Carol Clark: Hitched

“Go ahead,” Joyce said.

Regan walked down the hall, flicked the light on in the bedroom, and shut the door behind her.

Dana, the producer of the Patrick and Jeannie show, was on the phone. “Regan, I’m finally heading home but I thought you’d be interested in a call we received about the stolen dresses. An elderly woman says she found an antique-white lace button on the ground in a cemetery near Atlantic City. She was visiting her husband’s grave. It reminded her of the button from her wedding dress sixty years ago. It has a tiny logo on the back with the initials A and C. She took a picture of it and e-mailed it to us. You might want to take a look at it.”

“I don’t know whether Alfred and Charisse have that logo on their buttons. But I can’t imagine what the thieves would be doing in a cemetery with the wedding dresses.”

“I can’t either. But who knows?”

Regan frowned. “Can you do me a favor, Dana, and e-mail the picture to Alfred? If it is one of his buttons, he can call my cell phone.”

“Sure, Regan. We also received a call earlier from a woman who wants to make trouble for Brianne and her fiancé, Pauly. She said she was with him yesterday and wants to talk to Brianne.”

“Oh, great,” Regan said. “Give me her name.” When Regan hung up with Dana, she went back to the living room and signaled for Brianne and Pauly to join her down the hall.

“What is it, Regan?” Brianne asked as the three of them slipped into Joyce’s bedroom.

“I hate to be the one to tell you this,” Regan said with hesitation. “But the producer of the Patrick and Jeannie show said someone named Monica called the station. I guess she wants to stir up some trouble.”

“I already took care of her, Regan,” Brianne boasted as Pauly looked up in the air. “That’s the reason we were late getting down to Club Zee. Pauly told me the whole story. Monica is Pauly’s ex. She went out with him right before he met me. He lent her money, and she refused to pay him back, especially after he dumped her for me. Yesterday he went to her place to try and get it back because he didn’t think we had enough cash for our honeymoon. He’s been out of work and money is tight, but that idiot didn’t care. She finally agreed to pay him. They went to the bank, and she withdrew the cash. Five thousand dollars, by the way. Pauly said she was threatening him, and then with all this publicity about the April Brides, he was afraid she was going to make trouble. She had thought they’d end up married. Then when I said on the show that all his ex’s were losers, he was sure that she wouldn’t keep her mouth shut.”

Pauly was still looking up at the ceiling.

Brianne broke into a wide smile. “I told him that no matter how hard she tries, I’m not going to let that witch come between us.”

“That’s my Brianne,” Pauly said with pride. “That’s why I love her so much.”

“And we’re going to have a good time spending that money on the honeymoon!” Brianne added. “It was Pauly’s right to get it back, and I’m glad he did. I can assure you, Regan, she won’t be calling the show again. I called her up and gave her a piece of my mind this afternoon.”

“Well, I’m glad that’s settled,” Regan said. “Let’s rejoin the party, shall we?”

When they went back to the living room, Romeo had just been let out of his cage.

Jack was down at his office where there was also a celebratory atmosphere. The Drip had been caught. Jack looked through his notes and found the number he was looking for. Wait till that poor bank teller hears this news, he thought as he dialed.

Tara and Jamie were enjoying themselves in Las Vegas, trying to forget the trauma she’d been through the day before. When Tara ’s cell phone rang, she grabbed it. “Hello.”

“ Tara?”

“Yes.”

“This is Jack Reilly.”

Tara smiled. “Hello! Don’t tell me another bank was robbed!”

Jack laughed. “No, Tara, I thought you’d be pleased to know that your bank robber has been caught. She even confessed.”

“She?”

“Yes, she had us all fooled. Anyway, I hope you’re doing okay.”

“We’re doing great. Right now we’re sitting by the pool having a wonderful time. My man Jamie’s taking good care of me. We almost got married last night.”

“You did?” Jack asked, surprised.

“After what happened yesterday, Jamie didn’t want to wait. We even went down to the courthouse to get a marriage license, but I decided I couldn’t do it to my mother. She’d kill me! We’ve been planning the wedding for so long. Say, did they catch whoever stole your fiancée’s dress?”

“No, they didn’t.”

“What’s she going to do?”

“The designer is making a new one. I hope he gets it done on time.”

“There was a guy on the courthouse steps handing out flyers last night. He said there’d be a special sale on a very limited number of designer wedding dresses, but they wouldn’t be available until Monday.” Tara laughed. “Maybe you should bring your fiancée out here and take a look!”

“He said they are going to be there Monday. That sounds odd.”

“I know, but this is Vegas. They probably fell off the back of a truck.”

“I might just have one of my contacts out there check them out. Do you still have the flyer?”

“It’s in my purse. Hold on, I’ve got everything in there but the kitchen sink.” Tara handed Jamie the phone, dug through her belongings, and emerged triumphant. She took back the phone and said, “There’s no address. Just a phone number. Here it is…”

Regan sat on the floor of Joyce’s living room next to Kit and looked around. Everyone seemed so happy. Joyce and Tom were really hitting it off, although Joyce’s parrot was now sitting between the two of them. Romeo looked as if he would happily take a chunk out of Tom’s hand if he got too close to Joyce.

Jay, the pharmacist, came in and made a beeline for Tracy. Her face lit up when he sat down next to her. Wouldn’t that be nice? Regan thought.

The phone rang. Cindy came from the kitchen, carrying the portable phone, her hand covering the mouthpiece. “It’s Francis’s mother.”

Joyce rolled her eyes. “Give it to me.” She took it and said, “Hello.”

On the other end, Janice was in a state of agitation. “Joyce, are you all right?”

“Yes. Thank God.”

“Where’s Francis?”

“I don’t know. My friend Cindy talked to him this morning and told him I was missing. He hung up and never called back.”

“Did you have a fight? Did you do something to upset him? Maybe he’s…”

Joyce sat up. “We didn’t have a fight. I have no idea what he’s up to.”

Regan’s cell phone rang. She answered it quickly.

“Regan!” Alfred cried. “They e-mailed us the picture of the button. This is the button that was on your dress!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. We ordered it specially from France. It’s a beautiful unique button! You know I only use the best on my dresses! It’s our logo on the back!”

“The woman found it in a cemetery near Atlantic City,” Regan said.

“Which is where I lost my keys!”

“I know. Alfred, I’ll figure out what to do next and call you back. I can’t talk now.”

“Me, neither!” he insisted. “Charisse and I are working our fingers to the bone.”

“We’ll talk later then,” Regan said.

Joyce was ending her phone conversation as well. “I have to go,” she said firmly. “If I hear from Francis, I’ll tell him to call you.”

“What’s the matter, Regan?” Cindy asked.

“An elderly woman found an antique lace button that reminded her of the one on her wedding dress in a cemetery near Atlantic City. She e-mailed a picture of it to the cable station. Alfred says it’s definitely the button he used on my dress.”