“Oh, well, that’s a relief.” Ivy glanced around to make sure no one was listening before continuing. “The water tested positive for antifreeze.”
“Which is why you bought water and are keeping it close to you,” Max mused. “I saw you instructing the girls to pour out whatever water they didn’t finish in the drinking fountain before tossing the bottles. That was smart.”
“I don’t think we can be too careful right now and I would rather fork over twenty bucks for bottles of water than watch one of these girls get poisoned.”
“I get that and agree,” Max said. “Who do you think is doing this, though? That’s the big question. I mean … could one of these girls actually be trying to poison the others to thin the herd?”
“That’s a disturbing possibility,” Ivy conceded. “There’s another possibility, though. Maybe Simone is so desperate for her daughter to win she’s decided that she needs to take out the front-runners.”
Max made a face. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”
“I think this entire pageant is a little extreme. I’ve always thought that. I wish they would disband the entire thing because it’s nothing but a self-esteem nightmare for these girls.”
“Are you sure you’re not projecting a few of your own feelings about the pageant onto these girls?” Max challenged. “Not all of them are going to have a miserable experience. Some of them really enjoy this.”
“I know I’m projecting, Max. I can’t quite seem to shake what happened to me. What’s really sad is, in the grand scheme of things, Maisie and Ava torturing me for five days straight wasn’t that big of a deal. I got over it.”
“I’m not sure you did.”
“No, I did,” Ivy argued. “I let it go and moved on. Coming back here and helping, though, it’s put me on edge. I can’t explain it. If you think I’m proud of how I’ve been handling things, you’re wrong. I’m not proud.”
“Then why are you still here?”
“Because someone has to watch these girls.”
“Isn’t that Simone’s job?”
Ivy let loose with an exaggerated look that even a brother couldn’t love. It was so hilarious that Max couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.
“Do you really think that Simone is poisoning these girls so Sadie can win?” Max turned serious. “Be really honest with me.”
“I think it’s a definite possibility,” Ivy replied. “Her fingers were on all the bottles. She admitted herself that she’s the one who gets the water for the girls.”
“Yeah. Why would she admit that if she was poisoning them?”
Ivy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe she doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong. Maybe she’s that off kilter. Maybe she’s like that story we heard when we were kids. You remember the one, right? It was about a mother who was so desperate to get her kid on the cheerleading team that she hired a hitman.”
“I thought that was a Lifetime movie.”
“That they based on a real incident.”
“Huh. That’s a little depressing.” Max rubbed his chin as he stared across the room, his eyes landing on Simone. She offered a bright wave when she caught him staring, something he only half returned as he rolled his hips and stretched his back. “Maybe I just don’t want to believe she’s capable of something like that.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Max.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, that’s not true.” Ivy regrouped. “You’re much better than Simone Graham and I don’t want you to date her. Pick someone else. Heck, pick anyone else.”
Max didn’t want to smile. It would only encourage her, after all. He couldn’t stop himself. “You are such a piece of work.”
“I also love you.” Ivy’s voice softened. “I don’t think this is a good situation for you.”
“I’ll give it some thought. I promise.” Max took them both by surprise when he leaned over and pressed a quick kiss against Ivy’s cheek. “I love you, too. I’m sick of fighting, though. It’s nowhere near as much fun as it was when we were kids.”
“Well, at least we can agree there. In fact … .” Ivy’s attention was diverted to the dance floor when Sadie let loose with a violent scream and threw herself toward Mackenzie.
“I’m going to kill you!”
“Holy crap.” Ivy scurried forward, grabbing Mackenzie by the shoulder and sheltering her from Sadie’s vicious onslaught as she helped the girl to her feet. “What happened?”
Mackenzie didn’t get a chance to answer. Her eyes went so wide Ivy was convinced an ax murderer stood behind her, ready to strike. When Ivy swiveled, Sadie smacked her so hard across the face it caused Ivy’s eyes to tear.
