Chewy Chocolate Chip Murder: A Cookie Lane Cozy Mystery - Book 1 by Karen Sullivan

and sighed relief.
    “Good.” Cat rose from her seat and
threw her napkin down on the table. “I’ll be right back.”
    “Cat, no!” Lacy hissed.
    Catherine rolled up her sleeves then
paced across the carpeted floor and to the bathroom doors. She pressed it open
with her fist, then charged inside.
    Tara stood beside the sinks, clicking
the screen of her smartphone, perfectly manicured fingernails dancing in the
rhythm of a text message.
    “Mrs. Walters,” Cat said.
    The woman flinched then looked up at
her. Surprise turned to disdain. Her features puckered up, and she narrowed her
eyes. “Kelley,” she said. “I haven’t seen you since you tried to crash Beth’s
memorial service.”
    “I had every right to be there. I had
every right to share in the grief,” Cat said. “You didn’t even care about
Beth.”
    Tara rolled her eyes, then glanced in
the mirror. She made a face and unhooked the straps of her bag from her
shoulder. She plunked the designer purse on the bathroom counter, then brought
out a tube of mascara.
    “Who’s your date?” Cat asked, and
folded her arm. She tapped her heeled boot on the tiles.
    “I’m a married woman, Kelley. I don’t
go on dates.”
    “Who is he?” Catherine repeated. She
wouldn’t let the woman shimmy out of the question that easily. “A business
associate?”
    Tara froze, the mascara wand hovering
an inch from her right eyelid. “As a matter of fact, he is.”
    “I know you need money, Tara. You have
the motivation, not me,” Cat said. A wash of anger had swept her along with it.
Her mouth worked before her brain could. This might end badly.
    She had to control it or - 
    “That’s right. And you’ve got the
money, I need. Beth’s money was Walters’ family money. It belongs to my
husband,” Tara replied. She finished applying her mascara, then fastened the
tube. “As a matter of fact, the man I’m with is the lawyer who’s going to get
that money away from you.”
    “What’s your problem?” Cat asked. “I
never wanted Beth’s money. I’d give it all up just to have her back.”
    Tara scoffed, then took a step
problem. “My problem? I’m not the one who murdered the woman for an
inheritance.” She strode out of the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.
    Cat stared at her reflection in the
mirror and shook her head. Something didn’t add up about Tara Walters. She just
couldn’t place her finger on what that was.
    “Time to find out.”

Chapter 14
    “We shouldn’t be here,” Lacy said.
“This is definitely not allowed. What if we get caught?”
    “Caught? Doing what?” Cat asked, then
pointed at the Walters residence. “It’s not like we’re trespassing. We’re just
hanging out in my car, having an adult conversation.”
    “This adult conversation is giving me
an anxiety attack. Do you have a brown paper bag?” Lacy asked.
    “Check the glove compartment,” Car
replied, then drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She stared up at the
darkened residence and her heart pounded against the inside of her ribcage. It
beat out a pattern. “I’ll get to the bottom of this.”
    “Huh?” Lacy asked, then rammed the
front of the bag into her face and inhaled.
    “Nothing, don’t worry.” Catherine
leaned her forehead against her window. She couldn’t tear her gaze from the
house. This place had become an obsession for her.
    The longer she looked, the more
convinced she became that this was it. That someone in there had hurt Beth. A
tear slid down her cheek and dropped to her lap.
    Lacy dropped her bag. “Are you okay?”
    “I’m fine,” Cat said. “I’m as fine as
I can be. I guess I haven’t taken the time to mourn yet. I just want to find
the person who did this, so badly.”
    Lacy patted her on the shoulder.
“Everything will be okay, Cat. But, I dunno, did you ever think maybe that, ah,
never mind.”
    “Think what?” Cat asked.
    Lacy took a deep breath, then pressed
her lips together. “Okay, now don’t take