by Diane Weiner
Emily said, “That’s awful. How did she die? We just had dinner with her last night.”
“Most likely a heart attack. Pat’s taking a look. The housekeeper is going to call the father. We have to tell Maddy right after school before she hears it from elsewhere.”
“Okay, I’ll cut my office hours short. Let me know what Pat finds out.”
“Em, what if this sets Maddy back? It’s been a long road, her coping with Fiona’s death.”
“She’s resilient. She’ll be okay. In fact, she’s in the best position to help Ava through this.”
Not fully convinced, but wanting to believe his wife, he said, “You’re probably right. Gotta go, love you.”
Henry kept busy with patients all morning. Just before lunch, Pat called.
“Hey, Buddy. I’ve got some news about your patient.”
“Heart attack?”
“Nope. Her blood sugar crashed.”
“What? Too much insulin?”
“She wasn’t on insulin, just oral diabetes medication.”
“An accidental overdose?”
“Not with the amount she had in her system. It had to be intentional.”
“Intentional? You mean…”
“I mean if it wasn’t suicide, it was murder.”
Chapter 3
Emily received a frantic call from Coralee just as her class ended. “What do you mean shutting down the inn? Who’s shutting it down?”
“The police are here. They have a warrant and they’re searching my kitchen. Throwing boxes of food out of the pantry, pouring samples of milk from the fridge…” She told Emily to hold on while she yelled at the police. “Careful, that’s my Grandmother’s mixing bowl!”
“Coralee, you still there?”
“I’m here. I…I can’t breathe.”
“Go out of the kitchen. Slow down. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Tell me what’s going on.”
“You know that woman who you had dinner with last night?”
“Faith Maguire. Henry told me the housekeeper found her this morning. He thinks it was a heart attack.”
“No heart attack. A drug overdose. And guess where they think she got the drug?”
“Drug? What drug? Where?”
“They found traces of it in the cheesecake she brought home with her. The cheesecake from my kitchen!”
“That’s impossible. Did anyone else get sick?”
“Not that I know of. I feel terrible. What if I was somehow responsible? And when word gets out, no one will want to stay here.”
“Look, I’ll contact my teaching assistant to cover my class and I’ll be right over.”
Emily felt sick. Faith Maguire, not only dead, but apparently murdered. Unless, of course, she accidentally ate poison cheesecake. Right. How long after she ate it did she…? Was it only the cheesecake or other desserts as well? Emily reassured herself. It’d been hours since they’d eaten the strudel. Surely if they were going to die they’d be dead by now, right? She called Henry from the car.
“Henry, Coralee just called and…”
“The cheesecake killed Faith Maguire. I know. Pat thinks it had been laced with a diabetes drug.”
“Insulin?”
“No, an oral diabetes medication. It caused her blood sugar to drop too low which resulted in her death.”
“We ate there, too. Do we need to seek treatment?” She had a horrible thought. “And what about Maddy!”
“Maddy hasn’t eaten hers, it’s still in the fridge. We’d be dead by now if we’d ingested it. And no one has come through the emergency department with suspicious symptoms. The housekeeper said Faith Maguire was taking diabetes meds.”
“Could she have simply taken too much of the drug herself?”
“The dose had to have been massive. Megan and Detective Ron are searching the kitchen at the inn.”
“I know. Poor Coralee is in a panic. I’m headed there now. Hopefully it will be resolved by the time I get there.”
“Hold on. It’s going to take a while to test everything in that kitchen. The medication could have been in any of the ingredients used to make the cake, or added after the cake was made.”
“What about Ava and Mila? The poor girls! Do they know?”
“Not yet, they’re at school. Tilly, the housekeeper, is contacting their father. He should be able to get here by this evening if not sooner.”
“Okay. I’m pulling up to the inn now. I’ll talk to you later.”
The sight of the police cars in front of the inn made her nauseous. Coralee was the kindest person she knew and the idea that something from her kitchen killed someone would crush her.
Detective Megan O’Leary was Pat the pathologist’s girlfriend. She and her partner, Ron Wooster, stood guard at the entrance to the inn. A dozen or so guests shivered outside on the porch, too curious to go back to the comfort of their rooms.
“Megan, can I go in? Coralee called and told me what happened.”
“As long as you stay out of the kitchen. Coralee is in the lobby.”
“You know she isn’t responsible for this.”
Detective Ron said, “Of course, she didn’t do it intentionally, but someone poisoned that cheesecake and it came from her kitchen.”
“So it’s a matter of who had access, right?”
“Yes, and the list is long. Members of the wait staff, kitchen help, even a guest could have slipped into the kitchen.”
She turned to Megan. “You don’t think the killer targeted Faith Maguire, do you?”
“So far, no one else who ate the cheesecake was affected. Of course, there are sickos who do this sort of thing randomly. Remember the Tylenol scare back a decade or so ago?”
“Or it could be someone who wanted to see the inn shut down,” offered Ron.
Megan said, “Did Coralee have any enemies? It’s hard to imagine.”
