Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 05 - Till Death Do Us Part (36 page)

“Yeah, well, that’s easy to see now, but at the time – I didn’t put it all together.”

“It’s weird to imagine she figured out there was a serial killer who was leaving little trinkets from just a few conversations with some of the inmates –it took me over ten hours of computer searches.”

“It takes one to know one,” I shrugged and slipped into bed.

“That’s true and I think your idea that the victims all had a secret, a bad secret, is probably pretty accurate, given what Sasha told you.”

“I agree,” I yawned and put my head down on my pillow.

“Go to sleep, Teach.”

“You too, Justin.” I closed my eyes.

“I will soon. I’m going to do a little more digging on that lawyer site. I bet if I spend some more time in there I just might be able to match some of the conversations with our victims. Why do you think the lawyers even need a site like that?”

“If you want to complain, it’s nice to have someone that understands what you are going through,” I suggested.

“You think other occupations have sites like that, too?”

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe I can find a teacher site where you can complain about the kids and their parents.” Justin chuckled.

“Tell me about it tomorrow, Justin. I’ve got to get some sleep.”

“Yeah, you don’t want big bags under your eyes for your wedding later today.”

“Thanks, Justin. Good night.”

“Night, Teach.”

I set the phone on the table next to my bed and sighed into my pillow. Talking about the night’s events again with Justin brought it all back into the front of my mind. Kenny stopped Emily, no, Sasha, and she was clearly out of the picture. But according to her, she wasn’t the only one out gunning for me. My stomach knotted with anxiety, alternating between churning and out-and-out nausea. I couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling that tomorrow I wouldn’t become Mrs. Tom Owens. In fact, in the pit of my stomach, I wasn’t sure I would survive the day.

Chapter 36

I was awoken by the sound of rain pelting the windows in my bedroom. I dragged the covers over my head and groaned. It’s July 21st. Why was it raining? Was this an omen? Was my life or my marriage being washed away? My stomach knotted up as a wave of anxiety swept over me. I had never been this nervous in my life, not even when I was presenting at the math conference in front of hundreds of teachers. It wasn’t a good omen for the day. On the bright side, both Tom and Kenny knew how to walk me through my panic attacks, so I was doubly covered.

The bed dipped and the covers were pulled off my face.

“Happy Wedding Day!” my sister said.

“It’s raining,” I told her.

“It’s only supposed to shower a little this morning and I don’t think it’s raining at all in Ceres.”

I groaned again and pulled the covers over my head.

“Come on, Sis. We’ve got stuff to do.” Jordan pulled the covers off my head and threw them on the floor next to my bed.

“The wedding isn’t until five this evening, I’ve got time. Can I please have my covers back?”

“It’s almost ten, Sis. You need to get up. We’re supposed to be at the Gardens by two. I’ve got a makeup artist, manicurist and hair stylist coming and getting us all ready for the wedding. And you do want to eat first, right?”

She finally hit a nerve and my stomach growled.

“Great. Take a shower and come out to the kitchen. Maury sent over a ham, cheese, tomato, mushroom and spinach frittata and some little diced potatoes for breakfast. I ate them a couple of hours ago, but I’ll heat some up while you’re taking a shower.”

I nodded and she left. I thought about crawling under the covers again, but decided I needed to get up and get going. It wouldn’t be a good start to be late for my own wedding.

When I came out after taking a shower, my phone was ringing. Maybe it was Tom wishing me a happy wedding day?

I wrapped the towel around myself and sat on the edge of the bed. It wasn’t Tom – it was Justin’s number.

“Good morning, Justin. It’s not two o’clock in the afternoon. What got you up so early?”

“I haven’t been to bed yet, Teach.”

“What?”

“Yeah, well, I started in the lawyer’s chat house and went back to archived conversations starting a month before each of the victims’ deaths to see if I could pick up some chatter about them. Do you know what I found?”

“Lawyers talking about their crappy clients?” I suggested.

“Nope, absolutely nothing.”

“Really? I was pretty sure you’d find the victims’ dirty little secrets and we’d know, at least, why they were killed.”

“Nope, I think lawyers are too slick for that. I couldn’t tie any of their conversations to our victims.”

“Another dead end,” I sighed.

“Not exactly. Remember how we talked about how other professions might want similar chat rooms?”

