Maddie's Recipe Of Mysteries (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Ten

The three sat and discussed the case well into the evening. It seemed that they had reached an impasse. Nothing was moving forward. Not only were they unable to come up with a few reasons that could convince Nolan Madeline wasn’t a viable suspect, but they also were unable to provide an alternative suspect. As long as Nolan was unwilling to look at anyone else, it was evident that Madeline would be persona non grata in his eyes.

“I know what we have to do,” Bailey announced.

Madeline looked at her granddaughter and recognized that firm determination in her eyes.

“We have to root out the killer.”

“What do you mean?”

“We need to do something to force his hand, force him to expose himself.”

“That’s a mighty big plan, Bailey,” Kyle said. “Considering we don’t know who the killer is.”

“Well, we have some pretty good ideas,” Bailey countered. “I’m pretty sure that one of these people on our list is the killer”

She waved her hand at her opened computer screen.

“All we need to do is to get them to think we suspect them. They’ll be forced to do something to cover their tracks.”

Kyle stared at Bailey and Madeline for a long while. He was worried that the women were getting in over their heads. This was not some petty crime they were trying to solve. They were trying to find someone who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.

“Maybe we should hold back a bit,” he said, trying to subtly backpedal to distract them from the case.

“Hold back?” Madeline said.

“Not when my head is on the chopping block.” She turned her full gaze on Kyle.

“Listen, I know that you’re concerned about what could happen, but frankly, I’m getting tired of my little trysts with Nolan,” she said with no little frustration.

“I want this whole affair to be over before it ruins my business.”

“I understand,” Kyle said, trying to assuage her. “But I just think it’s too risky at this point.”

“What do you suggest?” Bailey asked.

“I think we should take everything we’ve put together and pass it on to a private detective,” he suggested. “Let them take it from here.”

Madeline thought that Kyle had a point, but she wasn’t willing to put her trust in another stranger. She wanted to keep her hand in the mix.

“Let’s try one more thing before we do that,” she suggested.

“What’s that?” Kyle asked.

“Well, let’s see. Who do we suspect so far?”

Bailey referred to her copious notes. “Well, we have Evan Foster. He’s obviously the one that Emma had been feeding your secrets to. Then we have Kelsey Bryson, the mayor’s wife.

And of course, we also have a list of men who’ve been reported to have slept with her and then been blackmailed into giving her financial support.”

“All right,” Madeline said, stopping her. “Let’s start with the most likely suspect. The one we have the most evidence on.”

“That would be Evan Foster.”

“But from what you ladies told me, he didn’t seem like a potential suspect when you went to visit him.

“Yeah, but he admitted that he and Emma had had a recent falling out.”

“I admit that the theory has legs, but we need more proof. That’s the same argument Nolan has against you.”

Madeline got up from her chair, engrossed in thought.

“Why don’t we sweeten the pot just a bit?” she said.

“Dangle a carrot in front of him and see if he’ll take the bait.”

“I don’t know,” Kyle began to protest. “It’s sounds too risky.”

“Listen, when you see Evan, you’ll see how much of a pussycat he really is,” Madeline assured him.

“Let’s just try this one thing, and if it doesn’t pan out, we’ll call an investigator.”

She made an X across her chest with her index finger and then held up her right hand with the palm facing Kyle.

“Cross my heart.”

She gave him an innocent smile. “Besides, what’s he gonna do if all three of us are there?”

Kyle reluctantly agreed to the plan, and the three of them put their heads together to try to develop a strategy that would force Evan’s hand.

The three of them entered Evan’s shop and took a spot in a corner booth, where they could have a good vantage point to see the rest of the store. Evan was behind the counter, but he gave them a friendly wave when they entered, clearly elated to see them again. The store was not as busy today as it was the other day, which was the way Madeline had planned it. She didn’t want a lot of people around just in case things went wrong.

Evan approached the table as soon as he got a minute free. He turned the register over to Rachel and came and joined the trio.

“Wow,” he said. “I never thought I’d see you again so soon.”

“Well, Evan,” Madeline started,

“I must confess, this is not at all a social call. In fact, I have a little business proposition for you.”

Evan’s eyes narrowed into an inquisitive slant. “With you?” he asked. “I’m intrigued.”

“Well, not here,” Madeline said. “Can you stop by my store, tomorrow after closing?”

She could tell that Evan’s curiosity was peaked.

“Of course,” he said.

“But I’m afraid we stay open kind of late these days.” He thought for a minute.

“Maybe I could leave Rachel in charge for a while.”

