“Yes.” I pet Cooper as I consider the rest of my response. “But if I had a brain tumor, I’d like that about you. A lot.” My sister hates confrontation, but she’s a dedicated doctor. Lance gets stuck with a lot of the parenting responsibilities because he’s in IT and works from home.
“Ugh.” Meg tosses her cucumbers to Cooper and then sits up. “I’m really in the doghouse this time. So I wanted to be with someone who loves me no matter what. Do you mind that I dropped in unannounced?”
“No.” How could I be mad when she just said she needed me? “But I am a little upset you ruined my salad plans for dinner with your facial.”
Meg smiles. “Now who’s the control freak? You and your preplanned menus.” She hugs me. “I’ll walk down to the store and buy whatever we need.”
The chef in me wants to let her do some salad shopping, but then it’d prove her control-freak point. “That’s okay. We’ll improvise tonight.”
“Sounds fun.” Meg wipes her face with a tissue, revealing the beautiful woman she is. My big sister takes after my dad, with her dramatic black hair and stunning blue eyes.
I got our mother’s everyday brown hair and brown eyes. But people say I have my mom’s bright smile, which is something I cherish.
“I hear Dad’s here too.” Meg tosses her tissue in the trash. “It could be like old times. Remember when we were stuck all summer long with him doing his shows for free? Although getting paid in state fair junk food wasn’t all bad.”
“It was the best part. I was reminded of that today.” I wave a hand down the front of my sparkly outfit. “Thank you for not commenting on my apparel.”
Meg’s lips tilt. “It took everything in me, but I figured if you had to wear that, you’ve had a tough day too.”
“Yep.” I slide closer and take her hand. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. But you want to fix things with Lance, right?”
“I do.” My sister’s eyes well with tears. “I’m hoping he’ll cool off by the time they get back.”
I squeeze Meg’s hand. “I’m sure he will. Want to come downstairs and eat ice cream way too close to dinnertime with us girls?”
“Only if you’ll promise to change first. You’re blinding me with sparkles.”
“Done. Meet you downstairs.” As I head for the door, I remember I wanted to know something about the accident. I stop and turn around. “Can I ask you a medical question first?”
“Sure.” Meg slides her long legs off the bed and stands. “But my hourly rate is pretty steep.”
“So are my nightly rates.” I fill Meg in on the details of Tina’s fall and the state of her eyes.
“That is unusual.” My sister sinks back onto the bed. “Head trauma with paralysis could do that, but it’s atypical for a simple fall. Without doing a full exam, though, I really can’t say.”
That’s what I was afraid of. “Would someone being electrocuted have eyes like that?”
“Not usually.” My sister shakes her head. “But there’s always that weird exception. If it’s a massive jolt, it can be pretty gross. It’s why they used to tape prisoners’ eyes closed when they were executed in the electric chair. The heat can actually melt—”
“Stop!” I hate medical talk. It skeeves me out as much as the sight of blood. “Never mind. See you downstairs.”
My sister laughs. “Okay, squeamish. Better hurry before all the ice cream is gone.”
I shake off the heebie-jeebies and walk down the hall to my bedroom. It seems the only thing I learned from our talk is that it’ll be hard to determine what killed Tina until she has an autopsy.
But if it was murder, would waiting for an autopsy allow the killer time to get away?
Chapter 3
After Madge has gone home, I pull out my industrial blender. I’m making hollandaise sauce for my eggs Benedict casserole when Brittany asks, “Why are we having breakfast for dinner?”
“Because Meg’s upset.”
Brittany frowns. “I thought we were having taco salad.”
“And I thought you were going over to Raphe’s house to eat. Aren’t you going to be late?” Brittany and Raphe have been dating for a few months now, but something has been a little off between them. Not that she’s mentioned anything to me. My best friend Renee told me there was some tension after the last time Brittany and Raphe were in Renee’s ice cream shop.
Brittany shrugs. “I changed my mind. I’d rather chill here with Meg and Max. We don’t see them all that much. So why the eggs?”
Sometimes I forget having a family is new for Brittany. She likes feeling like she belongs to our misfit group. “Eggs are comfort food around here.” I add yolks, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper to the blender and let it rip. Raising my voice above the noise, I ask, “Did my mom cook much for you before she died?”
Brittany shakes her head. “Zoe forgot to eat most nights. She’d be so busy tending her roses, I usually made us sandwiches, then I’d eat in the greenhouse with her.”
That was typical of Mom even before she got sick and lost her appetite. She was the kindest soul on earth, but not the most responsible parent. She probably had ADD before they knew what that was. “Sometimes Mom would decide to make us a roast or ham if it was on sale at the grocery store. She’d pop it into the oven and then wander outside. The screech of smoke alarms drew Meg and me to the kitchen more times than we could count. We’d open the back door and all the windows to let the smoke out, then we had
