The Tainted Course

by Diane Weiner

  “No, not yet. Coralee has blueberry French toast. That’ll cheer you up.”

  “I’m not a little kid. Sugar isn’t going to change how I feel. I’m worried that whoever came after Ms. Maguire will come after us next.”

  Henry said, “There’s no reason to think that. This is more likely related to Emily’s research, or it was a bunch of kids.” He knew it wasn’t kids, but Maddy didn’t have to know that.

  Coralee said, “Did you check on the cats?”

  “Yes. I let Tito sleep with me last night. I just put him back in the cat café.”

  “The service starts at 1:00, right?” asked Henry.

  “Yes. I’m surprised they got it together and sent out the info so quickly. It’ll be a tough day for the girls.”

  Summer Martin came into the dining room. “Sorry I’m a little late.”

  Coralee said, “It’s okay. Things are just now getting busier. Can you seat the guests who are waiting?”

  “Sure.”

  Coralee went back to work. Summer Martin refilled their coffees.

  Emily said, “I heard what happened with Harmon College. I work at St. Edwards if you need…”

  “Thanks. You know, I’m not to blame. My parents didn’t tell me what they were up to. My grades were good. I’m sure I could have gotten in without their help. In any case, I’ve forgiven my parents, but Faith Maguire had no business butting into this. Who was it harming if I took a place which I actually deserved at Harmon? I’m glad she’s dead.”

  “So I guess you won’t be at the memorial service,” said Henry. Emily kicked his shin under the table. “Summer, cream always rises to the top. It’s horrible what happened, but it doesn’t have to destroy your life.”

  “We’ll see,” said Summer. She moved on to the next table.

  Henry said, “I’m going to swing by the house. Arturo Rivera worked on Kurt’s rental cabin as well as the inn. Kurt and Coralee were both pleased with the job he did. I’m going to see if he’ll do the repairs.”

  “But he’s a murder suspect.”

  “I don’t think he did it. Besides, if we get to chat while he’s repairing the window, if he’s guilty he might slip and say something related to the case.”

  “I’m going to stop at Rebecca and Abby’s. Maddy, want to come?”

  “No. I told Coralee I’d help at the cat café. We’re getting two new kittens that someone found by a dumpster.”

  “We’ll pick you up before the service. Come on, Em.”

  Emily and Henry drove to the house. Emily said, “I’ll walk over to Rebecca and Abby’s and meet you back here.”

  “Insurance should cover the window.”

  “I’m not worried.” She gave him a kiss. “See you in a bit.”

  Emily walked over to the girls’ cabin. “Hey, thank you for following up, Rebecca.”

  “No problem. I found out Rona Smyth’s restaurant was in the red, big time. She had started the paperwork to file for bankruptcy. The fire and insurance payouts were a lifeline.”

  “So it would make sense if she started the fire to collect the insurance.”

  “That’s not all. Here’s the report from the insurance investigator, and from the fire department. They don’t match.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The original report says an accelerant was found at the scene and there was a likelihood of arson. The insurance report says the fire started due to faulty wiring.”

  “That doesn’t make sense at all. The insurance inspector is the one who would want to deny a claim and say it was an accident or faulty wiring.”

  “That’s what I thought, until I checked the bank records.”

  “How did you…”

  “Emily, by now you know not to ask. The inspector deposited a large sum into his bank account the same day Rona withdrew the same amount from hers.”

  “But you said Rona was nearly broke.”

  “Look at the date. The payout was after the insurance company paid out to Rona. It must have been part of the deal. The inspector agreed to take the bribe after the company paid out.”

  “Wow. Even so, proving arson doesn’t really help me. I can’t base an entire book around it. In fact, it gives Rona less reason to murder her parents if she had the insurance money with which to renovate Smyth Haven.”

  “I’m still working on it. I’ll let you know when I have more information. Oh, and here’s a contact you might want to check out.”

  Rebecca handed her a paper. “Who is it?”

