GUNNED Read Free Page B

need to say to me, you can say in front of my daughter,” Jackie Spiegel said, with a nod in Millie’s direction.
    Millie jumped up from her chair. “You’re crazy! Do you hear me? Crazy!”
    I sighed. “Mrs. Spiegel, why don’t you go with Detective Van der Burg. We’ll get you another cup of coffee. Or maybe a tea. A tea would be good right about now.” Millie looked at me and mouthed the words, no way. “I’ll get you a cup of tea and bring it in. Would you like that? And how about some more crackers and cheese?”
    “No!” Jackie Spiegel was on her feet. “I want to know where Sheldon is. What the hell has he done? The man’s a putz . Did I tell you he’s a putz ? My mother warned me. Don’t marry that schmuck , she said.”
    I clasped my hands together and looked at John with a pleading look.
    “Have a seat, Mrs. Spiegel,” John said.
    Millie gave the widow a disgusted look and went to stand with the audience by the wall. My little office was very crowded.
    John sat down in the seat Millie had vacated and moved it closer to Mrs. Spiegel. “I’m sorry to inform you, but your husband was killed some time on Tuesday.”
    “Killed? What do you mean he was killed? Someone hurt my sweet Sheldon?”
    “I’m afraid so, Mrs. Spiegel. He was shot.”
    “Shot! Sheldon was murdered?”
    “Yes, he was. I’m so sorry,” John said in a soft voice.
    Jackie Spiegel let out a wail to equal that of any banshee, and then she fainted. Marla ran back to the kitchen for another cold towel. My sister hung her head and shook it back and forth, and Millie crossed her arms and put a scowl on her face.
    Over in the corner, Gerard Willix, Belgian police detective extraordinaire, a man who loved a good murder as much as I did, clapped his hands together, put a smile on his face and said, “ eh bien !”

 
     
     
CHAPTER SEVEN
     
     
    “I can’t believe my father is dead. Again.” Millie dabbed at her eyes. “I never got to know him and now I never will.”
    Sam and I exchanged looks.
    “Millie, you do realize this is all a mistake,” I said. “You have a mother. Judith Chapman. Remember her? And a grandmother.”
    “Then why does that woman think I’m her daughter? Huh? Why?”
    “Yeah, Alex, why?” My sister wasn’t helping.
    John, with Gerard hot on his heels, had taken Mrs. Spiegel to the station to try and figure out this whole mess. Marla and Sam had gone out for sandwiches, and we were now all gathered in my office, having some lunch and sharing a large pot of tea that Millie had made.
    “There’s a perfectly good explanation for all of this. I just haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
    “Well, there’s one way to find out.”
    We all looked at Marla, the newest addition to Always Prepared, and a welcomed voice of reason in the chaos that can sometimes reign in my office. Like now.
    “How?” Millie asked.
    “Millie, you need to have a blood test. Your mother should get one, too, and that’ll confirm that Judith is your mother, not Mrs. Spiegel. Very simple and then you’ll know for sure.” Marla reached over and patted Millie’s hand.
    “Oh, that’s a wonderful idea. I’ll call the doctor right now.”
    Millie’s face scrunched up and her eyes filled with tears.
    “Millie, are you okay?” I asked.
    “That woman’s daughter is the same age as me. Mrs. Spiegel has darker hair, too, like mine, and my mom’s is lighter, almost blond.”
    I waved my hand. “Look at me and Sam. The whole family has brown hair and Sam’s is light.”
    We all turned to look at my sister, including Annie, who sat quietly off to the side eating her sandwich.
    “What? It happens. I have light hair and look at my son. He’s got wavy, rich brown hair. And believe me, he’s mine. I was there when he popped out. Millie, hair color means nothing,” Sam said, though I could see that she was thinking about it. I should probably call my mother and tell her to dig out my sister’s birth certificate because I