Текст книги "Powdered Murder "

Автор книги: A. Gardner

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I changed into my bridesmaid’s dress as I waited for Sheriff Williams to show up. I nervously cracked my knuckles while Bebe talked about how she'd decided to get a manicure with almond-shaped nails. The two of us were in Bebe's suite getting ready. Lila was in her room getting her hair done, and probably downing drinks. Franco was still in his room trying to get over a massive hangover from too much complimentary Scotch.

"Essie," Bebe commented. "Are you even listening?"

"Sorry." I switched to the knuckles on my other hand. "Keep going."

"Aren't you going to give yourself a touch up at least?" she suggested holding up a compact of bronzer. I looked in the mirror at my simple makeup and plain, wintery blue bridesmaid’s dress. It was long and meant to be worn with a shawl. The dresses were well made, but they weren't particularly flattering. It made sense. I was sure Lila didn’t want anyone to outshine her on her big day. My stomach churned. I couldn't force myself to pretend everything was normal. There could be a killer sleeping off his hangover on the other side of the hall.

"Sure." I dug through her makeup kit and pulled out some pink lipstick. I checked the label and grinned. It was one from Lila's makeup line. The color was called sugar salmon. "Where did Lila come up with these lipstick names?"

"Who knows," Bebe giggled. "She said she wanted to steer clear of bubble gum names whatever that means." She looked down at her wrist at the silver cuff she'd chosen to wear. I was almost certain that underneath the cuff was her usual white wristband. The random snapping was an unusual behavior. One that I had never seen before.

"Nice bracelet," I casually commented. "But it covers the other one."

"What other one?"

"The plain white one you always wear," I added.

Bebe didn't respond. Instead, her cheeks turned rosy and she pressed her lips together. She quickly cleared her throat and turned away. I didn't know her choice of accessories would turn out to be a sensitive subject.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Don't be," she replied. "You're the first person to notice."

"Really?" The snapping was hard to miss. At least, for me it was.

"It's a … coping mechanism." She slid the silver cuff up her forearm, revealing the plain, white wristband. "I snap it whenever I have negative thoughts. Sounds stupid, I know. My psychiatrist recommended it. You know, an alternative to anxiety meds."

"Does everyone in Hollywood see some sort of therapist?"

"They're like a country gal's sweet tea," she laughed, snapping the wristband jokingly.

"I'll have to try that when I'm craving a doughnut."

Bebe giggled.

I touched up my lips and adjusted the top of my dress.

My muscles tightened every time the floor creaked. The sound of the elevator dinging rang through the room. There was a light knock on the door and I jumped to my feet to answer it. I was relieved when Sheriff Williams and Murray stared back at me. Joy stood behind them anxiously tapping her heel.

"Sheriff," I said." I'm glad you're here."

"I hear you have some information for me," he replied lowly.

"What's the sheriff doing here?" Bebe asked. She smiled. "Is he escorting us to the ceremony? Oh, how sweet."

"Not exactly." I took a step back so Murray and the sheriff could come inside. They both walked in followed by Joy. "I called them."

"What is it, Essie? Who's the culprit?" Sheriff Williams rested his hands in the pockets of his coat as he waited for me to tell him what I knew. He acted as if the past few days hadn't happened, and that he hadn't warned me to stay away from his investigation.

"I need you to make an arrest."

The sheriff resumed his regular smug attitude and folded his arms.

"Give me a reason to," he replied.

All eyes were on me. The room fell silent. Joy placed her hands on her hips and Murray pulled a voice recorder from his pocket. Bebe stared at me curiously and gently lifted the hem of her dress as she sat down to listen. It was time to put everything out in the open before Franco followed through with his threat to kill me next.

"On Friday someone placed an order with the kitchen for a dozen Pinecliffe Delights," I began. "It's a chocolate cupcake filled with peanut butter cream. Anyway, that person then waited for Donna at the hotel spa sneaking in while Misty and was shacked up with Eli in a storage closet, fed her the cake knowing she was highly allergic to the peanut butter filling, and then pushed her into the pool and watched her die."

