Free BLUE WEDDING (Melody The Librarian Mysteries Book 3) by Leslie Leigh Page B

I continued, “it appeared that Tiffany pretty much had a back-up plan should she, as a widow, find herself in need of…male companionship.”
    Michael played along. “And this Plan B’s name is…?”
    “Raymond Heller. He had some association with Charlie Hayes, but I’m not sure what. An…acquaintance told me Raymond had facilitated an opportunity between he and Charlie. Raymond definitely has a close association with Tiffany.”
    “Interesting,” Mom remarked.
    “Gossip,” Michael scoffed.
    “Then there was Charlie’s business partner and best man, who offered a toast to the couple that was so offensive that homicide would definitely be a justifiable response. Not to mention the fight they had on the dance floor when the best man busted some dirty dancing moves with the bride.”
    “Really?” Mom said, pulling her chair up closer.
    “And that was only what I was able to observe from the bandstand. Oh, and let’s not forget the bitter caretaker who nurses a strong grudge against the wealthy guests. And who knows what else was going on out there?”
    “I’ll see what I can find out,” Mom nodded, licking at her fingertips.
    “On the other side of the coin,” I continued, “Charlie had been drinking quite a bit. And you know those old B&Bs are barely up to code, let alone being models of modern safety amenities.”
    “Deputy Lee told me you had him bag the dead man’s shoes,” Michael chuckled. “Not that it was a bad idea, seriously. I’m always amazed by what the forensics folks can find. And he turned over the wedding photographer’s materials. That was a good idea, too; however, I’m not going to spend my time reviewing all that unedited footage unless there’s a good reason to do so.”
    “I’ll volunteer!” I chirped. “I mean…I wouldn’t mind looking at the footage, you know, to see what I missed. Mom, you’d probably like to see the wedding pictures, wouldn’t you?”
    “Oh, I would!” she replied. “I’d love to see what everyone was wearing!”
    Michael frowned. “Was this your intention when you had Jimmy confiscate the equipment, to amuse yourself with your amateur detective fantasies?”
    “What’s the harm?” I protested. “I can familiarize myself with all of it, should you have reason to review the recordings…after the autopsy.”
    “Fine,” Michael said, caving in. He was no match for both Mom and me. “But remember that it’s evidence. Do not allow anything to happen to it and do not tell anyone that I did this.” Mom smiled and clapped her hands. She really was looking forward to seeing what she’d missed. “Anyway, I’d be willing to bet that it was a heart attack. I know that’s not as exciting as your foul play theories but – believe me – most investigations yield only the mundane.”
    “Speaking of which,” I segued, “did you find anything of interest in Mr. Hayes’ room?”
    “Well, Deputy Lee recounted the pool of water near the sink. He really liked that theory – that Mr. Hayes had slipped on the puddle and ended up banging his head in the tub – until we actually walked through that scenario. The sink was a good ten feet from where Mr. Hayes’ head came to rest in the tub. Hayes was five ten, according to his driver’s license. He would’ve had to have been half-man, half-salmon to leap backwards, pivoting in mid-air, to land in that spot. It’s not impossible, but it’s sure not likely, either.
    “After we dusted for prints on the sink taps, I ran water to see if there was any kind of leak. There wasn’t, so either Mr. Hayes was a very sloppy hand washer, or….”
    “Someone left that puddle to throw us a curve!” I finished.
    “Or…something. I’m not prepared to go that far with the conspiracy theory yet. Maybe he got a drink from the tap and slopped some water on the floor.”
    “And did you find a glass nearby?”
    “No, we didn’t.” Michael’s eyes narrowed. I could tell he was losing his patience with