Free Murder Is a Piece of Cake by Elaine Viets Page A

twice why Molly thought he wanted
     to marry her. Finally, Channel Seven got this answer from the doctor in his clinic
     surgery.”
    Josie winced when she saw this interview. Poor Ted looked like he’d been left out
     in the rain.
    “I don’t know,” he said, and scratched his head.
    “As you can see, the two-timing groom has no explanation,” Wendy Lee said. “But his
     pistol-packing mama has plenty to say.”
    Lenore looked beautifully cruel on the small screen, twirling her pistol like a gun
     moll. She held up her weapon and bragged, “Don’t underestimate this little beauty.
     It’s small but deadly. This thirty-eight is a self-defense handgun for close quarters,
     designed to be easily concealed. It fits right in here.”
    Then she showed her black Chanel purse. “If necessary, I can fire right through this,”
     she said. “But I’d hate to ruin a good purse.”
    Lenore was still laughing when the show ended.

Chapter 8
    Tuesday, October 23
    Lenore was still cackling on Jane’s TV screen when three cell phones erupted. Ted’s
     phone barked, Jane’s rang like an old-school phone, and Josie’s played “Here Comes
     the Bride.” All three phone owners retreated into separate corners to answer.
    Josie recognized her caller’s number: Alyce, her best friend and matron of honor.
    “I saw that horrible television show,” Alyce said. “It’s wrong. I know it’s wrong.
     Ted would never do that.”
    Josie could practically see Alyce, her creamy skin flushed with indignation and her
     pale hair floating about her face.
    “Every word is a lie,” Josie said.
    “I knew it,” Alyce said. Josie’s friend was as generous as her build, and a good listener.
    “Molly Ann Deaver is insane,” Josie said, “but Channel Seven loved her abandoned-bride
     act.”
    “Fletch the Lech sure bought it,” Alyce said. “But I expected that.”
    “You know Judge Fletcher Hornsby?” Josie asked.
    “My husband does,” Alyce said. “So does the rest of the legal community. That old
     publicity hound. No, he’s a real hound. They call him Fletch the Lech because he drools
     over every pretty face in his courtroom. Women lawyers dress like nuns to avoid that
     nasty old man. So far, he’s managed to dodge any serious complaints, but the bar association
     is watching him.”
    “He was definitely watching Molly,” Josie said. “She’s been stalking Ted.”
    “Poor Ted,” Alyce said. “I figured it had to be something like that. I don’t trust
     that station. I got sucked in while I was channel surfing. First I saw Fletch, then
     the bride. I know her sister, Emily.”
    “Of course you do,” Josie said. St. Louis was the kind of big small town where everyone
     was connected.
    “She lives in my subdivision,” Alyce said.
    No wonder the fake bride wore a big rock and rode in a rented Bentley, Josie thought.
     If her sister lived in the Estates at Wood Winds, there was money in that family.
     Alyce’s subdivision was a pricey gated ghetto in West County.
    “Is Emily as crazy as her sister?” Josie asked.
    “No, she’s super sane,” Alyce said. “She snagged a primo Wood Winds committee—the
     Thanksgiving food bank fundraiser. She and my friend Connie will be selling crafts
     at the Blue Rose Tearoom tomorrow.”
    “I’m going there for brunch with Mom and Lenore,” Josie said. “We’re discussing the
     wedding. At least, I hope it’s a discussion. Mom and Lenore didn’t hit it off the
     first time they talked.”
    “I saw your pistol-packing mother-in-law on TV,” Alyce said. “Is that what she’s like?”
    “She’s forceful,” Josie said, “but better-looking in person.” She mentally patted
     herself on the back for her diplomacy. If Ted hadn’t been in the same room, she would
     have been blunter.
    But Josie couldn’t fool her best friend. “Ted nearby, Josie?” Alyce asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Thought so,” Alyce said. “At least your mother-in-law will live twelve hundred