Dying for the Truth (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 4) Read Free Page B

been a few changes since the sixties. You may want to read up on it.”
     
    Connors looked up, speechless as he tried to find the right response to Kyle’s retort.
     
    “Maddie, you’re coming with us.”
     
    Maddie rose from her seat, relieved to see her friends come through once again for her. The four of them walked out the door, leaving Connors standing in the middle of his empty interrogation room with his mouth agape.

Chapter Three
     
    Moments later, the group found themselves on the steps outside of the police department. A nervous chuckle escaped Maddie’s throat, and finally she found her voice and her strength again.
     
    “I’m glad to be out of there,” she said as she breathed a sigh of relief.
     
    “I don’t get it,” Bailey added. “Why would they think you’ve killed Evan Foster?”
     
    “Well, apparently he was poisoned and someone used one of my Pink Passion cupcakes to do it.”
     
    “So, who would have given Evan your cupcake?” Bailey said, thinking out loud.
     
    “That’s not the question you should be asking,” Kyle interjected. “The real question is who would want to kill Evan in the first place.” He stopped for a minute. “I know you don’t care much for Connors and his tactics,” he said to Bailey and Maddie, “but he has drawn some pretty reasonable conclusions here. First, you’ve been long-time rivals; it was one of your cupcakes that poisoned him; and you were seen outside his bakery less than an hour before he died.”
     
    Maddie took Kyle’s words with a little trepidation. For the first time she felt genuinely concerned. “Do you really think he has a solid case against me?” she questioned.
     
    “Of course not,” Eleanor interjected. “As far as I can see, it’s all circumstantial. A good defense can punch holes in his theory in an instant.”
     
    “True that,” Kyle agreed. “As far as I can tell, you don’t have a thing to worry about.”
     
    “Well, he did warn me not to leave town.”
     
    “That’s just a standard warning in case you might decide to skip town,” Eleanor said.
     
    “Where would I go?” Maddie asked. “All of my friends are here.”
     
    “And family,” Bailey offered.
     
    “And family,” Maddie agreed. The two locked eyes for just a moment before Maddie blinked and decided to get back to the business at hand. “Well, the situation is far from over,” she told her group. “And I need to have a plan to work on my defense. Why don’t we all meet at the bakery to discuss what I should do?”
     
    “Sounds like a plan,” Kyle agreed. “The sooner the better.”
     
    “I just need to tie up a few loose ends at school,” Eleanor added. “How about we meet in about two hours?”
     
    They all agreed, and Kyle and Eleanor left and went their separate ways while Maddie and Bailey left together to head directly to the bakery.
     
    “You know, Bailey,” Maddie said as the two walked toward Bailey’s car, “this whole thing feels oddly familiar. It wasn’t too long ago when I was faced with the same accusation when Emma was murdered.”
     
    “I know,” Bailey concurred. “I remember that. And if I’m not mistaken, it was Connors who was behind that accusation as well.”
     
    “Yep. That man has been the bane of my existence ever since the day we first met,” Maddie complained.
     
    “Kinda like déjà vu, don’t you think?”
     
    “Mmm hmmm.”
     
    The two walk together in silence, contemplating the need for them to launch their own investigation into Evan’s death.
     
    Two hours later, the four of them were sitting together in Maddie’s back office. Astoria was clearly perturbed at the change in her routine and was meowing loudly by the door as if to tell the intruders it was time to leave.
     
    “Hush, Astoria,” Maddie reprimanded, but her feline friend refused to accept the situation that had been thrust upon her. Leaping into Maddie’s arms, she turned and looked defiantly at the