Eyes like blue marbles snaked with red veins stare back at me. The mascara is smudged and dark streaks run down her cheeks into the creamy linen. Her lips are cracked, tinted with cherry lipstick. Expensive perfume and fragrance from the wilting bouquets of Jasmines float in the air. The bridal gown she wears crumpled in a heap over her pale legs. Her fingers clasp a single red rose.

Bending my lanky figure, I hover close to examine, careful not to touch her or the bed that she lies in. Her piercing eyes, parted lips haunt the silence in the air as if she is about to say something. What did you see, Caitlyn?

A cold draft sweeps past giving me goosebumps. I straighten myself, grab my pad from my jacket and note down the details.

Caitlyn McKenzie, age twenty-four was found dead by her husband on the day after her wedding in the honeymoon suite. One of the cleaners heard a gunshot in the night but there are no bullet wounds on the victim. Going by her glossy, wide open eyes, the victim appears to have died of shock.

It's easier to handle cases with blood and gore. I can detach myself from the trauma but the near perfect setting of a bride is one hard to swallow. The frosty figure on the white bed reminds me of an angel in the snow. The air feels dense in my chest as I survey the rest of the suite.

An open Champagne bottle with two filled flutes and a box of chocolates sit on the bedside table. The drink in one of the glasses seems a tad bluer. I crouch lower and dip my nose close to the glass, a tinge of a chemical along with fruity flavours of the drink wafts up. The chocolates smell of exotic cocoa and macadamia nuts.

A trail of her garter, veil, and stilettos on the carpet lead me to the door. Outside the suite, a young gentleman sits on the settee opposite the lifts with his head in his hands. His bow tie hangs loosely over his neck and he reeks of alcohol.

"Derek Whitemoore? You must be Caitlyn's husband"

He looks up, his bloodshot eyes focus on something on my suit rather than my face.

"I'm detective Hoffman. What time did you find Ms. Mckenzie?"

Derek rubs his eyes. "Six a. m."

"Where were you last night, Mr. Whitemoore?"

"Caitlyn and I... we had an argument. I spent the night_"

The lift doors open and a young woman rushes out. She's in a bathrobe; her hair's wet from a recent shower. In spite of her dark hair, the features are similar to the bride. She must be family.

"Derek! Derek, what happened? What happened to Caitlyn?"

Derek shakes his head slowly, a single tear slides down the corner of his eye.

She bursts into tears and he wraps his arms around her. She is hysterical. "Oh, my god! No!"

Derek says, "This is Caitlyn's sister, Imogen; she was the maid of honour." Derek whispers to Imogen. I hear the word detective and she looks up at me with hooded eyes.

She wipes her blotchy, red nose with her hand. In between the sniffles, she asks, "Do you know how she died? It was accidental, right?"

"I'm afraid I cannot confirm the cause of the death. The coroner will clarify after an autopsy."

Her eyes widen at the word autopsy.

I ask, "Do you know anyone who would want to kill Caitlyn?"

Her eyes flit to the right. "Caitlyn had enemies... a lot of them."

"Can you list out all the people who would want to kill her?"

Imogen laughs nervously. "I'd have to name everyone she knew."

"And yet, Derek here loves her very much given he married her last night, right?"

She twists the ring on her finger a few times. "If you want to start asking questions, why don't you start with Oscar Riley?" The name gets Derek cursing. She continues, "He's Caitlyn's Ex."

"And why would he want to kill her?"

"Jealousy? Anger? I don't know but I saw Oscar leave her room last night around midnight. I was on my way to the suite to check all was okay for their wedding night when I saw him slam the door and march off in anger towards the other lifts."

"Did you go into her room after that, Imogen?"

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "No. I expected her to be in one of her Caitlyn moods and it was late."

"So you see your sis's ex walk out angry and you didn't think of checking on her?"

Rising to her feet, she waves a finger at me. "Don't you dare accuse me? I saw her last at the party along with hundreds of guests. I was with Derek all of last n_." The words slip out and her hand flies to her mouth to stop herself from speaking any further.

"Ah, that's convenient. You have an alibi although the dead sister may not have approved of that company."

I leave the groom and maid of honour to carry on with their pretence of grief and track down Oscar Riley. He stayed back at the hotel after the reception so tracking him down takes all of five minutes.

