Revenge of the Chili Queens by Kylie Logan Page B

pen, I’d like the truth.”
    “The truth?” That lifted chin, those thrown-back shoulders . . . it all might have been more convincing if not for the fact that her bottom lip quivered. “The truth is that I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have people to greet.”
    She glided away, reaching into the sparkling bag she had hung over one shoulder for the booty, and handing out pens left and right.
    “Jar opener?”
    The question brought me spinning around, and I found myself nose to jar opener with a very tall woman with inky hair. She, too, was in a formfitting dress and was wearing the requisite tiara and sash. It said she was Miss Texas Triangle .
    “No thanks,” I told her. “You already gave me one.”
    “Oh, come on, take another one.” She shoved the rubbery opener into my hands. “We’ve got oodles of them, and you can always use a jar opener.”
    “What I could really use is the lowdown,” I said.
    “About Consolidated Chili? Why, it’s the largest manufactured chili company in the world! Did you know that? I did not, not until that wonderful Mr. John Wesley Montgomery talked to us all before last night’s event. The largest in the world. I’ll tell you what, that just impressed me no end. Doesn’t it impress you no end?”
    “No end,” I assured her. “But what I’d really like is the lowdown on her.” Since I had my eyes on Miss Texas Chili Pepper, Miss Texas Triangle couldn’t miss who I was talking about.
    “She’s upset,” I said.
    “Has been all the while we’ve been here tonight,” Miss TT told me.
    “She says the sniffling and the red eyes, it’s because she’s allergic to dogs.”
    “Is that what she said?” The tiny smile that played around the woman’s very red lips told me that gossip was second nature. “Well, that may very well be true. But only if dogs play the guitar.”
    “Aha! I thought so.” I spun away from watching Miss Texas Chili Pepper, who wasn’t doing much of anything interesting, anyway, and looked up at the woman. The way she’d positioned herself under the lights, the rhinestones in that crown of hers winked down at me. “She knew the victim?”
    “Let’s see, what did those people on the news say his name was?” Honestly, I don’t think Miss Texas Triangle needed to think about it, but she pretended she did. “Dominic Laurentius. Yes, that’s it. Did she know him? We all knew Dom. He worked for Consolidated Chili.”
    “Security, right?”
    “That’s what Dominic always said.” She twitched her shoulders. “Personally—and I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, believe me when I tell you this—but personally, I wasn’t sure I could always believe Dominic. Oh, he talked a good game. And if you saw him at all yesterday, you might have noticed he had dreamy eyes.”
    And dreamy shoulders, and a luscious mouth, and a strong jaw, and . . .
    I batted the thoughts away.
    “But you . . .” I looked around, taking in all the beauty queens with one look. “How did you know the victim? You don’t work for Consolidated Chili.”
    “Heavens, no!” Like Miss Texas Chili Pepper, she’d perfected the art of hand to cheek and she used it with wild abandon. “That would be a conflict of interest, wouldn’t it? Me, working for the company and vying for the title of Miss Consolidated Chili this coming weekend? I just knew him from events like this. When I appear in public . . . well, I don’t mean to sound too full of myself, but you understand.” She glanced down and gave me the quickest once-over in the history of mankind, her gaze lingering on the wig.
    “Well, maybe you don’t,” she conceded. “But ever since the seven of us here were named finalists for the Miss Consolidated Chili crown, we’ve been appearing inpublic together. Dominic, he provided security on behalf of the company.”
    Like I was actually impressed, I smiled. “And is that how Miss Texas Chili Pepper knew