Deadly Décor (A Caprice De Luca Mystery) Read Free Page A

Mom’s birthday party.”
    She doubted that. Joe had just said what he was thinking—that he wanted to come first with Bella rather than her family always coming first. What a mess.
    “Come on Sunday,” Caprice said again. “Seth will be there.” She knew her sisters were still curious about the handsome doctor, and dinner with their parents would give them the opportunity to get to know him better.
    “Are you serious about him?” Bella asked.
    “Trying not to be.”
    Bella shook her head. “I sure don’t have any advice to give you about your love life right now.”
    That one statement proved Bella wasn’t really herself. She was always ready to give Caprice advice, and anyone else who would listen, too.
    After she walked Bella to the door, watched her go down the steps and climb into her car, which was parked in the circular drive, Caprice returned inside. She heard men’s voices upstairs and lots of noise. Movers at work.
    She headed back to the living room, needing to set up a schedule with Eliza. The real estate agent had mentioned wanting to shoot video and still pictures by the beginning of next week. Everything had to be painted, redesigned, and in place by then.
    In the doorway to the living room, Caprice stopped cold because she heard Eliza say, “You have no right to ask Bella out on a date.”
    How awkward was this? But Eliza and Bob obviously didn’t know she was there.
    “What I do now is none of your damn business,” Bob retorted with what sounded like menace.
    Eliza must have heard menace too, because she took a step back and looked as if she might burst into tears. Was that an act? Or did this multimillionaire entrepreneur really have feelings for this painter? Or . . .
    Was she afraid of him?

Chapter Two
    On the drive home that evening, Caprice made the turns to her neighborhood by rote, as Bella’s problems tripped through her mind. She turned her sister’s situation over again and again, but she didn’t know what she could do to help. That frustrated her. Was Bella really going to have a coffee date with Bob?
    As she turned onto her street, which was lined with decades-old elms and sycamores that shaded the sidewalk and front yards, she considered the interchange between Bob and Eliza. Were they dating? She was curious about that. Her family often told her she was curious about too many things. With forced conviction, she warned herself their conversation was none of her business. The last time she’d asked too many questions, she’d solved a murder and almost gotten herself killed!
    As she neared her driveway, she breathed out a coming-home sigh because her house was a haven. Built in the early fifties, it was a Cape Cod style with a flagstone path leading to the front porch. Nestled between a crimson maple and a white birch, it was mostly built of brick. However, stone enriched the unusual arched door, and the copper roof above the porch was a distinct feature. Her home had a sturdy, warm, homey air that had attracted Caprice to it from the moment she’d seen it. The azaleas under the dining room’s bay window had finished blooming long ago, but yellow and pink zinnias lined the gardens on either side of the porch, along with white begonias.
    The tall privacy fence that stretched on both sides and surrounded the backyard was perfect for the peace and quiet she sometimes craved after a day of dealing with the suppliers, clients, and professionals she consulted. One of her guilty secrets was that she liked to garden in her bathing suit. At thirty-two, she was a bit shy about her body, which was about ten pounds overweight, and enjoyed the privacy of the fence as well as the tall poplars that practically hid it. She missed Dylan, the cute little dog that had found a home with her for a couple of months. They had played out here almost every day he’d been with her. But Roz had given him a home, and he was happy with her in her new town house.
    Caprice pulled her restored yellow