Oscar invites me in when I flash my badge. He is wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

"Mr. Riley, I'm Jeremiah Hoffman, lead detective on the case. I'm here to discuss Caitlyn Mckenzie's death. She was found dead in her honeymoon suite this morning."

Oscar closes his eyes for a few moments and stands still. "What else could you expect when she married that idiot?"

The towel slips slightly from his fingers. Oscar get a grip! Full nudity was not on today's agenda and that too at seven in the morning. "You mean Derek?"

"He only married her for money. He's in love with Imogen but the biscuit empire is in Caitlyn's name."

"Biscuit empire?"

"Mckenzie's own the largest biscuit and chocolate business across Europe. When her father died last year, he left the biscuits for Caitlyn and chocolates for Imogen. The only problem was chocolate's still a small business."

"And may I ask why Caitlyn chose Derek... I believe you were engaged to her before?"

"I loved Caitlyn with all my heart but Caitlyn had one flaw. She was greedy. She wanted more money. Derek owns the largest confectionery business in the States."

"What happened when you met her last night?"

"I went in to say goodbye to her. I'm moving to Australia. I can't stand being here another minute when I can't have her."

"Imogen McKenzie claims to have seen you leave Caitlyn's room in a strop. Did you and Caitlyn have a fight?"

"I don't know what Imogen's talking about. There was no fight. On the contrary, I saw Imogen earlier..." He stopped whatever he was saying for a few moments. "I don't like Imogen. She is a conniving one and she's in love with Derek. I'm pretty sure, Derek and her are having it on the side..."

"Do you know if Caitlyn was allergic to anything?"

"Yes, nuts."

"Thanks for your time. Oscar, One last question. What do you do for a living?"

"I run a cake business in Australia."

All this talk of sweet stuff brings a loud rumble from my stomach. I proceed downstairs to the restaurant and order a full English breakfast. Tangy orange juice lingers in my mouth as the conversations play in my mind. The marriages and extra marital affairs of biscuits, chocolates and cakes is getting far too sweet for one morning. Next, I visit the hotel security office and request them to show the footage of the corridor facing the honeymoon suite. I spend an hour watching the video.

At precisely ten a. m, I ask the constable on duty to gather Imogen, Derek, and Oscar in an empty hotel room. Imogen is dressed this time in a lilac dress that rides higher when she sits down. Derek paces the room as Oscar stands by the full-length window. Two constables are at the door.

I drop my hat on the coffee table. "Where's the gun, Oscar?"

Oscar stutters, "I don't know what you're talking about."

A cry slips out of Imogen's mouth. "I knew that was a gun." She's on her feet. "I saw it when you left her room last night."

Derek narrows his eyes. "She wasn't shot. She died of shock. There was a chocolate box..." He reaches across to Oscar and grabs him by the collar. "You went to our room last night?"

Oscar raises his arms. "I did but I didn't give her any chocolates. She did. Ask her?" His finger is pointed at Imogen. "I saw her earlier with that box."

Imogen shakes her head vehemently. "Don't you put the blame on me. Derek, you told me last night you tried to poison her drink?"

"Shut up, Imogen." Derek hisses.

I couldn't help but smile. "Well, let me assure you, Caitlyn did not touch the drink so that didn't kill her."

Derek adds, "And the chocolates were untouched. I saw them this morning."

Imogen flounders back to the bed. "So what killed her?"

All three pairs of eyes are back on me. I tip my head as I place my hat back on my head. "Well, thank you gentlemen and lady for your honest confessions. Makes my life easier." The policemen hold all three in custody for attempted murder.

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Caitlyn McKenzie was the luckiest and unluckiest woman that night. She didn't touch the macadamia nut chocolates as she wasn't in the mood for them. She didn't take a sip of the drink as she was far too drunk to even reach for the glass. She fainted on the bed exactly the moment Oscar shot at her, missing the bullet in the most extraordinary tale of luck. Forensics found the bullet wedged in the wall.

She died a few minutes later having suffered an anaphylactic shock from a red rose. The rose in itself was an innocent witness to the death but unknown to her, Caitlyn was also allergic to the pesticides on that flower. The coroner confirmed - death by a rose, a rather unfortunate incident!

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Word count : 1732

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