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

paper for herself and reread everything Willis had just stated. “I don’t believe this,” she said, handing the file to Maddie.
    “I’m sorry, ladies, but as far as I can tell, Emily places herself there at the time of his death. And others also saw her with him that same night. All the pieces fit, and unless you can serve me up another suspect, I don’t know what else we can do.”
    He seemed sincerely apologetic.
    “Except,” Maddie interjected, “according to this report, the cause of death was by suffocation.”
    “And?”
    “Well, you’ve seen Emily. She’s about half the size of Jimmy on a good day. Do you really think it could be physically possible to restrain him while smothering him at the same time? Even if he had been drinking as much as he had been, he was an athlete. He could’ve easily overpowered her.”
    Willis was a pretty astute man and was not about to say anything until he knew which direction the conversation was taking. “What are you trying to say?”
    “Isn’t it possible that someone could have been waiting in his house when Emily brought him home?”
    “I suppose that’s possible, but I’ve seen no evidence of that. There’s no sign of forced entry or anything like that. And according to Emily, he was in no condition to let anyone in the house.”
    “But you’re also missing another vital piece of evidence against Emily.”
    “What’s that?”
    “A motive. What would Emily have to gain from killing him?”
    “There are times when the motive is not always evident in the beginning,” Willis stated.” It usually comes out later in the investigation.”
    “They were good friends. Had been that way for several years.”
    “That’s true.”
    “There has to be more to this that we’re missing,” Maddie said, more to herself than to anyone else. “What about that girl, Maria?”
    “Oh Maria,” Eleanor started. “A bright student to say the least.”
    “I was watching her at the service this morning. She seemed pretty happy to be the center of attention.”
    “That’s Maria for you,” Eleanor said. “Sometimes the only reason I think she took up criminal justice was because she could attract attention to herself.”
    “So that’s her nature then?”
    “Pretty much.”
    They left the diner not having come to any real concrete conclusions about what had happened to Jimmy. Maddie had mixed feelings about the young woman, Emily. She was pretty good at assessing people only after a few minutes, and she just didn’t get the feeling that the girl was capable of such a thing, either emotionally or physically. Add to that that there was no real motive for her to do it either. She had nothing to gain whatsoever from Jimmy’s death. On the other hand, she was there at the time of death, and there were no one else that could explain what had happened. This was going to be much more difficult than she had ever thought it would be.

Chapter 4
    T he next morning , Maddie was up early and at work in her bakery. It was unusually busy, but she loved it; it was the time when she got her best thinking done. She hadn’t slept much that night, thinking about poor Emily and the case. She wasn’t usually so invested in someone she didn’t know, and she supposed that much of her concern stemmed from Eleanor’s adamant support of the young girl.
    The constant flow of customers kept her mind sharp as she slipped into her routine. She rarely spent any time in the front of the store now, opting to let her employees handle that while she squirreled away in the kitchen making all sorts of delicious delectables. Among the dusting of flour over the counter, the smell of baked pastries, and all the work that had to be done, it was easy to meditate when she didn’t have to have direct interaction with all of those who were around her. The time went by quickly, and before she knew it, the rush was over and the flow of orders began to settle down.
    “Astoria,” she said finally, “you