Majestic Maggie Martino, Queen of Monakatowa, Part 1 of 2

On a bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a beautiful young girl by the name of Maggie McGillicuddy was leaning on the rail, enjoying a bright spring afternoon and admiring the swirling water that ran beneath the bridge. She loved the river and came often to admire it. All of a sudden, she spotted what appeared to be a person tangled in vines along one side of the stream. Immediately, she ran down the bank, hoping to offer some assistance, but was horrified to discover that the person was dead, apparently having drowned while struggling to get free of the tangled vines.

Running quickly back up the bank, she dashed out on the bridge and tried to flag down passing cars. Luckily, a policeman just happened to be driving by and stopped. “Officer,” she gasped, “please follow me down to the river.” He did as requested, and when they reached the water’s edge, he saw what had caused the terrified young girl such great distress. Wading out through the tangled vines, he grasped the body and pulled it to the bank. Looking closely, Maggie could not believe her eyes. It was one of her schoolmates, Michelle Minestroni, at Monsieur Montenegro’s Middle School.

After calling an ambulance, the policeman asked Maggie to get in his car and encouraged her to calm down. When she finally did, he took out a pad and pencil and began asking her questions, which she answered promptly. After questioning Maggie, he offered to give her a ride home. Mrs. McGillicuddy, shocked to see her daughter enter the front door with tears streaming down her face, asked her what was wrong. “Mom, I just witnessed the most terrible sight I have ever seen in my life. I saw one of my classmates, Michelle Minestroni, floating in the river--drowned.”

Suddenly, the telephone rang, frightening the poor girl even more. When Mrs. McGillicuddy answered, a stern voice said, “Ma’am, this is the police department. Please bring your daughter to the downtown station. We need to ask her some questions about the drowned person she found.” Not the least bit concerned, Mrs. McGillicuddy did as requested and sat with Maggie during the interview.

After asking numerous questions, the investigator stared coldly at Maggie for a moment. Then he made a stunning comment: “An autopsy revealed that someone must have put a deadly poison in Michelle’s food at the school cafeteria.”

Apparently, the poison did not affect Michelle until shortly after she arrived at the river, where she often went to enjoy wading or fishing from the bank. After completing his interview, the investigator decided to visit the school, hoping to get some leads that might help solve this terrible tragedy. After learning that Maggie was an outstanding basketball player, he went to Coach Mike Madden’s office. Horrified by what he was told, the coach said the deceased girl hated Maggie because she was the team’s best player and was always chosen to play the position that Michelle wanted to play.

NOTE: Jimmy Reed is a retired college professor and author of several books. This story is from his latest, a children’s book entitled FROM A TO Z, TO YOU FROM ME. Each story in the book maximizes the use of an alphabetical letter, enhanced by alliteration and assonance. The book is available on Amazon, or can be purchased directly from the author. His email address is jimmycecilreedjr@gmail.com.