Model Menace 2 by Carolyn Keene Page B

else had the means and the motive?
    Suddenly I became aware of the other bridesmaids ooh ing and aah ing, and I turned to see Sydney stepping out of the small bedroom where she and her mother had been getting ready, followed by Donald and two cameramen. (Hans was part of the crew filming Vic this morning.) Syd looked unbelievably beautiful in the designer ball gown. Her long fiery hair was pinned up in a romantic chignon, and pearl jewelry shone on her ears, throat, and wrist.
    “You look so beautiful,” Bess cried, running up to hug her cousin. The cameraman focused on the two of them, trying to discreetly film the moment. “Wow! Just…wait till Vic sees you, coz!”
    Ellie stepped out behind her daughter, misty-eyed in her pretty sage green dress, and the cameras turned on her. “I can’t believe this is really happening,” she said with a sheepish smile at all of us bridesmaids. “My little girl is getting married today! We actually made it!”
    Syd chuckled and turned to kiss her mother’s cheek. “The ceremony is going to be beautiful,” she announced, “I’m sure of it. I don’t know why, but I just woke up feeling really good about this day. Nothing has gone wrong so far—my dress is fine, my hair and makeup came out fine. And you know the producers have ramped up security to an insane degree. Maybe everything will really be okay!”
    We all smiled at Syd, trying to mimic her enthusiasm, and I tried to think about what she said and whether it was really possible. It was true—security for the ceremony was going to be superhigh. Maybe she was right. Maybe, if we just let security keep an eye on the situation, the wedding really would go off without a hitch.
    Of course, if the wedding saboteur really was part of the wedding party, it would be impossible to keep them out.
    Donald checked his watch. “I don’t mean to rush you, but it’s about time to go, girls,” he said.
    Syd nodded. “Okay. Time to get in the limo and head to the park. Where’s Pandora?”
    Akinyi rolled her eyes. “Still in the bathroom, getting ready.”
    Without missing a beat, Syd walked swiftly over to the bathroom door, followed by a cameraman, and pounded on it with her fist. “Pandora? It’s Syd. We’re leaving.”
    Surprisingly Pandora opened the door right away. And even more surprising, she looked completely ready. “Oh, no problem,” she said, taking in Syd in her dress. “Wow, you look unbelievable! I was just putting some rose oil on my pulse points.” She looked at the rest of us and smiled. “Not just for the scent. Rose oil is for love—very wedding-appropriate!”
    The cameras both crowded in, getting close ups of Pandora’s excited face and her rose-oil-smeared wrists. Pandora beamed angelically. I thought back to Dragon’s conversation with Hans the night before. It was almost enough to make me wonder: had Pandora lingered extralong in the bathroom to guarantee this camera time? Was the “rose oil” just a cute line she had rehearsed for the cameras?
    I didn’t have much time to think it over, because with all of us ready (Bess had applied my makeup before George’s—I had somehow gotten out of it with a “subtle eye”), we trooped out of the suite and rode the elevator down to the lobby. A few random hotel guests were clustered there in the sitting room, and they ooh ed and aah ed as we all walked by.
    “Have a wonderful wedding, dear,” an elderly woman advised Syd, reaching out to squeeze the bride’s hand.
    Syd just smiled confidently. “Oh, don’t worry,” she replied, “I will.”
     
     
    “I go first, then George!” Deb was saying as we all struggled to line up inside the Kelley Park boathouse, which was serving as our staging area for the ceremony. We were only minutes away, and tensions were running high. At least among the bridal party. I think we were really stressing out poor Donald, who’d been assigned to get us camera-ready.
    “Well,” he said in his quiet voice, not