Killer Cravings Read online

  Jim shook his head. “Yeah, about that. I don’t want this to come out wrong because you’re an amazing detective and all, but I’m pretty sure she just hired you to bug me.”

  “I think you’re probably right,” I said and laughed. “It worked, though, didn’t it?”

  “It did,” he said. “But, that probably could have been resolved if I had just talked to you.” He shook his head and sat upright. “Gosh, Kate, I feel terrible. I feel so lucky to have you, you know? I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that. You’re beautiful, smart, sexy – and, you’re an amazing mom. I don’t want any woman but you. You know that, right?”

  “I do,” I said. “I guess a lot of this was just me being paranoid. I’ve felt really insecure, honestly. My body changed so much from Laurie, and I got pregnant again so quickly… I haven’t even finished losing all the baby weight from Laurie! Now, twins? I guess I just don’t feel like myself anymore.”

  “You’re beautiful, babe,” he said. “You’re the mommy of them. I love you. I love the family we’re building.”

  “Look at you being all sweet,” I said, and he jumped up and hurried over to my side, pulling me up to my feet to give me a big hug and kiss. My toes curled a little. I rested my head on his chest, and he squeezed me tight. I had a good man there, and I knew it then.

  I really wanted to give Cassandra a black eye for putting me in this situation. She made me doubt my husband, and I hated it. I hated that I didn’t just trust him. But, I needed to let it go for the time being. Cassandra, albeit a bit of a tramp, was still my client, and I had promised to find out what had happened to Morgan.

  “Hey, baby?” Jim spoke as we pulled apart.

  “Yeah?” I asked, noticing his befuddled look.

  “Um… where’s Laurie?” he asked.

  “Sleeping,” I said.

  “Oh, yeah?” he said, this sly little smile appearing on his face.

  “Yeah?”

  “Good,” he said, and he scooped me right up. I squealed, laughing hysterically as he literally swooped me right off my feet. He whooshed me into the living room, and the two of us fell onto the couch in a fit of laughter and kisses. I think I needed that. I was overdue for some good attention from my husband, and I think he realized that.

  Such an awful afternoon had turned into such a great evening at home with Jim.

  We retired to bed. I was exhausted. Something about harboring so much anger and resentment all day only to have it pulled out from under you just leaves you feeling exhausted. Before drifting off to sleep, I grabbed my notepad and pen I keep on my nightstand. I had a lot of stuff to do the next day, so I started jotting down my to-do list. Jim didn’t go to sleep right away; he laid on his side looking up at me with a flirty smile that caused me to blush. “What?” I asked.

  “Just looking at you,” he said. “We should do a date night. Soon. It’s been a while.”

  “We went to that play,” I said.

  “Date night does not count if someone dies while you’re out,” he said. “It puts a damper on things. I mean, a real date night. Dinner and a movie. Somewhere nice.”

  I nodded. “That sounds like an incredible idea.” I leaned over and kissed him, and he rolled over – falling asleep instantly. I’m still jealous of his ability to do that. I get too into my head at night – thinking about what all I need to do. The to-do list at the bedside helps keep me from thinking too much. By the time I was finished and ready for bed, I had a pretty extensive list ahead of me:

  To Do:

  Doctor’s Appointment

  Pick out new car seats for the twins

  Larger stroller?

  Check out the thrift store for baby clothes

  Go through Laurie’s old clothes too

  Call Deb

  Go see Paula today! – bring food?

  Revisit the bakery

  Solve a murder – try not to kill Cassandra in the process

  Chapter Fifteen

  The following morning, I headed off, Laurie in tow, to a doctor’s appointment. With everything going on, the doctors were being extra cautious about my pregnancy. Not only was it a higher risk pregnancy due to the twins, but also because I’d suffered that carbon monoxide poisoning last month.

  Thankfully this time, my blood work came back looking a little better – but they said that my oxygen level in my blood was still a tad low. Not like it had been, so it was improving. It seemed weird to me that the oxygen level in my blood was taking so long to get back to normal. The poisoning incident had been a month before.

