A Case of Imagination
by Jane Tesh
Summary
Ex-beauty queen madeline Maclin is hired to track down the culprits vandalizing a small town pageant. She’s assisted by her best friend, Jerry Fairweather, who has inherited an old house perfect for his psychic schemes. When one of the contestants is murdered, Madeline not only wants to solve the case, but also untangle her emotions concerning Jerry.
Excerpt
CHAPTER ONE
Okay, when you’ve tried everything and nothing works, it’s time to get out of town. I stared at my phone, willing it to ring. A lost dog, a missing tooth, misplaced car keys—anything. On this nice July morning in Parkland, North Carolina, the office of Madeline Maclin Investigations might as well have been an Egyptian tomb: hot, dusty, and dead. I flipped through the desk calendar, finding it hard to believe it had been only a week since I’d solved the Lundell case. Nancy Lundell had been so pleased she’d promised to call all her friends and tell them about my services. Apparently, she had none.
My lack of clients wouldn’t have been so bad except I could hear all kinds of activity from Reid Kent’s office next door and knew he was doing a brisk business without me. Around noon, he had the nerve to poke his head in my door and ask me about lunch.
“No, thanks.” Why give him more opportunity to gloat? “It’s Tuesday. I’m meeting Jerry.”
Reid’s grin widened and he made what I’m sure he thought were spooky noises. “Will he see success in your future?”
This wasn’t worth a reply. It was worth a dirty look, though, a dirty look that didn’t faze him. He parked his rear on my desk and gave his dark, carefully groomed hair a few pats as if walking all the way from next door had disturbed his coiffure.
“You know, Madeline, if this isn’t working out for you, you can always come back to Kent and Ross.”
“No, thanks.”
“Think of this as a learning experience. Why struggle with your own agency when you can be a welcome addition to mine?”
“I tried that, Reid, and I prefer to be on my own.”
“But you’ve had, what, two clients?”
“Three. And all three were very satisfied.”
He gave me a pitying look. “Face it, Madeline. Nobody’s going to hire a former Miss Parkland. I don’t care if you’ve cut your hair short and don’t wear any make up. You’re still too much of a distraction.”
“I’m supposed to take that as a compliment?”
He leaned forward. “If you want to.”
“Go away, Reid.”
He laughed and hopped off the desk. “Oh, excuse me. I can see you’ve got way too much work to do.”
I heard him laughing all the way back to his office. Damn it, Reid Kent was not going to spoil my day. He’d already spoiled too many of my days already. That Miss Parkland crack was what passed for witty banter with Reid. Despite his doubts and the doubts of several of my friends, I was not going to believe that my looks had anything to do with my ability. Yes, I’d had a successful pageant career. I was determined to be just as successful as an investigator.
Reviews
"Beauty pageant tomfoolery and psychic shenanigans add comic zest to Tesh's cozy debut." Publisher's Weekly
"This is a first-class Carolina caper." Harriet Klausner's Review Archive
"Funny and quirky, but at the same time believable.” Deanna Spencer, I Love a Mystery
Author's Biography
Jane Tesh lives and writes in Mt. Airy, North Carolina