Murder in Aix (The Maggie Newberry Mystery Series Book 5) by Susan Kiernan-Lewis Page B

somewhere and hide for the rest of her life?
     
         Maggie poured herself
an espresso from the pot on the
counter and sat down next to Zou-zou at the big table in the dining room.
         “Such a big girl who
doesn’t need a booster chair” Maggie said, handing the baby a dish of sliced
bananas Laurent had prepared. The girl scooped up the contents of the entire
dish and stuffed them all into her mouth.
    “Dear God in
heaven,” Maggie said, staring at her.
    “I believe she is
to be handfed, Maggie,” Laurent said, frowning as Zou-zou labored through the
chewing of her mouthful of bananas.  
    “Is she starving,
do you think?”
    “I have already
fed her scrambled eggs and brioche au
chocolat .”
    “She’s like one
of those dogs that doesn’t have a mechanism to determine when they’ve had
enough.”
    “You just made
that up.”
    “Any more of that brioche left?”
    “ Non , Mademoiselle Zou-zou is a girl of
large appetites.”
    “God, I’ll say.
Oh, Laurent, where did you put the bird? He can’t be near drafts.”
    “Why again is it
we have a bird?”
    “It’s Julia’s
lovebird. Someone has to take care of him until she gets out. That crazy
Michelle would’ve killed him if I hadn’t come along.”
         “Ah, yes. And why again
did you come along? Indulge me, ch é rie .”
    “Oh, come on,
Laurent. You didn’t think I was just going to sit back and wait for the phone
to ring, did you? I need to do what I can to help.”
         “And so you found
yourself, eight months pregnant, face-to-face with an axe-wielding crazy woman
in the midst of committing a felony.”
    “Is it a felony?
I thought vandalism was a misdemeanor.”
    “Not when you
break and enter in order to do it, and please do not distract me from my
point.”
         Maggie got up and
lumbered over to him where he stood in the kitchen, his hands on his hips, a
dishtowel thrown over one shoulder. She put her arms around his waist. “Please
don’t worry so much about me, Laurent. I’m being very careful, I promise.” She
pulled away and rubbed her stomach, smiling up at him. “We’re both being very careful.”
    “Well, then will
you wait until I am available to go to the jail to see Julia?”
    Maggie hesitated.
“Well, sure, okay. If you think that’s really necessary.”
    “I do.”
    “Can you go
today? I haven’t seen her since the arrest and I—”
    “I cannot go
today.”
    “Okay, see, now we’ve
got a problem. Your schedule is not very flexible because of the harvest and I
understand that, I do. But I can’t wait until all the grapes are picked before
I go and see how she’s doing. Maybe Grace can come with me?”
    She saw Laurent
glance at Zou-zou, happily shredding a paper napkin.
    “Grace is not…”
He looked away and made a noise of frustration. “That would be no better than
you going alone.”
    “Well, good. I’m
glad you’re okay with me—”
    “ Non , Maggie, I am not okay with you going to the jail alone. Non .”
    “What the hell,
Laurent? We’ve been over this a million times in the past.”
    “And my feelings
have not changed since then!” Laurent glanced at the baby again and forced
himself to lower his voice. “You are very vulnerable right now. You must be
protected.”
    “Okay, now that’s
just silly and you know it.”
         “I do not know it. You are enciente and it is very dangereux where you are going. And also,
of course I know that Bedard is running this case.”
    “What does that
have to do with anything? Look at me, Laurent. I’m as big as a house! Do you
seriously think he wants a piece of this?”
    Laurent gave her
a look of incredulity and heightened annoyance. “ Bien sûr ,” he said. Of
course.
    “Well, that’s
just nuts. I have to go.”
    “You do not.”
    “I do! She’s my
friend, Laurent. She needs me. And do not even begin to say that you need me because that dog won’t hunt
and you know it.”
    “I was going to
remind you that