Played to Death Read Free Page B

arm-waving guy who’d been talking to Scott’s quartet hurried toward the sound of the scream. The grooms had been greeting guests in the tents on the opposite side of the lawn; I saw one of them – Graham – hand the dog to Kent and walk in that direction as well. No more screams were forthcoming.
    After about five minutes, Graham came to the center tent and clapped his hands. “Excuse me, everyone! We’ve had a minor medical emergency with one of the staff. Nothing to worry about. We’ll begin serving dinner now. Enjoy, please!” He then rejoined Kent, whispering something in his ear. Kent looked alarmed, but Graham squeezed his shoulder and they resumed their circuit of the tents.
    The servers started delivering plates to the tables - delicate china with bands of pink, fuchsia and gold circling the outer edges. Pete still wasn’t back. Several other people had claimed spots at our table and were chatting amongst themselves. I was wondering if I should go look for Pete when I saw him. He walked from behind the last tent over to the quartet and said something to Scott.
    Oh shit. Why was Pete talking to Scott?
    Then I heard sirens. Police cars, not ambulances.
    What the hell was going on?

 
    Scott
    After the groom made his announcement, Scott turned to Stacy and Brian. “Okay, guys. We need to play. If there’s a piece that’s heavy on second violin, we’ll just skip it.”
    The kids nodded and Scott turned to the first piece of dinner music. “ Water Music Suite One . We should be able to do this. Let’s re-tune.” They tuned and were all in position to begin the piece when a tall, dark-haired man approached them. The guy was gorgeous. Scott couldn’t help it – his brain short-circuited for a few seconds.
    The guy spoke to Scott. “Your second violinist is missing?”
    Scott gathered his wits. “Yeah. She never came back from our break.”
    The guy nodded. “Would you mind coming with me for just a minute?”
    “Is it necessary?”
    “Completely.” The guy gave Scott a look that he couldn’t interpret.
    “Okay.” Scott secured his cello in its case and stood up. He could hear sirens getting closer. “Is she the one with the medical emergency?”
    The guy didn’t answer until they were out of earshot of Stacy and Brian. “It’s worse than a medical emergency.”
    “What do you mean, worse?” Scott was having trouble keeping up with the guy, who was a good four inches taller than him.
    “Worse, as in we need you to confirm that the body the caterer found is your violinist.”
    “ Body? ” Scott skidded to a halt, his brain short-circuited again. “The groom said it was a minor medical emergency!”
    Gorgeous Guy was grim-faced. “He lied so there wouldn’t be a panic.”
    “Oh, fuck .”
    “Yeah.” The guy led Scott past the side of the pool house where the wedding planner was sitting on a folding chair, hyperventilating into a paper bag, being attended to by a security guard. As they approached the main house, the guy stopped and held out his hand. “No farther.”
    From their vantage point Scott could see a shape on the ground, crumpled at the base of the main house. One of the catering staff was standing off to the side, crying, being comforted by one of her coworkers. Scott heard slamming doors from the front of the house, and a couple of uniformed cops appeared, a man and a woman. The woman spoke to the caterers and escorted them gently away from the house to where the wedding planner was sitting; the man began to unspool a roll of yellow tape, attaching it to a shrub at the front of the house. Crime scene tape.
    The woman cop - her name tag said Branigan - seemed to recognize Scott’s escort. She said, “Hey, Ferguson. What are you doing here?”
    “I’m a guest at the wedding.” Ferguson indicated Scott. “I was just bringing this guy to identify the body.”
    Branigan turned her focus to Scott. Her gaze felt like laser beams. She said. “And you are?”
    Scott