Maddie's Gift of Mystery (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 5) (2 page)

“Yes. That’s the one.”

“What about her? Did something happen?”

“She’s been arrested.”

“Oh my goodness,” Maddie exclaimed, jumping from her chair. “For what?”

“She’s being accused of murdering one of her best friends—also one of my best students this year.”

Maddie watched helplessly as Eleanor fell into a heap in her desk chair, her face ashen from the news. “I can’t believe it,” she exclaimed. “I won’t believe it.” Adamantly, Eleanor made defiant fists with her delicate hands and looked as if she wanted to pound something.

“I’m sorry, Maddie,” she said, finally getting up from her chair. “I need to get to the bottom of this. I know both Emily and Jimmy, and I know she would never want to hurt him, let alone kill him.” She paused to take a breath before continuing. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go down to the station to see what’s going on.”

“Would you like for me to come with?” Maddie offered.

“Would you?” she asked almost pleadingly. “The poor girl must be terrified. I could really use your help with this one.”

“Not a problem,” Maddie answered.

“Let me just make a few phone calls to find out where she’s being processed.”

W
alking
into the Rockcrest Cove police department brought back lots of memories for Maddie. She had been here several times before and could totally relate to what poor Emily was going through. In fact, she knew exactly what was going through the young girl’s mind, because she had been suspected of such a heinous crime herself.

This time things were different for Maddie. For one thing, Chief Connors was gone and she could start fresh with the new chief. Even walking in, she noticed a difference in the demeanor of the staff. They were smiling, laughing, and they all seemed to be less stressed. Up until that point, it had never occurred to her that Connors’s overbearing attitude was also putting stress on the force as well. The place seemed brighter and more open to outsiders coming in.

Eleanor walked in and approached the same front desk Maddie had been to several times before in order to get the information she needed about how to find Emily. After chatting with the desk sergeant for a few minutes, she returned to where Maddie was waiting.

“He says we’ll have to wait a minute until someone comes out to walk us back there.”

“All right,” Maddie answered and looked around for a couple of empty seats. They sat silently while they waited, each completely immersed in their own thoughts, Maddie thinking about the many times she had been in the station herself and Eleanor with her own memories coming to mind.

The wait wasn’t long though. A female officer came out after only a few minutes and asked them to come with her. They followed her down a hallway and through a series of doors that led to a small interview room. They each took a seat at a small table with a single chair on one side and two chairs on the other.

“Wait here,” she said and exited the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Maddie looked around the small room, taking note of the camera mounted in the corner near the ceiling and the two-way glass that looked like a mirror on their side. She knew right away that while they were going to be left alone with Emily, they were definitely going to be watched.

Emily was escorted into the room, her hands and feet bound together so that she could barely place one foot in front of the other, her eyes wide from fear and streaks of dried tears running down the sides of her face. Her small frame didn’t even look strong enough to hold up the chains that bound her.

Eleanor made a gasp of exasperation. “Ah come on,” she shouted at the two-way mirror. “Are you guys really serious here?” she said, gesturing to the extreme measures that had been taken. “Let’s get these things off her.”

A voice came out of nowhere. “It’s the procedure for prison suspects.”

“Seriously? Look at the girl. She weighs ninety-eight pounds soaking wet! Do you mean to tell me that all these big bad officers can’t handle this little girl?”

There was silence from behind the wall. Eleanor didn’t move. After what seemed like an interminably long period of time, the female officer returned with a set of keys and removed Emily’s shackles.

“Thanks,” Emily said softly, nursing her wrists, which were a little bruised from the treatment.

Eleanor’s face softened as she studied the girl. “Sit down, Emily,” Eleanor said, “and tell us what happened.”

They all took their seats and looked at each other. Emily wiped away a runaway tear from her cheek and started to speak.

“I didn’t do it,” she blurted before a full shower of tears began to fall. “I swear I didn’t know anything about what happened to Jimmy until the police showed up at my door,” she protested between sobs. “He was fine when I left him,” she howled, burying her face in her hands.

Eleanor put a soothing hand on her shoulder. “I know you, Emily, and I believe you. And we’re going to do everything we can to get you out of here.”

