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THE DEPUTY TOOK JENNA back into the house to wait for backup.
“It’s not fair!” Jenna wailed, over and over.
Autumn looked distressed. Everyone had gathered in the great room to talk about what had just happened. Suzanne had made the coffee, while Maddie sat on a sofa and petted Trixie. Her legs and arms felt almost normal.
Jenna had been read her rights – and had continued to sob throughout.
“Can I give her a cup of coffee, deputy?” Autumn asked.
“Okay,” he said. “But don’t make it too hot – just in case she tries anything.”
“I wouldn’t,” Jenna cried.
“Here you are, dear.” Autumn offered a cup to the soccer mom. The deputy had handcuffed her in the front, so she was able to hold the cup and drink it.
“Thank you,” Jenna whispered, taking a sip. “I’m sorry I ruined your weekend.” Her weak attempt at a smile became a grimace.
“I would suggest it might help to talk about it, but I don’t want to jeopardize your case, Jenna,” the group leader said.
The other ladies murmured agreement, including Maddie and Suzanne. Maddie would have loved to have known why Jenna had killed her friend, but Autumn was correct. It was Jenna’s right not to speak.
“I want to tell you,” Jenna said. “How can I plead not guilty when Maddie knows the truth?” She looked over at Maddie.
“That’s between you and your lawyer, ma’am,” the deputy said, shifting uncomfortably.
“Well, I will tell you.” Jenna squared her shoulders. “Because if the judge is a mother, then I’m sure she’ll understand my motives.” She sighed and shuddered. “I recently found out that Hailey was having an affair with my husband.”
“But I thought she was your best friend!” Brenda gasped.
“So did I,” Jenna replied sadly, clenching the coffee cup. “I picked up the phone extension at home to make a call one day, and I overheard her and my husband talking on the phone. She was urging him to take the kids and leave me. She said she’d dump her husband, and take her kids. And then they could all live together in a big house.” Tears trickled down her face.
“We’ve been married fifteen years and have three kids. You saw the photos of them Friday night,” Jenna continued. “How could she think of doing that to me? It was bad enough she was betraying me with my husband, but how could she be cruel enough to want to take my children from me?”
“I don’t know.” Linda shook her head, sympathy in her expression.
“We’d already booked this retreat before I found out about the affair. And then I thought maybe this was a chance to change her mind about stealing my children. If I could show her how much I loved them, by telling everyone about them and showing off their photos, then maybe she would realize that what she was thinking of doing was so wrong. Even if I couldn’t stop her from running off with John, at least I’d still have my kids.”
Autumn, Edith, Brenda, and Linda nodded in agreement. Maddie found herself nodding too. She peeked at Suzanne – yep.
“But you heard what she said in front of everyone – that snide little comment when I was showing you my brag book.” Jenna’s jaw set. “And I thought, I’ve had enough of her trying to ruin my life. There’s only one way to stop her – and if I don’t want to lose my family, I have to do it.”
“How did she expect to be a good mother to five kids?” Jenna snorted. “At least a couple of times per week she’d call me and ask to pick up one or two of hers because she was busy getting a mani-pedi or a massage. Did she really think she’d be able to keep calling me to pick up her kids – as well as mine – to help her out when she took mine away from me in the first place?”
“I’m so sorry, Jenna,” Autumn said, patting the soccer mom’s shoulder. “I wish I could find something positive in this situation to help cheer you up.”
“But I do feel better now that I’ve told you about it,” Jenna replied. “I had no idea how much anger I’d bottled up since I first heard Hailey plotting with my husband on the phone.” She exhaled.
“So you were in Hailey’s room that night?” Suzanne asked. “And you smoth ...” her voice trailed off and an uncertain look crossed her face.
“Maybe you better not answer that,” Maddie said.
“Yes. I’m sorry.” Suzanne looked apologetic.
“It’s okay.” Jenna put down the coffee cup. “Yes, I thought smothering her was my best option. I knew she slept with an eye mask on and that she was a heavy sleeper. All I had to do was hold the pillow over her face until she stopped struggling. And if by some miracle she survived, she wouldn’t know it was me because of her eye mask. I thought it was foolproof.” She bit her lip. “But somehow Maddie worked out it was me.”
“It was the pillows,” Maddie replied. “You said you went to borrow one because you slept with two under your head but I didn’t see two stacked on top of each other when I was in your room checking to see if you were okay. And there weren’t any in the armoire.”
“I thought it was a good excuse in case anyone saw me go to her room last night,” Jenna admitted. “I only sleep with one pillow.”
“Did you take my phone?” Suzanne asked.
“Yes.” Jenna nodded. “I overheard you and Maddie talking in the kitchen about a suspect list – I’d come down to get some orange juice. I hid around the corner and when you left the kitchen, I grabbed your phone. When I saw that you hadn’t singled me out on your list, I left it by the staircase. You were supposed to think that you’d dropped it,” she finished wryly.
A noise at the front door alerted them that someone had arrived. The deputy went to the doorway.
“We’re in here,” he shouted down the hall.
Detective Edgewater appeared, along with another deputy.
“Catch me up, please,” Detective Edgewater said, studying Jenna.
As the deputy briefly updated the detective, Maddie wondered if Detective Edgewater would reproach her and Suzanne for “helping”.
“Maddie here was the one who realized what was going on,” the deputy finished up. “If it wasn’t for her chasing after the suspect, she might have gotten away.”