  “This lady filed a civil suit against Rona back in their cooking school days. She accused Rona of, get this, tampering with her opponent’s ingredients during a bake-off contest. Looks like the suit was dropped, but you should talk to this woman. Shows a pattern if it’s true.”

  “You’re amazing. The government should hire you to do espionage work.”

  Rebecca smiled. “You never know.”

  Emily got back to her house before Arturo left. “How’s it looking?”

  Henry said, “Arturo’s fixing it for us. He ran over to the glass shop, picked up what he needed, and he’s installing it now.”

  Arturo’s jacket vibrated on the coat rack. Henry said, “Someone’s calling him. Should I bring it to him?”

  “They can leave a message.”

  No sooner had she said that, it began to ring again. “Persistent.”

  “It might be an emergency,” said Henry. “I’ll take it to him.” He took the phone out of the jacket pocket. “It’s an oldie. Guess Coralee doesn’t pay him well.”

  “I don’t know about that. He’s driving a new truck. I’ll bring it to him.”

  Emily ran upstairs to get ready for the memorial service. When she got out of the shower, she heard Arturo’s truck pull away. Henry came upstairs.

  “The phone call must not have been an emergency. I heard him pull away just now. Is the window fixed?”

  “Good as new.”

  “Something’s on your mind.”

  “When I brought the phone to Arturo, I noticed he had another phone sitting on top of his tool box. It was an iPhone.”

  “Well, what do you think he’s up to with the second phone? Cheating on a girlfriend?”

  “He didn’t mention a girlfriend. The nurse asked if he wanted us to call someone and he said no.”

  “Maybe it’s a work phone, so he can turn it off when he’s off duty.”

  “Off handyman duty? I’d better get changed. We have to go. Is Maddy ready?”

  “She’s at the inn helping with the cats. I’ll text her and tell her we’re on the way.”

  The memorial service was just getting started when they arrived. They passed Coralee as they walked in. Ava, Mila, their father, and the housekeeper sat in the front row of folding chairs. Emily looked around and felt sad. Only half a dozen others, including Maddy’s half-sister Jessica and the technology teacher, had come to the service. She guessed the others were work colleagues. Nancy and Brooke walked in and sat behind them. Megan and Pat snuck in just after the minister started the service.

  The minister said, “Faith Maguire will be missed. She leaves behind two young daughters who will carry her in their hearts. In the short time she’d been in Sugarbury Falls, she was already making positive things happen in our school system. She will be missed, but know she’s in the hands of our Lord and will enjoy everlasting peace.” He led the group in a prayer and that was that. No music, no eulogy, no casket.

  Tilly, the housekeeper, had set up a coffee urn and cookies at the back of the meeting room. Ava had been crying throughout the service. Emily gave her a hug.

  “I’m so sorry about your Mom. If there’s anything we can do, please ask.”

  Ava sniffled. “There’s nothing anyone can do, except to catch her killer. Poor Mila is a wreck. She can’t believe someone killed our mother.”

  Jessica Pratt approached them with Sam, the teacher she brought to dinner the other night. She bent down and hugged Mila. “Hone
y, I’m so sorry. I know you loved your mommy so much and she loved you with all her heart.”

  Mila cried into Jessica’s shoulder. Tilly came over and scooped her up in her arms. “It’s going to be okay, sweetie. I’m here, Daddy is here, and so is your sister. We’re not leaving you.”

  Dave Maguire had been talking to the minister and now came over to them. “Tilly, you’re so good with her.” He introduced himself to Jessica and Sam.

  “I’m Mila’s teacher. I’ll do whatever I can to make things as easy as possible when Mila returns to school.”

  “Thank you. Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Has Mila missed a lot of school due to her health?”

  “More than the usual, but she always makes up the work. Her health comes first.”

  Dave Maguire nodded. “I’m going to get the girls back in school as soon as possible while I figure out our next move.”

  Jessica said, “It’s more than halfway through the school year. In my opinion, it would be helpful if the girls finished out the year and weren’t uprooted right away.”

