Chapter 4

Chapter 4

My visit with Martha didn't go quite as planned. I left her office on the mission grounds with a copy of the rental rules for the chapel and the grounds. She also issued a warning that if I didn't confirm the reception grounds by next Friday, she would cancel that as well. And she'd generously give me 80 percent of my deposit back. We weren't having my dream wedding in the historic chapel. Now I just needed to see what Greg wanted to do next.

Amy had called, and she and the others were at the hotel, waiting for me. Tonight, we were doing a bar crawl and dinner. Right now, I didn't want food, but a good margarita might take my mind off the wedding venue issues. Tomorrow was mani-pedis, dress fittings, and massages. Then another dinner. If I fit into my dress by the end of the weekend, I'd be lucky.

I texted Greg and let him know about the chapel. Instead of texting back, he called me.

"Sorry about that. I know you wanted that setting."

I swallowed back the tears. "Thanks. I feel like I'm failing at this wedding-planning thing. Maybe I should have hired someone."

"You know I'd marry you tomorrow at Bill's church or Moonstone Beach or even the Castle. Heck, I bet we could pull off a wedding at the rec center. You find a place and give me the date and time, and I'll be there. And so will Mom and Jim."

"You're amazing." I brushed my cheeks and blinked away the tears. Crying and driving just didn't work. "So any word about Mandy or Professor Wellborn?"

"Not that I'm telling you. I'll give you an update on Sunday when you get home. For now, go have fun with your friends. No murder talk. And no worrying about the wedding." He paused and said something to someone in the room with him. "Got to go. The Bakerstown detective just showed up. Love you."

And that was it. Greg hated me getting involved in his investigations, but with Josh tangled up in this one, I didn't think he would be able to keep me out of Mandy's disappearance. I said a short prayer for her safety and took the exit that would take me to the hotel. Time to just chill.

Amy, Esmeralda, and Darla were all in the upscale hotel lobby, waiting for me. And they each had a smoothie in front of them. Darla waved me over. "Hurry up and check in. You're already behind. They're filled with energy shots to keep us going this weekend. What do you want? I'll have it waiting for you."

She gave me a hug, and after telling her to get me something strawberry and maybe with a more calming additive, I hurried to the front desk. The woman there smiled at me as I walked up to her. "I need to check in."

"You must be the bride, Jill Gardner?" Leigh, the front desk clerk, at least from her name tag, grinned. "You're already checked in. Your fiancé put it on his card. I just need a photo ID from you."

"Greg paid for my room?" I felt the smile on my face. "That was sweet. He's got a lot on his plate."

"Yes, that woman with your group, she brought the card with her. I guess she works with him?"

"That would be Esmeralda. She's his dispatcher." I waved at the group, who were grinning at me. They must have already known. "They're my best friends. We're from South Cove."

"I've heard the story." Leigh grinned. "Your friends are very excited."

"Well, I better get my suitcase upstairs and get down here before they drink my smoothie." I took the key and grabbed my suitcase. "Thanks, Leigh."

"No problem. We have another bride-to-be and her friends here this weekend. I'm sure you'll run into them sometime." Leigh smiled and picked up the ringing phone.

I was in the room before her words hit me. There was another bride-to-be here? It would be a total coincidence if that bride was Mandy. I decided to ask Leigh when I got back to the lobby.

I hurried downstairs and went directly to the front desk, where a man greeted me.

"May I help you?"

"Is Leigh still here?" I looked through the doorway that was open behind the lobby.

"Sorry, she stepped out. Is there something I can help you with?" He crossed his arms.

"Do you know the name of the other bride-to-be that's having a party here? Leigh was saying there was another group like mine."

He frowned and looked at a list. "Sorry, I don't have that information, and I was off until today, so I haven't heard. I can leave a note for Leigh to call you."

"Thanks. That would be great." I left my name and room number and hurried back over to the group.

Esmeralda frowned as I sat down. "Is everything okay?"

"Fine. I just needed more towels in the room." I lied because if Esmeralda knew I was looking for Mandy, it would get back to Greg.

"Whatever. I'm not a snitch, Jill." Esmeralda sipped her smoothie.

My eyes must have widened, because Amy laughed.

"Don't try to hide something from a fortune-teller," Amy said. She pointed to the drink in front of me. "Just catch up. We're having fun this weekend if it kills us."

We stopped talking about murders and missing people and weddings. Instead, we talked about gossip in South Cove. Including Sadie and Bill's upcoming nuptials.

Darla sighed as she looked around at the group. "Everyone's getting married. It feels like I'm going to be the only single girl in South Cove soon."

