Powdered Murder

"There's a guy in the parking lot asking questions and--"

Before I had the chance to explain any further, she pushed past me and threw open the door searching for the trespasser. I jogged to keep up with her, and to make sure she didn't dash through the parking lot in her high heels, slip, and break her neck. The wind blew through a loose strand of her dark hair as she looked left and right. John was nowhere to be seen.

"You need to tell me everything." Joy got that look in her eye that only came when she was about to “red line,” as Dad put it when we were teenagers.

Joy is horrible at balancing just about everything. She has the unfortunate habit of taking on too many responsibilities both at work and at home. She hasn't been on a date in months and even though she moved in with me last summer to save on rent, I rarely saw her anywhere but at the Pinecliffe Mountain Resort.

"Okay," I agreed. I placed my hand on her shoulder and nudged her back inside. "I will when you come inside and sit for a couple of minutes. When was the last time you ate?"

"I don't have time to sit down or eat," she answered. "You need to change and I need to make sure Ira polishes the silver for real this time, that crazy woman."

"You mean for the rehearsal di

"No, Essie, I mean for the bridal shower tea you're supposed to be at in five minutes in the Aspen Room." She started speed walking again, and I had to jog some more to stay by her side. Moving that fast in high heels had to be some kind of world record. "Now come on. Get moving."

"What am I even supposed to talk about with these women?"

"I don't know. Shoes. Carbs. Patrick. You'll figure it out."

*          *          *

"Bebe," Lila scolded one of her bridesmaids. "You have a dress to fit into."

Bebe discreetly pushed aside the porcelain bowl of sugar cubes and stirred her tea with a worried look on her face. She was thin just like Lila, and she wore too much perfume. Her blonde hair was curled and a diamond-studded flower clip held some of it back.

Bebe glanced down at her wristband, a plain white band surrounded by diamond te

The three of us were sipping our tea like it was an old time tradition, but Lila kept glaring at the grandfather clock on the wall. We were waiting for her maid of honor, Do

The Aspen Room was the su

"Where is she?" Lila muttered to herself. "This is so typical of Do

"Deep breaths," he said to her. "Deep breaths. Let me get you some water."

"Where have you been?" Lila snapped at him. "I haven't seen you since lunch."

"I told you." Her assistant's eyes darted from her to picturesque view out the window. "I had some work to catch up on." He cleared his throat and focused on her again. "Emails," he added.

"Whatever, just find her, Franco," she commanded him. "Find out where Do

"Yes, of course."

Lila's assistant, Franco, was an older man and he obeyed Lila like she was his elderly aunt about to cut him out of her will. He wore a tailored suit and his rectangular glasses complimented his grayish facial hair. He was shorter than Lila, and could zip from one end of the room to the next like a nervous squirrel. The moment he had the opportunity to sneak out, he scurried to the door and quietly shut it behind him.

"Ugh," Lila murmured. "I need some air." She fa

"Oh Lord," Bebe said under her breath. She spoke with a southern accent that made me pay close attention when she talked. "Get me out of this nightmare. She is going to explode one of these days and someone needs to explain to her that this isn't the golden state. She can't go prancing around in the winter air like that or she'll catch a nasty cold."

"Pla

"I swear she's going to fall over dead before Sunday rolls around." Bebe grabbed another shortbread cookie and shoved it in her mouth like it was her last chance to eat before the world ended. "I don't blame Bev for backing out of this at the last minute. Heavens, I wish I had thought of that first. And Do

Bebe hurriedly looked over her shoulder and wolfed down another cookie. Her lips moved so fast that she reminded me of a baby sucking the life out of a brand new pacifier. When she was finished, she delicately wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin. It was a complete contrast from the way she had savagely downed her food.

"What happened last night?" I asked. I didn't touch anything at the table except my tea, though I had been eyeing a jumbo vanilla cupcake that I knew I couldn't have unless I wanted to spend the rest of my evening doing lunges.

"Well." Bebe leaned in closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I heard that Franco saw Patrick and Do

"That doesn't sound like Patrick. Franco must have walked in at the wrong moment."

"Maybe." Bebe shrugged. "But Franco tells Lila everything. She threw a fit."

I raised my eyebrows and tried to imagine what Patrick and Do

The doors leading outside slammed when Lila finally came inside looking calm and collected. The chill air was just what she needed because her cheeks weren't as fiery red and her expression wasn't one of a constipated debutante. She approached the table with a twisted smile – her demeanor now the opposite of what it had once been. As Taryn would sometimes say at the gym, it looked like Lila had “found her zen.”

"Ladies," she said calmly and pleasantly, "I have decided that we should go ahead and make our way to the spa without Do