“No, but Ron may be on to something. A new bed and breakfast opened up just a short time ago. I’m sure having the Outside Inn out of the picture would help their business.” Could someone with the desire to run a bed and breakfast be capable of murder? Not the norm, but in her true crime writing, she’d been surprised more than once.
Coralee came to the door and fell into Emily’s arms, sobbing. “I can’t believe this is happening. What if they arrest me?”
Detective Megan said, “Coralee, this wasn’t your fault. It’s not like you were negligent and had a dining room full of deaths. This was done by an outsider with an axe to grind, or a psycho with his own agenda.”
An axe to grind…Emily said, “Last night, two different people seemed to have had that axe to grind. Remember the Hispanic guy who said something about his sister?”
“Arturo. His sister worked for Faith Maguire when Faith and the girls first moved to town. Faith found out she was illegal and had her deported back to Mexico.”
Megan scribbled down the info. “Arturo?”
“Arturo Rivera. His sister’s name is Maria Luz.”
Emily said, “And what about the one who made the comment about not getting into Harmon College? The waitress. I think she deliberately spilled Diet Coke in Faith’s lap. I felt the tension in her voice.”
Coralee said, “That’s Summer Martin. She was supposed to start college last fall but something happened. I’m not one to gossip, so I’ll leave it at that. Summer came to me begging for a job last fall.”
Emily said, “There’s our first two suspects. Both had access to the kitchen last night and both had motive. Both were unpleasantly surprised to see Faith Maguire at the inn and made no attempt to hide it.”
“I can’t believe either of them would do something like this. Maybe it was someone associated with the new inn.”
Megan took notes. Detective Wooster and I will get on it. Coralee, can you make a list of who was here last night? Employees with their contact information, and you must have a list of all the guests who are staying here.”
Emily added, “Som
e of the diners weren’t guests, though. Shouldn’t we look into them, too?”
“Detective Wooster and I will check the credit card records and Coralee, do you have a list of reservations?”
“Yes, but we always manage to seat walk-ins as well. And though rare, some actually pay with cash.”
“We have enough to start with. Meanwhile, the guests will have to eat elsewhere for now.” Megan left, telling the guests they could go inside but not into the kitchen or dining areas.
Coralee paced in front of the front desk. “That’s all I need. Where do you think my guests are going to eat? They’ll be headed right to the new inn, you’ll see.”
“There are plenty of restaurants downtown. I’ll help you compile a list.”
“And none are as close as Smyth Haven. What a disaster. Even if police find nothing, you know how people talk. It’ll take months for this to blow over.”
“I have to pick up something I forgot in my office, but on my way back from St. Edwards, I’ll stop at some local restaurants and see if they’re willing to offer coupons or special deals for your guests.”
“Emily, I can always count on you.” She hugged Emily goodbye.
Emily wished she could simply go back home and work on her current true crime book, but she promised her students she’d have the first drafts of their book synopses back to them by tomorrow. If only she’d taken a minute to throw them into her bag before she rushed over to the inn…Maddy was at school, and Henry at the hospital. It would have been a good time to get some writing done.
St. Edwards was a small liberal arts college nestled between pine trees at the outskirt of town. Emily’s office building looked like a stone castle straight out of a fairy tale. She pulled into the lot and walked to her office.
“Knock, knock. I didn’t expect to see you back here today. I thought your TA was taking your afternoon class.”
“Come on in, Nance. Yes, but I forgot the assignments I promised the students I’d grade.” She picked up a stack from her desk. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Then let’s get coffee to get you started.” Nancy was Emily’s colleague and had become a close friend. She had a daughter Maddy’s age and when Emily found herself guardian to her deceased college roommate’s teen daughter, she wouldn’t have made it in one piece if not for Nancy’s advice and support.
“Sure.” She zipped her jacket and they followed the cobblestone path toward the student union. “You heard about the murder last night, right?”
“I heard it on the car radio. Murder? They were referring to it as a suspicious death.”
“We ate dinner with the victim and her daughters last night at Coralee’s. We all ordered dessert; it could have been us just as easily as it was Faith.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you knew the victim.”
“We just met last night. Maddy’s friends with Ava, her daughter.”
“Ava Maguire? I didn’t put it together. Brooke and Ava are classmates, too. They went to the mall just last weekend. I dropped them off. Who would do such a thing?”
“Two of Coralee’s staff had motive. Both were there last night. One was a handyman named Arturo Rivera. The other was a waitress.”
“What motives did they have?”
“Arturo Rivera claims Faith Maguire had his sister deported back to Mexico. Summer made a comment about not being able to go to her dream college.”
“Are you talking about Summer Martin?”
“I didn’t get her last name. Why?”
“Don’t you remember? It was all over the news.”
“What was?”
“Summer Martin is the District Attorney’s daughter. Margaret Martin bribed the president of Harmon College to accept Summer for admission to this year’s freshman class.”
“I saw a story about it on the news. She wasn’t the only one involved. Wasn’t that Broadway actor accused of doing the same for his kid?”