"You don't know for sure—"

"It was Franco, Lila's assistant," I cut him off. Bebe gasped and Joy rubbed her temples like she was about to get a migraine.

"Can you prove this, Essie? Or is this just one of your theories?"

"Whoever placed that cupcake order had to use a name," I continued. "Franco used the name C. Darnay thinking it was a clever disguise, but I found an old copy of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities in his room."

"That still doesn't explain why he would want to kill a young girl he barely knew," the Sheriff argued.

"He would if she knew something about him he didn't want anyone else to know, especially Lila." I glanced at Bebe. She raised her eyebrows. "He's going to expose all of her secrets in a tell-all book he's writing."

"Franco?" Bebe blurted out. "Oh Lord. He would never do a thing like that."

"He would and he is," I insisted. "I saw the book myself."

Sheriff Williams shot me a stern look and I cleared my throat when I realized I would have to explain I'd broken into his room to snoop around. I swiftly thought on my feet and attempted to move the conversation past that little detail. "Check Donna's cell phone and you'll see that it all adds up. Franco sent her a text right before she left her room. It was the last text she received. It was him, sheriff. You have to do something before he makes good on his threat to come after me next."

"I…" Sheriff Williams touched the end of his gray mustache. "I suppose I can detain him for questioning at the least."

"But he's part of the wedding party," Bebe commented.

"He could be a murderer," Joy added. The tone of her voice was a tad rude, and it made Bebe gawk at her for saying it so bluntly.

"Murray," the sheriff said. He stepped out into the hall and waited for his son to join him. Murray pulled out a pair of handcuffs. I'd rarely seen him use them before. The last time was when old man Simpkons had too much to drink and ended up exposing himself to half the town in front of the Grizzly. That was a sight that could never be unseen. The temperature had reached one of its record lows that night.

"He's in his room," I said.

The three of us watched as the sheriff knocked firmly on Franco's door. The banging of his fist was loud enough to distract Lila from whatever she was doing in her suite. The door to her room opened and she poked her head outside. Her hair was curled and pinned halfway up with diamond barrettes. She was wearing a short white robe with her tights and garter already on. My chest tightened when Patrick also stepped out of her room to see what the commotion was. He was already wearing his suit and his hair was gelled the way he used to do it in high school.

"What are you doing?" Lila asked. "Why is the sheriff here?"

"Patrick," Joy greeted him. She looked at me and smirked. "Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?"

"We had some things to talk about," he casually answered.

"Never mind our personal business," Lila butted in. "Why does the sheriff look like he's about to break down my assistant's door." Lila looked to me with a scolding eye. My heart wouldn't slow down, especially when Sheriff Williams banged on Franco's door a second time. The hallway suddenly felt stuffy and overwhelmingly crowded. Bebe began telling Lila and Patrick the details of Franco's possible arrest while Joy tried fiddling with the lock on the door. The sheriff knocked again, and the hall fell silent when Franco answered. He squinted when light flooded into his room. His hair was messy and he was wearing the same collared shirt he had been wearing the night before. It was unbuttoned exposing his tan, leathery chest.

"I'm not late, am I?" he blurted out. His gaze connected with Lila's. "Oh, honey, please don't tell me I missed the wedding."

"No," Lila answered. "But it looks like you are going to."

"What?"

"Sir, I'm going to need you to come down to the station with me." The sheriff took a step forward ignoring Franco's need for personal space. He wrinkled his nose and took a step back. "Now, please."

"What for?" Franco asked. "This is a joke, right? Lila, the whole prank thing is so juvenile. It is bad taste, sweetie." He shook his head and flashed her a smirk. Lila folded her arms.

"I can't believe it," she said softly. A tear trickled down her cheek, and she wiped it away before it ruined her wedding makeup. "I can't believe you would sell me out like this after all we have been through together."

"Huh?" Franco looked confused at first, but then he glimpsed over his shoulder and clenched his hand in a fist. He gulped as a bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Where were you Friday afternoon?" Sheriff Williams asked.

