Lindsey spent the day finalizing her wedding details. Weirdly, the fact that everything was going perfectly made her even more nervous. She was certain she must be forgetting something, but then she remembered that they had no one to marry them, and her panic resumed, making her feel more normal.
She was meeting Sully on the town green for the town’s tree-lighting ceremony. It was a Briar Creek tradition, and everyone would be there. Lindsey knew Sully was hoping they’d see or hear something that would help them discover what had happened to Steve. It was a long shot, since they had no idea who had attacked him, and at this point, it could be anyone.
The library closed early, and the staff walked to the park together. Since Ms. Cole had announced her intention to run for mayor in the upcoming election, she had taken to attending all the town functions so that she could see firsthand how the mayor handled these situations. It was a pretty steep learning curve for a person who generally tolerated no nonsense and wasn’t prone to overblown flattery.
Beth was going mostly so she could help Ms. Cole take it all in. Beth had appointed herself “the lemon’s” unofficial campaign manager. Ms. Cole had resisted her at first, but Beth had the ability to wear a person down if she felt they desperately needed her expertise. It was her superpower, and Ms. Cole was helpless in the face of it.
“Now, Mayor Hensen knows you’re running against him,” Beth said, “so it’s very important that you look fearless.”
Ms. Cole gave her a steely glance through her glasses.
“But look friendly so that people think you’re likable.”
“Likable?” Ms. Cole asked. “What does likability have to do with competency?”
“Well, there’s a question,” Paula said from the other side of Lindsey.
“I mean, honestly, shouldn’t the only criteria be that I’m more suited to the job than he is? I know how to get things done. I have an institutional memory of the town and a clear idea of how to keep our town prosperous and safe for all of the residents,” Ms. Cole declared.
“Spoken like a true mayor,” Ann Marie chimed in. “You’ve got my vote.”
“Well, I should hope so,” Ms. Cole said. “Truly, the only thing Mayor Hensen has going for him is a brilliant set of very white teeth and a nice head of hair.”
Lindsey tried not to laugh but failed miserably. If Ms. Cole won the election next fall, she was going to be a force of nature. It was about time. While Mayor Hensen enjoyed riding in the convertible on parade day, Ms. Cole would actually make sure the town had something to be proud of come parade season.
“Lindsey!”
She turned and saw Sully waving at her from where he stood with Mary, Ian and Josie. His parents were with them, and Lindsey realized as she excused herself to her colleagues and crossed the green, winding her way through the crowd, that in a few days, they would all be her family, too. She felt her heart lift in her chest. Tomorrow, her parents; her brother, Jack; and his girlfriend arrived, and she couldn’t wait to have them all together to celebrate their big day, assuming they actually found someone to help them tie the knot. She pushed the thought aside. A panic episode would not be helpful at the moment.
The enormous evergreen tree that stood at the edge of the park, the same tree that the ladies from the local women’s league decorated every year, was all ready to be lit. All they needed was the local high school band to finish playing, and then the mayor would give his speech and turn the lights on. Following that, the children’s choir would sing a song and they’d all race to the Blue Anchor to warm up with a pint or a hot chocolate.
Sully hugged her close, and she folded herself into his warmth, hugging the rest of his family, one after the other, with her available arm. The sounds of people talking and laughing while children raced in and around their legs made for a festive atmosphere, and Lindsey found herself grinning as she looked forward to seeing what sort of magic the women’s league had pulled off this year.
“Nate, how are you?” Sully called to Nate Briggs, who was standing a few feet away with his wife, Naomi, and all five of their girls.
Nate turned around and shook Sully’s hand. He shrugged, looking even more tired than he had the day before. “I’m doing all right, I guess. Had to come for the girls, you know. They love it so much.”
The oldest daughter, Maddie, was holding the baby, Matilda, while the three middles were chasing each other in a tight circle. Naomi was doing what she could to manage the chaos, but the girls were excited and not listening. When the youngest of the three tried to tag the oldest, the lid on her hot chocolate flew off, and she doused herself, soaking her coat through.
As soon as she realized what had happened, the tears started, and Naomi looked at her with genuine sympathy. Nate immediately pulled a wad of paper napkins from his pocket and handed them to Naomi.
