Ugly Pageants - LOCI

Ugly Pageants - LOCI

AnneMarie Donahue

            “You are such a bitch!”  Miss New Rochelle screeched as she pulled a clump of hair out of the reigning Miss Albany’s head.  Two stage hands rushed over to stop the cat fight that had erupted.

            “Bitch!”  Albany reached out and raked her fake nails across the face of her opponent in one last effort.

            “Ladies!”  A female stage manager forced herself between the contestants.  “Stop it!”  She looked over at the two male attendants, who seemed a little afraid to come between the beauty queens.  She rolled her eyes and barked at them, “a little help here guys!”

            The men separated the girls who by this time had managed to tear the tiaras off of each others’ head, along with clumps of fine dried-out hair.  They calmed down quickly but still had sharp looks in their eyes that let the stage manager know another fight could explode in a moment.

            “Margo, she hid the reed to my clarinet!”  The taller blonde screamed at the stage manager.

            Margo turned to the girl protesting her innocent when she caught site of Miss Flushing coming towards the girls.  She didn’t look like she was going to enter the fight, but there was something urgent in her manner.

            “Cynthia, just sit down.  I don’t have time for everyone’s dramatics.”  Margo said, hoping the girl would just wait her turn.

            Cynthia looked up and Margo could see her face beginning to swell, tears running down her eyes in black rivers washing away the disgusting makeup.

            “Oh sick.”  The offended Miss New Rochelle said stepping away from Cynthia.  Both girls had calmed completely in the sight of this latest complication.

            “Cynthia?”  Margo approached her slowly, “are you okay?”

            Cynthia shook her heads and began to hyperventilate.  Margo pushed the fighting contestants out her way to reach Cynthia before she collapsed on the floor.  “Call an ambulance!”

            “I can’t say for certain, but it looks like poisoning.  I’ll autopsy when I get back to the lab.”  The ME covered Cynthia Locke under the sheet.

            “Okay, thanks.”  Logan watched the little stretcher get packed into an awaiting ambulance.  He turned and walked into the school.  Logan followed the line of uniformed police until he found the basement which had been converted to a dressing room for the girl’s competing in the pageant.

            Falacci was already there, talking to a few of the pageant officials.  She nodded him over, and pointing to the woman standing in front of her said, “this is Margo Kravit, she saw the accident.”

            “Ms. Kravit, could you go over the event for me?”  Logan looked at her.  She was shaken but was sturdy enough to talk about.  There was something bothering her, he could tell.  “Actually, hold on a moment.”  Logan looked at the taller woman standing behind her, “I’m sorry, I’m Detective Logan.”

            “Annabella Poirier.  I’m the director for this pageant and marketing for SLURG Cola Corporation.  We are mortified with this tragedy, detective and anything the SLURG family can do to assist will be done immediately.”

            Logan had to stifle a laugh.  Falacci took a breath but Logan shot her a look to shut her up, he could sense a snide comment coming from her any minute.  “Actually Ms. Poirier, could you go with this officer and give the specifics of the pageant to him, names of the contestants, any background information you have would be helpful.”  Logan waved over an officer who took Annabella into the hallway.  Logan noticed that Margo immediately relaxed and he focused his attention back to her.