Motherhood Is Murder

Amanda played with some knobs on the playmat and squealed. Both Sara and I turned to her.

?She is so cute. I can?t wait until Laurie can sit up and play like that,? I said.

Sara smiled. ?It won?t be long. Time flies. Amanda?s only been sitting since we started water acclamation class. I had no idea it would help with motor skill development.?

It did?

Water acclamation? Weren?t infants just getting used to being out of water?

I hated to ask, but I had to know.

?Where do you take classes??

She looked down her nose at me. ?La Petite Grenouille, of course. Aren?t you enrolled??

?Uh. No. Not yet.?

I wasn?t born with a day timer in my hand, like you, Miss No-Nonsense. I?m sure you aren?t ever late for anything!

?They have a free trial class. You should really try and make it. Your daughter will enjoy it,? she said.

Eager to switch subjects, I said, ?Sara, what can you tell me about that night on the cruise??

She shrugged. ?What?s to tell? You were there, too.?

?Do you recall being at the bar with Margaret, Helene, and their husbands??

She frowned. ?Well, sure. We were all at the bar.?

?Do you remember anything about a drink mix-up??

?What do you mean? Like the bartender gave us the wrong drinks or something? I don?t really remember anything like that,? she said.

?No. I mean . . .?

Might as well come right out and ask it.

?Did you notice that maybe Helene and Margaret got their drinks switched? Like perhaps Helene drank Margaret?s drink??

She shook her head. ?No. I don?t remember anything like that.?

Okay, so no smoking gun.

I tried a different tack. ?What can you tell me about your final exchange with Helene??

Sara squinted. ?There?s not much to tell. We were chatting on the deck then this lady bumped into me and spilled her drink. I left Helene on the deck and went to the restroom.?

The timing seemed off.

?Did you stop anywhere on the way?? I asked.

Sara titled her head, her brow furrowing. ?I don?t remember.?

How could she not remember?

?When you got to the ladies? room, you told me that the captain had called an all hands on deck.?

She chewed her thumbnail. ?That?s right.?

?But if you came directly to the restroom after leaving Helene on deck, I don?t see how there was time for her to fall down the stairs and be found and for the captain??

She stopped chewing her nail. ?Oh. I see what you mean. I think I probably stopped to talk to Howard first. Yeah. That?s right. I went to talk to Howard, but he was smoking a cigar with Evelyn?s husband.? She rolled her eyes, the disdain apparent in her voice. ?And I didn?t want to be there.?

?You really don?t care for her.?

Sara laughed. ?To put it mildly. She?s a nightmare. High maintenance. All about her. The husband is boring and her kid?s a fiend. Not that it?s his fault. She?s just so into herself, she lets him run wild. And whenever he gets into trouble, she acts all bothered about having to do something about it.?

?I understand she was asked to leave Roo amp; You.?

Sara shrugged. ?She wasn?t a fit with us.?

Who was? It sounded like she hadn?t liked anyone in the group, except Margaret.

?Was there anyone else in the group???

Sara shook her head. ?No. Just the four of us. It seemed to really work for a while, but . . .?

I waited again for her to continue. Laurie stirred in the car seat. Amanda tipped over on the playmat and began to cry, unable to sit herself back up.