Sugar and Iced by Jenn McKinlay

Author:Jenn McKinlay [McKinlay, Jenn]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery & Detective, General, Women Sleuths, Fiction
ISBN: 9780698138018
Google: 5XrwAAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2014-04-01T04:00:00+00:00

Twenty-two

Ji Lily stopped in front of Mel. “You’re the one who found Mariel?”

Mel just stared at her. She was unsure of what to say and found the woman’s blunt manner more than a little off-putting. The woman seemed to grasp that the verbal offensive strike wasn’t working for Mel.

“Excuse me. I’m Ji Lily, the cosmetic consultant for the pageant,” she said. “And I believe you are Melanie Cooper, the baker providing the wonderful cupcakes I have seen in the lobby?”

Mel had to give the woman credit. With very little effort, she transformed into someone completely charming. Ji ex-tended her hand and Mel clasped it in hers. The woman had a solid handshake.

“I am,” Mel said. “But I’m not the person who found Mariel. That was my partner, Angie DeLaura, who is not here today.”

“Oh.” Ji sounded disappointed.

“Was there something I can help you with?” Mel asked. “I was there right after she was discovered—” Mel noted that the mothers surrounding them were listening and she decided it would be prudent to move away. She tipped her head in the direction of the nearest door and led Ji out into the hallway. “I was there right after my partner discovered Mariel.”

“Did you get a good look at her?” Ji asked.

“At Mariel?” Mel clarified. It seemed a grisly line of questioning and she couldn’t fathom why Ji would want to know.

At Ji’s nod, she answered. “Yes, I guess so.”

“Was it true that she was strangled?” Ji asked. “The detectives would neither confirm nor deny.”

“Oh,” Mel said. She wondered at that and whether she should give out information if Manny and Uncle Stan were withholding it. Then again, there had been so many people in the lobby when she was discovered it wasn’t as if people didn’t know. “From what I saw, I would assume that was the cause of death. Why do you ask?”

Ji gave her a dark look that clearly meant she had no intention of sharing why she was asking. Mel frowned. That wasn’t playing fair.

“I answered your question,” Mel said. “Pony it up.”

Ji gave her a small smile. “All right. Launching your own nail polish line is not cheap, and Mariel was stalling on paying me the second half of her investment money, you know, the money needed to actually launch the line. I think the police believe I might have tried to choke it out of her, literally.”

“Did you?” Mel asked.

“Well, I was questioned and they released me, so I guess my alibi checked out. Hard to choke someone when you’re up to your elbows in new nail polish colors. Speaking of which, I am launching Mariel’s line in memory of her. My web designer thinks the ad campaign stands a good chance of going viral. We could make a killing.”

“Figuratively speaking?” Mel asked.

“Of course.” Ji’s glee at the possibility of banking on Mariel’s death caught Mel off guard. She would think if Ji had killed Mariel she would keep her enthusiasm on the down low. Perhaps that was why she was okay with showing her opportunistic side.

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