Wedding Duress (Events By Design Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) (4 page)

“
M
iss East
? May I have a word with you?” Diana’s mother called out in a pinched voice when Stacy and Tori finally made ready to leave. They stopped and turned back, but Mrs. Barber’s piercing gaze bored into Tori until the young woman realized she wasn’t wanted.

“I’ll just wait by the car, Miss East,” Tori said, reverting to the formal address for the woman who was technically her boss, a tactic she only employed when the situation warranted it. Where this crazy woman was concerned, this was one of those warranted situations. She walked down the brick steps in her high heels, willing herself to walk carefully to avoid planting on her face in front of Mrs. Barber.

“Thank you, Miss Michaels.” Stacy turned her attention back to Mrs. Barber, steeling herself to face the tongue lashing that was surely headed her way. She held her most patient-looking smile in place and waited for the wrath of momzilla.

“I’m sure you think you’re doing a fine job of running Ms. Prudell’s company, but I want you to know I think you’re running it into the ground. I do plan to tell her all of that when I speak with her, along with the laundry list of your incompetent work. I’ve contacted her personally and she’s agreed to meet with me next week. You’ve been nothing but sloppy and unprofessional in all the months that I’ve had to work with you, and I want you to understand that it won’t go unreported.”

“Well, Mrs. Barber, I’m genuinely sorry that you’re unhappy with my work and with the services provided by Events by Design. I assure you, every effort is being made to provide you with an event that pleases you,” she stated, not even trying to hide the monotony in her voice as reciting the wording on the company’s legal forms verbatim, not that Stacy was used to having to say those words to any clients. Most, if not the upper majority, were thrilled with Stacy’s services, but there were documents in place just in case. This was one of those times.

“Don’t give me that canned answer,” the woman replied, seeing straight through Stacy’s carefully manicured detached reaction. “I want to know how you plan to make this right.”

“I’m sorry,” Stacy said, genuinely taken by surprise, “but make what right? Today, you mean?”

“Of course I mean today!”

“You think my company or I had something to do with your daughter losing her hair? Or the stabbing death of one of the most sought after stylists east of the Mississippi River? Might I remind you, this happened at your house, under your watch? But I’m somehow in charge of preventing your other child from becoming a psychopath and removing her sister’s hair in her sleep before stabbing a man with a pair of scissors?”

“You were in charge, Miss East, of making sure this wedding is perfect! So far, you’ve done nothing but destroy a gown and render my daughter bald! And no thanks to you, there’s no one to do Diana’s makeup on her wedding day.”

“Well, again, I’m sorry you feel that we’re at fault, and even more sorry that Diana will just have to make herself look flawless without help. If you will check your contract, you’ll see that Events by Design is not responsible for anything that happens off the property or away from the event venue. By the way, have you had any word on Brianna’s bail?” she asked, staring Mrs. Barber down. Stacy had had plenty of experience in dealing with bullies, even ones whose picnics are short of a few sandwiches, and it was time for her to turn the tables back on the older woman.

Mrs. Barber didn’t disappoint. She turned a shade or two paler than her carefully caked on foundation, pausing for only a beat before the blood flooded her cheeks, her anger turning her several shades of red before settling on crimson as her emotional color palette.

“My other daughter is not up for discussion here,” she answered coolly. “Your inability to follow simple directions and follow through on your promises is the issue.”

“Hmmm, that’s odd. I would have thought the issue is why there’s red paint on the handrail of your porch, the exact same shade as the paint on Diana’s dress.” Stacy pinned the woman back with a cold look, daring her to argue.

“Obviously, Brianna must have made as big a mess of things here as she did in your offices.” Mrs. Barber crossed her arms in front of her, a smug look announcing her intention of winning the argument.

“That’s very strange, since Brianna wasn’t in town until two days ago. Yes, Mrs. Barber, I do keep up with your daughter’s whereabouts,” she explained when the woman blanched. “It’s my job to know the locations of all members of the wedding party, leading up to the wedding and until the moment after the last guest leaves the reception. So can you explain how Brianna was in my offices defacing her sister’s wedding gown while she was supposedly two hundred miles away at a function for her sorority, a sorority which she had to settle for after you and Diana blackballed her from your own sisterhood? Yes, I did a little digging and found out about that, too.”

Stacy walked closer, enjoying the rush from watching Mrs. Barber falter for a moment on her sensible heels, a pair that matched her suit perfectly. She eyed the older woman up and down briefly, wondering what occasion had caused the woman to select this outfit for so early in the day, given that she was wearing it when Stacy had arrived that morning. She continued her cross examination.

“But what I really want to know, Mrs. Barber, is what you know about Heaven Cotter.”

