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Book: Dying for the Truth (A Rockcrest Cove Cozy Mystery Book 4) by Emily Page
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Authors: Emily Page
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the papers she had on the table. “Ah, here it is, three hundred thousand dollars.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Maddie exclaimed. “There’s no way that Evan would have borrowed that much money. And certainly no way for him to earn enough to pay him back even if his business was doing well.”
“Well, it’s right here in black and white.”
“When did he borrow this money?” Maddie asked.
“According to this it was two years ago.”
Maddie sat back in her chair, her thoughts spinning through her head. “That was right about the time that the bakery opened, right? Emma was still alive.”
“So, it was Emma that borrowed the money,” Eleanor contributed.
“It could have been seed money to get the new business off the ground.”
“But maybe Evan didn’t even know about the loan until it defaulted.”
Maddie got up and started pacing the floor with Bailey. “I don’t understand something,” she said, chewing on her fingernail. “Why was he in default? The business was doing very well. When Bailey and I were in there, they were having an extremely difficult time keeping up with customer demand.”
“That may be true, but apparently it wasn’t enough.”
“Loan shark?” Eleanor asked.
“Or maybe a gang, trying to squeeze them out of money for ‘protection.’ Or something like that.”
“Whatever it is, we need to know why he wasn’t able to pay it back even with a pretty successful business venture.”
“There’s something else too,” Bailey added. “Evan was single, so he had a life insurance policy to the tune of a million dollars.”
“What?”
“Guess who was the beneficiary?”
“Michael Hale,” Maddie said quietly.
“We need a meeting with Michael Hale,” Eleanor announced.
“Ok. I’ll call him and set up a meeting,” Maddie offered. “We met him on the cruise, and I think he’d be very interested in finding out how well the case is going.”
Another week had passed and little had changed. Connors had still not looked for another suspect and Maddie was still the prime target. She was starting to get concerned that she would have to face trial, so she decided to follow through and confront Michael. She had discussed the matter with Phil in her nightly conversations with him. He had been very worried about more than just her arrest. He too had learned about Connors and his bullheaded ways and was worried that if another suspect was not found and arrested soon, Maddie would have to stand trial.
Because of that, he wanted to make sure that she was protected when she confronted Michael. He had arranged for several of his security personnel from the boat to be close by for their meeting tonight. The concern was that if she had used Bailey, Eleanor, or even Kyle, they would be recognized and the whole plan foiled. So his personnel would be sitting close by for the entire affair.
Maddie didn’t really feel that was necessary, but she agreed to it anyway. Phil had made his point very clear, either his personnel would be there or he would. Reluctantly, Maddie agreed as long as Bailey was allowed to be somewhere out of sight as well. The bickering had gone well into the night, but eventually they came to an agreement and the stage was set.
Michael was already waiting for Madeline when she arrived. She smiled at him as she once again admired his finely tailored suit. Maddie found it hard to believe that Michael could have been responsible for such a heinous crime, but after their discussion the other night, all the evidence pointed in his direction.
“Maddie.” He smiled. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“Likewise.” She smiled back at him. “Have you been waiting long?”
“No. Just arrived only moments ago.” He took a casual look at his watch. “Shall we go inside?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “It’s a little chilly out here.”
He
“That’s ridiculous!” Maddie exclaimed. “There’s no way that Evan would have borrowed that much money. And certainly no way for him to earn enough to pay him back even if his business was doing well.”
“Well, it’s right here in black and white.”
“When did he borrow this money?” Maddie asked.
“According to this it was two years ago.”
Maddie sat back in her chair, her thoughts spinning through her head. “That was right about the time that the bakery opened, right? Emma was still alive.”
“So, it was Emma that borrowed the money,” Eleanor contributed.
“It could have been seed money to get the new business off the ground.”
“But maybe Evan didn’t even know about the loan until it defaulted.”
Maddie got up and started pacing the floor with Bailey. “I don’t understand something,” she said, chewing on her fingernail. “Why was he in default? The business was doing very well. When Bailey and I were in there, they were having an extremely difficult time keeping up with customer demand.”
“That may be true, but apparently it wasn’t enough.”
“Loan shark?” Eleanor asked.
“Or maybe a gang, trying to squeeze them out of money for ‘protection.’ Or something like that.”
“Whatever it is, we need to know why he wasn’t able to pay it back even with a pretty successful business venture.”
“There’s something else too,” Bailey added. “Evan was single, so he had a life insurance policy to the tune of a million dollars.”
“What?”
“Guess who was the beneficiary?”
“Michael Hale,” Maddie said quietly.
“We need a meeting with Michael Hale,” Eleanor announced.
“Ok. I’ll call him and set up a meeting,” Maddie offered. “We met him on the cruise, and I think he’d be very interested in finding out how well the case is going.”
Another week had passed and little had changed. Connors had still not looked for another suspect and Maddie was still the prime target. She was starting to get concerned that she would have to face trial, so she decided to follow through and confront Michael. She had discussed the matter with Phil in her nightly conversations with him. He had been very worried about more than just her arrest. He too had learned about Connors and his bullheaded ways and was worried that if another suspect was not found and arrested soon, Maddie would have to stand trial.
Because of that, he wanted to make sure that she was protected when she confronted Michael. He had arranged for several of his security personnel from the boat to be close by for their meeting tonight. The concern was that if she had used Bailey, Eleanor, or even Kyle, they would be recognized and the whole plan foiled. So his personnel would be sitting close by for the entire affair.
Maddie didn’t really feel that was necessary, but she agreed to it anyway. Phil had made his point very clear, either his personnel would be there or he would. Reluctantly, Maddie agreed as long as Bailey was allowed to be somewhere out of sight as well. The bickering had gone well into the night, but eventually they came to an agreement and the stage was set.
Michael was already waiting for Madeline when she arrived. She smiled at him as she once again admired his finely tailored suit. Maddie found it hard to believe that Michael could have been responsible for such a heinous crime, but after their discussion the other night, all the evidence pointed in his direction.
“Maddie.” He smiled. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“Likewise.” She smiled back at him. “Have you been waiting long?”
“No. Just arrived only moments ago.” He took a casual look at his watch. “Shall we go inside?”
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “It’s a little chilly out here.”
He
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