Free Dark Chocolate Demise by Jenn McKinlay Page A

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought . . . then . . .”
    Mel hadn’t thought he could get any paler than the white pancake makeup he had on his face. She was wrong. So wrong.
    Scott whipped his head in the direction of the police. He lurched forward as if he’d forgotten how to walk and was forcing his feet to move by sheer will.
    â€œKristin!” he cried.
    Mel hurried along beside him. Manny met them at the yellow tape. He held up his hands to hold them back, but Mel shook her head at him. Manny’s eyes darted to Scott’s wedding suit. Manny looked pained. He lifted the plastic tape and gestured for Scott to follow him. Mel followed, hoping against hope that this was all just a horrible mistake.
    The crowd was silent as they watched the groom kneel by the bride. Mel hovered behind Scott, not knowing what to do or how to help. Manny stood beside her as if offering his strength. She appreciated it more than she could say.
    The tech moved aside, and Scott slowly crawled forward. It took him only a second. He took the woman’s hand in his, and the anguished cry that left him as he bowed his head to the ground made the hair on the back of Mel’s neck stand on end.
    It was the sound of a man’s heart being ripped out of his chest and squeezed by the mean fist of grief until it stopped beating completely.

Ten

    There was nothing she could say. She felt like a voyeur watching Scott smooth away the hair from his bride’s face with trembling hands. The zombie makeup she wore made a sick joke of the vicious crime that had befallen her. Standing this close, it was easy for Mel to see that the blood on her gown came from one bullet hole right through her heart.
    Uncle Stan knelt beside Scott. It was a few moments before Scott realized he was there. He looked like an abandoned child, dazed, bewildered, and crushed. Stan spoke softly to him in a calm, reassuring voice that made Mel want to cry because it was the tone Stan used when he had to deliver the worst possible news. She knew because the day her father had died, Stan had used that voice on her.
    Manny leaned close to Mel and whispered in her ear. “You know him?”
    She nodded and cleared her throat. She turned towards him and said, “His name is Scott Streubel, and that’s his wife, Kristin. He’s a law clerk in Joe’s office.”
    Manny rocked back on his heels. Mel could tell the news was a surprise. Manny took her by the elbow and dragged her away from the crime scene.
    â€œI want you out of here,” he said. His expression was dark and a little scary. “Have Tate, Marty, and Oz take you back to the bakery. You don’t stop anywhere; you don’t split up. You stay together and when you get to the bakery, you call me.”
    â€œWhat?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
    â€œJust do it, Mel!” he snapped. “For once in your life don’t argue with me, and do what I say.”
    And then Mel knew. “You think it was a hit, don’t you? She was shot. You think one of Tucci’s thugs did it, don’t you?”
    â€œNot here, not now,” Manny hissed. He turned and stomped over to Tate, dragging Mel behind him. He said the exact same thing to Tate, who met his intense stare with one of his own.
    â€œWe’ll leave right now,” Tate said.
    â€œWhat about the cupcakes, and the van?” Angie protested. “And the coffin?”
    â€œThe coffin is evidence and is going back to the crime lab,” Manny said. “Angie, I really can’t emphasize enough how much I want you out of here. Right now.”
    Angie met his gaze and then her chin went up. Her face was pale and her voice shook when she spoke. “You think they meant to shoot me, don’t you? You think because she and I are both dressed as brides that they meant to kill me.”
    â€œIt’s a definite possibility,” Manny said. His tone was gentle