Mel heard the phone being put down and she studied her own shriveled cuticles while she waited.

"Unless Mariel was staking Ji with a serious infusion of cash," Christine said. "Otherwise there really was no purpose in Ji helping Mariel out. I believe Mariel was the one with all the gain here."

"Ji told me that Mariel owed her a lot of money," Mel said. "In fact, she said she thought the police questioned her because Mariel owed her so much money that they might think she tried to choke it out of her."

"Huh," Christine grunted. Mel could tell she was back to fussing over her client's hair. "You're a businesswoman, would you work for free waiting for a big payoff from an almost celebrity? Mariel wasn't even a has-been, she was an almost-was. Did Ji strike you as being that stupid? Because the few times I've met her, dumb was not the word that leapt to mind."

"No, she seems pretty sharp," Mel said.

"My advice?" Christine asked. "Follow the money. When do I get my cupcakes?"

"Tomorrow," Mel said. "Baker's honor."

"Cool," Christine said and hung up.

Mel put away her phone as she pondered what Christine had said. She saw a crowd had gathered around the cupcake tower and she hurried over, assuming that Marty needed backup. When she arrived, she was surprised to find Marty surrounded by a bevy of beauties who all looked as if they'd be at home in a senior version of the Sweet Tiara.

"Oh, Martin, you are incorrigible," one of the ladies said as she swatted his arm playfully.

Another woman wiggled her way in between Marty and the woman who was laughing and said, "I think he was talking about me, Adele."

"Oh, Evie, you think everyone is talking about you," Adele snapped. "Just because a drunk once said you had eyes like Elizabeth Taylor's doesn't mean it's true."

Evie gasped. "It is so true. Look, they're violet; not blue, violet. Don't you think, Martin?" Evie batted her eyes at Marty.

"Oh, don't get all full of yourself, that's just your cataracts." Adele sniffed.

Mel opened her eyes wide at Marty to indicate he needed to smooth things over before there was a geriatric catfight on their hands.

Marty shrugged. It was obvious he was the typical male, useless in the face of female ire.

"Ladies, if you don't mind," Mel said. "Marty needs to start working the room."

Mel loaded cupcakes onto an empty tray. Perhaps if he was in motion, the ladies would disperse without launching into smashing each other with their canes or getting into a blue-hair-pulling fight.

"Who are you?" Adele glowered at Mel as if she were a rival.

"Yeah, who do you think you are bossing around the owner of Fairy Tale Cupcakes?" Evie asked.

Mel swiveled her head slowly in Marty's direction. He patted his bald head with one hand while hugging his middle with the other. The ladies were having none of that. They each flanked him, putting their arms through his as if they were about to pose for a group photo.

"Now, I never said that-" he began.

Marty didn't get to finish his protest, as he was interrupted by a voice that Mel was pretty sure could shatter glass if it was required.

"Someone please explain to me why these two old biddies have their hands on my boyfriend!"

Mel turned to see Olivia Puckett standing behind her with her hands on her hips, her eyes blazing. For once her crazy face was not directed at Mel, for which Mel was extremely grateful.

"Boyfriend?" Adele and Evie said together.

Mel extended the half-loaded tray to Marty as if she were opening an escape hatch for him.

"Back to work," he chirped under Olivia's hot gaze. "Nice to meet you, ladies."

With a spryness that belied his eighty-something years and was probably due to an ingrained survival instinct, Marty shot across the room as if he'd sat on a tack. Too bad for him, Olivia was hot on his trail. Mel had a feeling he wasn't going to get out of this one until he fully explained himself. Good luck with that.

"Men," Adele huffed. She then grabbed two cupcakes off of the tower and said, "Come on, Evie, I think I saw some hotties out by the pool."

"Cabana boys?" Evie perked up and followed her friend, their rivalry already forgotten. "Do you think they might be too young?"

"Huh. I'll be their Mrs. Robinson," Adele joked as she nudged Evie in the side with her elbow.

Mel watched them go and wondered if she'd just gotten a glimpse of her and Angie in the future. It was a sobering thought.

While prepping another tray for Marty, Mel watched as the last of the bathing beauties came in from the pool area. She wondered how the judging had gone and if Lupe's spill was going to cause her to be bounced from the final round.

Cici was leading two well-dressed women and a man in black through the lobby. Mel recognized Jay Driscoll and Lexi Armstrong as the judges she'd already met. Mel assumed the buxom blonde with them must be Mariel's replacement, Anka Holland.

As Mel studied the woman, she couldn't help but try to find one part of her that hadn't had work done. Her hair was bottle blond, her lips were artificially puffy, her skin had the smooth sheen of someone who had injected entirely too many chemicals into her dermis. Her eyes were big and wide, as if they'd been lifted one too many times. Mel wondered if Brandon Richards had done her work. If so, Mel figured she was due a refund.

"This is Melanie Cooper." Cici paused by the cupcake tower. "She will be baking the cupcakes that the girls design. Obviously in the interests of fairness, we are keeping the decorative portion of the cupcakes to a minimum. It will be mostly about taste, with lesser points given for presentation."

"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat loudly from be-hind the group. Mel was not surprised to see Olivia standing there.

"Oh, yes, and this is our other baker, Olivia Puckett," Cici said.

Mel glanced around for Marty, but he was obviously dragging his feet as he made his way back to the cupcake tower.

"I own Confections," Olivia announced. "Three-time winner of the Best of Phoenix award."

"For your brownies," Mel added. "We've won twice for our cupcakes."

"And for my cookies," Olivia growled.

Cici glanced between them with a warning look. "I'm sure our professional bakers will do their best with each recipe submitted by the girls."

Mel and Olivia exchanged a glance. There was no mistaking the emphasis Cici put on the word professional. Mel took it as the warning it was and changed the subject.