“Ha, I knew these were going to come in handy. Go ahead and dry her off while I contain the other two.” And just like that, the parents were on a mission to save the moment. Nate snatched up the other girls, tickling them into submission, while Naomi gently dabbed at the chocolate on the little one’s coat.
“It’ll be all right, Maggie,” she said. “I’ll wash your coat as soon as we get home, and it’ll be like brand-new.”
Big tear-filled eyes met hers as Maggie asked, “Are you sure, Mama? Because I do not want to get on the naughty list. Not this close to Christmas.”
“It was an accident,” Naomi said. “You don’t get put on the naughty list for accidents, especially if you feel bad about it.”
“I do,” she said. “I really, really do.”
“Okay, then help me throw these napkins out, and I’m sure you’ll be just fine.” Naomi took her daughter’s hand and led her to the garbage can at the edge of the park.
Lindsey glanced up at Sully, but he was talking to Nate in low tones, and she had a feeling it was about Steve. How awful for Nate to have to muscle his way through the holidays, trying to keep it light and happy for his girls, when inside he must be heartbroken. Lindsey glanced around the park. For that matter, how many people here were struggling to find the joy of the holiday season because of loss or illness or hardship? And yet they were here and they were trying. That had to count for something, surely.
She turned back to Sully and noticed that he and Nate were looking at the trash can where Naomi had taken Maggie just a few feet from where they stood. Naomi was standing beside the trash can, waving frantically for Nate to join her.
“Excuse me,” Nate said. “Do you mind keeping an eye on my girls for a sec?”
“Not at all,” Sully said. He turned and tapped Ian’s shoulder and gestured for him to keep an eye, too. Ian nodded.
Nate hurried to Naomi’s side. What could be happening? Was her daughter sick? The band stopped playing, and the mayor climbed the steps to the stage, waving to the crowd despite the fact that most people were ignoring him.
Lindsey saw Ms. Cole standing off to the side with her beau, Milton, on one side and Beth and her husband, Aidan, on the other. Judging by the frozen smile Ms. Cole was wearing, she had taken Beth up on her advice. It would have been great advice if Ms. Cole didn’t look positively pained.
A shout brought Lindsey’s attention back around to Nate and Naomi. As she watched, Nate reached into the garbage can. He pulled out a long black wig and a veil.
Lindsey gasped. Those items had to belong to the mystery woman in black! Was she here? Had she thrown away her wig and veil, hoping no one would find it in the park? She felt her heart hammer in her chest, and she scanned the crowd. If the woman in black was here, where was she? Who was she?
But Lindsey wasn’t the only one who saw the veil and knew what it was. A low murmur started to ripple through the crowd as they all looked toward Nate and Naomi. Nate wasn’t having it. He balled up the wig and veil like he was going to pitch it into the sea.
“What do you have there, Nate?”
Just like that, the crowd parted, and Emma plowed through the bodies to reach Nate. She was in street clothes, which meant she’d been off duty, and Robbie was right behind her. He caught Lindsey’s eye as he followed and wagged his eyebrows as if to say, Look at me!
At Naomi’s urging, Nate handed Emma the bundle, and she immediately took out her phone and started to clear the area.
The mayor, oblivious to anything that was happening around him, continued his long-winded speech about peace on earth and goodwill toward all men, but no one was listening. Most were actively trying to eavesdrop on Nate’s conversation with Emma. Naomi filled in her part while Emma nodded. She questioned the people in the surrounding area, but no one had seen anyone dump the wig and veil in the garbage. When a squad car arrived with its lights off, Emma took the items and excused herself. It was obvious she wanted this evidence under lock and key as soon as possible.
Having been left behind, Robbie followed Nate and Naomi back to their girls, who were oblivious to anything that was going on except a countdown until Santa Claus’s appearance in their lives.
Nate and Naomi looked rattled, but they kept their smiles in place for their girls.
“What was that all about?” Sully asked.
“I think we just found the woman in black’s disguise,” Nate said, low enough so that his daughters couldn’t hear him.
“A wig and veil?” Sully asked.