"That's not true." Esmeralda held up her hand. "I'm going to stay single forever. Nic is too invested in his family and his business in New Orleans to even think about stepping away. And I'm not willing to jump into that mess. You think South Cove is gossip central, you should be in New Orleans."

Darla gave Esmeralda a hug. "Single girls unite! Let's go to the restaurant. I'm starving."

* * * *

As we stayed out later than I'd expected, I was sure I wouldn't see Leigh at the front desk. And I was right. I hoped I had a message on my phone about the other bride, but when I got into the room, I didn't have any blinking light. I sent Greg a quick "back in the hotel" text, thanking him for paying for the room. It was something I should have done earlier, but I'd been distracted by the food and then karaoke at the bar down the street. After sending the text, I crashed. Even though I'd nursed my one drink while we were there, the atmosphere and the laughing had zapped me of any energy boosters the smoothie had attempted to provide.

My phone rang just as I was falling asleep. I reached for it, then squinted at the number. It was Greg. "Hey, I hope I didn't wake you with my text."

"No, I just got home. It's been a busy night. So did you have fun?"

I could hear Emma barking as he let her out.

"We did. Esmeralda talked us into karaoke at the bar near the hotel. She has a great singing voice." I curled up on the soft pillows, letting the phone sit on the bed. The comforter was so soft. I ran my hand over it as we talked.

"She's good. She's always singing around the office. Amy, on the other hand…"

"Stop. You're being mean." I defended my friend. "She tries."

He chuckled. "You're a good friend."

"I know. Hey, is there any chance that Mandy's off on a bachelorette trip like I am?" I adjusted the pillow behind me and sat up in bed.

"That's a pretty specific question. Why are you asking?" Now Greg had his cop voice on. "Don't tell me you're investigating. You're supposed to be relaxing."

"I am relaxing. I just heard that there was another party here and I thought maybe…"

"Stop thinking. Just relax. Now go to bed. I'll talk to you on Sunday."

After I hung up, I punched down the pillow and tried to go to sleep, but I kept thinking of Mandy out at one of the bars, singing karaoke, while Josh sat at home, worrying.

The next morning, I found I'd fallen asleep without getting under the covers. My mouth felt dry, and my phone was ringing. I reached around the bed and finally found it. "Hello?"

"Good morning, princess." Amy's voice sounded way too cheery. "We've got room service coming to your room. We'll be there in ten."

"Give me fifteen. I need to get in the shower." I hung up and, through bleary eyes, looked around the room. I needed to charge my phone. I opened my suitcase and found a bottle of bubble bath packed with a note. I opened it and read, "Enjoy. Greg."

"Man, I love that guy." I set the bottle aside. The long bubble bath would have to wait. I found my phone charger and a change of clothes and headed to the bathroom. Time to get the day started.

Breakfast was fun, and thankfully, they'd brought up several pots of coffee to sweep away the cobwebs. The conversation ran toward South Cove gossip. When the discussion came around to Josh and Mandy, Esmeralda tried to change the subject.

"Let's talk about today's activities." Esmeralda sipped her coffee and wouldn't meet my gaze.

I challenged her. "Esmeralda, don't tell me you've been tasked with keeping me from investigating."

She shrugged. "I just think we should be able to get through the weekend without talking about an open investigation."

"I'm not saying I want to go off and investigate." I grabbed a Danish. "I just feel bad for Josh. And now with Professor Wellborn's death, I just think there's something more going on."

"Wait, who's Professor Wellborn?" Amy looked between Esmeralda and me.

"He was killed in Bakerstown at his office on campus. He was an expert on California history. I took several classes from him over the years. I talked to him just before he was killed." I put the Danish down and sipped my coffee. I hated the fact that he was gone. "Anyway, he was working with Josh on a mystery that he'd found in a journal."

"Is that why Mandy disappeared?" Amy stared at me. "Over an old journal?"

"I don't think that's what Jill is saying," Esmeralda interrupted.

Darla set her plate down. "I still think Mandy just figured out what a horrible decision she'd made in saying yes to Josh."

"And just left her truck at the fruit stand?" I countered Darla's theory.

Darla shook her head, her eyes on my uneaten Danish. "That's not her truck. It's owned by the farm. She owns a red convertible Mustang. We went up to San Francisco a few months ago for a concert together, and she drove. I still think she's too good for Josh."

"Sometimes people just click," Esmeralda said.

"Does Greg know about the Mustang? Should I call him?" I tried to catch Esmeralda's gaze.

"Jill, you know how he gets." Esmeralda finally met my gaze, then sighed. "Let me text him. Then we need to get to the bridal shop. It's almost noon."

