Read Online Honeymoon for Three by Alan Cook - Free Book Online

to another? By the time he had
introduced himself and said a few words, it dawned on Penny that
they were halfway through the ceremony. They exchanged gold rings
they had purchased at the White Front department store in Torrance
for nineteen dollars apiece.
    As soon as they said “I do,” a photographer
breezed into the room and took a couple of pictures of them in
front of the altar. The staff was the epitome of efficiency, but
Penny didn’t care. The alternative would have been for her
alcoholic father to walk her down the aisle in front of her friends
and relatives while she pretended to be happy about the
situation.
    When they went
back into the reception area, they were presented with
goodies: Blue Cheer, Bufferin, Micron
mouthwash, spray-on starch, five-day deodorant pads, and a bottle
of Joy. And a temporary marriage certificate.
    After a member of the staff took
pictures of them in front of the chapel, Penny said, “I’m famished.
We need to get something to eat. And to send telegrams. I’ll bet
your aunt and uncle are wondering what’s happening to you right
about now.”
    “ I’m sure they’ll be glad to know
that I’m not in jail for ax murders,” Gary said. “Let’s go to the
Cal-Neva Club. I saw it on my ride to the police
station.”
    ***
    Alfred didn’t dare enter the wedding chapel
again. He had lost his credibility with the receptionist and was
positive she would call the police if he showed his face. Even
though he’d changed his appearance, she would recognize him by his
damned potbelly.
    His visions of rescuing Penny and carrying
her off had to be abandoned. He had done his best to prevent the
wedding from taking place. In part he blamed Penny, herself. She
should have heeded Gary’s run-in with the police as a warning and
washed her hands of him. When they climbed back into the VW
together at the police station, he knew she was going through with
it. Well, she was young and naive. Gary had her buffaloed. It was
Alfred’s job to protect her from him. And he would.
    He watched from his car as they came out of
the chapel to have their pictures taken in front. They were
married. They looked radiant. Alfred’s stomach churned. Then they
went back inside. When they reappeared, they were in their old
clothes. He prepared to follow them.
    They drove only a few blocks, to the
Cal-Neva Club. That wasn’t unexpected, since they hadn’t had
anything to eat since breakfast. It would also give Alfred a chance
to grab a hamburger. He had been subsisting on chips and
peanuts.
    ***
    Gary took a bite of his sandwich. “Nobody
knows where we are. So how could somebody show up and try to stop
us from getting married? That’s what this guy was doing, right? Why
else would he falsely accuse me of murder?”
    “Maybe it was a mistake,” Penny said.
“Maybe…the woman at the chapel thought he was talking about you,
but he was really talking about someone else.”
    He watched her sip her iced tea through a
straw and hoped she was right, but that didn’t seem logical,
either.
    “He gave my name—our names. Remember, she
told us he came in the first time while we were changing our
clothes and asked for us by name. She wouldn’t have told the police
he was talking about me if she weren’t sure. The whole thing
doesn’t make any sense. I don’t know anybody who cares whether I
get married or not. Certainly not enough to come all the way to
Reno to try to stop it with a cock and bull story.”
    Penny put her hand on top of his. “In any
case, he didn’t succeed. So let’s not let it spoil our
honeymoon.”
    “The only people who even had a clue to
where we were going are Steve and Tom.”
    His roommate, Steve, hadn’t been at the
apartment the night before they left, although Gary thought he had
mentioned to him previously that they were going to Reno first.
They had eaten dinner with his brother, Tom, a few days before they
left. Tom had been horrified that they were going camping without a
tent