A MATCH MADE IN MURDER (The Wedding Planner Mysteries Book 5) (4 page)

              “The bastard couldn’t have gotten far,” he snarled. “Grady!”

              Grady lingered to offer Kitty a shred of comfort. His eyes looked panicked for her, and also scared, nervous.

              Clearly, everyone had the same concern. The wrong woman had been killed. And Kitty wouldn’t be safe until the murderer was found and brought to justice. Sterling only hoped it would be the legal kind.

              It was a very long walk to the house.

              When Sterling entered the bedroom he was at a complete loss for what to pack. He didn’t even have the good sense to get a duffel bag from the closet. He was so overwhelmed, he couldn’t think straight. All he could do was sit on the bed and hold his head in his hands.

              He felt Kitty’s warm hand on his back then she sat close.

              She didn’t say anything. There was no way to make sense of this. Together, they remained in a puzzled, silent state.

              After awhile, Sterling said the only thing he could think to say. “If anything happens to you it’ll be the end of me.”

              “Nothing’s going to happen to me,” she whispered, but he could tell by her tone she wasn’t sure. Her voice told him she was terrified.
She was as good as dead
.

              Being the incredibly strong woman that she was, Kitty gathered their toothbrushes and toothpaste from the bathroom then took to pulling articles of clothing from the closet, stuffing their belongings into a suitcase, while Sterling stared off into space.

              He felt crippled.

              Harrison’s command circulated his racing mind.

              The killer knew Sterling. The killer had a vendetta with him. He hated him. He wanted him miserable and had taken out every woman in his life to keep Sterling in a lonely sea of darkness.

              But Sterling could not comprehend that anyone in his life would do this to him. And by God, there weren’t even that many people in his life. He could count them on his right hand if he had to.

              His father, Steve Slaughter.

              Steve would never have killed his wife. It was inconceivable.

              His uncle, Grady Slaughter.

              The greatest man to walk the earth besides his own dad. No way.

              Matt Harrison, his superior officer of the last twenty years.

              Not a chance in hell.

              And Kitty, the woman closest to him, the person most precious to him. Obviously, it hadn’t been her.

              The list was that short.

              “Babe?” Kitty said from the doorway. “Might as well head out.”

              Sterling was slow to his feet.

              “My cell’s dead,” she mentioned, as they made their way out to his Jeep. “I’m sure the Delamar’s booked thanks to our wedding, so let’s try the Harbor Inn.”

              Sterling nodded, because it seemed like that was what she was after, but he hadn’t really heard her.

              She took the keys from his hand, but he couldn’t respect himself if he was so torn up he couldn’t drive when the fact of the matter was that it had been Kitty who had lost a loved one, not him.

              “You sure?” she asked when he took back the keys.

              “Yeah,” he whispered. “I’m fine.”

              The Harbor Inn looked far less menacing than Kitty had described it on the drive over. Her impressions had obviously been tainted by the Margie McAlister fiasco. To Sterling’s eye, the inn appeared sunny and quaint from the outside and just as homey within.

              As a precaution, Sterling had only told his lieutenant that he and Kitty would be staying at the Harbor Inn for the time being, though it didn’t sit right with him to keep his dad and uncle in the dark, but Harrison’s advice had never steered him wrong. It was in his best interest to listen and obey, though in general those two tactics went entirely against his maverick nature.

              “This is nice,” Kitty said, trying to sound optimistic. She was as intent on convincing Sterling, as she was herself.

              Kitty made a beeline for an outlet near one of the nightstands that flanked the queen-sized bed, plugged in her cell’s AC adapter and got her phone charging as Sterling set the suitcase on the bed and opened it.

              “I have to call my folks,” Kitty mumbled dreadfully.

              It seemed she was relieved her phone had died. She wasn’t looking forward to these calls and he could read in her eyes her greatest fear. Her parents would beg her to put off the wedding, something neither she nor Sterling wanted.

              Sterling gazed out the window at the harbor that looked smooth as glass. Such peace in a world full of hidden chaos, he thought. It wasn’t Goddamn fair.

              Kitty’s phone beeped then beeped again and again like a distress cry that lasted nearly ten seconds.

              “I have a ton of missed calls,” she noted, brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the log.

              Sterling joined her and stared at the device over her shoulder from where they sat on the side of the bed.

              “Restricted?” he observed.

              “I missed fifteen calls from restricted? Who would restrict their number to call me?” Kitty wracked her brain and mumbled something about the DJ, but that didn’t seem likely.

              “When did the calls come in?” he demanded, stealing the phone.

              “Last night.”

              Then her phone vibrated as one long beep sounded.

              “That’s a voicemail message,” she stated. “Give it here.”

              “Put it on speaker.”

              She did as instructed then got the message to play.

              A voice came on, but it was distorted as though the caller had placed a scrambling devise on the mouthpiece.

              “I’m coming for you, Kitty,” said the caller. “I’ll not stop until Sterling Slaughter is destroyed.”

              “Like hell I’ll postpone my wedding! Over my dead body!” Kitty exclaimed into her cell phone then cringed at her poor choice of words. She had no choice but to listen to Penny’s ranting objections, while she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Never!”

