Finally, sleep found him, but it was restless.
17
Lynn sat on the sofa with her laptop on the coffee table in front of her. Even though she and Nolan were driving home today, she wanted to give Nancy her initial assessment so that she would be able to let Sally know what information they’d gathered.
Her hair was still wet from her morning shower, and she could hear Nolan in the bathroom as he finished getting ready. They had hit the breakfast buffet early, then came back to the room to get cleaned up and packed for their trip back home.
A pall had settled over them, both neither denying nor acknowledging that their two-day sham marriage and honeymoon was coming to an end. It had been too easy for the past couple of days to pretend that they were a couple. Pretend? She winced as her heart ached, knowing that the pretense had turned into reality for her. But she had no idea what Nolan’s feelings were about her and, too afraid to ask, neither spoke about their changing emotions.
Checking the time, she knew Nancy should be in her office. Placing the call, she glanced up as Nolan walked from the bedroom, his smile aimed at her, lightening her spirit.
Nancy connected, and her bright, smiling face filled the screen. “Hey, girl! I thought I was going to have to send out a search party for you!”
“Never fear, I’m here,” she quipped. “We’re going to be coming back home, but since it’s Friday, I thought I’d get some information to you so that you’d have a chance to talk to Sally Hightower before the weekend.” Rita’s face popped from behind Nancy, and Lynn greeted, “Hey, Mrs. Bell.”
“This is perfect,” Nancy agreed. “So, give me the dirt. I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got.”
“Their system is very simple. Besides Errol, he only has one full-time employee, Junelle, and they contract out for everything else on an as-needed basis. They have basic wedding packages that run from about $300 to $4000 and then couples can add on as they want. Obviously, some couples just want to get married there but provide their own flowers, photographer, all the extras. Some couples want the whole ceremony to be provided for by the chapel, and in those cases, they pay the full price, and the fees are distributed to the contractors.
“Junelle works with the couple, they agree to a contract, and pay upfront. She logs all that information into a spreadsheet that includes how much was paid by cash, check, or credit card, and which extras have been agreed upon.
“Just to double-check her information, I was able to compare their calendar of events with the information she entered and it matches. Obviously, if she was suspected of embezzlement, then I would take a closer look at her. I always suggest that businesses do not have the same person collecting money and recording all the transactions. But since we weren’t hired to investigate Junelle, then I’m going on the assumption that her information is correct.”
Nancy’s eyes widened and she said, “I never even thought about that. But you’re right, Sally was not asking us to do an investigation and audit of the business, just what her husband was up to.”
Nodding, she agreed. “Yep, that’s why the information I’m giving to you is just for Sally. Keep in mind that there’s nothing I’m doing that would hold up in court. It’s purely for her to use how she wants when dealing with her husband and asking for a divorce. I know she signed an agreement with you that states she understands that stipulation, but I wanted to reemphasize it.”
Nancy said, “I talked with her yesterday and reminded her. She’s good with that.”
“It was a surprise to see Errol here at the casino when we arrived, but it was also fortuitous. He showed up with a large amount of cash that he exchanged for his gambling card and then we lost track of him when he went into a high roller gaming room. When I look at the money coming into the chapel and his business bank statement provided by Sally, it appears that the cash payments are not deposited, and the amounts being paid out to contractors does not match either. It’s a lucritive business—to the tune of almost a million dollars a year—but that is not what’s deposited. I’d say a rough guesstimate is that he takes about ten thousand dollars or more a month to do whatever with. While I have no evidence that he is laundering it through the casino, I’d say Sally is on the right track to demand more in a settlement.”
“This is perfect,” Nancy said, leaning back in her seat with Rita peering over her shoulder at the screen. “Thank you so much for taking this on with Nolan. Where is my brother, by the way? Off hiking or off gambling?”
Her gaze lifted to the bedroom door, landing on his smiling face. Even with their situation so unbalanced, she met his smile.
“Whoa! What’s that smile about?” Nancy asked, leaning closer to the computer screen.
He walked over and sat down on the sofa next to Lynn. “Hey, Sis. Mom. How’s it going?”
Lynn sucked in her lips as she watched Nancy and Rita stare wide-eyed back at them. “I didn’t even tell you how weird things got at the wedding chapel and then, when we got here, we ran into Errol and had to keep up the pretense of being married.”
“Keep up the pretense?” Nancy asked. “But you got out before anything happened.”
“Well, that was the plan, but things went a little crazy.”
Nolan piped up. “Yes, and that’s why you sent me in. We just adapted to the changing situation and went with a new plan.”
Rita’s eyes were impossibly large, and she cocked her head to the side, moving closer to the computer screen. “What new plan?”
“We were unable to get into the office because they got to us before our allotted time. Errol had to stand in as the witness because the photographer was late. So, with him, Junelle, and the officiant all waiting, we went through with a sham ceremony and then, when Errol left the chapel, we snuck into the office and got what we needed.”
Rita hip-bumped Nancy to move her over and plopped into the chair with her daughter. “Sham ceremony? What exactly did you do?”
“Don’t worry, it wasn’t real. We didn’t even use our real names. I knew you had only given the middle names for the wedding license and the rest of the info was fake. We made sure we didn’t use our full legal names when we said our vows,” Nolan declared.
Rita gasped, and Nancy’s head swung around to stare at her mother. “Vows!”
As Lynn stared at Rita’s shocked expression, she could have sworn she saw a twinkle mixed in with shock in her eyes. She turned toward Nolan as he continued to explain.
“Uh, yeah. We just did the really quick ceremony. You know, the ‘I do’ part and the rings. But it didn’t mean anything, and without our real information on the marriage license, it’s not a real wedding.”
“I don’t know how to tell you this,” Rita began, drawing everyone’s attention to her. “But when two people pledge marriage vows to each other, even if they’re using false names, they’re still legally married. Nolan, Lynn… you two are really married!”
“What?” they both gasped at the same time. Or, rather, she gasped in disbelief, and he shouted, causing her to jump.
“Yes. A marriage license is only needed up until the wedding. Then it doesn’t matter. The only legally binding contract is the marriage certificate. It didn’t matter what I put on the marriage license because you two were never going to actually go through the ceremony. That wasn’t in your plan! If you’re of legal age, not siblings, have sufficient mental capacity, sober, and not currently married… then the marriage certificate is real. You’re legally married even if you didn’t use your real names!”