Fatal Field Trip (Maggie McManus Murder Mysteries Book 1) by Marcia Dove

Author:Marcia Dove [Dove, Marcia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2022-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Saturday morning, I was up early drinking coffee and wondering what dessert to make for Jennifer’s potluck dinner. I finally decided on a universal favorite, cheesecake; my mom’s recipe with cherry topping always receives rave reviews. I had planned a food shopping trip to Publix this morning; I added the ingredients I needed to the shopping list. Cheesecake needs time to refrigerate; I had better shop early. I tacked on a few more errands to my morning outing: gas up the Camaro, run it through the car wash, and a stop at the dry cleaners.

I hate letting a day get away from me when I have so much to do. I was off to run my errands by 8 a.m and home by 10 a.m. Time to make the cheesecake.

I decided to wear comfortable, casual attire to the party— black, brown, and white leopard print palazzo pants with a black turtle neck sweater and gold hoop earrings. Perhaps a little dramatic, but a fun, spirit-lifting choice.

Trip was ringing my doorbell at 5 p.m. sharp; a punctual male and a GM no less. Kudos to Trip. I often ran late when I was a GM. The hotel, so far, must be quiet on a Saturday evening. I opened the door for Trip, and I knew I had chosen wisely. The man laughed, saying, “You never cease to amaze me.”

I grinned at him, eyeing his attire, tan khakis, and red a plaid shirt; “Red is definitely your color.”

I retrieved the cheesecake from the fridge, put it and the cherry topping in food carriers, and we departed for Jennifer’s house.

Jennifer and Todd Davis live in a sprawling ranch situated on several acres on the outskirts of River Town. As we drove up, I noticed several outbuildings to the rear of the house; one I learned later was a barn where they stabled a few horses; Todd was a former equestrian medal winner and gave riding lessons on the weekends. Jennifer’s and Todd’s three children and their spouses were already there. Bart and Glenda Flanagan arrived right after us—making up our pot luck party of twelve.

Small towns have their good and bad points; everyone always knows everyone else, creating a real sense of community. However, that said, no one is ever safe from scrutiny over possible conflicts of interest or gossip. Later in the evening, I learned that Bart was not only the attorney for the River Town Hotel and Conference Center but handled closings for the Davis real estate business. He had also handled Sara Milligan’s legal transactions. Small town, small world.

Jennifer introduced me to her family members and other guests, adding offbeat, trivial tidbits about each person. She laughingly said, “Maggie is the woman who can’t stop finding dead bodies in Trip’s boardroom.”

It turned out I didn’t get to spend much time with Jennifer, after all. She was pretty busy making drinks, warming up food, and clearing tables. I envied Jennifer’s relationship with her children and their spouses. With my

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