Murder Has a Sweet Tooth - By Miranda Bliss Page 0,77
stomach, cleaned thoroughly, scalded, turned inside out, and soaked overnight in salted water. The heart and lungs from one lamb. Stock made from boiling the lungs.” I didn’t have to look at Eve. I knew she had turned as green as I was. In an uncharacteristic move, I left the grocery cart right where it was and, side by side, we raced out of the store.
WE DUBBED IT THE HAGGIS INCIDENT, AND VOWED never to speak of it again.
Keeping the thought firmly in mind, just a little while later I was standing in front of the full-length mirror at Marie’s, the bridal shop where I’d bought my dress, and we were talking about everything but. It wasn’t hard. I was pleased to death with my dress. It fit like a dream and thinking about what Jim would say when I walked into Bellywasher’s on my dad’s arm and Jim saw me in the dress for the first time, I grinned.
But of course, I had other things on my mind, too. Things other than boiling sheep lungs in saltwater and (gulp!) what’s actually involved in turning a scalded stomach inside out.
Like that coaster from Swallows. That was something we needed to discuss.
“Here’s the thing . . .” I turned this way and that, checking myself out in the mirror and deciding that I’d definitely made the right decision by choosing the peach-colored dress. It was plain enough to satisfy the pragmatic me, and the beaded collar of the bolero added just enough bling to make it a special occasion dress. “Doesn’t it seem a little odd that he’d have it? One of his wife’s best friends had just been killed there, and according to what Tyler found out, Michael never told the police anything about going to Swallows or even knowing where it was.”
Eve was more interested in the hemline on my dress than she was in the investigation. She stepped back, eyeing it carefully to make sure it was even. “Maybe he forgot.”
I wasn’t buying it. “The coaster was hidden.”
“It was under a pile of papers. That’s what you said. That doesn’t exactly mean it was hidden. Maybe it was just forgotten.”
“Maybe.” I frowned. “Maybe Beth wasn’t the only one who knew that Vickie was meeting Alex over at Swallows. Maybe Michael knew it, too. But if he did, why would he care?”
I might have gotten an answer—of any sort—from Eve if she hadn’t heard someone walk by outside the dressing room and chosen that moment to stick her head out the door. One of the clerks had a load of dresses in her arms; I saw a flash of rhinestones and a shimmer of color.
“Oh!” Caught by the sparkle and splendor, Eve stepped into the hallway. “I’d like to try that one, and that one, and that one,” I heard her say. “In a six. Unless you think that might be a little snug on me.”
I pictured the clerk looking Eve up and down before she said, “It might be just a tad too big,” and because, of course, that was exactly what Eve wanted to hear, she was smiling when she stepped back into the dressing room.
“You look really pretty, honey,” Eve said. “That color is perfect on you.”
“I don’t know.” I checked the mirror again. “I love the color, but maybe white or ivory—”
“Good gravy, Annie! White or ivory is for first weddings. And old frumps. This is a celebration, honey. What you need is a really pretty party dress. And that—”
I spun in front of the mirror and smiled back at my reflection. “It’s a really pretty party dress, isn’t it? In fact, it’s perfect!”
It was, and I was grateful that the dress was truly comfortable, and I wouldn’t have trouble moving, or dancing, or raising one of those champagne glasses to toast while I was wearing it. “I had ivory for my first wedding. This is different. It’s understated, but it’s special, too. You think Jim will like it?”
Her raised eyebrows said it all.
Mine rose just as far when the clerk brought an armful of dresses in the room for Eve. She still hadn’t decided on a dress to wear for the wedding, but seeing the wash of bright colors, I cringed. I had been thinking something nice and conservative and understated for my maid-of-honor. What Eve was thinking was anybody’s guess.
The first dress was red velvet and just long enough to maybe hit the knees of someone half Eve’s height. There were ostrich feathers