Model Menace 2 (4 page)

“He sounds like a bird on helium!” she hissed at me.

But Vic was done with his fife interlude, and was singing again.

George was just shaking her head now, trying not to laugh.

The violins blazed into a crushing final crescendo, and Vic threw out his arms, waving them wildly.

When the music stopped, no one seemed to know what to do. Everyone looked at Syd, who was—no, she couldn’t be—no, she was—crying.

“Oh, Vic,” she whispered.

“Oh, brother,” George muttered beside me.

Syd stood up and, after just a moment’s hesitation, ran around her table to Vic. She threw her arms around him, and he enfolded her in a huge embrace.

“Sydney!” he said when they parted. “When you called off our wedding last night, my life lost all meaning. What does the future mean to me if I don’t get to spend it with you?”

Syd beamed, but then seemed to notice something. She looked over Vic’s shoulder, then at the violinists that flanked him, and finally back at us. “Vic,” she asked, “where are the cameras?”

Vic’s face broke into a smile. “I sent Dragon off to jump into the river and distract them! I wanted this moment to be just between me and you.”

Syd blinked back tears, shaking her head. “Oh, Vic,” she whispered.

Vic nodded. “Now,” he said softly, “will you do it, Syd? Will you take me back? Will you marry me?”

Syd kept blinking, unable to hold back the tears as she looked at her former fiancé. Yes! she cried, and Vic yelped, picking her up and swinging her into the air.

Syd erupted into laughter. I glanced at George—she was wiping her eye!

“What?” she whispered, seeing my amused expression. “That was touching, okay?”

Syd was beaming as Vic put her back down on the ground, and she turned to face all of us. “The wedding’s back on!” she announced happily.

T
wo days later Bess, George, and I found ourselves back at the bridal shop with Akinyi, Deb, Pandora, and Syd, who was having her final dress fitting. Originally Syd was going to go alone, but as she told us, when the producers (who were
beyond
thrilled that the wedding—and thus their TV show—was back on) heard about the trip, they asked Syd to gather all of us so they could film it for the special.

Syd had already been fitted once, but had been interrupted by some bad news about Akinyi and Candy’s dresses—something we later found out Candy herself was responsible for. Now we were looking forward to seeing Syd, sure to look gorgeous in her wedding dress.

“It feels good to sit down,” Bess observed, sighing contentedly as we sunk into the cushy chintz sofa that took up most of the waiting area.

“Definitely,” I agreed. Ever since Syd had announced the wedding was back on, all of us bridesmaids had been caught up in wedding-preparation tasks: printing out the programs, making the centerpieces, even cooking up dozens of batches of Vic’s favorite meringue cookies to slip into fancy lace bags as wedding favors. Ellie told us the
Daredevils
producers had actually offered to pay for fancy floral centerpieces and professionally printed programs, but Syd had balked at the idea.

“She always wanted her wedding to have that special, homemade touch,” Ellie told us with a smile.

“That’s lovely,” George, who’d been in charge of assembling programs, had replied. “Or I’m sure I’ll find it lovely when all my paper cuts heal.”

“When
I
get married,” Bess began now, and George groaned. This wasn’t the first such pronouncement Bess had made. Over the last few days, we’d already learned that Bess would outfit her bridesmaids in yellow; that she would have a tower of cupcakes rather than a traditional wedding cake; and that her first dance with her new husband would be to “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie
Titanic.
“I’m going to do it like Syd did. You two will pitch in, right? Maybe I’ll have little jars of jam as my wedding favors. I think I’d like to arrange my own flowers, too.”

“When you get married,” George said, “I predict I will have pressing business in Japan.”

“Me too,” I agreed. “Or maybe Timbuktu.”

Bess rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that because you’re tired,” she insisted. “As soon as this wedding’s over, you’ll miss it.”

At that moment Ellie walked out of Syd’s dressing room and gestured to Hans, who was settled on a hard bench across the room. Behind us the television cameras and lights were all set up, ready to get the shot. It was kind of amazing how quickly we’d gotten used to being surrounded by a television crew.

“Are you ready?’ Ellie asked Hans, who glanced up curiously. “They’re just having some trouble finding Syd’s dress, but as soon as they locate it, she’s going to put it right on.”

“We’re ready,” Hans confirmed, gesturing to the crew behind him. “Everyone’s all set up here. Just waiting on you.”

Ellie nodded, looking eager to please. We’d all been waiting in the bridal shop for about half an hour already. And while Hans hadn’t mentioned it, we all knew at the outset of the shoot that the crew hoped to be back at the hotel by lunchtime to shoot a basketball game between Vic and his groomsmen.