              Kitty hung up and chucked the phone toward the wall, but Sterling caught it in his fist like an outfield hero.

              “Kitty, you have to consider postponing,” he yelled. “This is crazy! There’s a killer out there who wants you dead! We need protection until he’s found! You can’t be running around town making arrangements and then trapped in a sea of guests on a secluded yacht where there’s no escape and an entire harbor to drown in!”

              “How dare you!”

              “Please listen to reason!”

              “It’s not reasonable! I’ll not be terrorized by this man!”

              Sterling sighed and planted his hands on his hips.

              “Oh, don’t look at me like that!” She was breathing hard and took a moment to catch her breath and gather her thoughts. “Bottom line, he kills with that necklace, which is now in evidence, right?”

              Sterling was loath to agree.

              “So his hands are tied.”

              “No, he’s going to get desperate and aggressive. We won’t know what to expect. We won’t see it coming. Neither of us is leaving this room until Harrison’s security detail gets here.”

              “So we’re prisoners?”

              “You’re looking at this the wrong way.”

              “How many murders have we solved in the past year?” she challenged. “Hmm?”

              “Four,” he admitted.

              “How is this any different?”

              She knew that look. It was the look Sterling got when he felt astonished he’d fallen in love with a stubborn woman.

              “This is different, Kitty, because your life is on the line, and I’m scared. I’m not objective. And, quite frankly, I can’t think straight. I doubt you can either.”

              “Oh, I’m thinking very clearly,” she said, getting organized and a little insane about the possible tactics they could employ to flush the monster out. “We bait him!”

              “Let me guess, you’re the bait in this brilliant idea?”

              “So you think it’s brilliant,” she pointed out, completely missing his sarcasm and subsequent snort at having to deal with her when she gets like this.

              “Look, Doll,” he said, taking her hands and guiding her to the couch in front of the window where the fresh harbor air breezed in. “Harrison made a worthwhile point. The killer is someone very close to me.”

              “Ok,” she said in an even tone, completely trusting that Sterling was finally getting down to business. They’d devise a plan. They’d nail this sucker to the wall.

              “So we have to stay calm, keep cool, and let Homicide do its job.”

              “And what will we do?” she asked eagerly. She wished she had her note pad. She didn’t want to forget a thing.

              “We trust them.”

              “And?”

              “And stay put.”

              She threw his hand off hers then shoved him.

              “Wake up!”

              “I’m not risking your life!”

              “Fine!” she shouted then took it down a notch. “Fine. We’ll stay here. We can investigate from the safety of these walls. There are still three days until the wedding—”

              “Kitty—”

              “Hear me out!” She grabbed his hands as if she didn’t know what the hell she wanted, and then marched through her idea. “Who do you trust more than anyone in this world?”

              “If you want me to say you, this isn’t the best time to argue that point.”

              “No! Not me! Your dad!”

              “I can get on board with that.”

              “Let’s get him here. We’ll talk to him. He has to remember who was in his life at the time your mom was killed. Maybe he had suspicions but didn’t let anyone know because it was ruled as heart failure? Maybe he’ll have something to say that we can look into.”

              “Maybe.”

              As if Kitty’s intensity and determination had conjured the very idea into existence, the inn phone on the nightstand rang loudly, rattling against its cradle.

              Sterling turned stiff then grabbed the receiver.

              “Hello.” His eyes snapped to Kitty, who couldn’t hear the caller. Sterling covered the mouthpiece and said, “Grady.” Then spoke into the phone again. “Yes, he’s my uncle. You can send him up.”

              “How did Grady know to call here for us?” Kitty asked as soon as Sterling had lowered the phone.

              “I have no idea.”

              When Grady entered the room his steps were soft and his hands were clasped together in a tight ball, which told Kitty there was more bad news in store. He looked concerned and had trouble meeting their gazes.

              If Kitty noticed his pained demeanor, Sterling didn’t. He seemed to relax in his uncle’s company and wasted no time offering Grady a chair in their small room.

              “How did you know we were here?” Kitty asked him when he’d settled by the window. He was wringing his hands, but looked up at her finally.

              “Penny,” he stated. “We were coming out of our rooms at the Delamar at the same time. She mentioned.”

              Sterling seemed satisfied with that, and Kitty supposed it was certainly possible, but the timeline struck her as too fast to be realistic. She glanced down at her cell to see if it had enough juice to call her mom then realized there’d be no way of doing that without Grady knowing she didn’t quite believe him.

              “Grady, what’s going on?” Sterling asked. “What’s wrong?”

              He shook his head, drawing in a deep breath, while he gathered his thoughts. Kitty and Sterling exchanged a quick glance that helped Sterling decide he ought to sit on the edge of the bed to be at eye level with his uncle.

              “Grady?” he said softly to draw the issue out of him.

              “It’s nothing.” It clearly wasn’t nothing. “I’m just so sorry this is happening around your wedding. In light of the funeral and all the arrangements, are you going to postpone the wedding?”

              It was like a punch to Kitty’s already sore gut. Her mother had delivered the first blow and she didn’t appreciate that everyone was likeminded that her wedding should be put on hold.