Stacy’s arrow had hit its mark.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about,” she answered.
Wow, she’s good
, Stacy thought ruefully.
Deny, deny, deny.

“I think you do, especially since your name is on her arrest affidavit. You filed charges against her three years ago. The funny thing is, her case never had anything to do with Diana. You had her arrested for harassment…of Ben. Tell me, Mrs. Barber, how does the mother of the bride wind up involved in a case involving a man her daughter hadn’t yet met?”

“I don’t answer to you, and you’d do well to remember that. I’m very well connected, and when Ms. Prudell hears about your insolence…”

“Ms. Prudell is never going to hear about it. I know for a fact you’ve never contacted her, and that the appointment you claim to have with her is a lie. So cut the crap and tell me what’s really going on.”

Stacy and Mrs. Barber regarded each other, the air between them so charged with spit and venom that it was almost a tangible feeling. Instead of answering, the older woman turned on her heel and stalked back in the house, leaving Stacy to fight to keep her composure until she made it to the car. She flung the door open to Tori’s surprise, and sank behind the wheel where she let her head fall back against the leather seat until she felt well enough to drive.

T
he wedding day
dawned as perfectly as everything else in Diana’s life, just as if Mrs. Barber had orchestrated this, too.
Even the sun followed the old bat’s orders without question
, Stacy thought sourly. She awoke at her usual four am time and went for a two-mile run, cutting short her usual route due to the importance of the day

The last forty-eight hours had not been the nightmare she’d expected them to be. They were bad, there was no mistaking that, but they were far more pleasant than she’d expected after tangling with the mother of the bride. Her only real luck had been that the groom’s mother must have finally realized it was time to cut her losses and avoid the family until this whole event was behind them, so at least Stacy didn’t have to contend with the united front of Team Moms like she’d feared.

Unfortunately, Nathan had been just as absent as the members of the wedding. She found herself missing his usual annoying presence, missing his sly jokes and his efforts to win over her heart. She missed the surprise lattes, too, but even Stacy had to admit that wasn’t all she liked about Nathan. There was just something so endearing about him, and she found herself thinking about the times they’d spent together. It was true what they said about absence and the heart growing fonder.

“Rise and shine, Miss East,” Mandy’s voice said through the phone when Stacy answered her cell on the second ring.

“Oh no you don’t, I’ve been up for an hour. And remember, Mandy, you only need to call me Miss East in front of clients. It’s an Abigail thing. She had the same rule for me, it just looks more professional. But when it’s just us, Stacy is fine.”

“Sure thing, Stacy. I’ll try to keep that in mind. Anyway, there’s someone here to see you, he’s waiting in your office.”

“Who is it?” she asked, her thoughts already turning to fear of surprises on this important day.

“He said not to tell you, but I don’t work for him. I work for you. So it’s Nathan.”

“Uh, Mandy? Technically, you work for Nathan!” Stacy reminded her sarcastically. She could already see the young woman’s bouncy curls moving as she shook her head.

“Nuh-uh. I don’t work for him unless he plans to come to work. If he wants to keep jetting off to the country club for a three-martini lunch while you run the family business, he’s just plain old Nathan and he’s not entitled to any special favors.”

Damn, I like this one!
Stacy thought with a grin, thinking back to her horrible luck with assistants over the years. It was like there was a mark on the doorpost written in lamb’s blood telling all applicants that only the crazies could apply for this position.
I hope she stays…

“Well, if you’ll tell him he’s welcome to stay in my office as long as he gets to work folding the program inserts, I’ll hurry. If he’s just going to sit in my chair with his feet on my desk, I’m going to take another long shower first.”

“I’ll tell him…
boss
.”

Stacy finished getting ready and hurried to the car, not bothering with swinging into a drive thru for breakfast since she knew either Mandy or Nathan or both would have brought coffee and something tasty. She was just thinking she could get used to this spoiling thing and wondered what she’d done right to deserve this kind of treatment from karma when a hand clamped over her mouth from behind her and a voice hissed in her ear, “Scream and I’ll kill you, bitch.”

The voice, definitely female, was one Stacy couldn’t place, not that she’d ever had that many people offer death threats at her. She froze and shook her head slightly to indicate that she would cooperate, and was relieved when she felt the hand on her face loosen its grip and finally slide away.

“What do you want with me?” she asked fearfully, desperate to look at her attacker in the rearview mirror but afraid of being noticed trying to identify the stranger. It was better to avoid eye contact, she decided, she’d be more likely to live through this if she couldn’t describe the person to the cops.

That’s on TV, stupid!
she chastised herself, rolling her eyes in the process.

