Terror in Taffeta (10 page)

“I guess.” He shifted uneasily from one foot to the other.

“I'm sure it must have come as quite a shock to you.”
Unless, of course, you were responsible?

“Yes, it was,” he said, after a long pause. “Do you know what happened?”

“No, we're still waiting to find out.”

He blew out a sigh and fixed his eyes someplace over my left shoulder, avoiding eye contact. “The night of the wedding, you made it sound like everything was okay, but Vince said she never left the church.”

That was true; I had lied to him the night of the wedding. If he was innocent, that would explain the chill I was feeling in the warm Mexican air.

“I know,” I said, “and I'm sorry. I couldn't tell anyone because Mrs. Abernathy—well, you know.”

“Ah, Mrs. Abernathy.” He shook his head, his face softening ever so slightly.

“Yeah, she's a piece of work. She wouldn't even let me tell Nicole because she didn't want to ruin her night. Can you imagine?”

“I can, actually.”

“And if I couldn't tell Nicole, I couldn't tell anyone else. So, I'm sorry. I lied.”

“I get it. Mrs. Abernathy's not a woman you want to cross.” He pulled out a chair from the patio table and motioned for me to take a seat.

Although we were having a bonding moment, I still chose the chair closest to the gate. I couldn't let my guard down with nothing more to defend myself with than some dead geranium blooms and Mexican partywear.

“So how long had it been since you'd seen Dana? Before this weekend, I mean.”

“Not since—well, I guess you know we used to date.”

“I'm sure that must have been awkward, especially with Naomi here.”

He laughed bitterly. “Yeah, it was a mess. Hard to avoid her when we're in the same wedding party. Even when Naomi and I would go off on our own, we'd run into her. It's not that big a town.”

“You two had a pretty nasty breakup, from what I hear.”

Trevor looked surprised, and surprisingly defensive. “Who'd you hear that from? Were people talking about us?”

“No, it was nothing like that,” I quickly corrected. “Mrs. Abernathy told me so I could keep you guys separated.”

“I wouldn't have even come if I'd have known Dana was going to be here.”

“And no one would have blamed you, after what she did.”

“So you know the whole story?”

“Yeah, Mrs. Abernathy filled me in on all the gory details.” I worked hard to keep my tone breezy. “You must have been awfully mad at Dana for what she put you through.”

He sat quietly for a second, his jaw muscles tensing. “Of course I was angry. She lied to me. Not just once, but for months and months. She made me look like an idiot.”

The poor guy. Everyone goes through a bad breakup eventually. I'd been through a spectacularly horrible one myself. But when a guy gets involved with a psycho like Dana, it's way worse. I'd known girls like her, and they could make a person start questioning his own sanity. If he had killed her, it was a crime of passion.

“Trevor, I understand. I know crazy, and that girl was bat-shit.” Realizing how callous that sounded, I quickly added, “God rest her soul.”

“That she was.” His attention was focused on a bit of paint peeling off the table, which he was hastening along with his thumbnail.

I pushed forward. “I was curious, though … you asked me about her at the reception.”

He looked at me suspiciously. “Yeah? What about it?”

I shrugged. “What were you trying to find out?”

“What do you mean? I was just wondering if she was okay.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but I wasn't buying it.

“It's just, I would have thought you'd want to stay far away from her.”

“I did!” His voice rose. He was getting irritated. This was where the cops always got people to crack, at least on TV. “If you want the truth,” he said, “I had planned on leaving the reception early, but I was actually having a pretty good time and I was hoping she had bailed on the party so I could stay.”

That actually seemed pretty plausible. Still, I wasn't sure. After all, he seemed to have more motive than anyone.

“Trevor, I know you were angry with her. After what she did to you, you had every right to be. But I have to ask: Did you do anything to hurt her?”

He suddenly sat up, his eyes flashing in anger. “What? No! I can't believe you'd even ask me that!”