"I was with them," he replied, pointing to me, Bebe, and Lila. "I was at the bridal shower tea. They all saw me."

"Before that," the sheriff specified.

"Well … I was here in my room."

"Can anyone verify that?"

"No … I was alone." He twiddled his thumbs nervously. "I was … catching up on some work."

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to come with me." The sheriff reached out to take his arm, but Franco yanked it away.

"I've done nothing wrong." His eyes became glossy as he looked at Lila. "I've done nothing wrong."

"Liar," Lila muttered. "You sold me out."

"Lila—"

"You're going to humiliate me in front of the world by publishing that book," she cried. "How could you?" Lila couldn’t hold back her tears any longer although the moisture made her mascara run down her cheeks, making her look like a member of the band Kiss.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded. His voice quivered as his eyes darted from Murray to the sheriff.

"I've seen it," Lila accused him. "I've seen the book!"

"Do you have any idea what I've given up because of you?" Franco finally broke down. Lila attempted to wipe her face, but settled for accepting Patrick's comforting embrace. "I have no social life. No hobbies. Family and friends I haven't seen in years. And I work non-stop for you. All so you can remind me on a daily basis what an incompetent assistant I am?"

"Calm down, Sir." Murray waved a hand, but the gesture only made Franco more upset.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do!" Franco shouted. "Writing a book isn't a crime. You can't arrest me for that."

"But I can bring you in as a murder suspect." The sheriff stepped forward, making his intentions known. He flashed his handcuffs in front of Franco. "I think you better come with me before you do something else you might regret."

"I may be guilty of a lot of things, but I would never hurt poor Donna." Franco shook his head.

"You had no problem spying on her though," I accused him. "And texting her to meet you at the spa early."

"Or trying to kill Essie for figuring out your little secret," Murray added. He winked at me, taking my advice to stand up for himself to heart.

"I didn't do it," Franco firmly stated. "I will never admit to anything, because there's nothing for me to admit to."

"So you didn't place that cupcake order using the name C. Darnay?" I asked. Franco's eyes widened when I mentioned his fake code name. He kept his mouth shut and instead turned his head as if the lot of us disgusted him.

The sheriff reached for his arm, but Franco went from being completely still to flailing his limbs all over the place in a matter of seconds. He looked like a deranged octopus as he fell to the floor and kicked his legs to avoid being handcuffed. For the first time in probably years, Sheriff Williams had no choice but to use full force. He squatted to the floor and gripped Franco's arms like they were his infant children. His grasp was so tight and so strong that all of us were amazed at the strength harbored inside the old man. The sheriff pulled Franco to his feet like he was a weightless piece of notebook paper.

Franco turned his head away from us, avoiding eye contact with his accusers. Lila sniffled and pulled herself out of Patrick's arms. She took a good look at Franco and briskly slapped him across the face. Bebe let out a yelp and Murray covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud.

"You did do it, didn't you?" Lila looked nervously at Patrick. "You broke my heart when you signed that book deal, when you told me you thought Patrick and Donna were having some sort of affair…" Bebe gasped and placed her hand on her chest. "You swore to me that you were going to take care of it, and you did. You did it!"

Franco looked her in the eyes and kept a straight face. The sheriff and Murray pulled him towards the elevators, and this time he followed them willingly.

Lila sobbed into Patrick's arms. Her hysterical crying made us all keep our mouths shut. I knew I wasn't the only person wondering now if the wedding was still on.

"Please," Lila pleaded. She pushed Patrick away and ran towards the elevator. It opened and the sheriff, Murray, and Franco stepped inside. "Just tell me why. Why did you kill her?"

Franco looked at her directly without so much as a sorrowful expression. In fact, it seemed as though he was frustrated. He cleared his throat and continued watching Lila as the elevator doors closed. He said nothing in response to her accusation and his silence drove Lila mad.

The elevator doors closed and Lila dropped to her knees, wailing. I was stunned, unsure what to do or how to comfort her. I could see the worry in Patrick's eyes as he glanced at me and inched towards his fiancée. He knelt down beside her.