“So it would seem,” Nate said. He looked at his wife and then back at Sully. “I can’t imagine why she’d want to hide it here. Why not burn it or throw it in a bag to Goodwill?”
“She probably thought it would be untraceable coming from a public trash can,” Sully said.
“It seems like a move someone in a panic would make,” Lindsey added.
“Yeah, or someone who is overwhelmed with guilt and wants to escape from what they’ve done,” Sully said.
Nate clapped him on the shoulder in understanding. He was clearly thinking the same thing. Had guilt driven whoever the woman in black was to do this? If so, then could it be safely assumed that she was feeling so much guilt because she was the murderer? It seemed likely.
“That’s quite a bit of luck, isn’t it?” Robbie asked Lindsey as he joined them.
“Is it really, though?” she asked. She turned away from the group and studied Robbie’s face. “It just seems reckless. Too reckless, somehow.”
“Maybe whoever did it thought the trash would be picked up before tonight,” Robbie said. “Maybe she thought she was going to get away with it.”
Lindsey searched the crowd, looking for Sam Rubenstein. He was the head of the town facilities crew, and as such, oversaw trash pickup for all the town’s public garbage cans, including the ones at the park.
With his bald head covered by his New York Giants knit hat, Sam was standing with his wife, Gloria, by the short stone wall that separated the park from the beach below. Lindsey waved to Robbie to come with her as she approached. Sometimes Robbie’s star status worked in her favor.
“Sam, Gloria,” she greeted them. “How are you?”
Sam smiled at Lindsey. They had bonded over the lack of quality snacks at the weekly department head meetings at the town hall. The mayor had been on a health kick and only allowed carrot and celery sticks—dry, no dressing—at his meetings. And no coffee, only water. Lindsey had gotten into the habit of bringing her own coffee and hitting the vending machine for a candy bar on her way into the meeting. When Sam had openly coveted her Milky Way, she’d started bringing an extra for him, too.
“Hey, Lindsey,” Sam said. “You remember my wife, Gloria?”
“Hi, Gloria,” Lindsey shook her hand. “Have you met my friend Robbie Vine?”
Gloria immediately went all aflutter, which Robbie encouraged by bowing over her hand and telling her what a pretty smile she had.
Sam rolled his eyes and said, “I’m going to be hearing about this for the rest of the year.”
Lindsey grinned. “You’re welcome.”
Sam laughed and then nodded to where Emma stood with an officer as they bagged up the trash can and hauled it away. “What’s going on over there?”
“Looks like they might have found some evidence tied to the Briggs murder.”
“Whoa.” Sam’s eyes went wide.
“Yeah.” Lindsey glanced back at the gazebo, where the mayor droned on. She glanced at Ms. Cole, whose smile looked frozen in place. She wondered how much longer she could hold on. Thankfully, her yogi boyfriend, Milton, was by her side, and it looked like he was advising her to keep breathing. “Tell me, what day is garbage pickup for the park?”
“Usually midday Monday,” Sam said.
“So whoever threw out their things did it in the last thirty-two hours,” Lindsey said. “Are there any security cameras that cover the park?”
“No,” Sam shook his head. “We asked for it in the last budget to help combat the vandals, but the mayor shot it down as an unnecessary expense.”
Lindsey made a mental note to mention that to Ms. Cole. Sam’s attention was suddenly snagged by his wife as she was handing Robbie a marker and unzipping her coat so he could sign her chest.
“Hey, now, that’s enough,” Sam said. He reached into his pocket and handed Robbie a receipt from the grocery store. “Autographs are for paper.”
“Spoilsport,” Gloria grumped.
“You’ll thank me when you don’t have to explain that ink to your mother,” he retorted. With a grunt, Gloria zipped up her coat. Robbie signed the receipt with a flourish and handed both the pen and paper back to her. She pressed it to her chest and sighed.
At that moment, the mayor stopped speaking and hit the switch for the lights. The tall tree lit up and sent a multicolored glow over the crowd. The children’s choir burst into song, and for a few moments, the discovery in the trash can took second place in the interest of the town.
