Authors: Madison Johns
“Of course, there will also be a fee of five hundred for having your wedding here, if that’s in your budget.”
“So you want us to work here the entire night before our wedding?”
“Yes, exactly. There won’t be all that much to do, just dusting and cleaning, but I’m sure you’d want to do that before your guests show up for your wedding anyway. And be sure to have the place cleaned up before you leave the lighthouse for your reception. You are having it elsewhere, I presume,” she said. “Of course, you’ll also have to keep track of your activities in the journal and record the weather, just like the lightkeepers have done since the lighthouse has opened.”
“I’m not sure. That seems like quite a bit of work, and we’d also have to climb the tower. I’m not sure my old legs could take it.”
“It’s not all that bad, and oh, what a view. I climb up there all the time.”
“Only if Martha stays here with us,” I said.
“What?” Martha shrieked. “You can’t expect me to stay here on Christmas Eve, too. I will have already done my time.”
Loretta began tapping her foot now. “Time? You make it sound like it’s a prison sentence. You applied for the privilege to stay here for a week, don’t forget.”
I grimaced as Loretta chastised my daughter. “Martha, you can’t expect that we can decorate the lighthouse all by ourselves. You’re my daughter, and I expect you to help me out when I ask. Is it really that much of an inconvenience?”
“No, I suppose not, but I sure could use some help out here now. Please find Cliff, and tell him I need his help. I just knew he wouldn’t stick around to be of much use.”
“Men rarely are, dear,” Loretta said. “I’ll just need you to fill out a few forms. I have them in my car. I’ll be right back.”
Loretta left, and I felt overwhelmed already. “This wedding stuff is so much work. It was so much easier when I got married the first time. Of course, back then my parents were alive. I guess I took it for granted that they took care of the wedding and all they expected me to do was show up.”
“Isn’t that the truth,” Eleanor said. “My marriage didn’t last all that long once I had my son, Wilber. I was shelved for a newer model,” she whimpered.
“Will your son be here for the wedding?” Martha asked.
“I doubt it. Every letter I’ve ever mailed to him was sent back to me, refused. I just don’t understand why he’s so angry with me. Sure, I wasn’t the most ideal mother, but I had to do whatever I could to make ends meet. I think his father poisoned him against me.”
“I guess we’ll never really know unless he shows up,” I said. “And somehow, I imagine him causing problems with the wedding if he did show up, not enhancing it.”
“You’re right. He did put me in a nursing home once, but thanks to you, Agnes, I managed to get back my freedom. You’re more family to me than anyone in my real family, except for my mother, God rest her soul. I just don’t have room for a son who has never even tried to know who I really am after he grew up. “
I hugged Eleanor just then, and when I pulled away, I playfully hit her chin with a fist. “You’re a trooper, and there’s nobody else I’d rather call friend, Eleanor.”
She batted at her tears that danced in her eyes. “You’re not just my best friend, you’re like a sister to me.”
“Speaking of which, is Margarita planning to come to the wedding?”
“I forgot to even ask her. I’ll give her a call right away.”
I waited while Eleanor made the call. More tears came, and by the time she hung up, we had to find a tissue for her.
“So I take it that she’s coming?”
“Yes. She’s bringing that archery woman, Tammy, and her friend, Dixie, with her, too.”
“Great. We should also invite Mrs. Barry, the bird sisters, and that lovely Kimberly Steele.”
“Great idea.”
“I’ll call them,” Martha suggested. “What else do you need to do in the way of wedding plans?”
“We still haven’t met with the pastor yet,” I said. “Or found a good place to have the reception.”
“Marjory Hays mentioned that her brother could officiate,” Eleanor said. She made a quick call to Marjory, and when she hung up, she smiled. “We can meet Pastor Wilfred O’Connor at Marjory’s house. We should bring Andrew and Mr. Wilson with us.”
“Great idea. If Martha can make the calls for the invites, we should probably go now.”
“Not until you fill out the paperwork,” Loretta said as she set the forms on a table.
I hastily filled them out and handed them back to her.
“Then there’s the matter of paying the five hundred dollars in advance.”
