Dead Before The Wedding: A Carly Keene Cozy Mystery (Carly Keene Cozy Mysteries Book 1) (7 page)

Cicadas were getting busy, making the music that was the usual soundtrack for a hot Georgia day. Carly checked her watch again. Nine-thirty had come and gone, and she was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable, both physically and mentally.

She was starting to feel sweaty, sitting outside in the humid summer morning. She had walked back to her truck and grabbed a Dr. Pepper from the cooler she brought with her for her shoots. She’d also grabbed a pack of cheese crackers from the glove compartment box and offered one to Tyler, who was fascinated by Carly’s camera.

“Maybe I’ll get him a little camera, you know, when Larry starts paying child support.” Tina leaned against the far left column on the stairs, her arms crossed defensively across her chest. Carly could tell that she was not going anywhere anytime soon.

Twice she’d seen a car pull up to the entrance to Moore House, and twice they’d driven on past. Carly had always hated a confrontation, and the apprehension that she felt had her stomach in knots. Carly knew she had to head this off before it became a real showdown between Mona and Tina.

She’d tried to call Mona twice, but got no answer the first time, and a busy signal the next. She didn’t have Larry’s number, but figured he was probably on his way to pick Mona up anyway, and might not answer his phone if she had been able to call him. Shoving her phone back into her bag, she wracked her brain trying to think of who might know what on earth was keeping her clients from keeping their appointment.

The idea of calling Tucker hadn’t even entered her brain until little Tyler patted her on the leg and cried “woof!”. The toddler’s pretending to be a dog reminded her that she had Larry’s brother’s number in her phone, and he’d surely know where the tardy Gaston brother could be found, considering he’d given him a lift home the night before.

Pulling out her phone, Carly pulled up Tucker’s number and pushed the little green ‘call’ symbol. Putting her phone to her ear, she waited to see if he’d answer. After carrying his very drunk brother away from the bakery the night before, she wondered if he’d bother taking her call. He hadn’t seemed too happy about getting involved in his brother’s business, and he might not want to get caught up in today’s mess, either.

“Hello?” Tucker sounded surprised when he greeted her. “Carly? Is that you?” For a brief second Carly wondered how he knew that it was her on the line, but she remembered giving him her card so that they could arrange a playdate for their dogs. She was relieved that it seemed he’d actually put the number in his phone, then she was annoyed with herself for being so relieved.

‘Get a grip, Carly’,
she thought to herself. “Hey, Tucker, I’m so sorry to bother you right now, but I’m in a real pickle.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be taking pictures right now?” Carly thought she sensed a tension in Tucker’s voice, a hint of resentment coming through his usual friendly demeanor.

“Well, that’s just it. I was supposed to meet Mona and Larry here ages ago, but they haven’t turned up yet.”

“Huh.” His monosyllabic answer wasn’t quite what she expected, so she pushed a little more.

“Tucker, do you know where I might find your brother or his fiance right now? I wouldn’t even be bothering you, but Tina Nicholls is here, and…”

“What?” Tucker seemed to be trying to stop himself from laughing. Carly didn’t really see how laughter would have been an appropriate response to the situation, but she could appreciate the humor. After all, it wasn’t every day that a guy’s fiance and baby mama showed up at the wedding venue to plan out the rest of his life for him.

“Oh, shoot. I would not want to be there when Mona does arrive. Well, no, maybe that would be some funny stuff...oh, heck, I’m sorry Carly. I guess you don’t really want to be mixed up in all their dirty laundry.” Tucker’s voice grew a little more serious. “I didn’t think Tina would try something like that. I mean, it’s not really her style to be confrontational.”

Carly was well aware that Tina could probably hear every word of her conversation, and she winced when she told Tucker that Tyler was there, too.

“Aw, man...this could get ugly. Do you want me to come on over and help keep the peace?”

“No, but I think somebody needs to find out where Larry and Mona are. I don’t have Larry’s number, and Mona isn’t answering her phone.” Carly wondered briefly if the two of them weren’t holed up somewhere, fighting over Larry’s lack of respect for Mona. She didn’t want to see that woman unleash her full fury on anyone, not even Larry Gaston.

“Look, he just lives like five minutes from Moore House. He lives up on Oakmont Lane, just off of Highway 480. I can run over there and check his house for you. I would call him, but he left his phone in my car last night. I found it this morning, dead as a doornail.”

