by Diana Orgain | Jul 1, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? From A Deathly Rattle Chapter Two The following morning, I woke up feeling exceptionally groggy. It took several blinks before the memories of the night came rushing back to me. Vicente Domingo—shot three times. Close to bleeding out. My finger shoved in his artery while Deb did her best to keep him alive. I’d been up late waiting by the phone, and last I heard he was still in surgery with things looking dire. I had only gone home because of Laurie. Otherwise I would have waited at the hospital for better news. Still half asleep, I heard my cell phone ring. “Hello?” I groaned before even answering the phone. Clearly, I was delirious. I grabbed for the phone and answered it, clearing my throat first. “Hello?” I asked, feeling a bit more awake already as I rubbed my eyes. “Kate, it’s Galigani. How soon can you get to the hospital?” he asked, cutting straight to the chase in his typical Galigani fashion. Albert Galigani was not only my friend, boss, and mentor, but he also happened to be my mom’s boyfriend. He hadn’t been at the strike party yesterday because he’d claimed an evening dentist appointment. Personally, I figured he was trying to avoid manual labor. Anyway, Mom and I had called him from the hospital. He also knew Vicente Domingo well. “Um . . . give me twenty minutes,” I said, pulling myself out of bed. My kitten, Whiskers, momentarily complained about my jostling her, but she soon found the warm spot I’d just vacated and snuggled herself into it. “Don’t rub it in,”...
by Diana Orgain | Jul 1, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss part one of Chapter One? From A Deathly Rattle Chapter One Continued… “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, but I could tell he was suppressing a chuckle. Whether the rest of the play was true or not, I knew good and well that line in the play was meant for me. He seemed quite satisfied that I had caught on to that fact. “Yeah, sure,” I said. “You know, Vicente, I may still be a little new at this whole PI thing. But I solved two homicide cases this past month. Doubling my average. Does it make you nervous that this amateur broad is catching up to you?” He smirked again. “You’re actually pretty impressive, Kate. You’ve got gusto. Keep it up, and you might actually turn into some serious competition for me.” And with that, he rose out of his seat, looking like he was headed to the food table. “Ha! With that attitude, I’m never going to direct your play.” He froze and spun around. “You mean I have a chance?” Before I could answer, a woman I recognized as one of the ensemble members of the cast, with dyed-green hair and orange capri pants, swooped down the aisle and grabbed Vicente’s arm. “Where have you been hiding?” she screeched at him. “Amanda!” he said, kissing both her cheeks in his traditional Spanish greeting. He laced an arm through hers, but before heading off, he wagged a finger at me. “To be continued, Kate.” I nodded in agreement and turned my attention to the stage. Mom now had Laurie out of...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
From Killer Cravings Chapter One My stomach rumbled and my mouth watered. Thoughts of jelly filled donuts danced in my head, only to be pushed aside by a chocolate-covered old-fashioned. No. A sprinkle-laden maple donut. Ugh! Stop. I couldn’t get these sugar-encrusted thoughts out of my head. Cravings when I was pregnant with Laurie weren’t particularly strong, but every once in a while, I’d go nuts for something; usually something salty. One night, I’d eaten two jumbo bags of pretzels for dinner, but that was about as far as it went when pregnant with her. Pregnancy number two, however, was a totally different story. Currently, I was sitting outside a small suburban home, my car parked with the lights out. I was supposed to be working a case, but all I could think about was getting something sweet. And, what made it worse, was that I couldn’t quite figure out what sort of sweet I wanted. But, it was bad. Like, really bad. I couldn’t concentrate to save my life. My phone buzzed, so I put the light on dim to check it. I am undercover, after all. It was a text from Kenny, our next-door neighbor teenager turned nanny. I laughed out loud to see a picture of Laurie fast asleep in her crib with her finger up her nose. She was six months old now. Six months old, and I’m pregnant all over again. This pregnancy wasn’t exactly planned, and the mind-boggling fact that we were having another baby before Laurie was even old enough to walk put me into full panic-mode. Even so, Jim and...