“So how’s the grand-opening party coming?” he asked as he made a steep turn. It was a great day to be outside, the sun shining, the sky a clear azure blue except for a few stray white clouds.
“Millie and I have almost everything done.” The party was scheduled for the last Saturday in October. With Halloween the following Wednesday, they had decided on a glamorous masked affair, formal, the guests wearing elegant sequined and feathered masks a la Mardi Gras that would be handed out at the door.
It would be memorable, Jenny was sure.
“We’ll be ready,” Cain said. “The crew is just doing pickup work. Completing the last of the finish work. Should be done in a day or two. Millie’s got most of the furniture in place.”
“She’ll have the rest in by the middle of the week.”
“What else is there to do?” Cain asked.
“With your permission, we’re going to open the bar and restaurant early, serve anyone who happens to come through the door, invite a few of the locals to try us. The staff has already been working, learning their routines, but serving outsiders would give them a little more confidence before opening night.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“We’ve already sent out the invitations. We got most of the guests’ email addresses from your assistant in Scottsdale. She was a big help with that. Millicent also had a list. We’ve already gotten RSVPs from some of the digital invitations we sent out, but considering the caliber of people we’re hoping to attract, we also sent a printed invitation.”
Jack Barlow, a Copper Star customer, had put in extra effort to get the invitations printed in a short time, an elegant, gold-embossed picture of the hotel on expensive white, deckle-edge card stock.
Bridget Hayes, Summer’s mom, had volunteered to address the envelopes, as calligraphy was her hobby. Bridget and Summer, along with a select number of local business owners, were on the invitation list.
Guests from out of town would be staying in the hotel, which Jenny figured would be full that night.
“Believe it or not, I’m actually starting to look forward to this,” Cain said. “I need to have my assistant pick up my tux and messenger it up to the hotel.”
“Which reminds me, I have to buy a dress.”
Cain flicked her a glance. “We’ll go shopping. I’ll drive you down to Scottsdale. We’ll make a day of it.”
“I can find something here.”
“You don’t have to worry about the price. It’ll be a gift.”
She shot him a look. “No, thank you. It wouldn’t be right for you to pay for my dress.”
Cain laughed. “You’re the first woman I’ve known who wouldn’t let me spend money on her.”
“That’s because I’m nothing like the other women you’ve known.”
He grinned. “I figured that out a while back.” The Jag rolled out of the mountains into the high desert.
“How’s your enemies list coming along?” Jenny asked, changing the subject.
Cain surprised her by reaching into the pocket of his denim shirt and pulling out a folded piece of paper. “Take a look. Maybe you can think of someone I’m missing.”
She took the list and gave it a brief perusal. “Let’s run through it. Hearing the names out loud might jog something that will help.”
“All right.”
Some of the names were grouped together. “Roger Duffy, Alvin Cline, and Maryann Whelan.”
“Ex-employees. They were all let go for different reasons. There were others over the years—that’s just business. But those three resented it more than anyone else. Roger even threatened to sue me if we didn’t give him his job back.”
“Severance pay?”
“Yes. More than they deserved.”
She read the next name on the list. “Raymond Aldridge.”
