But amid all the fracas, Madeline managed to maintain calm. She knew that she was innocent, and that was her going to be her stand all along. If there was a big problem with whatever they were saying about her creation, then it was nothing but a misunderstanding. And just like her mother always told her, misunderstandings always got resolved as soon as humanly possible.
And the thought of the truth always coming out managed to calm her down for a moment. She knew that it was going to resolve itself at the end of the day, and that was something that she was going to ensure it happens.
The cell was a little bit cold. And since Madeline was so used to spending hours in a heated up kitchen, it was torture. But the fact that she knew that she was being framed made her stay as cool as a cucumber that entire time. She wasn’t going to allow this minor problem define who the heck she was.
A scrawny police officer sauntered through the door and went straight to the cell. She was carrying some hot coffee and, quite ironically, some of the pastries that came from one of their new bakeries. She smiled at Madeline and gave her the food and then turned around with the intention of walking away. But Madeline had to stop her. She needed to know on what grounds she had been arrested and put under a rest.
“Excuse me. I am sorry for interrupting you. But is it possible for me to know what I’m arrested for committing? They just brought me here and locked me up. They even turned my request down to getting a good lawyer since they are somehow afraid that things might go south sooner or later when they find that I’m wrongfully arrested. So please, from one woman to the other, I need you to fill me in. Please.”
The police officer just looked at her and sneered. And once she was done sizing Madeline up, she did a U-turn and matched through the front door of the cells and poof, she was gone. This incident wasn’t adding up. Some things just weren’t adding up. And Madeline felt as though her rights were being violated at that particular time.
She told them a million times that she needed to have a lawyer present, a request that they turned down without even thinking twice about it. If her limited knowledge of the law served her right, then it simply meant that they were violating her rights as a human being. And that wasn’t how police officers were supposed to behave.
Lots of things weren’t adding up. For instance, how on earth would they accuse her of food poisoning using a secret recipe that had been used for generations without making people sick? Then when she is arrested, no police officer is willing to tell her the full details of why she had been arrested. Also, Madeline’s arrest was done publically. And if anything, that was meant to discredit her from the public that she had worked so hard to put a smile on.
Madeline tried to put each piece together and finally, she knew that someone was out to get her. But that kind of realization didn’t bring her any form of relief. For instance, she had no clue about any person who would want to bring her and her business down. Madeline was the kind of person who brewed feuds everywhere she went. On the contrary, she always loved making peace at all times.
The other reason this unfortunate issue might have hit her would have been because she was gaining new competitors. And thanks to her recent success in the pastry baking business, there seemed to be quite some people who were clearly not so happy with how she was carrying herself. Nobody liked anyone who kept on winning. And in the end, they were going to ensure that she paid for always winning.
But once again, it was difficult for Madeline to figure out just which kind of enemy was going after her since to be honest, there are thousands of pastry bakers across the country and to make matters worse, she didn’t know any of them. And that just brought her back to square one.
Madeline felt devastated. At that point, it felt as though her world had come crumbling down, and she didn’t have anyone to help her climb out of the problems that she had brought upon herself.
She always had doubts about going national. And now that she had found herself in this kind of predicament, the only person who seemed to have the ability to help her was none other than her mother, who wasn’t available. Madeline now fully understood why her mother didn’t want to go public with the secret recipe since such were the kinds of problems that were bound to arise if at all they weren’t careful.
But then again, Madeline figured out the reason her mother chose her to do this instead of her sisters. It was because Madeline was built to withstand pressure. And that was what made her amazing. It seemed as though her mother knew that if she was to improve the family business to a much higher level and get exposed to a brand new set of challenges, she was confident that Madeline was going to overcome and in the end come up at the top.
Her stomach rumbled mercilessly. And for a moment, she took a look at the food that they had brought her. Irony still oozed from the plate. But there was no way Madeline wasn’t going to eat. She was starving.
Slowly, she picked up the pastries, uttered a silent prayer right before she took a bite from it. She just hoped that she hadn’t been poisoned.
Chapter 2:
-Counselor Mary Moore-
Madeline McDougal was arrested on counts that didn’t even make any sense. But at the end of the day, it was her duty to ensure that she had come up with something tangible that was going to prove her innocence. But the main problem was making sure that she was bringing in the best witnesses.
Everyone seemed to be in love with her. That was a matter of fact. But now that she was in a police cell with nobody given a chance to come and testify, it was starting to sound a little bit confusing for her and the rest of the family. If anything, it gave Madeline some hope since she was sure that people, very powerful people, were out to make sure that she wasn’t getting some peace.
They felt threatened, and the result of that was making sure that she was getting a difficult time with the police.
Yes, the police were still as corrupt as they used to ages ago when she was still a little girl, and her dad was fighting with his brothers over the land. The police would offer to pop in and arrest anyone as long as the other brother was ready to give them a little incentive. That was just too bad since they weren’t going to get a dime from her. Madeline always believed that people needed to work hard for anything.
