Read Online Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper - Free Book Online Page A

staff.
    â€œGetting him on the phone—now, that’s a different story. But as soon as he calls me back, I’m going to get him on the next plane down here.”
    â€œWell, great, sounds like you’ve got it all under control,” I said. I felt terrible that Zoe had to spend the night in jail, but I was glad she was in capable hands.
    Mrs. Abernathy looked incredulous. “Kelsey, we need your help!”
    â€œMe? What can I do?”
    â€œGet Zoe out of jail, for starters!”
    I glanced over at Nicole and Vince for support, but Nicole just looked at me expectantly while Vince stared at the floor. What superpowers did these people think I possessed? “How am I supposed to do that, exactly?”
    â€œYou’re the wedding planner!” said Mrs. Abernathy. “I’m sure you’ll think of something!”
    Was she serious ?
    â€œMrs. Abernathy, I can’t do anything! If she were trapped in a wedding cake, I might be able to get her out, but this is outside of my jurisdiction!”
    â€œBut you know these people. You work down here. Surely there’s something you can do, someone you can talk to. The thought of my baby in a Mexican prison…”
    Sure. I could probably just sashay into the station and explain that there’d been a huge mistake. I’m sure they’d let her out on my say-so. This midnight ambush coupled with the sangria was making it hard to think.
    â€œMrs. Abernathy, I’m sorry. I really don’t know what to tell you right now. This is a lot to process, and I’m sure we’ll all feel better after a good night’s sleep.”
    Nicole and Vince looked like they were exhausted, too, and nodded with glassy-eyed stares.
    Mrs. Abernathy sighed and slumped in her chair. “Oh, all right. There’s probably nothing we can do at this time of night anyway.”
    Finally—she’d finally said something reasonable.
    â€œBut first thing in the morning I want you to march down to that police station and tell them they’ve made a terrible mistake. And be sure to remind them that she’s an American!”
    So much for reasonable.
    I wasn’t sure what magical power she thought I could wield over the police, but the woman was clearly used to getting her way. She didn’t see me as the wedding planner—she saw me as staff, and she assumed I would do her bidding.
    â€œLook, Mrs. Abernathy, I don’t think—”
    â€œI’m not paying you to think! Just fix this. Now, I’ll see you in the morning.” And with that she stood, kissed her other daughter good night, and vanished down the hall.
    *   *   *
    Whoever had painted the ceiling of my bedroom had done an impeccable job. Top-notch, really. I knew, because I’d been staring at it for most of the night. I cocked one bleary eye open to check the time on the digital clock across the room. The glowing numbers read 4:18 A.M . I had the same feeling of sleepless despair that I’d experienced at 1:23, 2:47, and 3:05.
    I’d returned to my room around one o’clock and crawled into bed, hoping the next morning I’d wake up with a clear head and a brilliant plan. But to do that, I’d have to get a good night’s sleep—and to do that I’d actually have to fall asleep.
    What was I going to do about Zoe? I didn’t want her to sit in jail, but it really was beyond my particular skill set. Too bad Brody wasn’t awake. He always had good advice. Well, okay, maybe not good advice, but he’d let me talk until I figured it out for myself. I was tempted to wake him up, but that would be mean.
    Five minutes passed. Waking someone up at four-thirty in the morning was mean, right?
    Or was it just mildly inconsiderate?
    I decided I could live with mildly inconsiderate in the face of an international crisis, so I threw on some yoga pants under my sleep tee and tiptoed down the hall to his