Debra Burroughs - Paradise Valley 06 - The Harbor of Lies Read online

  “That must’ve been when the perp got the jump on you and smacked you on the head with something.” Colin kissed her hand. “I’m just glad you’re okay. You really scared me. Again.”

  “Sorry.” Emily pouted and attempted her best guilty-puppy-dog look. “Really, I am.”

  “Next time I tell you to—”

  “Oh, Emily!” Maggie gasped, running into the room, with Camille close on her heels. “Are you okay, girl?” Leaning down, she gave Emily a quick squeeze.

  “Yes, Em, are you okay?” Camille repeated. “We heard you were attacked by some deranged maniac.”

  Maggie Sullivan and Camille Hawthorne were part of Emily’s close circle of friends. Any time she needed them, they were there, no matter what.

  “It’s not that bad,” Emily said.

  “You poor thing.” Camille squeezed in and gave Emily a quick hug too.

  Maggie turned to Colin. “Did y’all catch the criminal who did this horrible thing to our Emily?”

  “Yes, my men found him outside a house, a couple of blocks away, hiding in some bushes.”

  “Paradise Valley used to be such a safe place,” Camille lamented.

  “This guy made a twenty-mile commute—he was from Caldwell,” Colin replied. “A meth addict looking for something he could sell to make another score.”

  “How bad is it?” Maggie asked.

  “I haven’t talked to the doctor yet, but I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m pretty hard headed.” Emily flashed a hopeful smile.

  Colin chuckled. “I’m glad I didn’t say that.”

  Camille frowned at him before returning her attention to Emily. “Anything you need, Em, we’re here for you.”

  “Has Isabel been here?” Maggie asked.

  Isabel was another girlfriend in their group and an FBI agent.

  Colin cleared his throat. “She called, couldn’t make it for a while, working a big case out of town, she said. I filled her in on what the doctor had to say. She’ll check back in the morning.”

  “How about filling me in?” Emily raised her brows slightly.

  “Like I said, the doctor explained you had a mild concussion and they’re monitoring your condition through the night. She was in here checking on you right before you woke up, and she’ll be back in a couple of hours to check on you again.”

  “What’s going on in here?” boomed a big burly voice. Officer Ernie Kaufmann filled the doorway, wearing a wide grin. He was like an uncle to Colin and had become a good friend to Emily. He stepped to the foot of the bed. “I got everything buttoned up down at the crime scene and the paperwork’s done, so I thought I’d check up on our girl.”

  Emily smiled. “Hello, Ernie. You didn’t have to come and check on me.”

  “Of course I did.”

  “Excuse me, people.” A frumpy middle-aged nurse with a halo of gray curls bustled into the room. “There are far too many bodies in here and it’s way past visiting hours.” She flitted to the machines to check on Emily’s vitals. “I’ll have to ask you all to leave.”

  A wave of protests arose from the visitors, but the nurse wouldn’t have any of it. “Now, now, I’m sorry, but this little gal needs to get some rest.”

  “You heard the lady.” Ernie lumbered out, first to comply.

  Maggie and Camille each snuck in a quick hug with Emily before making their exit. “We’ll get your house ready for when you get home.”

  Colin bent down and planted a long, soft kiss on Emily’s lips. “I love you, Babe. I’ll be back later.”

  She grabbed his hand as he stood up. “That’s it. That makes three.”

  “Three what?”

  “Three bad things happening in a row. Now we don’t have to worry. There shouldn’t be any more catastrophes to stand in the way of our wedding. Right?”

  “Right.” Colin kissed the back of her hand and smiled. “Should be smooth sailing from here on out.”

  ~*~

  The next morning Colin brought Emily home from the hospital. Maggie and Camille were already at Emily’s little bungalow, fluffing pillows and preparing snacks, getting ready to fuss and dote over their friend until she was back to normal.

  Maggie, a fitness trainer, was also somewhat adept at massage and offered to give Emily a good neck and shoulder rub, while Camille, a caterer and event planner, whipped up Emily’s favorite foods.