  Why was it taking so long for me to get better?

  Laurie began to fuss in her carrier, so I scooped her out and sat her in my lap as we waited for Dr. Green to return. When she entered, she handed me some pamphlets about smoking and pregnancy.

  I frowned. “What’s this?”

  “Well, we just like to make sure moms are informed on the dangers of smoking while pregnant,” Dr. Green said.

  “Oh, I don’t smoke,” I said, handing the pamphlets back to her.

  “Are you on a nicotine patch?” she asked me.

  “Um… no?” I questioned, very confused. “I’ve never smoked before.”

  Now Dr. Green looked confused. We were just two very confused ladies staring back at one another. “Are you sure about that, Kate?” Dr. Green asked. “There’s no need to lie to me. I’m your doctor, and I’m here to help you in any way I can. I can prescribe something for you that could help, and there are other means of dealing with a smoking habit that can be safer for the babies other than a nicotine patch?”

  “Dr. Green, I’m not on a nicotine patch. And, I’ve never smoked a day in my life,” I said.

  “Kate, there are traces of nicotine in your blood sample,” Dr. Green said.

  “Well, that can’t be right,” I said. “Something must be wrong. I promise I’m not lying. I’ve never smoked before.”

  Dr. Green didn’t seem very convinced, but she ordered another blood test and wanted the hospital to do it. I sighed and added that to my to-do list. It was always a bummer when you scratch something off your to-do list and then immediately have to add something to it. One step forward, one step back. Not the way I liked to work.

  Thankfully, I was able to head straight to the hospital. The nurse there was nice and quick, albeit not as gentle as the tech in Dr. Green’s office. I’d have a bruise on my arm, I was sure.

  She told me they’d send the sample to the lab and then the results to Dr. Green.

  Okay, so my to-do list was looking a little better now:

  To Do:

  Doctor’s Appointment

  Pick out new car seats for the twins

  Larger stroller?

  Check out the thrift store for baby clothes

  Go through Laurie’s old clothes too

  Call Deb

  Go see Paula today! – bring food?

  Revisit the bakery

  Solve a murder – try not to kill Cassandra in the process

  Go get blood test

  There were a lot of fun items on my list – baby shopping was a personal favorite. There was an adorable boutique near the hospital, that was hard to resist. Unfortunately, I didn’t know if I was shopping for boys or girls or both just yet, so I resisted getting any clothing. However, the boutique did sell some other necessary baby items.

  We needed a large stroller that carried two, possibly three babies. I was trying to decide whether or not a three baby stroller for Laurie and her younger siblings would be worth the buy or if just a stroller for twins would be enough. A three baby stroller would be huge, I figured, but sure enough my favorite baby boutique came through for me.

  They had this sweet umbrella-like stroller that was for three kiddos. It had baby blue décor over the mostly silver stroller, so I felt like it wasn’t too gender-specific. Unfortunately, they only had the one on the floor left, and it was damaged, so they had to order one for me.

  I didn’t care. I was very excited t
o have one ordered, and they promised delivery in three weeks – plenty of time before baby number two and three got there. And, I found some affordable car seats that weren’t too big and bulky, so I went ahead and got those as well. I loved this place. It was huge, but it was also quaint and adorable.

  One of the girls who was working kindly helped me put the boxed car seats into the back of my vehicle, and soon Laurie and I were off. I swung by the thrift store on the way home, and snagged anything that seemed even remotely gender neutral, lots of yellows and greens. We’d have ducks and frogs coming out of our ears.

  A feeling of accomplishment soothed me as I drove home. Once there, I fed Laurie, and set her up to play in the living room while I brought everything in from the car. Then I put Laurie down for a nap, and I suddenly had this burst of energy.

  Something about knocking out half your to-do list fairly quickly really gave you the motivation to keep going.

  Why can’t every day be this?

