"What a great idea," he said. "Do you think she'll pick up if we call her now?"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
May walked outside to make the call to Kerry. She feared it would be difficult to navigate this conversation without disaster, and she needed fresh air. It felt like she'd been sitting at that desk for hours. Checking the time, she saw she had, in fact, been sitting at that desk for hours.
No wonder her neck was stiff and her eyes felt scratchy. Breathing in the cool, breezy night air, she dialed Kerry's number.
Her sister picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, sis."
"Hi, Kerry. I'm sorry to call you so late. Is this a good moment?"
"Late?" Kerry laughed. "I'm just heading back to the office now after a highly successful takedown. Two drug kingpins will be behind bars for a long, long time. I have a couple hours of paperwork ahead. Then I might think about a bite to eat."
She sounded as fresh as if she'd just gotten out of bed, and now guilty thoughts of her own pizza were weighing on May's mind. She was sure Kerry would have some kind of healthy low carb snack for dinner, involving free range protein and micro herbs. That was the kind of person she was. May still felt as if she had pepperoni stuck in her teeth.
"I have a favor to ask," May began. "I need to talk to you about something. I just don't know if this is the right time."
"Hey, wait! We didn't finish our discussion earlier," Kerry said, as if she'd only just remembered its urgency. "Those venues. I meant to call you back about what I need from you, but honestly, planning this wedding and juggling so many serious cases is a nightmare."
May felt as if she had an insurmountable task ahead. How on earth was she going to refuse to do the impossible, while also asking her sister for an important favor? She loved Kerry. She wanted to be involved in the wedding, and help wherever she could. But she just couldn’t do this. It was too big a job. Enthused by the planning, Kerry didn’t realize how unreasonable she was being. She needed to turn down this request and do so in a way that didn’t hurt or worse still, enrage, Kerry.
She felt as if she'd used up all her tactical skill interviewing Skunk, and had none left. And that interview hadn't done anything other than rule him out as a suspect.
Suddenly, in a flash of brilliance, May came up with an angle that she hoped might save her.
"You know, sis, this is difficult for me to say," she started.
"What do you mean?" Kerry sounded as defensive as she'd known she would.
"You see, I know why you want me to do this. Because you and I are very similar, we'll do it quick, we'll look at the same attributes. But you’re ignoring the fact that if we do it this way, we’re going to be making the wrong decision."
"And why?” Now Kerry sounded more curious.
"Because you're going to be breaking Mom's heart. I know you don’t want that and nor do I."
"Huh?" Now Kerry sounded stunned. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that Mom is so invested in this wedding. And she's so keen to do whatever she can to help. I know this is a big job, but maybe you would trust her with it? She's just so excited about it every step of the way. So longing to get involved. And this would be something she could do easily. She could narrow down the most suitable venues. Imagine what fun she would have. You remember from our family vacations how she loves looking around and seeing every different room in a hotel, and quizzing people about every little detail? That’s probably where we both learned some of our interrogation skills from! And then, when she’s done that, I could make the final choice, or hopefully even we two could do that together. I’m so keen to help out. But this job is really made for Mom. I can tell you that, now."
May waited, feeling breathless, to see if Kerry had taken the bait.
"Gosh, May, you know, that's a great idea," Kerry said. "I never really thought of Mom doing it. I guess I've always thought of her as holding the fort at home, but it might be really exciting for her."
"You know, you’ve been wanting to upgrade their car for a while, and they’ve been refusing. This is your chance to do it, saying they need a newer car for these trips.”
“Hey, now that’s a clever angle,” Kerry said, sounding impressed.
“You could maybe even put her and Dad up for the night at a few of the more remote places. Then they'd be having mini vacations while doing the work. It would be so special for them. Making memories while being involved in your wedding," May added, now feeling she was on a streak of genius, and wishing she hadn't saved all her brilliant ideas for while she was talking to Kerry. If only she'd had them earlier on, while she was investigating this murder.
"That's a great, great idea. You know, I'm so thrilled about this."
May felt relief wash through her.
"Glad you think so," she said.
"I'll call her as soon as I get into the office. I think it's a fantastic solution. What a personal way to involve her. Well, sis, I'm almost at the office so I'd better get going now."