Grace and Laurie sat back and Jerry pinned a series of photographs to the large corkboard in Laurie’s office. Grace added oohs and aahs in response to her favorites. Laurie made a point to give a little clap when he pinned the photograph of Jacqueline Kennedy in her white cotton dress. That was the one Jerry was including as a tribute to his grandmother.
“Now, these are just the still photos,” he explained, “but once it’s all produced, we’ll cut it together with video footage of the gala. It will be snappy with lots of movement. And then we’ll contrast those images with photographs from the crime scene—nothing gory, of course, but yellow tape across the roof space, maybe a few spatters of blood on the snow. I haven’t selected those images yet. Obviously, this work was more pleasant to complete,” he added with a smile.
“It all looks great,” Laurie said. She had come to television with a background in journalism, but Jerry had majored in media arts and had started at Fisher Blake as an intern. His strength was in creating strong visuals specifically for television.
“I just wish we had access to a few of the actual dresses,” Jerry said. “If we could even use three, with one tiny corner of exhibit space at the museum, I know I could work wonders.”
“I’m sorry, Jerry, but the Met said it would be impossible,” Laurie said. “The dresses weren’t in their permanent collection. Most came from presidential libraries, the Smithsonian, and other museums.”
“I know. I just wish I could snap my fingers and make it so.”
“Well, if you had that magic power, I’d prefer you use it to find these two women, and pronto,” Laurie told him. She held up her notepad. “Tiffany Simon and Penny Rawling might be able to give us a new angle on all of them.” She still had that feeling in her gut that they didn’t have all of the pieces of the puzzle yet. “I just know Brett will be pushing us to start production any day now.”
“No magic powers needed,” Grace announced. She was looking at the screen of her iPhone. “Penny Rawling might be keeping a low profile, but I think I found Tiffany Simon.”
She handed Laurie and Jerry her phone. It was open to the website of a business called the Marriage Mobile. Their motto was “When You’re Ready to Say ‘I Do,’?” and they promised to show up anywhere in the tristate area with everything a bride and groom needed for a wedding. The owner and “minister” was named Tiffany Simon.
Laurie studied the picture of Tiffany, taking in the fake eyelashes, heavy makeup, and plunging neckline. Not the kind of appearance that would go over well at the exclusive Met Gala, she thought. No wonder Tom’s cousins were scornful of his date.
“Why wait?” she asked herself, as she picked up her phone and dialed the number on the website. The call was answered by a fluttery voice saying, “Marriage Mobile, Tiffany speaking.”
Her voice matches her picture, Laurie thought, as she introduced herself and explained why she was calling.
The response she received was everything she could have hoped for. “I love your reality show,” Tiffany squealed. “I can’t wait to be on it. Boy, can I tell you something about the Wakelings. What a snooty bunch they are.”
She may be a fount of information, Laurie thought, as she offered Tiffany a chance to meet anytime tomorrow.
“Oh, I would love to,” Tiffany told her, “but I have meetings with new clients in the morning and early afternoon, and I have to get everything together for a wedding I’m doing at five o’clock. The ceremony is at the pier alongside the Intrepid. The groom used to be in the navy and he wants the battleship in the background of his wedding pictures. Do you want to meet afterwards, say six o’clock?”
“I can do six,” Laurie said.
“Great. Landmark Tavern is on Eleventh Avenue at Forty-Sixth. It’s in a neat old building and would be super convenient for me. The menu is English pub fare if that’s okay with you.”
I’m not going for the food, Laurie thought to herself. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Laurie hung up the phone and looked at the expectant faces of Jerry and Grace. “My date is set with Tiffany Simon, and she appears anxious to dish on the Wakeling family.”
29
The following afternoon, Laurie arrived at the Landmark Tavern first. She took a table where she could easily see the front door. A few minutes later Tiffany came in. Laurie immediately recognized her from her picture on the Marriage Mobile website. When she stood up and waved, Tiffany slithered over to her table. Her cheeks were still pink from the cold, and she shivered as she slipped off her parka but kept it pulled over her shoulders.
“Boy it was cold out there,” she said with a deep sigh. “I should have charged them more.”
“It is cold today,” Laurie agreed, and then added, “Thank you again for meeting me.”
“No problem,” Tiffany said simply. “Like I told you on the phone, I’m glad to have a chance to dump on the Wakelings.”
When the waitress came over, Laurie ordered a glass of Chardonnay.
“I need something a little stronger than that,” Tiffany announced. “I’ll have a double Chivas Regal.”
“I don’t blame you,” Laurie said, smiling as she sipped her wine. “Before we start talking about the Wakelings, I have a question for you. I’m curious. How did you get into the marriage business?”
Tiffany giggled. “A lucky accident. Sort of like betting on the right horse. Two years ago, I jumped through all the hoops to marry two of my close friends who were getting hitched. It was a tiny ceremony, and they wanted every part of it to be special. You’d have thought Prince William was marrying Kate what’s-her-name. So I said I’d figure out a way to officiate. Turns out, the city will let you register as long as you’re a minister, and I found a church online that was willing to make me one. Hard to believe, huh? Anyway, once it was over, I realized I’d had more fun planning their wedding than any job I ever had, so I figured, what the heck? Let’s give it a try. A lot of people just want to get married; they don’t need a whole fancy thing. I show up with some silk flowers, a half-decent photographer, and the paperwork.”
“No muss, no fuss,” Laurie said.
“Yep. In fact, I used that as my motto when I first started my website. And now my job is to help people celebrate the happiest day of their lives with the person they love. Or the second or third time they find true love,” she grinned.
“Good for you,” Laurie said heartily. “And now let’s get to the reason why we’re here. I appreciate the opportunity to talk to you about Virginia Wakeling’s murder.”
“And I guess my name came up because that night at the Met Gala I was her nephew’s date?” Tiffany asked as she signaled for another Scotch.