by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Lethal Lullaby Chapter One To Do: 1. Pick up Andrew, Tracy, and girls from airport. 2. Play nice with Tracy, even when she’s being a pill. 3. Find new case! (But not until family visit is over.) 4. Final payment to contractor for renovation. 5. Interview Rachelle re: nanny job. 6. Cookout! “Can I hold Laurie?” Asked Emily, my eight-year-old niece, her eyes wide. Angelic curls framed her face, and she wore a lacy white dress perfect for the summer heat. Edwina, two years younger and Emily’s miniature in almost every way, bounced wordlessly at her side. I’d asked myself many times how the same two parents had landed on both the names Emily and Edwina. It was an unsolvable mystery, like the Bermuda Triangle or the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. The mouthwatering smell of barbecue drifted through my back‐ yard. In the background, the voices of my mom and brother blended in a pleasant hum, occasionally punctuated by the less-pleasant sound of my sister-in-law’s voice. Shrill. That was the best way to describe Tracy. “You can hold Laurie if you’re very careful,” I replied, standing up from the picnic table under the pergola, a sleeping Laurie in my arms. “Why don’t you run inside and get a beach towel, and we’ll all sit on the grass?” She disappeared into the house, leaving the sliding glass door wide open. “Wait!” I cried. “Close the door. Whiskers will get out!” But I was trying not to wake Laurie, so my voice was too quiet for Emily to hear. I bounced my baby girl on my hip and jogged toward...