Lindsey waved to Sam and made her way back to Sully and his family. Sully was standing with Nate, who was now holding baby Matilda snuggled under his coat. He looked upset, and Lindsey could only imagine that he must be surveying the crowd, wondering if the woman in black was here and if she had, in fact, murdered his brother.
It was a somber group that left the tree-lighting ceremony. As Lindsey and Sully drove home from the park, she told him what she’d learned from Sam.
“What do you make of that?” she asked.
“I think that whoever threw the wig and veil away did it during the tree-lighting ceremony,” he said.
“That’s a bold maneuver,” she said. “They could have been seen so easily.”
“She might have been desperate, and if her plan had worked, then no one would ever know,” he said. He parked in their driveway and switched off the engine. Together they climbed out of the truck and walked to the front door.
“We’re making a few assumptions here,” Lindsey said. “One, that it was a woman. A man could have dressed up in a black wig and veil.”
“Oh, that’s even creepier,” he said. He unlocked the door, and Lindsey smiled as she heard their dog, Heathcliff, barking in greeting.
“But an excellent disguise,” she said. Sully opened the door, and Lindsey braced herself as her big, black, hairy dog shot out of the house toward her. Heathcliff was a hugger, and he barked at her, telling her all about his day as he wrapped his front paws around her knees while she rubbed him down with both hands in their standard welcome home.
“True.” Sully agreed. He had his turn with the dog, and then Heathcliff bolted down the steps and out into the yard to run three crazy-fast laps before he took care of his business.
“The other thing is that we’re assuming this person murdered Briggs,” she said. “While it looks suspicious, I keep going back to what Molly said. She said Steve sounded excited to meet with the woman in black. That means he knew who she was and he was expecting her or, at least, was happy to see her.”
“Maybe he was having an affair,” Sully said. “But then why not divorce Jamie? Ugh, this is making my head hurt.”
“Me, too,” she said. She patted her leg, and Heathcliff finished his patrolling and loped up the stairs and into the house.
“On to a more pressing problem then,” Sully said. “Charlie says he has a guy who can marry us.”
“Charlie? Rock-and-roll wannabe Charlie? Nancy’s nephew?”
“The one and only, mercifully,” he said. Charlie worked the high season for him, and despite the teasing, Sully was very fond of him.
“Please tell me the guy isn’t a musician,” Lindsey said. She kicked off her boots in the small foyer, putting them on the mat where the snow could melt off them.
“Don’t know, but Charlie is arranging for us to meet him tomorrow,” he said. He reached for her coat and hung it up beside his own.
“Well, no matter who it is, we’ll have to be open-minded,” she said. “My family is arriving tomorrow, and it would be really nice to have this locked down when they get here.”
Lindsey was only working half days leading up to the wedding. With her parents driving down from New Hampshire and her brother coming in from Boston, she wanted to spend as much time as she could with them before the ceremony.
She was just finishing up her work when her parents and her brother appeared at her office door.
“There she is,” Jack said. “Not surprisingly, buried behind a pile of books.”
Lindsey glanced up over the stack of titles she was deleting from the catalog. They were old reference books whose newer editions had come in, replacing them.
“Hey,” she cried as she jumped up. “You’re early.”
She hurried around the desk to hug her parents and her brother.
“Couldn’t help it,” her father said. “We’re excited.”
He hugged her exuberantly and then handed her to her mother, who cupped her face and studied her. “Are you sleeping enough? I know it’s exciting, but you want to be well rested for your big day now that there are going to be a lot more people and all.”
Lindsey laughed. “Thanks for reminding me.”
Her mother hugged her and then said, “Sorry. It’s going to be a beautiful wedding, and you’ll be a lovely bride.”
Jack swooped in and hugged her next. “Hey, sis.”
“Hey, yourself,” she said as she hugged him back. She felt so happy to have her family here. Truly, she couldn’t imagine getting married without them. She glanced over her brother’s shoulder and then leaned back and asked, “Where’s Stella?”
Stella was his girlfriend of the past two years and a favorite of Lindsey’s.
“She can’t come until Friday,” he said. “She’s taking the train down, and I’ll pick her up at the station.”
“That works,” Lindsey said. She grabbed her coat and her handbag and said, “Sully is waiting over at the pier to take you all out to his parents’ house. Are you ready?”
