forty-five minutes.”
Thankful to have something besides a corpse to focus on, Jazzy nodded. “Just show us where you want us, and we can be ready in a few minutes.”
“Oh, good. Come right up here. I’m Emily, by the way.”
Jazzy followed her to a corner of the dais, Caitlin and Liz trailing behind. Three chairs had already been set in front of a grand piano which, judging by its off-centered location, had been pushed back to make room for them.
Emily outlined her instructions as they set down their instrument cases. “From here you should be able to see me in the narthex. I’ll signal for you to begin playing at five-thirty as the guests are being seated. Then, when we’re ready to begin the ceremony, I’ll give you a nod.” She peered at the three of them in turn. “You’ve played weddings before, I hope?”
Jazzy nodded. “Quite a few.”
Relief brought a smile to her face. “Oh, good. What piece did you and Chelsea settle on for the processional?”
“She told me to do whatever we wanted,” Jazzy replied. “We selected a Handel aria.”
Emily grinned. “That will be perfect. Why don’t you go ahead and get tuned or whatever you need to do, and we’ll be ready in a minute.”
She returned to the wedding party, and Caitlin arranged their chairs in the semicircle they preferred while Liz set her cello case on the floor and set up her music stand.
As Jazzy settled in her chair, the fine hair at the base of her skull prickled. Creepy. She almost felt like someone was watching her.
Don’t be silly. A dozen people might be watching. They’re all sitting in pews, staring this way.
She cast a quick backward glance, but saw nothing except the empty choir loft. Rubbing the tickle away, she let her gaze sweep the sanctuary. Every eye seemed fixed on Emily as the wedding party listened attentively to her instructions about the order of the bridesmaids. Nobody was watching Jazzy, certainly not with a sinister stare.
Sinister?
Where had that come from? Of course nobody was glaring at her with evil intent. Why would they? It was just the old demons raising their heads to torment her.
Still, her muscles remained rigid. As she opened her case and lifted her instrument from the velvet lining, she couldn’t help peering at the wedding party, trying to catch one of them glaring at her.
“Are you okay, Jazzy?”
She looked around to find Caitlin watching her closely as she fit the final section of her flute in place.
“I’m fine. Why?”
Caitlin shrugged. “You seem a little jumpy, that’s all.”
Liz spread her sheet music on the stand and snorted. “You think? I’d be a screaming lunatic if I’d found a dead body in a bathtub.” She shuddered. “I may never take a bath again.”
Jazzy closed the latches on her violin case quietly. “I am a little spooked,” she admitted. “I keep wanting to look over my shoulder, you know? Trying to catch somebody watching me.”
“Well…” Caitlin stepped around the center chair and seated herself, a worried expression on her normally cheery face. “There is a murderer running around town. I have to admit, I’m not feeling all that comfortable myself.”
“Oh, hogwash.” Liz positioned her cello between her knees. “You heard the cops. That guy was a local big shot. He probably got on some country boy’s bad side, and Bubba did him in. The killer is no threat to three out-of-town musicians. We’re perfectly safe.”
Jazzy wanted to accept Liz’s no-nonsense logic. But why couldn’t she shake the feeling that something was wrong, that somebody was watching?
Moving shadows at the side of the church drew her attention, and she gave a startled laugh. Her friends looked up.
“No wonder I feel like somebody’s watching me. Look at that.”
She nodded toward the thick panes of crystal-cut glass lining one long side of the sanctuary. No doubt on Sunday mornings the sunlight shining through those panes sent prisms of light dancing over the worshippers, but right now the windows were darkened with the silhouettes of passersby on the sidewalk—dozens of them. Several faces pressed close to the glass to see inside, most of them at child height. Jazzy caught a glimpse of several adults standing close enough to gawk at the activity inside the sanctuary, too.
Liz groaned. “More kids. Is the average age in this town like twelve or something?”
Caitlin laughed at her. “I’ll bet they’re some of the same kids we saw at the hotel. We’re only a few blocks away, and the street outside is part of the festival route. They’re probably out with their mothers getting the lay of the land.”
“Okay, let’s head out to the narthex.” Emily’s voice cut into their conversation. “We need to run through it from the top.”
Jazzy straightened in her chair. “Oops. We’d better get tuned.”
She positioned her violin and played an A. Having perfect pitch definitely helped in the tuning process, but at times the gift felt more like a curse. Especially when she attended her cousin’s middle-school band concerts. Caitlin and Liz tuned their instruments to match her tone. After a few minor adjustments, they were ready to begin.
Caitlin gave the count with a subtle nod. Jazzy’s and Liz’s feet caught the pace for their selected number, Handel’s famous “Air for Water Music.” They came in together with the ease of many hours of practice. This was one of Jazzy’s favorites, and she closed her eyes to let the music wash over her. Thoughts of bodies and murderers and possible sinister watchers faded as she gave herself over to the intricate harmonies of the piece.
The processional progressed until the bridal party was lined up at the front of the sanctuary. Then the doors at the back closed, and after an appropriately dramatic pause, Caitlin cued them to launch into the bridal march. This time Jazzy kept her eyes open. When the doors parted to reveal Chelsea standing there, arm-in-arm with Derrick, she felt a tickle at the back of her eyes.
She was such a sap. No matter how many times she played this, the music still made her cry.
Standing at the entrance to the sanctuary, Derrick placed his left hand over Chelsea’s on his arm, and squeezed. The grin she directed up at him melted his heart. This whole wedding thing had seemed so unreal until now. Lots of talk and plans and Mom’s house stuffed full of doodads made out of pink satin and white lace. But that music had a way of jerking a guy into reality. This was really happening. His kid sister was about to marry the love of her life.
“Okay,” Emily said. “Walk real slow. Step, pause, step, pause.”
They started down the aisle, and Derrick noticed that Mom, standing in her place in the front pew, was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. She’d be all alone when Chelsea moved out. He’d have to make sure to stop by the house more often to keep her company. Let her feed him home-cooked meals. Encourage her to get out more, too.
“They’re really good, aren’t they?” Chelsea whispered. “I’m glad you found them.”
She was staring ahead. Derrick looked that way and caught sight of Jazzy. No longer puffy with tears, her eyes seemed dreamy now, and her smile tender. Her body swayed with the music, her arm moving smoothly as she drew her bow across the strings of her fiddle. She handled the thing like it was an extension of herself.
She wasn’t married, or at least her online profile stated that she was single. Was she seeing anybody? He’d looked through-her blog posts and hadn’t seen any mention of a boyfriend. A bunch of guys on her friends list, but what pretty girl with gorgeous green eyes wouldn’t have a ton of guys sending her Friend invites?
“Yes,” he managed. “They