Bess, George, Deb, and I were the only bridesmaids remaining in the waiting area. Akinyi, who’d seemed restless and jumpy ever since we first arrived, had gone outside to talk on her cell phone. And Pandora had wandered off long ago, muttering something about the wedding industrial complex and how she much preferred dresses made from organic silk.

Suddenly we heard footsteps on the stairs leading up from the alterations department, and I could see Hans and the crew start to straighten up. As the steps got closer, we all leaned forward eagerly to see the sales clerk coming up with Syd’s dress. But when the young blond girl emerged, she was clearly upset, her face bright pink as she shook her head and ran toward Ellie. In her arms was a pile of fringed silk.

“I’m so, so sorry,” the girl apologized, parting her arms to let the silk dress fall between them. “I have no idea how this happened! I’m so sorry!”

Behind me, I was vaguely aware of cameras turning on, lights pointing toward the action. But I was too invested in the scene to pay much attention.

We all looked at the dress in her arms, and I gasped. The dress wasn’t supposed to be fringed at all. The delicate, unfinished ends I’d seen weren’t intended—the dress looked like it had been shredded with a pair of scissors!

Ellie took in a quick breath, but she seemed to recover quickly, as though she were now used to these little “surprises.” “Sydney,” she called in a serious tone, “I think you’d better come look at this.”

“What is it, Mom?”

Syd, still dressed in a casual sweater dress, stepped out from the dressing area. She followed her mother’s gaze to her dress, and all the color seemed to drain from her face. “Oh my gosh.”

The sales girl held the dress up by the shoulders, and we all gasped at the extent of the damage. The beautiful, elegant silk column had been shredded by hundreds of jagged cuts all over the bodice. It hung in tatters, shredded ends unraveling and threads hanging from every inch. It was clear there was no way Syd could wear this dress in just a few days. And sadly, it was also pretty clear that there was no way the alterations department could fix it.

“I’m so sorry,” the sales girl said again, “but there’s no way we can fix this, and we don’t have enough time to order a new dress for you.”

Syd’s face was frozen in shock. Before she could react, a shrill
beep
sounded from her pocket. Glancing down, she pulled out her PDA and looked at the screen. I cringed, knowing what she would find there.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Syd shrieked and began to cry. “This isn’t happening,” she sobbed, turning to her mother. “Mom, tell me this isn’t happening.”

As Ellie comforted her daughter and Deb moved in to pat Syd’s back, I stood up and gently took the PDA from Syd’s hand. Bess and George crowded in behind me to get a good look.

Just like before, the text came from an unlisted number.

I heard Bess suck in her breath. “Wow.”

“Major wow,” George agreed, looking disgusted. “This guy just gets creepier and creepier.”

“Or
girl
,” I said meaningfully, and I could see my friends considering that. Our suspect list still contained three women: Akinyi, Pandora, and, perhaps less likely, Ellie.

“What does it say, what does it say?” a voice asked behind me as an arm reached out and grabbed the PDA from my hand. “Oooooh!”

I turned around and saw Pandora staring goggle-eyed at the screen.

“When did you come in?” George asked skeptically. “I thought you wandered off.”

Pandora stared at the text message for a few seconds before looking up, her usual spacey expression back in place. “I went outside to meditate for a few minutes,” she replied quickly, then turned to me. “Nancy! This is just what I was telling you about! Don’t you see, the bad vibes were right! There
is
still someone trying to stop this wedding!”

I stared back at Pandora blankly, feeling a little overwhelmed.
So they know now,
I thought. It would only be a matter of minutes before the whole bridal party was buzzing about the wedding saboteur. And once that happened, whoever was behind this would know everyone was looking for her (or him)—and my job would get a lot harder.

“But that’s
impossible
!” I heard Syd cry, and I turned back to listen in on their conversation.

“I’m afraid it’s true,” the sales girl said, shaking her head and sadly stroking the ruined dress. “Our manager said she hung this dress on the door of the alterations room first thing this morning—which is why I couldn’t find it. And when she hung it up, it was in pristine condition. That means whoever did this, did it this morning.”

“What time is it now?” I asked, frowning.

Ellie glanced at her watch. “It’s just ten-thirty,” she replied.

Ten-thirty
. The shop had opened at ten, and our entourage had arrived at ten on the dot. That meant that while we all lounged around waiting—and while our poor sales girl had searched the inventory for Syd’s dress—someone had snuck downstairs and snipped it to shreds,
while we waited.

I glanced at Bess and I could see her putting this all together as I did. “Creepy,” she breathed.

“Supercreepy,” I agreed.

“I can’t believe this!” a sharp voice cried out from the door, and we all turned to watch a very upset-looking Akinyi storm into the shop. “This is the worst day ever!”

