Free Maddie's Recipe Of Mysteries (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Emily Page

After a short hesitation, she continued.
     
    “I’m sure you’ve heard about what happened to Emma Larson.”
     
    “Oh,” Kelsey stated, almost as if someone had let the air out of her.
     
    “Yes, I did. A sad affair, but I can’t say that I’m surprised,” she added.
     
    Both Madeline and Bailey looked up but didn’t say anything.
     
    “Can I get you ladies something to drink? Coffee? Tea? It’s been so long since I’ve had any visitors around. I could use the company.”
     
    They all settled down to a little small talk before the conversation got back around to Emma.
     
    “Kelsey,” Madeline started, “do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
     
    Kelsey put her cup down on the table and turned to face Madeline. “About Emma?”
     
    “Yes.”
     
    Madeline put her cup down and faced the other woman. “As you’ve probably heard, there was no love lost between me and Emma, and we had a serious falling out a couple of years back. We hadn’t spoken to each other since.”
     
    “Well, news travels here in Rockcrest Cove,” Kelsey agreed.
     
    “My guess is you’re here because you’ve heard the rumors about Emma and my husband.”
     
    “Yes, we have.” Bailey finally spoke for the first time.
     
    “Well, I have to admit, there was no love lost between me and Emma either.”
     
    Kelsey looked pensive as she recalled that day several years ago.
     
    “I’m not going to lie. When I heard what happened, I wasn’t at all shocked, nor was I the least bit saddened. The woman nearly wrecked my marriage.”
     
    “So the rumors were true?” Bailey asked.
     
    “Without a doubt.” Kelsey turned so she could look Madeline directly in the face. She leaned in a little.
     
    “As a matter of fact, Madeline, the whole affair was your fault.”
     
    “Me? How could I be responsible? I never put Emma and your husband together.”
     
    Her defensive posture was understandable. First, she was accused of murdering her long-time rival, and now she was being accused of setting up an adulterous affair.
     
    “Oh, let me explain myself,” Kelsey offered.
     
    “I didn’t mean it was you directly that set up the affair, but it was your praline cupcakes,” she explained.
     
    “Ever since your bakery opened, my husband couldn’t get enough of your pralines. Every time we had an event, he had to place a large order with your bakery. You are the only one that can make them, you know.”
     
    ‘Yes, I know,” Madeline said with a little relief.
     
    “Well, I always thought it was the cupcakes that he loved, so I never questioned why he wanted to order them all the time.”
     
    Kelsey paused for a minute while she tried to recall the events of that day so long ago. Even years later, her emotions were still raw.
     
    “I didn’t know anything, as I was busy, involved in my own projects as the wife of the mayor.”
     
    “I see,” Madeline said. She felt she had to interject something, but she really wanted the lady to continue on without interruption.
     
    “Anyway, I was often out during the day, going to my different events, but on that day, I had forgotten my calendar, so I had to return home to pick it up. That’s when I found them.”
     
    Bailey gasped. “You found them?”
     
    “Yes. Upstairs in our bedroom.” She rounded on Madeline.
     
    “With your cupcakes all over our bed. They didn’t even have enough sense to use a guest bedroom, where they were less likely to be caught.”
     
    Madeline was mortified. She had allowed Emma to make deliveries for several of her clients before. Could she have done this with any of her other clients as well?
     
    “I’m so sorry, Kelsey,” Madeline said. “Emma made a lot of deliveries for me. I never thought about the possibilities.”
     
    “Well, it backfired on my husband,” Kelsey continued.
     
    “He thought he had caught himself a young little filly he could keep on the side, but it turned out she only wanted the affair