Carly thought about it, then replied. “No, I think I can find his house. Just give me the address and I’ll put it in my phone. You may want to stop on by here anyway, if you’re not busy, just in case Mona shows up while I’m gone. I wouldn’t put it past her to pick a fist fight with Tina, and that little boy really doesn’t need to see something like that.”

Carly took the address from Tucker, who agreed it was best if he just came and waited nearby in case the missing bride and groom showed up and things turned ugly. Placing her phone in her back pocket, Carly turned to Tina and spoke.

“I guess you heard all that, right? Well, I’m going to go see if I can find out what’s going on with Larry and Mona. You need to either stay here, or go on home and keep out of her way. I mean it, Tina, she’s not going to be nice when she sees you, and your little boy does not deserve to see his mama get yelled at by the likes of Mona Durham.”

Tina opened her mouth to respond, but Carly stopped her. “I have your number and I will call you if I need to.” Hurrying down the steps of Moore House before Tina could protest, Carly felt the dread settle in a little deeper.

“What have I got myself into with these people?” she asked herself aloud, under her breath, as she put her old truck in reverse and began to follow the map on her cell phone.

Larry’s driveway was empty, and for a moment, Carly thought that maybe he had gone and picked Mona up after all. Then she remembered the fact that his truck was probably still parked outside the bakery, and she felt a little foolish. Probably Mona had come by his house just minutes before, cussing him out and making him suffer for his drinking session the night before. She shuddered at the thought of walking in on them in a full-blown argument, but got out of the truck and went to the door just the same.

Oakmont was a quiet little street, full of single family homes and wide, open spaces. Larry’s home looked to have been built somewhere in the late 50’s, with a cheerful brick facade and wrought iron railings on the porch. It definitely didn’t seem like the kind of house that would belong to a guy who rented out Moore House for a wedding, Carly decided. Still, she supposed that some millionaires lived in very modest accommodations, preferring to save their money instead of showing it off in fancy houses.

The lights were off, but Carly decided it was best to knock and make sure the house was as empty as it looked. She knocked once, and the door gave slightly, making her jump. Pushing slightly, the unlocked door swung open to reveal a dark interior. Carly wondered why on earth Larry would just leave his door unlocked and leave home. Crime may have been rare in Parker’s Mill, but it still happened, and Carly thought anyone who left their doors unlocked were looking for trouble.

“Larry...Mona...are you in there?” Carly pushed the door open fully, hesitating. She didn’t want to go into an empty house that she didn’t belong in, but something just didn’t feel quite right to her. She began to think that she should have taken Tucker up on his offer to come here instead of her. Hesitantly, she stepped inside. She immediately realized that something just wasn’t right about the place. Glancing around, she tried to decide what it was that made her so uncomfortable.

The house was messy, but not abnormally messy for a bachelor, she supposed. She stepped over a pile of dirty clothes as she moved towards the interior of the house, and she realized that not only was every light off in the house, the clocks had stopped, too. The face of the microwave clock was black, and so was the one on the coffee maker; she could see these easily enough out past the living room in the small, open space.

Then, she realized that it was hotter in the room than it should have been. No electricity.
‘Maybe that’s why I couldn’t reach Larry. Maybe he’s at Mona’s still getting ready because he lost his electricity last night.’
Carly thought that was a very rational explanation, but something still didn’t feel right. “Larry, if you are here, let me know.” Carly felt a little creeped out by the empty house, but she was determined to make sure he wasn’t just passed out in some corner, sleeping off the night before.

Carly found herself practically tiptoeing through the living room and into the kitchen, where the light was better. A sink full of dirty dishes that would probably begin smelling later on greeted her, and she wondered if Larry had any food that might spoil in his refrigerator. Then, she noticed something that made her cringe.

An empty wine bottle lay on the floor, still intact. Had Larry really kept on drinking last night? He was probably too drunk to even notice his electricity was off. She was about to lean down and pick it up when she noticed two wine glasses on the counter. One of them was mostly full, and the other had burgundy lipstick on it.

Mona did
not
wear burgundy lipstick, but Tina did. “Oh, crap, Tina. Did you come here last night looking for this scumbag?” Carly knew she was talking to herself, but figured the empty house wouldn’t judge her for it.