Emily just nodded her head silently as she accepted the encouragement.

“But we have to work together to figure out what really happened. Do you think you can answer a few questions for us?”

“Sure,” she said, wiping away another flood of tears.

“This is my friend, Maddie MacDougal. She has helped with quite a few cases like this one, so I brought her along to help you.”

Emily gave a slight glance up at Maddie and gave her a soft nod of the head. “How do you do?” she said out of politeness.

“Pleased to meet you, Emily. Eleanor has been telling me so much about you. I understand you’re one of her star pupils.”

Emily didn’t answer. The bow of her head told Maddie that she felt she didn’t deserve that kind of honor at the moment.

“Jimmy was my friend. I would never hurt him,” she insisted

“Were you very good friends?” Maddie asked.

“Yes. The best. We were pretty much on the same level in class, so we bonded almost from the first time we met.”

“So, you knew him well then.”

“Better than anyone else in the school.”

“So you would know if anyone had any intentions of causing him harm then.”

“I suppose so, but I really have no idea.”

“Okay,” Maddie said, realizing that the questions were very hard for Emily to answer. “Let’s talk about something else then. Can you tell us how you two became friends?”

“Um, yes,” she answered, wiping away another tear.

Eleanor reached into her handbag and pulled out a small packet of tissues and handed them to Emily. Gratefully, she took it, thankful to not have to continue using the sleeve of her prison garb.

“Um, we met on the first day of school, but we didn’t become friends until we had to work together on a mock trial case in class.”

A small smile forced its way to the corners of Eleanor’s mouth. It was the kind of assignment that gave her students the best taste of what criminal justice was all about. It never failed to produce a readjustment in the thinking of her students. They always started classes thinking they had all the answers, but once the mock trial was over, they all generally had to refocus their thought process and consider other issues they had never thought about before.

Emily continued. “We had to work together as a legal team to defend our client. It was especially hard because we were forced to defend a client we believed was guilty. We found out that even though we came from entirely different backgrounds, we thought a lot alike. After that we became fast friends, and we did almost everything together.” For the first time since she’d come into the room, she raised her head almost as if in defiance. “I would never think about hurting Jimmy, let alone killing him. He was like a brother to me.”

They talked and chatted for at least an hour with Emily constantly defending her innocence. It was clear that Emily had no idea what had happened to her friend and was quite distraught about the whole affair.

“Don’t worry, Emily,” Eleanor encouraged her. “We’re going to do everything in our power to get you out of here and get these ridiculous charges dropped. And with Maddie helping, we’ll find enough evidence to get you out of here.”

Emily looked at the two women with pleading eyes. By now she had no more tears to spill, but the pain and fear were still very clear in her eyes.

Back in the lobby of the police station, the two women chat briefly.

“Eleanor, I want to go and have a word with the new police chief about this case. We need to know what reason they have for charging her with the crime.”

“Good idea. I’m going to head back to school to speak with some of the students before they all leave for the holidays. I’ll call you later.”

Maddie was directed to Chief Willis’s office. It was the same as Chief Connors, but it looked entirely different. He sat behind a mountain of paperwork on his desk and only looked up once she began to speak.

“Chief Willis.”

His face showed surprise. “Ms. MacDougal. What a surprise. I said you could come by anytime, but I didn’t think you would come by so soon!”

“Trust me, I didn’t think I would be by so soon either. But it just so happens that there’s a case I need your help with.”

“Let me guess,” he said. “The Emily Winston case.”

“How did you know?”

“Simple logic, I guess. Emily is Eleanor’s student, you’re Eleanor’s friend. Who else would she turn to?”

Maddie gave him a complimentary smile. It was going to be a lot easier working with this chief, and he was going to be a nice breath of fresh air for her.

“You’re absolutely right. So, I wonder if you could give me any information about the case,” she started. “I’d like to know why she’s being charged and what evidence you have against her.”

Willis reached across his desk and tossed a file folder in Maddie’s direction. “I’m already on it.” He smiled playfully. “This is what I’ve collected so far, but my investigative team is still out in the field. Why don’t the three of us meet sometime tomorrow to discuss the case together?”