“We’re gonna go for a little drive, you and me, and we’re gonna have a talk,” the woman continued in a menacing voice.

“Oh good, just a talk. That’s really good. But you see, I have this important work event today, I really don’t have time to take any detours right now. I’ve got to get to my office and get some things done before the event, so is it okay if we just talk on the way to my office?” she asked, stunned by her own babbling.

“Are you high?!” the woman shrieked in a deranged voice. “You want to drive to work while I kidnap you?”

“Well, if you’re not going to hurt me, and if you don’t have any plans other than to take a little drive, I really have to be somewhere. You don’t understand, I run an event planning business and we have an important wedding today…” Stacy’s voice broke off in mid-sentence, finally aware of how stupid she sounded, as realization dawned. “You’re Heaven Cotter, aren’t you?”

The woman in the back seat stiffened slightly, the motion in Stacy’s rearview mirror making her wonder if she’d already gone too far.

“How do you know my name?” she demanded, the fight going out of her voice as she witnessed her plans deflating in front of her.

“I, um, did some looking online,” Stacy admitted. “But don’t worry, I haven’t said anything to anyone about the stuff you’ve been doing. I’m not even sure how much of it was your fault and how much was…”

“What stuff? What are you talking about?” she asked, her tone turning angry and threatening again as she heard what sounded like an accusation.

“Nothing! I don’t mean anything! I just know there have been some strange things happening involving this wedding… the dress? The attack on the bride? The missing invitations from a few months ago?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything like that! All I did was…” She clamped a hand to her mouth, but not before Stacy saw the frightened look in her eyes and the large diamond engagement ring on her hand. She was trained to zoom in on diamond rings from across a crowded arena, let alone one that was situated right behind her head. It was the nature of being in the wedding business to always be ready to spot a bride in need of quality organizational support.

“What, Heaven? What did you do?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter now anyway. Just drive the car.”

“Where are we going?”

“Oh, we’re going to that wedding after all. And you’re gonna help me put a stop to it.”

“
U
m
, I’m in the event planning business. It’s kind of my job to make sure the wedding actually happens. If I go around stopping weddings, then I’ll be out of a job!” Stacy purposefully failed to mention that there was probably nothing short of appearing nude and wearing a giant feathered boa that could get her fired as long as Nathan pined for her, but then realized that the naked with a boa look would probably just get her a raise.

“That’s not my problem. I can’t let him make the worst mistake of his life. Now drive.”

Stacy did as she was told, backing out of her driveway and taking the curves in the road carefully. She hadn’t noticed a weapon of any kind, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something pokey or shooty in the back seat with her.

She silently took stock of the situation as she drove. Here was this woman who was obviously capable of breaking into a locked vehicle, who may or may not be armed, who may or may not be crazy, considering the police charges Mrs. Barber had had to file against her. Of course, having Mrs. Barber not like her was actually a check in the woman’s plus column, as far as Stacy was concerned. But how did she intend to stop the wedding, and more importantly, why?

Keep her talking, she told herself, trying to figure out how she could thwart the woman’s plans. She told herself to play it cool, to dig around for the truth without coming out and saying it, but instead she blurted out, “So, why are we trying to stop this wedding?”

“Because it’s a horrible mistake! He doesn’t love her! He just got swept up in their plans, and he’s been distracted by something shiny. It’s not right.” The woman actually seemed to deflate just a little, leaning back against the seat like a child who’d been told she couldn’t have dessert.

Suddenly, it all clicked. Stacy glanced in the mirror and confirmed the girl’s somewhat homey appearance, her slightly stringy hair, her slightly pudgy cheeks that were completely free of makeup. She almost looked tomboyish in her oversized sweatshirt, the shirt from Ben’s college, Stacy noticed. Coupled with the engagement ring on her finger and the kidnapping attempt, she finally understood what was going on.

This was the jilted girlfriend. It made the restraining order even make sense, in some ways, especially considering she was at this very moment sitting in the backseat of Stacy’s car. Of course Mrs. Barber would want this poor girl out of the way, paving the path for Diana to meet and win over the quarterback. Stacy felt her spirits lift for a split second as she thought about their pseudo-rescue mission, the mission to save and restore true love, but then she thought better of it.

“Heaven, I’m sorry, but you can’t interfere like that. If Ben has made his choice, you have to respect it, even if you know in your heart it’s wrong. And anyone who would make a choice based on superficial things like looks or money deserves exactly what he gets, if you ask me.”

“You don’t know him like I do. You don’t know how he is, how he has no confidence. That witch and her awful mother tore him down brick by brick, just like a hostage, so they could build him back up and make him dependent on her. On them. This isn’t who he is, you don’t know the real him. You don’t know the Ben that I know.”

