Murder at a Wedding Read online

  Murder at a Wedding

  A Ridgeway Rescue Mysteryy

  P. Creeden

  Contents

  Murder at a Wedding

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  About the Author

  Murder at a Wedding © 2019 P. Creeden

  Edited by Marcy Rachel

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  Murder at a Wedding

  Emma’s father, Sheriff Wright, is getting married.Though Emma feels a wee bit jealous that another woman is taking her father away from her, Emma’s determined to be grown up about it. Both she and Molly have a part in the small ceremony. But when they arrive at the restaurant, a man falls from the fourth floor of the parking garage.

  Only one person is witness to the incident upstairs, but she’s claiming she’s a victim, herself. Things aren’t quite adding up in the victim’s claims, though, but Emma doesn’t want to ruin the occasion with one of her theories. Still, the question remains—was it an accident or was it murder?

  Chapter One

  “Molly, sit.” Emma stood some distance away from the Saint Bernard puppy as she gave the command. She didn’t expect Molly to do exactly as she asked and lower her haunches to the ground, and yet she did. The puppy’s droopy eyes fixed on Emma’s, waiting for the next command. Early morning sun shone from a clear blue sky on that Saturday morning. Joggers ran along the path that bordered the grass field where they held the training class.

  Mrs. Greenwood, the trainer who had been working with them both to help train Molly to become an emotional support therapy animal, clapped her hands together twice. She smiled encouragement toward Emma, while the other classmates were paired off to work together. “Excellent work. Now, I want you to give her the stay command, turn around, and walk away ten steps.”

  Emma frowned. They’d attempted this command several times but had failed in the past because Molly’s patience was that of a typical eight-month-old puppy, and Emma didn’t have the heart to be harsh with the otherwise well-behaved Saint Bernard. She took a deep breath and then nodded and held up her hand to Molly. “Stay, Molly. Staaaaay.”

  Then she turned about on her heel and counted out the steps as she slowly walked away. When she reached eight, she heard a low whine. Without turning to look, Emma reiterated the command, “Stay, Molly,” and they she took the final two steps before slowly spinning back around. Molly still sat exactly where Emma had left her, the puppy’s brown and white tail sweeping happily along the ground.

  “See, you both did it. You need to believe in yourself and in Molly.” Mrs. Greenwood smiled and then nodded her approval.

  “Good girl!” Emma called out, and Molly wasted no time in hopping to her feet and rushing headlong toward Emma. Before she would jump, Emma turned to the side, and Molly slowed down in response. Instead of nearly knocking Emma over, the puppy rubbed her body against Emma’s jeans and looked up at her. The top of the Saint Bernard’s head was already at Emma’s waist, but she bent down and hugged the puppy anyway. “What a good girl you are.”

  Mrs. Greenwood scratched Molly behind the ears as well. “Just remain patient with her. She’ll get better as age calms down her puppy tendencies, too. We’re asking a lot from her, being so young, but the more she experiences in life, the better she’ll get. It’s good to put her in every kind of environment you can, including exposure to crowds and sudden, loud noises.”

  Emma swallowed. “I’m going to a wedding this afternoon. Do you think it would be a good experience for her?”

  “Absolutely. But always be sure to check with the coordinator of any event before you take Molly, though. She’s not an official therapy dog, just in training. Most people won’t mind her presence, but it’s better to be sure.”

  “Thank you for the reminder, but I don’t think that will be a problem.”

  Mrs. Greenwood nodded. “That’s all for this morning. Be sure to write in your training diary the accomplishments that Molly made today, and don’t forget about what goals you’d like to meet. Having things like that written in one place gives us the opportunity to see progress on days we feel like we have none.”

  “I will. Thank you.” After snapping Molly’s leash onto her collar, Emma headed for the parking area on the other side of the field. She waved to the four other dog owners who also took the class with her. Her time schedule wouldn’t allow for her to spend too much time making small talk, and honestly, she wasn’t in the mood to. When she reached her SUV, she turned back on her cell phone, and the notification for a text message beeped in.

  Her father. She opened up the message: Macy says to meet early at Ti Amo’s. She’ll bring a dress for you and be sure to bring Molly.

  Emma let out a slow breath. Macy was trying to be accepting of both Emma and Molly, so the least that Emma could do was to accept Macy as well. Emma’s father had always been married to his job. It was the reason her parents were divorced when she was young. Her mother went on to remarry, and Emma had two half-siblings, now. But then her father had met Macy while Emma had been busy with her college school work, two years ago. Now they were finally getting married—but it was a sudden arrangement. Even though Emma was happy that her father had found someone, she just couldn’t help but feel that she was being replaced as the only woman in her father’s life.

  Silly, she knew, but she couldn’t help the feeling that churned in her gut.