  “It looks like you ladies have things well in hand. I should head down to the station,” Colin said. “I’ve got a couple of cases to work on, including the guy who assaulted my fiancée.”

  “You go on ahead,” Camille told him. “We’ll take good care of our girl.”

  Emily reclined on the sofa with Camille stuffing a couple of pillows under her head. “Don’t worry about me, Colin. I’ll be fine. You go catch some bad guys.”

  He chuckled as he bent down and kissed her good-bye.

  As soon as Colin was out the door, Camille asked what really happened the night before. “Don’t spare any details.”

  “It’s not a big deal,” Emily moaned. She explained how they went to dinner and talked about choosing a wedding date—well, argued about it really. Then he got the radio call of a burglary in progress. “When we got to the house, Colin went around to the left and I heard some noises to the right, so I went to check it out.”

  “Colin had you checkin’ out a dark yard all alone?” Maggie drawled in her southern accent.

  “You’re not a cop, Emily,” Camille pointed out, as if Emily didn’t already know that. “What was that man thinking?”

  “I know I’m not a cop.” Emily rolled her eyes. “But as a private eye, I am not without skills.”

  Maggie and Camille nodded.

  “That’s true,” Maggie agreed.

  She, along with Emily and Isabel, taught self-defense classes for women, not to mention their routine practice times at the firing range.

  “Don’t be too hard on Colin,” Emily said. “He actually told me to stay in the car.”

  Camille’s blue eyes rounded. “He did? So, then why—”

  “When I heard something on the darkened side of the house, I couldn’t just let him walk into danger, not when I could help him.”

  Maggie perched on the arm of the sofa. “Sounds like you were the one in danger, my friend.”

  “Okay, so let’s get back to what you said earlier,” Camille cut in. “Did you two pick a wedding date? There are still so many details to pin down. You really need to reserve a venue soon.”

  “We were thinking, maybe, about six weeks from now.”

  Camille frowned. “That’s not long enough to make all the arrangements, Em.”

  “Camille, Camille, Camille,” Emily moaned, laying her forearm dramatically over her eyes. “Colin and I have told you all along that we only want a small wedding. Just close friends and family, maybe in my backyard. You know I have a beautiful garden with the deck and the ga—”

  On second thought, maybe she shouldn’t mention the gazebo Evan had built for her. Perhaps that was a bad idea. “Anyway,” Emily continued, “there’s more than enough room for a small wedding in the backyard.”

  “And I’ve told you, Emily,” Camille countered, “a small wedding just won’t do. There are simply too many people in this town that will expect to be invited, and we’ll need a large enough venue for the reception to serve dinner, a place for the band and dancing, and—”

  Emily’s cellphone rang. She shook her head at Camille as she snatched the phone off the coffee table. Checking the caller ID, she saw it was her sister in Maine.

  “Hello, Susan.”

  “Hello, Emily. How are you?”

  Had Colin phoned her about Emily’s little mishap?

  “I’m doing better,” Emily replied.

  “Better?” Susan paused, clearing her throat. “I’m afraid I have some bad news about the wedding.

  Chapter 2

  Bad news about the wedding? They had already suffered through three bad things that cou
ld have derailed the ceremony. It should be smooth sailing from here on out, Colin had assured her. Now what?

  “What are you talking about, Susan?”

  Susan lived with her husband and children on the coast of Maine and was Emily’s only sibling. She was a take-charge, first-born child, and much older than Emily.

  Their mother had passed away years ago, and, with the distance between her and Susan now, the sisters had rarely seen each other since Emily had married Evan and moved west to Paradise Valley, Idaho. With their father in an assisted living facility for patients with Alzheimer’s, Emily was grateful for phones and Skype—otherwise she would feel like she had no family.

  “Well, Sis, I’m afraid we won’t be able to come for the wedding.”

  “Why not?” Emily wondered, now, if her sister even knew she had been attacked and had spent the night in the hospital with a concussion.

  “Brian’s been in a terrible car accident and he broke both of his legs when he flew off a mountain road.”

