Killer Wedding (22 page)

Read Killer Wedding Online

Authors: Jerrilyn Farmer

BOOK: Killer Wedding

3.21Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

Read Book Download Book

“Where'd he get the taste?” Wes asked, approvingly.

“You don't need taste when you've got money,” Paul said, joking.

“You scored!” Wes said, happy for me.

“Yes, but that's not all she got.” Holly would tell all my secrets if I didn't watch out.

Holly held up a card she'd opened that morning, as she opens all of our mail. It showed a large emerald on the cover.

“Appropriate,” Wes said. “This from Arlo, too? I swear, that man is turning over a whole new leaf.”

“No,” Holly said, tattling. “This is from Honnett.”

“Honnett sent you a card?” Wes was intrigued.

“Oh, it's nothing. Just a payoff on a bet we made a while ago.”

Holly steamrolled on. “He says he'll be over at seven in the morning on Sunday. He says he'll be her slaveâ¦”

“Oh my,” Paul said.

“â¦for twenty-four hours,” Holly finished.

“My, my, my,” Paul added.

“Hey, we're just fooling around,” I said, laughing.

“Which reminds me,” Paul said, after everyone had had his or her laugh about how popular I had suddenly become. “When I came up the steps I met the UPS guy. I signed for this.”

From out of his pocket he pulled a small UPS envelope.

“It's for Mad,” Holly said, reading the label. “Of course it is. Whatever your horoscope is for today, frame it.”

I looked at the label and blushed. It had been sent from Colombia. From Zelli Gentz.

Inside was the most amazing jewel we had any of us ever seen. It was, of course, a perfect emerald. Mounted on a gold ring.

“It's got to be ten carats,” Holly whispered, shocked.

“I'd say it can't be realâ¦” I said, losing it, “â¦but I don't think Zelli wouldâ¦”

“Of course it's real!” Wes said, gawking. “I think it's worth more than the house.”

I read the note.

“
The sultan has had a shakeup in his staff. One general has lost his position and probably his head. Lucky for me, the business arrangements had been settled in advance, as this one perfect stone was destined to be yours
.”

The good and the evil. The love and the rage. Life was a study in contrasts. It reminded me of the wedding vows I don't like to sit through. The vows I avoid like the plague. “For richer or poorer, in sickness and healthâ¦” Perhaps we are not meant to obsess on the small decisions, the tiny steps we are always taking. Perhaps we are only supposed to walk on.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Annoyed that I hadn't planned better, I booked the only vacant hotel room in all Tucson, Arizona. A family celebration brought us to that beautiful city on the sold-out weekend of the International Gems & Minerals Show. Somewhere, thirty miles from Jonathan Kobritz's bar mitzvah festivities, my family gamely settled into our brand new “all-suite” shoebox. I can still recall the feeling of dismay at trying to squeeze into an overflowing “breakfast” room that first morning, as dozens of “all-suite” guests vied for not-entirely-fresh pastries. When, finally, the children had eaten and gone to play, I returned to our little table, cardboard teacup in hand, to spend a brief respite with my husband. I was not entirely cordial, it might be understated, when a tall, dark stranger with longish hair began to settle at our table.

I smile, now, at how close I came to missing one of the most mesmerizing personal stories I have ever heard, modestly told by this unexpectedly charming new aquaintance. To protect his privacy I will not mention here this gentleman's name. To prevent spoiling this book's tale I will not mention here details of his true-life adventures and daring youthful career. But acknowledge him I must. With a commemorative paper cup of hot tea, I would like to salute a passing stranger's wild and reckless past and his willingness to speak openly about it to one whoâfinally awakeâwarmed up quickly, full of questions.

As always, I want to thank Evan Marshall, wonderful
friend and gifted literary agent, and also Lyssa Keusch, wonderful friend and brilliant editor. I must also thank sweet providence for bringing that particular fascinating stranger over to that particular faux-granite Formica table in that particular breakfast room. And I must thank my beloved Chris for making all things possible, including, as only one of a million examples, not allowing me to shoo that particular treasure away on that particular morning.

Other Madeline Bean Catering Mysteries by
Jerrilyn Farmer

I
MMACULATE
R
ECEPTION

S
YMPATHY FOR THE
D
EVIL

Copyright

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of either the author or the publisher.

KILLER WEDDING
. Copyright Â© 2000 by Jerrilyn Farmer. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-96774

EPub Edition Â© June 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-201396-5

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1