Page 43 of No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding

“Naturally. But spa treatment? That’s a little on the nose given where we’re headed.”

“No one dies at the spa.”

“That’ssoreassuring.”

“At least we’re not the target this time.”

Harper taps me on the shoulder. “Iwas never the target.”

“Fine.” I hand her back her phone. “I wonder, though...These messages startedbeforeit was public that she and Fred were dating. So if it is Tyler, that wasn’t what set him off.”

“Or he knew about it already.”

“That’s possible.”

“The tweets make him look bad, too, though. ‘Sleeping to the bottom’? Would a guy write that about himself?”

“I agree with you. There’s somethingfeminineabout the tweets, as Miss Marple might say.”

“Or someone wants it to look that way.”

“Right. Well, we’re not going to solve it this minute. We should get to the hot tubs.”

Harper blows a curl off of her forehead. “I’m not going to want to get into a hot tub after this.”

“It’s what the bride wants.”

“I’m not even in the wedding party.”

“That wasn’t my decision.” I tug on her sleeve. “Come on, let’s go. Emma will be annoyed if we don’t show soon.”

“How much further?”

“Not far now.”

“Okay, Papa Smurf.”

We give each other a sad smile—this was a thing we’d do with our dad when he forced us to go hiking as kids.36Then we continue up the path, my calves protesting, and after a few more minutes of exertion, we get to the outdoor spa.

It’s breathtaking—a set of dark wooden pools wedged into the hillside with an unobstructed view of the Descanso Beach Club and its private beach. It also feels eerie because there’s no one on the beach, just a few boats bobbing in the bay, the blue beach umbrellas snapping in the wind.

We’re not alone up here, though. Emma’s standing with her hands on her hips, wearing a white cover-up over her white bikini.

All white is therealtheme of the weekend, not murder.

Ha ha, kidding.

It’s murder.

“Took you long enough,” she says.

“Please tell me one of those pools is cold,” I say, my face burning from the exertion.

“Yes, actually.” She points to the one that’s farthest away. “You’re supposed to do a circuit. Cold, warm, hot, and then the whole circuit again.”

“And the purpose of this circuit is?”

“Realigning something.”

---