“She means she’ll give them the Marcie dressing-down.” Delilah sprinkled more vinegar on her greens and mixed it all with her plastic fork. “When Marcie gets going, no one’s immune.”
Marcie giggled and Bella discreetly expelled a breath. Still, she’d have to mention it to Holden. She knew a serial killer could come across as normal. Charming, even.
“I hope it doesn’t come down to you telling someone off.” Marcie’s story had also been touching, about how she wanted to go to the community college to earn a business degree so that she could expand her hair styling job into her own salon.
“It won’t. What I didn’t say when we were giving our reasons for running for Ms. Mustang Valley is that I escaped an abusive marriage five years ago. I’d planned to go to school and had saved the money, in fact, from taking every extra wedding and prom appointment possible for over three years. My ex took the money and blew it in the casino, and on drugs.”
“I’m so sorry, Marcie, that’s awful.” Bella reached across the table and grasped her hand.
“Delilah helped me get out of my house when my ex was at work.”
So that explained the friendly bond she sensed between Delilah and Marcie.
“And you helped me when I was sick.”
Guilt sucker punched Bella. “I knew you both in high school but never took the time to get to know you better. I wish I had.”
“You didn’t need anyone—you had your brothers, and you were always with Gio. We were all in awe of how protective your brothers were of you.”
“I never saw it that way, but it makes sense now. I could have used more girlfriends, as my aunt was difficult at best. But you’re right, I was tight with Gio.” Darn it if her voice didn’t hitch.
“I was so sad when she passed, Bella.” Marcie’s eyes moistened and reflected compassion. “She was such a sweet soul.”
Delilah nodded. “Gio talked me off the ledge more than once. I get stage fright and if not for her I wouldn’t still be competing. She was a doll.”
“You mentioned earlier that you think Ms. Mustang Valley is like other pageants as far as encouraging the contestants to stay ‘healthy.’ As in, skinny. Has any other pageant ever suggested to you or someone you competed with that you need to lose weight? I’m trying to keep my mouth shut but I have to admit, with this being my first pageant, it’s annoying to have Selina tell me to watch my carbs.”
Marcie and Delilah exchanged knowing glances. Bella interpreted it as an understanding that she was clueless as to how the industry worked.
“Honey, when don’t pageants tell you how you need to look?” Delilah motioned at her lunch. “Do you think I really like this much arugula?”
Marcie giggled. “I ignore it, as you can see.” She nodded at her almost empty bowl of cold pasta salad. “The truth is that most local pageants aren’t about physical beauty as much as they are about talent and aspirations.”
“Except for Ms. Mustang Valley.” Delilah’s voice lowered dramatically. Bella’s stomach tightened and the hair on her nape rose. She recognized it as her reporter’s intuition.
“What do you mean?” She tried to make light of cleaning up her lunch refuse, not wanting either woman to hold back.
Delilah’s brow rose. “It’s known in Arizona pageant circles to be the worst as far as physical judging goes. And for some insane reason, the women who began their pageant careers with Ms. Mustang Valley hold it up as the holy grail, the one pageant that will make the biggest difference in their lives.”
Interesting, but not enough to frame her article. “That makes sense since it’s the only one that offers a full four-year scholarship to MVCC.” MVCC was the largest community college in the area and boasted almost two dozen four-year career degree programs, while most just offered associate’s degrees for two years of study. She’d discovered how much the college had expanded since she’d graduated from high school when she’d done her preliminary research for the Ms. Mustang Valley contest. And almost wished she had a chance of winning, so that she could have the thrill of giving the scholarship to the runner-up.
“It’s more than that.” Marcie’s expression was grave. “It’s almost as if they sign some kind of contract when they compete in this pageant.”
“We all do.” Bella had grimaced at some of the language, but it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared.
“No, not the contract you signed for this year’s Ms. Mustang Valley. They used to have to sign a lot more away, including any proceeds from commercial deals that came their way as a result of Ms. Mustang Valley, even if they didn’t win.”
“Isn’t that standard?”
“Not at all, not anymore.” Delilah kept her voice low. “There was a contestant one year in the same contest as Gio, Marcie and me, at the Ms. Saguaro Cactus pageant. She didn’t win the crown but did receive a contract to appear in a national ad campaign for toothpaste—she had the brightest smile! At first she was so excited that she’d be making enough to not only put herself through college but her two sisters. Until—”
“Until the Ms. Mustang Valley contacted her and reminded her that she’d signed away rights to any monies when she’d entered her first contest, the Ms. Mustang Valley the year before.” Marcie hadn’t been able to contain herself, apparently, as she interrupted Delilah.
“How long ago was this?”
“Almost ten years now, I’d say.”
Bella did the mental math. She wasn’t positive but she was pretty certain Gio’s first pageant had been Ms. Mustang Valley. And the way Gio had emphasized that the evidence of misdeeds was in the paperwork to this particular contest was interesting, but again, not enough to form a true exposé.