by Diana Orgain | Apr 12, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Go back to Chapter One? Go back to Chapter Two? From Formula for Murder Chapter Three Continued… Shortly after 8:00 A.M. Mom called in a panic. Thankfully I was in the shower so Jim had to deal with her near hysterics. She was coming right over Jim informed me as I toweled off and stared into my closet. “Okay, good. She can obsess over Laurie with me,” I said. Jim snorted. “Laurie’s fine. You’re the one that needs to get looked at. Please make an appointment.” The doorbell sounded, interrupting our conversation. “That was fast,” I said. Jim left me to select some clothes and went to answer the door. Paula’s voice drifted down the hallway. I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater and rushed to the living room. My best friend, Paula, now eight months pregnant, was cradling Laurie above her massive belly. She studied Laurie’s face. “I got your message,” she said. “Pupils look fine. She looks alert and happy. Has she vomited?” “I don’t know. She spits up a lot. How can you tell?” Paula’s two-year-old son, Danny, clung to her leg and pulled on her maternity top. “It’s kinda hard. But you can usually tell by the volume. Is she keeping anything down?” “Yes. It must be just spit-up.” I knelt down and extended my arms. “Hi, Danny!” He rushed to me and wrapped his arms around my neck, sort of hanging from it. “Ouch! Oh, honey, wait.” I disentangled myself from him. Concern showed on Jim’s face. Paula looked at me, her brow creasing. “Are you hurt?” “No. No. I’m...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 12, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Go back to Chapter One? Go back to Chapter Two? From Formula for Murder Chapter Three To Do: 1. Call Dr. Clement for appointment. What if Laurie’s brain is scrambled? The ER doc didn’t test for brain damage, did he? Is there a test for that? 2. Call insurance. 3. Reschedule holiday photos. 4. Christmas tree, cards, shopping, decorating. Shoot! Behind again! NOT efficient. 5. Find stupid kid that hit us so I can give him a piece of my mind! 6. Finish background checks Galigani gave me. 7. Get new PI client. How do I do this? Forget it, focus on catching up first! Once home from the consulate I dialed Mom and then my best friend, Paula. I got voice mails and left messages. Jim and I decided on soup for dinner although neither one of us had much of an appetite. I hovered over Laurie even more than usual, then finally upon Jim’s urging went to bed early. Jim stayed up watching the news with Laurie. At one point in the night I got out of bed to check on them and found Jim singing and rocking Laurie. She was mesmer‐ ized by him, smiling and happily banging his face with her hands. I retreated back to bed, relieved that she wasn’t showing any signs of distress listed on the sheet the emergency room pediatrician had given me. I woke up when Jim climbed into bed. “Where’s Laurie?” I asked. “In her nest,” Jim answered. I rolled over and sat up to peek into the bassinet by my bedside. Since Laurie had been born I’d...
by Diana Orgain | Apr 12, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Go back to Chapter One? From Formula for Murder Chapter Two Continued… The woman returned with a man by her side. He looked to be in his late thirties. He had a square jaw and strong, straight nose. His dark brown hair was smoothly combed back and held in place with lots of spray or mousse. He wore a blue shirt that was unbuttoned one or two buttons too many. Dark curly chest hair peeked out as he swaggered toward us. Before they reached us, Jim turned to me and quietly asked, “Is that the guy?” “No. The driver was much younger. Like seventeen or eighteen.” When he approached us the man immediately extended his hand to Jim. “Monsieur, I am Jean-Luc Gaudet, the Deputy Consul General. Mademoiselle tells me you were a victim of a hit-and-run.” Jim looked at Jean-Luc’s hand but didn’t shake it. “My wife and infant daughter were in the car. Is that bashed-up SUV yours? The one with the missing fender?” Jean-Luc seamlessly turned his outstretched hand into a gesture, shifting his palm face up and motioning us toward a corner of the lobby that held some leather chairs and a small table covered in magazines. We moved toward the chairs as Jean-Luc said, “The vehicle is registered in my name.” He pointed to the leather chairs, indicating for us to take a seat. “Please.” Jean-Luc and I sat; Jim remained standing. I cradled Laurie’s car seat bucket in my lap. An older couple entered the building, and Jean-Luc watched them as they made their way to the reception counter. He and the woman...
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...