“Sounds good,” Maddie agreed. “How about lunch?”

Willis reached over and pressed a buzzer on his desk. Within seconds a police officer entered the room. “Carter, can you please schedule me a lunch with Ms. MacDougal for tomorrow?” He turned his attention back to Maddie. “Where would you like to meet?”

I
t had been
a long day full of unexpected events, starting with the surprise visit from Chief Willis and escalating from there. While Maddie went about her business as usual, her thoughts were drifting constantly to the young Emily Winston and her plight.

While she was inclined to believe that the young girl did not have the strength or fortitude to commit such a crime, she knew that she would have to collect some evidence to prove the young girl’s innocence. Right now, all she had working for her was a strong hunch. She returned home with Astoria following right on her heels. The young cat seemed to instinctively know that Maddie was involved in another case.

As Maddie walked her floor in deep thought, Astoria seemed to be contemplating the situation as well. “What do you think, Astoria?” she asked.

The cat looked up at her with doleful eyes and uttered a soft meow as an answer. Maddie simply patted her feline friend on the head. “Me too. Me too. But how do we prove it?”

She was just about to walk into her kitchen when the she heard the sound of the doorbell, followed by a soft knock. She glanced at the clock. It was already nine thirty and she had been up since four this morning. “Who could that be?” she asked and went to peek out the window.

Eleanor was still dressed in the same clothes she had been wearing at work that morning when she’d gotten the call. Alarmed, Maddie let her friend inside. Clearly she was more distressed than usual with the day’s turn of events. She rushed into the house as soon as the door was opened.

“Maddie, you have to help her,” she started. “One thing I know is my students. And I know that Emily would never do something like this, and certainly not to Jimmy. The two go together like fish and water.” She said all of those things in one single breath.

Maddie watched her long-time companion and could not think of any time in the past when she had seen Eleanor so distraught. “Of course we’re going to help her,” Maddie said, placing a comforting hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Let’s sit down and talk about it.”

Eleanor settled down in Maddie’s living room, a glass of wine in her hand and her feet curled up under her, finally able to relax after the day’s events. Astoria, taking advantage of a good thing, saw the chance to find a new comfortable place to lie down had curled up into a ball on her lap with Eleanor absent mindedly stroking her soft fur.

The two seemed content together, and Maddie resisted the impulse to scold Astoria and make her get down. She could see that the cat was giving Eleanor a means of soothing her nerves, so she allowed her to stay.

Draining the last of her wine, Eleanor looked over at her friend as she approached with a tray of her favorite pastries. In her opinion, Maddie’s treats were the best comfort food you could have. The yummy gooeyness just seemed to melt in your mouth. Astoria was clearly irritated when she reached for a muffin, and she let out a rather unpleasant hiss. Eleanor was disturbing her well-deserved rest. When Eleanor settled back into a comfortable position, Astoria was once again contented and she curled up again.

“Eleanor,” Maddie started, setting the tray on the table between them, “tell me about Jimmy, will you?”

Eleanor’s eyes glossed over for a second. “Oh, Jimmy was by far one of my most favorite students. He was definitely dedicated to his studies and was always prepared. But he wasn’t so into it that he forgot to be a real human being, you know?” She smiled inwardly as she thought back about the students in her class.

“Do you know if he had money problems or anything like that?”

“Oh not Jimmy, no,” she answered. “He comes from a pretty well-to-do family and money was never an issue for him. In fact, he was in line to become a third generation lawyer in a few years. There is no way he would have been killed for money problems.”

Astoria was getting irritated with Eleanor’s opening up and talking. She pulled up on her haunches and gave Eleanor a playful swap to silence her.

“Astoria!” Maddie scolded. “Stop that, you naughty girl.” She reached over and pulled the unhappy cat from Eleanor’s lap and placed her on the floor. “Well, what about someone killing him for money?”

Eleanor mused about the possibility. “I suppose there would be someone in the family that would know more about that.” She kicked her feet out as Astoria tried to reclaim her perch in her lap, scratching at the side of the sofa. “But I doubt it. Jimmy was pretty well liked by just about everyone who knew him. He was friends with pretty much anyone that took the time to get to know him.”

