Powdered Murder

"Changed how?" I asked.

"I don't know exactly how." She huffed, frustrated. "All I know is Do

"She must have said something."

"There was one thing that struck me as odd," she said in almost a whisper. "Do

"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 Do

"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 Do

"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.

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

I arrived just in time. The ceremony still hadn't started and the door to the bride's room was shut. Joy stood next to it staring at the grandfather clock mounted in the hallway. My chest pounded as I knocked loudly, disregarding everything going on around me.

"Keep it down, will you?" Joy whispered. "They're probably having one last make out session as singles. They'll be done in a minute."

The smirk on Joy's face disappeared when she saw the glint of fear in my eyes. I had to stop this ceremony before it was too late. Before Patrick made the biggest mistake of his life by marrying an unstable, violent celebrity who might be involved in her own bridesmaid's demise.

"The Cove," I blurted out to Joy. "Whatever that place is … rehab, therapy, a healing spa … both of them went there together."

"What on earth are you talking about, sis? Who went where?"

"Lila and our mystery man from out-of-town, John Slagger. The man who nobody can find at the moment?"

"So?" Joy placed a hand on her hips and glanced over at Bebe who was waiting impatiently to walk down the aisle.

"So," I said, raising my voice. I knocked on the door again. "The two of them could be working together."

"Working together to what, Essie? Spit it out."

"One or both of them might have murdered Do

A breeze ran across my arms and I shivered. My eyes darted to the window where one of the beige lacy curtains were flapping in the wind. The patio doors were open and the breeze let in snowflakes from outside. I ran to the window, looking up at the silent slopes and the closed chair lift.

"Call the sheriff," I instructed Joy. "Tell him to get here immediately, and to call for backup. I think I might have been wrong about Franco."

"But it had to be Franco," Joy argued. "Everything lined up so perfectly. The nut-ridden cupcakes. The Charles Dickens codename. The motives. The text message."

"Exactly," I gulped. "Maybe it was all a little too perfect."

"Do you think it was staged?" she asked.

"I didn't an hour ago," I confessed. "I just hope I'm not too late."

"What about the ceremony?" Joy asked quietly. She tugged at a strand of her hair, and gently patted her stomach like she'd suddenly become nauseas. Canceling the ceremony the night before the wedding was one thing, but canceling after all the guests had arrived and her boss was observing her handiwork was another. It wasn't a surprise she was having trouble stomaching it.

"Keep stalling," I suggested.

"Maybe they went for a walk?" Joy hopefully stated. "Maybe you're blowing this whole thing out of proportion?" She anxiously rubbed her forehead. "Oh, who am I kidding? Lila is like the mother of all bridezillas. She almost gave me a heart attack this weekend."

"It'll be okay." I don't know that for sure, but I knew the two of us would survive whatever happened next, wedding or no wedding. "Go call the sheriff."

Joy nodded in agreement and left the room quietly. I took a step onto the patio. The slopes were white with fresh powder, and the sky looked pearly from all the snowfall. Snowflakes landed on my eyelashes and head. I brushed them off and let my eyes wander down the patio steps and onto the mountainside. My heart jumped when the chair lift leading up to the highest ski run started moving. Someone had switched it on. I jogged down the patio steps and into the snow wearing uncomfortable high heels. The back of my dress dragged along the ground and made a mess of snow and mud on the fabric.

In the distance there were two figures arguing near the small chalet building that housed the ski lift controls and equipment. The sole of my foot felt like it was about to freeze off as I neared the chalet hut. Snow was sliding into my shoes. I didn't stop to dry my feet because I knew my time was scarce. Over the howling wind came voices. It was Patrick and Lila, and they were both shouting.

An empty bench lifted up off the ground right next to me. I hurriedly walked around the back of the building towards Patrick and Lila, but the sound of something sharp piercing the sky stopped me dead in my tracks. My throat tightened so I had to force myself to gulp down a breath. I inhaled too much air and ended up sucking in a few snowflakes that made the edges of my nose freeze. I coughed and jogged behind the building.