Bouquet of Lies Part 29

"Maybe an hour."

"You went to sleep right away?"

"Yes. I couldn't keep my eyes open. And it was hard to wake up."

He made another note. "You didn't hear anything."

"Not until I heard all the people downstairs. That's what woke me up, I guess."

He stared at her and paused before the next question. "You hated your grandfather."

"There was no love lost between us." Did he really suspect her? It was suspicious for her to leave the wedding and Edward get murdered while she was alone in her room. a.s.suming that was when he was murdered. Well, it had to be. She had seen him roam the reception, eat, and disappear inside not too long before she had gone in. Of course, she hadn't doc.u.mented the time. Maybe he had gone in earlier than she thought. "When was he murdered exactly?"

"That's for the M.E. to decide."

They probably couldn't pinpoint it exactly. It would be a window of time. A window that included her little snooze upstairs. A s.h.i.+ver ran through her.

"Other than hating your grandfather, would you have a reason to kill him?"

It was a blunt question and she wondered how blunt she should be in return. "No more reason than I've had all my life. I don't kill people. Especially not at weddings."

Another joke in poor taste. He didn't laugh. Not even a smile. He made another note and then surprisingly dropped the subject of Edward and took a different tack.

"Why do you think you got so sleepy all of a sudden?"

Lacey shrugged. How should she know?

"Were you out in the sun too long? Have too much to drink?"

"I had a couple gla.s.ses of punch. Maybe the stress of putting the wedding together hit me."

"You put it together when you didn't approve of the marriage?"

"What else was I going to do? Darla's not capable."

He studied her. "What were you doing right before you say you got sick?"

"I didn't say I got sick."

"You had a headache."

Lacey narrowed her eyes. What was he getting at? Say she got sick. Jeez! She wasn't a liar. Except she had a track record with Uncle D. She hadn't told him about the photos Maggot had given her. Hadn't told him about Tiffany. Okay, maybe she had held things back. That didn't make her a liar.

"What was I doing? I was talking to your nephew and to Courtney."

"And before that?"

"Talking to Darla."

"And before that?"

"To Randy."

He made a note and looked at her squarely. "I can't force you. Don't have enough cause for a court order. But would you be willing to submit to a urine sample?"

"Why?"

"I can't say."

"Can't or won't?"

"Either way. Would you?"

"Pee in a cup. When?"

"Right now. My nephew can take you to the police station."

"As an official police escort or my boyfriend?"

"Trust me, Miss Bouquet. You'll be glad I asked."

I doubt it, Lacey thought. "What if I don't want to?"

"You have something to hide?"

"No."

"Then it's a little bit of your time."

She wasn't convinced. Uncle D was making her curious and a lot peeved. She didn't know how the investigation was going into the murder of her father or anyone else. He was totally tight-lipped. Was this cop looking for her mother for real? How hard could it be to find her? How hard was he trying? And he says to trust him and to pee in a cup at the police station and she'll be glad.

"I'll think about it." Lacey's gaze was steady.

"Time is of the essence. I'd like it done within the next two hours."

Uncle D wanted Darla next. Randy tried to go with her.

"He specifically said you weren't to come," Lacey told Randy.

"I'm going with her whether he likes it or not," Randy answered.

"She's eighteen," Dan said. "She doesn't have the right to a guardian present during questioning."

"I'm her husband, not a guardian." Randy sounded angry.

Dan didn't apologize for his choice of words and it crossed Lacey's mind that he had chosen them on purpose. It appeared he didn't like Randy's possessiveness any more than she did.

Randy's expression was difficult to read. It s.h.i.+fted between I'm a concerned, loving husband, and you should mind your own business. He had his arms around his bride in a manner that proclaimed owners.h.i.+p, not love. Did Darla feel it? Maybe. Her thumb was awfully close to her mouth. Not often, but on occasion, when Edward had been particularly mean, or when her nightmares had been too strong, Lacey had seen Darla slip that thumb in and suck it.

