Lavender Lipstick Lies: A Mystery of Makeup & Mayhem Read Free

and—”
    “Ladies on the loose!” Emma chimed
in, suddenly appearing between the two potted palms beside our table. She’d
stopped at the bar for a drink and slipped into the chair between Bree and I.
“We’re all checked in, the luggage is upstairs and we have an eight o’clock dinner reservation at the French restaurant on the top of the hotel.”
    I glanced up at the glimmering row
of gold-tinted windows thirty floors above the pool. Like all of the other
plush resorts in Las Vegas, our hotel boasted a mouthwatering selection of fine
restaurants along with an expansive casino, three different dance clubs for
late night carousing and a row of exclusive shops offering everything from
designer clothes and shoes to collectible works of art.
    “That’s perfect,” I said, smiling
at Emma. “Thank you for taking care of those things.”
    “It was my pleasure,” she said,
lightly touching the rim of her hurricane glass against mine and Bree’s.
“Here’s to three hot women having three hot days of fun in the sun!”
    For the next hour, we lounged under
the umbrella, sipping our cocktails, taking in the lively poolside action and
chatting about our plans for the weekend. It really was the ideal respite from
the chaos and confusion of the morning. As the sun blazed down from above and
the potted palms danced in the breeze, I felt myself easing into the untroubled
rhythm of the posh resort. Unfortunately, the mood was shattered a moment later
when Bree turned to me with an unexpected query.
    “Did I see someone from the hotel
bring you an envelope earlier?” she asked. “I thought I noticed a man talking
to you while I was waiting for our drinks.”
    The comment caught me off guard,
and I did my best to appear unruffled even though the inquiry reignited the
jumpy feeling in my stomach.
    “It was nothing,” I lied, not
wanting to reveal the contents of the disturbing note. My two friends deserved
a fun getaway weekend, not three days edged with stress and uncertainty. “He
was just being friendly and checking to see if we needed anything.”
    Bree frowned. “But I saw him hand
you something,” she said.
    I casually rolled my eyes. “Oh,
that! It was just promotional material about the resort.”
    Emma shook her head. “Well, that’s
the last thing we need right now!” she said, raising her glass. “We know where
the bar is, where the pool is and where we’re having dinner.”
    “That’s right!” I agreed. “As soon
as we find the spa and our meeting rooms, we’ll have the entire weekend scoped
out!”
    I gave Bree a sideways glance. She
was studying my face with narrowed eyes, as if she knew that my attempt to
gloss over the curious note was a fib. Before her suspicions could blossom into
another uncomfortable question, I asked her what she thought of the hotel.
    “It’s absolutely stunning out
here!” she said, gesturing at the lush landscaping around the massive pool. “I
can’t wait to see our suite next!”
    “I’m in favor of doing that right
now,” Emma suggested. “I don’t know about you two, but I could use a little
freshening up after our flight.”
    Once we finished our drinks and
collected our things, I followed Emma and Bree across the pool deck and into
the lobby. Our suite was on the twenty-third floor, so we climbed into one of
the glass-encased elevator cars and shot skyward. Between the rum in my daiquiri,
the desert heat and the sudden chill of the air conditioning, I started to feel
woozy as we stepped off the elevator into a stunning corridor lined with
embossed silver wallpaper and dramatic photographs of desert landscapes.
    “Here we are!” Emma chirped when we
reached Room 2390. “Are you ladies ready?”
    “Open the door, Em!” Bree blurted.
“I’m dying to get out of these clothes, take a shower and maybe relax for a bit
before we start getting ready for dinner.”
    Emma slid the keycard into the door
and it opened instantly. We crossed the threshold into a