Oz looked at her suspiciously while Lupe gave her a distracted smile and the reporter looked relieved.

"A word, Oz?" Mel asked and then she yanked him away as if he'd said yes.

"Where were you when Mariel was killed?" she asked.

"What?" Oz asked. He was looking over her head at Lupe and the reporter as if he were getting ready to do battle if the reporter said anything he didn't like.

Mel snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Focus, Oz, we have a situation."

Oz reluctantly pulled his gaze from Lupe and looked at Mel. "What situation? I don't want to leave her. What if that brick was meant to harm her? She needs protection."

Mel felt her heart soften as she looked at the anxiety on her young friend's face. "We're in a crowded room. She'll be okay. Listen, since your status with Lupe has changed, people have taken notice of you and some are speculating that you might have done Mariel in to give your girlfriend a clearer shot at winning the pageant."

"But we weren't even a couple until after the talent show when she kissed me, and I'm not even sure what that means," Oz said. His handsome face flushed with color.

"I know that and you know that, but given that you paid her entrance fee, it looks like your relationship was established before the pageant," Mel said. "So do you know where you were?"

Oz frowned. "You don't really think Stan and Manny will believe I had anything to do with it, do you?"

"They have to run down all leads," Mel said. "And if people are starting to point to you . . ."

She heard the crowd begin to murmur, and glanced over to see Anka taking her seat at the judging table. The reporter left Lupe, and Mel felt Oz shift his feet as if he wanted to race right back to her side. Fortunately, Joyce arrived and stood with Lupe.

"My mom is with her," Mel said. "Now, do you remember where you were?"

"I don't know. It was days ago," Oz said. He dug his hands into his slicked-back hair and Mel wondered if the large amount of product used would make his fingers adhere to his head. He blew out a breath and released his head. His hair fell down over his face, making him look even more fearsome. "I don't know, I think I was with Marty at the bakery."

"You think or you know?" Mel asked.

"I think," he said. "Maybe I was at school. I'm not sure."

"Well, you'd better get sure," Mel said.

"Hey, a lot of stuff has happened to me this week," Oz protested. "I can't even remember my life before Lupe kissed me. It was like a punch to the head or something and now I can't even remember my name."

"Aw," Mel gushed. "That's so sweet."

"Argh." Oz shook his head as if he could rattle the memory of where he'd been loose. He blinked at Mel. "I've got nothing."

"Text Marty," she said. "Maybe he remembers where you were. Now try to keep a low profile. I'll keep an eye on Lupe."

"No offense, Mel, but that is not as reassuring as you might think," Oz said while his thumbs zipped across the front of his cell phone, typing a message faster than Mel could say it. "Trouble finds you before you even get out of bed in the morning."

"I resemble that remark," Mel said. She was trying to make a joke out of it, but she had to admit she felt the sting of truth in his words. "Just text Marty and then go help Angie with the cupcake tower. She's keeping guard to make sure Olivia doesn't get up to her usual tricks."

"On it," Oz said. He cast one more moony look at Lupe before skirting the crowd to go stand by Angie.

Mel pushed through the throng to stand by Joyce and Lupe.

"How are you doing?" she asked Lupe.

"Nervous," Lupe said. She gave Mel a worried smile.

"You're going to be fine," Joyce said and patted Lupe's arm. "You are by far the favorite after your amazing performance last night."

"I know, but now it's all on the gown and the cupcake," Lupe said. She fretted her lip between her teeth.

"Which one was yours?" Mel asked. She was praying it wasn't the one with the Pixy Stix.

"The white chocolate macadamia nut one," Lupe said.

"Oh, I liked that one," Mel said. "It's right there, see?"

She pointed to a section of white cupcakes on the tower.

"It's my favorite cookie, so I figured it would make a good cupcake," Lupe said. "Then, of course, I panicked because not everyone likes white chocolate. I mean, what if the judges hate it?"

"They won't," Joyce said. "Look at it. Mel, you really outdid yourself."

Mel puffed up a bit at her mother's praise. Over the past three months she'd really missed Joyce's unwavering belief in her. It felt really good to have it back.

"Thanks, Mom," she said.