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? Did you miss part one of Chapter Three? From Killer Cravings Chapter Three Continued,,, “Paula, simply amazing,” Tony said. “I’m glad they hired you.” “Very talented,” Nate said. “I especially love my little bar.” She stood up and hurried behind the bar. “This right here is my charac‐ ter’s personal spot.” “I have arrived!” a man’s voice called from the audience. “Ricky!” my mother called. “Oh, Kate, this is Director Ricky. He is doing a fabulous job, if I do say so myself. Ricky, this is my daughter Kate, and my granddaughter Laurie.” Ricky was a fairly young guy. He was younger than some of his cast members, but he had a certain commanding tone about him that let me know he was in charge. “A pleasure, Ms. Kate,” he said and smiled down at Laurie. “Hey, cutie,” he said and then looked up at Paula. “Paula, I have to say, I’m in love with this set.” “Thanks for the opportunity,” Paula said. “Of course,” he said and reached into his coat pocket. “Here, these are for you. Tickets for the after party on opening night.” He looked at me. “Would you like to come?” “Me?” I questioned. “Your mom is one of the stars of the show,” he said and reached into his pocket, pulling out two tickets. “You are already coming to opening night,” Paula said. “Plus, a little birdy told me that Cassandra’s Cookies is catering the party.” My eyes widened. “Cassandra’s Cookies? As in—” “As in the café that you’ve had Jim run out to,...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? From Killer Cravings Chapter Three After lunch, we caravanned over to the theater. On the drive, Laurie giggled and did her cutsie baby babble, putting me in an unusually chirpy mood. We pulled into the back-parking lot of the theater, and I parked next to Paula and my mom who’d ridden there together. I scurried out of the driver’s seat and removed Laurie’s portable car seat from the car. As soon as she got near me, she went straight for my earring. “Ack!” I yelped, taking hold of her tiny wrist. “Sweetie, no – no!” I said, and my mom hurried over to step in to my aid. “Yeah, I never wear earrings anymore,” Paula said as she locked up her car. “Laurie, let go of your mommy’s earring!” my mom said, laughing a little too hard at my uncomfortable misfortune. “I suppose I should know better by now,” I groaned as my mom wiggled my earring and the lower half of my ear free of my daughter’s tight grasp. I passed Laurie off to my mom so I could rub my tender earlobe, then remove my earrings altogether. I tossed them into my front seat cup holder, as Laurie squealed and giggled about what she’d just done. “You little stinker,” I said to Laurie. Paula pointed to her teal necklace. “Check this out,” she said. “Def‐ initely going to snag you one of these for your next baby shower.” “What? A plastic necklace?” I asked. “It’s a teether,” Paula said, taking Laurie from my mom. Laurie went straight...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss part one of Chapter Two? From Killer Cravings Chapter Two Continued… “He did,” I said, sighing. “Uh… I… I screwed up. I’m so sorry.” He let out a deep breath. “Well, no problem. Not yet, at least. Our client is leaving town for a couple of days to visit her mother. With that sort of freedom, we’re bound to bust the guy hanging out with his side chick. He’ll feel like there’s no way he’ll get caught with his wife out of town, so you’re bound to get the shot this time.” “Good,” I said. “I plan on doing another stakeout tonight.” “Way to be dedicated,” he said. “Just keep me posted. You’re still new at this, Kate. Don’t beat yourself up too much.” “Thanks,” I said before we both hung up the phone. I was still pretty upset with myself for screwing up the way I had. I can’t let this pregnancy get the better of me! When I’d been pregnant with Laurie, I’d felt like Superwoman. It had been such an easy-going pregnancy – a few hiccups along the way, of course, but nothing like this. I need to be better prepared! My goody bag for that night was going to have to be packed full of everything I could possibly crave – including those delicious brownies we still had tucked away in the fridge. Now, just don’t forget the bag! Before even pulling into the parking lot at the café, I was daydreaming about lunch. My mouth watered, and my tummy rumbled. I was starving. That was pretty...
