Nursing a Grudge is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery) Read Free Page A

Perry’s at UC. He fell from Painted Rock.”
    “What? Is he okay?”
    Painted Rock was a cliff on the north side of San Francisco. It was a featured attraction on the Land’s End hike that ran from Ocean Beach and Sutro Baths all the way to the Legion of Honor. There were many notorious cliffs, one of which was Painted Rock, which boasted some of the most spectacular views of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge. The cliff literally dangled over the Pacific. A fall from there could be grave.
    “I don’t know.” Jill pulled a credit card from her purse.
    I waved her away. “I got it, don’t worry. Do you want me to go with you?”
    “Oh, thank you, Kate. But no, you have the baby. You can’t bring her to a hospital.” Her face crinkled at the word
hospital
and I could only guess what was rushing through her mind. She added, “I’ll call you tonight.”
    She leaned over to kiss my cheek, then rubbed Laurie’s knee. “Goodbye little baby. I hope to see you soon.”
    I nodded and watched her leave, an uneasiness overcoming me. I looked at the corner. Skull cap man was back, and this time he trailed after Jill.

Chapter Two
    Man!
    Now I needed to pay immediately and the waitress had vanished again. I placed Laurie in her infant carrier, then fished around the massive diaper bag for my wallet. Why didn’t I have a small, cute purse like Jill?
    I rooted past the diaper wipes and a pacifier.
    Oh right, fashion purses don’t hold much baby paraphernalia.
    Then I pushed aside my binoculars, and an UZI tactical self defense pen…
    Fashion purses probably don’t fit much P.I. equipment, either.
    I finally located my wallet and peeked inside. I had $17. Not nearly enough to pay for the chichi lunch. Probably not even enough to pay for the coffee drinks these days.
    I pulled out my phone and messaged Jill:
    S KULL CAP MAN IS ON YOUR TAIL . I WILL TRAIL YOU .
    I rose and walked toward the back of the restaurant. “Hello?” I called out.
    Our waitress appeared and I handed her my credit card. “I have to leave immediately. Can you ring me up?”
    She made a face. “Is something wrong with the food?”
    “No. Nothing like that. Just personal business.”
    “Can I wrap it up for you?”
    “No. Thank you.”
    The waitress froze, then slowly she looked over my shoulder at the moms in the corner and then leveled a glare at me. “Are you a reviewer?”
    “What? No. I just need to leave.”
    I refrained from turning around and staring at the moms behind me. Maybe they had ratted out Jill, only somehow the message had gotten confused and now I was the target.
    The waitress clutched my credit card and squinted at me. “Okay,” she said, drawing the word out unnecessarily. “One minute.”
    Laurie began to fidget in her carrier seat. I returned to the table to pack up my purse. The moms in the corner were watching me. My phone rang. I answered quickly, expecting Jill, but instead my best friend Paula’s voice filled the line.
    “I’m in labor!” Paula screamed out.
    “Yippee!” I hooted.
    “Yippee? This is real pain, sister.”
    Suddenly a stern looking man strode out from the back room clutching my credit card.
    The moms on the couch began packing up their gear.
    “Do you have a ride to the hospital?” I asked Paula.
    Laurie squirmed out of the carrier and onto the floor.
    “Uh…hold on,” I said partly to Paula and partly to the stern man.
    Paula screamed into my ear. “Hold on? Hold on to what? You’re actually putting a woman in labor on hold?”
    I picked Laurie up; she began to cry.
    My phone beeped with an incoming call, but I didn’t dare tell Paula to hold again.
    The stern looking man thrust my credit card at me.
    Was I over my limit?
    “Are you Jill Harrington?”
    I shook my head at him and glanced at my phone. Jill was beeping in. I pivoted my body so the man wouldn’t be able to see my phone screen.
    He frowned. “Well, then you go by another name. Maybe you’re Carol McCarthy?