He cut himself off from saying more as Oz came hurrying over.

"What's going on? I heard someone say that you're taking Lupe in," he said.

"I'll let you explain," Stan said to Mel. "I gotta go."

Mel nodded. She suspected Stan didn't want to face the teen boy's ire. Chicken.

Oz looked at her expectantly.

"Who's watching the cupcakes?" she asked.

"I called Marty in," he said. "Now what's going on?"

"Uncle Stan is having Lupe visit the police station for formal questioning."

"What?" Oz snapped. "He can't be serious. That's stupid!"

"Agreed," Mel said. "And if it helps, Stan told me he doesn't believe she did it, either. But I'm not supposed to tell you that."

Mel did not mention the new evidence part. She fully intended to grill Uncle Stan about it later, but she didn't think it would help Oz's frazzled state of mind right now.

"We should call Lupe's mother," she said.

"She's at work," Oz said. "She's a secretary at the high school and even though we're on break, she still has to be there. She'll get in trouble if she has to leave. Lupe's aunt is watching her sisters. I know Lupe will want to keep this from them so they don't worry. Her mother wanted to pull her out of the pageant after Mariel's murder because she was afraid it was too dangerous, like, the killer might go after Lupe or something."

"So, she has no idea that Lupe is a suspect?" Mel asked.

Oz shook his head.

"Do you think that's wise?" Mel asked.

"Lupe made me promise," he said. "She thinks her mom has enough to worry about just keeping a roof over their heads."

Mel looked at Oz's face. His features were pinched with anxiety and he was tapping his fingers against his thigh as if it was the only outlet he could find for his nervous energy.

"Go to the station with Mom and Lupe," Mel said. "She'll appreciate the support. You can probably catch them in the parking lot."

"Thanks." Oz looked so relieved that Mel knew that's what he'd been hoping she would say. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Marty and I can handle this," she said.

"Cool." To her surprise, Oz reached forward and wrapped her in a hug that lifted her off of her feet. "Thanks, Mel."

Then he was gone, racing off down the hall toward the exit.

Mel hurried down the hall back to the dressing room. She glanced at Lupe's dressing table and saw Sarah reaching out to touch Lupe's gown, which was still hanging in its plastic cover. Oh, hell, no.

She hustled into the room and charged across the floor. Her expression must have reflected her rage because Sarah backed up quickly and found a mirror, where she started fixing her hair. Mel wasn't fooled, not even a little. She decided to pack up Lupe's things until she returned.

Her mind went right to Stan's words about new evidence. What could he have found? How could it be so damning that they needed to bring Lupe in for questioning? Mel carefully lifted Lupe's dress from the rack. She glanced around the room and noted that Lupe's gown was simple when compared to the others. It was a figure-hugging ivory sheath and while it was going to look amazing on her, Mel had to acknowledge that Sarah Hendrick's was right. It was going to appear rather plain compared to the low-cut, ruffled, and sparkly dresses of the others.

She hoped Alma could give them a quick fix just to kick it up a notch. Then again, if Stan arrested Lupe for Mariel's murder, she would hardly be needing the gown.

The murmur of voices in the room took on a frenzied sound, and Mel glanced behind her to see what the buzz was about. She hoped it was Stan or Manny hauling someone, anyone, in for questioning but no. When she turned around she saw an Asian woman enter the room, looking like she owned it.

The woman worked her way from station to station. She glanced at the contestants. Some she stopped to critique, others she gave a brusque nod to, and still others she paused in front of to adjust their blush or eye shadow. No one managed to get a smile out of her and Mel found herself clutching Lupe's gown to her middle as if nervous for what the woman would say to her, which was ridiculous given that Mel wasn't a contestant.

The woman wore little to no makeup, or at least if she did, it was impossible to discern. Although her features were not pretty or glamorous, she was handsome, with a flawless complexion that glowed against the backdrop of her long dark hair, which she wore in a side part. Mel stared at the woman in rapt fascination.

In complete contrast, roaring right up on the woman's heels was Brittany Richards. She led Destiny by the hand, giving the teen no option but to follow.

"Ji!" Brittany called. She was waving at the smaller woman as if they were longtime friends. "You remember my daughter, Destiny, don't you?"

The woman turned and Mel saw her lips tighten just the tiniest bit before she forced them into a miniscule smile.

"Of course," the woman inclined her head. "Nice to see you again."

Brittany puffed up like a proud mama hen. She then proceeded to dangle Destiny in front of the woman, pointing out her ski slope nose and high cheekbones. It was quite clear that Brittany was making a pitch of sorts.

"Oh, that woman is the world's biggest suck-up," a woman standing near Mel griped. "Just because she's married to Brandon Richards she thinks she owns every pageant they enter."

The woman started to vigorously brush her daughter's hair. "Ow, Mom."

"Sorry, honey." The woman immediately calmed down her brushing.

