Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 08 - Vows & Victims by Laina Turner Read Free Book Online Page A

trouble the first time and led him to the point of committing murder. Something Schultz knew as well as we did.
    “I will call you if I hear anything and please call me if he tries to contact you again. Either one of you.”
    He stood up to leave, but I didn’t want to let an opportunity pass, so I went ahead and asked, “How is the investigation coming on Bethany Granville’s murder?”
    Once again he hesitated.
    So I added, “Katy’s salon being closed hurts her business, as you can imagine, and the quicker this gets solved, the quicker she can re–open.”
    “We should be finished with the crime scene by tomorrow and she can get back in, but as far as the case—no comment.”
    “What about unofficially?” I pressed.
    Schultz gave me a small smile. “Just know we’re working on it.”
    He clearly wasn’t going to tell us anything, but at least I tried.
    We walked back outside. The sun had really warmed things up so I took off the jacket I was wearing to enjoy the warmth on my arms.
    “Presley, I’m a little freaked out about this.”
    “Yeah, me, too. I can’t believe he escaped from jail.”
    “You need to call Cooper.”
    I knew she was right, but things were so strained between us, and I didn’t know how to deal with that, so I wanted to play the avoidance game. “I will. Later. Now is there any wedding stuff we should be doing?”
    “Yes, but I can’t think right now. You want to grab some coffee and I can look at my list and regroup?”
    “You know me, I’m always up for coffee.”
    A few minutes later we were settled in the local coffee shop. Me with my standard sugar free vanilla non–fat latte and Katy with a café mocha.
    “Wedding dress be damned, I’m splurging,” she said, when she ordered the calorie rich drink.
    “So, pull out your list. Let’s get this wedding stuff taken care of,” I said, full of enthusiasm.
    “Presley, stop. I can’t even begin to want to think about wedding stuff. With everything else that’s happened on my mind, I feel like a ball of anxiety.”
    “Maybe we should be drinking wine instead of caffeine?” I joked. “I know it’s hard. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes and I can’t imagine how you must be feeling, but this is the day you’ve been looking forward to for a long time. There’s nothing you can do about Dirt or Bethany’s murder, so try to not think about it. Focus on the positive. This awesome day coming up.”
    “You’re right,” she sighed.
    “Of course I’m right. Focus, wedding, marriage. All the good stuff you’ve been looking forward to. That you deserve. What can I help with?”
    “Can you pick my mom up from the airport and entertain her?” Katy said with a grimace.
    “When is she flying in?”
    “She wasn’t supposed to come until Friday, which is the way I wanted it. But when she heard about what happened, she decided to change her flight, come in early, and help. I didn’t know how to tell her that coming would be more stressful than helpful. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the sentiment, but you know my mother drives me nuts, and dealing with her is the last thing I need right now.”
    “Trust me, I get it.” I did understand, as I had my own issues with my mom. I mean, who didn’t? Katy’s mom was, however, a little nuttier than the average. She was a control freak with a capital C. I always thought that was part of why Katy always caved to Chris when he screwed up and conned her into taking him back. Because she was used to not taking a stand, not having her own opinion.
    “Maybe now that she’s been away from you for a while, she will be less controlling. I mean, she hasn’t been able to control every aspect of the wedding planning from Florida.”
    Last year Katy’s parents had moved to Florida to get away from the cold Midwest winters. Not that I blamed them. Every winter found me wondering why I lived in the Midwest.
    “You’d be surprised at what that woman can accomplish from afar. It