by Diana Orgain | Apr 12, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Go back to Chapter One? From Formula for Murder Chapter Two We agreed that we’d drive by the French consulate on Bush Street and see if anything seemed obvious. Short of a smashed vehicle parked in front I wasn’t sure what we were looking for. I sat in the back of Jim’s car, hovering over Laurie. Thank good‐ ness we’d had an extra car seat. My car had been towed after the inci‐ dent and the pediatrician had told me to discard the car seat that had been in the accident, as it was likely the harnesses was damaged. We drove down Bush Street and spotted the consulate adjacent to the French school and Church of Notre Dame des Victoires. It had began to drizzle, but when Jim turned the wipers on, there was only enough rain to smear across the windshield. “Looks like they have a parking garage,” Jim said. “It’s probably for staff only, right?” I asked. Jim pulled the car up to the entrance and read the sign. “Yeah. You need an electronic key card to get in. Perfect place to hide a vehicle after a hit-and-run, huh?” “Okay. Let’s go home.” I was exhausted not only physically—every emotion in me had been pushed to the brink this morning. “Not so fast. I want to check things out. I’m going in by foot.” We parked across the street at a meter. Jim hopped out of the car and emptied all the change from his pocket into the meter. He frowned and tapped at it. “Busted. This is BS. What a day.” I watched as he crossed...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 12, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Go Back to The Beginning of Chapter One From Formula for Murder Chapter One Continued… I absently looked around for my purse. For the first time since the accident I saw my car. It was completely totaled. My trunk was smashed in and the hood looked like an accordion. How had I walked away from that? What about Laurie . . . could she really be all right? Tears flooded my eyes. “I don’t know where my purse is. I can give you my number . . . Can you call my husband?” The officer jotted down my home number. “I’ll tell him to pick you up at the hospital.” He looked at me for approval. I nodded. “Thank you.” “I’ll be in touch, ma’am. I hope your baby is all right.” Anger flashed across his face and his jaw tightened. “Don’t worry: I’m gonna get the guy who hit you.” I thanked him, then jumped into the ambulance, anxious to be with Laurie. She was still crying. Not knowing how to best channel my distress, I broke down and began to sob also, my brain trying to process the fact that this was the second time in Laurie’s short life that we’d shared an ambulance ride together. The fact that this time was not my fault did little to settle my nerves. Why had the driver left the scene? Sure, he was probably scared, but didn’t he know a hit-and-run was a criminal act? The EMT attending to Laurie put a small blanket over her and glanced at me. “Are you in pain, ma’am?” I searched my pockets...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 11, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Book One ? Did you miss Book Two ? From Formula for Murder Chapter One To Do: 1. x Make holiday photo appointment for Laurie. 2. Send out Christmas cards Get them printed first—then send out Christmas cards. 3. Complete Start Christmas shopping. 4. Find a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament. 5. Get Christmas tree. 6. Finish background checks Galigani gave me. 7. Get new PI client. How do I do this? I checked Laurie in the rearview mirror. She was sound asleep; as usual, the motion of the car had lulled her into slumber. She looked adorable, wearing a tiny red satin dress with matching red booties. We were on our way to get her first holiday photos taken. I couldn’t believe three months had evaporated; it seemed like she was born just yesterday. My best friend, Paula, had warned me the time would fly by, but this was ridiculous. How had I put off taking Laurie’s holiday photos? Now it was the first week in December and I’d be hustling to get them taken, printed, and sent out as Christmas cards. It’s all right. From now on efficiency will be my middle name. I cruised down the hill to the stoplight and stepped on the brake. Out of habit, I glanced in the rearview again and saw a silver SUV barreling down the hill. Was the car out of control? It continued to speed and there was no telltale sign of the nose dipping as it would if the driver were braking. They were getting closer! Almost on top of us. I quickly looked for...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 11, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter Two? From Motherhood is Murder Chapter Three Continued… DIGGING “I was on the upper deck, admiring the view of the Golden Gate.” “With whom?” Lee asked. “By myself.” Lee squinted at me. “Where was your husband?” “Dancing. Are you with homicide?” Lee looked surprised. “No. Why would you think the homicide division would be here?” Oh no! Way to put your foot in it, Kate! “Sorry. I . . . never mind.” Lee scowled and made another note. “So you were on the upper deck and your husband was on the main. Dancing? Alone?” “No. We’d been dancing together, but I got tired and wanted to get some air. Margaret had been sitting alone at our table for a while because her husband . . . well, actually, I don’t know where her husband was . . . maybe he just doesn’t dance. I asked Jim to dance with her because she looked lonely. And I went to the upper deck to get some air and enjoy the view.” “So you left your husband with Margaret?” I nodded. Lee narrowed his eyes at me. “Margaret was the one who found Helene at the bottom of the stairs.” “Uh-huh,” I answered, not following his train of thought. Lee pinched his lips together, then said in a condescending tone, “So, how can Margaret be dancing with your husband on the main deck and find her friend on the upper deck at the same time?” I shrugged. “Oh. Well, maybe she didn’t want to dance with Jim . . . I really don’t know, I haven’t asked him...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 11, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter Two? From Motherhood is Murder Chapter Three DIGGING Officer Lee and I situated ourselves in a corner of the bar, each of us in a black lounge chair, a video console game of PacMan between us. I placed my coffee on the video game tabletop and fingered the recycling logo on the Styrofoam cup. “What can I do to help?” “Tell me about your evening. What you were doing on this dinner cruise?” Lee asked. I shrugged. “What everyone else was doing, having dinner.” Lee closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, indicating he didn’t think my comment was funny. He placed his notebook on the tabletop. At the moment the game preview was killing off one of the Pac-Mans and the defeat music accompanied Lee as he said, “How well did you know Mrs. Helene Chambers?” “Not well at all. I met her and Margaret last week. They invited me on this cruise. I was checking out the Roo & You club.” “The mommy club?” I nodded. “What about the spouses?” Lee asked. “What do you mean?” GRAB YOUR COPY OF MOTHERHOOD IS MURDER HERE He looked at me as though I was incredibly naive. “Did you know anyone else at your table? Any of the spouses?” Was he asking if I’d had an affair with any of them? I looked down at my red cocktail dress. Certainly some cleavage was showing, but nothing risqué. Why would he suggest anything like that? I leveled my stare at him. “Only my own spouse.” “Did your husband know anyone?” I shook my head again. Lee’s...
