M.urder R.eady to E.at (A Scotti Fitzgerald Murder Mystery Book 2)

by Anita Rodgers

  Ted's presence on the scene was simply the cherry on the sundae that Fuller used to his advantage. Though it didn’t buy him much time, he thought he’d still be able to go to ground. And he probably would’ve if it hadn’t been for the video, which Fuller believed was too much of a risk to leave behind.

  "So, did you find the video?"

  Daniels frowned. "Nah. Fuller got tripped up over nothing as far as we can tell."

  I sighed. "Too bad. If you had something like that Fuller would never see the light of day again."

  Daniels hunched a shoulder. "We don’t need it. Fuller’s going down. Slam-dunk. End of story."

  I got up and pulled three apple pies from the pantry and stacked them on the counter for Daniels. "Well thanks for the update. And you make sure this case stays a slam-dunk, big guy, okay? Will you do that for me?"

  Daniels lumbered to his feet and tucked the apple pies under his arm. "Piece of cake."

  In a few days, most of the swelling and the pain was gone, and I hobbled around the house baking and cleaning. Ted and Zelda still wouldn’t let me go out on the truck, but I was confident I’d be hawking pie and coffee again soon enough.

  I was pulling a fresh batch of oatmeal raisin cookies out of the oven when my phone buzzed.

  "Hey Scotti, it’s Donna. How you feeling girl?"

  I plopped onto a barstool and said, "The knee is better. I’m baking cookies. Want to come over and help me eat them? You can catch me up on how the halfway house plans are going?"

  Donna cleared her throat. "Actually I was calling for a favor."

  I gasped without meaning to.

  Donna laughed. "No, no, not that kind of favor. I promise. It’s just I’ve been going through Ron’s things. You know, the things we packed up that day when we were cleaning over there?"

  "Uh huh."

  "Well, Ron had a safe deposit box. I found the key this morning."

  "That’s interesting. I guess."

  Donna laughed. "Sorry, I’m not getting to the point, am I? Anyways I was hoping you’d go with me to the bank." She sighed. "I just don’t feel like I can face it alone. Lord knows what’s in there. Silly, I guess but so much has happened…"

  "You don’t have to explain. I understand." It was a small request, and as far as I knew, safety deposit boxes weren’t dangerous. "I’m going a little stir-crazy sitting around the house, a field trip sounds good.”

  <<>>

  After showing the bank officer Ron's death certificate and proof that she was the next of kin, Donna and I were taken to the safety deposit vault. The box was unlocked, removed and then taken to a private viewing room where we could examine its contents.

  Donna stared at the box with her hand poised to lift the lid.

  "What's the matter?"

  She dropped her hand to her side and shook her head. "I don't think I can do it."

  I stared at the box and licked my lips. I would've had it open the moment the bank employee left the room. "Why? It's just a safety deposit box."

  She frowned at me. "Like that darkroom was just a darkroom?" Her big eyes grew wet. "I swear Scotti, I can't handle no more nasty surprises."

  I squeezed her hand. "Then don't open it. Who cares what's in it? Leave it alone." I shrugged. "There's no law that says you have to look inside."

  Donna leaned back in her chair and nodded. "You're right, I could just walk away."

  I nodded, but inside I was screaming, "Open the damn box already" because I hated secrets more than I hated surprises.

  Donna turned her gaze to me and tilted her head. "What would you do?"

  Excitement danced in my tummy. "You mean if I were you, would I open it? Hell yes, I'd open it."

  Donna nodded and pushed the box toward me. "Okay then, be my guest."

  Even though every cell in my body was gunning to flip that lid, I held back. "Are you sure you really want me to?"

  Staring at the box, Donna nodded again.

  I took a deep breath, cracked my knuckles and lifted the lid. "Hmm."

  Donna peered inside the box. "What is it?"

  I pulled out the single item and held it my palm.

  Donna frowned. "What is it? One of those computer doohickeys?"

  I shook my head. "It’s a memory card for a camera." I studied it for a minute. "Looks too big to be for a phone. Yeah, probably a camera or video recorder."

  Suddenly, I didn't want any part of it. Donna had a point about nasty surprises —they aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. I placed the memory card on the table and frowned at it like it was dog poop on my shoe.

  Donna frowned at the little black rectangle. "What am I supposed to do with it?"

  I explained to Donna that she’d need to put it in a camera or a card reader to see the photo files. I held up my hands. "But I don't want to be around for the viewing."

  Donna pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I ain't gonna look at no more nasty pictures."

  I nodded. "I hear you. It’s evidence, and you should turn it over to Detective Daniels and let him sort it out." I shrugged. "If it turns out to be family photos, then they’ll give it back to you."

  We dropped the memory card at the Foothill station house and left it with Sergeant Blane to pass on to Daniels. The Sarge inquired about my health and when I'd be back on the truck. I smiled and lowered my voice. "Rumor has it that Daniels has three apple pies in his possession." I rolled my eyes upward. "So if Daniels is out, a person might want to rifle his desk while the opportunity was available."

