It had been quick and uneventful—well, if you ignored all the sniping between Valerie and Beth. Those two were in terrible moods and didn’t bother hiding it. I could understand Valerie acting out. The one-two punch of losing her brother and her family’s company/money would have anyone screaming because someone talked to them before they’d had their first cup of coffee (the poor contestant had just asked her to pass the sugar). Beth’s behavior was surprising though. Not only was she usually the picture of poise, but she still had power over the Thompson Family Company, if not direct access to the fortune. Yet not only did she ignore me when I offered her a muffin and snub a momtestant who asked her a question, she purposely knocked over a full coffee cup onto a stack of Valerie’s papers when Valerie interjected her opinion for the fifth time.
After a brief meeting to go over the scores for the girls’ essays, we’d handed the essays back to the contestants, told them their scores, and Beth dismissed everyone with little fanfare. She had her sunglasses on and was halfway out the door with her keys in hand before most of the girls even finished reading the comments we’d left them.
After that unceremonious dismissal, Sana had suggested a group Zumba class for everyone gathered so the day wouldn’t feel like a total waste. I’d tried to back out, saying I hadn’t packed any workout gear (which was true), but Bernadette had just grinned at me.
“Don’t worry, Lila, I’m sure Sana’s cool with giving everyone time to change since we don’t want anyone injuring themselves. Sana, should we meet you at your studio?”
Sana nodded. “Absolutely. Make sure to wear shoes with good support because there are some high-impact moves in Zumba. Try not to wear running shoes though. They have too much grip and you need something with a little slip to perform some of the moves. See you all in half an hour!”
* * *
? ? ?
Great job, everyone! We’re done for the day, so make sure to hydrate. If you liked the class, I teach Zumba every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon, with advanced classes on the weekend.”
Sana stood at the head of the class, hands on her hips, a faint sheen of sweat giving her a nice healthy glow. I knew I didn’t look nearly so blissful as I gulped down water from my reusable bottle, muscles I didn’t remember even having throbbing and letting me know I’d feel it tomorrow, but I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t enjoyed it all. Great way to take my mind off everything that’d been going on.
Bernadette was still on the floor, stretching out her bad ankle, but otherwise looking as radiant as Sana. Feeling my eyes on her, she quickly got up and grabbed her own water bottle. “So?”
“OK, I guess maybe this is something I could fit into my busy schedule.” Bernadette rolled her eyes at that, so I added, “Now that I held up my end of the bargain, when are we having our karaoke party?”
“Karaoke? That sounds like fun! I didn’t know they had karaoke places in Shady Palms,” Katie said as she walked up with her mom and Joy.
“There aren’t. My aunt’s restaurant will have karaoke nights and sometimes we have karaoke parties at people’s houses. It’s usually a low-key kind of thing, but lots of fun.” And usually lots of alcohol, but she didn’t need to know that. “Sometimes people will bring their instruments and it’s almost like an open mic night.”
That was a new development, and had started when Jae asked if he could bring his guitar. He wasn’t much of a singer, but was happy to accompany anyone on the guitar as long as he knew the song.
“I still haven’t been to one of Tita Rosie’s karaoke parties. We should have one soon! How did it get started?” Joy asked.
“Lila’s mom started it as a way to get more business for the restaurant. It worked really well since she was a great singer and loved showing off, two traits she passed on to her daughter.” Bernadette winked at me, to show she was joking probably. I still didn’t appreciate it.
“Anyway—”
I turned and walked away from her while she was still midsentence and went to join Sana and several members of the PTA Squad. That’s right, I was so annoyed that I willingly went to join a group of the worst momtestants. I instantly regretted it when one of them spotted me walking up and said, “Lila! Just who I was looking for. I was about to show Sana something, and I think you’d be interested in it, too.”
I couldn’t help noticing the nasty grin on her face and wondered what it could be. If I wasn’t mistaken, her daughter had already been eliminated from the competition, so whatever was putting that smile on her face couldn’t have been good.
When I saw the Shady Palms News article she’d pulled up on her phone, I knew I was right. The headline read:
PAGEANT JUDGE’S DARK PAST REVEALED!
The article detailed everything Amir had told me about Sana’s history, with added bits of editorializing and speculation thrown in. Wilson Philipps (because of course it was him) ended the story with the rumor that Sana was one of Rob’s spurned lovers and she’d killed him when he refused to leave his wife.
The moms all stared at Sana (who stood frozen, eyes still fixed on the woman’s phone) in horror before hurrying off to their daughters. “I knew something wasn’t right about you!” Mary Ann Randall said as she shoved her daughter toward the door. “I’m going to talk to the mayor right now! You have no business being on the judges’ panel.” She’d been yelling this over her shoulder while still hustling toward the exit and bumped right into Detective Park. “Oh good, you’re here. You must be here to arrest Sana, right? Because she killed Rob Thompson?”
That snapped Sana out of her stupor—she put her hands on her hips and glared at Mary Ann. “How dare you! I did no such thing.”
“I . . . what?” It took a lot to throw Detective Park off his game, but he clearly wasn’t expecting that. “Those are serious accusations. What makes you think I’m here to arrest her?”
In response, all the moms held up their phones, the Philipps article on their screens.
“Ah. I see. Ms. Williams, I suggest talking to your lawyer about libel, but I have nothing else to say about the unprofessional speculation at the end of the article.” He looked around the room. “I actually need to talk to Ms. Williams, Ms. Macapagal, and Ms. Arroyo in private, so if you’ll excuse us . . .” He gestured for everyone else to leave.
“Wait, what about Joy? I’m her ride,” Bernadette said.
“Don’t worry, she can come hang out at our house for a bit and then we’ll take her home. Is that OK, Joy? I’m sure Katie will appreciate the company since I need to get back to work,” Winnie said. Joy agreed, and the trio left together.
When it was just the four of us and Sana had locked the door to ensure privacy, Detective Park got down to the reason for his visit. “Lila and Bernadette, can you wait for me in that room over there?” He pointed toward the changing room. “I need to speak to Ms. Williams first, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
Bernadette and I obeyed. The changing room was too far away from where he and Sana were talking to eavesdrop, so Bernadette and I had to speculate on what was happening.
“Do you think he’s here about the newspaper article?” I asked, chewing on a nail. I thought I’d kicked this habit but guess not. I should visit Winnie’s salon again. If I kept my nails pretty, maybe I’d be less inclined to gnaw on them.
“Has to be. Why else would he want to talk to her? I wonder what he wants from us.” Bernadette cracked open the changing room door and peeked out a bit. “You don’t think . . . It couldn’t be her, right? I really don’t want it to be her.”