by C A Phipps
She wouldn’t enter the contest again. It wasn’t worth the hassle.
“Congratulations.” Denise climbed down from the temporary stage to hug her. “Well deserved. It’s even better than I remembered.”
“You remember my pie?”
Denise was a good friend now, but because she was a little older than Maddie and Suzy, they hadn’t run in the same circle for a good part of their school years.
Maddie noted a slight sheen to Denise’s face, and she was paler now. Maybe all the tasting she’d done was too much for her?
“How could I forget the smell of your Gran’s kitchen and the taste of that particular pie?” Denise asked.
Maddie laughed. “How silly of me. I forgot, not only is Gran a great cook, she loved to feed all the kids in the neighborhood.”
“She did, and whether she particularly liked them or not didn’t matter one bit. And you’re cut from the same cloth. I hear you’ll be contributing to feed the homeless and needy.”
Maddie flushed. Having those words come from a friend meant a great deal, but she didn’t expect accolades for doing what was right.
“Can we keep that between us?” she asked.
“You and Ethan make a good pair. You both hate to be in the limelight.”
Maddie fidgeted, not comfortable with everyone pushing her and Ethan together, even in a sentence. “What do you say to having a drink together?”
“Tea?” Denise pointed outside to another tent where tables and chairs had been set out.
“Are you kidding me? I need something stronger, after the week I’ve had,” Maddie scoffed.
Denise looked at her watch. “It’s three in the afternoon.”
“Yes, but it’s five o’clock somewhere, isn’t it?”
Denise threw an arm around her shoulders. “Oh, I’ve missed you. We haven’t had nearly as many fun things going on since you left. I’ll go find Laura and see if she wants to come—we were going to walk home together. You don’t mind, do you?”
It was on the tip of Maddie’s tongue to say she actually did mind, but it really wasn’t a big deal. After all, she didn’t know for sure Laura was involved in badmouthing her, either now or in the past, and maybe it was time she tried harder to make friends with her.
“The more, the merrier. I’ll wait by my car. It’s several rows back, in the middle.”
Denise waved as she made her way through the tent to find Laura, who’d disappeared not long after the winners were announced. Maddie noticed Laura had also entered an apple pie. Maybe, since she hadn’t won anything, she was disappointed.
Maddie could see Suzy talking to Angel. Knowing Denise would find it hard to get away from her constituents, she headed their way.
“Congratulations! I told you you’d win.” Angel tucked her arm through Maddie’s and squeezed.
“Thanks. To celebrate, I’m going for a drink with Denise. You’re all invited.”
“Congratulations, Maddie. Tell me where you’re headed, and I’ll meet you once I’m sure my MC job is done,” Suzy said.
“I’ll be there as soon as I collect the cakes I bought.”
Suzy rolled her eyes at Angel. “I’ll come with Angel, because I’m sure she’ll need more than two hands. This will be great. It’s been forever since we all got together. Painting doesn’t count.”
Maddie grinned. “I know exactly what you mean. We’re meeting at O’Malley’s.”
Looking forward to being with the Girlz, she began to weave her way through the tent and then the parking lot. She was glad to get to her Jeep; the trophy was heavy. Thank goodness she’d left the top down to keep Honey cool. She threw her bag onto the back seat and had one foot in the door when she saw something fluttering in the slight breeze. A colorful cloth was wrapped around her back tire.
She went to pull it off and saw it was a scarf. It looked like one of Angel’s. She pulled it gently at first so as not to tear it, then pulled harder, but it was stuck fast. Thinking to try another angle, she moved around the back.
Her hand shot to her mouth, and she fell to her knees.
A body was lying behind the wheel.
Denise’s body. One sensible shoe lay sadly on its side by her foot.
Maddie had heard when you saw something like this, you lost the ability to scream, and that seemed to be true in her case.
She reached for her friend’s wrist with a shaking hand. No pulse. Denise’s lips were blue, and there were specks of blood around her mouth. Her fair hair had made a halo around her head, and her eyes were staring blankly back at Maddie.
Dear Lord, Denise looked dead!
Chapter Thirteen
Maddie was no medic, but it didn’t look like Denise had simply fainted. Panic clawed at her, pulling her into an abyss that seemed to have no end—until she saw Ethan. Being so tall, he was easily visible behind the cars, and was the perfect person to help her. Fortunately, he was walking her way.
No! He veered off toward his own car, which she’d happened to notice earlier was a few rows away to the right.
“Help!” Her voice was nothing but a squeak.
He was farther away now, but the fear of being left alone with Denise and having no idea how to help her gave Maddie the ability to scream.
“HELP! Ethan!”
He stopped and looked around, searching for her. She waved madly, and, to her intense relief, he came running.
“Maddie? Are you okay?” he called.
She shook her head and pointed behind her.
“What is it?” He was level with her car.
“Not what. Who.”
Ethan walked around the back and hissed through his teeth. “Denise.” He bent down and tossed Maddie his phone. “Looks like a heart attack. Call the paramedics!”
