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

“What do you mean, a shame?” Prisha asked, picking up the tone of Erin’s voice.

“Zoe is convinced that Fiona will want to bury that dress with the rest of her wedding kit in a large hole in the garden and throw a ton of concrete on top. Call it bad luck or cursed. Either way, that dress and her grandmother’s lace veil are going to be hidden away in the dark for a long time.”

“Well, that’s just wrong. It’s hardly the dress’s fault that her friend died.” Prisha protested and Erin could hear her slapping her hand down hard on one of the wooden tables in the deli.

“I know, but that’s how Fiona feels at the moment. Right now, Fiona’s suitcases are coming home with me. I offered to store them until Zoe can work out the best place for them to go so that Fiona won’t have to see them until she’s ready.”

Erin pushed back her shoulders. “Enough of me, how are things in the real world?”

“Oh, same old, same old. Customers, coffee drinkers, radio-presenters. Hold on. Make that tv-crews. And I haven’t refreshed my make-up in hours. See you later!”

Erin stared at the phone for a second then turned it off and got down to the serious business of moving two bridesmaids from one hotel to another.

It had taken almost two hours to pack up Fiona’s wedding clothes, two bridesmaid’s outfits, several wedding presents, and an enormous amount of assorted wedding paraphernalia into a collection of suitcases and trundle them across the carpark and into the back of Erin’s delivery van.  Emma’s room was still sealed, but Constable Harris had promised to let Zoe know when it was released.

After a lot of discussion and tears, it was clear that Kate and Maya didn’t want to have anything more to do with this wedding, so they were relieved and happy that someone else was willing to take them away.

Talking to the girls these past few hours had really helped, but even the mention of Emma’s name took Erin straight back to the hotel kitchen. A cold shiver ran across her shoulders and no amount of hot August sunshine was going to ease it. Not today, that was for sure.

It was hard to believe that it had only been a few hours since she had arrived that morning. So much had happened in that short time that it was hard to process.

Erin unlocked the back of the van and swung open the double doors before turning to face the hotel reception area.

Zoe was standing next to Kate, Maya and the hotel management team under the stone portico.

As she stood in silence watching the girls, Erin could see other guests queueing up at the reception desk with their suitcases, obviously checking out. The kitchen was closed until further notice and the car park was full of police cars. Sergeant Murphy had called in reinforcements and forensics to process the death. She understood that he had to make sure that this was simply a terrible accident and not something more sinister, but it still gave her chills just thinking about it.

What a disaster for such a lovely hotel!

A sudden thought crossed Erin’s mind.

What if Kate was right and Emma’s death wasn’t an accident? The killer could be a guest at the hotel. This would give them the ideal excuse to check out and leave before the police had a chance to interview them or look more closely at their connection to Emma Wilson.

Erin waited until the girls had finished saying their goodbyes then gestured for Kate to come over to the van. She nodded and tugged her rolling suitcase on wheels across the drive.

“I feel really stupid asking this,” Erin asked as she helped to load Kate’s suitcase onto the back of the van, “but is there anyone else in the hotel that we need to talk to about Emma? I’m sure all of the guests know the whole story, but I don’t want any of Emma’s friends to feel left out. I don’t even know if she’s married, or she has a boyfriend with her.”

Kate frowned, clearly confused. “Friends? Emma only arrived on Thursday evening with Fiona, and she didn’t bring a date. As far as I know, the only other people that she talked to were Maya, Zoe and me. Last night we had a lovely meal with Fiona’s mum and Rebecca – that’s my brother Adam’s girlfriend, but Rebecca’s staying with Adam at the Manor House. Apart from that, we haven't really had time to talk with other guests, so no, I don’t think that she had any other friends here.”

“Didn’t she talk to other people in the hotel?”

“She didn’t make herself very popular with the hotel staff if that’s what you mean, but I guess that they’re used to dealing with demanding wedding organizers,” Kate said, biting her lip. “Emma was trying so hard to create the perfect wedding for Fiona. Maybe a little too hard in some cases.”

Kate glanced over her shoulder towards Maya and instantly stopped talking as soon as she saw Zoe and Maya heading their way.

“Good news for once, ladies,” Zoe sighed as she walked over to Erin and Kate, dragging Maya’s huge suitcase behind her. “I have called in every favour under the sun and the Manor House has managed to find two rooms for Kate and Maya on a Saturday night in August. You can have them for as long as you need.”

“That’s a relief. Thanks, Zoe.” Erin smiled. “My spare bedroom doesn’t have air conditioning at the moment, and it would be a squeeze to fit in two.”

“No problem,” Zoe nodded. “Can you give Kate a lift? I’ll take Maya and meet you there. Are you ready to go? Great. Let’s get out of here.”

Erin opened the passenger door for Kate