A Groom wirh a View

It was in poor taste. Sorry.”
    Kitty did look offended, and didn’t acknowledge the apology, but turned to Jane. “I understand the gifts have been put out on display somewhere. I brought mine along.”
    Jane remembered Kitty’s arrival and wasn’t surprised she’d brought her wedding gift along. From the looks of her luggage collection, she’d brought nearly everything she owned. Besides the two large suitcases Jane had helped her carry in when she arrived, she’d later seen Kitty bring in three cartons as well. “They’re in the room where the bridal shower’s going to be,“ Jane said. “Get back into your regular clothes and I’ll show you.”
    A few minutes later, Jane pushed open the door of the room in question and she and Kitty were treated to the sight of Livvy and Dwayne embracing. Dwayne was kissing Livvy, who didn’t appear to be participating with much enthusiasm.
    “Oh, I’m sorry,“ Jane said. “I didn’t know anyone was here.”
    Livvy blushed scarlet, but Dwayne just grinned and said, “Come on in. We can behave ourselves for a while. At least until tomorrow.“
    “Oh, Dwayne,“ Livvy simpered.
    “Kitty brought her gift to set out,“ Jane explained.
    “Oh, Kitty! How really lovely,“ Livvy said, pulling away from Dwayne and examining the cut crystal fruit bowl Kitty was holding. Livvy took it from Kitty and held it up against the light from the window. “It’s just beautiful, Kitty. How good of you.”
    Kitty’s face was utterly blank. Apparently she wasn’t any better at reacting to compliments than she was at coping with bad jokes. Jane would have to remind Kitty to smile during her bridesmaid duties. Jane took the bowl from Livvy, rearranged a few other items to make room for it where the sunlight could catch in the facets, and went back to door duty with Shelley.
    “The dresses are done,“ she said. “The girls look lovely. Even Kitty. If she’d just smile occasionally.“
    “Mel’s here,“ Shelley said. “Turned up just as you went upstairs. He’s in the kitchen.“
    “Let’s assume we’ve done enough greeting and grab a bite of lunch before it’s all gone,“ Jane said.
    Mel was at the kitchen table, watching Mr. Willis and one of his local helpers put the luncheon leftovers away. He greeted Jane and Shelley with a rather more solemn manner than they’d expected. “Is something wrong?“ Jane asked quietly.
    He shook his head. “Not a thing,“ he said, turning and making a subtle shushing motion. This is not good, Jane thought.
    “Jane, let’s get some food and eat outside,“ Shelley suggested brightly. “Mel, have you eaten? Why don’t you join us?”
    Mr. Willis was so eager to get them out from underfoot that he quickly prepared plates for the three of them and shooed them out the door. There was a disreputable picnic table under some trees just behind the lodge and they settled there.
    “So what’s wrong?“ Jane said before anybody could get a bite of food.
    “I stopped in town to introduce myself on the way here,“ Mel said, looking longingly at a deviled ham sandwich. “The local police are a bit on the gabby side. Took my word for who I was and told me some interesting things.“ He lunged at his sandwich, determined to get at least one good mouthful before Jane started the inevitable inquisition.
    “Like what?“ Shelley and Jane asked as one voice.
    He chewed luxuriously for a moment, took a sip of his soft drink, and sighed. “The most important is that it appears Mrs. Crossthwait was pushed pretty hard. There are faint fresh bruises that look like fingertips on her back.“
    “What?“ Jane exclaimed. “You’d have to really put a huge amount of force behind a shove to make finger marks.“
    “Not if the person was on a blood thinner, apparently,“ Mel said. “The officer on the scene found a bottle of medicine in her purse, called the prescribing physician, and was told she had recurring incidents of phlebitis and was taking a pretty hefty daily dose of anticoagulant. That’s why she bruised so easily. Now, you two chew that over while I eat.”
    Jane looked at Shelley. “Maybe somebody shoved her earlier.“
    “But why?“ Shelley asked.
    “Maybe by accident,“ Jane improvised. “If somebody else tripped, they might have put their hands out to stop their fall and ran into her instead.”
    Shelley rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. And she didn’t say a word of complaint? Jane, this was a woman born to