Syd, whose crying had slowed down considerably, dabbed at her eye with a hankie and shook her head. “No, Akinyi,” she said resolutely. “It’s definitely a setback, but I’ll be okay.”

Akinyi frowned, looking even more annoyed, and then finally her gaze fell on the dress, still draped over the sales girl’s arms, and her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh!” she cried. “Syd, what happened to your dress?”

Syd looked puzzled. “It got
slashed
,” she replied, “Obviously. What were you yelling about, if not that?”

Akinyi sighed, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. “Well, this is a banner day,” she snarked, the corners of her lips turning down. “Josh broke up with me.”

“What?”
Syd asked. “When?”

“Just now,” Akinyi replied with a rueful smirk, “on the phone. He’s packing his bags to go back to New York right now. We’re totally over.”

“Why?” Syd asked with a frown. I could tell she was still concerned about her dress and the text, but she also wanted to be there for her friend.

Akinyi shook her head as if to clear it. “Never mind,” she said after a little pause. “Let’s talk about your dress, and what you’re going to do. Are you okay, Syd?”

Everyone began gathering around Sydney, offering their condolences and ideas for getting a new dress. I could also hear some questions about the text she’d received, and what was really going on with the wedding saboteur—was it true Candy wasn’t the only one trying to sabotage this wedding?

Tempting as it was to join the crew and see how everyone reacted, I turned to my trusty friends instead. “Okay,” I began. “You, me, Deb, Ellie, and Syd have been in the dressing room the whole time—none of us could have slashed the dress. Let’s talk about the others.”

“Well, Akinyi,” Bess suggested, looking unsure. “She was ‘outside’ for a long time. But she really does seem upset about the breakup—so maybe she really was on the phone with Josh the whole morning?”

I nodded grimly. “Maybe. I think she’s definitely a suspect, though. And Pandora disappeared for awhile—though she says she was meditating.”

George snorted. “Meditating, schmeditating. I got up to get some water from the cooler in front about fifteen minutes ago, and she was out there on her cell phone. Unless she meditates with a partner, over the phone, I think she was lying.”

I sighed. “Great,” I replied. “Is anyone
not
a suspect?”

Bess shrugged. “Well, Deb,” she replied. “And Ellie. Though she did go out to the car to get her purse at one point…I guess she could have done it then.”

I sighed, rubbing my temples.

George pulled her lips into a tight line. “Another thing,” she began, clearly about to impart bad news. “We don’t know if there’s a back entrance to this place.”

I looked up at her. Of course! With all my sleuthing experience, how could I have forgotten back entrances?

“Excuse me,” I said, gently tugging on the sleeve of the sales clerk, who was still holding the ruined dress as the rest of the bridal party chattered nearby. “Is there a rear entrance to this store?”

The girl nodded. “Sure. But it’s not a public entrance.”

I glanced back at Bess and George. “But was it locked this morning?”

The girl looked uncomfortable, gently stroking the ruined dress with one hand. “No,” she said finally, quietly. “Many of our seamstresses enter that way. And it seems someone did forget to lock the door behind them.”

I nodded, trying to communicate with my eyes that I wasn’t upset with her. “Thanks for telling me that.” I stepped away, turning back to Bess and George.

“Great,” said Bess with a sigh. “The field gets even wider.”

“So basically
anyone’s
a suspect,” George agreed. “Everyone except the three of us and Syd.”

Bess glanced at me with a playful look. “Well, I don’t know,” she murmured. “Nancy
did
go to use the restroom that one time.”

I shook my head at her. “You came with me!”

“Okay.” Bess laughed. “I guess, yes, we can rule out the three of us and Syd.”

“And we did narrow down the suspects from the photo,” I reminded them. “So really, the only potential wedding saboteur who might have snuck in through the back door is Dragon.”

Bess and George suddenly got very focused looks on their faces, looking directly behind me, and I knew someone from the wedding party was coming.

“Well, girls,” said Sydney, reaching out to touch my shoulder, “I guess we’re done here. You can go home.”

I looked up. Behind Syd, the camera crew seemed to have shut down, and was packing up to leave the shop. I looked at our lovely bride-to-be, whose eyes were rimmed with bright, angry red. “I’m so sorry, Syd.”

Syd just shrugged sadly, looking away. “I’ve gotten used to a lot of surprises going ahead with this wedding,” she said quietly. “I really loved that dress”—here her voice broke a little—“but the important thing is that I’m marrying Vic. Whoever this wedding saboteur is, he or she can’t change that.”

“That’s a good attitude,” Bess enthused, reaching out to squeeze Syd’s shoulder.