As I drove to Pyper’s Dream Weddings, I concentrated on the good things happening with my shop. The location was perfect. Two blocks from Main Street and one block from Sun Valley Road put me in prime real estate territory, but the two-bedroom bungalow-turned-boutique was too small for most merchants. It was just right for a wedding planner’s headquarters.
I stopped by Iconoclast Books & Café, another great perk around the corner, to buy one of their delicious Thursday special bran-berry muffins and an apple juice. I decided a reward for the diamond drama was due—the dense muffins with a hint of sweet honey were perfect.
With a mouthful of goodness, I opened the back door of my shop. Something wasn’t right. My heart sped up, and I tensed as a feeling of unease lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. I flipped on the light and stood near the doorway, eyes flicking nervously around the room. For half a second, I blamed my nerves on my upcoming date with Dallas that evening. Then I took another step forward, and my breath stilled. Sylvia’s closet was open, and I could see that something was missing.
Organization being key to a wedding planner’s success, I had installed several clothing racks with sliding doors to keep out dust. Each wedding party was assigned a closet, where we stored samples for tablecloths, centerpieces, clothing for the wedding party, tuxedos, and now wedding gowns. I pulled the door all the way to the side and rummaged through Sylvia’s closet. No dress.
“Don’t panic. Maybe Lorea has it,” I whispered to myself as I frantically dialed her number.
Lorea didn’t answer, and I ended the call, not trusting myself to speak calmly in a message. I hurried to the rack of wedding gowns in the corner and counted six. Two were missing. Struggling not to freak out, I slid open the closet labeled Berlin-Grafton. Nothing had been touched.
Natalie’s dress was at my home, hidden safely away in my spare room. Now I thanked myself for offering to take out the hem, even if it did involve illegal diamonds, or her gown might be missing as well.
But were the dresses really gone? I rummaged through every corner in the back room, searching, and then returned and counted the dress bags again. I unzipped each one to make sure there weren’t two in one bag.
A knock at the front door brought my attention to the fact that I hadn’t yet opened the shop. I peeked around the corner and was horrified to see Sylvia standing outside the glass double doors, tapping her foot.
A key turned in the lock behind me, and Lorea came in humming. “Hi, Adri. Did you—” She stopped when she saw my face. “What’s wrong?”
“Please tell me you have Sylvia’s dress.”
Lorea shook her head slowly. The knocking on the front door increased. Lorea moved to look, and I grabbed her arm. “It’s Sylvia. She’s probably here to try on her dress again, but it’s gone.”
“She didn’t make an appointment. And what do you mean, it’s gone?” Lorea ran to the closet rack and pawed through the items. Then she repeated what I had done and searched the hanging bags of gowns. “Where is it?”
“I don’t know. When I came in this morning, something felt off, and then I noticed the closet door was halfway open.” I motioned to the closet and tried to ignore Sylvia’s tapping and obnoxious “Hello?” outside the store.
Lorea pressed her fingers against her temples. “Okay, you go talk to Sylvia. Tell her I’m still working on her dress, and we’ll have to reschedule for later.”
What was happening? The dress missing from the shipment, the hole in Sylvia’s gown, rough diamonds, and now this? I swallowed and walked toward the front of the shop. But I halted before I entered the main showroom. My office safe was gone. Someone had hacked through the floor mount and taken the entire thing. I cried out, “Lorea, call the police. My safe is gone!”
Grabbing a sheet of paper and a Sharpie, I wrote a note and headed for the door. My foot slid, and I grabbed a chair before I lost my balance. Looking down, I sucked in a breath. Bits of chocolate cake and frosting stuck to the bottom of my white sandals. The beautiful wedding cake had been smashed, pink satin roses stained dark with chocolate dotted the floor, and fury licked the back of my throat. The gooey pudding infused with raspberry that had once filled the top layer of the cake was now splattered up the side of the wall. I hadn’t even tasted it!
The thought made me pause, and I realized I was one breath away from losing it. The paper in my hand crinkled as I clenched my fist. Taking a deep breath, I smoothed out the paper, stepped forward, and taped it to the glass. I watched as Sylvia read it.
Please excuse us while we take care of a minor emergency. A broken pipe was discovered this morning.
Leaning close to the door, I called out, “I’m sorry, Sylvia. We’ll make it up to you if you’ll come by Monday. There’s a wonderful surprise for you.”
“I really wanted to try on my dress again. I felt a little heavy yesterday, and I’ve been dieting since then.”
“I understand, but we have to get this fixed.”
Her right nostril flared but then relaxed as my words sank in. Sylvia nodded and waved. “Good luck, darling.”
I scrambled to the back of the store to hear the remnants of Lorea’s conversation with the police.
“They’re on their way.”
Fighting back tears, I thought about the contents of the safe. There wasn’t