Maddie sat back in her seat and thought for a moment. “Well, he wasn’t friends with everyone, because someone had a problem with him, something serious enough to kill him for it.”

“That’s true.”

“There has to be something we’re missing,” Maddie commented. “Something that would give us a clue as to why someone would do this.”

“I don’t know, Maddie,” Eleanor said silently. “A lot of people loved Jimmy. He was so outgoing and friendly, always goofing around with his friends. His sense of humor was infectious. It didn’t take long for you to just fall in love with him once you got to know him.”

“What about someone who didn’t really get to know him?”

Eleanor sat back and thought for a minute about Maddie’s question. Jimmy was a favored student not just among the teachers, but the students also had learned to love him. Maddie noticed a fleeting sign of recognition as it crossed her face. “Well, there was this one student,” she said, thinking out loud, “who seemed to have a problem with Jimmy. No one knew why, but he was always getting into Jimmy’s face and arguing with him about something.” Eleanor made a scoffing sound. “Jimmy just turned whatever he said into a joke, and that would just make him madder.”

“Who was this student?” Maddie asked.

“Um, his name was Anthony Carvone. He’s a first year law student.”

“First year?” Maddie confirmed. “Then he wouldn’t have even been in Jimmy’s class.”

“No. He wasn’t one of my students. But he was always hanging around because his sister is in the same class with Jimmy.”

“What about his sister? How was she with Jimmy?”

“Maria? She was all right. A little too competitive if you ask me. She was vying for a spot on the Academic Club, but other than that she was a pretty nice kid.

Maddie put her glass of wine down on the table. “Well, Eleanor, there must be something we’re missing. Your Jimmy sounds like a saint who everyone loved.”

“He was,” Eleanor agreed.

“But people don’t kill people they love. Someone had it in for Jimmy, and they wanted him gone for some reason.”

Eleanor made a start and she jumped in her seat. Her sudden movement sent Astoria scampering to the other side of the room. “Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed. “I totally forgot about something I had to do today.”

Maddie set down her plate with nothing left but a few crumbs, mere remnants of the treats Eleanor loved. “Oh?” she said, surprised.

“I’m so sorry, Maddie,” Eleanor said getting up from her seat. “I really do have to go. Thank you so much for the conversation and the comfort.”

“All right,” Maddie said, her voice showing a little alarm at Eleanor’s sudden change. “But we’ll see each other tomorrow, won’t we?”

“Yes, of course,” Eleanor agreed. “Jimmy’s funeral is tomorrow. We’ll see each other then.”

Grabbing her bag, Eleanor took off in a hurry. Maddie stood at the door watching her friend leave, even more concerned than she had been before. She couldn’t help feeling that Eleanor was not telling her everything about Jimmy or the students in her class, and an uneasiness was beginning to overwhelm her about the whole case.

The funeral was held at the Rockcrest Cove Mortuary, which sat on the top of the hill looking down over the small town. It was a beautiful setting with a majestic view of the surrounding mountains and the river meandering through them in the distance. It was the perfect spot for someone’s final resting place. When Maddie arrived, the place was already packed with both students and faculty, all separated into small groups and reminiscing about their interactions with young Jimmy. A coffin was set up in the front of the room for those who wished to view the body before interment. Always feeling uncomfortable about viewings, Maddie choose to stay in the main lobby where most of the guests were waiting for the service to start. This way she could mill about the room and catch a few snatches of conversations about Jimmy.

True to Eleanor’s words, all the comments about him were highly complimentary. Everyone there remembered him fondly, and she heard not one negative comment about the man during the entire time she milled about the room. The man must have been a saint
,
she thought to herself, and she wondered if anyone would remember her so favorably when her time came.

Suddenly the quiet hum of conversation changed and a buzz of hushed whispers were being uttered as people’s gazes traveled toward the main entrance to the mortuary. Maddie’s eyes followed the direction of pointed fingers to see her friend Eleanor standing in the front doorway with Emily by her side. The young girl looked extremely nervous and fearful as Eleanor escorted her inside.