They watched as the judges were served the cupcakes. Tension mounted each time a contestant recognized her cupcake when the recipe was read out loud to the room.

"I don't know if I can stand this," Lupe said when her cupcakes were brought forward.

Each judge tasted the cupcakes and then wrote their scores on a sheet that was not shared with the crowd. Cici would tally the score sheets at the end and announce the winner then.

"Oh, look, the male judge is taking a second bite of yours," Joyce whispered to Lupe. "He hasn't done that with any of the others. I bet it's because he likes yours the most."

"Or he hates it, and he just wants to be sure how much," Lupe whispered back.

"No, Mom's right," Mel said. "No one takes a second bite of a cupcake they hate." Lupe gave her a hopeful look and Mel added, "Trust me. This, I know."

They watched and waited as the judges worked their way through the remaining cupcakes. Mel noted when Destiny's cupcake came up because her mother, who was standing at the other side of the gathered crowd, stood on her toes and craned her neck to study the reaction of the judges. Destiny stood beside her mother, looking bored and texting on her phone.

By the time all of the cupcakes had been evaluated, the judges looked a bit sickly. Mel noted that Anka was pale and sweaty. Mel figured either the energy drink or the lemon-lime soda cupcake had done her in. She felt her own throat contract at the thought of having to eat either.

Cici stood off to the side. Two of her assistants were tabulating the scores. There was some frantic whispering. Cici shook her head. They went back to the score sheets. There was more whispering and Cici shook her head again.

"Something's wrong," Joyce said. "It shouldn't be taking them this long."

"I bet there's a tie," Ginny Lobo said as she wiggled her way through the crowd to join them. "That always happens and then no one knows what to do."

"Why not just declare it a tie?" Mel asked.

"They like clear-cut winners," Ginny said. "No gray areas. Otherwise, people get upset."

Sure enough, while they watched, Cici called the judges over. She had them review their score sheets. The judges seemed satisfied with the way they had evaluated the cupcakes.

"What is taking so long?" Brittany Richards shouted.

Some of the other parents in the crowd grumbled as well. Cici spun around and gave Brittany a quelling glance. Brittany tipped up her chin in defiance. Mel was surprised. She had thought Brittany would be more of a suck-up on her daughter's behalf, but maybe that was just to people like Ji, who could get her daughter a modeling contract.

Cici crossed over to the microphone. "We're having one final review. Thank you for your patience."

The crowd all glanced in Brittany's direction, as it was quite obvious from Cici's laserlike stare that the last bit was for her. Brittany glowered at Cici, but if the other woman noticed, she didn't show it.

Finally, after Mel was pretty sure her nerves were stretched to the breaking point, Cici came back to the microphone.

She looked the epitome of a former beauty queen with her large blond hair perfectly coifed and dressed in a chic sea-foam green chemise with a matching jacket.

She leaned into the microphone and the room grew quiet. Mel could hear her heartbeat in her ears and her breath rasp in and out of her nose. She glanced at Lupe and noted that she was looking at Oz, who was giving her an encouraging nod in return.

"The third runner-up in our cupcake competition is Sarah Hendricks," Cici announced. "For her peanut-butter-and-banana-flavored cupcake."

Polite applause broke out and Mel glanced over her shoulder to see the mean-looking redhead, standing in the corner. She tipped her chin up and it looked as if she tried to smile, but then she spun and faced the wall, dissolving into silent sobs.

Mel had no doubt she had been hoping to win and raise her rank in the competition. Mel hadn't baked those cupcakes, so at least the mean girl couldn't come after her. She was pretty sure Olivia could take her.

"Our second runner-up is Kelly Lester, with her coconut cupcake with lime frosting," Cici said.

This time the applause was louder and a pretty brunette beamed at the crowd and waved. Mel glanced over at the cupcake tower and Angie gave her a thumbs-up. The coconut-lime had been one of theirs.

Cici waited for the noise to die down. She glanced across the crowd as if looking for someone. Mel felt as if a swarm of butterflies had been let loose in her belly. Oh, she wanted this so much for Lupe, and yeah, she wanted to be the one to have baked the winning cupcake just to shut Olivia up.

"And the winner of the cupcake portion of the Sweet Tiara Beauty Pageant is . . ." Cici paused and Mel suspected it wasn't solely for dramatic effect. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tie."