  “Oh, Susan, I’m so sorry.” Emily’s concussion didn’t seem so important anymore. “What happened?”

  “The details are kind of sketchy. Brian said someone was following him too closely and, next thing he knew, he was in the ravine.”

  “You don’t sound convinced.” Emily’s suspicious senses tingled.

  “It just seems like there’s more to the story. The doctor thinks he’ll likely remember other details as time goes on.”

  “Is he going to be…okay?” Emily didn’t want to ask directly, but she wondered if he would be able to walk again.

  “Eventually, yes, the doctor said, but it’ll be a long recovery. His legs were badly broken, in multiple places. Once he’s out of the hospital, he’ll be in a wheelchair at first, and then on crutches for a while. Between that and all the medical bills, well, there’s just no way—”

  “But we haven’t even set a date yet.”

  “I know, but you’ve been saying it was going to be this fall and it’s already the end of September. I assumed you just hadn’t gotten the invitations out in the mail yet.”

  “My wedding planner and I were just talking about picking a date before you called.” Emily glanced up at Camille. “We were thinking six weeks from now, but we could postpone.”

  “Oh, Emily, I appreciate that, but with Brian’s condition, and the cost…there’s simply no way we can come.”

  “I understand,” Emily muttered sadly. “Poor Brian—I hope he’s up and around before too long.”

  “It’ll just take time,” Susan said. “But…”

  “But what?”

  “I may have come up with another way to be at your wedding, and you won’t have to postpone.”

  “What is it?” Emily asked, with a hint of skepticism in her voice. Skype the wedding?

  “Now, hear me out first, and then take some time to think about this before you respond.”

  “Think about what?” Emily’s gaze flew to Maggie, who returned her stare.

  “As I’m sure you remember, I’ve been working part-time at the Rock Harbor Inn as their wedding consultant. Oh, Emily, we have the most beautiful weddings on the lawn overlooking Frenchman’s Bay.”

  “Yes, I know. What’s your point?” Emily hadn’t meant to sound so impatient, but her sister was taking too long to finish her thought.

  “Well, we’re nearing the end of our tourist season. We only do weddings until the middle of October. I’ve just had a cancellation for that final Saturday. It would be in two weeks, which is too soon for anyone else to book the place, so I thought maybe—”

  “Anyone else?” An uncomfortable chill slid down Emily’s back. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Here’s what I’m thinking, if you guys agree to come to Rock Harbor, I will handle all the details from this end. That’s the only way I can think of to still be part of your wedding. Is that something you might consider?”

  That was a lot to take in—a logistical nightmare in the making. Emily’s thoughts were a jumble and no words would come.

  “Sis? Are you still there?” Susan asked.

  Emily blinked a few times, trying to absorb the information. “I’m still here.” She looked down at the phone, then up to Maggie and Camille, who were both gaping at her.

  “What do you think?” Susan asked.

  Emily stuck the phone up to her ear again. “I…I don’t know what I think.”

  “What is it?” Maggie whispered impatiently.

  “You want me to have my wedding in Rock Harbor, Maine, in two weeks?”

  “What?” Camille and Maggie gasped in unison.

  “Yes, silly, that’s what I said.” Susan breathed a laugh. “Weren’t you listening?”

  “It’s just kind of hard to wrap my brain around right off. Give me a minute.”

  “I’d be thrilled if you’d say yes.”

  “I’ll have to talk it over with Colin and get back to you.”

  What would he have to say about this hair-brained idea?

  “Now, don’t take too long,” Susan warned. “Like I said, it’s only two weeks away.”

  ~*~

  Once Susan had hung up, Maggie and Camille pelted Emily with a barrage of questions.

  “Have your wedding in Maine?”

  “Travel all the way to the other side of the country?”

  “Do you know how much that will cost?”

  “Put on a wedding in just two weeks?”

  “What about all the people who were planning to attend your wedding?”

  “What is Colin going to say about all this?”

  Emily raised both hands in surrender. “Calm down, you two. I only said I’d think about it.”

