5 A Bad Egg by Jessica Beck Page B

finished.”
    “Call me
after you hear from her. I don’t care what time it is, okay?”
    “I promise,”
I said he pulled into my driveway and I got out of the truck. “Bye.”
    “Good bye,
Victoria,” he said.
    Greg met me
on the porch, and I squeezed him so hard I could feel the breath escaping from
his lungs. “Hey, are you okay?”
    “I am now,” I
said, my voice muffled in his chest.
    “I made
homemade pasta,” he said. “Are you hungry?”
    “Give me one
more minute,” I said as I hugged him even harder.
    My husband
stroked the back of my head gently. “Take all the time you need,” Greg said.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
    “I’m holding
you to that,” I said, and then I finally pulled away.
    “Rough day?”
he asked me as we walked inside the house.
    “I’ve had
better,” I said. “Now, what’s this about homemade pasta?”
    “I was
worried about you, and you know how I am when I’m jumpy. I cook. You don’t
mind, do you?”
    “I’ll take
your pasta any day,” I said. “Do you have salad, too?”
    “You bet. The
water’s been boiling for a while. In three minutes, we’ll be eating.”
    “Did you wait
for me?” I asked.
    “I wasn’t
about to eat without you.”
    I took a deep
breath, and smiled. “You made garlic bread too, didn’t you?”
    “I figured
you wouldn’t mind.”
    “You figured
right.”

 
    The food was
delicious, and we were cleaning up when my phone rang. “It’s Rebecca,” I said.
    “Go on. I’ll
take care of this.”
    I hesitated
long enough to kiss him quickly, and then I answered my phone. “Hey, what’s
up?”
    “I’m not
interrupting anything, am I?” she asked.
    “Nothing that
won’t wait. How’s Ellen?”
    “She’s free,”
Rebecca said, “at least for the moment. She gave me permission to catch you up.
There’s really not much to say. She doesn’t have the slightest hint of an alibi
for the time of the murder, and Sheriff Croft’s not all that pleased with any
of us.”
    “It looks
bad, doesn’t it?”
    “Victoria,
I’ve faced worse prospects in my career, but it’s not going to be easy. After
all, she had every reason in the world to wish the man harm.”
    “Do you mind
taking the case? I’ll pay you whatever it takes.”
    Rebecca
laughed. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. If, and it’s a big if,
she’s arrested for Gordon’s murder, then we’ll talk about my fee.”
    “Rebecca, I
don’t expect you to do this for free,” I said. “Ellen is one of ours at the
diner, and we take care of our own.”
    “I figured as
much, but honestly, I haven’t done much yet but hold her hand.”
    “That’s worth
more than gold to me,” I said. “Have I told you how happy I am to have you as a
best friend?”
    “I don’t mind
hearing it again,” she said. “I’ll keep you updated, but for now, the sheriff’s
done with Ellen. You’re digging into this, aren’t you?”
    Rebecca
didn’t necessarily approve of the investigations Moose and I had conducted in
the past, but I wasn’t about to lie to her. “As a matter of fact, we’ve already
started digging,” I said.
    “Good. Find
out who did this, the quicker the better,” Rebecca said.
    “Why so
enthusiastic?” I asked.
    “This is
going to haunt Ellen and her kids until Gordon’s killer is found,” she said.
“If it takes too long, she’ll be branded as a murderer no matter what the
outcome.”
    “We’re going
to do our best,” I said.
    “I’m sure you
are. Well, I’ll let you go. I just wanted to catch you up to speed about where
things stood.”
    “Thanks for
the call. I’m sure we’ll be chatting again soon.”
    “You can
count on it,” Rebecca said.

 
    “What did she
have to say?” Greg asked as I walked back into the kitchen.
    “Ellen’s
free, at least for now,” I explained as I took a bite of the apple pie Greg had
put out on the counter. “Was that for me?”
    “Sure, why
not?” he said with a grin as he got a piece