“Worse,” George replied. “We didn’t see her come in at first, because she came in a side door. But Bess just caught a glimpse of her coat in the elevator as the doors were closing! Nance, you have to get out of there. She’s going to be on the floor any minute!”
But as George said this, I could hear that it was already too late. Loud giggling in the hallway could only be coming from Pandora. And then—a deeper voice. Uh-oh. Pandora was with a guy!
“I think we were right to ditch the party. Syd was getting so upset anyway. And we might be able to see each other again.”
My heart was pounding in my throat. Throwing the laptop, scarf, and journal back where I’d found them, I launched myself into the bathroom, stumbling into the shower and closing the curtain to hide me. Please, God, just make Pandora and her date feel nice and clean and not in need of a shower!
As soon as my feet hit the porcelain shower floor, the door to the hotel room opened. I heard more giggling, then a male laugh.
“We made it!” Pandora called happily, and I heard the springs of her bed squeak as she sat down heavily on the mattress.
More laughter followed, and while the two of them were talking, I decided to take a peek. I stepped quietly out of the shower, pulled the bathroom door closer to me, and silently peered around it to see—
Pandora and Dragon sitting on the bed!
PAST GRIEVANCES
“It’s been so hard these past couple of weeks, trying to pretend like I care that Vic is getting married,” Pandora told Dragon, resting her head on his shoulder and rubbing his back. The two were sitting on the bed now—smack-dab between the bathroom and the door to the hall. I was trapped. “It would be hard to care about a guy I had a fake romance with in the first place!”
“I know,” Dragon agreed. “At least the producers know it was fake—since they set it up. But you know they’d freak out if they knew we’d been dating for years. It would make you nominating me for this season look—well, kind of in your own interest.”
Pandora nodded. “I know. And I’ve been trying to keep it quiet. It’s sooo hard, though. Especially with you leaving tomorrow night to shoot the next season.” She paused and affectionately played with his hair. “I think some of the girls in the wedding party actually think I’m after Vic, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a loud Brrring! Brrring! Pandora jumped and turned to the phone by the bed.
“Who could that be?” asked Dragon.
Pandora shrugged, moving over to grab the receiver. “I told them downstairs that I broke a glass in here earlier, and I was worried about glass shards on the floor,” she explained. “Maybe they’re sending someone to clean it up?” She picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
The volume on the phone must have been turned up really loud, because even from my perch in the bathroom, I could hear the voice on the other end of the line. “Hello, is this Pandora Simmons?” It was Bess. She and George were trying to get me out of here!
“Yes,” Pandora replied a little impatiently.
“This is room service, and we were wondering if you would like butter with the thirteen lobster dinners you ordered? Because if so, we’ll need to run to the store—”
“What?” Pandora screwed up her face in confusion. “Thirteen lobster dinners? I haven’t ordered anything from room service the whole time I’ve been here.”
“Hmmm,” Bess responded slowly, as though she were looking over an order. “Well, we have an order here for thirteen lobster dinners, totaling 347 dollars and 85 cents, without gratuity, of course.”
Pandora was looking angry now. “Listen. I did not order those. Just cancel the order, okay?”
Bess sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Pandora demanded.
“You’re going to have to come down to the restaurant and sign the form to void the order. I’m sorry.”
Pandora let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Okay,” she said, glancing apologetically at Dragon. “I’ll be right down. Let’s get this taken care of quickly.”
She hung up the phone, shaking her head. “I’m sorry,” she said to Dragon. “I have to go take care of this, I guess. I’ll just be a minute, and we can talk when I get back.”
Dragon was smiling, clearly a little amused by her predicament. “All right, babe. You go tell ’em who’s boss.”
Pandora gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and left.
Still stuck in the bathroom, I sighed, feeling a little hopeless. Bess and George were good watchmen—they’d caught Pandora coming up, and they’d tried to give me the opportunity to get out by getting her out of the room for me. Unfortunately, they didn’t know about Dragon, and he was still out there—blocking my exit.