  Just as I was struggling to getting Laurie down for a nap, my phone buzzed with a text from Paula.

  “Free to meet me downtown?”

  We texted back and forth and she sent me an address with a request to bring lunch.

  Laurie was going through a phase where she loved napping in the car, so I decided a ride downtown would be ideal for us both.

  I swung through a drive-through, then headed downtown. I munched on salty fries as Laurie snoozed peacefully in her car seat.

  The address Paula had sent me was for a large apartment complex across town, that she had been bugging me about coming to see. When I arrived, Laurie and to-go bags in tow, I was blown away by the elegance of the place. The apartment complex was one of the nicest places Paula had managed to book.

  She had only had a few clients since getting back to work after having Chloe, and this one, so far, was the crown jewel of her projects. She met me out front and snagged Laurie from me, giving her a few snuggles until Laurie started to giggle.

  “My little fellas are with my sister,” Paula said. “She’s been really great about supporting me with this new business venture.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” I said, and the two of us entered the lovely apartment building. The lobby looked amazing thanks to Paula’s incredible decorating skills. She had some plants and gorgeous golden pots set up – the hints of greenery really added to the inviting feel of the lobby.

  We sat down and ate, and she thanked me profusely for the food, since she was still breastfeeding three-month old Chloe, I knew she was as ravenous as I was. Then we headed upstairs and she showed off all the completely refurbished rooms she staged. I was so proud of her.

  “How did you book this?” I asked.

  “Believe it or not, the apartment building’s owner came to your mom’s play,” Paula said. “She called me and told me she loved the set and that the play had been hilarious.”

  I cringed. “I still feel kind of bad for Domingo,” I admitted. “He and I have had our spats, but he had put a lot of work into that play to have someone twist it into a cheesy comedy musical. I don’t know. I can’t imagine he’s too happy about that.”

  “I know what you mean, but doesn’t he take himself altogether too seriously?”

  I chuckled. “That he does.”

  Paula shrugged. “But, I’m sure glad to have gotten a job like this out of it.”

  After sitting down in one of the rooms that was done up with a beautiful silver and teal color theme, I pulled out my to-do list. “You and your lists,” Paula teased.

  I glared at her. “I know you have very detailed to-do lists as well,” I said. “How else could you possibly stay sane?”

  “You’re right,” Paula said, smirking. I smiled as I went through my list, scratching things off:

  To Do:

  Doctor’s Appointment

  Pick out new car seats for the twins

  Larger stroller?

  Check out the thrift store for baby clothes

  Go through Laurie’s old clothes too

  Call Deb

  Go see Paula today! – bring food?

  Revisit the bakery

  Solve a murder – try not to kill Cassandra in the process

  Go get blood test

  “Well, look at you!” Paula said, glancing over my shoulder. “You’ve had a busy day.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “It’s been working out pretty well. I had a good groove at the start of the day. I’ve got more energy today than I’ve had lately. This case is driving me crazy, though. I think I’m looking at it from the wrong angle. I assumed that Morgan had been the intended target, but what if it had been Cassandra? I think I need to talk to her again, but she is the last person I want to talk to. Did I tell you what she did?”

  “What?” Paula asked curiously.

  “She has been flirting with Jim. Jim turned her down, of course, but it was a lot more serious than I originally thought. She sent him nudes, and he deleted her off his Facebook,” I said, and Paula’s eyes widened.

  “Oh, wow! You need me to take her out for you?” she asked.

  “No, I’m good. No more bodies, please,” I said, taking a breath. “Jim and I talked about it, and I feel a little better now. I’m mad and upset, but she’s not really worth it. And, besides, I need to prove to myself that I can be professional. She is a client, after all.”

  “What if whoever killed Morgan was going after one of the guests?” Paula suggested.

  “That would probably make Domingo a suspect,” I said. “His play had been ruined, but what are the chances that only the employees managed to get poisoned? I don’t know. There is something I’m not seeing.” I checked my phone for the time. “It’s almost three. Maybe I should call Deb and see if she has anything for me.”

