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In the California coastal town of South Cove, Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More, becomes more engaged in sleuthing than wedding preparations when there’s a murder in a dress shop . . . Jill couldn’t love police chief Greg King more—so why does that engagement ring still feel funny on her finger? At least she’ll have a chance to show it off this Saturday at their engagement party. Just in time for the event, a new dress shop has opened in town, Exquisite Gowns for You, specializing in designer wedding gowns and other custom-fit dresses. But Jill’s excitement turns to shock when she comes by to pick up her dress for the party and discovers a dead body in the shop. New owner Harper Sanchez is behaving strangely and becoming more mysterious than anyone expected. Despite Greg’s warnings to leave the case to him, Jill can’t help looking into the murder. Somebody in South Cove is dressed to kill—and if Jill’s not careful, she may not live to wear her wedding gown . . . Visit us at www.kensingtonbooks.com By Lynn Cahoon The Tourist Trap Mysteries Wedding Bell Blues Picture Perfect Frame Murder in Waiting Memories and Murder Killer Party Hospitality and Homicide Tea Cups and Carnage Murder on Wheels Killer Run Dressed to Kill If the Shoe Kills Mission to Murder Guidebook to Murder Novellas A Very Mummy Holiday Mother’s Day Mayhem Corned Beef and Casualties Santa Puppy A Deadly Brew Rockets’ Dead Glare The Kitchen Witch Mysteries One Poison Pie Two Wicked Desserts Novellas Chili Cauldron Curse Murder 101 Have a Holly, Haunted Christmas The Cat Latimer Mysteries A Story to Kill Fatality by Firelight Of Murder and Men Slay in Character Sconed to Death A Field Guide to Murder The Farm-to-Fork Mysteries Who Moved My Goat Cheese? One Potato, Two Potato, Dead Killer Green Tomatoes Penned In Killer Comfort Food Fatal Family Feast Novellas Have a Deadly New Year Deep Fried Revenge A Pumpkin Spice Killing Copyright To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. LYRICAL UNDERGROUND BOOKS are published by Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018 Copyright © 2022 by Lynn Cahoon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews. 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First Electronic Edition: March 2022 eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-1107-7 First Print Edition: March 2022 ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-1108-4 Printed in the United States of America Contents By Lynn Cahoon Copyright Contents WEDDING BELL BLUES Dedictation Acknowledgments Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 About the Author Recipe—Lemon Drop Pie Chapter 1 WEDDING BELL BLUES A Tourist Trap Mystery By Lynn Cahoon LYRICAL UNDERGROUND Kensington Publishing Corp. www.kensingtonbooks.com Dedictation To my Aunt Jackie. You will be missed. Acknowledgments I’ve always said it takes a village to write a book, and with South Cove in the mix, it’s an upscale tourist town type of village. When I write these acknowledgments, I think of all the people who help me even when they don’t realize how much. Like my sister, Roberta Gowin, who lives near the fictional South Cove and always sends me news pieces and interesting tidbits to make my mind wander from my Midwest writing cave to the California coast. She’s the reason I visited the little town with the rundown house at the corner of Main Street and Highway 1 in the first place. A house that sparked Jill and her new life. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank the Cowboy, my husband, Jim, for his ability to keep the house and world running while I go off in my bubble to write. A big thanks to my editor, Esi Sogah, who saw the possibilities in a story about an ex-lawyer turned bookstore owner who loved to read and solve mysteries. And thanks to Jill Marsal, my agent who helps me keeps the business part of the author job up front and center. Chapter 1 Spring in South Cove, California, is beautiful. The days are warm, the nights cool enough for a firepit in your backyard or a bonfire on the beach. Now that we were out of the rainy season, which seemed to get shorter and shorter every year, I could count on clear days to take Emma, my golden retriever, running after I got off work. It was a great stress reliever and helped to offset my other stress activity, eating. Eating sweets, specifically. Times like today I regretted putting in the treat bar at my bookstore/coffee shop, Coffee, Books, and More. It was the first Tuesday of the month, and my shop swarmed with local business owners, city council reps, and worse, Mayor Baylor and his wife, Tina. I hosted and ran the business-to- business meeting as one of my side gigs. A job I really didn’t need to do anymore for the money. But I couldn’t seem to walk away. As I sat listening today, I vowed that next year, when Amy sent me the annual contract, I’d send it back unsigned with a big “Thanks, but No Thanks” in red pen over the top. Of course, I wouldn’t. Amy Newman—no, now Amy Newman-Cross—was my best friend and sitting right next to me. I guess misery loves company. Tina Baylor was at the podium introducing this month’s speaker. Harper Sanchez was the owner/operator of our newest South Cove business, Exquisite Gowns for You—a special occasion and wedding gown designer. I loved her shop. Located down the street across from the Train Station, and on the other side of town from Vintage Duds, Exquisite Gowns was the only other clothing shop in South Cove. Vintage Duds sold gently used designer creations and was run by Sherry King and Pat Williams. Sherry was my fiancé’s ex-wife. But Pat was the one who was usually at the store and in town where I could run into her. I wasn’t sure what Sherry did as her part of the team, but as long as she wasn’t around much, I didn’t care. Oh, the joys of living in a small town. “And I’m sure you’ll all be as fascinated as I am on today’s topic, picking the perfect outfit for your shape, age, and event.” Tina crooned into the microphone. “Harper? Come on up here and let’s get this show on the road.” Harper followed Tina’s instructions and set a pile of index cards on the stand. She cleared her throat and scanned the room. She hit the microphone as she straightened the cards a second time, and it squealed its discomfort. “Sorry, I’m a little rusty on this talking thing. I don’t think I’ve done an hour talk since I was in college speech class. And I wasn’t very good then.” “Great, put us in a receptive mood,” Amy whispered in my ear. “I’m already tired enough to take a nap. Justin was up until one last night talking online to his history group. You would think just the topic would put me to sleep.” I shushed her. We were getting the glare from Tina. Man, that woman knew how to put the evil eye on someone. Deek Kerr came over and refilled our coffee mugs, leaving the carafe near us. At least we’d be caffeinated.