Whispers of Murder (2 page)

Isabelle’s knees buckled like they’d been stuffed with cotton and she collapsed.  Her head smacked against the hardwood floor upon impact and she lay there motionless, her eyes closed.  

Within seconds her sister had scurried to her side and cradled Isabelle’s head in her lap.  Leo bent down to touch her but Melanie slapped his hand away.  “Don’t touch her!” she hissed.  “You did this!”  She turned toward the back of the room and yelled, “Emmett?”  But there was no need, he was already there.

What should have been one of the happiest moments in Isabelle’s life turned out to be the day her whole world unraveled.

CHAPTER 2

I
sabelle shot up and adjusted to the unfamiliar surroundings around her.  The sound of her father’s voice emanated from the hallway.  “If you wouldn’t have pressured her to marry you before she was ready, none of this would have happened,” he lectured. 

“We love each other.  I didn’t see a reason to wait,” Leo said.  “Besides, she’s fine.”

“She’s in the hospital.  How’s that fine?” her sister said. 

Isabelle kneaded her forehead with her hand and tried to will away the constant succession of pain that shot through it like bullets being fired off at a shooting range. 

“You should lay back down and rest,” a voice said. 

She turned and glanced toward the window.  “Emmett?” 

Isabelle slid over in bed and he sat down.  “Why am I in the hospital?” she said.  “What happened?”

“Your dad insisted.  He wanted to make sure you were okay,” Emmett said.  “You fainted.  Do you remember that?”

“The last thing that comes to mind is you walking in with my father.” 

He smiled down at her but didn’t say a word.

“Did he come because of you…to the wedding?” she said. 

“He loves you, Izzy.  No matter how he feels, he wanted to be there—for you, anyway.”

Emmett was the only one who had ever called her by that name. 

“I know you had something to do with it.”  She applied light pressure to his hand.  “Thank you.”

Isabelle’s gaze shifted to an enormous arrangement of lilies on the table next to her.  “Are those from Leo?” she said.  “He’s so sweet.”

Emmett shook his head.  “They’re umm…from me.  I saw them in the gift shop downstairs, and I remembered how you used to keep lilies in your room when we were—”

“Can you tell Leo I’m awake now?  I’d really like to see him.”

He released her hand, gazed out the window and then walked toward the door.

“Emmett?”

He stopped and turned around and she noticed the deep-set circles around his eyes.  He looked like a POW who hadn’t slept for days.

She pointed to the flowers.  “Thank you for these.  They’re beautiful.”

He tilted his head and closed the door behind him.  A moment later it opened again, but it wasn’t Leo who walked through the door.

Isabelle looked up.  “I don’t want to see you.” 

Melanie hopped onto the end of the hospital bed and crisscrossed her legs like she was ready to engage in a moment of meditation.  

“Why?  You’re married to the guy now so you got what you wanted.”

“But I thought the ceremony never finished?”

“He got to the I-now-pronounce-you-man-and-wife part right around the time your body plummeted to the floor.  Leo practically threw himself on top of you to seal the deal with a kiss, and that quack of a pastor allowed it even though you were laying there like Sleeping Beauty.”

Isabelle’s eyes veered away from her sister and over to the stark white wall next to her like she was trying to decide what color paint would suit it best.  “You probably hated that.”

“The fact that you could have died on me?  No.  The ceremony making it to the “I do” part with that guy?  Yes.”

“He has a name, you know.  You don’t need to refer to him as that guy.”

Melanie shrugged.  “I could think of worse things to call him.”

“Is it always going to be like this?”

Isabelle’s sister leaned forward and smoothed her hands over both sides of her sister’s cheeks.  “You show up in town with this guy after we haven’t seen you in ages, make a brief introduction and then flash a ring in our faces and announce the two of you are getting hitched in a few weeks.  And you can’t see why that might be a little hard to take?”

Isabelle interlaced her fingers on her lap, leaned back on the pillow behind her and sighed.  “Is Dad still mad at me?”

“He’s disappointed.  You know how old-fashioned he is.  Leo never even asked him if he could marry his daughter.  What do you expect?”

