Powdered Murder

"Brilliant." Franco looked down at his plate. "Honestly, I should pin an alarm to my shirt that goes off every time I touch sweets."

"It's not as filling as my red berry protein shake, but you'll like the fruit just as much as that cake thing."

"It's a pandoro." He raised his eyebrows.

"Is there a difference?"

"You don't get out much do you?" he asked.

"I…"

"It's okay, honey. I assumed as much." His eyes did a once-over of my entire body. "I mean with a figure like that you would have been engaged to a millionaire or on the cover of Fitness Magazine by now." He leaned in a little closer and quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure Lila was otherwise occupied. "I'm surprised that you and Patrick haven't … you know. Unless you have?"

"Me and Patrick?" My cheeks went hot. I hate blushing in public, and thinking about not blushing always made it worse. "No."

"Not even in high school?" he asked. "It's okay, honey. Your secret is safe with me." He casually scratched the side of his chin and the surface of his nails glistened like they had been painted with clear nail polish.

"No, not even in high school." Especially not in high school. "We were just friends." I paused and re-evaluated the words that came out of my mouth. We were just friends, but what were we now? I had no idea.

"I see." With a subtle smirk on his face, Franco took his plate and sat next to Lila. He grabbed a pitcher and filled her glass with water. Right after he did so he reached into his pocket and handed her a tiny circular pill box. He did it so discreetly that no one at the table saw him do it. Lila rolled her eyes and accepted the pill box.

I immediately turned my back to her and finished filling my plate with fruit, skipping over the pandoro and pastries. I reached for a coffee cup tempted to fill it to the brim with some strong brew. I fought the voice in my head telling me to give in by grabbing a tea bag instead.

No caffeine. No caffeine. At least keep your resolution until February.

"Essie," Bebe said as I took the seat next to her. "You made it."

"I wasn't sure what the plan was today."

"You did get the itinerary, right?" Lila said sharply. "Or did that up-tight wedding pla

"She gave me one," I answered, hoping she wouldn't go off complaining about Joy for no reason. "She definitely gave me one I just…" My gaze drifted to Patrick who took a deep breath and gulped down a large portion of his coffee.

"What?" Lila demanded. Her jaw clenched slightly as she waited for me to answer. Her eyes were puffy like she hadn’t slept much and her engagement ring slid off and on her miniscule little finger. Even in the short period of time she had been here, she looked like she was dropping weight by the hour. With the levels of stress she was under, I wouldn't be surprised if she was losing her hair too.

"Nothing." I swallowed all the things I wanted to say about canceling or postponing the event if not for her own sanity then to honor the deceased. I chickened out. "The room is beautiful."

I smiled and Lila studied my expression. She immediately copied me and lightened her stern glare. She took a calming breath and sat up straighter, delicately placing her hands in her lap. She sipped some ice cold water and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. The tone of her voice was softer. "I'm just trying to forget what happened yesterday." The entire room went eerily silent. "I don’t mean to be a witch all the time…" Her eyes began to look glossy and she hurriedly fa

"Hey, it's okay," he reassured her. "It's only natural that we are all concerned."

Lila wiped away more tears and looked up. She made eye contact with me, Bebe, and then Franco. "Am I a terrible person for wanting a little happiness in my life?" she asked.

Franco and Bebe automatically shook their heads.

"No, of course not," Bebe replied. "I agree with you."

"I do too," Franco followed.

Seeing the sorrowful look on Lila's face and the way her sunken cheeks were starting to lose their color made me feel guilty for thinking she was a psychopath for wanting to carry on with the wedding. That she was insane for carrying on because seeing one of her bridesmaids floating dead in a pool wasn't enough for her to at least postpone her marriage to Patrick. I might have misjudged her. I nodded in agreement. Patrick glanced at me and mouthed the words thank you. Behind the superficial exterior, Lila was much more fragile than I thought. I'm sure Patrick felt that calling off the wedding would shatter her into pieces.

"How about a moment of silence," Patrick added. "For Do

"For Do

"Now, let's talk about something else," I blurted out. "Something more cheerful?"

"Like the wedding," Bebe chimed in. "You're getting married tomorrow, darlin'. We should be celebrating with a bottle of champagne." She set aside her mimosa and forced a wide smile.

"Of course you would suggest something like that," Franco commented. Rather than take offense, Bebe giggled. Lila eventually smiled and nodded as if Franco was right. "Child, it's not even noon."

"You should have seen her the time she got plastered before that red carpet thing in Vegas and—"

"How about a good old-fashioned hike?" Patrick interrupted Lila.

"In this weather?" Lila challenged him. The tone of her voice was still soft and dainty though she sounded back to her usual self.

"Snow shoes," I added. "It's more fun than it sounds." I casually jabbed a berry with my fork and proceeded to put it in my mouth. Bebe watched me and glanced at her glass of mimosa.

"Are you thinking of the time we hiked up to the abandoned miner's cabin?" Patrick said. We were in seventh grade when we did that and I just about coughed up a lung. The strenuous physical activity had come easily to Patrick, and I never admitted to him that I'd barfed behind an aspen tree when he wasn't looking. Twice.

"Please don't tell me that you still think it is haunted." I couldn't help but laugh as my mind jumped back to that brisk Sunday morning when I attempted to prove to him that ghosts weren't real. Old man Simpkons liked to say otherwise, especially to the children of Bison Creek who disturbed his peace and quiet by playing near his fence.

"Didn't one of the miners die up there?" he continued. "It's definitely haunted. Stop kidding yourself."

"How many times do I have to prove you wrong?"

Patrick chuckled and a familiar grin graced his face as he looked at me in a way he'd never looked at me before. I told myself I was imagining it. If Joy was standing next to me she would have told me to stop reading into a simple look. Because that is all it was. A look.