“And where were you while the suspect made a run for it?” Detective Edgewater enquired, a frown on his face.
The deputy flushed. “I was on the phone talking to my wife.”
Detective Edgewater harrumphed, then turned to Maddie and Suzanne. “I’m glad you two are okay. And Trixie, of course.” He looked keenly at Maddie. “You are, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Detective Edgewater,” Maddie replied. “We’re fine.”
“Good.” He looked pleased.
He and the other deputy escorted Jenna outside. The soccer mom had begun to sob again, as if realizing the enormity of her situation.
The deputy left too, now that there was no longer a murderer at large, after thanking them for the delicious vegan food.
There was an awkward silence for a few minutes.
“Well, everyone.” Autumn clapped her hands. “Maybe we should wrap things up now. It’s certainly been an eventful weekend.”
Everyone nodded.
“Mrrow!”
Trixie’s assent broke the somber mood.
“Perhaps we could go around the room and mention a positive thought or feeling we’ve experienced this weekend. I realize that might sound callous, and it’s certainly not meant to be in the light of Hailey and Jenna, but this is your workshop too, ladies.” Autumn smiled at them.
Everyone nodded, even Maddie and Suzanne.
“I’ll go first,” Autumn said brightly. “I’m glad I hired Maddie and Suzanne – and Trixie, of course – to do the catering. They’ve been a big help.”
Everyone smiled and clapped, although Maddie suspected most of the applause was for Trixie.
“May I go next?” Edith raised her hand.
“Of course, dear,” Autumn encouraged.
“After finding out about my grandmother’s past a few years ago, I didn’t want the same thing to happen to me.” Edith swept a hand in front of her, indicating her clothes. Maddie realized they didn’t seem as shapeless and drab as usual. “But after talking to Linda—” she smiled at the older woman “—I realized I shouldn’t let my grandmother’s past dictate my future. So tomorrow I’m going clothes shopping and buying clothes I want to wear, not clothes I think I should wear. And maybe I’ll get my hair cut, too.”
“Wonderful, Edith.” Autumn clapped and beamed.
Maddie joined in the applause, wondering what sort of outfits Edith had in mind. Whatever they were, she hoped they made Edith happy.
“This weekend has reinforced my decision to get a cat,” Brenda said. “My ex-husband wouldn’t allow me to have a pet. But now I’m single, I can do whatever I want – and I definitely want a cat.” She smiled at Trixie.
“Mrrow,” Trixie said in approval.
Everyone clapped.
“After talking to Edith—” Linda nodded to the girl, “I realized that there wasn’t anything I could do to make my father stay married to my mom. And that his leaving wasn’t my fault.”
“Yes!” Autumn smiled and cheered.
There was a pause. Everyone looked expectantly at Maddie and Suzanne.
“Oh.” Maddie looked down at Trixie, nestled in her arms. “I’m so grateful Trixie came into my life a little over a year ago. I don’t know what I’d do without her.” That was the absolute truth.
“Yay!” Autumn led the applause.
“And I’m so happy Maddie is my best friend – and Trixie, of course.” Suzanne grinned at the duo. “It’s exciting at times being their friend – and I wouldn’t want anything to be different.”
More cheers and applause.
The workshop wound up, with Edith, Brenda, and Linda swapping phone numbers and promising to meet up in a week. Since they all lived either in Seattle or on the other side of it, it was easier for them to get together.
“We’ve got a lot of dishes to do before we can go home.” Suzanne pulled a face.
Maddie sighed. “I think this is the downside to catering jobs.”
“Yep,” Suzanne agreed. “But the good news is we made some decent money and—” she lowered her voice and whispered “—you used a new spell and stopped a killer from getting away.”
“Shh!” Maddie scanned the room but nobody seemed interested in their conversation.
Trixie jumped off Maddie’s lap and ran over to Autumn.
“Mrrow.” It sounded like Trixie was saying goodbye.
“Goodbye, Trixie.” Autumn bent down and stroked the Persian. “Thank you for being so kind to me this weekend.”
“Mrrow.” To Maddie, it sounded like, “You’re welcome.”
“Everyone, before we depart, I must tell you something. Trixie has inspired me to create a brand-new workshop called—” Autumn paused dramatically “—Freeing the Feminine Feline Within.”
“Ooh!” Brenda looked excited.
“I’ll have to design it, but I think this might be my best workshop yet! It will be all about how to think and feel with your senses, just like cats do. How to live in the moment, embracing positivity of course, and how to sense the vibrations in the room, just like cats do.”
“Are you sure Autumn doesn’t have any magical powers?” Suzanne whispered to Maddie.
Maddie smiled slowly. “Maybe she does, but she doesn’t know it yet.”
“Or maybe she needs a familiar like Trixie to find her,” Suzanne suggested.
“Mrrow!”
The End
I hope you enjoyed reading this mystery. Sign up to my newsletter at www.JintyJames.com and be among the first to discover when the next book in this series is published!
Have you read:
Spells and Spiced Latte - A Coffee Witch Cozy Mystery - Maddie Goodwell 1
Visions and Vanilla Cappuccino - A Coffee Witch Cozy Mystery - Maddie Goodwell 2
Magic and Mocha – A Coffee Witch Cozy Mystery – Maddie Goodwell 3
Enchantments and Espresso – A Coffee Witch Cozy Mystery – Maddie Goodwell 4
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PINEAPPLE COCONUT BALLS recipe on the next page in US and Metric measurements!