“Just because you all don’t know him like I do yet doesn’t mean you can’t give me a little support.  It was my decision to make.”

Melanie shrugged.  “And you made it, so why do we need to keep talking about this?”

“Because you treat him like an outsider, like he doesn’t belong.   Everyone respects Dad in this town, and I won’t have Leo shunned everywhere we go.  As soon as I feel better, we’re out of here.”

“I can’t help what Dad does, but at least you listened to him long enough to agree on Leo signing a prenup.”

Isabelle fidgeted with the edge of her gown.

Her sister’s eyes widened until they resembled the size of a half-dollar.  “You did have him sign the prenup, right?”  Isabelle said nothing.  Melanie grabbed both sides of her arms and squeezed.  “Tell me he signed the damn thing, Isabelle.”

Isabelle met her sister’s eyes with her own, and there was no need for a verbal confirmation.  Melanie had her answer.

Two knocks sounded at the door and Leo stepped into the room.  “Can I have a few minutes with my wife?”

Melanie rose from the bed, and without any acknowledgement, strutted past Leo into the hallway.

Leo approached the bed, leaned in and kissed Isabelle on the forehead.  “I’m sorry about all this,” he said. 

“Why?  You aren’t to blame.  They’ve all treated you like you’re the main attraction on Wild Kingdom.”

He laughed.  “Who knows, maybe I am.”

Isabelle balled her hand into a fist and socked him in the chest.  “That’s not funny.”

His smile turned into a look of concern.  “You’re unhappy; I can see it in your face.  What can I do to make things better?”

“Get me out of here.”

CHAPTER 3

“
I
’m sorry we missed our flight,” Isabelle said.

Leo scooped Isabelle up in his arms.  “Don’t be.  We can cruise the Bahamas anytime.”  He grasped the champagne glass from her hand, set it on the nightstand and then pulled both her hands to meet his lips.  “All I need is you.  So let’s enjoy this gorgeous hotel room and each other.”

Isabelle smiled, snatched a pink striped box that rested next to her suitcase on the chair and carried it with her to the bathroom.  She stripped off her jeans and t-shirt and replaced them with a form-fitting black satin chemise and a matching robe which she tied around her so she wouldn’t reveal what lied beneath until the time was right.  When she emerged a few minutes later Leo had a look on his face like a dog that had just been offered a savory treat. 

“Let me undo the tie on that robe for you,” he said.

She wagged her finger in the air.  “Not until room service arrives.  You can wait that long, can’t you?”

He lifted her onto the bed and climbed on top of her.  “Why wait if I don’t have to?”  She raised her head up, and he met her lips with his own.  “Let’s call off room service,” he said.  “All I want is you tonight.”

He’d barely uttered the words when the sounds of metal clanking together sounded at the door.  Leo grunted and stammered out of bed to open it.  The attendant pushed the cart into the center of the room.  Isabelle studied it and noticed a wine bottle that angled out of a metal container. 

“I think you have the wrong room,” she said.

The attendant looked in her direction but didn’t make eye contact.  Isabelle thought it was odd until she glanced down at her robe and noticed it had flayed open.  She snatched the crumpled duvet from the center of the bed and pressed it over her chest. 

“Is something missing?” the attendant said.

She shook her head and pointed to the metal bowl.  “That wine, we didn’t order it.  We’ve got plenty of our own.”

“Are you sure, ma’am?” 

She cringed at the sound of it: ma’am.  Did marriage come with an automatic sign that indicated she’d aged ten years?

Leo approached the cart and separated the wine from the ice that surrounded it.  He lifted it up for a moment before plunging it back down into the bowl.

The attendant pointed to the desk.  “Can I use your phone?”

Isabelle nodded.  The attendant made a call and then said, “We were told to bring this to you…as a gift.”

“From whom?”

Leo grabbed a white envelope the size of a playing card from the top of the tray and offered it to her.  “There’s a note.”  He pulled some money from his pocket and remitted it to the attendant along with a light tap on his shoulder.  “I’m sure we can clear this up ourselves.  You can go now.”