Carly was beginning to distrust the redhead’s motives. She claimed to not want anything from Larry, except for child support, but drinking wine with her ex was not exactly ‘having nothing to do with him.’ Stepping over the wine bottle, Carly proceeded back into what looked like Larry’s bedroom.

The curtains were drawn, and it was darker in here, but Carly could clearly see that the bed was empty. The room was quiet, and Carly didn’t feel right standing in Larry’s bedroom when he wasn’t at home. She was just about to leave when she heard a noise that sounded like water running. It was coming from the bathroom, so she walked over and called out. “Larry, are you in there?” No answer came, so she pushed open the door.

The sink was running as though someone had washed their hands and forgotten to turn it off all the way. As she reached over to turn it off (purely out of habit, she couldn’t stand to see water being wasted,) Carly’s eye was drawn to the bath, and the very obviously dead body of Larry Gaston. He was fully clothed, and fully dead, judging from the way his eyes were open and his jaw was slack. He looked like he might have been just relaxing there peacefully, floating in the bath, except for the fact that an electric heater was also occupying the space in the tub, its plug still plugged into the wall above the sink. Stopping herself from touching the sink’s faucet handles, she reached into her pocket instead, and pulled out her phone.

“Hello, police? Can you get officer Brandon Sparks on the phone for me? I’d like to report a murder.” Carly walked very carefully out of the bathroom and back into the living room, feeling quite proud of herself for remaining calm enough to think to call her cousin, the police officer. Then, she stepped outside and took a deep breath. Her hands were only shaking a little when she climbed back inside her truck to wait for Brandon to arrive, and by the time she saw his blue lights flashing, she was shivering in the ninety degree heat, cold from the shock of having just seen her client’s dead body in his bathtub.

Cradling a hot cup of coffee in her hands, Carly went over her story with Shell for the third time. “I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my head,” she admitted, describing the way she’d found Larry floating in his bathtub.

Brandon had arrived within minutes, bringing two other deputies with him. After making sure Carly hadn’t touched anything, it had taken him all of sixty seconds to confirm her suspicions about the body in the bathtub. Larry had been murdered, alright. No one used a space heater in the middle of summer, but that was apparently the cause of death for Larry when one had been plugged in and tossed into the tub with him.

“Oh, my goodness,” exclaimed Shelly yet again, shaking her head. “I mean, it’s just shocking. Well, I mean, you know…” Shell couldn’t help herself, and giggled nervously at her punny exclamation. “I wonder if the police have any suspects yet.”

Carly realized that Shell was dying to know whether Brandon had told her if they knew or suspected who had killed Larry, but she also knew she couldn’t just go around blabbing her mouth about it. For all she knew, Larry’s killer could be someone she was all too familiar with, and she didn’t want to think about the fact that one of her friends or clients could very well be capable of cold-blooded murder.

Tucker had arrived at Larry’s house before Carly had been cleared to leave, thankfully without Tina tagging along. He’d seemed genuinely concerned for Carly when he’d heard that she’d discovered the body, which had made her feel somewhat relieved. She was beginning to like the idea of Tucker worrying about her just a little, and she had thought vaguely that maybe there could be more to their friendship than she realized.

However, Tucker’s reaction to news of his brother’s death seemed a little less emotional. In fact, from what Carly could tell, he’d hardly gotten upset at all. It was almost as though he expected to hear bad news about his brother, and his lack of concern or surprise gave Carly a chilly feeling.

The mystery of where Mona had been was also solved when Brandon called her to check on her whereabouts. Carly could hear Mona screaming at her cousin through the phone, demanding to know what was going on and where her fiance was. Carly flinched as she watched her cousin delicately handling Mona’s verbal assault, then deftly advised her that a car would be collecting her for questioning about her fiance’s disappearance.

Brandon had confided in Carly that he’d been surprised that Mona had bothered to answer the telephone. “After all,” he’d noted, “Mona certainly looks like an obvious suspect. I mean, did you know she screamed at some bank teller on the street just for talking to Larry last week? That woman is a ticking time-bomb, just waiting to explode on somebody.” Carly could believe it, though she couldn’t imagine that anyone who’d just killed their fiance would bother answering a phone call from the police.

