“That was odd,” I say as I watch her stagger back toward the reception. “Though I will say, this entire day has been quite illuminating.”
That woman is scary,Sherlock barks as we continue down the hallway.
All hoomans are scary when they drink too much,Fish replies.But she’s extra scary.
Her words were SO mean and dark and scary like storm clouds,Truffle yips.But WORSE because storm clouds are at least pretty sometimes, but her thoughts were just MEAN, mean, mean, and also, she smelled like sadness mixed with that sparkly drink stuff, and OH MY GOS,H did you hear how her voice got all weird and sharp? It made my ears feel tingly in a bad way!Truffle chatters anxiously.
“That’s putting it mildly.”
I reach my office door and turn the handle, already mentally cataloging where I keep the backup equipment. No sooner does the door swing open than I spot Kiki and Piers in a passionate embrace that would make the compromising position I caught Charlotte and Conrad in earlier look tame by comparison.
Only this time, unfortunately for me, I don’t go undetected.
Both of them gasp and spring apart, staring at me with expressions of pure horror mixed with enough guilt to cancel a wedding—but we all know it’s too late for that.
“Oh my goodness,” I blurt out, immediately backing away from the door. “I’m so sorry, I just needed to?—”
“Bizzy, wait!” Piers calls out, but I’m already fleeing down the hallway with my pets racing beside me.
Well, that explains a few things,Fish yowls as we sprint toward the back entrance.
Like why Kiki still looked so determined during the ceremony,Sherlock adds, his claws clicking on the hardwood floors.
And why Piers kept looking around instead of paying attention to his own wedding!Truffle yips breathlessly.I noticed that, too! He was supposed to be looking at Charlotte, but his eyes kept wandering everywhere else!
“Bizzy, please stop!” Piers’s voice echoes behind us as I push through the doors leading to the beach. The sound of the receptiongrows louder as we approach the deck, but I veer away from the lights and music, heading for the darker end of the cove where the rocks meet the water, hoping to lose him and find Jasper.
The moonlight reflects off the waves as I reach the secluded area, my heart pounding from both the running and the shock of what I just witnessed. The wedding guests are too far away to hear anything over the pumping music and robot dance spectacular, which suddenly seems a lot less charming and a lot more ominous.
“We need to have a private conversation,” Piers bellows from behind.
This seems like a terrible place to have a private conversation,Fish yowls, her night vision allowing her to navigate the rocky terrain better than mine.
Very isolated,Sherlock agrees.Perfect for murder.
Or confessions,Truffle adds with a string of hopeful yips.
“Bizzy!” Piers appears behind me, slightly out of breath from chasing me across the sand. He reaches out and grabs my arm to stop me from walking farther into the darkness.
I jerk free from his grip, my instincts screaming that this is exactly how horror movies start. “Don’t you touch me.”
“It was a mistake,” he says quickly, his words slightly slurred from champagne or panic or both. “I thought she was Charlotte. I’m not thinking straight. I’m drunk!”
The smell of alcohol wafts from him, confirming at least part of his claim, but there’s something in his eyes that suggests this conversation is about to take a very dark turn. His usual charming smile is nowhere to be found, replaced by something desperate and dangerous.
“Right,” I say, panting as I do my best to back away from him. “You thought Kiki was your wife of exactly three hours. That makes perfect sense, considering they look absolutely nothing alike and you were gobbling up her face as if it were your wedding cake.”
“Look, I can explain?—”
“Can you explain why you killed Tessa Greene?”
The words hang in the air between us like a challenge thrown down at high noon, and I watch his face go through several expressions before settling on something that looks almost relieved.
“I didn’t kill Tessa,” he says, but his voice lacks any conviction, and his eyes keep darting around like he’s looking for escape routes.
“You were having an affair with her.” I try my best to keep my voice steady, but I’m calculating distances to safety and cursing myself for not bringing Jasper’s gun, not that he would have given it to me.
Piers runs a hand through his hair, messing up his perfectly styled locks. Okay, so Kiki beat him to it.