  The next day Daniels left me a message saying that the memory card was indeed evidence, though he didn't elaborate. And also that one of his pies had mysteriously gone missing.

  My week was rounded off by a trip to the Jordan house for a family dinner. Steve was out of the hospital and limping nicely on a bright blue cast. I learned that casts, like every other medical device, were now fun and came in a variety of colors and styles and I felt cheated that my injuries hadn't required one.

  We did our family thing like we’d hadn’t just gone through two weeks of non-stop hell because — it was all behind us, so why dwell on it? As we were leaving, there were lots of knowing smiles when Melinda asked if we had any special plans for the weekend. I insisted it was just a regular old weekend, and then I threw up all over Melinda's beautiful hydrangea bushes.

  Chapter Fifty-One

  I spent most of the weekend in the bathroom throwing up. Ted tried to take me back to the hospital, but I refused. It was just the flu, and there was nothing the hospital could do for me that the local pharmacy couldn’t handle.

  Ted only agreed to forego the hospital if I'd let Zelda take me to the doctor's on Monday. Zelda informed Ted that he didn't need my permission and that I was going to the doctor's on Monday even if she had to hog tie me to get me there.

  When I was a kid, I got poked and prodded a lot by doctors. Something about being a ward of the state creates the need for check-ups every time you fart. And too, there were also the constant beatings I received from Fat Bobby that landed me in the emergency room on a regular basis. So, as an adult, I avoided doctors at all costs and rarely needed one anyway. I don't get sick often, and when I do, it’s usually just a cold or the flu. I do however, have an OB/GYN that I see every six months because of my bum ovary. Her name is Dr. Valerie Heffenager, but most of her patients call her Dr. Val.

  Dr.Val was popular and always booked solid. We made an appointment for Wednesday, but by then, the bug had passed and I felt fine. And I thought I'd made a clean getaway when Dr. Val's office called to reschedule because she had an emergency C-section for another patient.

  But the blood oath between Ted and Zelda couldn't be broken, so on Friday afternoon, Zelda drove me to a doctor's appointment that I didn't need.

  I sat on the examination table, dressed in one of those annoying paper gowns that feels like you're wearing a very large napkin. I swung my legs like a five-year-old. Something about visiting the doctor always made me f
eel like a kid at the mercy of adults.

  Dr. Val walked in carrying an electronic medical tablet. Val is a petite woman with a slightly large head, wide hips and a flat chest. She reminds me of Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip. I smiled. "Hey Doc."

  Her return smile exposed the gap between her two front teeth. She pushed a lock of dark hair behind her ear and frowned at the chart. "You're not supposed to be here."

  I shrugged. "Nobody called me to say the appointment was changed."

  Val looked up from her tablet. "No, I mean your next check up isn't until November."

  "Oh. Right. Well, I was barfing earlier this week and Zelda made me come."

  Val creased a brow and stepped to the examination table. She pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and listened to my heart and my lungs. She checked my blood pressure, took my temperature and checked my lymph glands for any swelling. She pecked notes into her electronic gizmo.

  "So?"

  "Everything looks normal." She eyed me from top to bottom. "How's your appetite? Looks like you've put on a few pounds."

  I chuckled. "You mean aside from the barfing?" I shrugged. "It's okay. I was pigging out on a lot of ice cream during the heat wave though — probably explains the weight gain."

  Val continued to study me, then finally shook her head. "Nope."

  I raised my eyebrows. "Nope?"

  She frowned at me. "You've never gained more than a pound since I started treating you. And you tend to lose weight when something's wrong." She did the doctor pout as she considered possibilities. Then she put her hands on my tummy and pushed gently. "How does that feel?"

  I pushed her hands away. "It doesn't hurt if that's what you mean."

  She stuck out her bottom lip, went to a medical cabinet and pulled a pee cup out of the drawer. Holding out the plastic container to me, she said, "Go fill this up."

  I wrinkled my nose. "Oh man, do I have to? I hate the pee cup."

  She nodded. "Yup. And when you're done with that, we're going to take some blood."

  Having blood drawn was worse than the pee cup. It makes me woozy and nauseous. "Crap!" I hopped off the exam table and snatched the cup. "Fine, just don't send in Nurse Rachette to take the blood, okay?"

  After I surrendered my body fluids to Dr. Val, she carried them away and did whatever doctors do with those things. When she returned I said, "You got your stuff, now can I have mine? A scrip?"

  She shook her head. "No, I have a quick test I want to run first. You wait here."

  I pouted. "More waiting? It's a little chilly in here, doc."

  She looked at me sternly. "Then get dressed."

  Thirty minutes later, Val returned to the examination room, where I waited in my giant paper napkin; anxious to finish the appointment and get out of the freezing room.