“I'd understand if you did. I wanted to strangle her myself, and I'm just the wedding planner. Maybe you two got in a fight and it got out of hand? Is that what happened? Because if it is, you have to go to the police. It'll be so much better for you if you go talk to them now.”

He shook his head vigorously. “We got into a fight, but I didn't kill her, if that's what you're trying to imply.”

“I'm not trying to imply anything. I'm just trying to find out what happened.”

“Nothing happened,” he said, enunciating each word. “We did get into an argument the night of the rehearsal dinner, but Naomi was with me the whole time.”

I weighed my words carefully. I wanted to believe him, but there was only one way to be sure. “I'm sure Naomi will be able to verify all of this?”

Trevor's face darkened. “I told you, Naomi's not here right now.” He got up from the table and thrust the garment bag into my hand.

“When will she be back?”

No answer.

“Trevor, look, I believe you,” I said, following him to the gate, “but we have to find out what happened, and it would be really helpful if I knew for sure that Naomi was with you the whole time.”

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Do I need to get a lawyer?”

It didn't take a seasoned police officer to figure out that this interview was winding up, so I tried to end on a light note. I attempted an airy laugh, but it came out as a nervous cackle. “Of course not! I'm just trying to help the Abernathys understand what happened.”

He walked to the gate and swung it open in what was not a subtle hint.

“Can I just talk to Naomi?” I persisted. “I can come back”—I checked my watch—“whenever. You tell me.”

He opened the gate wider and waited for me to use it. “I'm afraid not.” His words had a definite air of finality.

“Okay, well, can you have her call me, or…?”

He stared at me intently. “Naomi is gone.” There was that frost again.

“You mean…?” I hugged the garment bag closer to myself as if it offered some sort of protection.

“She's gone home.”

“But you were supposed to fly back together. I've got your flight information in my binder.”

“Sorry, I don't know what to tell you. We got into a fight and she left.”

Kind of like you and Dana got into a fight?

A tingle went all the way up my spine and back down again as I stepped through the gate and onto the sidewalk.

“Thank you for returning my tux, and give the Abernathys my regards,” Trevor said. Right before closing the gate firmly in my face.

 

CHAPTER 10

“He did
what
?” Brody asked, squinting in the late afternoon sun. When I'd returned from the villa, I'd found my friend lounging by the pool in my absence, enjoying an icy drink Fernando had concocted for him.

“I'm telling you, he shut the gate right in my face. Is there alcohol in that?” I asked, pointing at his beverage.

He nodded. “You want a sip?”

“No, that's okay.” I stared longingly at the glass. “Is it passion fruit?”

“Oh, for heaven's sake, just take it.”

“Well, if you're not going to finish it,” I said hastily, grabbing the glass.

“So anyway,” he continued, “what does your gut tell you?”

“That we need another round.” I scrambled to my feet, noisily vacuuming up the remnants at the bottom of the glass with the straw. Before I could even take two steps toward the kitchen, Fernando appeared out of nowhere.

“
Buenas tardes
, Kelsey. Can I get you something to drink?” he asked.

“Wow, that's service. Can I have one of these … whatever this was?”

“Of course,” Fernando said, taking the empty glass from me.

“Better make it two,” said Brody.

“Better make it a pitcher,” I added.

Brody got up from his lounge chair and waded into the shallow end of the pool. “You know, when you asked me to stay, I thought I was being selfless. But this doesn't suck at all.”

I walked to the edge of the pool, dipped a toe in, then lowered myself onto the ornate tiles, dangling my feet in the tepid water. “I'm glad at least one of us is getting a chance to enjoy it,” I said, stirring my feet around idly.

“Grab your suit,” Brody said, gesturing toward our rooms. “A swim will help you clear your mind.”

“That's okay. I'm having dinner with Evan later, so I don't want to get my hair wet.”

“You're missing out,” he said, floating lazily on his back. “So what do you think? Is Trevor our man?”