“Can’t wait,” her dad said. “Too bad it’s too cold to go fishing.”
The Sullivans and the Norrises had become fast friends since they’d met a few months ago. Christine and John Norris enjoyed spending time on Bell Island and had even had Mike and Joan come up to New Hampshire for a visit in the fall. Lindsey thought it boded well for all of their future holidays and other family-centric ventures.
After stopping to say hello to the various staff members, they made their way out into the cold, stopping by their cars to get their suitcases, and headed across the town green to the pier. Lindsey noted that the trash can that had been taken away the night before was still missing. She wondered what, if anything, Emma had discovered about the wig and the veil.
When her mom looped her arm through Lindsey’s and began to talk about the wedding details, she forgot all about the mysterious woman in black. Despite keeping the wedding as simple as possible, there were still things that needed to be managed.
The flowers, the cake, the food, the tent that had been rented for the communal lawn, the photographer and the music. There was much of it that was out of Lindsey’s hands. So many people in the community wanted to contribute to the wedding that they’d taken on significant wedding duties, most either for free or at a discount. Charlie and his band were providing the music, local florist Kelsey Kincaid had been hired to do the flowers, Ian and Mary were providing the food. In a way, it felt all so seamless. Just like Steve had volunteered to be the one to marry them. It had all come together as if the universe really wanted Sully and her to get married.
Of course, she didn’t want to look at it like that, because with Steve being murdered, she’d hate to consider that a sign of things to come.
“Lindsey, what do you think?” her mother asked.
“Uh,” Lindsey had stopped listening and had no idea what her mother was talking about.
“She thinks having her wedding pictures taken on the pier is an amazing idea,” Jack said. He was looking over their mom’s head at Lindsey. His eyes were wide as if he knew she hadn’t been listening and was trying to bail her out. Brother to the rescue again.
“Yes, amazing,” Lindsey said. “Although, I’m not sure when—”
“Just before the ceremony,” Christine said. “Or maybe after so Sully doesn’t see you first. We’ll have to see how the day goes.”
“True,” Lindsey said. “It might snow.”
Christine clapped her hands over her chest. “So romantic.”
“I was thinking cold, but I suppose it could be considered romantic, too.”
Sully must have seen them coming, because he opened the door to his office as soon as they arrived. His octogenarian assistant, Ronnie, was seated at her desk, wearing her chunky plastic lime green jewelry over a vivid purple-and-green-argyle sweater topped by her cranberry-colored updo. She waved a cheerful hello at everyone and continued filing her raspberry-colored nails. To say Ronnie was colorful was an understatement.
Lindsey’s parents hugged Sully, who told Ronnie he’d be back, before leading them all out to his water taxi. He and Jack loaded all the suitcases while John helped Christine into the boat, leaving Lindsey to untie the ropes and shove off while Sully started the engine.
She moved to stand beside Sully while her brother took the seat beside them and her parents took the bench seat at the back. Because there was a no-wake zone enforced around the islands, the boat moved at a sedate speed, keeping the wind down, which was a good thing, given that the temperature dropped out over the water and it was already plenty cold.
“It feels like it’s getting more and more real,” Sully said. Lindsey glanced at him as they rounded one of the larger rocks.
“Our wedding?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. He looked at her. “You’re going to be my missus.”
“And you’ll be my mister.” She grinned. “I like that.”
“Me, too.”
“Um, hey, Sully.” Jack’s voice broke into their moment. “I know my memory of the islands is sketchy and full of terrified panic from being held at gunpoint and all, but I don’t think that’s supposed to be there.”
Lindsey’s brother had been kidnapped aboard a yacht in these very islands a few years ago, and while he swore he was fine, Lindsey noticed that when he visited, he did not seem eager to go out on any of the boats. She couldn’t blame him. She wondered if he was having a little post-traumatic stress at the moment.
She and Sully both glanced toward what he was pointing at. Sully swore and grabbed a pair of binoculars from a cupboard below his control panel. He held them up to his face, and Lindsey saw him visibly pale.
“What is it?” she asked as he handed her the glasses.
“I think your brother just found Steve Briggs’s boat,” he said.