Powdered Murder

"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 Do

"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 Do

"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 pi

"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 co

"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.