Authors: A. Gardner
"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 Donna at the hotel spa sneaking in while Misty and was shacked up with Eli in a storage closet, fed her the cake knowing she was highly allergic to the peanut butter filling, and then pushed her into the pool and watched her die."
"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 Donna's cell phone and you'll see that it all adds up. Franco sent her a text right before she left her room. It was the last text she received. It was him, sheriff. You have to do something before he makes good on his threat to come after me next."
"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 pinned halfway up with diamond barrettes. She was wearing a short white robe with her tights and garter already on. My chest tightened when Patrick also stepped out of her room to see what the commotion was. He was already wearing his suit and his hair was gelled the way he used to do it in high school.
"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 connected with Lila's. "Oh, honey, please don't tell me I missed the wedding."
"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.
"I've seen it," Lila accused him. "I've seen the book!"
"Do you have any idea what I've given up because of you?" Franco finally broke down. Lila attempted to wipe her face, but settled for accepting Patrick's comforting embrace. "I have
no
social life.
No
hobbies. Family and friends I haven't seen in years. And I work
non-stop
for you. All so you can remind me on a daily basis what an incompetent assistant I am?"
"Calm down, Sir." Murray waved a hand, but the gesture only made Franco more upset.
"Don't you dare tell me what to do!" Franco shouted. "Writing a book isn't a crime. You can't arrest me for that."
"But I can bring you in as a murder suspect." The sheriff stepped forward, making his intentions known. He flashed his handcuffs in front of Franco. "I think you better come with me before you do something else you might regret."
"I may be guilty of a lot of things, but I would never hurt poor Donna." Franco shook his head.
"You had no problem spying on her though," I accused him. "And texting her to meet you at the spa early."
"Or trying to kill Essie for figuring out your little secret," Murray added. He winked at me, taking my advice to stand up for himself to heart.
"I didn't do it," Franco firmly stated. "I will
never
admit to anything, because there's nothing for me to admit to."
"So
you
didn't place that cupcake order using the name C. Darnay?" I asked. Franco's eyes widened when I mentioned his fake code name. He kept his mouth shut and instead turned his head as if the lot of us disgusted him.
The sheriff reached for his arm, but Franco went from being completely still to flailing his limbs all over the place in a matter of seconds. He looked like a deranged octopus as he fell to the floor and kicked his legs to avoid being handcuffed. For the first time in probably years, Sheriff Williams had no choice but to use full force. He squatted to the floor and gripped Franco's arms like they were his infant children. His grasp was so tight and so strong that all of us were amazed at the strength harbored inside the old man. The sheriff pulled Franco to his feet like he was a weightless piece of notebook paper.
Franco turned his head away from us, avoiding eye contact with his accusers. Lila sniffled and pulled herself out of Patrick's arms. She took a good look at Franco and briskly slapped him across the face. Bebe let out a yelp and Murray covered his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud.
"You
did
do it, didn't you?" Lila looked nervously at Patrick. "You broke my heart when you signed that book deal, when you told me you thought Patrick and Donna were having some sort of affair…" Bebe gasped and placed her hand on her chest. "You swore to me that you were going to take care of it, and you did. You did it!"
Franco looked her in the eyes and kept a straight face. The sheriff and Murray pulled him towards the elevators, and this time he followed them willingly.
Lila sobbed into Patrick's arms. Her hysterical crying made us all keep our mouths shut. I knew I wasn't the only person wondering now if the wedding was still on.
"Please," Lila pleaded. She pushed Patrick away and ran towards the elevator. It opened and the sheriff, Murray, and Franco stepped inside. "Just tell me why.
Why
did you kill her?"
Franco looked at her directly without so much as a sorrowful expression. In fact, it seemed as though he was frustrated. He cleared his throat and continued watching Lila as the elevator doors closed. He said nothing in response to her accusation and his silence drove Lila mad.
The elevator doors closed and Lila dropped to her knees, wailing. I was stunned, unsure what to do or how to comfort her. I could see the worry in Patrick's eyes as he glanced at me and inched towards his fiancée. He knelt down beside her.
"Donna and I weren't having an affair," he said quietly. "If that's what you thought, you should have talked to me about it."
"I know," Lila answered.
"Donna was upset about something Thursday night," he continued. "She wanted to talk to me about it, and that's what we did. We just talked."
"About what?" Lila whispered.
"About … the wedding," he admitted. Patrick looked back at me, Bebe, and Joy. "Donna thought you and I weren't a good match."
A wave of relief passed over me as his motives with Donna became clear.
"What?" Lila commented. "Why would she think that?"
"I…" Patrick shrugged rather than go into details. "That's not important. What's important is what we do now."
Lila slowly stood up, and faced us all with puffy eyes and perfect hair that contrasted with the makeup smeared all over her face. She hung her head for a minute like she was clearing her thoughts.
"I know this weekend has been crazy," she stated. "But, Patrick, I still love you. I still want to marry you … if you still want to marry me?"
This was Patrick's last chance to tell Lila how he really felt. It was his last chance to hang on to what the two of us had and make
us
his future instead. It was the final moment where he had to choose, once and for all, Lila over a normal life amongst the townfolk of Bison Creek. To choose the fame of L.A. or the simplicity of living in a snowy mountain town.
Patrick didn't look at me which told me everything I needed to know. He'd chosen Lila, and I didn’t blame him. He wanted to do all he could to make his mother happy before she passed away. He was doing what he thought was best for the fragile women in his life – his mother and Lila.
"I do," Patrick said quietly.
Lila's frown turned to a hopeful smile. She took Patrick by the arm and nodded.
"Not even a psycho killer can keep us apart," she commented. "Finish getting ready, girls. I'm getting married."
CHAPTER TWENTY
My stomach rumbled from skipping breakfast and I didn't have enough of an appetite to run and grab something from Aggie's kitchen. Even though Franco was safely locked away at the sheriff’s office, I still felt uneasy. I was relieved I no longer had to look over my shoulder every five minutes or make sure I didn't linger underneath railings or high hotel windows for very long. I had cleared the Pinecliffe Mountain Resort's name before the big ceremony, but I wasn't as elated about it as I should have been.
The upstairs hall was decorated and ready for the wedding. I heard Patrick's parents talking to Pastor Tad down the hall. My parents had shown up again along with Mayor Millbreck and a couple of Patrick's neighbors. Bebe and I were waiting down the hall in a guest room that had been designated as a bridesmaids’ changing area. Lila had her own suite – a makeshift bridal room with a spectacular view and a private balcony leading to the slopes.
Patrick and I didn't have a chance to talk after Franco was taken away. There wasn't much time left until the ceremony was scheduled to begin and Lila had decided she wanted Patrick by her side the rest of the morning in case anything else happened. Joy was making her usual rounds consisting of repositioning floral arrangements, taste-testing Aggie's brunch menu, and keeping Eli and the press in line. None of the photographers had escaped up the stairway so far, and I had no idea if Lila and Patrick decided to accept the lucrative
photo-op offer from
Starstruck Magazine.