  Val scribbled on her prescription pad, tore off the sheet and handed it to me. "You can fill this at the pharmacy downstairs."

  I hopped off the table. "At last." I reached for my bag, but stopped at the sight of Val's goofy grin. "What's with the look?"

  She put her hand on her hip and shook her head. "Don't you want to know the test results?"

  "Oh, right. What's wrong with me?"

  Val couldn't stop grinning. "I guess it depends on your point of view but maybe nothing."

  I held out my hands. "English, please."

  Val laughed. "You're pregnant, Scotti."

  I broke into a gleeful giggle. "No, seriously Val, what's the matter with me?"

  Val put her arm around my shoulders and squeezed. "Nothing's wrong with you Scotti — you're going to be a mom."

  I stared at her. "For real?"

  She nodded. "For real."

  "But you said I probably could never…"

  She shrugged. "Sometimes the universe has different plans."

  Suddenly shaky on my feet, I leaned against the exam table. "I can't believe it." I felt excited and scared out of my head. I stared at her. "Are you absolutely sure?"

  She nodded. "We'll get the blood tests back in a couple days, but I'm sure they'll confirm the pregnancy."

  "So it’s not the flu?" I put my hands on my belly. "It's a baby? Me, Scotti Fitzgerald has another human being growing inside of her?"

  Val nodded. "That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it." We discussed the onset of symptoms, my last period and weight gain, then did some calculations. "Looks like you're about six or seven weeks along. How does a May baby sound?"

  I giggled because I didn't have words.

  She pointed her finger at me. "I want you in here in a few weeks for a sonogram and some prenatal instructions, but otherwise, you're good to go."

  I waved the scrip clutched in my hand. "What's this for then?"

  "Prenatal vitamins."

  I nodded, feeling a little shell-shocked. I was happy, but how would Ted react? He said he wanted kids, but it was just an idea when we talked about it. Did he want one now? Could I handle it? Could he? Could we? I felt so mixed up. But happy too. Really happy.

  Val gave me her concerned doctor look. "I haven't made the wrong assumption, have I? You want this baby, don't you Scotti?"

  Her question made me cry. "Yes. I want this baby. I really, really do." I sighed. "I'm scared to death, but yes I want her."

  Val raised an eyebrow. "And Ted? How will he take the news?"

  I cried and laughed. "I don't know." I flapped my hands and rolled my eyes. "What am I saying. Of course I know." The tears were a faucet I couldn't turn off. "I'm crying but I'm happy. Really I am."

  Val put her arm around my shoulder. "That’s the hormones. You’ll get used to it. Those cute little doggie videos that everybody forwards online? Got me every time."

  I sniffled and wiped at my tears. "When we do the sonogram will we know if it’s a boy or a girl?"

  "Probably be able to make a guesstimate. But there are blood tests we can do a little later on, if we need to."

  I knew having a baby would change everything — and many things I wouldn't want to change. Yet all I could think about was that I was going to be a mommy and how happy that made me.

  <<>>

  When I came out to the waiting room Zelda ejected from her seat. "It's about time. What were you doing in there, getting brain surgery?"

  I shook my head and laughed as tears rolled down my cheeks.

  Zelda looked scared. "Scotti honey, what is it?"

  I hip-bumped her. "What do you think about being an aunt?"

  She frowned until her brain caught up with her. "You're preggers? You? You're having a baby?"

  I nodded. We both screamed like cheerleaders and hugged each other.

  We skipped to the car, and on the way home, we stopped at a baby shop. For an hour we giggled at tiny little baby clothes and shoes. I couldn't talk Zelda out of buying a $200 leather jacket for a baby that was about the size of a peanut at that point.

  "Oh, but he'll look so cute in it."

  "It might be a girl."

  "Then she'll start out right — knowing what is awesome and sexy."

  I laughed. "You keep talking like that and Ted won’t let you have visiting rights."

  Zelda shook a fist. "Oh yeah. I'd like to see him try to keep me from my little niece or nephew. I'm family, right?"

  I slung my arm around her shoulder. "Always. You're going to be the best auntie ever."

  Back on the road, we both started singing the Wheels on the Bus simultaneously. It was like she caught my hormones. Probably sympathy pains. But I didn't care. I never felt so happy in my life. It was like a dream. A gift I never thought I'd get.

  Zelda glanced at me and grinned. "So Teddy boy's going to be a daddy."

  Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. "Yeah. Do you think he'll be happy?"

  Zelda smirked. "Are you kidding? He'll be thrilled.” She laughed. “At least until he figures out how much a college education is going to cost eighteen years from now." She cut around a bicyclist who was slowing traffic and caught him in her dra
ft. He wobbled a little but regained control then flipped her off. Zelda looked in the mirror and laughed. "That's right, I have a car, and I own the road, elastic pants boy."

  I punched her arm. "Zee."

  "Ouch." She rubbed her arm. "When are you going to tell Ted?"

  I shrugged. "Soon."