I just hoped he didn’t have to use the bathroom.
Standing up, Dragon pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. Looking a little bored, he dialed quickly and held the earpiece to his ear. “Hello?” he said when whoever was on the other end of the line picked up. “Hans?”
I leaned in, curious why Dragon would be calling the Daredevils director. “Yeah, yeah, I’m back at the hotel. I figured you were getting enough choice material without me, right?” He chuckled. “Yeah, thank goodness Vic’s okay. But this wedding prank stuff is getting creepy. You sure you’re not behind it?” He laughed again, more heartily this time. “No, no, I was just wondering about tomorrow. I had an idea, see. All day long, I act a little jealous of the attention Vic is getting, right? Like I’m so vain, I can’t even stand this guy getting top billing on his wedding day.” Dragon paused, apparently listening to Hans’s response, and chuckled again. “I know, I know guys like that, you know? Anyway, the best part is at the reception. When the party’s winding down, I challenge Vic to a fist fight!”
I leaned forward a little, peering out of my bathroom lair. This conversation was crazy! So, was Dragon completely faking all his actions—making up a character that would appeal to the cameras? It was hard for me to imagine, especially because I knew Syd—and surely Vic too—were almost 100 percent genuine in front of the camera crew. If Dragon started something with Vic at the wedding tomorrow, would Vic know he was faking it? Or would he be as hurt as you might expect someone whose friend is acting like a jerk to be?
Hans had apparently responded to Dragon, because Dragon was nodding his head now, looking a little disappointed. “I get it, I get it. Yeah, it might be over the top. But if nothing else happens at the ceremony, think about it, okay? You know I always bring the spice.”
He laughed again. Suddenly he switched direction and started walking—I gulped. He was walking right toward the bathroom! Please don’t have to go, please don’t have to go, I begged under my breath. As he moved closer, I moved back, trying to fold myself behind the door, but that wouldn’t hide me forever…
At the last second Dragon took a sharp right and opened a door close to the bathroom door. Originally I’d assumed that was just a linen closet, but now I could hear from the street noise that it led outside—probably to a little balcony.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Dragon was saying. “And Pandora—she’s supposed to act really upset the whole day, right? Like she’s jealous or something?”
He was definitely on the balcony now. My heart leaping in my chest, I peered around the bathroom door and saw a clear path through the room to the door. Before I could think about it too hard, I darted out and ran through the room. It was only a matter of time until Pandora came back, and then I could be trapped in there for hours!
Outside the room, the hallway was empty. I was able to easily slip into a side stairway and run down to the ground floor. I came out in the hallway adjacent to the hotel restaurant, and I could hear raised voices as I slipped by on my way to the lobby.
“I’m telling you, Miss, we have no orders like that on record. We don’t even have lobster on the menu.”
“Then who called me?!”
<
br /> In the lobby, soft music was playing, and Bess and George had settled on a couch in the small seating area. They both stood when they saw me approach.
“Oh, thank goodness, you got out!” cried Bess.
“Barely,” I told her. “Have I got news for you! It’s not Vic Pandora’s hung up on—it’s Dragon.”
Bess and George’s mouths both hung open. “What?” asked George. “Dragon? They’re not even from the same season, are they?”
I shook my head. “No, but they’ve been seeing each other for years. Pandora even nominated him for the show, which has something to do with why they’re keeping their relationship secret.”
“So Pandora isn’t the wedding saboteur?” Bess asked quietly.
I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I admitted. “I did find a broken wine glass and scissors in her room, but that could just be a coincidence. And if she and Dragon are together, that kind of eliminates the jealousy motivation.”
George suddenly looked up, behind me. “Sssshhh,” she urged. “The wedding party has been trickling back in for a couple minutes. Here come Vic and Jamal.”
