Mom Zone Mysteries 02 Staying Home Is a Killer Read Free Page B

came home for lunch and found her. She’d committed suicide.”
    “No. She couldn’t—I mean, I saw her this morning. She looked…radiant.” There was no other word for it. “She couldn’t have done that.”
    Rex stopped bouncing and watched me with his ears perked up and his head cocked to one side.
    “Ellie, I know it’s hard to believe. I’m having trouble believing it, too. She was quiet and kind of mousy, but she didn’t seem depressed. Anyway, Jill called me looking for you, since you knew her so well. Will’s in shock.” Abby swallowed. “He found her in the bathtub with her wrists slit. So he’s not functioning real well right now. Jill wanted to know if you knew anything about her family.”
    “No. Not really. I think she mentioned Michigan once. I’ll call Jill.” Rex came over to rub against my side, apparently deciding I needed some affection.
    “I’m sure the police will sort it out, but Jill wanted to try to contact the family, too.”
    “Okay. Let me call her.”
    While I patted Rex’s head I called Jill, confirmed that I didn’t know enough to help her, and she hung up.
    I twisted the cocoa box back and forth on the counter. I couldn’t believe it. I walked back and forth across the kitchen as I reviewed my conversation with Penny this morning. She’d been happy. I was sure. I barely noticed when an icy puddle of water soaked into my sock. She’d been concerned about something, too, but only momentarily. She certainly hadn’t been depressed.
    I leaned against the counter and pushed PLAY on the answering machine, expecting Jill’s sharp tones again.
    “Ellie! I can tell you now.” Penny’s soft but unmistakably sunny voice came out of the little speaker. I felt that touch of cold again and shivered. “I’m so excited. I’d promised Will I wouldn’t tell anyone until the test was confirmed, but now it’s official. I’m pregnant! Can you believe it? I can’t. It must have happened right before Will went TDY in January. I didn’t even realize until last week. I thought I was late. I’m babbling, aren’t I? I can’t help it.” She laughed, a bubbly sound. “I’ve waited so long. I’m going to find my baby name book. Call me when you get in. We can go shopping for baby clothes.”
    I put my head down on the counter and cried. The automated voice stated “Monday. Twelve thirty-four.” After I wiped my eyes, I went to the little secretary desk that my dad made for me. I pulled a stack of business cards out of one of the cubbyholes and flipped through them until I found the plain white one with small black type: OLIVER THISLEWAIT , SPECIAL AGENT , OFFICE OF SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS .

Chapter Three
    T histlewait listened to the tape with his head bent, intently studying the countertop. I paced back and forth in the kitchen, tensing as Penny’s voice, light and joyful, floated through the air again, “Ellie!”
    It was too hard to listen. I hurried into the living room where I’d left Livvy with a mound of pastel blocks, her favorite doll, and Sesame Street on DVD. She sat in the middle of the rug with her back straight, swaying slightly from side to side as she sang along with Elmo.
    I returned to the kitchen, sidestepped a stack of Livvy’s miniature pots and pans, and belatedly noticed the pile of white clothes on the kitchen table waiting to be folded, the dirty dishes in the sink, and the layer of dust over everything. I got that self-conscious my-house-is-a-mess feeling and wished I’d at least picked up before I’d called Thistlewait. His tall form crouched over the answering machine, turning it in his hands.
    Had I done the right thing? I could have called the police, but after last year and my contact with them during a spate of burglaries, I thought it would be too hard to convince anyone to take me seriously in the few minutes I’d have on the phone or in person.
    “This thing have a tape?” Thistlewait asked.
    “No. It’s electronic.” He hadn’t