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

Zoe shook her head in astonishment and looked over her shoulder at the bride and her bridesmaids. “Talk about bouncing back! These girls spent almost an hour sitting on the patio at some silly hour of the morning when the fire alarms went off. Maya and Kate were seriously cheesed off until they saw the smoke and the firefighters.”

“I’m just pleased nobody was hurt,” Erin replied in a soft voice. “Cakes can be replaced.”

“Well said, Erin,” Fiona said as she walked to them and wrapped her arm around Zoe’s shoulder. “Now before you go tearing off to make loads of cakes, I want to make it easier for you. Can I ask a huge favour? Can I stick to the lemon and vanilla? And how about just one layer?”

“Absolutely. I can make whatever you like,” Erin blinked in surprise. “Didn’t you like the chocolate cake?”

“Just the opposite. We loved it. Only Emma forgot to mention one tiny little detail until yesterday.” Fiona paused, took a breath, then pursed her lips before going on. “She changed the menu for the wedding reception yesterday morning and the dessert is now black forest gateau with a cherry compote. Not the passion fruit and vanilla custard tart we had ordered weeks ago.”

She tilted her head to one side slightly. “It won’t be as nice as your cake, I already know that. But you can see the problem. Chocolate and cherry dessert followed by chocolate wedding cake is way too much. Besides, we all loved the lemon cake. It was so moist and light. It’s going to be perfect after a large lunch.”

“Leave it to me,” Erin smiled, then looked around. “You know, I didn’t have a very good start with Emma yesterday. Has she come down for breakfast? I’d like to have a quick chat and reassure her that you will have a wedding cake today.”

“Emma?” Fiona frowned. “Come to think of it, no, I haven’t seen Emma this morning.  She’s not answering her phone, so she has either overslept or is on her hands and knees scrubbing out the kitchen.”

“Now that sounds more like the Emma I have come to know,” Erin snorted, between slurps of coffee. “She must be exhausted.”

“It’s alright,” Fiona admitted. “You can say it. I’ve known Emma Wilson for over ten years. She has always been this intense and impulsive, even at university. Some things don’t change.”

She checked her watch and sucked in air between her teeth. “The hairdressers are due in two hours, then the make-up teams. I’d better go and track Emma down and persuade her to actually let someone else do their jobs. I need an excuse to check the kitchen for myself. Just in case the hotel management has been a little optimistic about the clean-up timeline.”

“Would you like some company?” Erin replied, chewing the last of the muffin. “I would like to break the bad news about your wedding cake to Emma in person before I head back.”

“Great. Give me five minutes to finish my coffee and I’ll be right with you.”

Erin stood in the doorway to the main hotel kitchen and watched the ninja hotel team as they steam cleaned the surfaces, walls, and floors until they were sparkling. Fiona came and stood by her side, so they were not in the way of the kitchen staff.

“Well, Emma’s definitely not in reception, the restaurant or any of the coffee bars. Maya has just checked the carpark and her car is still there, so she hasn’t run into town for some last-minute essentials.”

“When did you last see her?” Erin asked, picking up the concern in Fiona’s voice.

“When the fire alarm sounded, we fled out to the main patio and stayed there until we had the all-clear from the hotel manager. The last time I saw Emma she was pacing up and down on the lawn in her dressing gown screaming for more dry ice for the freezers. She was totally panicking about the ice sculptures. That was about half one this morning, something like that.  I told her that it would be fine and to leave it to the kitchen staff, but she insisted on coming down here and we left her to it.”

“Ice sculptures?” Erin exclaimed and stared at Fiona, her eyebrows heading for the kitchen ceiling.

“Emma’s idea. Not mine. And definitely not Ethan’s. Emma is the kind of person who likes to take over and we have all been so busy we haven’t had the time or the energy to help her. So. Ice sculptures. They’re in those huge walk-in freezers. Want to have a look?”

“Sure. At least we can tell her that they are fine when she turns up.”

“Good point.” Fiona grinned and looked around the kitchen until she found someone she recognized.

“Mr. Blake! I wonder if you could help us with something?”

The deputy manager strolled over to them, looking completely out of place in his smart business suit and carrying an old-style clipboard.

“Ladies. As you can see, the cleaning is on track. You need not be concerned. Your reception will go ahead as planned, Miss Hanson.”

“That’s good to know,” Fiona nodded. “Actually, I was wondering if I could take a quick peek at the ice sculptures. Erin would love to see them.”

“Of course, Miss Hanson. Although your friend Mrs. Wilson was very thorough after the storage conditions. We only lost power for about an hour and these freezer units are very efficient. The amount of dry ice we added was more than... oh. That’s strange.”

He put the clipboard down and tried the right handle on the freezer doors, but it would not move. Instinctively he turned the key sticking out of the handle and there was a distinct clicking sound. “Why were the doors locked?”

“Is there a problem?” Erin asked.