"I'll see about this," Randy said and he walked Darla out the door.

Lacey started to follow but Dan didn't. "Aren't you coming?"

Dan shook his head. "My uncle will handle it. You go, though."

Lacey entered the dining room just as Randy was saying, "I'm staying with my wife while you question her."

"That's not how this works," the detective said calmly.

"I don't see the problem." Randy's voice was a little more forceful.

Uncle D looked at Lacey. "She can have her sister with her if she likes."

Randy glared at Lacey then looked back at the detective. "Why?"

"Because I'm conducting this investigation and I do things my way. If she needs someone to steady her, she can have Miss Bouquet. Now I'm going to talk to your wife. I don't want to drag her down to the station, but I will if that's what you force me to do."

"I'll talk to him," Darla said. "I'm okay. Lacey will be with me."

Again, a nasty look from Randy.

"Your fangs are showing," Lacey told him, and he changed his expression to one of genuine concern. What an actor, Lacey thought.

Randy kissed Darla on the top of her head and paused. "What happened to your veil?"

Darla looked at him, wide-eyed. "I don't know."

Randy's eyes grew concerned. Odd, Lacey thought. What's he care about a veil? She decided not to tell him she'd stuffed it down the chair.

"We'll find it," he said. "I'll be right outside." He looked at the detective, then Lacey, and walked out.

Lacey listened to Darla tell Uncle D the same story she had told her in the sitting room. The detective was gentle, treating her like the child she was.

"Do you believe me?" Darla asked. "Lacey believes me."

"You aren't a liar, are you?" It was obvious to Lacey that the big cop was skirting a direct answer.

"No." Darla shook her head.

"Well, then. There you go." He put his notes aside. "I understand you're taking a drive up the coast for the honeymoon. Making some stops along the way. Going as far as Carmel. Leaving tonight."

Darla suddenly took Lacey's hand and squeezed so hard it hurt. "Yes. Is that okay?"

The sweet, innocent Darla is back, thought Lacey. The one who doesn't argue. The one who can't defend herself. Lacey looked at the detective and wondered if he was just making small talk or if he was actually making a point.

"Your husband told me you can hardly wait."

"Oh. Oh, yes. I'm excited. Of course. I . . . I . . ." Her face said otherwise and Lacey wished there was something she could do to stop the honeymoon. But she was as powerless about it as she had been about the wedding.

"Make sure he drives safely along those hairpin turns."

Darla stiffened.

"And no taking walks too close to the edge along those vista points."

Fatherly advice from the big cop? Lacey furrowed her brow. Highway 1 along the California coast was gorgeous. But there were a lot of places one could plunge over the side. Was he trying to frighten her? Why? To make her more cautious? Was he worried about her state of mind or was he wary of the groom?

"Are you packed?" Lacey asked.

Darla shook her head shamefully. "I started. I . . . Every time I started, I couldn't finish."

"Want some help?"

Darla nodded.

"Are you done?" Lacey asked Uncle D and he said that he was.

Upon entering the foyer, Lacey saw Dan, but not Randy. Darla began to panic. "Where's my husband?"

Dan looked at her. "He went outside. I think he smokes."

"Oh," Darla said, looking unhappy.

"Go on upstairs. I'll be there in a minute," Lacey told her.

Darla went.

Lacey and Dan walked into the sitting room. "How'd it go?" he asked.

"To his credit, I thought your uncle treated my sister with kid gloves. Until he started in on the honeymoon. I didn't understand that." She s.n.a.t.c.hed the veil from its hiding place in the chair.

"I saw you stuff that down there. Randy looked for it after you left the room, but he searched where Darla had been with him."

Lacey examined the veil, but only briefly. Randy could return any second.

"I didn't buy this and it seems pretty important to Randy." She glanced toward the door. "I have to go help Darla. Can you wait around? I need you to take me to the police lab."

Dan looked perplexed. "What?"

"Ask your uncle."

Twenty-eight.