“You’re right, but this isn’t the way to do it! The time to try to talk him out of it has passed. I mean, you can make one last effort, but what are you going to do if he doesn’t listen? You’ll have to live for the rest of your life knowing you made a black mark on his wedding day. Are you really going to do that to someone you care about?”

“I have to. Even if it hurts him, I have to tell him the truth, to make him see what a horrible mistake he’s making. She’s not the girl he was meant to be with.”

And you were
, Stacy finished in her head, her heart breaking just a little for the young woman. She nodded slightly and kept driving, knowing that today wouldn’t end well but taking some small amount of comfort in the fact that not only would Mrs. Barber be furious at the sight of this woman showing up unannounced to try to bust up the wedding, but that Heaven needed a champion right now. If Ben wasn’t man enough to be her hero, Stacy would just have to fill in.

“But what’s the plan when you get there? You know the bride’s mother is going to make sure you don’t get anywhere near the groom.”

“Like she can stop me,” Heaven muttered. “She has no choice in the matter. It’s my step-mother we have to worry about.”

“Your step-mother? I don’t get it, what’s she have to do with any of this?”

“Yeah, she’s a total piece of work. I don’t see how anyone hasn’t taken a baseball bat to the back of her head yet.” She smirked evilly while Stacy stared at her in the rearview mirror, alarmed at the first serious utterances of violence. After all, this woman was technically kidnapping her. “I’m sure you can relate, she’s probably been a thorn in your side, too.”

Stacy wanted to ask what on earth Heaven was talking about, but by that time they’d arrived at the location for the wedding. Her backseat passenger crouched low and ordered Stacy to keep driving, but she was tempted for a moment to do something to call attention to the situation, anything that would keep the crazy girl from gaining access to the venue. Her sensibilities screamed at her to make sure this wedding happened without any further pranks, mishaps, or interference, but a small part of her kept insisting that Heaven deserved a chance to have her say. She drove forward, waving at the security detail and the large number of hired help who were already at work on setting up for the event.

“We’re here,” she said quietly, as though someone could hear inside her car with the windows rolled up. “Now what?”

“Crap, everyone’s wearing uniforms. I need you to get me a uniform. I brought regular clothes, just some black pants and a white shirt, but I didn’t know they’d be wearing matching tops.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. The temp agency we hired to send over workers for the setup has its own uniform. I can see if I can get you something…”

“That’d be great. I’ll just wait here, okay? And lady, please don’t screw me over, all right?”

“What do you mean?” Stacy demanded, taking offense at the idea that she’d pull something sneaky, even if it was against a semi-hardened criminal. Sneaky just wasn’t her style, if anything, she was too confident, too up front about things.

“You know. Just don’t go ratting me out, okay? This is really important to me. I have to tell Ben the truth.”

Stacy nodded and climbed out of her car. She hunted down one of the temp managers and requested an extra work shirt before signing Heaven in on the clipboard. She returned to the car and passed the shirt through the back passenger window, which her assailant had opened a crack.

“Here. It’s the only size I could get, sorry if it’s too big. And by the way, for the rest of the day your name is George.”

Heaven pulled her sweatshirt off over her head and slid the dark purple work shirt on over her tank top. She smiled gratefully at Stacy and stepped out of the car. “You know, it’s really nice of you to help me, I really appreciate it. And since I’m signed in and I have a shirt, put me to work!”

“You want to work at setting up a wedding that you’re trying to prevent? I don’t understand. Why would you help out knowing you hope it doesn’t happen?”

“Because he’s free to make his own choices. I just want him to know that he does still have them. If he chooses to get married today after I’ve talked to him, then I’ll know that he made the decision with all the information he needed, but he still chose her.”

Stacy was impressed with Heaven’s logic, but a frown still creased her features. “I hope you don’t take this wrong, but I’m not really sure I can trust you with anything important. I mean, you’ve done a pretty decent job of sabotaging things so far, how do I know you’re not just here to pull some monumental prank?”

“I already told you I haven’t done anything! Why won’t you believe me?” she cried, but her face brightened slightly. “Never mind, I get it. I did wait in your backseat for two hours and force you to sneak me in here. Mystery solved.”

“Mystery solved…” Stacy mumbled to herself, using Heaven’s words to remind herself of something that had been nagging at the back of her brain. “You know, I have something I have to do. Why don’t you just hang out around here, see if anyone needs help, you know?”

“Really? You mean, you trust me? You think I’m telling the truth?”

“Somehow… yeah, I do.” Stacy patted the girl on the shoulder and took off running as fast as her high heels could carry her.