"It's very nice to meet you all." Mel turned to Anka and said, "How very fortunate for the pageant that you happened to be in town and could be an emergency replacement."

Cici gave her a dark look, but Mel kept her expression innocent. Olivia began to prattle on at the creative director about how a spread in SWS featuring her bakery would be a boost to the magazine's sales, while also trying to get the photographer to agree to photograph some of her creations.

Anka's lips twitched in what Mel assumed was a smile before Anka lost all muscle control, leaving her expression blank.

"I'm just happy to be of help," Anka said. Her voice was a low purr and Mel had to lean in close to hear her over the noise of the crowded lobby.

"I heard that you and Mariel competed often over the years," Mel said. "You must have been quite devastated to hear of her demise."

Mel was pretty sure Anka's eyes would have narrowed at her if they could have. Instead, her full lips moved into a half moue and she said, "Yes, I was quite overcome."

As Cici ushered the judges away, Mel couldn't help but wonder if Anka meant she had been overcome with regret, sorrow, or something else, like joy.

Twenty-three.

"Get this!" Tate was grinning as he read the next recipe. "They want us to use Red Bull instead of milk in the cupcake batter."

Mel lowered her head into her hands. She'd known it was going to be bad, but honestly, her gag reflex was in overdrive.

"I thought beauty queens were all about healthy living and eating. You know, so they have that natural glow," Angie said. "Shouldn't they be making cupcakes out of agave nectar and kale?"

"Apparently not," Mel said. She had been scribbling down a shopping list that Tate was taking to the grocery store to get their "special" ingredients.

It was early evening and Mel knew she had a long night of baking ahead of her in order to get ready for the next two days at the pageant. On the upside, Oz had popped in earlier to tell them that Lupe had made the final round, the top twenty contestants to move forward, despite her fall by the pool. He said he was going to help her with her talent and then he disappeared for the afternoon.

Alma Rodriguez, the designer, had texted Mel back and said she could give Lupe's dress some pizzazz but she was going to need some cupcakes as motivation. Cupcake blackmail, you had to respect it. Mel packed up an assorted two dozen and sent Joyce with the cupcakes and the dress to Alma's studio.

Tomorrow was the big talent day and the day after that was cupcake tasting and evening gowns. Marty was manning the front of the shop, while Mel and Angie began the baking for the shop and for tomorrow's cupcake tower. Mel had been given ten anonymous cupcake recipes, as had Olivia, and she would have to start those tomorrow.

Mel read the last recipe and scribbled SpaghettiOs and Velveeta on the list before she ripped it off the pad and handed it to Tate.

"Good luck with that," she said.

"Thanks," he said. He kissed Angie's head before heading out the door.

"So, the police didn't keep Lupe for very long," Angie said.

"No, and they didn't arrest her," Mel said. "So I'm taking that as a good sign."

"Still no word as to what the evidence was that made them bring her in to begin with?" Angie asked.

"No. Neither Uncle Stan nor Manny is talking," Mel said. "Lupe did say that they fingerprinted her, so I'm wondering if prints were found that they are trying to match."

"Prints on what?" Angie asked. "The sash used to strangle her? Can fabric hold a fingerprint?"

"Good question," Mel said. "Maybe I'll try to work that into conversation with Uncle Stan."

"You'd probably have better luck if you tried Manny and batted your eyelashes at him," Angie said.

Mel wasn't sure how to take that. Surely, Angie wasn't encouraging her to flirt with the cop.

"Just a thought," Angie said with a shrug. "I mean he obviously likes you and it couldn't hurt to find out what he's thinking."

"What who is thinking?" Paulie DeLaura asked as he entered the kitchen from the bakery with his little brother Al right behind him.

"Hey, guys!" Angie hopped off of her stool and hurried around the table to give her brothers hugs.

Mel gave them a little wave from her side of the table, but Paulie shook his head at her. "Aw, come here, Mel."

"Yeah," Al said. "Come in for the real thing."

Relieved that she wasn't still in trouble with the brothers for her relationship fallout with Joe, Mel hurried around the table for hugs, too.

There had been a tense couple of weeks when all six of the DeLaura brothers were mad at her. They'd let her know with the silent treatment and some fierce stink eye until Mrs. DeLaura told them to knock it off. She said that Mel would always be family, whether she married Joe or not. Then she took Mel aside and said that of course she fully expected that Mel would make the right choice. Yep, no pressure.

"How are my two favorite ladies doing?" Paulie asked.

Angie rolled her eyes. "You say that to all the girls."

"Yeah, but with you two I mean it," he said.

Mel laughed. Al shook his head as if he was embarrassed to be with his brother.

"We're looking for Oz," Al said. "He texted us that he needs some of our expertise."

"Last I knew, he and Lupe were going to work on her talent for the pageant," Mel said.

Paulie and Al exchanged a look. Mel took that to mean that they knew what Lupe's talent was.

"So, what is she doing?" she asked.

"We can't say," Paulie said with a shrug. "Oz told us to keep it hush-hush."

"Even from your sister?" Angie asked. She sounded outraged.

"Sorry, Sis," Al said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "We promised."

Paulie was walking into the walk-in cooler to help himself to a cupcake, but Angie hurried across the room and slammed the door in his face.

"Oh, no, if you don't talk, you get no cupcakes," she said.

"Harsh!" Paulie said.

"Al," Mel used her most cajoling tone. "You know you can trust us not to say anything. Just give us a hint."

Al studied her. Then he nodded and said, "No."

Mel let out an exasperated huff.

"Just please tell me. We're not going to have one of those 'What is your daughter doing? She's kickin' ass . . . that's what she's doing,' moments," Mel said.