Motherhood Is Murder

Now it was my turn to drop my fork. ?Why can?t I mention your name? I?m working under your license, right??

?Sure. I?ll fill out the paperwork and you can work for me under my license. But don?t make a big deal out of it to Barramendi. Like I said, I?m a former cop.?

?Something else has been bothering me,? I said.

Galigani waited for me to continue.

?McNearny and Jones were at Helene?s funeral.?

?Sure,? Galigani said. ?Especially if your client called the ME and told them she suspected something. That would have raised a flag for them and then homicide would want to go to the services to take a look around.?

?But she called after the funeral.?

Galigani played with his mustache. ?They could have been there because of the fight . . . Uniforms took statements from everyone on the boat, right??

I nodded.

?Let?s see if I can poke around and get some info, they know something we don?t,? Galigani said.

When I arrived home, Jim handed off a howling Laurie and a UPS package to me.

I tried to juggle Laurie while reading the label on the package. It was my girdle! A few weeks ago, I couldn?t imagine getting so excited about a girdle?but here I was practically giddy.

Laurie continued to fuss.

?What?s wrong with her?? I asked Jim.

He shrugged. ?I wish I knew. She?s fed, has a clean diaper, and hasn?t stopped crying for at least fifteen minutes.?

I cuddled Laurie to me and rubbed her back, trying to soothe her. The rubbing coaxed an enormous burp out of her, which suddenly silenced her.

Jim looked shocked. ?Oh.?

I raised an eyebrow at him. ?You remembered to feed her, but forgot about the burping thing??

Jim matched my expression. ?Apparently.?

I laughed.

?Well, I?m glad it?s nothing serious,? he said. ?I was starting to get worried. How was lunch??

?We had Thai. It was great.? I passed the UPS package to Jim. ?Can you open this for me??

Jim ripped open the package and pulled the girdle out. ?What is this??

I launched into a dissertation about the benefits of ?binding? one?s tummy after childbirth.

Jim seemed stunned by my passion on the subject. From our office/nursery we heard his cell phone ring. He passed the girdle to me and went to answer the phone.

I shuffled to our bedroom and laid Laurie down in her bassinet. She immediately protested, but not so persistently as to deter me from trying on the girdle.

I read the instructions and opened the package, but before I could try it on, Jim came into the room.

?That was Dirk Jonson. He wants to meet tomorrow over lunch, said he loved my concepts.?

Dirk was the reason I could even try my hand at this PI business. Now I had a meeting with the top dog of criminal defense at the same time Dirk had called a meeting with Jim. My husband, yes, but also my primary babysitter, and with Mom in Mexico, what could I do?

Lugging Laurie around would look completely unprofessional, wouldn?t it?

?Oh. I?m supposed to??

?Sorry, honey, I need to go polish up some stuff for them.? He headed out of the room. ?What?s for dinner??

Uh. Dinner.

?I?ll think of something,? I called after him.

I dialed Paula and told her about my meeting with Gary Barramendi.

Paula practically screamed in my ear. ?A media darling! Kate, you have to go!?

?But I have to watch Laurie.?

?Are you crazy? I?ll watch her. Swing her by here. I?ll be home all day with my little beast. No problem.?

?But you?re pregnant.?

?So?? Paula demanded.

?I don?t want to put a seven-week-old burden on a pregnant lady!?

?Shut up. I can handle your little cherub with my hands tied behind my back.?

?Wait . . . um . . . Does Danny bite??

?No! Don?t worry, I would never let Danny bite Laurie. Why do you ask??