  Once she had Molly loaded in the back of her SUV, Emma hopped in and drove to the Ridgeway waterside. Sunlight played upon the water of the river as she drove down to the beach area where the boardwalk and shopping district were. Even though most of Ridgeway had curbside parking, the narrow street by the river didn’t allow for it, so it was one of the few places in town where the county built a four-story parking garage. Emma pulled into the parking area and found a spot right away on the ground floor. Out the open window in the side of the garage, she watched a few kites flying in the air over the beach. For a long moment, she sat there, steeling herself and letting the motion on the beach lull her into a state of introspection. Then a car next to her chirped to let the owner of the vehicle know that the alarm was set.

  It was enough to pull Emma out of her trance and bring her back to reality. She turned to pull her door knob and found a man standing at her driver’s side window. Her heart leapt in her chest a moment, and she nearly cried out, until she realized the man standing there was Colby. Relieved, Emma relaxed her shoulders and sighed. Her heart returned to its rightful place but didn’t calm any. It raced even more in its excitement to see him. Sh
e smiled and opened her door. “Colby.”

  It wasn’t often she saw him in civilian clothing. His crisp, pale blue shirt went well with his brighter blue tie and navy jacket. Cowboy boots peeked out from under his slacks.

  “Hey, Emma. Are you here early, too?” he asked, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

  His presence lifted her mood. “Yes, of course. Did you bring Gabby with you?”

  He shook his head. “Gabby’s at my mom’s house today for the wedding. I figured one dog at the wedding would be enough.”

  A frown tugged at her lip. “I suppose.”

  “Did Macy ask you yet?”

  She lifted a brow. “Ask me what?”

  He shrugged and stepped out of the way, holding the door open for her wider. “If she didn’t ask you, I don’t want to be the one to spoil her surprise.”

  Emma sighed and fought to keep her eyes from rolling. Why did she feel this way about Macy? The woman was sweet to both her and her father, but somehow, it just wasn’t enough to help Emma get past the prick of jealousy in her heart. “It’s fine. I’ll wait until she asks me this mysterious question then.”

  He pushed the lock button on her door and then closed the door behind her. Together they went around to the back to unload Molly. The breeze blew in from off the river, which felt good as the day had already begun heating up. Summer wasn’t quite in full swing, but it was already starting to rear its ugly, hot head. Once Emma snapped the leash onto the puppy, she gave Molly the command to get down out of the vehicle. Then Colby closed the hatch behind them. He smiled down at her. “Would you like me to take Molly’s leash? I wouldn’t want you to get tired, and she’s getting awfully big.”

  Heat rushed to her cheeks, as it always did when it seemed that Colby worried about her. Then she reminded herself that he only saw her as a little kid. She shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I’m strong enough to handle her, you know? And besides, if she’s training to be a therapy dog, she needs to be able to be controlled by a light touch instead of a strong hand all the time.”

  Colby cupped her hands between his. The warmth of his palms engulfed her fists, and her heart skipped a beat in response. He tilted his head. “I wasn’t trying to call you weak. Let me do this for you.”

  Her knees nearly buckled at the soft look in his eyes, and her grip on Molly’s leash went limp before he pulled it out of her hands. Then he took one of her hands and held it in his. Emma swallowed hard. Did he know he had this effect on her? Could he hear her heart thundering in her chest? Feel it through her palm?

  He winked at her and squeezed her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

  As they stepped out of the parking garage, they found Macy and Sheriff Wright, Emma’s dad, strolling down the boardwalk toward the restaurant, barefoot, as they just returned from a walk on the beach. The look on her father’s face was one of pure bliss, making Emma admit that she enjoyed seeing her father content and happy. Maybe she could get past all her stupid feelings of jealousy just because seeing him like that made her heart happy.

  A scream pierced the air over their heads. But before Emma even had the chance to look up and see what had happened, a man hit the concrete not more than twenty feet away from her and Colby, right next to the parking garage.

  Chapter Two

  Colby’s warmth left Emma’s hand, and his worried eyes met hers as he handed her Molly’s leash. “Stay here.”

  She didn’t need him to tell her. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

  Her body had stiffened in response to seeing the man fall from, what seemed like, the sky. As she dialed the phone, she looked upward to avoid staring at the man’s twisted and bloody body and found a woman peering over the edge of the fourth floor of the parking garage’s balcony. Emma’s father rushed over, his shoes back on his feet, and Macy with him.

  The dispatch came through on the on the other end of the call Emma had made. “Hi, Connie, it’s Emma. We need the paramedics over at the waterside. A man just fell from the parking garage. Dad and Colby are already here. Have them hurry.”

  “Got it!” Connie said before hanging up the phone.

  When she reached her, Macy grabbed hold of Emma’s arm. The older woman was in her forties, half-Asian, with long, wavy dark hair and a dusting of gray at her temples. Her brown eyes were wide with shock. “Are you okay, Emma? What just happened? Did he fall?”

