There was turmoil all around me. People shouted, scarcely able to take in what had just happened, as they pressed closer to see for themselves that Aiden was dead. I was feeling claustrophobic when Dylan leaped to his feet and spread out his arms. “Everyone step back!” he bellowed.
Steve and Jake joined him to keep the guests at bay. I pushed through the crowd to reach our table where I’d left my phone and speed-dialed John Mathers’s cell. Our police chief picked up on the third ring.
“Carrie, what’s wrong?”
“I’m at Angela’s wedding. Her cousin’s husband, Aiden Harrington, just died.”
“The doctor? Are you sure he’s dead? I’ll send an ambulance.”
“Dylan checked his pulse.” My voice quivered. “I watched him keel over and die.”
“I’ll be there ASAP. Dylan knows to keep everyone away from the body.”
When I turned back to the crowd, Aiden and Steve were restraining a hysterical Donna from throwing herself on Aiden’s body. Finally, her father succeeded in leading her away. A weeping Roxy tried to embrace her, but Donna shoved her so hard, only a chair saved her from landing on the floor.
I walked over to Angela’s parents’ table, where Rosemary was consoling Angela. I sank into the empty chair beside my best friend and put my arm around her. “I’m so sorry this happened, Ange. Aiden was a great guy.”
Angela rubbed her face with a cloth napkin. When she looked up, her eyes blazed with anger. “He couldn’t stand to see me have my day.”
“Aiden?”
“Of course not Aiden!” She pointed at her brother, who was talking to their father, his girlfriend standing meekly behind him.
“… so, goodnight. Zoe’s flying home tomorrow but I’m staying a while longer. My friend Kevin’s set up a few meetings with friends who might be interested in backing my movie.” Tommy came over to kiss his mother, then turned to Angela.
She pushed him away. “Go on, leave! Your dirty work is done!”
Tommy stared at her. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“You poisoned Aiden! I saw how he could barely stand all evening.”
He curled his lip. “You’re crazy. I never should have bothered flying all this way to be at your wedding.”
“You only came east to wheedle money out of Aiden. And when he didn’t give it to you, you murdered him!”
Poor Rosemary Vecchio was beside herself. “Angela! Tommy! Stop this crazy talk. You’re family.”
“Aiden’s family, too,” Angela said, “and your darling son just murdered him!”
Tommy stalked off, dragging a bewildered Zoe behind him.
“So, based on what you’ve been telling me, I’d better order an extensive tox screen,” John said.
Dylan and I both nodded. I yawned, which made them both yawn. And no wonder. It was past two a.m. and we were drinking coffee in my kitchen. John had spent the last three hours interviewing wedding guests who had known Aiden or had witnessed his death, and had asked Dylan and me if he could come over and have us run through the scene of Aiden’s death once again.
“Did either of you see anyone tamper with Aiden’s food or drink during the wedding reception?” he asked.
“Nope,” Dylan said.
“He claimed he wasn’t feeling well last night at the rehearsal dinner, and seemed unsteady on his feet the few times I noticed him tonight.”
“And there’s the business between him and Tommy Vecchio,” John said.
Dylan and I nodded.
“We’ll find out soon enough if the good doctor died of natural causes or if he ingested something toxic,” John said. “I’ve questioned the people closest to him. His wife Donna noticed he hadn’t been himself lately.” He cocked his head. “I know you didn’t know the guy well, but was there anything about his behavior that struck you as odd?”
“He was planning to call me at the office after the weekend, which means there was something on his mind,” Dylan said.
“Yes, you mentioned that,” John said.
I giggled because Dylan had already mentioned it a few times. One of John’s interrogation methods was to ask the same question again and again. But for it to cause me to laugh must mean I was overtired.
Both men looked at me and Dylan reached over to rub my back. “You’re exhausted.”
“I am.”
John raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m almost done.” He turned to me. “And you think Dr. Harrington might have been having an affair with his wife’s cousin, Roxy Forlano.”
“Possibly. Roxy had just gone through a difficult divorce and, according to Donna’s sister Frankie, Aiden had been very supportive of her. Also, Roxy’s ex—Miles Forlano—is Aiden’s best friend,” I said.
“Roxy was all over Aiden tonight,” Dylan said. “During the cocktail hour; when they danced together.”
“Sounds very incestuous,” John said.
“Donna and Roxy have a tempestuous relationship as well,” I said. “They argue and make up quickly, though after Aiden died, Donna pushed Roxy away—literally.”
John had us run through the same questions one last time. Finally, he sighed, drew himself to his feet, and called it a night.
“Do you think this is a homicide?” I asked.
“Could be. We’ll have to see what the tests show. Right now it’s considered a suspicious death. I plan to talk again to everyone closely related to Aiden and anyone who had a reason to want him dead.”
“Like Tommy Vecchio,” I said.
“Like Tommy Vecchio and others. Good morning to you both.”
I saw John to the door, then put out some food for Smoky Joe, hoping he would let me sleep in tomorrow morning. I was scheduled to work, but Sunday’s library hours began at noon, at least till next week when the library would be closed Sundays until Labor Day weekend.
Dylan was already asleep when I slipped into bed. I hoped the image of Aiden crashing into the chocolate fountain then sliding to the ground wouldn’t keep me awake. This was the second time someone had died before my eyes. Poor Aiden. Poor Donna and little Emma and Liam. Poor Angela and Steve, who would always remember that someone had died at their wedding reception.