He dropped to his knees and took Denise’s pulse, then leaned down to her lips. Maddie had already done both of those things, and no amount of wishful thinking would make a difference, but she was glad for the second opinion, because Denise wasn’t breathing. Looked around, he spied the scarf and ripped it from the wheel with a horrible tearing sound. After wiping Denise’s mouth with one corner, he began CPR.
Thankful he knew what to do, Maddie moved away to make the call. It was difficult to speak when the tears were falling down her cheeks and onto her blouse. The emergency number rang two or three times, then she was hit with a barrage of questions.
She had questions of her own, but they would have to wait.
Finally, a siren sounded in the distance, but it seemed like forever before the paramedics joined them. The two men took over treating Denise, which allowed Ethan time to catch his breath. He came over to Maddie and took back his phone.
“I’ll call this in, then you can tell me what you know.”
Maddie moved to the front of her car, away from the scene, not wanting to know what the paramedics were doing but feeling it was all too late. Was it true, could Denise really be dead?
Denise had been one of the mean girls back in the day, Maddie remembered: a friend of Virginia and her group. Being part of that group meant there was no reason for Denise to mix with the nerdy girls like Maddie and her friends, although all of them had been jealous of Angel back then and made her life hell.
Suzy, Angel, and Maddie had started high school in Destiny two years after Virginia’s group and had attempted to stay out of their way by keeping a low profile, which was always going to be hard for Angel, especially when the high school jock took a shine to her, much to the annoyance of the mean girls.
It was like that for the whole year, and then something happened. Denise had a major argument with Virginia—no one knew exactly what it was about—and was ostracized. It meant she spent a lot of time on her own, since everyone else was wary of getting in the middle of anything that involved Virginia.
The up side was Denise’s grades had improved. Majorly.
It was Angel, upset that anyone was left on their own, who’d suggested they extend an invitation for Denis
e to join them one lunchtime. To everyone’s surprise, Denise had jumped at the offer. She apologized many times for her behavior and thanked them for giving her a chance.
From that first lunch on, she’d been a nicer, happier person. She’d won their hearts and, in time, the hearts and respect of the whole town, through her selfless behavior, doing what she could for anyone in need. She’d also won the mayoralty by a landslide.
Tears welled up in Maddie’s eyes. This couldn’t be the end for Denise.
Several people were walking to their cars trying to rubberneck when they saw the paramedics. Ethan headed them off.
“We’ve had an incident, folks. Please stay back until my deputies get here and we’ve checked over the surrounding area. We’ll advise you when it’s okay to leave.”
Ethan was good at his job. His voice commanded even the overly curious, and they came no farther.
Maddie started to shiver, which turned into some all-out shaking. Darn it. She didn’t want to go to pieces.
Although it seemed much longer, it was only a minute or two before a pair of sheriff’s department cars pulled into the parking lot. Ethan waved them over, and they came as close as they could to Maddie’s car before the deputies riding in them jumped out.
Maddie couldn’t avoid hearing the conversation. Denise was pronounced dead, and a deputy began to take pictures. A lot of pictures.
Ethan put his arm around her shoulders. “Maddie, come sit in the car. This has been a heck of a shock.”
Gratefully she agreed, since standing was becoming difficult. Eventually, a paramedic covered the mayor with a sheet, which Maddie could see playing out in her rearview mirror.
One of the deputies and Ethan came around to her. “How are you holding up?” Ethan asked.
“I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not. You’re shaking like a leaf. The food tent is just over there. I’m sure we can find a quiet corner where we can talk. I’m going to try to find one of the Girlz to sit with you.”
She nodded, allowing herself to be led there, where she slumped into a chair.
Ethan and the deputy sat beside her. “Take your time and tell us what you know,” Ethan said.
Maddie bit her lip, then took in a deep breath. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I went back to my car, and I was about to get in when I saw something under my back wheel fluttering in the breeze. When I went to check, there she was. Already dead,” she finished in a rush.
The deputy had a pad out. “I understand the mayor was a friend of yours?”
Maddie lifted her chin. “She is a friend of mine.”
Ethan blanched a little, then took over the questioning. “Of course. The mayor’s car doesn’t appear to be on site. Do you know why she was in the parking lot by your car?”
“Yes. We were going out for a drink. I was going to drive them.”
“Them? Was there someone else other than the two of you involved?”
Maddie’s mind sifted through his words. “Laura. What do you mean by ‘involved’?”
Ethan ignored that. “So, it was the three of you meeting up?”
“Yes. No. Suzy and Angel were coming too. A little later.”
Ethan gave their full names to the deputy, who was scribbling frantically, then said, “Where were you headed?”
“To the bar in town.”
“O’Malley’s?”
Her head was throbbing. “Yes. Was it a heart attack?”
The crowd had noticeably thinned, and she guessed most of them would have heard the gruesome story by now. Maude Oliver and a few of the Blue Brigade from the Country Club stopped near their table to stare. Ethan ignored them while Maddie tapped her fingers on her thighs and looked closed her eyes for a moment.
“Rob, can you move these people along?”