“Besides,” Brandon had mentioned, “It looks like Mona might’ve been there last night after all.” He’d been referring to finding  the two wine glasses that Carly had pointed out when she had been questioned, but Carly knew something that her cousin didn’t, and had felt obliged to relate the information about Tina Nicholls and her penchant for burgundy lipstick.

All that had seemed like ages ago, though in reality it had only been just over two hours since Carly had arrived at the bakery. She’d tried to get back to business as usual, but that was impossible, since every other customer seemed to already know about Larry’s death and the fact that Carly had been the one who’d found him. News travelled fast is a town as small as Parker’s Mill, and Carly realized that soon enough everyone would know just how Larry had died, and they’d know that Carly was the one who had found him.

Just after one o’clock, Brandon Sparks walked into Sweets & Eats and gave his younger cousin a hug before ordering a couple of turtle brownies to go. “Man, I’m so sorry you had to see all that,” he said comfortingly. “I mean, I know that guy was a jerk, but nobody deserves to be fried like that.” Smiling flirtatiously at Shell as she handed him the brownies, he confided, “We did talk to Mona and it looks like she was at home the whole time this morning. She said she thought you all had a wedding thing this morning at ten. Was that right?”

Carly shook her head. “No, it was supposed to be at nine, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she got that wrong. Why wasn’t she answering her phone, though?” Carly had tried several times, and if Mona had answered, she realized that she may have never had to see Larry’s body at all.

Brandon shrugged. “Who knows? She probably couldn’t hear it for yelling at somebody...that girl likes to holler, don’t she?” He chuckled slightly, then continued. “You might like to know, we cleared Larry’s brother. I mean, I guess he wasn’t much of a suspect, but since he was the last person to see Larry last night, we had to look into it.”

Carly wondered exactly how Brandon had ruled Tucker out so quickly, but she trusted her cousin’s detective skills, and was relieved to know that Tucker wasn’t a suspect. “Thank you for sharing that, Brandon, but it’s really none of my business. I mean, we’re just friends, and I didn’t think he was the murdering type, anyway.”

“Come on, cuz, I know you like him. Or, at least, I know he likes you. I could tell by how concerned he was about back at Larry’s place. He seems like a good guy, unlike his brother. You could do worse.” Brandon grinned, and hollered back into the kitchen, where Shell tried  not to appear to be eavesdropping. “Go on and tell her to ask him out, Shell. You and her and him and Pete could do a double date.” After managing to embarrass both girls in one fell swoop, Brandon took his brownies and headed back to the police station.

“Well, I guess it’s good to know that Tucker’s not a suspect anymore.” Shell realized that her eavesdropping had pretty much been given away by that statement, but she was unashamed. “He’s a good guy. You two should definitely go out, I mean, once this is all over.” She had already started wiping down her counter for the twentieth time that day when the doorbell jingled again. Glancing up, Shell whispered, “Well, speak of the devil!”

Tucker looked as though he could really use a stiff drink, but all Carly had to offer was a glass of milk and a brownie. “Hey, Tucker. How are you holding up?” Carly tried a half-smile, but felt like it just didn’t seem right to smile at someone who’d just lost his brother and been considered a suspect in his murder, at least for five minutes, anyways.

“I’m alright,” he sighed. “I just wanted to check on you, see how you’re doing. And, I guess I wanted to thank you for calling the police. I mean, who knows how long Larry would have been there if you hadn’t…”

“Oh, Tucker, don’t...I mean, someone would have known something was wrong. Larry was a pretty popular guy.” Carly certainly knew a few ladies in the town of Parker’s Mill that would miss Larry’s attentions.

“I saw them bringing in Tina when I left the station. I guess since she’d been looking for him to talk to him about her son, she was a suspect, too.” Carly winced when Tucker told her this. The police probably wouldn’t have even had to question her if Carly hadn’t mentioned the lipstick on the glasses. Carly liked Tina, despite her poor choice in men, and she hated to see that little boy without his mama, even for a few hours.

“I kinda wanted to see the little boy, you know, since he was probably Larry’s and all. Tina said her daddy was keeping him, but I know her dad, and he really is in no shape to look after a little kid. I hope they don’t keep her down at the police station for too long.” Carly couldn’t help but feel like Tucker was taking Tina’s plight just a little too close to heart.

