by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? From Killer Cravings Chapter Two Now that I was refreshed and ready to get going on my day, I decided I needed to write up a to-do list, and it was a mile long. TO DO: 1. Call Galigani, fess up about missing the photo op 2. Get a photo of the creepy cheater leaving his gf’s place 3. Clean the kitchen because, ew 4. Pre-make tomorrow’s baby food 5. Call mom 6. Ask Kenny to watch Laurie tonight 7. Get snacks together for stakeout 2.0 And, that was just the beginning. I continued writing down what all I had to do, and I started to grow discontent. There was no way I was going to get it all done in one day, so I just put a star next to some of the more urgent items. As I studied my ever growing list my phone buzzed. I grabbed it and saw that I had a text message from my best friend, Paula. Must meet for lunch – have exciting news!!!! I knew it must be truly exciting because Paula rarely used one exclamation point in her texts let alone four. “Sweet,” I said, but then frowned. I’d been having so many aver‐ sions to… everything. It was so strange. I hadn’t had this problem with Laurie at all, but now I had to really watch what I ate. “Sounds good,” I spoke as I typed the words. “Where?” Lol – what can you eat?!?! Mexican? Even more exclamation points. She must be really eager to talk to me about something, I thought, smirking....
by Diana Orgain | Jun 28, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? From Killer Cravings Chapter One Continued… It wasn’t fair! How did I manage to waste so much time on this stupid craving, along with ruining my stakeout. And, now I was being rewarded with no sleep. “Kate?” a gruffly voice behind me said. I spun around to see Jim wandering into the kitchen, followed by our orange tabby kitten, Whiskers. My heart lurched to see Jim. “I’m sorry, babe, did I wake you up?” I asked, hurrying over to give him a big hug. “I missed you so much. Almost three days,” I exclaimed, showering his face with kisses. “Yeah, what are you doing? Did you ever get to bed last night?” he asked me, yawning. “No,” I said, my shoulders slumping from tiredness. “And, I screwed up the stakeout last night too!” Tears welled up in my eyes, and I covered them with my hands. “I feel like crying – call it the hormones,” I said. Jim put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed. “Aw, honey. Don’t cry. What can I do? Did something happen?” I spun around, pulling my hair to one side, to let Jim massage my shoulders. “You promise not to laugh?” “I promise,” he said, moving his hands from my shoulders to the back of my neck. “I got this really bad craving, and I didn’t bring any food. I left, and when I came back the guy was already in his car!” I said. Jim laughed, so I whirled around and buried my head in his chest. “You promised not to laugh at me!” He stroked my...
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...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 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 Lethal Lullaby Chapter Three Continued… Susan was cold and distant. “Why would you tell me that?” “You deserve to know,” said Lisa. “I really am terribly sorry.” “Are you trying to get me to leave my husband?” Susan snapped. I couldn’t quite make out Lisa’s response. Had Lisa . . . just told Susan about the affair? Good gravy. This was going to be awkward. “Well,” continued Susan, her voice returning to normal, though I could detect an edge of contempt. “It’s hardly Oliver’s first dalliance and it won’t be his last. I prefer it when I don’t know these things, and I certainly didn’t need you to come bare your soul, you shameless little hussy. What was your plan? Did you sleep with him to get a promo‐ tion? And when that didn’t work, you decided to try to get me to leave him so that you could swoop in to be the next Mrs. Fischer?” She scoffed. “Hardly. Oliver and I love each other in our way, and I’m certainly not going to leave him. He’ll have forgotten your name in six months, and so will I.” Time to make myself scarce. I walked in the opposite direction for several steps, then struck off onto the shady lawn. I’d return to our picnic gathering in a round‐ about way so that Susan and Lisa wouldn’t know I’d overheard them. Thankfully, the breeze had picked up again, which helped it feel not quite so hot—although I was still baking....
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? Did you miss Chapter Two? From Lethal Lullaby Chapter Three By the time we reached Toscano di Napa, it was blisteringly hot outside. The gentle breeze had ceased, and the sun beat down on us relentlessly. “This is beautiful weather!” exclaimed Nick as we reached our picnic spot. “Is that so?” I asked wryly. “Feels like an oven to me.” Natalie grabbed the invisible microphone. “The weather is a balmy ninety degrees, but the humidity is only at twenty percent.” “It’s a dry heat,” said Nick. “Like a sauna.” The back of my shirt was damp with sweat, and I chuckled at the phrase dry heat. What did that even mean? “You wouldn’t believe how humid it gets on the East Coast, Kate,” said Andrew. “Sometimes it feels like you’re immersed in a full-body hot tub when you’re just walking down the street. This does feel nice by comparison.” A group of three people came over the hill: an attractive middle-aged couple dressed impeccably and a heavyset African American woman. I did a double take at the African American woman. She was quite pretty, with flawless eye makeup and manicured nails, but she was at least forty. Was Lisa an older college student, and not the twenty-one-year-old I’d pictured? Then Nick waved at them with a huge smile. “Roxi, I didn’t realize you were coming!” “Oliver’s assistant,” Andrew whispered to me under his breath. “She’s a lot of fun, and definitely the smartest person at the firm.” “Ah.” So, this wasn’t Lisa. Roxi called back, “Of course I’m here. You know Oliver wouldn’t be...
by Diana Orgain | Jun 22, 2021 | Maternal Instincts Mysteries, Sneak Peek, Uncategorized
Did you miss Chapter One? From Lethal Lullaby Chapter Two 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! 7. Pick vineyards for wine tour. The sky was a glorious California blue as Andrew, Tracy, and I drove to the second winery in Napa the next day. “Did the photos turn out?” I asked, glancing at Tracy in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, they’re fine, thanks,” she said, swiping through her phone. “I’m pretty sure I’ve found one usable one.” In contrast to my empire-waist maternity blouse and slacks and Andrew’s polo and khakis, Tracy had worn her usual attire of yoga pants and a flowy workout tank top. “There will be some great aesthetics,” she’d explained. “Perfect for Instagram photos.” She’d spent half the first wine tasting in tree pose in the courtyard while I’d snapped photos on her phone. But I’d held my tongue. I’d determined last night that I was going to befriend Tracy if it killed me. And now, two hours into the outing, I was beginning to conclude that it might just kill me. I already had a stabbing pain behind my eyes. “You know where we should really go for photos, hon?” Andrew said, turning around. “Cliff House. It’s gorgeous.” A soft smile played on my lips. “Good memories there, huh?” “The best,” he said with a grin. I’d gotten married at the Cliff House,...