I turned around. Sure enough, there was the blushing groom-to-be and his best man. Vic’s tie hung loosely around his neck and his shirt was halfway unbuttoned. His hair stood up at crazy angles, as though he’d been raking his hand through it all night. Jamal looked a little more put-together, but they both looked tired and stressed.
“Hey, girls,” Vic greeted us as they stepped closer. “Nancy, are you feeling better? What are you girls doing here?”
“Ah…,” I began.
Bess rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in an “aren’t I silly?” gesture. “I totally forgot, when we were here for brunch earlier this week, I left my shoes for the wedding in a shopping bag in the restaurant,” she explained. “Nancy started feeling a little better when we got her outside in the fresh air, so I figured it was safe to swing by here.”
“Good,” Vic said with a nod, and I could see from his troubled expression that he wasn’t all that concerned with why we were there. He looked like he had a bad case of night-before nerves, probably exacerbated by the wedding saboteur and the TV cameras. I felt a horrible drop in the pit of my stomach as it occurred to me: I hadn’t come any closer to catching anyone. My search of Pandora’s room had only brought up more questions. It looked like the wedding would go on tomorrow with the wedding saboteur still at large!
“I’m so nervous, man,” Vic went on, and I could see the deep, tired lines around his eyes. “I know we’ll be okay, security will be high, but I see what all these attacks do to Syd.” He paused, his voice breaking. “And I can’t make it better for her! It’s killing me.”
Jamal patted his friend on the back. “It’ll be all right, dude,” he soothed. “You’ve been through worse before. You’ll get through this.”
Vic looked at his friend and blinked, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “Thanks, man,” he said, turning back to us. “Did you guys know that this guy is seriously the best friend, the best best man, a guy could ever have!”
Jamal was shaking his head. “Come on, dude. Let’s get to bed.”
“No, no, no,” Vic insisted. “I couldn’t sleep right now anyway. Do you girls have any idea how this guy has stuck by me? Jamal is my rock. He’s been my friend through thick and thin, even after I lost him that job…”
“What?” The word came out of my mouth before I could think, before I could realize how impolite it sounded. And sure enough, Jamal was looking incredibly uncomfortable.
“Come on, man,” he was saying. “No need to bring up ancient history.”
But Vic shook his head. “Don’t be modest, dude,” he insisted. “These girls should know how awesome you are. Me—I can be a screwup sometimes! Which is why I’m the luckiest guy in the world—” Vic’s voice broke again, and he paused, pulling himself together. “I’m the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying a girl like Syd.” He looked at Jamal. “This guy could tell you all of my screw-uppiest moments! But he’s still here. Still supporting me.” He suddenly reached up and pulled Jamal into a headlock, which Jamal unhappily seemed to accept. After a quick application of noogies, he was set free.
“Jamal should have dumped me years ago,” Vic went on, “when I lost him that banking job.”
Jamal sighed and closed his eyes. “Seriously, dude, let’s get to bed. You’re exhausted and talking gibberish.”
But Vic just turned to us cheerfully. “I thought it would be really fun,” he went on, “to have the Knicks cheerleaders go into his office and do a cheer for his birthday—in the middle of a meeting.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I knew one of them from high school, see. And I knew Jamal was a big fan. But then…”
Jamal was frowning, clearly not very happy about the memory. “Dude,” he said, “no worries, okay?”
“His company wasn’t that amused,” Vic went on, his face clouding over. “Banking is pretty conservative, I guess. I should have known that. And the upshot was that I got my buddy fired.” Vic swallowed, clearly holding back tears.
Jamal sighed, looking away. “It’s cool, man, no big deal.”
“It was a big deal,” Vic insisted, turning to us girls with runny eyes. “He lost his job, his salary, his stock options, everything. He’d just moved into this awesome apartment, but when he lost his job he couldn’t afford the rent. He had to move back in with his parents.”
Jamal just sighed, looking at the floor.
“That’s when he decided to enlist in the Marines,” Vic went on. “I still feel so terrible about all of that, man. I’ll never forgive myself. It amazes me every day that you forgave me—I mean, it’s not the first time I did something stupid to you!”
