Murder on the Bride’s Side

Maybe he couldn’t see her attacker. Maybe he was afraid the police might suspect him . If he can walk, he has means and motive.”

Bridget slowly nodded. “I see what you mean, but I’m still not convinced. I want Colin to hear this. Let me get him—and my parents.” She paused. “Oh, shit. They went out to run some errands. I think they’re going to be gone for a while. Oh, well, never mind. Meet me and Colin in the boathouse in ten minutes. We can figure out what to do there.”

I threw on jeans, a sweater, and my jacket. I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and sighed. I had never been one of those girls who spring from bed dewy fresh and lovely. However, this morning I had managed to surpass my usual unkempt look. There is a simple equation in my life: with the rain comes humidity and with humidity comes frizzy hair. True to form, my hair was obeying this equation in spectacular fashion. I was now a good three inches taller and my head was several inches wider. I shrugged. It wasn’t as if Peter was going to be around to see me.

I made it down the stairs and to the terrace without being seen. It was still raining. I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head in a purely reflexive gesture—the rain certainly wasn’t going to make my hair look any worse —and sprinted across the wet grass to the boathouse, where Colin and Bridget were waiting for me.

I shook some of the rain off my jacket and glanced questioningly at Bridget.

“I’ve brought Colin up to date,” she said briskly.

“How is Claire?” Colin asked. “I can’t believe that bastard hit her.”

I shrugged. “She’s fine. I think she’s dealt with it so often that she’s almost becoming numb to it.”

Colin shook his head in disgust.

“I explained your theory about Avery, too,” said Bridget. It was clear it was a theory that she was still reluctant to believe. “I guess that if he could walk and did see something that night, he might lie about it out of worry that he might become a suspect, especially if he didn’t have a good description.” She bent her head and stared at the worn wooden floor as she processed this scenario. As she did, Colin glanced at me with worried eyes. I knew what he was thinking. It was the same thing troubling me. There was another reason Avery might have lied about seeing Roni’s attacker: because he could describe her attacker.

“Bridget?” said Colin. “The three of us can stand around and guess all day and it won’t help anything. Why don’t we just ask Avery why he lied?”

I looked at Bridget. She stared back at me, her expression sober. “Okay,” she said softly, “let’s go find Avery.”

When we got back to the house, Avery was in the living room. Against the backdrop of a cheery fire, he, Julia, and Megan were bent over the low coffee table, playing Scrabble. Julia and Avery teased Megan over a word choice while Megan good-naturedly deflected their barbs. Millie sat in one of the nearby fireside chairs, reading a book. It looked like a family scene out of the pages of Southern Living . In fact, so natural and effortless was their banter, it was hard to believe that instead of an average family enjoying a rainy day inside, they were suspects in a murder case.

My step faltered and I glanced uncertainly at Bridget. Coming up with the plan to confront Avery about his lie had been the easy part; enacting it, I suspected, would be another matter. At our entrance, they all looked up. Avery greeted us with a relaxed smile, and I thought with sadness that it had been a long time since I’d seen him so at peace.

“You three look like drowned rats,” Julia said affably. “What in heaven’s name were you doing out in this weather? It’s dreadful out there.”

Suddenly tongue-tied, none of us replied. We stared dumbly first at each other and then back again at Avery. Being an intelligent man, he sensed our tension. His eyebrows pulled together and he asked tersely, “What’s happened?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Millie lay her book down on her ample lap. Bridget threw me a pleading look and I realized with a sinking feeling that if we were going to learn anything, it would be up to me. “Nothing’s happened, exactly,” I said slowly, as I sat down in one of the empty chairs. “It’s just... it’s just that I talked to Claire last night.”

Avery started to shake his head as if he didn’t understand, then the meaning of my words hit him. With an apprehensive glance at Julia, he said, “Oh, I see.”

Both Julia and Megan tensed at the tremor of nervousness in his tone. Megan turned to me, her face pale. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Avery looked at her with pained eyes. “Nothing’s going on,” he said, forcing his voice back to normal. “But I think I need to talk with Elizabeth alone for a minute.”

Julia said firmly, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Giving her a desperate look, Avery nodded almost imperceptibly toward Megan. Megan’s eyes were focused on Julia, so she missed it. However, Millie, with her uncanny sensitivity to her patient’s wants, did not. “Megan,” she said in a brisk tone that left no room for argument, “please come with me. I need you to help me make tea.”

Realizing that she was being got out of the way, Megan threw a curious glance at us before pulling herself to her feet and trailing on reluctant feet after Millie to the kitchen.

“What is this about?” asked Julia, her tone uneasy.

I looked at Avery.

He sighed. “I... I lied to the police about where I was the night Roni... ” His words caught in his throat. He tried again. “I lied about where I was the night Roni... died.” He did not look at Julia as he spoke. “Claire knew and lied to protect me.”

Julia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Avery’s eyes fell to his lap and stayed there.

“What really happened?” I asked.

Avery’s anguished eyes briefly landed on Julia before turning my way. His next words came out haltingly. “I wasn’t in my room all night as I told the police. Around one thirty, I went to the study to make a phone call. My cell phone was dead and there isn’t a phone in my room.”

“And you called... ?” I asked.

Avery did not respond. He fixed his eyes on his lap again. I repeated the question. “Avery, who did you call?”

“He called me,” Julia said suddenly. “He called me,” she repeated quietly.

“Julia... ” Avery began.

“Avery, it’s okay,” she said, but Avery interrupted her.

“No, it’s not. Let me tell them.”

His eyes swept over Bridget and Colin still standing stiffly in the doorway, before focusing on me. In a tentative voice, he said, “As you probably know, Julia and I were... were very close before... before I married Roni.” He shrugged quickly as if to ward off hurtful memories. “When I first met Roni, I thought... well, I guess I thought she was wonderful.”

Julia’s face bunched in pain. Seeing it, a different kind of agony crept into Avery’s expression. With a cheerless shake of his head, he continued. “After we were married, I still thought she was wonderful, even when faced with evidence to the contrary. The mind can play funny tricks on you, I guess.” He stared blankly at the leaping flames in the fireplace. Dragging his eyes back to mine, he went on. “Anyway, I managed to blind myself to all the ugliness, but when I saw Julia again at the reception, it was as if someone suddenly ripped the blinders away. In that one moment, I saw everything clearly: Roni’s shallowness, her greediness, and her propensity for cruelty—especially with Megan. I realized what a horrible mistake I’d made and how much I’d lost when I... when I ended my friendship with Julia.”

I remembered the change in Avery’s demeanor after he talked to Julia at the wedding. He had seemed to suddenly withdraw into himself. His mood certainly caught Roni’s attention, but like her, I had believed his explanation that he was merely tired. Now I saw his odd silence and desire to be alone for what it was—a man understanding what a giant mistake he had made with his life.