  “There’s never enough time in the day,” Paula said.

  “No, there’s not,” I said, waving my to-do list around. “I don’t think I’m going to solve a murder today.” I took out my phone and gave Deb a call, and oh my goodness. She was drunk.

  “Hey, Katie- pie!” she called into the phone.

  “Deb?” I questioned.

  “Hey, that’s my name!” she yelped.

  “Are you drunk?” I questioned.

  “Shh… it’s a secret,” she said.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me, where are you?” I questioned. Deb was supposed to have been working on getting me a lead, but apparently, she was getting wasted at three o’clock in the afternoon. Way too early to already be so drunk that she would start singing into the phone.

  How do I manage to befriend a drunk cop?

  Deb gave me the name of the bar, and I demanded she wait for me because I was going to collect her. She started ranting about her ex, but I hung up on her.

  Paula offered to watch Laurie for me, but I told her not to worry about it.

  How difficult would it be to go pick up Deb? She sounded drunk but not like an angry drunk.

  I said farewell to Paula, and I drove down the road to this bar I’d never heard of.

  It was called Lady Luck, and I soon found out why I never heard of it. It was a lesbian bar. I entered, baby on my hip, in search for my drunk cop friend. Deb was talking with some woman who was covered in head-to-toe tattoos.

  I cleared my throat, causing the woman to spin around. “Sorry, I’m here to pick up that one there,” I said, nodding toward Deb.

  “Dang, girl, you’re in trouble,” the woman said as she looked at me and gave Deb a gentle nudge in my direction.

  “Kate!” Deb yelped excitedly. “I just threw up in the bathroom!”

  “Good for you, Deb,” I said. “Come on, are you paid up?”

  “She’s paid up,” the woman who had been lingering around her said. “Sorry, didn’t know she was with someone.”

  “Uh… yeah,” I said, grabbing Deb under her arm. I’m sure this looked like a lesbian wife coming to the bar to pick up the other mother of her child.

  But who cared. I nee
ded Deb and I needed her sober.

  A few women snickered as I dragged Deb out of there and forced her into the passenger seat of my car. I hooked Laurie in and pulled out of the parking lot.

  “Wow, I can’t believe you’re drunk. It’s not even three thirty!” I snapped.

  “It’s five o’clock somewhere,” Deb sang happily.

  “Are you an alcoholic?” I asked.

  She smiled at me. “Only on Tuesdays.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Today is Wednesday.”

  “It is?” Deb asked surprised. “No wonder the drinks were full price. They normally do a Two on Tuesday special.”

  I reached into the backseat pocket, where I had snacks stashed and pulled out a water bottle for her. “Here,” I said.

  Deb drank the water greedily then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Wednesday?” She asked again, thoughtful. “Oh shoot. I have to work the night shift tonight!” Deb said, sitting upright with wide eyes. “Oh, jeez, I forgot I have to work tonight!”

  “You’re drunk!” I yelped.

  “Oh, I’m so fired!” she hiccupped, rubbing her temples. “I’m so drunk! Ooh, I want something chocolate…”

  “You’re kidding,” I said, shaking my head. I finally become buddies with a cop – get my inside woman – and she’s probably going to get herself fired. “Okay, relax, when do you go into work?”

  “Um… eight…” she said.

  “Okay, plenty of time to sober you up,” I said. “I need to go speak with Cassandra about my case anyway. Since you want chocolate, we’ll get you something sweet to put some food on your stomach, and I’ll have her make you a cup of strong coffee too. They have a barista station there.”

  “I love you, Katie,” Deb told me, laying her head back. I reached over and smacked her awake.

  I wasn’t about to let her get fired. I needed this drunk goofball, and frankly I was beginning to think of her as a friend. I got her talking, and turns out she had done something very stupid earlier today. She’d called her ex and had left a very embarrassing message. Something clingy and desperate, and then she’d felt like an idiot and had decided to go drink her sorrows away.