"Donna and I weren't having an affair," he said quietly. "If that's what you thought, you should have talked to me about it."

"I know," Lila answered.

"Donna was upset about something Thursday night," he continued. "She wanted to talk to me about it, and that's what we did. We just talked."

"About what?" Lila whispered.

"About … the wedding," he admitted. Patrick looked back at me, Bebe, and Joy. "Donna thought you and I weren't a good match."

A wave of relief passed over me as his motives with Donna became clear.

"What?" Lila commented. "Why would she think that?"

"I…" Patrick shrugged rather than go into details. "That's not important. What's important is what we do now."

Lila slowly stood up, and faced us all with puffy eyes and perfect hair that contrasted with the makeup smeared all over her face. She hung her head for a minute like she was clearing her thoughts.

"I know this weekend has been crazy," she stated. "But, Patrick, I still love you. I still want to marry you … if you still want to marry me?"

This was Patrick's last chance to tell Lila how he really felt. It was his last chance to hang on to what the two of us had and make us his future instead. It was the final moment where he had to choose, once and for all, Lila over a normal life amongst the townfolk of Bison Creek. To choose the fame of L.A. or the simplicity of living in a snowy mountain town.

Patrick didn't look at me which told me everything I needed to know. He'd chosen Lila, and I didn’t blame him. He wanted to do all he could to make his mother happy before she passed away. He was doing what he thought was best for the fragile women in his life – his mother and Lila.

"I do," Patrick said quietly.

Lila's frown turned to a hopeful smile. She took Patrick by the arm and nodded.

"Not even a psycho killer can keep us apart," she commented. "Finish getting ready, girls. I'm getting married."

CHAPTER TWENTY

My stomach rumbled from skipping breakfast and I didn't have enough of an appetite to run and grab something from Aggie's kitchen. Even though Franco was safely locked away at the sheriff’s office, I still felt uneasy. I was relieved I no longer had to look over my shoulder every five minutes or make sure I didn't linger underneath railings or high hotel windows for very long. I had cleared the Pinecliffe Mountain Resort's name before the big ceremony, but I wasn't as elated about it as I should have been.

The upstairs hall was decorated and ready for the wedding. I heard Patrick's parents talking to Pastor Tad down the hall. My parents had shown up again along with Mayor Millbreck and a couple of Patrick's neighbors. Bebe and I were waiting down the hall in a guest room that had been designated as a bridesmaids’ changing area. Lila had her own suite – a makeshift bridal room with a spectacular view and a private balcony leading to the slopes.

Patrick and I didn't have a chance to talk after Franco was taken away. There wasn't much time left until the ceremony was scheduled to begin and Lila had decided she wanted Patrick by her side the rest of the morning in case anything else happened. Joy was making her usual rounds consisting of repositioning floral arrangements, taste-testing Aggie's brunch menu, and keeping Eli and the press in line. None of the photographers had escaped up the stairway so far, and I had no idea if Lila and Patrick decided to accept the lucrative photo-op offer from Starstruck Magazine.

There was a light knock on the door and Bebe jumped up to answer it. The two of us had been sitting in silence listening to the clamoring of the staff as they scrambled to set tables for small reception after the ceremony. It was comical to listen to Eli asking over and over again how to efficiently polish silver. Eventually one of his co-workers took over for him. Bebe and I were so invested in listening we'd barely touched our morning muffin basket and fresh brewed coffee. I thought about breaking my no-caffeine goal and downing a cup as soon as my eyes passed over the steaming pot waiting on the coffee table.

"Oh, Patrick," Bebe said as she answered the door.

"Hi." Patrick had a peach rose tucked into his front suit pocket. His cheeks were rosy and he greeted Bebe with a one-handed hug. He looked at me with softened eyes. "Bebe, can I speak to Essie alone for a minute."

