Read Online Weddings Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton - Free Book Online Page A

through the dryer to take out
some of the wrinkles. I sent him a tiny smile of encouragement.
    Cameras clicked away as Ben Ortiz took the
podium. I could only pray that the attorney’s vigorous reputation
would work in Ron’s favor. I still wasn’t convinced that showing up
this early in the game with an attorney was the best move. Wouldn’t
my brother appear more innocent, less defensive if he simply got up
there and spoke from the heart?
    By the time he finished speaking, however, I
had to admit Ben Ortiz’s words had gone a long way to explain Ron’s
disheveled appearance and sleep-deprived face. Ron took a deep
breath, clutched his prepared speech in his hands and stepped to
the front. I scanned the crowd and didn’t see a lot of sympathy out
there in the gang of reporters.
    “Thank you for coming this morning,” Ron
began. “As you may imagine, the disappearance of my fiancée has
come as a shock to our family. We have heard nothing from Victoria
since Friday night and we fear for her safety. We very much
appreciate this opportunity to connect with the community and to
ask your help in locating our loved one. Vic did not leave the
house of her own free will, of that I am convinced. It’s not a case
of a runaway bride. We were looking forward to our life
together.”
    Beside me, Ben Ortiz tensed. Ron must have
gone off-script, but I had no clue what he’d said that the attorney
didn’t like.
    “Please keep Vic’s picture visible. Please
let every citizen of Albuquerque—of New Mexico—know that we are
searching for her, that we want her back. Even a phone call,
anything to assure us that she’s all right.”
    “Mr. Parker,” one reporter called out, “how
is it that no one knew Ms. Morgan was missing until just an hour
before the wedding? Did you know she was gone but withheld that
information from the police?”
    Ron’s mouth flapped open mirroring, I’m
sure, my own astonishment. Ben Ortiz stepped up quickly.
    “Since this is an ongoing police
investigation, we cannot comment on details.” He took Ron firmly by
the elbow and led him off the podium.
    My mind spun. Wouldn’t it have been better
to set the reporter straight? I’d arrived at Vic’s house exactly as
planned a couple hours before the wedding and had immediately
informed the police. Well, almost immediately.
    I turned and followed closely behind Ben
Ortiz, who led us inside the municipal building. Outside, Kent
Taylor stood facing the crowd, hands up, apparently telling them
the meeting was over.
    “What just happened?” I demanded as soon as
Ron, Ben and I had stepped into a small alcove.
    Ben faced Ron, his face tense. “Didn’t I
tell you to read the statement verbatim?”
    “I said everything it said. Reading aloud
always sounds wooden and fake.”
    “There are reasons. You referred to her in
the past tense. You were looking forward to a life together.
Somebody’s going to construe it to mean things changed between
you.”
    Seriously? One word?
    “And the runaway bride comment? Ron, that
thought was never out there—now you’ve planted it. They’ll start
looking for proof the two of you were unhappy.”
    Ron’s expression closed. He’d heard enough.
I took a deep breath and ran my hand down his arm.
    “Let’s go.” I was trying to fix a map of the
surrounding streets in my head, wondering the best way back to the
truck without being waylaid by the media throng, when Kent Taylor
walked into the lobby.
    “Let’s talk a minute,” he said.
    I braced myself for another lecture on what
to say and not to say.
    “You all can visit the hotline room anytime
you want,” he told us. “We have people to man the phones, so don’t
worry about that. Just saying—if you want to know what’s going on.
I want all of you to have your phones with you at all times. Leads
can come from friends and family as well as the 800 number.”
    Ron and I both patted our pockets. “I’ve had
this with me the whole time,” Ron said.