Killer Wedding Read Online Free PDF Page B

asked, intrigued.
    â€œThe what?” Holly asked.
    â€œJune tenth at the Museum of Nature,” Wes confirmed, as he moved to the food processor to mix together his dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, salt, and a cup of almonds.
    â€œSara Silver and Brent Bell. That’s the couple I met with today,” I explained to Holly. “Isn’t it sweet that they wanted to invite us to their wedding?”
    â€œWhere in the museum are they getting married?” Holly asked. “Not in the Hall of Dinosaurs! That is so nug!”
    â€œNug?” I looked to Wes for translation but he only shrugged.
    â€œMan, I love fossils,” Holly said, excited. “The Triceratops was a plant-eater, did you know that?”
    â€œIs that so?” Wes commented dryly. “Well, there will be no paella for that, uh, bad boy .”
    â€œI’ve always wanted to do a big event at the Museum of Nature.” I added freshly sliced tomatoes and a couple of bay leaves to the cooking vegetables. “It is awfully cool.”
    â€œIt is awfully expensive,” Wes noted, as he continued to whir various sweet ingredients into his batter. “Didn’t we look into renting that place for a wrap party one time, Mad?”
    â€œRight. It’s over ten grand just to get in the door, plus thousands for each additional room you need. It’s fabulous but it’s a hassle. They have a gazillion restrictions and rules and fire codes. Anyway, this couple, Sara Silver and Brent Bell, were going through a bit of a crisis today. Actually, I’m glad to hear they’re over it.”
    I added a sliced red bell pepper to the pan and heard the delightful crackle as cold veggie hit sizzling oil. Heaven.
    I quickly stirred arborio rice into the cooked tomato and peppers, while I turned down the heat under a pot of chicken broth simmering with paprika and saffron.
    Wesley came over to lend a hand.
    Holly sliced the sausage into nice thick diagonals, and tossed them in, and Wes began adding the cooked chicken to the rice mixture. I topped it by carefully pouring the hot chicken broth over all. With a tight twist of heavy-duty aluminum foil to seal in the steam and juices, Wesley lifted the heavy pan into the oven. Wes and Holly each went back to their own workstations, jobs still to do, but I was ready for a break.
    â€œSo it’s going to be a fabulous wedding,” Holly prompted, trying to pick up the thread of our conversation.
    My refrigerator is never without a stash of Diet Coke and I poured myself a glass and got back to the tale of my day. “I hope so. They seemed like a very nice couple. And they have no discernable problem spending money.”
    Holly put her salad greens in the refrigerator to crisp up and said, dreamily, “I love that in a man.”
    â€œWell, then, I think you’d have a crush on the bride’s grandfather. Apparently he’s paying for it all.”
    Forty minutes passed while the savory paella simmered in the oven, spreading its marvelous scent of the Mediterranean. I stirred rich chocolate icing as Wesley finished up baking his orange-almond cake, and Holly happily filled us in on all the latest news she’d unearthed in her amazingly stealthy way.
    The phone rang just as I was adding the garlic-marinated shrimp to my nicely cooking paella , so Holly answered.
    â€œMad,” she said, “it’s for you. Whisper Pettibone.”
    Wes put the cakes on the cooling racks and turned to listen.
    Wiping my hands and placing the paella back into the oven, I took the receiver.
    â€œHello.”
    â€œIs this Madeline Bean?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWe’ve never met, but I know you were with Vivian this afternoon. I hope you don’t mind that I am calling.”
    â€œWhy, no.”
    â€œI work with Vivian and of course she called me this afternoon, right after she ruined her wonderful suit. And,as I’m sure you know, replacing