Julian struggles as his body jerks from side to side, and one by one the chains fall off, first from his ankles, then his hands, and then the chains that are coiled around his body begin to slide off as he swims for the top.
An applause begins to build as Julian’s hands land over the lid, but nothing happens.
He turns over and tries to kick the lid open, but again it doesn’t budge.
“Oh, I hate this,” I hiss.
“It’s all for effect.” Jasper touches his stubbly cheek to mine. “It’ll be over in a second.”
Julian swims to the front of the glass box and pounds as he looks to the audience and a mixture of laughter and gasps emits.
“Jasper.” I stand. “He looks as if he’s in real trouble.”
“Sit down, lady,” someone calls from the back. “It’s all a part of the act!”
Julian’s body begins to squirm and writhe, and soon Jasper, Leo, Caleb, and his groomsmen run to the front, but by the time they climb the ladder Julian’s body goes limp.
A series of screams go off as the house lights flick on.
It takes Jordy and a hammer to loosen the glass lid and Caleb plucks Julian out of the water and onto the floor below.
I race over just as Jasper and Leo begin to administer CPR. It goes on seemingly forever until finally Jasper checks Julian’s pulse one last time, and he shakes his head my way.
Julian won’t have to worry about getting another act right.
Julian Fletcher is dead.
Chapter 3
He’s dead.
The room roars to life with thunderous whispers and a round of screams.
Jasper and Leo take command of the scene, waving their badges for all to see. And just a few minutes later, there’s a swarm of sheriff’s deputies joining them.
Jasper steps over and wraps his arms around me, ensconcing Fish between us.
“I’m sorry, Bizzy.” He dots a kiss next to my ear. “But this is just procedural. It’s clear this was an accident.”
Leo pops up before I can say a single word.
“It was a horrible accident.” Leo nods past me. “I’m going to take Emmie home.” He glances to Jasper. “I’ll be right back.”
Jasper nods back to the scene. “I’d better get over there.”
They take off just as my mother and sister run up.
“Oh, Bizzy.” My mother wraps her arms around me. “Try not to think about it. The only thing you should be focusing on is your wedding.” My mother, Ree Baker, is a no-nonsense throwback from the eighties with her strawberry-blonde feathered hair and her popped collar blouses.
“Mother,” I whisper. “There’s a dead man lying less than ten feet away. I can still see him. I’ll be thinking about him for a good long while.”
She frowns. “Well, if my words can’t help, allow me to at least take Fish. I’ll have her spend the night at my place with my sweet cats. They really miss her.”
Fish lets out a chipper meow as my mother plucks her from my arms.
Mistletoe and Holly! Sorry, Bizzy, but you’ll have to find someone else to sleep on your head tonight. I haven’t seen my furry friends in weeks.
“Have fun at the sleepover.” I give Fish a kiss on the forehead. “Behave for Grandma.” My mother adopted a pair of adorable kittens last Christmas, and their names couldn’t have been more suited to the season.
Mom chuckles and starts to take off before stopping in her tracks.
“And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you don’t have a wedding dress, young lady. I’m not letting you walk down the aisle naked.” She frowns a moment. “Not that your father hasn’t experienced a naked bride before.”
My sister gasps. “Is that why you forbade us from going to wedding number four?”
Mom rolls her eyes. “That, and the funny cigarettes they were passing out as wedding favors. Goodnight, girls.” She takes off and Macy steps in close.
“Knew it. Our mother made sure we lived a sheltered childhood. It’s no wonder we have issues with men.”
“I don’t have issues with men,” I tell her. “And I don’t see what one has to do with the other.”
My sister is older than me by one year and feistier than me by miles. She dyes her ebony locks a platinum blonde and wears her hair in a cheeky bob. She has a peaches and cream complexion, and apparently a complex that involves both men and our mother—the latter of which is news to me.
Macy scowls my way. “Hush, Bizzy. This is no time for your armchair psychoanalysis. Look at those hunky men hovering by the dunk tank.”
“More like the tank of death. The man hovering above the tank is the groom, Caleb Reed. Hands off. Don’t even think about winking his way.” I don’t mind at all threatening my man-eater of a sister. “The other two are fair game as far as I know. The one with dark red hair is the groom’s brother, Zeke. And the guy with the dark hair and tan is Archie. I don’t know too much about them, but I have a feeling I should find out.” I pull my sister along until we come upon them.
I nod up at Caleb as he teeters at the top of that now infamous acrylic box.
“Do you see anything in there?” I ask just as Jasper and Leo head over as well.
Caleb jumps down to the floor with a heavy thump, and that despondent look on his face says it all.
“I don’t know how he didn’t get out. The lid wasn’t locked.”
Zeke tips his head back as if considering this as well. He looks a touch younger than Caleb, and even though they share the same fiery-colored hair, his brows are peaked and jagged, his features a little more chiseled.
“I think I know.” Zeke climbs up on the ladder in the back of the contraption and flicks his finger over a metal hinge. “It’s loose. There’s a metal pin in it, and if it angled just right it might have made this lid impossible to open.”
“Meaning?” Jasper