  “I agree,” said Tilly. “But like I told Dave, I’m willing to move with them if he wants me.”

  “The girls are obviously attached to you, Tilly. That’s a generous offer.”

  “Tilly, did you grow up here in Vermont?”

  “No, I moved here around the same time as Faith and the girls. I’d recently gotten divorced and wanted a new start.”

  “You picked a great place for a new start.”

  “My family used to vacation here. It’s always had a warm place in my heart.”

  “Were you in child care before?” asked Emily.

  “Oh, no. I was a secretary at a health clinic. I have to say this is way more fulfilling.”

  Dave said, “We’re all lucky to have her.” His phone buzzed. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  Nancy and Brooke, who had been speaking to the minister, came over and hugged the girls. “Ava, I’m always available. Call or text any time, doesn’t matter how late.”

  “Thanks, Brooke. Can you and Maddy update social media and say I’m okay but need space? I can’t deal with answering texts and keeping up with Snap Chat now.”

  “Of course.”

  “We’ll be heading back now. If you need anything…”

  “Thank you Mrs. Fox,” said Ava.

  “Text me,” said Maddy. She hugged Ava.

  On the way back, Emily said, “I think we’re being followed.”

  “That’s crazy. There aren’t any cars behind us.”

  “Not a car.”

  At that moment, a motorcycle zipped past them and cut across the front of their car.

  “Hang on!” Henry slammed on the brakes.

  Chapter 12

  “That was a close one last night,” said Emily. “I hope the police caught the guy.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath. By the time the police made it over, he was long gone. Maybe you should lay off the Rona Smyth story.”

  “You think that’s what this is about?”

  “Our window is busted, then the next day a motorcycle nearly kills us. Think about Maddy.”

  “If someone’s trying to stop me from asking questions, then it proves there actually is a story.”

  “Look, you should stay away from Rona Smyth. If she burned down her own restaurant and killed her parents, let alone possibly poisoned Faith Maguire, there’s no telling what she’ll do next.”

  Emily looked at the rooster clock. “I have to get going.” She gave him a kiss. “Make sure Maddy gets off on time. She’s usually up by now.”

  “Where are you going so early?”

  Emily slipped out the front door without answering. All she could think about was getting this appointment over with and getting a clean bill of health. She took a deep breath. Just seeing the pain in Ava’s eyes and watching Mila’s uncontrollable sobbing yesterday gave her the shivers. She couldn’t fathom Maddy going through that…again.

  She checked the GPS. Twenty minutes to the center. She put on an audio book but couldn’t focus, so she switched to the radio. She was probably overreacting to this whole thing. Henry always teased her about jumping from A to Z.

  All the police had to do was check to see if Rona owned a motorcycle. If she didn’t…on the other hand, she could have borrowed one. Borrowed? Motorcycles were a rare sight in Sugarbury Falls. This was more of a bike or hike community. Rebecca would be able to find out right away. Maybe she’d stop by after her appointment.

  Emily checked in at the desk and settled down with a month old People magazine. She flipped through the wrinkled pages, finding it hard to concentrate. Reporters got paid to write about Kardashian sightings? Probably more than she earned from years of work as a crime reporter. She checked the wall clock, then pulled out her to do list. After this, she wanted to contact Mary Burke, the name she’d gotten from Rona’s acquaintance. What was taking so long? She’d been here longer than the two people who came in after her.

  “Emily Fox?” The nurse stood at the door holding a clipboard. She followed her into a dressing room. “Wipe off your antiperspirant and put on the gown with the opening in front. The technician will come get you in a few minutes.”

  Emily did as she was told, carefully folded her blouse with her bra tucked inside, and sat in the plastic chair outside the dressing room. She wanted to get this over with and braced herself for the sure to be excruciating wait for results. Could she seriously hide this from Henry? He was sure to notice her anxiety. Maybe she’d just go ahead and tell him.

