderful and your cousins are entertaining us with family stories.”
“I’m glad.” Angela lowered her voice. “It would be a perfect evening except for someone causing trouble as usual.”
I shot her a questioning glance, which she returned with a jerk of her head. Noting that everyone at the table was engrossed in conversation, I followed her out into the hall.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, though I had a pretty good idea.
“Tommy’s in a snit and grousing about it to everyone at our table. He claims Aiden’s reneging on his promise to put money into his movie.”
“I saw them talking before dinner,” I said. “Aiden looked like he wanted to escape but was too polite to make his move.”
Angela rubbed her eyes. She was on the verge of tears. “Once again my brother makes himself the center of attention. And this is my rehearsal dinner for my wedding.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Oh, Ange. Don’t let Tommy upset you tonight. Can’t your parents stop him?”
“My father tried, but Tommy just shouted louder.” She scoffed. “Mom tried to smooth everything over. Tommy’s girlfriend, who seems like a nice person, was mortified. Steve saw how upset I was and said it was time for us to circulate.”
“Would you like to sit at our table for the rest of the evening? We can ask them to bring over two more chairs.”
Angela sniffed. “No, I’ll be all right. Thanks for letting me unload on you.”
I smiled. “Of course. What are best friends for?”
We walked back into the dining room as our waitress was setting out cups for coffee and tea at our table. Donna and Roxy were laughing over something and Dylan and Steve were conversing quietly. Both men stopped to watch Angela and me as we joined them.
“Ready to move on?” Steve asked Angela softly.
She nodded and winked at me to let me know she was okay.
“Trouble?” Dylan murmured.
“Tell you later.”
The two older couples must have left while Angela and I were in the hall, and Aiden’s seat was empty. I figured he’d gone to the men’s room. But when dessert was served and he still hadn’t returned, I turned to Donna.
“Where’s Aiden?”
“He said he wasn’t feeling so great, so he left early. Roxy will drive me home.”
After his animated discussion with Dylan, Aiden had been quiet during dinner, but I’d figured that was because Donna and Roxy had monopolized the conversation, rarely letting anyone else get a word in. “I hope he’ll be all right for the wedding tomorrow,” I said.
“It’s probably just his grass pollen allergies acting up after playing outside with the kids.” She rolled her eyes. “I told him to start taking allergy shots but he insists that over-the-counter medicine works the few times he needs anything.”
I took a spoonful of my cannoli cake and was in heaven. Minutes later, after conferring with Roxy quietly, Donna stood and bestowed a big smile on Dylan and me. “Well, we’re off! See you guys tomorrow.”
“Good night,” Roxy said.
“See you tomorrow,” we answered.
As soon as she and Donna were out of earshot, Dylan turned to me. “Those two have the weirdest relationship.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“While you were in the hall talking to Angela, Aiden said he wasn’t feeling well and wanted to leave. He asked Roxy to drive Donna home. Instead, Roxy offered to drive him home. She said she needed to talk to him.”
“That’s odd,” I said.
“You can say that again. Donna was livid. She accused Roxy of making a play for her husband.”
I remembered how Roxy had arranged for Aiden to sit beside her at the bridal shower. “Why didn’t Donna drive Aiden home?”
“Good question. She didn’t offer, and I could tell he didn’t want to cut her evening short. Anyway, Roxy did a complete turnabout and said she’d drive Donna home as he had originally asked her to.”
“And Donna was okay with that?” I asked.
“Yep. She acted like nothing happened. You saw for yourself.”
So I had. Weird, as Dylan said.
We joined the crowd saying good night to Angela and Steve and their parents. Angela was back to being her usual brash and bouncy self, probably because her brother was nowhere in sight. Tommy was a pain in the butt, but I hoped she’d soon realize he no longer had an impact on her life.
In the car I leaned back into my seat and sighed contentedly. “I think I’ve just eaten enough for the next three days.”
“Buck up. Tomorrow’s an even bigger eating marathon.”
“That’s not till the evening. I don’t intend to eat even a crumb until then.”
We both laughed, knowing that wasn’t true.
“What was Angela upset about?” Dylan asked.
“Tommy was causing a fuss at their table, angry because Aiden doesn’t plan to invest in his movie after all. Angela gets bent out of shape whenever her brother acts up. He was awful to her when they were kids, and her parents—especially Rosemary—never would acknowledge how bad it was. It especially bothered her tonight, this being the rehearsal dinner for her wedding.”
When Dylan didn’t say anything, I studied his profile. He looked pensive.
“What is it?” I asked. “Did Aiden tell you he’d reconsidered investing in Tommy’s movie?”
Dylan shook his head. “He didn’t mention Tommy or the movie.”
“But?” I said, knowing there was something he wasn’t saying.
“I never brought it up with him, but he already knew I was an investigator.”
My pulse quickened. “I never mentioned it either.”
“Aiden said he’d be calling me next week. I said I’d be happy to talk to him and gave him my card.”