“Oh ho! Don’t want any witnesses, is that it?” the sheriff scratches his jaw with conscious effort, as if it’s something he’s seen some TV detective do and decided he’d do it too.
A crease forms between Nathan’s eyebrows. “Well, no, everyone’s witnessed the body—”
“Why’s he wearing that silly outfit, then? Is he one of these New Age performers? Baton twirling or whatever?”
“Baton twirling?” Nathan looks so confused I want to hug him and apologize for everything. “Er, no, he was a groomsman.”
“A groomsman, eh?” the sheriff walks around the body and, again, nudges it with the tip of his shoe. This time, though, he pushes harder, until Ah Guan flops over onto his back. I get a glimpse of his slack face before I look away, bile lurching up into my throat. With a superhuman effort, I swallow it back down. “I need to talk to the other groomsmen.”
“Sure, they should all be back in their rooms; would you like to follow me—”
“No, bring them here.”
“They’re—uh, I don’t know how mobile they are.”
The sheriff narrows his eyes. “Bring. Them. Here. Don’t make me charge you with obstruction of justice, boy.”
My hands tighten into fists. Could this man possibly be any more odious? Nathan activates his walkie-talkie and asks someone to escort the groomsmen back to the altar. When he’s done, he looks at the boiling gray clouds and says, “Should we take the body indoors? It looks like it’s about to start pouring.”
The sheriff gives what he probably thinks is a really sly side-eye glance. “I see. So you want to move the victim from the crime scene, eh?”
“Er . . . no? Do whatever you think is best,” Nathan says. He takes out his phone and types something. A moment later, my phone buzzes.
Nathan [4:25PM]: I really hate this guy. He’s such a hack.
Meddy [4:26PM]: Seriously. How did he become a sheriff??
Nathan [4:26PM]: Nooo idea. My guess is he killed off the competition. Or maybe there was none to begin with. It’s a small island.
Meddy [4:27PM]: True. I hope this gets resolved quickly.
Nathan glances in my direction and sends me a small smile that melts all of my muscles. Muscles that almost immediately tighten up at the sight of two security guards escorting a couple of groomsmen down the aisle. I step aside to let them pass. The groomsmen are still clearly out of it, their eyes wild, their heads lolling.
“These are the most sober ones, sir,” one of the guards says to Nathan apologetically.
“That’s fine. I’m sorry for making you guys come out here again,” Nathan says to the groomsmen.
In reply, one of them smiles dopily and says something like, “Shokay,” and the other one just stares blearily at Nathan. I cringe. Ma and Fourth Aunt have really done a number on these poor guys.
Sheriff McConnell wastes no time. He strides toward the groomsmen and points at Ah Guan’s body. “Who was this man?”
They both look to where he’s pointing, and seem startled all over again at the sight of the corpse. I don’t blame them. Even after a whole day of moving it around, seeing an actual dead body is still shocking to me.
“I don’t know, man,” the first groomsman says. The second groomsman continues staring at the corpse, mouth agape. I swear he’s about to start drooling.
“He must’ve been one of your good friends? He’s a fellow groomsman?”
The first groomsman laughs. “Nooo. Don’t tell anyone, okay?” He leans forward as if he’s about to reveal some secret, but his voice is still as loud as ever. “The groom ain’t got no friends. So he hired us to be his groomsmen. Most of us never met each other until last night.” He laughs again. “It’s the funniest shit.”
Now it’s time for my mouth to drop open. This explains so much. No wonder Tom’s been so weird around his groomsmen. No wonder he’s been ordering them around as if they’re his employees. Because they are! He’s employed them for the day. And it explains why the groomsmen quite happily carried Ah Guan down the aisle; aside from the fact that they were drugged and drunk out of their senses, they just plain didn’t recognize one another.
The sheriff shakes his head. “So none of you knew this guy?” He nudges Ah Guan’s shoulder again with his shoe. What is up with him and the need to keep prodding Ah Guan with his foot?
Both groomsmen shake their heads.
“Would the others know him?”