Maddie's Gift of Mystery (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 5) Read Free Page A

“You know me, Maddie,” she said. “I just didn’t want to be sitting by myself as the sole judge and jury of these poor students.” She leaned a little across the table. “To be perfectly honest, the poor students are sweating bullets right now.”
    “I can imagine. I remember a few of my exams in school; they weren’t the most pleasant of experiences.”
    “This is their midterm exam. Imagine how they felt when I announced this morning that they were going to be serving the famous Maddie MacDougal, the town’s most prominent chef.”
    “Oh don’t be ridiculous.”
    “No really. Watch when they come back in with your drinks and to take your order. They’re faces are almost white with fear.”
    Maddie made a gossipy sort of gasp. “No.”
    “Yes,” Eleanor proudly chirped. “So, go easy on them, will you?”
    “Hmmm. Pretty sage advice coming for a legal professor.”
    The two women giggled like schoolgirls and fell into an easy conversation about the good old days when they were in the same place as the aspiring students were now. By the time lunch had come to a close and they had filled out their assessment cards, they both felt as if the years since had never happened. They were laughing hysterically about the antics of one of their classmates when they were interrupted by Eleanor’s cell phone.
    Letting out a sigh of exasperation, she said, “Just when I was about to forget how busy my life has become since then. Excuse me a minute.” She reached into her bag to answer it.
    “Hello? Oh hi, Emily. Are you about ready to start your holiday celebrating?”
    Maddie watched as the twinkle in her friend’s eyes slowly faded away and was replaced by a cold sternness. Deep creases in her brow quickly replaced the brightness in her face, and the corners of her mouth began to tense up as her lips pressed together in an attempt to contain her composure.
    “All right, Emily,” she said. “Calm down. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll come down there right now and take care of everything.”
    Maddie didn’t wait for her to tell her what had happened. As soon as she had ended the call, she asked. “Ellie, what is it?”
    “It’s Emily Winston.”
    “Who’s that?”
    “Emily is one of my best law students. I told you about her before.”
    “Oh yes. You said she was the one that showed the most promise for a solid future in law.”
    “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.”

Chapter 2
    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