Maddie quickly got over her shock and came to stand on Emily’s other side, escorting the young girl to the auditorium where she could view her friend’s body. Both Eleanor and Maddie stood in the back of the room to allow her some alone time with the body, and they chatted quietly.

Eleanor turned to Maddie and answered her questioning eyes. “Yes,” she said. “I bailed her out.”

“Really?” Maddie asked. “You’re that convinced she didn’t do it.”

“Yes, I am” Eleanor answered, a little defiance in her voice. “She’s going to stay with me until this matter is settled.”

Maddie looked around the room at all the guests who were now filing into the room for the service. They all stared at young Emily standing over Jimmy’s coffin, her silent tears falling unbidden from her eyes. She listened intently for any sign or comment that would give her a clue, but still nothing was said that would even remotely implicate anyone else in the whole affair. This was going to be one of her most frustrating cases. Before, the victims had usually had something about them that other people didn’t like that left a trail to follow, but with Jimmy, it wasn’t that way. Everyone liked him, and Emily too it seemed. Exasperated, she found a seat for all of them directly behind the family, and Eleanor went and retrieved Emily so the service could start.

The minister spoke of Jimmy’s great educational achievements, his athletic prowess, and his sharp intellect. His words were well chosen and elicited a few chuckles and laughter from those that knew him well. By the time he had finished, Maddie felt like she really had gotten to know the young man, and she felt a little sad that she had never had the opportunity to do so before then.

“Now,” the minister was saying, “I’d like to open the floor to anyone who would like to say a few words about Jimmy before we close the ceremony.”

A few hands went up in the audience. The minister pointed to a young brunette girl sitting near them. The girl stood up, holding a small piece of paper in her trembling hands, and approached the podium. Her face, while made up beautifully, was pale and colorless. Her eyes looked swollen, obviously from the tears she had been shedding. Maddie noticed a bit of tension come into Emily’s body as her eyes followed the young woman down the aisle and to the podium. Taking a sideways glance at her, she noticed she was suddenly sitting rigid, with her hands balled up into tiny fists as if she wanted to pound something.

Clearing her throat, the young woman placed her paper on the podium and began to speak.

“My name is Maria Carvone. Jimmy and I have been friends ever since we enrolled in class together two years ago.” She paused and looked around the room, studying the faces of all in the audience. Her eyes found Emily, and Maddie thought she sensed a bit of anger cross her face.

“Jimmy and I were inseparable, even though others often tried to come between us. They didn’t understand the true nature of our friendship and all that we meant to each other.” She smiled a little bit, keeping her gaze fixed on Emily.

“We have suffered a terrible loss, and Jimmy’s leaving has left us feeling empty and heartbroken, but I’m sure that wherever he is, he is looking down on us fondly, telling his many jokes, teasing us, cajoling us, and whatever else he can think of to make this day a bit more pleasant and bearable. Because we know that if it had been anyone else, Jimmy would be the one person to help us find a way to cope with the pain we’re all feeling right now. That’s the kind of guy he was.”

She continued her speech, sharing a few humorous antics about what life was like when the world had Jimmy, eliciting a few appreciative chuckles in the process. After she finished, she was rewarded with a healthy round of applause and numerous pats on the back for her efforts. Emily did not join in. Maddie could feel the heat from her anger and hostility toward Maria and wondered if there may have been a secret between the three of them that no one else knew about.

When the service was over, Eleanor decided to take Emily home and away from the crowd, where she could cope better. Maddie decided to stay behind to find out more about the “best friend” Maria.

The repast that followed was a full crowd. Again, the comments about Jimmy were very favorable, and sadness seemed to overwhelm the crowd en masse. Maria stood in the center of the room, where people continually came up to congratulate her on her wonderful speech. She accepted the praise graciously and seemed quite happy with the recognition. In fact, to Maddie, it seemed that she relished in the attention.

She followed the young girl around the room, observing her closely. Maria was a pretty, petite young lady with soft features that made you think of a China doll, but there must be another side to her, Maddie reasoned. The response that Emily had had to the young girl was not something to take lightly. There was clearly no love lost between them, and Maddie was determined to find out what it was. Standing at the table where the refreshments were served, she noticed two young girls in the crowd watching her closely and decided to join them.