Another mother nearby said, "I heard Brittany bribes the judges with trips to the Caribbean."

"Wouldn't surprise me," the first woman said. "Don't they have a private jet?"

"Four houses and domestic staff in every one of them, too," the other woman added. "All paid for by boob jobs and nose jobs."

"Why did we enter this pageant again? We don't stand a chance. That tiara is bought and paid for." The other mother sighed and put down the hairbrush.

"Well, Ji Lily owns her own cosmetics company," the second mother said. "Maybe one of our girls will get lucky and get a modeling contract with her."

Mel glanced over at the Asian woman. She remembered Cici telling her that Ji Lily was their makeup consultant. She also remembered that Cici said that Mariel was in partnership with Ji Lily in a nail polish venture. She wondered how that had been going. Surely, Uncle Stan and Manny knew about it, too.

If Ji Lily was here, they must not have found anything suspicious about her business with Mariel. Still, Tate had loads of contacts in the business world. It couldn't hurt for him to ask around and see what he could find out. If the partnership had soured, that would be one more name to give Uncle Stan and Manny.

As if sensing her stare, Ji Lily turned away from Brittany, who did not look pleased to be abandoned in the middle of her monologue, and began to walk toward Mel. She had a sharp look in her dark eyes that Mel couldn't read, but she got the feeling that the woman was intent on chatting with her. Yikes.

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. She hadn't done it. Or she was the scariest sociopath ever.

"Since you were in business with her and worked closely with her on the nail polish, do you know of anyone else who might have wanted to do her harm?"

"Do her harm?" Ji asked. "That's the polite phrase for 'murder her,' is it?"

"Oh, please," Mel scoffed. "Don't nitpick when I'm surrounded by people who use the term 'facially gifted,' as if being pretty is comparable to being mathematically gifted or artistically gifted."

Ji grinned and Mel was momentarily stunned by how her handsome face transformed into one of real beauty. "Touche. Let me put it this way, to know Mariel was to want to kill her. Look around you. You can take your pick of would-be killers."

With that Ji turned and walked away, leaving Mel more worried about Lupe than ever. If the rest of the people in the pageant circle were anything like Ji or Brandon and Brittany, Mel had no doubt that the real killer would do everything he or she could to make Lupe take the fall for Mariel's murder. Given that Brittany had already caused Lupe to fall, literally, Mel's fear seemed spot-on.

Mel took all of Lupe's things and walked them out to her car. She was not going to let anyone mess with Lupe's stuff on her watch. Back inside, she wondered how things were going at the police station. She took out her phone and sent Oz a quick text. There was no reply from Alma about the dress.

Mel could hear the cheers coming from poolside as the contestants finished up the bathing suit competition. She wondered if anyone else had fallen. Then she shook her head, refusing to think about it.

Mel wondered who outside this crazy pageant circus would know about Ji Lily. Even if Uncle Stan and Manny had let Ji go because her alibi was solid, it didn't change the fact that she was in business with Mariel, and with Mariel gone, who had the most to gain? Ji. She even admitted she hoped to make a killing.

Mel took her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts until she found the name she wanted. She pressed the little phone icon and waited.

"Christine's Salon, this is Juliet, may I help you?" a young woman answered.

"Hi, Juliet, this is Melanie Cooper. I'd like to speak with Christine," Mel said.

"I'm sorry, she's with a client. Can I have her call you back?"

"Tell her there's a dozen Hi-Hat Cupcakes in it for her," Mel said.

"One moment."

Mel waited. She supposed she could have offered up two dozen, but Christine was a tough negotiator so it was better to start low.

"She wants to know if they'll be dipped in chocolate with a cherry on top," Juliet said.

Mel let out a put-upon sigh, mostly for effect. "Fine."

"One moment, please," Juliet said.

Mel waited again. She could hear the sound of blow-dryers and pop music in the background. Christine's Salon was right down the street from her bakery and Christine was the one responsible for Lupe's transformation. There was no one Christine didn't know in the local beauty scene.

"Cooper, those had better be super Hi-Hat Cupcakes," Christine said. "I just left a client under the dryer for you."

"They'll be amazing," Mel assured her. "So, what do you know about Ji Lily?"

"The cosmetic upstart?" Christine asked. She sounded intrigued. "She makes a good formaldehyde-free nail product that lasts. I haven't tried her lipsticks but I hear they're good, too. Why?"

"She's the beauty consultant at the pageant," Mel said. "And she was in business with Mariel Mars to launch a new nail polish line."

"I heard about that," Christine said. "I remember at the time thinking it was weird."

"Why?" Mel asked.

"Because Mariel is an old, dried-up prune."

"Harsh," Mel said.

"I know," Christine said. "But I'm not going to lie and say she was more than she was just because she's dead. The truth is, Ji had nothing to gain by having Mariel be the face of her nail polish line unless-"

"Yes?" Mel prodded her.

"Hang on, dryer check," Christine said.