Chapter 4 #3
“Exactly. Olivia is usually so sure about what she wants. It’s just not like her to be this anxious.
” A sigh came through the iPhone’s speaker, and Vicky went on, “Actually, since you’re local, would you mind checking on some of the venue details for her?
I think it would help put her mind at ease to know someone she trusts has eyeballed everything before she and Alec arrive. ”
Talk about getting permission in advance.
Not that Delia and Caleb hadn’t already inspected the chapel, but if they needed to go back, then no one should bat an eyelid at any return trips.
“Of course,” she replied at once. “I’m happy to help.
In fact, why don’t I give Olivia a call this afternoon and see if there’s anything specific she wants me to check on? ”
“Oh, she’d love that,” Vicky said, relief clear in her voice. “Thanks, sweetie. You’re a lifesaver.”
If only you knew, passed through Delia’s mind as they ended the call. If you had all the facts in hand, you’d move heaven and earth to make sure this destination wedding was relocated to someplace much safer.
Like maybe an erupting Kilauea, or possibly an ice floe somewhere near the South Pole.
But since her aunt currently occupied a place of blissful ignorance, Delia knew she and Caleb would have to work behind the scenes to make sure she remained that way.
Almost as soon as she set down the phone, it buzzed again.
Caleb.
Did you see the news?
I did. I’m stuck here at the office, though.
That’s all right. I think I’ll head out and poke around, see if I can sense anything off.
Any problems with your own power?
No, everything was fine over here.
Delia wondered if she should mention the odd flickering of the porch light at her house, then decided she could leave that aside for now.
Nothing had acted up since then, and she supposed it could have been the bulb.
LED lights were supposed to be extremely stable, but maybe she’d gotten a dud or something.
Well, be careful. I’ll go straight over to your place when I’m off work.
I’m always careful.
Delia wasn’t so sure about that, but she couldn’t help smiling a little as she ended the convo. If nothing else, Caleb Lockwood had been in some pretty tight spaces and had managed to wriggle out of them anyway, so she wouldn’t let herself be too worried.
All the same, she couldn’t wait for this day to be over so she could see him in person and reassure herself that any “poking” he’d done had been relatively harmless.
No sign yet of her mother, so Delia decided she might as well go ahead and call Olivia. Her cousin had her own graphic design business and worked from home, so she didn’t think such a call would be too much of an interruption.
Besides, she’d gotten past the first hurdle of the conversation with Vicky, so she figured she’d better strike while the iron was hot.
“Hi, Delia.” Olivia didn’t sound especially surprised to hear from her, a reaction explained by her next words. “My mother texted me and said you might call. How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Delia replied. “But how are you? Your mother said you’ve been a little stressed about the wedding planning.”
A long pause on the other end of the line, and when Olivia spoke again, her voice sounded somehow smaller, not nearly as sure of herself.
“God, is it that obvious? I’ve been trying not to worry everyone, but…
.” Another pause, followed by an audible sigh.
“I don’t know. Ever since Alec and I booked the chapel last month, I’ve just had this weird feeling about it. ”
“What kind of weird feeling?” Delia asked carefully. The last thing she wanted was to allow any of her own misgivings to seep into the conversation. No, she needed to hear what her cousin had been experiencing without any outside responses possibly coloring her account.
“This is going to sound kind of crazy,” Olivia said, then gave a shaky laugh.
Delia didn’t know her cousin all that well, hadn’t seen her in several years, but she could tell right away that laugh had been a complete fake.
“But every time I think about walking down the aisle at that chapel, I get this overwhelming sense of…dread, I guess. Like something terrible is waiting for me.”
“That doesn’t sound crazy at all,” Delia said, doing her best to sound soothing. “Have you told Alec how you’re feeling?”
“A little,” her cousin replied. “He just thinks it’s cold feet, and maybe he’s right.
But the dreams are so vivid — way more vivid than any other dreams I’ve ever had.
Most of the time, I can’t even remember what I’ve dreamed, but with these dreams, I can see every awful detail as soon as I open my eyes in the morning.
