Read Harper Lin - Patisserie 07 - Madeleine Murder for Free Online Page A

be long. How was the park?” 
    “Crowded. Cold. I don’t know who’s more dreadful, the Parisians or the tourists.” 
    After giving Clémence and Sophie one last dirty look, Cynthia headed towards the double doors that presumably led into their bedrooms. “Come on, Danny.”
    The enthusiastic little boy followed after Cynthia and the little girl. The doors shut with a bang.
    Chris gave them an awkward smile. “Sorry about the interruption.” 
    “Your wife is—charming,” Clémence said.
    “Cynthia? Oh, yes. Sometimes she’s a little intense, but she’s still adjusting to Paris.” 
    “Has she not been here for long?” 
    “She’s been here with me throughout the shoot. Since school’s out for Danny, my family’s been able to stay here with me. I’m glad to have them here. They keep me grounded in this crazy showbiz.” 
    “That’s good to hear,” Clémence said. “So back to Nicole Blake. Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to her?” 
    “Well I certainly don’t think anybody on my production could’ve killed her. I work with them every day. I can’t imagine someone I work with being a murderer.” 
    “You’d be surprised how many seemingly innocent people turn out to be the perps of heinous crimes,” Clémence said.
    “You sound like someone who’s seen a lot,” Chris said, examining her again. “You’re certainly a very interesting young woman. Are you sure there’s no chance of you doing a cameo in my movie?” 
    “I’m afraid not.” Clémence cracked a smile. “I’m just better behind the scenes.”
    “You know, I did talk to Nicole a lot about her character before we started shooting. We discussed the background of her character and how she was going to approach playing her. Her character is a recovering drug addict, and Nicole revealed to me that she was an alcoholic. What if she started drinking again?”
    “Have you seen her drunk before?” Clémence asked.
    “No. Never around me. But it’s not as if we would go drinking together. I’m working around the clock, and I don’t know what my cast and crew gets up to when they’re not working.”
    “So that’s what you think happened? She got drunk and had some sort of accident?” 
    “I hate to say it, but it’s likely she fell off the wagon and went a bit overboard with alcohol. My uncle was an alcoholic. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is to quit drinking.” 
    “I heard she’d been sober for years.” 
    Chris sighed. He lowered his head, and the girls automatically leaned in. “This is not public knowledge, but Nicole was rejected last week for a role she really wanted. It was an Amelia Earhart biopic, and Nicole had been campaigning the director, who’s a friend of mine, for months to get it. I put in a good word for her, but he took a pass. I’m afraid it was a blow to her ego I know that Nicole was set on winning an Oscar before she was thirty. The script would’ve given her a really good chance.” 
    “So you think she took to drinking to take the edge off the rejection?” Clémence asked.
    “It’s never easy. In my career, I have seen quite a number of actors taken by addiction. It’s a competitive industry, and actors are sensitive people to begin with. They need to be vulnerable to open themselves to the public like that. They have to, to make a living.” 

Chapter 7
    “So what do you think?” Sophie asked when they sat down in the Blue Bar of the Athena Hotel. 
    Clémence asked Caroline and Marie to help her dig up all the purchases and transaction information on their cash register before the store opened.
    Clémence was craving a cocktail for some reason. Maybe it was all the talk about Nicole Blake’s drinking problem. She and Sophie both ordered a Blue Haze, the Blue Bar’s signature drink.
    “I don’t know,” Clémence said. “Rachel thinks Nicole hadn’t been drinking, but it would be plausible that Nicole would turn to the bottle if she was that upset