“Hey!” Max bellowed, grabbing Sadie’s hand before she could let loose with a second slap. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“She caused me to miss my mark,” Sadie snapped. “She’s a freaking troll.”
“That doesn’t mean you can hit her,” Max shot back. “That definitely doesn’t mean you can hit my sister. What were you thinking?”
“She got in the way,” Sadie seethed. “They’re both in my way.”
“Your way for what?” Sadie’s reaction set Max’s teeth on edge. She was like a feral animal. “What are they in the way of?”
“Me winning,” Sadie replied. “I’m going to win this year. Me.” She thumped her chest for emphasis. “I won’t stand by and watch anyone ruin this for me.” She wrenched her other arm away from Max and took a step back. “I won’t stand for it. Do you hear me?”
Max turned his eyes to Simone, frowning when he found her merely standing at the edge of the ruckus with a bland look on her face. “Aren’t you going to say something to her?”
“What should I say?” Simone asked. “She needs to be fierce if she expects to win.”
Max was dumbfounded. “It’s a freaking high school pageant,” he snapped, whipping around so he could check on Ivy. Other than the fury on her face, his sister looked relatively okay. “Did she hurt you?”
“Surprised me,” Ivy replied. “I wasn’t expecting … that.”
“No, I don’t blame you.” Max’s fingers were gentle as they moved over Ivy’s cheeks. “This is freaking ridiculous.”
“What’s going on here?” Jack asked, walking into the room with Brian close on his heels. His eyes immediately went to Ivy. “What happened?”
“That little heathen smacked her when she tried to intervene in a fight,” Max answered, gesturing toward Sadie. “It was … unbelievable.”
“You hit her?” Jack turned a set of furious eyes on Sadie. “What gives you the right to do that?”
“She got in the way,” Sadie replied, her lower lip quivering. “I wasn’t trying to hit her. I was going after Mackenzie. She threw me off my routine.”
“And that gives you the right to go after her?” Brian challenged, keeping one eye on a furious Jack, who looked over Ivy’s face, and the other on Sadie. “You know that’s assault, right? We could take you in right now and charge you for striking Ms. Morgan.”
Simone balked. “It was just a little love tap.”
“For which you did nothing,” Ivy pointed out. “You didn’t even reprimand her.”
“That’s because I don’t think she did anything wrong.”
“And that right there is why you’re being removed as coordinator for the pageant,” Brian said, his statement catching Simone off guard.
“Excuse me?” She was livid. “You don’t have the authority.”
“I don’t,” Brian agreed. “The town council does, though. They just held an emergency meeting. You’ve been removed as pageant coordinator. Here is a letter from the council president explaining things to you.” Brian slapped an envelope against Simone’s chest before focusing on the girls. “As for you, the pageant is still going on even though I tried to have the entire thing cancelled.”
“But who is going to run things?” one of the girls asked. “We need someone to coord
inate. Without Mrs. Graham, we have no one to tell us what to do.”
“That’s not true,” Brian countered. “The council also named a successor for Mrs. Graham.” Brian slapped a second envelope in Ivy’s hands. “Congratulations.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in. “Excuse me?” Ivy was convinced she was stuck in a nightmare.
“You can’t be serious,” Simone shrieked. “She’ll ruin everything.”
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” Brian said. “Either way, you’re out, Simone. In fact, you’re banned from this building during practice. If we see you here, we will arrest you.”
“But … no!”
“It’s done.” Brian was firm. “Now collect your things – I’ll watch as you do – and get out. The pageant is no longer your playground. It’s Ivy’s to do with as she sees fit.”
For Ivy, that wasn’t exactly a win. “Who saw that coming?” she muttered. “I think I want to go back to bed and start the day over again.”
Jack chuckled. “You’ll do great.”
Ivy wasn’t so sure.
Twelve
Simone’s rage was palpable as she gathered her things, the furious looks she lobbed in Ivy’s direction serving to make Jack distinctly uncomfortable.