“I don't know,” I said. “Honestly, I felt bad for the guy, but the whole Naomi thing was just so weird. One minute he was opening up to me, but then he clammed up when I asked to talk to her.”

Brody paddled over to me and hung off the edge of the pool, kicking his feet behind him. “So do you think she really left?”

“Either that or he really doesn't want me talking to her. But you should have heard the tone in his voice. When I pressed him on it, he sounded almost … menacing.”

“Sounds like he's got something to hide.”

“Well, right now he's hiding his date. And I really want to talk to her.”

“What about calling her? Do you have her cell?”

“I tried that, but it went to voice mail.”

I jumped at a sudden noise behind me, but it was only Fernando, returning with our afternoon refreshments. God bless him, he'd even thrown in some chips and guacamole.

“Thank you, Fernando,” I said. “You're a lifesaver.”

“You're most welcome. I hope you enjoy it. It's a family recipe,” he added, gently unloading his tray onto the table. “May I ask … We have other guests arriving on Friday. Do you know how long you'll be staying?”

I laughed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. “That's a good question, Fernando. I wish I knew.”

*   *   *

After having my way with the chips and guac, I wasn't exactly ravenous for dinner, so when Evan came by to get me, I suggested we take a walk and enjoy the sunset before heading off to eat.

“You want a sunset?” Evan asked, offering me his arm. “Right this way.”

Knowing that cobblestones and heels don't mix, I'd left anything even vaguely resembling date shoes back in San Francisco. It was a good thing I had, because our evening stroll involved a vigorous climb up a steep hill that left me fairly winded and wanting to shower all over again.

Oh, but the view.

From El Mirador
,
the lookout point at the top of the hill, we could see the rooftops of San Miguel de Allende stretching before us. The historic center lay at our feet, with the spires of La Parroquia dramatically punctuating the landscape. The soft light bathed the reds, oranges, and yellows of the adobes and their tiled roofs in a glow that was matched only by the riot of colors streaking across the sky.

For a few dizzy moments, I leaned back against Evan, pondering what exactly would be so wrong about relocating my business to Mexico. He nuzzled my hair as we stood in silence. I was falling in love. With San Miguel, that is, although Evan was seriously scoring some points.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon, breaking the spell.

I sighed, drunk on the view, and maybe a little bit on that passion-fruit thingy Fernando had made me. “Okay, let's get down to business.”

Evan looked surprised. “Right here? In the park? All right, although it's a little public for my tastes.” He laughed and pulled me in for a kiss. “Or we could go back to my place.”

Flirting. I'd kind of forgotten how much fun it could be. “I'm talking about that
other
business,” I said, blushing at least a little. “Did you get in touch with your friend at the police station?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, I went by today and talked to him. He wasn't able to tell me a lot since he's not actually in homicide, but he was able to find out a little bit about the case.”

“So?” I asked eagerly. I loved the prospect of having an inside source. “What did he say?”

Evan took both my hands in his. “Well, for one thing, they aren't looking at any other suspects right now.”

“Are you kidding me?” I said, pulling away abruptly. “They have to keep looking! Zoe didn't do it. They're not even trying to investigate other possibilities?”

Evan shrugged. “He said they thought they had the right person.”

I put my hands on my hips. “Why? Based on what?”

“When they searched Zoe's room, they found something.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, come on. What could they have possibly found? A deadly bridesmaid's bouquet? An incriminating amount of eyeliner? They don't even know what Dana died from.”

Evan crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Actually, they think they do.”

I braced myself, knowing I wasn't going to like whatever was coming next.

“They found what looked like poison in her room. The lab's going to run a tox screen to see if it could be the cause of death.”

“But that's not possible!” Evan went to put his arms around me, but I was in no mood to be hugged. I wriggled out of his would-be embrace, my mind spinning with this new information. “What kind of poison?”

Evan held his hands up in the air. “He didn't know. Does it even matter?”