SLAY PAIRS WITH ROSE (The Kelly's Deli Cozy Murder Mysteries Book 3) by Sophie Brent (phonics reading books .txt) 📕

Fiona instantly flung herself away from Maya into her mother’s warm embrace.

“Take me home, mum. Please, I want to go home.” She sobbed as her father stroked her shoulders.

“Go home? I don’t understand, Fiona,” Maya whispered. “What about your wedding?”

“The wedding is off!” Fiona cried out, her mouth still trembling with shock.  “I never want to see this hotel again as long as I live. I have to get out of here.” She thrust her hotel key at Maya. “Can you pack up for me. Just the thought of my wedding dress is making me feel sick and ... I have to get out of here.”

“Of course, darling.” Fiona’s mother replied as Fiona hung onto her for support, and she looked pleadingly at Maya who responded with a quick nod. “We can sort everything out later with the hotel and the police.”

“I’ll take care of that, Aunty Sarah,” Zoe volunteered and was rewarded with a grateful sigh. “Constable Harris knows where we live.”

Fiona was half-carried out of the hotel, supported by her parents on either side. Zoe, Kate, Maya, and Erin walked out into the corridor and watched Fiona collapse into the back seat of her parent’s car, cuddled into her mother’s arms.  Her father gave them a quick wave and the girls stood in silence and watched the car drive slowly down the road towards Kingsmede.

It was Kate who spoke first. “I’ll call Ethan and tell him about the change of plan.” She turned to the girls and pressed one hand over her mouth for a moment before speaking. “This is so horrible. I didn’t really know Emma, but I can’t believe that she’s gone. What a terrible way to die.” Kate shook her head, then pulled a mobile phone from her bag and walked slowly onto the lawn and away from the hotel.

Zoe pushed her hands deep into her trouser pockets. “Kate’s right. Emma could be hard work, but she should be getting ready to be a maid of honour right now, not lying on the floor of a freezer.”

Zoe looked from Maya to Erin, then sniffed and wiped the corners of her eyes. “I suppose I had better go and start making the phone calls. There are so many people who need to be told that we have cancelled the wedding that my head is spinning.”

Despite the hot sun beating down on the drive, Zoe gave a shudder. “Let me talk to the hotel about what to do next. Maya, would you mind packing up Fiona’s wedding clothes? I don’t think she’ll be coming back here to pick up her luggage. Is that okay?”

“Sure, Zoe,” Maya replied, then pressed her lips together, but Erin could see the pain on her face. “This is like a bad dream,” Maya murmured to herself. “Only this time I won’t wake up and everything will be back to normal, will I?”

She looked at Erin and then turned to Zoe. “Fiona was right. The only reason that Emma is dead is because she came here to be part of this wedding and there’s not one thing we can do to change that. Ten years of friendship has just been wiped away in a few hours. How do we get over this? How do we carry on?”

“I’m so sorry, Maya,” Erin whispered.

“I’ll get started with the packing now.” Maya nodded in reply. “Fiona needs me back at the house. The sooner I get away from here, the better.”

Zoe and Erin watched Maya walk slowly back through the high stone portico of the old hall. Her shoulders were high and crunched up and she was walking as though every step was painful.

“I managed to get hold of Ethan and he’s going straight to Fiona’s house with the rest of our family,” Kate sighed as she walked up to join them. “I think the best thing for me to do is book into the Manor House hotel for a few days until we can wrap our heads around what to do next. This wedding meant everything to my brother.”

“Kate. I know Fiona,” Zoe whispered. “Ethan is going to have to wait a long time before she’ll even think about going through all this again. The next few months are going to be so hard for everyone but especially Fiona and Ethan. You might want to warn him not to push too hard for another wedding.”

Kate nodded. “Understood.” She ran both hands back through her short hair and clasped them at the back of her neck. “What a mess. All my brother wants to do is make Fiona happy.”

Tears ran down Kate’s cheeks and she rummaged through her bag to find a tissue to wipe them away. “Look at the state of me. This is not going to help anyone, is it? Time to go back to my room and start packing. It looks like that bridesmaid dress is not going to be used anytime soon.”

“I’ll talk to the hotel manager right now and make sure that you can check out as soon as you’re ready. Catch you later, Erin.”  Zoe said and started walking towards the hotel reception desk.

“Could you use some company, Kate?” Erin whispered as they followed Zoe into the hotel. “I didn’t know Emma either, but I’m happy to do anything I can.”

Kate gave a slow nod and looked at her with such an expression of gratitude that Erin instantly knew that she had made the right decision to offer.

“Thanks, that would be great,” Kate managed a faint smile. “Fiona, Adam and Ethan were the only people that I knew here. I could use someone to talk to.”

“I’m happy to help,” Erin replied and joined Kate in an empty elevator. Kate pressed the button for the first floor.

The elevator drive activated with a jolt