"I could do with a coffee."
"Me too, except no caffeine. I could drink a green tea. Do you think we could get a slice of that cake to eat with it?"
"No."
"It's not even a real wedding! They will never notice two missing slices. Or even four." Lily paused as the catering truck opened up and uniformed staff began to unload dozens of dishes. Her belly rumbled. "This is really unfair! Lexi, how could you do this to a pregnant woman?"
"I thought we were getting the easiest job. All we have to do is sit here in the car and watch over the house, just in case anyone tries to sneak in with the food deliveries."
"Like we'd even know if someone did. They're all strangers," Lily pointed out.
"We're not looking for a stranger. We're looking for someone we know. Someone acting suspicious."
"The only suspicious people I see right now are us. That's a nice blouse you're wearing. Can I borrow it when I'm not the size of a tanker?"
"Sure. I'll go get you a green tea," I told Lily. "You stay here and watch over everyone."
"And some cake," Lily called weakly as I stepped out of the car. I pressed my back against the car door as a florist van squealed past before screeching to a halt at the curb. Two people jumped out of the cab and raced around to the side, pulling back a sliding door. The heady scent of lilies and roses bombarded my senses as I crossed the road, walked past the truck, and made my way towards the house.
Juliet's house had morphed from a quiet prison to a busy command center. The door stood wide open and I stepped through, looking around in amazement and awe. The house was quite a vision, a miracle of transformation. A beautiful ivy garland dotted with cascading flowers was draped around the banister, and tall floral arrangements stood at the base of the stairs. The dining room furniture was missing; and in its place, stood a bar and rows of gleaming glassware. A bartender clad in black and white, with his back to me, was unpacking cases of wine and beer. I turned away, looking for my client. I didn't have to wait long as Juliet hurried down the steps, wearing a silk wrap dress. Smiling when she saw me, "What do you think?" she asked, waving a hand around.
"It looks great. Very authentic."
"I think Rob is blown away. He said we should have planned our wedding like this all along. He says it's very us."
I nodded my agreement. Quiet, understated and elegant; the fake wedding was just what I imagined for the couple. "I like all the decorations."
"You should see the back yard. It's like something out of a fairytale. Come see," Juliet said, grabbing my hand and drawing me to the back of the house. What I saw stopped me dead. Fairytale was a good description. Far from the dark, shadowy scene of a recent shooting, this yard was festooned with ribbons and fairy lights, along with colorful sets of decorated chairs that flanked a petal-strewn aisle. Somewhere, wind chimes tinkled in the breeze. Thankfully, someone successfully scrubbed all of my blood droplets from the deck.
"I don't know how you planned all this. It's so amazing."
"I had a lot of time on my hands. Plus, the stalker actually helped. I got to use a lot of the stuff they insisted I pay for, or was already sent to me. I just added a few things and voila! So... in their face, right?"
I blinked in surprise at Juliet's perkiness. "You seem..."
"Happy?" finished Juliet. "You know what? I am. I refuse to let this beat me. All those threats. All that nastiness. Everything my stalker did is unraveling. Rob and I are going to beat this. I am going to beat this."
"That's my girl," said Rob, coming up from behind us. He draped an arm around Juliet, pulling her against him, and planting a kiss on her cheek. Juliet smiled as she relaxed against him. "There's someone at the door for you," he told her.
"Who is it?"
"Go see."
"I best go see," Juliet giggled, slipping out from Rob's embrace.
I gave Rob a pointed look, wondering whom exactly Juliet was about to greet. Rob simply smiled and nodded towards the door. Since people close to Juliet were exactly the kind of people I was worried about, I followed her to the door. I stopped in the kitchen doorway and watched Juliet hugging and exclaiming her greetings to the group at her door. "Her friends are here?" I asked Rob when he joined me. Rose, Chloe and Rebecca were all standing together.
"Juliet called everyone yesterday. Every single one."
"That must have been hard.
"It was, but she persisted. She told them all what was happening... and there was a lot of crying, but... I think everything is okay. Thanks to you, they all understand now and also are relieved that Juliet wouldn't ever do any of those nasty things to them."
"Another win."
"Yeah, Juliet is definitely winning this battle."
"You stood by her when many wouldn't... and didn't."
"It wasn't easy. Some of it, anyway," added Rob. "This stalker tried to come between us too, but Juliet and I... we communicate with each other. We always have. No one can ever come between us."
"Keep that in mind today," I reminded him.
"I am."
Despite the pleasing sight, a cold chill ran through me. We were waiting for people, exactly those kind of people. We were waiting for Juliet's friends and family, knowing that someone close to her wanted to harm her, and would do anything to accomplish that. "Don't leave her alone," I warned him softly as Juliet hugged an old friend. "Not for a second! Not with anyone! I don’t care how much you trust them."
"I won't."
"I mean it."
"I won't!" Rob pulled on a long breath. "Did you come in for something? Other than to see our crazy, fake, fabulous wedding?"
"I only came to check on you and to see if I could get a green tea for my pregnant friend who's assisting with surveillance."
"I can get you a cup."
"And a coffee too, if you don't mind?"
"Coming right up... Uh, if I can leave Juliet alone for one moment?"
I laughed since I just contradicted my own orders, and all to appease Lily's cravings. "Sure, just this once."
"Lexi..." Rob hesitated as he turned away.
"Yes?"
"What if it doesn't work? All this... Is it all for nothing?"
"I can't make you any promises," I told him honestly, wishing I could say otherwise. Sure, I wanted to give him more hope. I could only set the trap, and couldn't account for the stalker's actions. "This is our best chance to draw her into the open. We're so close. So close."
"This had better work." Rob stepped into the kitchen before I could answer, which was just as well because I didn't have any more answers to give him. I had only platitudes and raw hope. I crossed my fingers and made a silent wish that I was right, and this wedding would prove to be the ultimate happiness, something the stalker couldn't resist interfering with. It had to be just too tempting for her to ruin. There was no way the stalker would not try to eclipse it.
That was exactly the thought I had in mind when I knocked on the window of my car five minutes later. I gestured to Lily she should get out. "What happened?" she asked, her eyes filled with hope.
"Absolutely nothing. I thought you might like to go for a walk? We've been sitting here for a long time."
"But who's watching the front? What if we miss something?"
"We won't. Solomon called. He's here too, watching."