“Yeah, like a place for teachers to complain about how parents aren’t being parents anymore and how the schools have to teach manners along with reading, writing, and math?”

“Yep, well, I followed a small thread of a conversation in the lawyer’s chat room and found quite a few other chat rooms. There is one for doctors, law enforcement officers, firemen and even teachers.”

“Wow.”

“That’s not all. Do you remember the electrician that made our skin crawl?”

I shuddered. “Yeah.”

“Well, I followed a comment from the lawyer’s chat room into the doctor’s chat room where he was talking about several women he’d examined. From there, that same thread led me to the cop’s room.”

“Rapist?”

“Oh yeah. According to the cop room, he’s
got ten rapes that they know about.”

“Why isn’t he in jail?”

“All of the victim’s refuse to testify. It seems that after he rapes them, he tells them that if they testify against him, his brother will come back and kill them and one of their loved ones. One of the victim’s has a sister and she told the doctor about what the rapist said. Another has a daughter and she told a cop about what the rapist said.”

“He was a scumbag.”

“Yes he was and the cops couldn’t touch him.”

“So the vigilante took him out.”

“Yeah, and the lady with the scowl. I actually picked up her trail from the teacher’s chat room. It led me to a doctor and then back to the cops. She was using her two kids to pass out drugs that look like candy at the elementary school. The kids get hooked on the drug-laced candy and then when they get to middle school, she moves them up to the drugs alone.”

“Bitch,” I muttered.

“Yep.”

“So most of the information is coming out of the cop’s chat room?”

“Yeah, I think we’ve got a cop who’s a vigilante.”

I told Justin about the FBI’s theory that it is two people: one that finds the information and the other does the killing.

“So maybe a cop picks the victim and someone kills them.”

“Does that make him just as responsible for the death?” I asked.

“I don’t know that much about the law, Teach.”

“I’ll ask Kenny about it but if it is not a cop than it just could be anyone who can maneuver the chat rooms, like you can,” I suggested.

“Too bad I’m stuck in this wheel chair or I might be your first suspect,” Justin laughed.

“What about Penelope?”

“I couldn’t find anything about the kindergarten teacher.”

There was a light knock on my bedroom door and Jordan said, “Are you ever coming out of your room?”

“I’ve got to go, Justin. We can talk about this later. You get some sleep. I don’t want you late for my wedding.”

“I’ll be there, Teach.”

I ended the call and set the phone back down, then turned toward the door. “I’m just getting dressed. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

When I came out, Kenny, Julie, and Jordan were sitting at my kitchen table.

“Where’s Sam?” I asked, inquiring about the only person missing from the house.

“This time is for your bridal party, so I threw him out.”

“He’s over at my house with the rest of the guys,” Kenny added.

“Come have a seat and eat, Sis.”

“Yeah and since I’m the oldest,” Julie, who was dressed in a pink Nike sweat suit, said, “I get to give the ‘wedding night sex talk.’”

We spent the next hour talking, laughing, and it helped to settle my nerves. Around eleven thirty, I went into my bedroom to gather all the things I needed to take with me. I meant to pack a bag yesterday, but it just didn’t happen.

I wanted an outfit that I didn’t wear to school to put on when Tom and I left the reception. I didn’t want to look like a teacher today. I chose a black and white skirt which was too short to wear at school, since I often found myself on the floor with my kindergarten students. To complement it, I got a black silk top, white sweater and a pair of black shoes with a small heel. For the wedding I needed my undergarments, the jewelry I bought to wear, and the gifts for Julie, Jordan and Tom. I never did find anything for Kenny and it was too late, now. I still had no clue what I wanted to get him.

Around twelve we left for the Gardens. Julie drove since Sam would need the rental car and Kenny’s car was still in Nashville. My Jeep was gone.

So we all piled into Julie’s red Prius and it didn’t explode. That’s one for the win column. Then we drove to Ceres. Julie turned up the country-western music and we all sang along as we drove.

As we drove up the Garden’s driveway, they had already begun to decorate for the wedding. The table and chairs were all arranged on the lawn. The tables looked beautiful, the red napkins and the white tablecloths were perfect together. There were strings the lights and lanterns across the grassy area and it was beginning to look magical to me.

Amelia met us at the car. I was glad the ground was dry. Obviously it hadn’t rained in Ceres. When I opened the car door, the weather was warm but not hot.