"Sure." Bebe winked at me and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what Patrick wanted me to say. I started by smiling politely and opening my mouth to offer a congratulations but saying it without really meaning it didn't feel right. I cleared my throat and waited for Patrick to speak first.

"Thank you for what you did," he said, taking a step closer.

"I did it for all of us," I replied. "The entire resort's reputation would have been stained if no one figured it out. And Joy begged me to help so…"

"She chose the right girl for the job." He clasped his hands in front of him. "I don't know how else to say this, but I wanted you to know how much you mean to me. I don't want to stop being friends."

"That might be kind of hard when you move back to L.A." My heart started racing and it took everything I had to steady my breathing so my chest didn't rapidly rise up and down like I was jogging on a treadmill.

"I'm not going back," he informed me. "I've bought a house just down the street."

Great.

"And Lila is okay with this?" I asked, knowing dang well the shops on Canyon Road didn't compare to the designer chicness of Rodeo Drive.

"I'm sure she'll be thrilled, and so will my parents." He grinned. "In fact, I'm going to surprise her with the house keys in a few minutes. Why wait, right?"

"With everything that's happened, I sure wouldn't," I joked.

"And…" Patrick glanced down at his shoes. I knew what he was going to say next. He was going to bring up that spark between us that neither of us had the guts to talk about directly. My heart pounded even more.

"If this is about last night," I said first. "We agreed to leave that in the past where it belongs, remember?"

"I will," he agreed. "Because it's what you want. I just want to make sure you understand why I'm doing what I'm doing."

"You don't have to explain that to me."

"But I do," he insisted. "All I want is for the important people in my life to be happy. Lila and I are very different, but she was there for me when I signed my first big sponsorship deal. She was there supporting me when the press hounded into every private detail of my life trying to make it front page news. That's got to count for something. Am I right?"

"I never doubted the two of you have some kind of special connection," I responded. "You do what you feel is best, Patrick."

"You're not upset with me?"

"No," I admitted. I took a deep breath, and realized I really wasn't. When I think of the past I will always see his face, but that wasn't a bad thing. I'd moved on from a lot of things. Realizing I might never meet my birth mother. Standing up to that third piece of cake when it called to me at one in the morning. I could move on from Patrick too. How hard could it be the second time around?

"Good." He nodded, and pulled a key from his pocket. "It's a relief that at least one member of the wedding party thinks we'll make it. Donna was practically hysterical the night she checked in telling me all the reasons why I should break up with Lila."

"I thought she and Lila were friends?"

"I thought so too," he commented. "Chicks, huh?"

"Yeah," I answered quietly.

Patrick left the room and quietly shut the door. I heard Joy ask him if he was ready to start as he headed for the bride's room. There was another knock on the door. Joy stepped in without waiting for a response. She raised her eyebrows and studied my dress.

"Not the style I would have picked, but you still look smashing," she said. "Way better than the bride anyway." Joy chuckled.

"Don't let your boss hear you say that."

“Oh, he's probably in the kitchen double-checking everything," she said in a low voice. "He heard about the nut allergy thing you pointed out yesterday. He's worried we might have a lawsuit on our hands."

"Not when they've proven it was all Franco's fault," I pointed out.

"As long as I get my promotion." She gestured for me to get moving to my place. "Let's do this. Bebe is already ready to go."

I took one last look in the mirror, and smoothed a piece of my hair. My cell phone buzzed underneath my bra strap. I'd shoved it there as a temporary measure. My dress had no pockets, and my purse was locked downstairs in an employee locker.

"Hang on a second." I pulled my cell phone out to see who was calling.

"Essie," Joy scolded. "Put that away. I don't want your boobs to be buzzing when Patrick reads his vows."

"Just a second," I laughed. Joy slammed the door a little too firmly as she left the room. I looked at the brightened screen on my phone and froze. A name was flashing that pushed back everything I'd felt these past couple days. Confusion. Doubt. Fear.

Bev was calling me back.

I answered immediately, my eyes darting to each end of the room making sure I was completely alone. I gulped when I listened and heard silence on the other end.

"Hello," a voice said. "Is someone there?"