I pulled out my checkbook and wrote out a check, while Loretta filled out a receipt. Once that was done, we left, and I felt more than a little excited. We finally had a location for our wedding.
When we made it back to our car, Trooper Sales was waiting for us, out of uniform. “Hello, Sales. Why are you here?”
“I wanted to speak to you about Sophia. Do you happen to know where she was earlier today?”
“No, why?” I lied, although I was having a hard time doing that.
“It’s just that she told me she was going shopping, but she never brought anything home.”
The look on Bill’s face made me feel bad, as he looked green about the gills. “I’m sure she just went window shopping is all.”
“Except that nobody saw her shopping in town, or at least not anyone I spoke with.”
“You weren’t checking up on my granddaughter, were you?”
“No, but I can’t help wondering why she’s acting so strange of late. I know our marriage happened quick since she was pregnant, and I can’t help but wonder if she’s not happy with our life together.”
I couldn’t do this anymore. “That’s not it. It’s my fault she’s been acting strange. You see, Curt Hill was shot and refused to go to the hospital, so I asked Sophia to go over there and check him out.”
He sighed, leaning against his car now. “That’s a relief. I don’t mean about Curt’s injury, but that it’s not anything more with Sophia. I do wonder, though, what this is all about.”
There was no sense in telling Bill how Curt was really shot. “Who knows? War games, most likely. You know how those militia men are.”
“Thanks, Agnes. I see I need to have a talk with my wife. She just can’t keep a secret like that from me.”
“She was probably just worried how you’d react.”
“Perhaps, but she should know that I’m at least a reasonable man. I’d hardly rake my own wife over the coals, even if she was doing something that I didn’t approve of.”
“You should tell her that,” I suggested. “But if you don’t mind, we need to go now to meet the pastor who will be marrying us on Christmas Day.”
“Oh, I heard about that. Do you need any help with the wedding plans?”
“Actually, yes. Do you know of any place that we could book for a reception? I’m coming up empty.”
Bill scratched his head. “Hmmm, let me think. How big a place do you think you need?”
“Not that big, really. Just enough for our closest friends.”
“I’m a member of the Iosco County Sportsmen’s Club. Their clubhouse isn’t all that big, but it should suit your needs. On Christmas Day, you say?”
“Yes, I know. It’s proving to be a difficult day to book.”
“I’ll make a call, and I insist on picking up the tab for it, too. They do catering, if you don’t mind a few wild game dishes.”
I couldn’t help myself and gave Bill an unexpected hug. “Thank you, Bill.” When I pulled away, his eyes were wide, and a huge smile was on his face.
“You don’t have to thank me, we’re family.”
“So is it true that the ATF is taking over the case of the stolen guns here in Tawas?” I asked.
“Yes, and I hope they catch them sooner rather than later. It makes me nervous having guns in the wrong hands.”
“So how shocked were you when you found out that while you were out at Jack’s house more robberies happened?”
“It really bothers me. Look, this isn’t the action of lightweights. It’s too organized for me.”
“Like organized crime?”
“Not exactly sure of that, but someone big is involved here, and I really hope they find out who soon.”
“Any leads on Robert Miller’s disappearance?”
“I think he’s gone into hiding to save his own neck. If you happen to find the kid, give me a call, but I caution the both of you to stay clear of that case.”
Even though Peterson gave the list of the people robbed, I asked, “And who else was robbed last night?”
“I’m not telling you that, Agnes. Like I said, the ATF is handling the case. Keep far away from it, for all of our sakes. I don’t have enough money to bail you out from federal charges. The ATF won’t tolerate anyone interfering with their cases like Sheriff Peterson and I have.”
“Oh, I had no idea either of you ever
allowed
us to interfere, but I guess we can’t help ourselves sometimes.”
Bill opened the door to his car. “Concentrate on your wedding date, and leave the feds to handle the case, unless you think that jail orange will look good on you.”
We watched as Bill left, then Eleanor and I got in the Cadillac. I shivered as I started the engine and frowned when only cool air came out of the heater vents. We hadn’t even been inside the lighthouse that long, either.
“That was nice of Trooper Sales to pay for renting the clubhouse for us,” Eleanor said.