As we passed through the lobby a few minutes later, I looked for Leigh. I didn't want to let Esmeralda see, so I didn't stop. I would reach out later. I needed to realize there were probably more than two brides in the central coastal California area. Of course, there were probably hundreds, maybe thousands of women getting married soon. I was being silly thinking that it could be Mandy. But I was still holding out hope.

At the bridal shop, we were ushered into a private room where all our dresses were hung for us to see. The colors were beautiful. And the room looked like it was painted in white tulle. I had asked my bridesmaids to be in a watery blue, mostly to match the ocean. And now that we might be doing the wedding on the beach, the color made even more sense. My dress featured a sweetheart neckline and a poofy skirt. The wedding dress of my dreams.

Amy poured us all champagne from the bottle chilling on the coffee table. "To Jill and Greg. May you have many happy years together and never remodel a house."

"Been there, done that," I reminded her. I sipped the champagne. "Greg helped me remodel Miss Emily's house after he moved in. But thanks for the well wishes."

"I don't know how you did it. The only thing keeping us from killing each other over bath fixtures is our marriage vows. I swear we're putting up signs saying ‘For Better or Worse' all over the house." Amy downed her glass. "Maybe getting a house so soon was a mistake."

"You're just going through the change years. I hear when kids arrive, it makes it so much worse," Esmeralda said as her phone rang. She pushed a button to deny the call.

"Spam?" I asked, and she shook her head.

Sunny, our bridal consultant, came into the room with a clipboard. "So who's first to get their alterations?"

Esmeralda downed her champagne. "Better be me. That way I have a reason for not taking Greg's call."

After Esmeralda went into a dressing room, I stood up. Amy was watching me, so I smiled. "Just got to make sure the bill's up to date. I'll be right back."

"Okay, but this is your weekend, you know." She turned back to Darla and started talking about Justin and his fear of towels being left on the floor.

I approached the front desk, but the woman was on the phone. She smiled and held up a finger. As I waited, I tried to see the calendar that she had open in front of her. I'm not the best at reading upside down. It showed a red no-show on Friday's schedule. And I thought it said M. Jensen.

The woman hung up. "Good afternoon, Miss Gardner. How can I help you?"

I leaned forward. "This is a little embarrassing, but I'm supposed to help a friend with a wedding gown selection, or maybe it was a fitting. With my own wedding being so crazy right now, I've forgotten. But I'm sure she said she was working with you guys. Mandy? Mandy Jensen?"

I saw the emotion in her eyes. "Miss Jensen is one of our clients, but she missed her last fitting, and now we can't reach her. If you hear from her, could you let her know we can't hold a gown with only a partial payment for long?"

* * * *

At the nail salon, Greg finally called me back. I put him on speaker. "Hey, we're just getting pretty."

"Not out looking for a red Mustang?"

I laughed as Esmeralda's face pinked. "Nope. But if you need us to investigate something, we might be able to fit it in before we go to dinner. After that, all bets are off."

"I'm glad you asked. I do need you to do something. But not today. Josh is driving me crazy. I told him that you'd come over on Monday and try to figure out what Professor Wellborn had found out about his buried treasure escapade."

I jumped when the nail technician started massaging my feet. I was ticklish. "You usually don't want me to help with investigations."

"I'm not asking you to get involved, just keep Josh busy for a few hours. He's hanging out at the station and asks to see me every five minutes. I'm ready to arrest him just to get him off my back."

I chuckled at the image. "You wouldn't do that. Okay, I can take one for the team. But what if we find out something that either could have been why the professor was killed or leads us to Mandy?"

"One, you won't. People have been looking for that strongbox for years. And two, I don't think the two events are connected."

"Okay, but—"

Greg interrupted me. "Jill, just babysit him for a few hours. I have the DA coming over, and I need to be ready to present a logical theory. Without Josh interrupting."

"Only because I love you and you paid for my room for the weekend." I tried not to move my hands. My nails were still tacky. I ruined most manicures because I couldn't sit still long enough. It was the same with lipstick. I rarely wore it, since I would inevitably touch it and smear it on my face like clown makeup. I wondered if I should tell him about Mandy's missed fitting. I guess it meant she was really gone and not just ignoring Josh. Before I could decide, Greg responded.

"I love you too. Josh is coming. I've got to go."

After Greg hung up, I glanced over at Amy. "I guess I'm not free for lunch Monday like I thought."

"No worries. The mayor will probably need a stack of things done since I'm out of town this weekend. He's so needy. One Saturday, he called to see if I could pick up his dry cleaning. After that, I started letting his calls go to voice mail when I'm off work. Otherwise, he thinks I should be available twenty-four seven." Amy pointed to my color. "That's nice, but you have a hair in the polish."

Of course I did.