Jamal looked up, no trace of amusement or warmth in his eyes. “Let’s get to bed,” he said yet again, firmly.
Vic looked at his friend, and seemed to realize he had crossed a line. “Okay,” he said, very quietly. “All right. Thanks, man. I’m sorry.”
Jamal glanced at us and nodded, some pleasantness returning to his expression. “Girls,” he said. “Get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” we echoed, as the two men shuffled to the elevator and got in. The doors closed behind them, and the three of us were finally alone in the lobby.
“Did you hear that?” George asked, an expression of disbelief on her face.
“Yeah,” I agreed, shaking my head. “It sounds like Vic really did a number on Jamal’s life. And Jamal seems happy in the military now, but who could blame him for holding a grudge?”
“Do you think he does?” Bess asked, looking concerned. “Do you think he could really be behind this?”
I sighed. “I don’t want to,” I admitted, “but it’s hard not to see him as the most likely suspect right now. If he’s working with Akinyi, the two of them have had opportunity, and now they have a motive.” I paused. “And that would explain her terrible mood this whole time—if she thought her best friend was marrying the guy who’d ruined her flame’s life.”
My friends and I looked at each other, each of us clearly upset by this theory.
“But they’re the best man and maid of honor,” Bess said finally, voicing what each of us was probably thinking. “How could they do that to their friends?”
I yawned and rubbed my eyes. “I’m not sure they did,” I admitted, “and I hope they didn’t. But still—let’s keep a careful eye on the two of them tomorrow.”
LIGHT OF MY LIFE
“I think we should do a dramatic eye,” Bess suggested, holding up an example from one of her fashion magazines, as all of the bridesmaids bustled around getting ready in Syd’s hotel suite. “I’m thinking a smokey eye, in plum. That will really make your brown eyes pop.”
“Oh, oh, I disagree,” Deb Camden suddenly broke in, sweeping over to us out of nowhere. She took a look at the subject with a frown. “Did you see those pictures of Charlize Theron at the
Oscars in Us Weekly? She did a subtle eye and a pop of color on the cheeks and lips. And she looked, you know—” She giggled. “She looked like Charlize Theron, which means fabulous!”
Bess turned to Deb, not looking very happy to have her expert advice questioned. “Charlize Theron has hazel eyes,” she pointed out. “I really think a dramatic eye is the way to go.”
George, who was the subject of their debate, looked over at me, her eyes pleading. I knew this was like the seventh level of purgatory for her. Before I could think of something to say to call off the makeup vultures, though, George piped up: “How about no makeup at all, huh? How about that?”
Bess and Deb both gasped, backing up a little as though George might be dangerous.
“You must be kidding, right?” Deb cried.
“Of course she is,” Bess replied, shooting George a warning glance. “George knows that this is a wedding, and at a wedding, you wear makeup.” Before anyone could protest further, she stepped in and attacked George’s eyelid with a makeup brush dipped in deep plum eyeshadow. “Don’t worry, George. I’ll make you look like a model.”
“Just what I wanted,” George muttered sarcastically as Akinyi walked over, looking gorgeous in her rose-colored maid of honor gown.
“What’s that?” Akinyi asked with a rare smile. “You aren’t talking smack about models over here, are you? Syd and I may look skinny, but we’re fierce! We could take you on.”
George smiled, or did the best she could, as Bess held down her eyelid and attacked with a black eyeliner pencil. “Of course not, Akinyi,” she replied. “Hey, you’re in a good mood today.”
At first, Akinyi looked a little surprised by George’s observation, but her surprise quickly melted away. “I am,” she agreed. “Listen, I know I’ve been a little crabby these last few days. I guess it’s just been hard for me, with the breakup, and watching my best friend go through all this scary stuff with the wedding attacks.” She paused. “I guess now that the wedding is really happening and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can really be happy for Syd. I mean, she’s marrying the man of her dreams. This is a happy day!”
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