“Don’t blame her,” Jack chided, keeping a close eye on the woman as she shoved overflowing handfuls of makeup in her bag. “She didn’t do anything to you.”
“Oh, I don’t know who you’re trying to fool, but she’s been after my position since I got it,” Simone spat.
“Trust me. That’s not true.”
“Bull! She’s always been jealous of me.”
Jack couldn’t claim any special knowledge on the inner workings of the female mind, but that sounded like a load of bunk to him. “And why would she be jealous of you?”
“Because I won the pageant.”
“And?”
“And what?” Simone’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment … and hatred. “I won the pageant my year. Ivy didn’t win. She got beat by both Maisie and Ava, which is downright pathetic.
“Listen, I know you think she’s something special just like all the other guys in town, but she’s not,” she continued, adopting a reasonable tone. “People only look at her because she dresses like a freak in those long skirts she likes to wear … and the fact that she has pink in her hair. It’s all an act.”
“An act for what?”
Simone was incredulous. “Are you slow? To get men to like her.”
“Yeah, see, that makes zero sense to me,” Jack argued. “When I met Ivy, the last thing she wanted was a boyfriend. In fact, she seemed to shun male attention as much as possible.”
Simone snorted. “And you believe that?”
“I do.”
“Then you’re dumber than I thought,” Simone said. “I don’t know what she’s done to make you think that you love her, but you should look really hard at the woman you’re marrying. She’s clearly cast some sort of spell over you.”
“I know the woman I’m going to marry better than anyone. The reason people gravitate toward her – even though she fights it – is because she’s a genuine person with a good heart.”
“Yup. You’re an idiot.” Simone grabbed a bottle of hairspray. “I’m going to make sure the people in this town realize what Ivy has done. In fact – yeah, I’m sure of it – she’s probably the one who has been poisoning the girls and framing me in the process. It’s the only thing that makes sense. That’s why she volunteered her time.”
“You asked her to volunteer her time before any of this ever happened,” Jack reminded her.
“No, I didn’t.”
“I was standing right next to her when you did it.”
“You’re remembering it wrong. That doesn’t surprise me, though. You’re clearly mentally defective where she’s concerned. I hope you wise up and see the truth before it’s too late.”
“Yeah, I’m good.” Jack leaned forward and lowered his voice so only Simone could hear. “I don’t know what your deal is, but I’m warning you right now, if you go after Ivy, you’re not going to be happy with the outcome.”
Simone’s eyebrows flew up her forehead. “Is that a threat?”
“Think of it as a promise,” Jack replied. “I can see you’re upset. You clearly have impulse control problems, just like your daughter. Don’t even think of making a move on Ivy. Take a long and quiet moment to reflect before you do something you’ll regret.”
“Don’t ever tell me what to do.” Simone stood with a flourish. “Come on, Sadie. We’re out of here.”
For her part, Sadie looked conflicted. The look she shot Ivy was one of desperation. “Are you kicking me out of the pageant?”
Ivy stared at her for a long beat, unsure. “I don’t know. You’ve had a bad attitude from the start.”
“Did you hear her, Sadie?” Simone asked. “She’s not going to give you a chance.”
“I’m not the judge,” Ivy reminded her. “You can compete if you promise to adjust your attitude.”
Sadie opened her mouth but didn’t speak as she glanced over her shoulder, her mother’s disapproval landing hard as her shoulders slumped.
“Go home with your mother,” Ivy instructed. “Give some serious thought to what you want. We’ll start fresh for tomorrow. We don’t have a lot of time, but we can still make the pageant something great.”
Sadie nodded, solemn. “I’m sorry I hit you.”
“That’s a concern,” Ivy conceded. “It’s also a concern that you were trying to hurt Mackenzie.” Ivy raised her voice so none of the girls could later declare they hadn’t heard the statement. “Going forward, there will be no more bullying. I don’t care what kind of behavior was considered acceptable before, we’re working under new rules now.
