A Special Delivery To Die For (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 2) by Emily Page Page B

Stevens more than likely entertained and welcomed a long parade of guests. Since it was possible to see only partly into the room, Maddie took a tentative step forward into the large expanse and immediately turned up her nose at the nouveau riche décor. Clearly , she thought to herself, here was someone who was quite proud to flaunt her money and show off her success. It was finely decorated with an odd mixture that told of Ana’s many travels around the world. The east-meets-west motif didn’t quite come off too well with odd combinations of wall hangings from around the world, sofa pillows from India, or maybe it was Indonesia, rugs from somewhere in the Middle East, and tall, thin, African wood carvings to finish it off. On the mantle was a clutter of pictures of Ana in front of the pyramids of Egypt, the Great Wall of China, and even one at the Berlin Wall before it cam crashing down.
     
    On the far side of the room between the living room and the dining room was a landing with a staircase that led to the more private upstairs living area. The lower half of the staircase led down into the dining area opposite the main entrance to the living room.
     
    “Rachel, you still there?” she whispered into the phone as she walked past the staircase into the dining room.
     
    “Yes, ma’am. Still here.”
     
    “Ok, don’t hang up, whatever you do. I may need you to call the police, but wait until I say so.”
     
    “All right.”
     
    Maddie wrinkled up her nose again; it was nice stuff, but it seemed to be a bit of overkill. She called out again; she just wanted to get her delivery done and be on her way.
     
    “Rachel, are you still there?”
     
    “Yes, I’m here,” came the reply.
     
    “Are you sure the order was for a delivery today?”
     
    “Yes, ma’am,” she confirmed. “They said they had to have it by early afternoon.”
     
    “Well, I’m here and there’s not a soul around,” Maddie reiterated. “The door was open,” she said and then corrected. “Well, it was not really pulled closed is more like it.”
     
    “Maybe they had some sort of emergency and had to leave in a hurry.”
     
    “Yes, that would explain the door not being completely closed,” Maddie agreed as she made her way into the dining room where she left her packages on the table before heading into the kitchen. “Oh my God,” Maddie said. “Something is very wrong here.”
     
    The room was not quite in complete disarray, but Maddie got the sense that something awful had happened there. The table was set for two, but food was still on the plates from the night before, partially eaten. Utensils were strewn across the floor and a lone wine glass with its contents splattered across the hardwood floor, the stain already set in stone. On the other side of the table was a stack of papers seemingly untouched by the chaos that occurred on the other side of the room.
     
    “Rachel!” Maddie said into the phone. “I think something happened here.”
     
    “Oh my gosh, Ms. Maddie. Are you sure?” Rachel gasped into the phone.
     
    Maddie’s eyes surveyed the room observing all of the little details. She started snapping pictures of everything she saw. A stack of business papers strewn across the dining room table and a few on the floor, two plates of food half eaten, and a broken wine glass, its contents splayed across the floor. “Mmm hmm,” She said as she snapped another picture. “Pretty sure.”
     
    She walked further into the spacious kitchen before turning back towards the way she came when she noticed something on the landing of the staircase leading upstairs.
     
    “There’s something on the stairs,” she said, taking it upon herself to investigate.
     
    As Maddie walked over, she suddenly stopped short. A lone foot, wearing a stylish stiletto, could be seen on the bottom step above the landing. As she rounded the corner, she could see the owner of the shoe.
     
    “Oh my God!” Maddie exclaimed as she