  “Mrs. Fox, follow me.” Emily shivered in the freezing cold mammography room.

  “Stand on the tape, face this way, hold your breath.”

  The technician, satisfied with the positioning, stepped away and took films of the breast in question. Luckily, Emily never found the mammography process to be painful, though several of her friends felt differently. After she was done, the technician pointed her in the direction of the ultrasound suite. One test down, one more to go.

  “Just relax. This will feel a little cold.” Emily, already covered in goose bumps, shivered more when the technician covered her breast with goopy gel. She turned her head and watched the image on the screen. Never having had children, she felt she’d missed out on seeing something interesting, like a fetus. Wait. Didn’t being pregnant and nursing reduce your risk of breast cancer? The technician hovered over one spot.

  “Why are you stopping?” She was sure the blob of white she saw on the screen was a tumor. She felt her hands clench.

  “Relax. We take standard measurements.”

  People assumed she and Henry didn’t want children. They were both somewhat older and at the height of their careers when they got married. And there was the death of her sister—she’d never gotten over feeling like it was her fault. Truth was, they’d tried but it never happened. She never told anyone how much they’d really wanted a baby. They’d even considered infertility treatments but by that time her age made the odds too bleak. The technician stopped again.

  “Is anything there?”

  “I’m not the doctor. I can’t say. They’ll contact you with the results.”

  Why couldn’t she say? Surely she did hundreds of these and knew whether or not something looked amiss. She bet that if everything was normal, she’d have told her so, or at least she’d make a comment like ‘don’t worry, it’ll be fine.’

  “All done.” She handed her a wipe. “You can get dressed and they’ll be in touch soon.”

  Soon? Did that mean there was something that needed to be acted on quickly? Soon was so relative. A day? A week? Two weeks? She asked on her way out but the receptionist wasn’t any more specific.

  When she got to the car, she called Mary Burke. Mary Burke agreed to speak with her but was at work and wanted to talk in person. Emily got an address and headed to Mary Burke’s bakery.

  It would all be okay. She knew she tended to overreac
t. It was her way of dealing with the possibility of bad news. She imagined the worst and tried to convince herself it sounded ridiculous. Only this time, it didn’t sound ridiculous enough.

  She found a parking spot right in front of Buy the Dozen. When she smelled the fresh bread the moment she crossed the threshold, she realized how hungry she was. The cashier showed her to the kitchen, where Mary Burke was checking the inventory.

  “Ms. Burke? I’m Emily Fox. Thanks for allowing me to come by.”

  “Not a problem. You said this had to do with Rona Maguire?”

  “Yes. As I said, Faith Maguire was murdered last week. She’d eaten food laced with a diabetes drug at my friend’s inn. My daughter happens to be friends with Faith’s daughter. Anyway, I’m doing a little investigating to help the police find the perpetrator. I understand you knew Rona Smyth from back in school.”

  “Yes. We were,” she cleared her throat, “friends. Or so I thought.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “We both wound up in the finals for a national baking contest. It came down to the two of us. The day of the bake-off, we had to create a four-tier wedding cake. Hers was beautiful, I’ll admit. Chocolate ganache. Mine, however, was stunning. I watched the faces of the judges when I presented it. I replicated a chapel with stone steps made of marzipan and a stained glass window out of candy brittle. It was gorgeous. No contest.”

  “And you didn’t win?”

  “The judges got sick after just a few bites. Ran to the bathroom, all three of them. Of course, she won. After all, who votes for a cake that makes you sick, right?”

  “But how…”

  “I found out later she’d put drops of Visine into my fondant. I found the bottle in the kitchen trash and confronted her. She admitted it to me but, of course, wouldn’t tell the judges.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything? They could have sent the cake to a lab to be tested.”

  “By then, I’d dumped the whole thing down the garbage disposal. They wouldn’t have believed me. I’d have come across like a sore loser.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, well. She got a cash prize and a job offer. I got a bad reputation and here I am managing a bakery that’s not even my own.”