Smoky Joe jumped onto the bed and nestled against me. With Dylan snoring gently beside me and my furry feline purring contentedly, I felt protected and loved. Within minutes I too drifted into a deep sleep.
Though Sunday proved to be a perfect June day, warm enough for boating and sitting on a beach if not swimming, a pall reigned over the library. Angela was popular with her colleagues as well as with patrons, and news that someone had died while dessert was being served at her wedding reception was the topic of conversation throughout the day. Sally, Marion, Fran, and I commiserated with one another via email, texting, and in the library’s coffee shop, expressing our concern for Angela. I’d texted her earlier that morning, and she’d texted back, saying she was as good as could be expected and she’d call when she got a free moment.
When my office phone rang at three o’clock, I thought finally! Angela’s calling. To my surprise, her mother Rosemary was on the other end of the line.
“Carrie, I’m so glad I managed to catch you!”
“Rosemary, how is everyone? I’m so sorry about Aiden and that it happened at Angela’s wedding. How is she?”
Rosemary drew a deep breath. “That’s why I called. I’m worried about her, Carrie.”
A chill ran up my back.
“Angela’s beside herself. She’s got it into her head that Aiden was murdered and that … her brother killed him somehow.”
I hesitated, then went ahead with what was on my mind. “Rosemary, there’s a good possibility that Aiden was poisoned. We won’t know until the tests come back.”
“I know that,” Rosemary said dryly. “Lieutenant Mathers questioned Tommy for quite some time. He advised Tommy to remain in Clover Ridge for the next few days.”
So John had warned Tommy that he might be a suspect in a murder investigation. “Tommy was seen arguing with Aiden at the rehearsal dinner. I heard him tell his girlfriend that Aiden was going to pay for disrespecting him.”
“My son’s a hothead, but he wouldn’t murder his cousin’s husband.”
“Angela told me how he treated her when they were growing up,” I said.
Silence. Was Rosemary going to keep on denying that Tommy had tormented Angela both physically and psychologically when they were younger?
“I’ve apologized again and again for not listening to her when I should have. Angela keeps saying it’s too late. The damage has been done. And now she refuses to leave their condo to go on their honeymoon.”
I drew in breath. “I’m so sorry, Rosemary. I know how much she was looking forward to going to California.”
“Angela said now isn’t the time to leave us and go on vacation.” Rosemary lowered her voice. “She’s planning to go in to work tomorrow like always. Steve’s tried to get her to see reason. That she’s not doing herself or anyone any good by refusing to go on their honeymoon, but she won’t listen.”
“This doesn’t sound like Angela,” I said.
Rosemary began to cry. “Would you please talk to her, Carrie? This was supposed to be the most wonderful time of her life and now it’s just about the worst.”
“They’re scheduled to fly to California tomorrow. Has she canceled all their reservations?”
“I don’t know. But Steve’s cousin arranged everything—the flight and the two different resorts where they’d planned to stay. Hopefully, she can make everything right if you can get Angela to leave as planned.”
“When the library closes, I’ll go over to the condo to talk to her.”
“Thank you, Carrie. I’ll tell Steve to expect you.”
I hung up the phone and was mulling over my conversation with Rosemary when Evelyn appeared.
“I heard the sad news about what happened at Angela and Steve’s wedding,” she said.
“It was awful. Poor Aiden keeled over and died right in front of Dylan and me.”
Evelyn perched on the corner of my assistants’ desk and raised her eyebrows. “A heart attack or was he murdered?”
“We’ll know that after the autopsy and the results of the tox screen come back. There’s a good chance Aiden was poisoned. Slow-acting poison. Aiden complained that he wasn’t feeling well at the rehearsal dinner, and he appeared slow-moving and unsteady at the wedding reception.”
“Any suspects?”
“The spouse is always a suspect,” I said. “Then there’s Roxy, his wife’s cousin. She was very fond of Aiden.”
“Oh?” The one syllable was rich with suggestion.
“Roxy has just gone through a painful divorce from Aiden’s best friend. Either Aiden was being an especially kind and helpful friend or …”
“Or they were having an affair. In which case, his wife had a motive to kill him,” Evelyn finished for me.
I nodded. “And there’s Tommy Vecchio, Angela’s short-fused brother. Angela thinks he killed Aiden because Tommy was furious because he believed Aiden reneged on a promise to put money into his next film when Aiden might have only said he’d think about investing and decided not to.”
“Three suspects.”
“That we know of,” I said.
Evelyn cleared her throat. “With all this going on, I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to do any research into finding my lost brother.”
“Sorry, I haven’t, other than to ask Dylan’s secretary Rosalind to work on it. And she’s been swamped at the office. But Rosalind will let me know as soon as she finds out something.”
“Thanks, Carrie.”
“And I’ll do what I can, but right now Angela is my main concern. It’s like the trauma of her brother’s behavior during their childhood has returned with a vengeance. She was upset because Friday night at the rehearsal dinner Tommy monopolized the conversation at their table, ranting how Aiden didn’t do what he’d promised. And now she’s convinced that Tommy killed Aiden.”
“Do you think he did?”
“I have no idea. It’s possible. Dylan and I overheard him telling his girlfriend that Aiden was going to be sorry he’d reneged on his promise. Of course, that could be all talk, but Tommy looks and acts like a thug. You’d never believe he was Angela’s brother. Then, of course, Aiden might have died of an aneurysm or a coronary.”
After Evelyn left, I called Dylan to tell him I couldn’t see him for dinner as planned because I needed to visit Angela and talk some sense into her.
“Go to it, babe. If anyone can get her out of her funk, it’s you.”