“It’s a beautiful day for a wedding,” Amelia said by way of greeting.

“Yes it is. Have the stylists arrived?” Jordan asked.

“Yes, I put them all in the Ready Room,” Amelia said just as a very tall, large man came around the corner of the house.

“Hello,” he waved and came up to us.

“This is Joe,” Amelia told me. “He’s the DJ.”

Joe extended his hand to Kenny and asked, “If you’re the groom, you’re not supposed to be here yet.”

“No, I’m the Maid of Honor,” Kenny chuckled.

Joe raised his eyebrows and I said, “Kenny’s my best friend so he’s standing up with me. I’m Liza Wilcox.”

Joe shook my hand and grinned. “It’s nice to meet you, Liza. The Gardens is a wonderful place for a wedding. Everyone always has a great time here. I’ve got my entire set up and my karaoke equipment.”

“Thanks for bringing the extra equipment.”

“No problem. I’ve never done a karaoke wedding, so this should be fun. What kind of songs do you like to sing?”

My sister immediately burst into laughter, with Kenny only a few seconds behind her. I ignored them both.

“No, I’m not a singer. My fiancé has a great voice and he likes to sing. And according to him, so does his family.”

“You haven’t met them yet?”

“No, I just met his son and brother, yesterday.”

“Well, this should be fun. I’m setting up my stuff to the right of the head table and next to the dance floor. Is there a special song you want me to play when the two of you come in on the carriage?”

I hadn’t thought of any special songs I wanted and I didn’t asked Tom, either.

“I’m okay with whatever you usually play.”

“I’ll ask your fiancé when I see him.”

“He’ll be okay with any song, too.”

“They always say they have no opinion and then it turns out they have a strong opinion. I’ll just wait and talk to him.”

Joe was either a smart man or had lots of experience doing weddings.

Kenny came over and squeezed my hand. “I’ll hang out with Joe until I need to get dressed.”

I nodded and let Julie and Jordan pull me toward the Ready Room. It was a big room in the building where Amelia’s office was. There were several full-length mirrors and a vanity with a bench in front. Three women were already in the room when we entered. All three were tall and skinny as a rail, one blond, one brunette, and one with purple hair. They could be twins except for the hair color. I hoped the one with the purple hair wasn’t the hair stylist.

The purple-haired woman was Evelyn and she was the manicurist. She got some hot, soapy water and I put my hands in and then filled a pedicure machine with the same solution. The water was warm and the bottom vibrated, giving the bottom of my feet a massage. It was nice.

When she started filing my nails she said, “You have very strong nails. Do you have them done often?”

“Nope, mostly I keep them very short. I don’t want to scratch a kid with them in class and if they get too long, I start biting on them.”

She gave me a disgusted look. I knew biting nails was a bad habit, but at least I stopped biting the cuticles several years ago. In my book, it’s progress.

While she worked on my nails, I enjoyed the sensation on my feet. The machine made a bit of noise, rumbling and swirling the
water around my feet. I never had a pedicure before but this felt wonderful. Maybe I’d get one after the wedding, too.

The water was turning cool and I said, “Can you add more warm water? My feet are cold.”

The manicurist frowned. “It has a heating element and should be keeping the water at a constant temperature.”

She reached into the water, frowned, and then fiddled with the knobs on the side. The water immediately warmed up.

“Thanks,” I told her.

She smiled and went back to my nails.

Julie came over and watched Evelyn work on my nails.

“She’s doing a wonderful job, Liza. I’ve never seen your hands look so beautiful.”

I held up the one hand she had finished. My nails were filed evenly and coated with a light pink color. They were beautiful.

“Why are your feet so red? Julie asked.

“It’s this wonderful machine. The water is warm and the bottoms of my feet are being massaged. I might buy one of these machines for myself or go get a pedicure more often.”

Julie reached down, put her hand into the water and immediately pulled it out. “That water is way too hot, Liza. Get your feet out of it.”

“It doesn’t feet hot to me,” I told her.

“It doesn’t make the water that hot,” the manicurist said.

“I don’t care what you say,” Julie reached down and pulled my feet out. “It’s too hot, see for yourself.”

Evelyn huffed but then put her hand into the water, immediately pulling it out and saying “
Ow! That’s way too hot. What is the matter with this machine?”