“Yes, and a handful of other influential types. Shameful. If she mentioned Harmon College, it has to be Summer Martin.”
“So you think Faith Maguire is responsible for getting her thrown out?”
“She tipped off the press. It was right before the semester started. Summer had already moved into her dorm and everything.”
“We were in Scotland most of the summer so I didn’t get all the details.”
“Margaret Martin was disbarred and Summer was humiliated. I see motive there.”
“She was right there in the dining room. Surely she could have spiked Faith’s dessert.
I’ll have to tell Megan.”
Emily checked her watch. “Got to go. Henry and I want to break the news to Maddy before she hears it elsewhere.”
When she got home, Henry was waiting in the living room.
“Is Maddy home yet?”
“She’s in her room.”
“Are you ready to break the news to her?”
“Break the news? It was all over social media according to Maddy. By lunch the whole school knew.”
“How did she take it?”
“She’s upset, of course. She’s worried about Ava. The housekeeper picked the girls up early from school and Maddy’s been trying to text Ava but she’s not answering.”
“She expected Ava to be on her phone at a time like this? Their father was supposed to arrive tonight, right?”
“Yeah, but there’s a big snow storm in the Southeast. The flights are likely to be delayed or even canceled, especially if he’s going through Atlanta. They’re getting the worst of it.”
“I’ll go check on Maddy.”
“Honestly, I think she needs her space right now. She was in no mood to talk. Let’s wait until morning.”
Chapter 4
The next morning, Emily collected her thoughts while she microwaved a bowl of oatmeal. Henry had already left for the hospital. She fed Chester, rinsed the breakfast dishes, poured another cup of coffee, then knocked on Maddy’s door. Enough procrastinating. She had to talk to Maddy before she left.
“Honey, are you okay? Can I come in?” She half expected her to grumble and tell her to go away.
“Come in.”
Maddy’s eyes were red and Emily saw the bedside picture of Fiona, Maddy’s mother, on the pillow. “This must be hard for you.”
“I can’t stop thinking about Ava and her sister. I know how it feels to lose your mother. I wish she’d answer my calls or at least text back.”
“I can’t imagine how torn up she must be. I’m glad her father came. Why don’t you just send her a text saying you know what she’s going through and if she wants to talk, you’re there whenever she’s ready.”
“I pretty much said that. Did Dad leave already?”
“Yes. I’m heading to Coralee’s. Do you want me to drop you off at school?”
“No, the bus will be here in a few minutes.” Emily followed her into the kitchen. Maddy put her cereal bowl in the sink and grabbed her backpack. She started to leave and then turned around and gave Emily a hug. “I miss my mother every day, but I was lucky to wind up with you and Dad.”
Emily’s heart felt as though it was crying. So many times she wondered if Maddy even liked her let alone appreciated her. “Bye, honey. I love you.” She wiped her own tears.
After Maddy left, Emily stopped by the inn to check on Coralee. The parking lot in front of the inn was eerily quiet. She got the chills when she went inside and saw the yellow crime scene tape across the dining room entrance.
“Emily, thanks for coming over.” Coralee’s eyes were red and her hair looked as though it hadn’t been brushed. Emily rarely saw Coralee with so much as a wrinkle in her clothing or an untucked tendril. She gave her a hug.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better. This is all my fault. Thank God no one else has gotten ill—as least not yet.”
“Coralee, it’s not your fault.”
“Then whose fault is it? I’m responsible for who
and what gets in my kitchen. If the ingredients were tainted, or someone snuck in…”
“Let’s try to figure this out. If the ingredients were bad, more people would be ill or dead right now.”
It took Coralee a minute, then she answered, “I suppose you’re right.”
“We have to think. If this was intentional, who had motive and opportunity?”
“Any of my staff, the delivery man…I suppose a guest could walk in unnoticed during a busy period.”
“How long has Summer Martin worked for you?”
“Summer? I hired her last fall. I’m not one to gossip, but the poor girl was yanked out of college thanks to her crooked mother.”
“I heard.”
“Some district attorney bribing her daughter’s way into college. Summer didn’t know. Poor girl came looking for a job, hoping to take some classes at St. Edwards next semester after things have a chance to blow over. She’s been nothing but reliable.”
“She was pretty rude last night at dinner.”
“Do you blame her? Faith Maguire changed the course of the poor girl’s life. A degree from Harmon College opens all kinds of doors. It’s like the Harvard of the east.”
“Harvard is in the east, but I get your point. Do you know if she had access to a diabetes drug? Not insulin, an oral medication.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if one of our guests takes it. I do. So do half the overweight people in this town.”
“That’s because they flock to your desserts. I’ve gained ten pounds since I discovered your cheesecake and apple strudel.” Why did she say cheesecake? She should have left it at strudel. Emily cringed at her own lack of sensitivity.
“Not any more they won’t. It’ll take time before people trust my cooking again.”
“Does Summer have access to the guest rooms?”
“No. Well, not regularly. She cleans rooms for me on occasion when the regular maid takes time off.”
“Did that happen recently?”