Chapter 27
With the body identified, it was time for Sean to deliver the news. These conversations were never easy, but they were necessary, and the sooner he told the groom and the bride’s sister, the sooner they could process their grief.
The wedding party was in Julie’s room, and the moment Sean entered, the maid of honor broke down in tears.
Ben, the groom, stood motionless, and then eventually started shaking his head. “No,” Ben said. “No, no, that’s not…”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Sean said.
The bride’s sister, Julie, screamed again, and it was the woman’s cry that snapped Ben out of his stupor. He punched the wall, putting a hole through the drywall.
“No!” Ben screamed, then punched the wall again, as he repeated it until the best man, Tim, restrained him.
Ben fought him off, but by the time he was free, the anger had run its course, and he dropped to his knees and sobbed.
Sean remained near the front of the room, letting the initial shock fade, but he couldn’t wait forever. Once they fell silent, he continued.
“I need to speak with you,” Sean said, looking at the groom. “Outside in the hallway, in private.”
Ben wiped his bloodshot eyes, smearing tears along his cheeks. He followed Sean out of the hotel room and into the hallway.
It wasn’t until the two men were close to one another that Sean finally caught the groom’s stench. He reeked of booze and smoke.
“I’m sorry again for your loss,” Sean said.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “I feel…numb.”
“I need you to walk me through last night again,” Sean said. “Whatever you can remember. No detail is too small.”
“Well, I mean, we all got ready for dinner in our rooms,” Ben said. “We were pre-gaming pretty hard. I don’t even know how many shots I had, but when I woke up this morning, all our liquor bottles were empty. I’m pretty sure I blacked out. I don’t even remember dinner.”
The blackout wasn’t an alibi, but Tim had already confirmed that they were in bed by two. Unless Tim was lying.
Then, Sean considered the smoke he smelled on the man.
“Did you go outside for a smoke?” Sean asked.
“Uh, yeah, probably,” Ben answered. “You can’t smoke in the hotel.”
“Where?” Sean asked.
“Ah, man, I don’t remember,” Ben answered.
“Think harder,” Sean said plainly. “I need the truth from you. If you care about your dead fiancé at all, then you’ll give it to me.”
Ben winced as if thinking was causing him physical pain, and then he blinked. “Uh, the roof. Yeah, we went to the roof. It was Tim’s idea.”
“Who went with you?” Sean asked.
“All of us,” Ben answered. “It was cold as shit, but the view was amazing. You could see the forest, and the snow was starting to fall. It was really nice. The calm before the storm, I guess.” Then his face went pale. “Jesus, Karla’s really gone?”
“How did you get up there?” Sean asked. “That door is normally locked.”
“Well, it wasn’t locked when we went up,” Ben answered.
“How was your relationship with Karla lately?” Sean asked.
Ben frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Weddings are stressful,” Sean answered. “I’m just curious how you two have been handling everything.”
“I mean, yeah, it’s been stressful,” Ben admitted. “But not stressful enough for me to kill her, if that’s what you mean.”
“But you two have been arguing?” Sean asked.
Ben shrugged and then took a deep breath. “I mean, Karla and I had a big fight right before this trip.”
“What did you fight about?” Sean asked.
“I heard her on the phone,” Ben said. “Karla was angry and whispering, trying to be quiet so I wouldn’t hear her.
She thought I had gone to the gym, but I forgot my phone and came back inside the house.
That was when I heard her talking to someone.
I confronted her, and she said it was nothing, but I wouldn’t let it go.
We got into a fight, but she eventually told me that someone had been bothering her, trying to tell her to call off the wedding, because they said they were in love with her. ”
“Did she say who it was?” Sean asked.
“No,” Ben answered. “But… I think it was someone close to me.”
“What makes you say that?” Sean asked.
“She would have told me who it was if I didn’t know them,” he answered.
Sean recalled Tim and Julie’s conversation in the library.
“Was it Tim?” Sean asked.
“What?” Ben scrunched his face in disbelief. “No. Tim’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since third grade. No, it’s not him.” He shook his head, emphatic in his belief. But it was hard for some people to understand what was staring them in the face; for others, it was clearer.
“Do you know who it might have been?” Sean asked.
“There was this guy at her work,” Ben answered. “Jeremy. I’ve met him a few times, and it was pretty clear that he had a thing for her. Karla told me he never made a move or anything. But I just assumed it was him on the phone.”
Ben remained in shock and couldn’t offer up any more details about Karla’s conversation with the mystery person who had confessed their love.
So, Sean decided to speak to Julie next. After all, he had found her earring in the atrium. He was curious how it got there and why there was blood on it.