People screaming and running and trampling each other, the chapel filling with smoke and flames… .”
That did sound pretty awful. No wonder her cousin was so hag-ridden.
Was her subconscious trying to protect her? Did she also have some spark of psychic powers hidden somewhere inside?
Impossible to say. Both of Delia’s parents had already said flat out that no one else on either side of the family had any kind of psychic gifts, so they had no idea where her ghost-whispering talent had come from.
Which didn’t mean a whole hell of a lot. Most people worked very hard to hide anything about themselves that invited too many questions.
Especially back in the day, when claiming you were telepathic or whatever wouldn’t be dismissed as an odd little quirk but was instead something that could get you into a whole lot of trouble, up to and including getting burned at the stake.
She tried to tell herself this was a good development.
If her cousin was already having nightmares and making her fiancé worry that she was getting cold feet, then maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to convince her that there might be plenty of alternatives to getting married at the Angel’s Dream chapel.
“Olivia,” she said, trying to sound gently persuasive but not pushy, “maybe you should think about having the ceremony somewhere else.”
Her cousin’s voice sharpened. “Somewhere else?”
Here goes nothing. “Well, I’ve been doing some research on Vegas wedding venues — a client of mine was asking for some input, since she’s also planning her wedding — and I’ve come across some absolutely beautiful places that might be even more perfect for you and Alec.”
This was all an utter lie, but Delia spent so much time out and about in Las Vegas that she knew the chapels pretty well, even if she hadn’t done any specific research on them in particular.
For the first time, Olivia sounded almost hopeful. “Really?”
“Really,” Delia assured her. “In fact, if you want, I can scout out a few alternatives for you.”
“Oh, that would be fabulous,” Olivia replied at once, relief clear in her voice. “I’ve been wanting to do that, but Alec keeps saying we already paid in advance and they don’t offer refunds. But if there’s something better….”
Delia hadn’t known that about the ceremony being nonrefundable, but she supposed it made sense. The last thing quickie wedding chapels wanted was people backing out at the last minute because they knew they wouldn’t lose any money on the deal if they found something better.
Besides, this wouldn’t be like pulling out of a country club wedding or something. At most, they would have sunk a couple of grand into the ceremony, and that was only if they’d bought the most expensive package.
She guessed most people would consider that an acceptable sacrifice if it meant avoiding getting sucked into a hellmouth.
“Oh, I’m sure there’s something better out there,” Delia said. “Just let me do some looking around, and then I’ll get back to you.”
“That would be awesome,” her cousin responded, already sounding much more cheerful. “I really wanted to get married in Las Vegas so we could honeymoon in Alec’s new house there, but I thought we were stuck with Angel’s Dream.”
“You’re not stuck,” Delia assured her. “It’s going to be fine.”
After delivering those reassurances and promising again that she’d call Olivia as soon as she had a list of four or five viable alternatives, she reached out to Caleb.
“My cousin is already having nightmares about the chapel,” she told him as soon as he answered her call. “And she wants me to scout some alternatives for her. The hardest part is going to be convincing her fiancé, but Olivia sounds ready to find something else.”
“That’s great news,” Caleb replied, although something about his tone sounded almost distracted. “But there’s been another development. Go to Channel 8’s website.”
That didn’t sound very good. With her free hand, Delia opened her laptop and searched for the local ABC affiliate’s website. Right at the top was an article about a series of “unexplained incidents” at wedding venues across the city — electrical fires, plumbing disasters, mysterious break-ins.
“It’s escalating,” she said.
“Fast,” Caleb agreed. “We may have gotten Olivia on board, but — ”
His words were cut off by a sharp ping, and Delia pulled the phone away from her ear so she could look down at the screen.
A text from Pru.
Emergency team meeting. Found something big. My place @ 6.
“I just got a text from Pru,” she said.
“So did I. So much for getting together at my house.”
Yes, it would have been nice to have a quiet evening together. However, it didn’t look as if “quiet” was going to be on the calendar for at least the next few days.
She released a breath. “I guess we’re about to find out just how much worse this is going to get.”