“First off, all of the girls who were unilaterally cut before will be invited back to participate,” she continued. “If anyone has a problem with that, you can go ahead and leave now.”
“But … the pageant will be too long,” Miley complained. “People won’t stay and watch the entire thing.”
“Well, there are ways around that, too,” Ivy noted. “We can cut some of the dance numbers to make sure that it doesn’t run too long.”
“You can’t do that,” Simone hissed, scandalized. “I worked forever to choreograph those numbers.”
“And they’re unnecessary and boring,” Ivy countered. “You only need the opening dance number. Then the girls can jump straight into their talent. They can do the evening gowns after … and then the interviews. There’s no need for anything else.”
“What about the bathing suit competition?” Miley challenged.
Ivy tilted her head to the side, confused. “What bathing suit competition? You guys never practiced for a bathing suit competition. In fact, there’s never been a bathing suit competition for this pageant before.” She turned her attention to Simone. “What’s going on?”
“It was a new surprise this year.” Simone’s tone was chilly and clipped. “I thought it would draw a bigger crowd.”
“Of perverts,” Ivy said. “You can’t parade a bunch of teenagers around on a stage in skimpy bikinis. It’s not right.”
“The girls are almost adults.”
“I don’t care.” Ivy was adamant as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s not going to happen. Period. There is no swimsuit competition.”
“But … that’s not fair,” Miley screeched. “I got a bikini wax and everything. Do you have any idea how much that hurts?”
“You’ll live.”
“I’m going to tell my mother.” Miley narrowed her eyes to dangerous slits. “You’ll be sorry you messed with me.”
“Go ahead and give her my number,” Ivy said airily. “I’m sure we’ll have a very enlightening conversation.”
“Oh, don’t think I won’t.”
“Do it.” Ivy flicked her attention to the other girls. “As for everything else, it remain
s the same. We’ll start over fresh in the morning. Spread the word that the girls who were cut can come back. Since I think some of you will be reticent to do that, I’m going to make sure to spread the word myself. Does anyone have any questions?”
Ivy waited to see if a hand would shoot up, but everyone remained quiet. “Great. I’ll see you guys in the morning. It’s going to be a long day so … plan accordingly.”
The girls gathered their things, heated whispers passing between them. The looks they shot Ivy as they left weren’t fond, and Jack wasn’t keen on the glares. He leaned against the wall and watched as one girl – Mackenzie – remained behind to talk to Ivy.
“Thank you for stepping in the way you did,” Mackenzie said hesitantly.
“It’s okay.” Ivy patted the girl’s shoulder. “I didn’t realize she was going to do what she did. Is she always that out of control?”
“It’s her mother. She makes everyone crazy.”
“I can see that.”
“Still, you jumped in to help me and didn’t pull back when she hit you,” Mackenzie said. “Everyone else is afraid of her. You stood up to her … and her mother. I … thank you.”
“Oh, sweetie, don’t thank me.” Ivy’s smile was rueful. “Part of me wanted to pound her in the face.”
“I’ll help you clean up before I go,” Mackenzie offered. “My mom won’t be here for twenty minutes anyway.”
“That will be nice.”
The duo lapsed into comfortable silence as they sorted through discarded clothing and makeup, Mackenzie ultimately breaking it.
“Um, thanks for getting rid of the bathing suit part, too.” She sounded shy, younger than her seventeen years. “I wasn’t looking forward to that.”
“Whatever Simone was thinking, that was wrong,” Ivy said. “Trust me. We’ll come up with a new plan tomorrow. Hopefully it will be something everyone can live with.”
“That would be nice for a change, huh?”
JACK AND BRIAN COMPARED notes for a few minutes, the older cop finally leaving Jack to help Ivy and Mackenzie. They were done for the night – there wasn’t much more they could do – so there was no sense in Jack returning to the station.
Wicked Fun: An Ivy Morgan Mystery Books 7-9 Page 49