Being locked up in that cell gave her time to think. And as she was busy making sure that she was getting all the details sorted out, Madeline was also worried about her two sisters. They weren’t the kind of people who would keep a secret for a very long time.
But then again, Madeline wasn’t in a position to judge them since the pressure was too much. Just like the fame and money, the pressure of this unexpected turn of events was making everyone a little nervous. She figured that even though she was having a rough time, her sisters were having much worse. And that made her sad.
As a child, Madeline remembered very well just how her mother was working very hard to avoid all the pressure that the limelight had brought. And now she was starting to understand what the hell it was all about, and it worried her. It was just too darn frustrating. But now that she was already in the midst of the pressure, there was nothing she could do. At that moment, all she could do was wait and hope that everything was going to sort itself out without a problem.
The door creaked open, and that brought Madeline back to reality. She was nervous, and all she wanted to do was to make sure that everything was going to work out. If it were the mean police officer that came earlier to bring her pastries and the coffee, she would still make sure that she was in a position to ask as many questions as she possibly could. In the end, all that she wanted to do was make a point of getting things done properly.
A fine young lady with curly blonde hair came through the door with a smile on her face. But Madeline could tell that she wasn’t happy. It seemed as though she was just smiling to give her an illusion that everything was coming up very well. But that was the main problem. From the look of things, matters seemed to be exacerbating, and that made her a little bit scared.
“Hello there. My name is Mary Moore. I have been assigned by Edward to take care of your case.”
Madeline could feel her heart filled with relief, and she let out that long, slow breath before exhaling. It was just too good. Her lawyer saw that she was finally in relief, and she held her hand and squeezed it. Once she had done that, she went back to business, delving her well-manicured fingers into her handbag and pulling a heap of papers.
“Ok, I know I am your counselor, and I need to tell you that everything is going to be ok. But I am a human being and lying isn’t something that I am specialized in my dear. So I will get straight to the point. Things aren’t looking great from your side. And at this point, all we can do is pray that God Almighty grants us his favor. But all I can assure you is that I will do all in my power to get you all sorted out.”
Madeline didn’t look scared or moved at all. She got prepared psychologically, and nothing this smart, well-spoken lady was going to say that will make her shaken or scared. And this kind of attitude made her lawyer a little bit encouraged.
“You know, most of my clients always get shaken when I tell them just that. It’s either you are a psychopath with nothing to lose or you believe you are innocent, and you have nothing to hide.”
“So, what do I look like? A psychopath or someone who can be innocent?”
“The latter. Between you and me, I think you are innocent. Your business just stepped on a few multimillion industries in the country, and they want to silence you.”
“That was what I had been thinking. There is absolutely no way I could poison people. Besides, I have been using this recipe for years. Not to mention that my mother has been using it for ages and my grandmother as well. Why is it that it becomes poisonous when I want to go public with my company?”
And as the Madeline was speaking her side of the story, her lawyer was a little bit busy jotting a couple of things down. She was nodding and recording, and Madeline thought she was smart. Mary Moore knew what was at play here. There were some people in the pastry business who weren’t happy with whatever was happening.
But thankfully, she had sworn to make things right for Madeline and make sure that she was going to make things work out.
“So, what am I supposed to do?” Madeline asked, looking a little bit frantic
“Now, we go ahead and look for our witnesses. I think it is a good thing for you to find some witnesses from your hometown in Tarpon Bay. You just can’t trust these city folks. They don’t know anything concerning loyalty. They can be bought and shift loyalties more than a rapper changes clothes. We need someone who isn’t family but someone who has been a diehard fan of your pastries. Do you think you can do that?”
“That should be easy. But I am afraid that they haven’t taken me from the cell for eternity. I would be able to do this from there.”
“We have another problem. We will be required to make sure that we are getting to the court so that we can have a good hearing and bail placed.”
Madeline didn’t need to be a lawyer to understand that bail, especially in high profile cases such as hers were always placed abnormally high. She looked at Mary in her eyes and asked for to tell her the truth.
“Like I said the first time, I will do my best. But from the look of things, it doesn’t look good. The bond should be placed at a million dollars.”
Now it was time for her to get shocked.
“Ok, now how on earth am I supposed to get all this money?”
“Your business is worth almost ten million. Getting a million dollars shouldn’t be a big problem.”
It was funny how Madeline didn’t know how much her family business was worth. But she had people looking into it. But still this didn’t seem fair. A million dollars for the bond wasn’t fair at all.
Chapter 3:
-Homecoming-
The bond was paid and even though Madeline McDougal was more than glad to be out again after what seemed like eternity, she couldn’t stop complaining about the million dollars that she had just lost.
“You have nothing to worry about Madeline. Once we have had you acquitted, the next thing that we will have to do is ensuring that we are getting the people who are doing this to you.”
“And how will we do just that?”
