Free Murder of a Wedding Belle by Denise Swanson Page B

Natasha, is thirty-six.”
    “Hmm.” Wally jotted that information down.
    “Did Uncle Charlie see anything?”
    “No.” Wally grinned. “He was out with a lady friend and stayed overnight at her house. He was just getting back when he heard Iris scream.”
    “I see.” Although he’d never married, Skye’s godfather had a reputation as quite a Casanova, so it was no shock to hear he had been otherwise occupied on a Saturday night.
    “How about the people you interviewed?”
    “The only thing interesting was from Tabitha. She mentioned hearing that a mother of the bride from one of Belle’s previous jobs went after Belle with a cake knife after finding her in flagrante delicto with the woman’s husband. Tabitha didn’t know the name, but you might want to check that out.”
    “I’ll ask the vic’s secretary when I call her tomorrow.” Wally wrote briefly on his pad of paper. “But someone would really have to be crazy to travel all the way from California to kill her here. That’s why I’m not too hot on the ex-boyfriend angle.”
    “You’re probably right,” Skye agreed. “What did Riley, Anita, and Aunt Dora have to say?”
    He summed up his interviews with the trio, concluding, “I’m certain that none of them killed Belle. Now, if she had screwed up the wedding and been murdered afterward, they’d be my prime suspects.”
    “Great.” Skye threw a pillow at him. “And you convinced me to take over for her. You know, there are easier ways to get rid of me than having my cousin kill me for ruining her wedding.”
    Wally wrinkled his brow in mock concern. “I guess I’ll have to be your bodyguard.” He gave her a smoldering look. “I sure wouldn’t want anything to happen to it.”
    “Thanks. Good to know what part of me you’re interested in.” Skye snickered, then got back to business. “There certainly didn’t seem to be any love lost between Belle and the vendors I heard her dealing with this past month.”
    “Yeah. They’re first on my list to talk to tomorrow.”
    “Shall we do that together?” Skye asked. “I have to speak to them anyway now that I’m in charge.”
    “Good idea.” His voice deepened. “Sweetheart, you did a great job today.” He put his hands on her waist and drew her to him. “You did everything right.”
    “Really?” Skye curled a piece of her hair around her finger. “That’s so good to hear.” She felt herself start to relax for the first time since finding Belle dead.
    “Really.” Wally’s lips brushed hers as he spoke. “The second smartest thing I ever did was to hire you as a police consultant.”
    Although she remembered him using that line before, she went along with him and asked, “What was the first smartest thing you ever did?”
    He tightened his arms around her. “Propose to you.”
    Skye stiffened. His previous answer had been “I’ll tell you later,” which had led to a night of pleasure. Now she was afraid he would demand an answer to his proposal.
    To distract him, she traced a hand down his chest; when she reached the waistband of his jeans, she popped open the button and said, “Let’s forget about the murder until morning.”
    “Well, okay. But only if you can you think of something for us to do to keep from getting bored until then.”
    She slowly pulled down the zipper on his fly. “Does this give you any ideas?”

CHAPTER 7
    Two Birds with One Stone
    S kye struggled to wake up. She patted the mattress next to her. It was empty, and she felt a twinge of disappointment. Then the enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee soothed her and she managed to pry open her eyes.
    Sunlight poured through the gap in the drapes, and she checked the clock on the nightstand. Crap! It was ten after nine. Had Wally already left for work? And if so, how in the heck would she get to her car? She really didn’t relish the idea of a walking half a mile to the motor court in high heels.
    As tempting as it was to lie back down and go