  The doorbell chimed. “Saved by the bell.” Emily rose from the sofa and stumbled slightly. “Whoa.” She put a hand to her head and sat back down, feeling dizzy from getting up so quickly.

  “I’ll get it.” Maggie smiled. “You just sit there and rest.” She went to answer the door and swung it open to find their friend Isabel.

  Isabel stepped into the entry and gave Maggie a quick squeeze. “How’s Emily?”

  “Better,” Maggie replied.

  “You’re not going to believe the latest,” Camille called from the living room.

  “The latest?” Isabel asked, as Maggie linked her arm through Isabel’s and walked her into the next room.

  Camille settled on the arm of the sofa. “Emily’s sister can’t come for the wedding and—”

  “Oh no,” Isabel said.

  “That ain’t all,” Maggie continued. “She suggested we all go to Maine and have the weddin’ there, at the inn where she works.” Maggie planted her hands on her hips. “What do you think of that?”

  “Well…” Emily stepped in, “she didn’t exactly say we should all go.”

  Maggie sat on the sofa beside Emily and rested a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure that’s what she meant, Em. She certainly wouldn’t expect you’d leave us all here.”

  Isabel pushed her long, dark curls over her shoulder as she took a moment to let it sink in. “When?”

  “In two weeks,” Camille huffed. “Can you believe it?”

  Isabel rubbed her jaw and pursed her lips as she thought about it. She was the logical one in the group and preferred to think before speaking. “I think it sounds like a wonderful idea.”

  “It does?” Emily was a bit surprised by her practical friend’s response.

  “Oh, Isabel, you can’t be serious.” Camille crossed her arms for emphasis. As a caterer and event planner, her experience would say that it would take weeks, maybe months, to pull together such an affair.

  Isabel settled on a chair near the sofa. “Emily and Colin keep saying they want a small wedding, but you two,” Isabel wagged her index finger between Camille and Maggie, “keep trying to make it the event of the year.”

  “Well, um, we just want the best for Emily,” Camille muttered.

  “Emily, if you go along with Susa
n’s suggestion, it would be almost like eloping,” Isabel grinned, “like Alex and I did.”

  “Eloping?” Emily echoed, remembering back to a spat she and Colin had had over that very subject. He wanted to elope, but she wanted to be surrounded by the people they loved.

  “Only it would be better,” Isabel crossed her arms and sat back in the chair, “because you’d have your friends and family there.”

  Camille popped up off the arm of the sofa. “But what about the cost?”

  “The cost?” Isabel asked. “Hmm. Didn’t you tell us that you and Jonathan have been saving up for a vacation, but you couldn’t decide where to go?”

  Camille nodded that she had.

  “And with all Jonathan’s business trips, I’m sure he’s got tons of frequent flyer miles saved up,” Emily added.

  “True, but—”

  “And, Maggie,” Isabel cut Camille off, “didn’t you tell me Peter wanted to take you away for a long, romantic weekend?”

  “Yes…” Maggie seemed to wonder where Isabel was going with that.

  Could this really work? Emily ran her fingers through her tousled curls, letting the possibilities dance in her mind. “What we save in not paying for the wedding would cover our airfare, plus airfare for Colin’s parents.”

  Camille bolted out of her seat. “But what about the other people in town—the police chief, the mayor, and your other friends, like Ernie and Marge?”

  “You’re right,” Emily nodded sadly, “they would be pretty upset if we left them out.”

  A bright smile spread across Isabel’s face. “What if we have a big celebration when you two get back from your honeymoon? Alex and I could host it at our place.”

  Isabel lived in a sprawling, two-story brick home with her lawyer husband, Alex. It was surrounded by expansive, manicured grounds and a large, stone patio, the perfect setting for the event.

  Camille’s expressive blue eyes widened. “Then all those that would have been invited to the wedding can come to the reception.” She seemed to be getting on board with the idea. Her hand waved through the air and her gaze followed, as if she were visualizing the entire scenario. “Oh, I can just see it now. A big white tent on your lawn, little twinkle lights everywhere. I’ll prepare the food. We can hire a band.”