The deputy did as he was asked, and Ethan leaned toward Maddie. “I shouldn’t say anything, and I can’t be certain, but thanks to the course I was just on, I noticed a distinctive smell around Denise’s mouth,” he said quietly. “I think she was poisoned, and I’m pretty sure it was arsenic.”
Maddie gasped. “Poisoned? But how?”
Her exclamation had him looking around again for eavesdroppers. “She tasted quite a few cakes and pies today. It could have been any of them, or maybe it was something else.”
“That would explain why she looked the way she did,” Maddie whispered.
Ethan’s concern turned to suspicion. “What do you mean? Did you see something?”
“When I went to invite her to come for a drink, she was sweaty and pale. I thought it was because she’d overdone things. You know how much she gives of her time to the community and . . .”
“Sweaty and pale? I see.” Ethan pulled out his own notebook and scribbled a few lines.
Maddie had a thought that wouldn’t stay inside her head. “You don’t seriously think it was food poisoning, do you? I can’t bear to think it had anything to do with my pie, or anyone else’s.”
Ethan looked up apologetically, as if the thought had never occurred to him, which gave her a small amount of relief. “It might be food poisoning, and if it is I’m sure it had nothing to do with you.”
“If it was, then somebody did this on purpose?” she pressed.
“I didn’t say that.”
He had insinuated it, though. “Whatever happened you need to find out who is responsible as soon as possible. Don’t waste your time with me.” The words caught in her throat. With so many people in town for the festival, they needed to start the search right away.
“This is all part of that. You could have been the last person to see her and sometimes we know things which we might not remember right away.”
“Sorry. Please hurry. I need to go home. I feel… dirty.” The last word came out as a croak.
Ethan heard it and nodded. “It’s natural, and I hear it a lot. This won’t take much longer.”
The deputy came back not long after. “Everything’s clear outside, Sheriff.”
“Good man. Did you find Ms. Flynn’s friends?”
“No. One of them was taken in for questioning. The others are being processed with the crowd.”
“Okay. Get someone to talk to the people on this list, and we’ll need to track down all the stallholders.” He turned back to Maddie. “I’ll take you home to freshen up, then, when you feel up to it, we need to head over to the station so you can give a statement.”
“I can’t leave my car.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “You’re not driving in this state. Plus, we have no idea what this is about or who’s involved. I’ll get one of the deputies to follow us in your car, if it makes you feel better.”
Honey had been tucked up in Gran’s garage since Maddie moved to New York City, and was a major perk of coming home. It was a knee-jerk reaction to make sure she came to no harm. Still, leaving her in the deputy’s care didn’t compare with what had happened to Denise.
Maddie felt unconnected to this reality and didn’t have the strength to explain. Not only was Denise dead, but a killer might be walking around among them. Things like that didn’t happen in Maple Falls.
She let Ethan take her arm again and lead her to his car. He opened the passenger door, and as she slid onto the leather seat he issued orders to his team, who had followed them. He spoke quickly and firmly about them talking to as many people as possible and tracking Denise’s whereabouts through the afternoon.
Maddie shivered again. Her thoughts were all over the place, and she didn’t hear Ethan until he put his hand in front of her face, palm up. “They’ll need the keys.”
“Sorry?”
“Keys? For your car.”
His voice had that patient tone usually reserved for children or the elderly. She swallowed hard, feeling like a mixed bag of both.
“My keys are in my purse, which is in my car. I threw it on the back seat. The top’s down.”
He didn’t fuss over her burbling and waited patiently unti
l his deputy returned with her purse. Giving the man her address, he made sure she was buckled up, then they were on their way.
The day was still sunny, but she was cold and felt as if a gray cloud full of rain was hanging over her. Something terrible had happened, but the rest of the town looked the same. Nothing had changed, except Denise was gone.
When the shaking began again in earnest, she was extremely glad Ethan was driving.
How could this be real?
Chapter Fourteen
On the drive home, they were both so quiet it was almost painful, but for the life of her, Maddie couldn’t think what to say. She knew nothing, had seen nothing, but she might have been the last one to talk to Denise. The last…apart from the killer. How had this happened in a sweet town like Maple Falls? Nothing about this made sense.
Ethan parked behind the shop and helped her out of the car as if she were an invalid. That wouldn’t do. She had responsibilities and needed to call Gran who would be devastated. She Straightened her back and went to the mat at the back door to pick up her spare key albeit with a shaking hand. After several stubborn attempts to get it in the keyhole, he held his hand out, and she conceded he’d probably manage to open it a lot faster.
As he did, the deputy arrived behind them in Honey. The younger man trotted up the path and handed Ethan her keys, then ran back to a waiting patrol car.
“Thank you!” she called after him, her voice deep with emotion as Ethan gestured for her to proceed him.
Once inside, she climbed the steps up to her apartment and sank onto a chair while Ethan went straight to the kettle in the small kitchen. “Tea or coffee?”
She licked her dry lips. “Tea, please. I guess a drink is out of the question if I have to go to the station.”
He paused. “Not necessarily. Will it help?”
She put her face in her hands. “Probably not,” she mumbled.
“Tea it is, then.”