An outraged murmur rumbled through the crowd.

"I know it is unusual, but since this is the first time cupcakes have been a part of the competition and the judges went over their scores and could not find any reason to alter their votes, we will uphold the tie."

There was more muttering until Cici held up her hands for silence.

"Our winners are Destiny Richards for her chocolate cupcake with espresso frosting and Lupe Guzman for her macadamia nut cupcake with white chocolate icing."

Joyce and Ginny grabbed Lupe and hugged her close while Mel sagged a bit at the knees with relief. Joyce was crying and she reached out and pulled Mel into their group hug while Lupe's family swarmed forward and joined in the melee. Lupe looked happy and relieved and Mel noticed that her gaze strayed up to Oz, who looked as if he was about to burst with pride.

"Hug him later," Mel whispered to Lupe. The young woman met her gaze and nodded.

Mel glanced over at Destiny and saw that the young woman was smiling and waving at the crowd while her mother had cornered the reporter and was yammering his ear off. There was no sign of her father. Mel wondered if a tied score would make Olivia's free eye tuck null and void.

A glance over at the cupcake tower and Mel saw Olivia and Angie exchanging words. Angie's dark brown eyes looked like they were going to spit sparks. Mel pushed through the crowd to run interference. The last thing they needed was Angie to get into another cupcake-throwing debacle with Olivia.

Mel dashed up to the tower just in time to hear Angie say, "Congratulations to you, too."

She and Olivia shook hands, briefly. Okay, it was more a brushing of fingertips than a handshake, but Mel was impressed with both of them.

"Well done, Pr . . . er, Mel," Olivia said.

Mel smiled. "You were about to call me Princess, weren't you?"

Olivia heaved a big sigh. "Being nice is too stressful. I'm going back to my bakery now. I think I need to eat a Dutch chocolate brownie smothered in caramel sauce with whipped cream and pecans to get my sanity back."

"I hear you. I'm thinking of mainlining some frosting myself," Mel said.

Olivia's lips twitched, but she turned her face away before Mel saw her smile.

"Olivia, forgive me, I know it's none of my business," Mel said. "But do you think your deal with Brandon Richards will hold since we tied?"

Olivia looked chagrined. "Yeah, I was talking to that cub reporter from the Arizona Republic and you'll never guess what he told me about Richards."

Mel waited but Olivia didn't continue, so she waved her hands and said, "Yes?"

"What? You're not even going to guess?" Olivia looked disappointed. "Fine. I was pointing out notable people in the crowd to the reporter and when I pointed out the good doctor, the reporter's eyes lit up. Turns out Dr. Richards is under investigation."

"Oh, really?" Mel asked.

"Yes, come to find out he had to voluntarily suspend his practice, because he was found in the pharmacy of his medical building helping himself to some of the goods."

"When was this?" Mel asked.

"Several months ago," Olivia said. "He's got a trial coming up, he's under review by the Arizona Medical Board, and he's got a string of lawsuits from patients who say he took money for follow-up appointments that of course he couldn't keep since he's suspended. I'm telling you, I wouldn't let that man near me if my jowls could be used to store nuts for the winter."

"I think that's a wise decision," Mel said.

"Besides, Marty was not thrilled with the idea, he says he likes me just the way I am," she said. The smile she gave them at the mention of Marty's name took twenty years off of her and a little dimple appeared in her cheek.

"Marty's right," Angie said. "You're fine just the way you are."

Olivia and Mel looked at her in surprise.

"Thanks," Olivia said uncertainly. She left them with a small wave.

Mel turned to Angie. "That was uncharacteristically civil of you."

"I thought so," Angie said. She looked quite pleased with herself.

"Do you think Uncle Stan knows about Richards?" Angie asked.

"I'm sure he does," Mel said. "But I don't see how it's relevant. Richards had nothing to gain by Mariel's death, especially if he was planning to swap nips and tucks for high scores."

"I suppose," Angie said.

"How are you holding up, Oz?" Mel asked as he joined them.

"I want to throw up," he said. "How can people stand this pressure cooker? I don't know how I'm going to get through the next couple of hours. I may stroke out before the gown portion even starts."