Once the door was fastened and locked and the attendant had gone, Leo said, “Well, who’s it from?”

Isabelle picked the seal from the back of the envelope and withdrew the note inside:

CONGRATULATIONS LEO AND ISABELLE

WE WOULD LIKE TO GET TO KNOW YOU LEO IF YOU’LL GIVE US ANOTHER CHANCE

ENJOY YOUR WEDDING NIGHT

P.S. ISABELLE--I KNOW THIS WINE IS YOUR FAVORITE, THIS IS FOR YOU

“My favorite?”  Isabelle said.  “What kind is it?”

Leo spun the bottle around in the bowl.  It’s a Chateau Lafite Rothschild, whatever that is.”

“What year?”

“Says 1996.”

Isabelle stuck her hand out.  “Let me see that bottle.”  Leo handed it to her and she flipped it around, giving it a full inspection.  “It’s a Bordeaux.  In the mid-18th century there was a French politician who became hooked on this stuff.  He gifted some bottles to King Louis XV who preferred it to most of his other wines.  Because of that it earned the nickname ‘the King's wine,’ not that you’re interested in all that information.  It just slips out sometimes.” 

Leo shook his head.  “Wow, are there any wines left that are unfamiliar to you?” 

“My father wouldn’t have it any other way.  By age ten I’d memorized all the wines in our vineyard.  He used to tell me stories like the one I just told you.  I guess that was his way of bonding with me.”

“So it’s a peace offering then?”

She squinted.  “If it came from him.  The card was typed and it wasn’t signed.”

“And is it?”

“What?”

“Your favorite?”

“One of them.  If I told you how much this bottle cost, you wouldn’t believe me.” 

Leo uncorked it, reached for two glasses and poured.  “Let’s make sure it doesn’t go to waste then.”

Isabelle’s head throbbed.  She compressed her temples with her hand.  

Leo raised an eyebrow.  “What is it?”

“I want to have this with you, but I’m still a little woozy from earlier today.”

“I’ll wait then.”

She shook her head.  “Don’t.  It won’t be the same.  Now that you’ve opened it, you should have some.”  Her hand passed by the wine he’d just poured her and she grabbed a glass of water from the bedside table and clanked it against his flute of wine.  “To our future,” she said and they both flicked their heads back and drank in their respective liquid. 

Leo leaned forward and kissed her.  “Why don’t you rest for a while?”

“I’m fine.  Besides,” she said with a glance toward her open robe, “I got all dressed up in this thing.”

“Just for a few minutes,” he said.  “And then you’ll wake up refreshed—we have all night.  I tell you what, I’ll shower and have some of this food, and if you’re still not up, I’ll wake you.”

Her body cried out in approval so she gave in and curled up on the bed.  Leo grabbed the duvet, folded it over her body and curved his body behind hers.   

“I’m sorry for the way my family has treated you,” she said.  “I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“I love you Isabelle,” he whispered.  “Nothing else matters to me.  Only you.”

CHAPTER 4

L
ight filtered in rich shades of orange and yellow through the sheer curtains that spanned the length of both windows, and Isabelle realized she hadn’t slept a few minutes, she’d slept all night.  Her legs and arms were draped over Leo like a spider monkey struggling to find warmth, only she wasn’t warm at all, she was cold—freezing. 

She peeled her face apart from Leo’s arm, propped herself up a few inches and peered around the room.  The bottle of wine was tipped on its side.  No wonder he was still passed out.  She slanted her eyes toward him.  He looked so peaceful. 

With the tips of her fingers Isabelle moved her hands up and down his arm to rouse him from his sleep, but he didn’t move.  She leaned in close and turned his face in her direction.  His skin didn’t look right.  It had a yellowish hue, and as she grazed her hand over his lips his mouth propped open, but no breath expelled from it.

Isabelle gasped and tripped over a pile of Leo’s clothes as she flung herself over her handbag on the floor.  She heaved all the items out until she spied her cell phone, and then pounded her fingers on the keys until it rang.