"Um," I replied. "Yeah. Sorry. Hi, this is Essie. Thank you for calling me back."

"When I found out about Donna…" Bev sounded different than I thought she would. It was impossible to see her facial expressions over the phone, but I could imagine. Her voice wasn't high-pitched and upbeat like Bebe's. She didn't sound diva-ish like Lila. She spoke slowly and deliberately like she wanted to make sure she was communicating clearly.

"I'm sorry. Were the two of you close?"

"Somewhat," she answered. "Listen, Essie, I've thought a lot about whether or not I should call you back and I've decided that there are a few things I think you should know."

"I'm listening," I said quietly.

"Are you sitting down?"

"Of course," I lied.

"Good." She exhaled, and I tapped my foot listening for my cue to walk down the aisle. "On Thursday night, Donna called me. She was really upset about the wedding and she didn't know who else to talk to."

"So she confided in you," I guessed.

"Yes." She took another breath. "Sorry, this is hard for me to talk about. Lila is a friend of mine but…"

"I'm alone," I reassured her.

"You should know I decided not to go for the wedding because right before our trip Lila had a nervous breakdown. It wasn't like her usual petty tantrums. This one was bad and … more violent."

"Violent?" I asked.

"She threw a bottle of wine out the window and threatened to throw the next one at my head." Bev paused. "It freaked me out."

"Did you tell anyone about it?" The sound of my heart pumping filled my ears and my throat was tight, like my glands were too swollen to swallow.

"Not until Donna called me that night. You see, she had seen some of Lila's episodes too. That's when she told me something wasn't right. That Lila and Patrick together was a deadly combination. I guess she'd noticed Lila had changed since their engagement."

"Changed how?" I asked.

"I don't know exactly how." She huffed, frustrated. "All I know is Donna went on and on about it until she got a headache. She was too wound up to give me any straight answers."

"She must have said something."

"There was one thing that struck me as odd," she said in almost a whisper. "Donna said that Lila had stopped taking her meds whatever that means."

"How about she's on some kind of medication and she has been neglecting her treatment?" I spoke up.

"No, Lila isn't on anything. Except maybe sleeping pills or something like that. She works a lot."

My mind jumped back to the times I'd seen Franco slip Lila something while no one else was looking. And the time when Lila had admitted to me she took something to help her sleep. Could Franco have been giving her something to make her paranoid and crazy instead? Maybe Lila's mood swings and supposed mental breakdown in front of Bev wasn't her? Maybe it was the medication talking? It would have given Franco juicier material for his tell-all book.

"Did Donna say anything about Patrick?" I waited, hopeful that Bev might reveal more information about Patrick's decision to carry on with the wedding.

"Not really," she confessed. "None of us really know Patrick that well. He's usually pretty distant. I always got the feeling his mind was somewhere else whenever we went out."

"Well, whether or not they're right for each other, it's too late now."

"Too late?" Bev raised her voice, sounding concerned. "Don't tell me the wedding is still on?"

"It should be starting any minute now," I replied.

"Even after Donna…?”

"That was Lila's decision." I closed my eyes briefly, hearing Bev's quiet sobbing. She tried to hide it by covering the phone's speaker, but that only made white noise.

"That greedy little tart," she said through her teeth. "I can't believe she would do that and everyone else is actually going along with it. Someone should send her back to The Cove. She was totally normal when she came home last year. The best I've ever seen her."

"Excuse me," I butted in. "The Cove?"

"Yeah," Bev confirmed. "At least, that's what she called it. Some elite spa for A-listers only. She was there for quite a while."

"You're sure?" All the muscles in my torso flexed, and I could hardly let out the word goodbye. John Slagger's face was in my head, and I couldn't shake it away. Something wasn't right about his trip to Bison Creek. Something still wasn't adding up.

"Positive."

"Thanks," I responded. "I've got to go." I hung up and dashed out of the room. I needed to speak with Patrick before the wedding. If Lila was being drugged or blackmailed or if she herself was the actual killer than he needed to know. Now.