Powdered Murder

"Here you go. Only one cupcake order was placed yesterday afternoon."

"A dozen Pinecliffe Delights," I said out loud. "What's that?"

The resort's prized dessert collection is a mystery to me. I made the mistake once of trying a slice of the specialty blueberry spice pie, and it almost killed me that I couldn't eat the whole thing. After thinking about it so much that a slice of berry heaven started showing up in my dreams, I decided it was best to leave the food in the kitchen to the guests.

"It's our award-wi

I ignored the rumbling in my stomach upon hearing Aggie's detailed description.

"And who placed the order? Someone in the wedding party?"

"Of course not," she gasped. "Why, I wouldn't allow it. That's absurd." Her expression was stern. She glared at me like I was being scolded for licking the frosting off of a wedding cake.

"Why not?"

"Because one of the wedding guests has a severe nut allergy. I received the notice right after they checked in. I take the dietary needs of each guest very seriously you know. I wouldn't have even allowed this order to go through, but I wasn't here when it was called in. My foolish assistant approved it. I would've at least used the soy nut butter substitute just in case."

"Then who ordered it?"

She looked closer at here computer screen. I squinted and read the name on the order. It was called in on a line that wasn't co

"C. Darnay?"

"Sometimes people don't bother to use their full names," Aggie responded. "Or even their real names if the order is a surprise for someone and they don't want any of the staff ringing their room about it."

"Were you here when the order was picked up?" I asked. Aggie studied the list and shook her head.

"No, that would be Dora. It says that the box was collected at one o'clock. I would have been on my lunch break." She stood up and gestured towards the door.

"Is Dora here?"

"Dora!" Aggie shouted. She waited as a young girl wearing a hair net came quickly with wide eyes and a terrified look on her face. "This woman wants to speak with you." Aggie turned to me. "Are we finished?"

"Yes, thanks."

"Can I help you?" Dora timidly asked. She was shorter than me and very petite. I remembered Joy telling me once that the kitchen staff had to be at least eighteen years old to qualify for a permanent position, but Dora looked like she was sixteen years old.

"Yeah." I took a deep breath. Doc Henry was right. Do

"Oh the cupcakes," Dora said. She nodded. "I remember those. Yeah."

"Was it a man?" My chest went tight. I was inches away from fixing this entire mess. "Was he tall or short? Older or younger?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Dora scratched the side of her head. "I meant I remember those cupcakes. I put them out on the counter and a few minutes later they were gone."

"So you didn't see who collected them?"

"No, ma’am."

"What about security cameras?" I asked. "Would I be able to see the person on one of them?"

"No, ma’am." Dora shook her head, eyeing the camera in the kitchen facing the storage room and freezers. "There's only the one in here facing all our food storage. There isn't one facing the pick-up window."

"Thanks." I sighed, reluctantly stepping out of the kitchen feeling defeated.

In my attempts to take a few steps forward, I'd taken a giant step back. I now knew what I had been hoping wasn't true. Do

I tugged at the collar of my sweater and took a few strides towards great hall where the ceremony would be taking place tomorrow. It didn't take long before Joy spotted me and sped down the hallway. Her sleeve was unbuttoned revealing the tattoo on her wrist of a yellow hibiscus. It was a tribute to one of the greatest moments of her life, her Hawaiian honeymoon with Wade. Their honeymoon bliss ended the moment they got home, as she repeatedly reminded me.

"You have a rehearsal to attend," she said through her teeth. "Mr. Kentworth is breathing down my neck."

"Unfortunately, I don’t have any updates for you."

"As long as Lila, the cosmetics queen, is happy, and the papers don't get ahold of this story and start giving the resort a bad rep." She looked down at her sleeve and promptly buttoned it closed. "I feel like the second I get a chance to breathe I am going to have a nervous breakdown. I need more coffee."

"Joy, you have to relax sometime." She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead the way she normally did when she was begi

"Gosh," she murmured. "Quit bringing that up. That was ages ago."

"Mom hasn't recovered from that yet," I reminded her.

"I was with Wade that Christmas. That dirtbag. He turns me into the biggest idiot in town for some reason. Him and his lame ass ideas."

When Joy reaches a certain stress level she acts much like a tea kettle, and not the cute whistling kind. She tends to boil over the brim and scorch anyone or anything in her path. That was the case last Christmas when she was put in charge of pla

The weight of two village idiots and all that extra snow caused the roof to cave in.

Mom had a hard time understanding why someone as seemingly responsible as Joy would have allowed herself to drink that much. My dad, a car enthusiast, said she was “redlining.”

"You've got to slow down before you snap, sis."

"Fine," she agreed. "Since I'm probably going to get fired anyway I'll come home early tonight and try to wind down before the wedding di

"Do you remember where I live?"

"Very fu

"Right." I ran my fingers through my long locks and looked down at my jeans to make sure there were no mud stains.

"And, Essie?” Joy added. "Thank you. You really are a life saver."

"What are sisters for?"

CHAPTER NINE

I couldn't take my eyes off of Patrick. He waited at the end of the great room with Pastor Tad in a pair of slacks and a navy sweater that brought out the broadness of his shoulders. His arms were folded as he gri