When she was finished, Joy quickly bowed and exited the stage to tumultuous applause. It wasn’t a standing ovation or anything, but she was clearly the crowd favorite so far. Which made it extra tough when Katie came out to play the piano. Anyone following such a strong performance would’ve had a hard time, but considering her injured arm and that she’d come on the heels of her best friend, Katie’s performance was extremely lackluster. She had the technical skill Joy lacked, but none of the passion—it was like she was just going through the motions. After the last chords of Debussy (I knew enough classical music to recognize the composer if not the song) drifted away, Katie got up and hurried offstage to polite applause, not even acknowledging the crowd or judges’ panel.
Once the last contestant completed their really quite decent hip-hop dance routine, Sana and I huddled around Beth with our scorecards. Even though today’s events were the showiest, they were no longer the deciding factor for a pageant win. The volunteer portion was worth the most, point-wise, followed by the talent portion, then Q&A, and then the rest of the events. As usual, there were a few who dominated in every category, but there were always some falls from grace and rises to glory at this last event. Because there were only ten girls, the lowest in Shady Palms history, it didn’t take long to tabulate the scores. Beth had Sharon Randall in the top spot, followed by Joy, then Sara Colon. Sana had Sara at number one, Joy at number two, and Naoko at number three.
As much as I loved Naoko’s energy, she really only excelled at the creative side. She kind of fell flat in other areas for me, but Sana just shrugged when Beth voiced what I was thinking. “She’s got entrepreneurial spirit. That always calls out to me.”
I had Joy in the top position (Sara had originally been my frontrunner, but Joy’s song pushed her to number one), followed by Sara, then (grudgingly) Sharon. Looking at the numbers, I couldn’t believe it, but it was there—Joy had won. Bernadette had coached a champion.
Beth called Mayor Gunderson over and handed him the envelope. He glanced over the results, quickly confirmed it with us, and then moved back to the stage.
“Shady Palms! Are you ready to meet this year’s Miss Teen Shady Palms?” He paused while everyone cheered. “In third place . . . let’s hear it for Miss Sharon Randall!”
Sharon smiled and made her way over to Valerie, who presented her with a lovely bouquet. Over the applause, I could swear I heard Mary Ann Randall scream, “What?!”
Mayor Gunderson continued. “And our runner-up, who will take over as Miss Teen Shady Palms in the event that our winner can no longer carry out the responsibility . . . Miss Sara Colon!”
Happy screams and cheers and blaringly loud air horns greeted this pronouncement, as Sara stepped up to receive her bouquet. She blew a kiss toward the section of the crowd that must’ve been her family, considering the giant banner they proudly held up. Mayor Gunderson tried shushing them, which only made them cheer louder (not going to lie, this made me cheer along with them).
Once it finally quieted down, the mayor cleared his throat and did his impression of (what was later explained to me by Jae) the announcer calling out the starting lineup to the 90s Chicago Bulls team. “And finally, this year’s Miss Teen Shady Palms . . . let’s give it up for Joy Munroe!”
Chapter Twenty-five
As soon as Joy’s name was called, Katie burst into tears and ran off the stage.
Joy didn’t notice because she was too busy having the Miss Teen Shady Palms sash draped over her, so I got up from the judges’ table to go talk to Katie backstage. I could understand her disappointment, but I didn’t want her ruining this moment for her friend.
The backstage area was bustling with the festival organizers who were preparing for the band that was set to go onstage as soon as the pageant contestants finished their photos. It took me a while, but I finally got someone to point me in Katie’s direction. She was hiding out in the VIP area that the band had just vacated.
“Katie? Are you OK? I hope you’re not too disappointed.” I leaned my cane against a table and held out my arms in case she needed a hug. The teen hurled herself into my arms, sobbing so hard her body shook. “I’m really sorry. I know it’s tough. I’ve lost more than my fair share of competitions. But I hope you don’t let this ruin your friendship with Joy.”
She pulled away at that, her efforts to stop crying resulting in weird hiccupy gasps. “It’s not that. I don’t . . . I’m so scared, I—”
“Katie!” Joy ran up to us and hugged her friend. “When I couldn’t find you onstage, I got so worried. Are you OK?” She yanked off her tiara and sash, setting them aside on a nearby table. “I’m sorry, I wish we both could’ve won. You’re not mad at me, are you?”
“No, it’s not about you, Joy. I could never be mad at you. It’s just . . . I wanted out so bad and nothing worked, no matter what I did. And now that I lost, I’m worried what else—I mean, I’m worried how my mom is going to take it.”
“Your mom loves you, Katie. That’s all that matters.”
“Sometimes I worry she loves me too much.”
I’d stepped aside to give the two some privacy, but something about Katie’s tone caught my attention. “What do you mean? How is that even possible?”
Katie glanced over at me and our eyes met. The pain in them conveyed the truth—it was her mom. Winnie Pang killed Rob Thompson.
I shook my head. No, there was no way she’d do something like that. I was reading too much into her distress. Although . . . if it had something to do with Katie . . .
I put my hand on her arm. “Katie, are you sure? Why do you—”
“There you are, Katie! I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Winnie Pang’s voice, as well as the sharp jab of something hard in my ribs, cut me off. Winnie linked arms with me and pulled me close, her right hand buried in her purse to conceal the gun pressed into my side.
“Katie, hold on to Joy. She and Lila are going to walk us to the parking lot. Nice and slow, no drawing attention our way. You just had to come after my daughter, didn’t you?” she added under her breath, so only I could hear. “You know what’ll happen if you don’t cooperate, right?”
Katie hadn’t seen the gun or heard her mother’s threat, but there was no mistaking the tightness in her voice. Katie knew. Had probably known for a long time. “Mom. Let’s just go, OK? It doesn’t have to be like this.”
“We are going. Now.”
“But Mom—”
“Katherine Marie Pang. Everything I’ve done has been for you. Everything. We are not going to throw it all away, especially over the girl who stole your crown. Now let’s go!” Winnie’s voice rose higher and higher as she spoke, the last sentence almost a scream. A few people glanced our way, but most were focused on the band and paid us no mind.
Katie flinched. “I’m so sorry, Joy. Just . . . just walk with us and everything will be fine.”
Joy turned frightened eyes toward me. “Ate? What’s going on?”
Winnie jerked her head toward the exit, signaling them to go first. “Just follow us and keep your mouth shut. You’re a sweet girl and I don’t want to hurt you. But I will if I have to. Now move!”