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

It was a lot more than that, Fiona. You reached out to her and treated her like one of the family. You couldn’t change the mistakes that your parents made in the past, but in time they would have come around to accepting her. You gave her that chance. That’s special.”

Fiona looked over her shoulder at Erin with a faint smile. “Thanks. You’re a good friend. I’m sorry that we haven’t seen much of each other since you moved back.”

“No worries,” Erin shrugged then paused for a moment before drawing Fiona back to sit on the corner of her dad’s old bed.

“There is one thing about me that hasn’t changed a bit. I’m as stubborn as ever. When I get started on something…well, I see it through.”

Then she took a breath before going on. “I’m not sure that Emma’s death was an accident, Fiona. Yes, she was drunk that night when the fire alarm went off. Yes, she went into the freezer when there was a lot of dry ice. Yes, she could easily have slipped and fallen. I know that.”

She reached out and took Fiona’s hand as she tried to shy away. “Someone locked the freezer door that morning. It wasn’t the kitchen staff or any working for the hotel. Which leaves the guests.”

Fiona gasped in horror and shook her head from side to side, but Erin carried on. “Please. Let me talk this through. The only people that Emma knew were the wedding party. You, Maya and Ethan were her old pals from university days. Rebecca recognised her from her work, but they were hardly friends. Zoe, Kate and Adam had only just met Emma for the first time this week. I’m so sorry, Fiona. But I have to ask. Who do you think had the most reason to want Emma Wilson dead?”

Fiona closed her eyes and dropped her head into her hands with a low groan.

“Where do I even start?”

Then she sat back up and blinked several times before answering. “You probably already know that Emma married Harry for all of the wrong reasons. She told me herself that she never loved him. That’s not right, Erin. The five of us were all such good friends back then. I have always been with Ethan and Maya and Harry seemed like a great couple…”

“But that left Emma out of the picture.” Erin suggested.

Fiona nodded. “Jealousy and need are terrible things. She could have had any man on the campus but no, it had to be Harry. Sad really. Someone else could have made her happy, given her children and a good life. But no. That would have been too easy. And my best friend Maya paid the price.”

She exhaled long and slow. “And then there was Rebecca. Oh, Emma. The lies you told just to get by.”

Erin shuffled closer to Fiona.

“Please. Tell me what you remember that night when the fire alarm went off. Where were you and what did you do?”

“I was in my room getting ready for bed. I was too wired up to go to sleep after the horrendous dinner, so I decided to practise my wedding vows and make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything.” Fiona nodded then looked across at Erin. “The alarm went off and I grabbed my dressing gown and handbag and was just about to leave when Rebecca called to make sure that I was up. When I opened the bedroom door she was waiting outside with Emma, who was still totally drunk and rambling about all kinds of things. We grabbed an arm each and half carried her downstairs and onto the front lawn where the hotel staff were waiting with the other guests.”

Fiona sighed. “We sat down on one of the benches, but Emma kept wandering off in the direction of the kitchens. When the fire engines arrived, Rebecca went to get her back and they were gone for a good few minutes before she dragged Emma back to the front of the hotel.”

“Did Rebecca say anything at all?” Erin asked, her head tilted to one side.

Fiona sucked in a breath. “Not one word, but I knew that something had changed. Something serious. I could see it on her face. I was about to ask her when more fire engines arrived, and then we were all too busy chatting about the fire.”

“It must have been very frightening,” Erin whispered.

“We could see the smoke coming from the back of the hotel and all I could think about was my wedding. I had been waiting for this weekend for the last six months and at that moment it looked like the whole thing was going to be cancelled. The other girls could see that I was scared so they tried to keep my spirits up as best they could. By the time the hotel allowed us back into our rooms, Emma had wandered off again, and to be honest, it was the middle of the night and I was too exhausted to go looking for her. It had been a very long day and just wasn’t up to listening to more complaints. So, I… I went to bed and left her there.”

Fiona pushed herself up from the bed and turned to the window, her right hand covering her mouth as her trembled with emotion.

Erin sat up on the bed, leaning against the bed head as she had done so many times before over the years, chatting with her father, discussing what and where how and who. Families and friends, relatives and customers. Sometimes she felt a whole life revolved around people who she met every day of the week. But at the core Carol, Prisha and Zoe and so many other school friends formed the centre of her life.

How would she react, if she found out she had a half-sister? Would she be as loyal and supportive