1 Nothing Bundt Murder Read Online Free Page A

called two truths and a lie,” Dahlia said, and there was something about her tone that caught my attention. Though I had just started preparing another pot of tea, I looked up at her, wondering why I suddenly felt so uncomfortable.
    She was standing at the head of the room, smiling. But something about her seemed sly. Her whole body appeared electrified, like a cat, just before it pounced.
    I tried to ignore my sense of danger but I couldn’t quite shake it.  
     
     
     
     
    “Now I’m sure many of you have played this game before,” Dahlia said. “But for those who haven’t, it goes like this. Someone will stand up here and tell us three facts about themselves. Two will be true and one will be a lie. And we each have to decide which one is the lie.”
    Dahlia looked out at the girls, then took a sip of her champagne. “Now who wants to go first?”
    The ladies all looked at each other in between nibbles of their cakes but no one volunteered.
    Just then Babette came back into the dining room, holding the purple box containing the gluten-free cake. “How’s it going?” she whispered to me as she came over and put the box on the table.
    “Great. Everyone loves the cakes. They’re playing a game now so we have a bit of a break.”
    Babette nodded and opened the box, searching the table for just the right plate to put the cake on.
    In the living room, Dahlia was still standing in front of the group as one of the girl's volunteered.
    "Actually," Dahlia said with that same sly smile on her face. “I think I'll go first.” Then she turned and looked at the ladies. “ Okay, now don’t guess until the end…but…” She bit her lip and frowned, as though thinking hard. “ Fact number one. I went to school in Wiscosnin.”
    Somone shouted out “lie!” and Dahlia shook her head. “You’re supposed to wait until the end. But okay, fact number two…” She glanced in our direction, then she took a breath and continued. “I’m getting married soon too!"
    The bride screamed and applauded. “Oh my gosh! You are?”
    Dahlia didn’t answer, she kept going on with the game. "And fact number three…my husband-to-be is going to divorce his wife…who happens to be in this room.” And with that, Dahlia smiled and looked straight at Babette.
    Everyone gasped and went silent. Some of the girls looked over at Babette who stood staring down at the lilac box in her hand. I shot a glare at Dahlia then walked over to stand in front of Babette, so as to try to block everyone’s view of her. There were tears in her eyelashes as she stared down at the box in her hands.
    “Babette,” I said quietly.
    She shook her head. Then she stepped around me. She was the picture of dignified grace as she walked up to Daliah. “Your gluten free cake,” she said in an even tone as she handed Dahlia the pale purple box. "I hope you choke on it.”
    Everyone gasped again, even Dahlia.
    But she recovered quickly. She smiled at Babette with a cold expression on her face as Babette hurried outside. I ran to the door after her, but when I got outside she was already in the Bundt Baby van, pulling out onto the street, tears streaming down her cheeks.
    I stood outside, watching her drive away and noticed my own fists were clenched in rage. I angrily headed back inside, ready to give Dahlia a piece of my mind, and though I didn’t know exactly what I would say, I figured it would be some kind of reiteration of Babette’s wish that she choke on the gluten-free cake.
    When I stepped inside the living room, however, I noticed that everyone was crowded around Dahlia who seemed to be putting on some kind of weird performance. She was hopping around, holding her throat, making strange noises.
    But no one was laughing. In fact, as I got closer, I saw she wasn’t dancing at all.  To my disbelieving eyes, Dahlia was doing the very thing I was about to wish on her—choking on the gluten-free Bundt. She had a piece of it in her hand, and some