“Yes, and I hope Sophia doesn’t tell him just how involved we really are in this case, but I didn’t have the heart to let him think that my granddaughter wasn’t happy being married to him.”
“I know. I’ve never seen him look so distraught before. I just bet he was checking up on her, too.”
“Can’t say I’d blame him, but we’ll keep that to ourselves. I’m not sure how that would go over with Sophia.”
“Not well, since most wives don’t care to have their whereabouts monitored like that.”
I had to agree with that. I headed back to US 23 with destination Marjory Hays in mind. I couldn’t even imagine what meeting her brother would be like. For one, she was darn near annoying at times, with all her talk of her medical conditions, and distasteful ones at that.
Chapter Eleven
“Where does Marjory even live?” I asked Eleanor.
She made another call and jotted down an address as I made a stop off at Mr. Wilson’s house to pick up the men.
Mr. Wilson lived in a rundown trailer on a piece of property off 55 that had a ramp, since he used a walker.
“Have you spoken to Mr. Wilson about where you’ll be staying after you’re married?”
“At the Butler Mansion, while we’re there.”
“Have you given any thought about after that? I can’t imagine that we’ll be at the mansion indefinitely. We’re hardly there as it is. Millicent does all the work while we’re always elsewhere, solving mysteries.”
“The beach house, I expect. It would be silly to let that beachfront house go to waste. It’s the only thing I own outright, since I inherited it from a relative.”
“Still, you probably need to have some kind of agreement about where you’ll be living for the remainder of your lives.”
“How about you and Andrew? Any plans to leave the Tawas area? He does spend quite a bit of time in Detroit.”
I made a face as I parked. “No, but he had better not even suggest that I move there. I don’t see why I have to change my address just because I’m getting married.”
“So are you suggesting a long-distance relationship?”
“No, he’ll simply be gone on business is all.”
Eleanor laughed as we got out of the car and walked toward the house. I gave a quick knock, and Andrew opened the door, giving me a quick peck on my cheek as I entered.
“Where’s Wilson?” I asked.
“In the can,” Andrew replied.
“Oh, really now.” I could have done without knowing anything that personal, but I was the one who’d asked.
I innocently strolled toward the table, looking for something, anything with Wilson’s name on it, hoping to find his first name. When I didn’t spot anything, I waltzed into the kitchen and began to open drawers.
“What are you doing, Agnes?” Eleanor asked with a smile.
“Trying to find Mr. Wilson’s first name on a letter.”
“Good idea.” Eleanor joined me, rifling through the drawers as an astonished Andrew looked on, shaking his head.
“Why don’t you just ask him what his first name is?” Andrew suggested.
“We have, remember?”
“Yes, but we’ll have to file for our marriage licenses soon. You’ll find out then.”
“I want to find out now.” I smiled when I found the water bill, but it faded as I saw that it simply read Mr. Wilson.
“I found the electric bill!” Eleanor exclaimed. Her face fell as she continued, “But it says Mr. Wilson, too.”
We were so intent on our task, we never heard Mr. Wilson come up on us. “What in tarnation are you girls doing? I don’t keep nothing of value in those drawers, just bills and such.”
“They’re looking for your first name. I think they were hoping that it would be on your mail.”
Mr. Wilson moved forward in his walker. “I’m not telling you my first name.”
“And why not, Mr. Wilson? Why won’t you tell me your first name? We’ll be married soon.”
“B-Because it’s embarrassing is why not, and I don’t have time to do that right now. The five o’clock news is coming on.”
“Fine, we’ll leave it for now, but Wilson, you don’t have time for the news. You men need to come with us to meet the pastor. I already told Marjory that we were coming,” Eleanor said.
“Dang it, woman! You know I hate to miss the five o’clock news.”
“How would I know that, since we’re not cohabitating just yet?”
“Because I just told you is why. Can’t you girls just make all the arrangements and us men folk just show up when it’s time to say our vows?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Andrew said, sitting down.
“Andrew Hart, if you don’t come with me right now, there might never be a wedding date.”
“Come on, Wilson. You can catch the news later. It’s taken these women long enough to agree to a wedding date. We’re getting too old to find new women.”
“Fine, but where are we going again? Pastor, you say? At Marjory Hays’s house?”