Carly realized that if Tina had indeed been at Larry’s house, she could have been the person who killed him. She hadn’t seemed like someone who was unhinged, but Carly guessed you couldn’t really ever tell about some people.

“What do you think will happen now that Tina can’t prove Larry was the dad? I mean, she won’t be able to get any child support from him.” Tucker seemed genuinely concerned about Tyler and his mother. To Carly, this was both touching and a little disturbing. Why did he care so much about someone that had dated his brother? As if reading her mind, Tucker replied, “I know I sound obsessed. I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t care too much about Tina, but Larry was my only sibling. I won’t ever have any other nieces or nephews from him, and I guess I just kind of like the idea of being an uncle for the little guy.”

Carly’s heart softened. Tucker was beginning to seem unbelievably wonderful. Maybe it was time to think about getting to know him a little better. “Well, you know that they can do DNA tests even after the father has died. If Larry really is Tyler’s dad, Tyler would be his legal heir and would receive any inheritance that Larry left behind, even if it’s a small one.”

Tucker’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “Well, I’ll tell you one thing, it wouldn’t be a small one.” He glanced around, and leaned in closer to Carly. Shell leaned in, too, and the other two blushed slightly, both having forgotten their friend was even in the room. “Larry told me that Mona made him take out a big, fancy insurance policy before they even booked the wedding venue.”

Both Carly’s and Shell’s eyes got big at this news, and Shell’s mouth fell open. “Did you tell the police that, Tucker? I mean, don’t y’all realize that this makes Mona a big time suspect?” Shell dropped her cloth on the counter. “If she took out some big policy on your brother, then murdered him, she cannot get away with it.”

“Hold on, Shell, don’t go jumping to conclusions. I mean, maybe Mona was just looking out for Larry’s best interests by getting that policy.” Carly really did want to see the best in people, even Mona. “Maybe she was trying to protect his business in case of his death.”

“Maybe she was trying to protect her pocketbook in case she got tired of his cheating.” Shell crossed her arms and continued. “This is important, because if Mona did kill Larry, she should not be able to get away with it.”

Tucker spoke up. “I told the police everything I knew about the insurance policy, and I reckon they’ll ask Mona about it. I guess we just have to wait and see what they turn up, and we can tell Tina about it when she comes back from the station.” Tucker put his hand on Carly’s arm gently. “I hope you don’t mind, I told her she could meet me here and I’d give her a lift back to get her car at Moore House. I guess the police just picked her up after they spoke with us. I’m sure she’ll be relieved to get back to her dad and little boy.”

Carly did mind, just a little. It bothered her that Tucker had any sort of feelings for Tina, though she reminded herself that since she and Tucker were just friends, he could certainly have feelings for anyone that he wanted to have feelings for. Biting back her jealousy, Carly replied, “That’s fine. You can hang out here as long as you like. I’m just going to help Shell get everything ready for closing this evening, and then I’m going home and having a long soak in the bath.” She regretted saying it as soon as it left her lips, but Tucker just smiled vaguely, and Shell just giggled at her verbal faux pas.

For an uncomfortable hour, the three of them tried to make small talk, ate too many of Shell’s latest weekly special (petit fours,) and enjoyed more coffee, courtesy of Pete. Tucker had just checked his phone for the time for what seemed like the millionth time when Carly’s phone rang, punctuating the tense air with its vibrant trill.

Answering quickly, Carly found herself nodding, emitting an occasional “uh-huh,” and ending the conversation with an “okay, thanks.” She seemed shocked when she ended the call. “That was Brandon,” she explained. “They’ve arrested somebody for Larry’s murder.”

Tucker stood up, and Shell came to attention. “Who?” they both asked simultaneously.

“Tina Nicholls. Brandon says they’ve arrested her on suspicion of murder, and she’ll be held at the police station until they can prove or disprove otherwise.”

Tucker looked shocked, but Shell just shook her head. “Well, I guess she won’t be needing that ride, now. Why don’t we just call it a day,” she suggested, pulling the shade in the window and flipping her sign to CLOSED. “I think we’ve all had just about enough drama for one day.”

Neither Tucker nor Carly could argue with that, and the three of them looked pretty worn down as they left the cheerful little bakery on Main Street to go home and process all that had happened that day.