Finding Elvis Ch. 04

"I know why," she said, looking over at me. The look in her eyes scared me. Anxious, upset, embarrassed and angry. Those emotions and more. I was filled with dread.

"Why?" I asked already knowing I wasn't going to like the answer.

"To make sure to get something filed. I'm just not sure how he knew. It's all my fault." She covered her face with her hands.

"What?" My eyes widened. "No," I said in a choked whisper as it dawned on me. "It's not possible."

She looked back up and pulled an envelope from her purse. "This was on the pile of clothes in the men's room." She handed it over to me.

A scream of... Well, I don't know what of, ripped from my throat as I yanked the contents of the envelope out and stared at it. A certified copy of that damned marriage license signed by Leo Giovanni and witnessed by Marge Giovanni. All notarized and filed. Legal. There was also a note.

Go back and tell your boss he'll get his money when I'm damned good and ready. And a piece of advice for free. Don't tail someone smarter than you and then tell a licensed minister how to screw with you while he's in the office right behind you listening. One of you likes practical jokes? Now the joke's on you. Go home and have that honeymoon you've always wanted. Elvis.

I stared back at Gretchen in shock. She laughed without humor. "Well, I never thought I'd be a virgin when I got married, but life's funny that way. Which of us carries the other over the threshold?" She pulled a folded piece of paper from her coat. A blank piece of paper folded up. "He switched it and I never suspected."

"Oh, my God!" I felt nauseous. "That bastard married us! We're married!"