To Have and to Kill by Mary Jane Clark Page B

able to handle it, she thought.
    “Okay. Let’s talk about the part that everybody sees on the outside. Do you have any preferences on the color of the icing?”
    “I don’t know.” Glenna shrugged. “White?”
    “Sure. We could do that if you want,” said Piper. “Are you wearing a white dress?”
    “Actually, I thought I’d be wearing an ice-blue silk suit I bought, since this is my second marriage.” Glenna nodded toward the gown she had just taken off. “But now, I’m thinking I might buy that dress.”
    “That would be amazing !”
    “It wouldn’t be too much? It wouldn’t be inappropriate for somebody my age, with my track record?”
    “Um, no!” said Piper. “It’s your day. Wear what you want to wear. And it’s not bright, bright white. It’s ivory.”
    “And that makes it less young and virginal?” asked Glenna.
    “Totally,” said Piper. “What about a bridal party?”
    “Only Susannah and Arthur,” said Glenna. “Although the way it’s going between Casey and his brother, who knows if Arthur will even show up.”
    “Ah, family dynamics,” observed Piper. “Always fun.”
    “It’s amazing how ugly things can get when money is concerned,” said Glenna. “Quent was in here a while ago, asking me what I thought of seeing if Walden’s would provide diamond jewelry to glam up the dream sequence. I told him it was a great idea. But, when he asked me if I would want to call Arthur and make the request, I had to tell Quent he’d stand a better chance of getting a positive response if he himself called Arthur. It was embarrassing to acknowledge that I’m not exactly my future brother-in-law’s favorite.”
    A thought flashed across Piper’s mind. Would Arthur Walden be upset enough about his brother’s upcoming wedding to actually try to prevent it from happening? What if the target of the cyanide had really been Glenna?
    “Don’t worry, Piper,” said Glenna. “I already thought of it myself. And no, I don’t think Arthur would be capable of that.”
    Piper looked at her friend with surprise. “What? You’re a mind-reader now?”
    “The expression on your face gave you away. You forget, I know how that mind of yours works.”
    “Maybe you should let the police know about the situation anyway?” asked Piper. “Just to be safe?”
    “Yeah, right. And the police talk to Arthur about it? What kind of relationship do you think we all could ever have after that? I’m hoping that things between Casey and Arthur eventually work themselves out. If I make Arthur a suspect in a murder, I doubt there would be any chance of us ever coming together as a family.” Glenna shook her head, dismissing the suggestion and moving on. “Keep going, Piper. Next question.”
    F ifteen minutes later, Piper knew that while Glenna preferred fudgy chocolate cake, Casey was a plain-vanilla kind of guy. Piper asked Glenna about the flowers she would be carrying and whether or not she wanted something Christmas-related included in the decoration. Still, Piper had no idea about what she was going to do. She wanted to make the cake special, but there was nothing so far that seemed unique to Glenna and Casey.
    “I’m looking for something with some romance to it, something that would be symbolic to both of you,” said Piper. “Tell me about the way Casey proposed.”
    “That was romantic,” said Glenna, smiling as she remembered. “We went to the last show of the day at the Hayden Planetarium. I didn’t think anything of it, because Casey is such an astronomy geek. I figured he just wanted to see the show. You actually feel as though you’re sitting among the stars, Piper. It’s incredibly beautiful and, honestly, powerful.”
    “I’ve got to go someday,” said Piper.
    “You really do. Anyway, when the show was over and everyone else had left, Casey told me to make a wish upon a star.” Glenna closed her eyes for a moment before continuing. “Then he said that I would make his wish