              “If we postpone the killer wins,” she said sternly.

              For the first time since he’d entered their room Grady looked at her. He worked some words up his throat, objections she presumed, but they didn’t make it out of his mouth.

              Finally, he said, “Anything I can do to help.”

              Sterling beamed at the offer as though he’d just witnessed his uncle part the Red Sea.

              “Actually,” Kitty started, considering that she honestly found his offer halfhearted. “I think we can all agree Layla’s killer is the same person who killed Charlotte and Mary.” Mary was Sterling’s mother, the first to die with the antique necklace around her neck. “The only common denominator is Sterling. It’s safe to assume someone out there is trying to destroy Sterling.”

              She let that hang for a moment, as she studied his face. His expression shifted. His eyes narrowed on her, but it might have only been that he was concentrating.

              “Can you think of anyone who was around the family back then who had it in for Sterling?”

              It was a bold question.

              “Can I think of anyone who would want to break an eight-year-old boy’s heart?” he challenged. “No. I can’t.”

              “Was Mary involved with anyone?”

              The question offended Sterling as much as it did Grady.

              “My mother wasn’t having an affair,” he snapped.

              “Do you realize that anything can help?” she countered, annoyed that he was offended. “Please, Grady, think. Did she spend time alone? Did she ever sneak off? Did she have friends that seemed odd?”

              “Steve would know better than I would.”

              “He might not,” she went on, using an appealing tone this time. “Was there anyone who was in Mary’s life that also had a presence in Charlotte’s life?”

              Grady held her gaze and she could see in his eyes that he didn’t appreciate the conversation.

              Then Sterling aided in the effort. “I wouldn’t remember. Like you said, I was only a boy at the time. But you might’ve noticed someone, Uncle Grady. Anyone.”

              “Let me think,” he said under his breath.

              Grady’s gaze softened and lolled, as he wracked his brain, traveling back in time over two decades. He worked his fingers along his jaw then rubbed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose.

              The inn phone rang loudly on the nightstand.

              “Yes?” Kitty asked into the receiver.

              “It’s Annabelle at the front desk,” she stated. “A woman named Trudy is here to see you.”

              “How does everyone know we’re here?” she grumbled under her breath then added, “Send her up.” How many people had her mother run into at the Delamar?

              “Who is it?” Sterling asked quietly so as not to disturb Grady’s concentration.

              “Trudy,” she said.

              Sterling looked perturbed, but it wasn’t as though Kitty had invited her here. Word was getting around that Layla had been killed.

              “I really don’t know,” Grady concluded. “Mary was one of the sweetest women I’d ever known. Charlotte had the same sweetness.”              

              He glared at Kitty in such a way as to indicate, perhaps, that she didn’t share the same brand of saintliness that the other women in Sterling’s life had embodied. Well, if that were the case, it might just give her a fighting chance at staying alive.

              Again, Sterling acted as though his uncle was the voice of God. Luckily, Kitty didn’t have time to dwell. Trudy was knocking.

              “Hey,” Kitty breathed the word in a sigh of relief, as she threw her arms around Trudy for a big hug.

              Her best friend had done solid work of gaining back all the weight she’d lost for her own wedding, so the embrace felt as pillowy as a cloud. When Trudy released her and looked into her eyes it was just enough comfort and concern that Kitty finally broke down.

              “I can’t believe this is happening,” Trudy whispered, hugging her again. “You’ll get through it. I promise you.”

              Sterling eased the door wider, inviting them to step inside, as Kitty sniffled her tears back and allowed Trudy to help her to the foot of the bed. They sat and Sterling closed the door.

              “This is my Uncle Grady,” he told her when Trudy stared at the man in the chair.

              “Trudy,” she stated with a sad smile. “I heard about Layla on the news.”

              “It’s on the news already?” Sterling questioned and immediately claimed Kitty’s cell phone from the nightstand. “I have to call Harrison.” Then he clarified for Grady’s benefit, “My lieutenant.”

              “Is something the matter?” Grady asked.

              “The department would’ve never released information this early. It would compromise the investigation. Someone leaked it.”

              “The hiking trail is public,” Grady offered. “Anyone could’ve seen and alerted the media. These days the local news channels include a tip line for this very reason.”

              “But homicide was on the scene,” he countered. “Harrison should’ve barricaded reporters.”

              “The report didn’t say much,” Trudy mentioned. “There were no details.”

              Sterling wandered into the bathroom to make his phone call.

              “How did you know we were here?” Kitty asked her.

              “I called around. Your mother told me.”

              That’s what Kitty had expected. It worried her. The killer was someone who had to be close with Sterling and anyone that close who asked her mother where they were staying would have no trouble finding out from Penny. Kitty eyed Sterling through the crack in the door. He was straining to hear his lieutenant. As soon as he got off the phone, she’d call her mother, just to be on the safe side.

              “I went to your house first,” she added. “I’m not sure why I thought you’d still be there. Then I went to the Delamar. I stopped by the William Wallace yacht out back on the pier. Then I gave your mother’s cell a ring.”