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THE NEXT MORNING, MADDIE watched Suzanne attempt to call Detective Edgewater between coffee orders.
Trixie sat on her stool in the early morning sun, lazily waving a paw to her favorite customers.
Their Saturday morning rush was in full swing, with customers gobbling up two varieties of health balls – maple macadamia and cacao coconut.
“Finally!” Suzanne muttered as she held her cell phone to her ear. Maddie could hear the faint sound of ringing on the other end of the line.
Maddie heard her friend’s part of the conversation as she made a large vanilla latte for an elderly man, smiling at him as she handed him the drink and taking his money, while Suzanne was occupied.
“Okay, detective. Thanks.” Suzanne ended the call. “He said he’s going to come over and tell us what happened last night to the judge. Oh, and he asked for a large vanilla cappuccino and two health balls, ready to go.”
“Okay.” Maddie set to work, making the detective’s favorite drink.
Suzanne practically hopped with impatience as she waited for Detective Edgewater to arrive. When he finally lumbered into view, she rushed to the serving window. Luckily, there were no other customers around, so the three of them could talk in relative privacy.
“Here you go, detective.” Maddie handed him the large paper cup and a small bag holding the health balls. They’d decided to give him one of each flavor, since he hadn’t specified on the phone.
“Thanks.” He took a sip of the coffee, his face creasing into a smile. “I’m glad you won that competition, Miss Goodwell. You deserved to.”
“Thanks.” Maddie smiled.
“That’s seven ninety, please.” Suzanne held out her hand for the money.
“No wonder you girls make a living at this.” He mock-grumbled, pulling out some bills from his wallet.
“Now tell us what happened to the judge’s car,” Suzanne urged.
Trixie sat up straight on her stool, her ears pricked.
The detective took the demand in a good-humored manner.
“No foul play was involved last night,” he pronounced after another sip of his coffee. “Those brake pads were worn away.” He tsked. “If you ever hear your brakes squeak, you better get them checked out ASAP.”
“We will,” Maddie vowed.
“It was lucky he wasn’t injured more severely,” the detective continued. “That tree will never be the same, though, on Basin Road. They’re talking about cutting it down.”
“Oh.” Maddie had often walked past the huge pine tree, marveling at its height and strong proportions.
“So there was no possibility his brakes could have been tampered with?” Suzanne doublechecked.
“None at all,” Detective Edgewater reassured her.
“But what about his heart medication?” Suzanne persisted. “If his car crash last night was an accident, he could have still slipped Dave Dantzler an overdose of digoxin in his coffee.” She frowned at the detective. “Was Dave on heart medication? You haven’t told us yet.”
He sighed. “No, he wasn’t. And I looked into Mr. Grenville, the judge, Miss Taylor. He’s on a medication that contains nitroglycerine, not digoxin. So he appears to be in the clear. We’ll be focusing our inquiries in other areas.”
“Oh,” Maddie said. She was pleased that it looked like the judge was innocent – she’d taken a liking to the man – but where did that leave their investigation? Hers and Suzanne’s – and Trixie’s?