“I am a lawyer. Finding people is my area of expertise. I will just pay attention to the people who were claiming to be poisoned. Then once I have proven your innocence and have your case thrown out of the window, the next step will be making sure that you are in a position to get these bastards by their balls.”
“Once again, how on earth are we going to do just that?”
Mary looked at Madeline and smiled. She was asking way too many questions. All she needed to do was to put her trust on her. That was all Madeline was required to do. But once again, Mary Moore didn’t blame her for that. It was clearly Madeline’s first time to get arrested and that alone gave her a very difficult time at the end of the day.
“You have nothing to worry about my dear. After I heard your side of the story, I somehow think and strongly believe that you are capable of winning this. And if that is what we will do, then the next thing that we will be required to do is making a statement. They will need to know that messing with you always has consequences and that people ought to never mess with you. It is the only way that we are ever going to overcome this problem.”
Madeline didn’t talk for the better part of the drive. And finally, they got to tarpon bay where she had expected to have some rest before meeting up with family and preparing the case. But that wasn’t the case. As soon as they got to their house, there was a sea of journalists clicking cameras and shouting at the top of their lungs.
Madeline was clearly surprised and didn’t know what the heck was going on. But as for Mary Moore, she was expecting this to happen and, therefore, didn’t look surprised at all. On the contrary, she had a smile on her face. Madeline saw the smile and decided to ask her how she managed to remain calm when the car was almost overrun by these zombie journalists.
“Look, I have worked with a few celebrities. It is how the life of a celebrity looks like.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel like I am winning or something?”
“No, not really. I just want you to know that I have your back, and that means you have no need to worry about them. Just make sure that you don’t talk to them since some of them are out to get you. They will ask some questions that will piss you off. All you need to do is focus on the door and smile. Wave if you must. But do not react. Your enemies are watching, and they want to know if they are breaking you or not. Are we clear on this?”
If Madeline McDougal knew that she was going to have these kinds of problems, then there was absolutely no way she would have agreed to do the interview with that bloody journalist who made her pastries famous. But there was nothing she could do to reverse it. It was too darn late to go back to the old, slow life that she loved so much.
“…Madeline, are we clear?”
“Yes, we are. Now can we just go?”
As soon as the door opened, the questions zoomed in like a swarm of bees. Madeline did exactly what she was told and didn’t utter a word. She just smiled and waved.
“Miss McDougal, are you sure you aren’t using chemically induced additives to make the nation addicted to your pastries?”
“Why won’t you just come out and tell us what you think about the people you poisoned.”
“…and speaking of poisoning people, Miss McDougal, do you feel any remorse for the families of the people you have made sick?”
“You are a terrorist! Burn in hell with your bloody pastries!”
The annoying questions kept on pouring in, and Madeline was finding it a little bit hard. These prying questions were starting to affect her in a way. But the good thing was that nobody was touching her. Mary Moore had the misfortune of dealing with these hooligans who posed as journalists and knew the best thing to deal with them was just
ignoring them.
And after what seemed to be eternity, both Madeline and Mary Moore got to the front door where Edward and her granddaughters were waiting for Madeline with their hands stretched out. Madeline hugged them as tightly as she possibly could, tears running down her pink cheeks. Edward rubbed her back and told her it was all going to be ok. All that she needed to do at the moment was calm down.
“Mary, thank you for what you did. But you know the problem isn’t over. We are going to make sure that we are fighting this with everything we have. The people behind this will pay for whatever they are doing to us.”
“They will. But now, someone has to get rid of these annoying reporters. We can’t focus on our next task with them hovering around the compound.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
“No need to stress yourself, Edward. I already have this all sorted out. That is why you hired me right? I take care of things.” Mary said with a smile on her face.
And then she pulled out a piece of paper from her purse. It was a court order restricting these annoying journalists from stepping into the compound. All that time, Madeline was still hugging her nieces. They were crying too since they were more than shocked seeing their amazing aunt getting arrested like some common criminal.
Chapter 4:
-Finding Witnesses-
After cooling down from the verbal assault from the hooligan journalists, it was time to get to work. The case was to be heard in just a couple of weeks, and that meant that for Madeline to have a chance of winning, then they were supposed to win.
Mary Moore didn’t have any more time to waste. And so she made sure that she had gathered all the witnesses that wanted to testify for the family as well as the secret recipe that was the source of their joy. And it wasn’t as difficult as Mary thought it was going to be. It was just too good to be true.
As soon as Mary Moore gave a statement of the development of the case in a church meeting, the following morning came with its fair share of surprises. Each and every one was more than ready to come over and help. As a matter of fact, some were ready to carry some of the pastries to court and eat them before the judge just to prove that the case against Madeline was bad.
MYSTERY: COZY MYSTERY: WOMEN SLEUTHS: Madeline's Secret Recipe Series (Cozy Humor Kitchen Detective Mystery) (Suspense Sweet Cove Short Story Culinary Comedy) Page 4