Chapter 7
Sean pulled the bachelor and bachelorette parties aside after his announcement, hoping to gather more information about the missing woman.
It turned out that the missing person was the bride.
The group consisted of only four people: the groom, the best man, the maid of honor, and the now-missing bride.
The maid of honor was the bride’s sister.
The groom anxiously paced the hallway, hands on his hips and head down, muttering to himself.
“Let’s start with names,” Sean said.
The two men floundered, both glancing at one another as if they were waiting for the other to take charge, but the maid of honor stepped in.
She was still in the red silk dinner dress she had worn the previous night, though it was wrinkled now.
Her hair, once curled, was now frizzy and flat, tied up in a messy bun.
Some eyeliner was smeared around her puffy eyes, and her lipstick was faded.
She had one gold hoop earring on her left ear; the right one was missing.
“I’m Julie,” she said, and then pointed to the groom. “This is Ben, my future brother-in-law.”
Ben offered a nervous hello. He was also dressed in the same suit he had worn last night, sans tie.
He had a pretty-boy look to him, the kind of guy you’d expect to work for his rich father after a four-year party stunt at state university.
He couldn’t have been older than twenty-five, and Sean didn’t know when he had gotten so old.
“She’s probably fine, right?” Ben asked. “Just passed out somewhere? I mean, we all had a lot to drink last night.”
“Yeah, maybe,” Julie answered, and then she cleared her throat and gestured to the groom’s best man. “And that’s Tim.”
“Hey,” Tim said, sitting down and rubbing his forehead, clearly nursing a hangover. He had a similar build and hairstyle to the groom, though not as handsome. He was nonchalant about the bride’s disappearance. But Sean suspected the best man’s apathy was more of a personality trait.
“You don’t think her being gone is connected to that missing girl, do you?” Ben asked. “I mean, Karla wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Sean frowned. “Your fiancé’s name is Karla?”
“Um, yeah,” Ben answered, glancing around as if he were looking for confirmation.
“Does that mean something?” Julie asked.
“It might,” Sean answered. “That’s also the name of our missing girl.”
This caused the best man, Tim, to lift his head. “That’s freaky.”
“Let’s start with the last person who saw her,” Sean said.
“It was probably me,” Julie said.
“What time was that?” Sean asked.
Julie scrunched up her face, accentuating the dark circles under her eyes from the late night. “We were hanging at the bar until it closed at midnight, and then we came back to our room.”
“And what happened then?” Sean asked.
Julie shrugged. “We talked. Ate some junk food. I threw up—a lot.” She laughed but then winced. “And then we passed out.”
“And you’re sure your sister was in the room when you both fell asleep?” Sean asked.
“Yes,” Julie answered.
“Did she fall asleep first, or did you?” Sean asked.
“Um, me, I think,” Julie answered, quickly shaking her head. “I’m sorry. It’s all just a little fuzzy.”
Sean glanced at the best man, Tim, who was once again rubbing his temples. “What about you?” Sean asked. “When was the last time you saw her?”
“Uh, the bar, before Ben and I went back to our room,” Tim answered.
“And you?” Sean asked, looking to the groom.
“Same, at the bar,” Ben answered.
Sean had flipped to a new page in his notebook. He wasn’t sure whether the two cases were linked, but for now he kept them separate. He scribbled down the times, then looked to Julie.
“Do you remember the time you passed out?” Sean asked.
“I think it was almost two o’clock?” Julie asked.
“And your sister was still with you,” Sean replied.
“Yes,” Julie answered.
Sean jotted down the two o’clock timeline. “And she wasn’t in the room when you woke up this morning?”
“No, when that butler knocked on the door and woke me up, I was alone,” Julie answered, and then she rubbed her shoulders, warming the gooseflesh that had raised over her skin. “I thought she had gone to get some coffee or something.”
Julie confirmed that the butler had woken her up shortly after seven o’clock, which meant there was roughly a five-hour window where Karla the bride had gone missing.
When Sean looked up from his notebook, he noticed Julie clutching something at the end of her necklace.
“What’s that?” Sean asked.
Julie glanced down at her chest, then opened her hand and revealed a golden heart-shaped locket. It was the same locket Sean had found in the younger Karla’s room.
“Oh, this?” Julie asked. “This was from my sister. She made them for me and her for this weekend.”
Two missing girls. Both named Karla. Golden heart locket.
“Did you know if your sister interacted with the other Karla yesterday?” Sean asked.
Julie shrugged. “I don’t think so. Why?”
“I found your sister’s locket in the missing girl’s room,” Sean answered.
“What?” Julie asked. “No, that doesn’t make any sense.”
“Does yours have a picture in it?” Sean asked.
“Yes, it’s Karla and me,” Julie answered, and then she opened it to reveal a picture of two little girls smiling on a playground. “It’s from when we were in middle school. I was in eighth grade, and she was in sixth grade, but we both had braces that year. We called it our fugly year.”
Sean scribbled the information in his notes, unsure if the pair’s name had anything to do with the case or whether the two missing persons were connected at all.
With the trio still nursing their hangovers, Sean told them to take a few moments to gather their thoughts.
When Sean stepped back into the hallway, Roger was there waiting for them.
“So, I think we have some good news,” Roger said. “One of the guests thinks they might be able to get the generator going.”
“Who?” Sean asked.
“Um, Frank Maynard,” Roger answered. “He’s staying in room 103 with his wife and son.”
“Well, before he starts working on the generator, I want to speak with him,” Sean said.
“Of course, yes,” Roger said.
Sean followed Roger toward the Maynard family’s room, hoping they might have some insight into what had happened with either Karla the girl or Karla the bride, and whether or not the man could get the power running.