Murder Is a Piece of Cake by Elaine Viets Read Free Book Online Page B

fifty friends and family members to attend Ted’s wedding. He’s my son
     and I want to make this an occasion.”
    Josie felt a jab of fear when Lenore said “Ted’s wedding” and “make this an occasion.”
     Josie and Ted wanted their wedding to be a celebration, not a circus.
    “Our guests have received their invitations,” Lenore said. She produced one from her
     bag and tapped the heavy cream-colored paper with her fingernail.
    “These aren’t engraved,” she said. The frost in her voice could have chilled their
     wine.
    “No,” Josie said. “But we chose the best paper, one-hundred-ten-pound cotton stock.
     They look engraved.”
    “But everyone knows this isn’t real engraving,” Lenore said. “If only you’d let me,
     I could have helped you. The invitation says the ceremony is at the Jewel Box. What’s
     that?”
    “Wait till you see it, Mom,” Ted said. “It’s an art deco greenhouse in Forest Park—that’s
     the big city park—with these incredible palm trees and tropical plants. The Jewel
     Box was built in the 1930s. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places. The
     out-of-town guests will see something really cool.”
    Ted brightened as he described the Jewel Box, his enthusiasm overcoming his lost look.
    “We were lucky to get it,” Josie said. She managed a lopsided smile and fortified
     herself with a sip of wine. “Our timing is perfect. Our wedding is at the start of
     the winter poinsettia show and hundreds of them will be on display, ranging from white
     to deep ruby. It’s dazzling. I have a photo of the Jewel Box in my wedding plan notebook.”
     She leafed through it and found the page.
    “Here,” she said. “Not only is the building gorgeous, but there’s lots of free parking.”
    “Very nice,” Lenore said. A historic building seemed to meet her exacting standards.
     “What about music?”
    “We’ve picked some lovely CDs,” Josie said. “We chose music that meant something to
     both of us.”
    A shadow crossed Lenore’s face. Was that an attempted frown on her Botoxed forehead?
     Josie wondered.
    “I was thinking of a string quartet for the ceremony,” Lenore said.
    “Mom, that’s not in our budget,” Ted said.
    “I’ll give it to you as a gift,” Lenore said.
    “That’s very generous,” Josie said, and meant it. “I’ll get the names of some local
     quartets and you can choose one.”
    “Oh, you hire one,” Lenore said. “Just send me the bill.”
    Well, that was easy, Josie thought. Maybe I’ve misjudged her.
    “Will you have the reception at the Jewel Box, too?” Lenore asked.
    “No, we’ve only rented it for two hours,” Josie said. “There’s another wedding after
     ours. But we have the reception at a nice banquet hall, the Royal Saint Louis.”
    Lenore frowned at the photo of the hall.
    “Is that a public banquet hall?” she asked. Her tone implied it was a public toilet.
    “A good one,” Josie said. “The food is delicious. See. Four stars.”
    “In St. Louis,” Lenore said. Her collagened lip curled. “I was hoping we could have
     the reception here at the Ritz.”
    “That’s—,” Ted said.
    Josie cut him off before he could say “out of our price range.” “Taken,” she said.
     “That date has been booked already.”
    Josie had no idea if that was true, but she’d already signed the contract for the
     Royal Saint Louis.
    “Of course,” Lenore said. “I should have known. For your wedding reception, I was
     thinking of booking Peter Duchin.”
    “Peter Duchin?” Josie said. Wasn’t that old people’s dance music?
    “Surely you’ve heard of his orchestra,” Lenore said. “He plays at the White House,
     premier charity galas, and society weddings. I doubt if we’ll be able to get Peter
     himself at this late date, but any of the bands booked by his organization are top
     notch.”
    “We already have a band,” Josie said. “A good one. We’ve got the Smash Band. It has
     ten