“Well, we close at around five every day. How about you come by at around five thirty, six?”

Evan gave her a wide grin. “It’s a date.”

He handed the trio a bag of treats before they left. It was apparent that he was quite ecstatic at the prospect of a business relationship with Madeline.

Evan proved to be extremely punctual, arriving at the store at precisely five thirty. He was clearly eager to find out what Madeline had to say. She ushered him into her back office, where Bailey was already waiting. Bailey gave him a friendly greeting and gestured for him to take a seat across from Madeline’s desk.

“I have to admit, Madeline,” Evan started, “that I could hardly sleep last night thinking of the possibility of joining forces with you on a new business venture.”

“Well, Evan, my proposition is not anything as grand as that.

“Oh really?” He looked a little disappointed. “Then what is it?”

Bailey rose from her seat and walked over to Evan and tossed the little red notebook onto the desk in front of him. “It’s this,” she said.

Evan’s face clouded over as he looked at the book. Confused, he stared at it as though he wasn’t sure if it would bite him or not.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Why don’t you tell us?” Bailey said, her tone switching from slippery sweet to cutting.

Surprised, Evan gingerly picked up the book and turned it over in his hands. “I don’t know what it is.”

“Open it,” Madeline said. “Look inside.”

He opened it, and the surprise that ran across his face was genuine. After only a few seconds of flipping through the pages, he said,

“These are all the ideas that Emma gave me for my store.”

“Correction,” Madeline countered. “Those are all the ideas that Emma stole from me and gave to you for your store.”

Evan’s mouth flew open. He was appalled at the accusation. “What are you trying to say?” he questioned, obviously hurt.

“Well, Evan, I’d like you to take a walk around my store and tell me if you see anything familiar about it.”

“Why would you want me to do that?” he asked.

Madeline rose from her seat. “I insist,” she said. “My attorney, Kyle, will escort you.”

Kyle appeared in the doorway precisely on cue, standing erect and buttoning up his jacket with an air of sophistication.

“Go on,” Madeline said. She waved her hands in front of him as if to send away a small child. “Shoo. Shoo. I’ll be here when you get back.”

Evan thought about refusing, but one look at Kyle standing there looking like the mafia made him think twice. He rose and followed Kyle around the store.

A few minutes later, the two men returned, and Evan’s face was distraught. “I don’t understand,” he commented.

“My store has been here for more than ten years now, and as you can see, Evan, all the ideas you got from Emma were stolen from me.”

“What are you saying?” he asked. “Are you implying that Emma and I had some arrangement to steal your business?”

“That’s exactly what I’m implying,” Madeline continued.

“But something happened between you two and she threatened to expose you as a fraud.”

“What?”

“So, you lured her over here, set a trap, and killed her in my store so that I would get framed for it.”

Evan’s face evolved from shock to horror. He was appalled that the woman he had such high esteem for would believe such a thing. He spread his hands out in front of him as if to plead for her to understand.

“Madeline,” he said, “you know me. We’ve been friends for so long. How could you think this of me?”

“Evan, it is obvious from this book that Emma was stealing from me and feeding you my ideas. Are you saying that you knew nothing about it?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m saying,” he said defiantly. His voice was beginning to tremble a little.

“I didn’t know she was stealing from you. I swear!” he said with a little more trembling and a sniffle to add to it.

Madeline and Bailey sat horrified as they watched the man crumble right before their eyes. They were shocked when they saw a tear start to form, and they began to have second thoughts about their accusation.

“Maddie,” he said, “you know I’ve always admired and respected you. How could you think of me in this way? I’m just a poor kid that grew up in a string of foster homes. I know what it’s like to build something from scratch and to make something out of nothing like you did.  If it wasn’t for my Mama Betty and you, then my successes would all have likely been failures. She was the only one who took the time to teach me how to be a decent human being. I swore I would never do anything that would disappoint her in any way.” He stopped speaking to sniffle a little bit more.

“You always reminded me of her, Maddie. That’s why I always looked up to you.”

Madeline and Bailey both looked on, speechless. They weren’t sure if they were watching a well-rehearsed performance or were observing the real man.

Evan continued. “I often shared my fondest memories of our times together at culinary school. I always told Rachel about them and the fun times we had.”

He smiled a little, more to himself than those who were looking on. Kyle rolled his eyes and decided to excuse himself from seeing any more.

“I’m sorry, Evan,” Madeline said. “I was clearly mistaken, and I apologize profusely.”

Bailey looked at her grandmother in stunned silence.