A Taste of Death (Maggie Olenski Series) by Mary Ellen Hughes

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    "At least I could drive you there, couldn't I?" Dyna said, looking torn. "I don't want you to get lost."
    "Don't worry, I had a sashful of badges in Girl Scouts. And these are my most favorite of all conditions for taking a walk through the woods. See you later."
    Maggie pulled open the side door and trotted down the steps before Dyna could say anything more.
    At the end of the driveway Maggie turned left to hike the few yards down the road to the footpath that wound through the woods. Dyna had pointed it out as they drove past it yesterday afternoon, explaining that it was a short cut to Main Street. She could have taken her own car, but Maggie felt a need to work off some of the frustrated energy still with her from last night after her laptop went dead.
    When she stepped into the woods Maggie was immediately enveloped in the perfect silence of tall trees and softly falling snow, and she felt her tension lessen. Thanks to snowmobilers packing down the snow . the path was walkable, but, ha ppily, there was no sign of the noisy vehicles at the moment . It was so quiet she could almost hear the flakes land, and she was transported to another world.
    After walking a while, since she was all alone, she tilted up her head and stuck out her tongue to catch a few flakes. They were cold and delicious, just as they had been when she was ten years old. Although she had said it lightly, Maggie realized what she said was true. These conditions were her favorite for taking walks.
    She noticed no signs of any wildlife as she went along - no squirrels, chipmunks, or birds twittering around, which caused her to picture small creatures peeking out from their cozy nooks, shaking their heads in amazement at this foolish, two-legged creature, outside in the cold and damp instead of sensibly tucked away like them. She grinned. A little snowfall certainly seemed to bring out the child in her. Before long she'd find herself plopped on her back making snow angels as she had loved to do in kindergarten.
    Maggie grabbed a long stick lying in her way and carried it with her as she walked. She tried swinging it as a tennis racquet, remembering the lesson Rob had given her last summer on her backhand, but decided the slim branch made a better golf club or hockey stick, and batted at a pine cone or two. She walked on in this manner, enjoying her isolated world until the path took her over a small rise and back in to civilization.
    She stepped out onto the sidewalk of Main Street and shook her mind back to the real world. Time to get down to business. She remembered Dyna's directions to the shop she thought was most likely to carry a power adapter and turned left, picking up her pace, not sure how far to go but taking the opportunity to check out a little more of the Cedar Hill shopping area close up. With the predominance of huge malls back home, where you left your car in a multi-level garage, Maggie was still getting used to the novelty of stores that people could actually walk to, or park in front of.
    A horn beeped, and she turned to see the mayor's wife, Susan Larson, drive by, waving. She waved back, smiling, and found herself thinking how really nice this little town was, in so many ways. If only people didn't happen to get murdered t here.
    Maggie looked into the windows of a gift shop as she walked by, passed a small bakery, a dress shop and a pharmacy, and eventually came to the office supply store Dyna had directed her to. A large CLOSED sign hung at the door. Her stomach dropped, and she stood frozen to the spot, staring at the dreadful sign. Now what?
    Maggie could have kicked herself for not calling first, for not having at least made a back-up plan. She looked around helplessly, and her gaze fell on the shop across the street, "The Book Nook ," quite possibly the book shop Elizabeth managed.
    Maggie remembered Paul Dekens' request that they check on Elizabeth, and Dyna's offer to stop in on her yesterday, both forgotten in their après