  Emma glanced upward again. “Dad, there’s someone up there—fourth floor.”

  The sheriff followed Emma’s gaze and nodded toward Colby. “Go, check it out and get the parking attendant to put up the blockade and stop any cars from exiting.”

  Colby needed no other command before he was up and running toward the garage. Molly jumped toward him as he passed, and Emma gave her a tug on the leash. “Sit, Molly.”

  The Saint Bernard lowered her haunches in response, tongue lolling. Emma patted Macy’s hand and then twisted from the older woman’s hold. “I’m fine.”

  Macy’s hands clasped together in front of her. “Thank goodness he fell far enough away from you both. You could have been hurt.”

  Emma frowned. She didn’t want to be sharp with her future step-mother, but this situation needed focus. “This isn’t about me or even Colby right now. There’s a man who’s been injured or possibly killed. It might even be a murder. There are more important things to think about.”

  At her own words, Emma’s eyes were drawn back toward the body of the man who lay upon the concrete, unmoving. The smooth skin on his hands and palms made it seem the man had never worked a hard day in his life, and his well clipped fingernails spoke that he may have even been the type to get manicures. Though that assessment didn’t quite agree with the way the man was dressed, which was nice, but not with designer labels.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Macy’s lips drew thin. She nodded and glanced toward Emma’s father with the man on the concrete. The man hadn’t moved or spoken. Emma knew the chances he was alive were slim, and when her father stood and approached them, she knew what he was going to say.

  “He’s not breathing and has no pulse. The impact from the fall seems to have killed him pretty much instantly. Let’s get you two to move back. Emma will you help with crowd control until the other deputies get here?” Her father put a hand to the small of her back as well as Macy’s.

  Emma went into action and began asking the crowd to move to the other side of the narrow street and to keep back. Everyone did as asked, but many still stood around even as sirens began in the distance, announcing the deputies making their way toward the waterside. Colby reappeared at the entrance to the parking garage with a frightened-looking, well-dressed woman with dyed blonde hair swept in a pretty style around her face. The woman’s mascara ran down her cheeks with her tears.

  Once a deputy showed up and took over the crowd control, Emma rushed over to see what she could do to help. She put an arm around the woman. “Are you okay?”

  The woman wailed and wrapped her arms around Emma’s neck, pulling her in tight. “It was awful! I was so scared. I thought he was going to kill me.”

  Emma met eyes with Colby and her father over the woman’s shoulder. Colby shook his head and then leaned toward the sheriff. “It’s Mrs. Addison. She says this was the guy.”

  Her father’s eyes went wide and then his expression hardened as he looked back toward the body. “Let’s get the women inside while the deputies take care of this. Mrs. Addison doesn’t need to go to the station for this, we’ll take her statement in private here. I’ll ask Franko for use of his office.”

  Together, all of them went into the restaurant across the street and left the scene of the accident.

  “I’m sorry that you’re having to go through all of this Mrs. Addison,” Emma’s father, Sheriff Wright, said with his brow furrowed as he sat at a table across from Mrs. Addison.

  The woman still continued to cling to either Emma or Macy the whole time while Colby and her dad got her statement. Franko had been kind e
nough to give them a larger, private room that had more room than his office and allowed them all to sit at a large table. He had the wait staff leave them alone, although Macy had been serving all of them with water as needed. Emma had to admit she was a good caretaker and seemed to understand the gravity of the situation enough to stay relatively silent.

  Her father continued, “One of my deputies has called in and confirmed the identity of the man who attacked you. His name is Gunther Williamson. Are you certain he is the man you saw two nights ago?”

  Mrs. Addison nodded and shivered. “I’m positive. I saw him jumping out my husband’s study window. That man killed him. And he was going to kill me.”

  The sheriff shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through all of this. Gunther Williamson was actually our prime suspect in this case. He is one of the few people who know the amount of jewelry your husband had bought for you recently, as he is the one who appraised it. Other factors led us to believe he might have been the culprit, and we intended to bring him in and put him in a line up for you to identify. It seems that he wanted to keep that from happening and attacked you instead.”

  She shivered again. “I knew this could happen. I knew it. I’ve been staying at a hotel the past two nights because I just don’t feel safe in that house anymore. I always hated being alone. My husband, John, knew that. It was one of the reasons I married him. He understood me.”

  The sheriff nodded. “I apologize again. The culprit attacked you in the parking garage and you dashed to the side. He fell on his own?”

  Mrs. Addison squeezed Emma’s hand. “I thought he was going to kill me. I ran. He kept coming. That’s when I sprayed him with my mace. He tripped over the curb and stumbled toward the open wall. I stepped to the side and he fell over the window ledge on his own. I couldn’t do anything but scream.”