Read Murder in Aix (The Maggie Newberry Mystery Series Book 5) for Free Online

held
his arm out against Maggie dropped it to his side, but he continued to block
her from going any further.
    “It’s okay,
Maggie,” Julia called to her with a shaky voice. “It’s a mistake and I’ll get
it sorted out.” She turned to Roger. “Where?”
    “Your consulate
has been notified,” he said. “You’ll be held at the Palais de Justice here in Aix.
    “I’m coming with
you,” Maggie said.
    Roger and Julia
both turned to her. “Maggie, no,” they said, nearly in unison.
    “I’ll be fine,
Maggie,” Julia said as she turned away and allowed Roger to cuff her hands
behind her back. “Have Laurent come pick me up in an hour.”
    Roger took Julia
by the arm and shoved her past Maggie toward the door. Before exiting, he
turned to Maggie. “I wouldn’t bother.”
    Maggie could see
the anger and hurt in his eyes, and something more. Shame. He knew he had no
right to his feelings. In a moment he was out the door and gone, but not before
Maggie thought she could hear Julia start to weep again.
     
    *                *                       *
     
    “What do you mean they’re holding her overnight ?”
Maggie waddled over to where Laurent stood in the living room of their home. He
had just tossed down his cellphone and stood staring out the French doors into
the distance, as if an answer might be out there that wasn’t available anywhere
else.
    “Just that, ma chère ,” he said tiredly. “They will
not release her tonight.”
    “But I told Julia
you would come pick her up.” Maggie looked helplessly at Laurent and then over
at Grace, who was sitting quietly in an overstuffed armchair watching her.
    “ Je sais ,” he said, reaching an arm out
to draw her close to him. I know .
“But we must wait. They are not releasing her.”
    “Stop saying
that!” Maggie put her arms around her husband. “Does this mean they have some kind
of proof of her involvement? Is that possible?” Maggie looked up at Laurent as
if expecting an answer and he shrugged.
    Grace unwound her
long legs from underneath her and stretched her back. She crossed her ankles.
“I guess the ex-girlfriend or the ex-wife always tops the list of suspects.
Makes sense.”
    “But he was alone
when he died,” Maggie said, pulling out of Laurent’s arms and addressing Grace.
“How can it be murder when he was all alone?” She looked at Laurent as if a new
thought had just come to her. “Maybe the daughter did it. Julia said she was a
bitch and didn’t get along with her father. And she found the body. Isn’t that like a classic rule of thumb? The person who
finds the body is most likely the killer?”
    “I have never
heard of this rule,” Laurent said, frowning. She saw him scanning the furniture
in the living room for the glass of wine he had set down.
    “Yes, I’ve heard
of it,” Grace said, nodding. “First the spouse and then the person who found
the body. It’s a classic formula.”
    “It’s true,
right?” Maggie said.
    “Yeah, except for
one thing,” Grace said, picking up her own wineglass. “They arrested her for murder , not took her in for questioning,
so they must know something.”
    “I can’t believe
this is happening,” Maggie said. “I was going to introduce you two today.”
    “Oh, well.”
    “Maggie?” Laurent
stepped back into the room and held up his car keys. I am going into the
village, yes? You are alright here with Grace?”
    Maggie nodded.
“Fine, Laurent. If they call you—”
    “I will go
immediately. You are not to worry now, yes?”
    “Okay.” Maggie
forced herself to smile at her husband. She knew he hated to see her stressed,
especially this late in the pregnancy. When she heard the front door shut, she
turned to Grace. “We need to do something.”
    Grace raised her
eyebrows. “You mean like organize a jailbreak?”
    Maggie sat down
on the sofa and began pulling at the hem of her tunic. She stood up again in
agitation. “I don’t know