Death of the Family Recipe (A Scotti Fitzgerald Murder Mystery Book 3) by Anita Rodgers Read Free Book Online

being a third wheel in my own house. "Maybe I should move in with Ted early." I shrugged. "I can live without a kitchen for a couple of weeks. I’ll only have to come by to bake."
     
    Zelda shook her head. "No, you shouldn’t have to move before you’re ready."
     
    My stomach roiled, and I pushed the food away. "I just don’t think I can deal with an extra roommate while I’m trying to plan a wedding and work and everything." I sighed. "What about the extra unit at Joe’s place?" Joe owned a three-plex and the back unit he kept for guests. "He’d put Eric up for a couple weeks, right?"
     
    Zelda slumped. "Yeah, probably. Okay, we’ll ask Joe."
     
    I looked around. "Where is Eric?"
     
    "At home packing up his crap." She stuffed the leftovers in the paper bag and tossed it into the trash can. "Where’s Ted?"
     
    I rolled my eyes. "Kitchen remodel." Zelda nodded, like someone had stolen her puppy. I sighed. "Look, if you want Eric to move in sooner, he can. You want him here — I get it." I tugged on her ponytail. "I was hoping to keep you to myself until the wedding, but the times they are a-changing, right?" I patted her hand. "So, you decide, but give me a few days lead time?"
     
    Zelda’s eyes brimmed with tears. "I’m going to miss you."
     
    That’s all it took, and we were both blubbering. We’d been room mates, best friends, sisters in every way but blood since we were kids — the parting would hurt like hell. "I’m going to miss you too. But we’ll get used to it. Right?" I laughed. "Besides, you might like living with a boy. It does have certain benefits."
     
    Zelda rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Miss Hormones. That kid is already running your life."
     
    I patted my tummy. "I know, isn’t it great?"
     
    I blew off studying Atkinson’s file and played with Zelda. We pored over old photos and laughed. Talked about all the crazy shit we’d done together. How we’d terrorized the foster system, one foster parent at a time. We laughed until it hurt and we were out of breath.
     
    Around eleven, Zelda ran out of gas and abandoned me for her bed. Still wide awake, I reached for the Atkinson file.
     
    The file contained, the police report, Atkinson’s interview transcript, the 911 call transcript, a physical evidence list, the autopsy report, witness statements and paper copies of the crime scene photos. I wasn’t ready to look at the photos and placed them face down on the coffee table. Then started reading.
     
    I started with Atkinson’s interview. He admitted to arguing with Devereaux on the night of the murder. A few weeks earlier Devereaux’s doctor had ordered an amnio test because she was diabetic and it put her in the at-risk category. While the test showed no health problems with the baby, it did reveal that Atkinson couldn’t be the father due to blood type. A subsequent DNA test verified that Devereaux’s baby was fathered by another man. Though she insisted it was a mistake, a couple of weeks later she admitted to sleeping with someone else, during a brief break-up. But they’d been together on and off since college, and Atkinson still wanted to marry her. They’d planned to marry shortly after the baby was born. And the argument erupted during a discussion of the guest list for the wedding.
     
    Atkinson claimed he was tense and overworked and Devereaux had suffered terrible mood swings during the pregnancy. His story was that during the argument, Devereaux came at him with a large kitchen knife. He’d shielded himself with his arm from the attack — explaining the wound on his left arm and the tear in his jacket sleeve. When Devereaux saw she’d injured him, she became horrified, dropped the knife and sobbed.
     
    Atkinson picked up the knife — explaining his fingerprints on it — and put it in the kitchen sink. He then left and went to the drugstore to get bandages and antibiotic ointment for his wound.
     
    Because he was keyed up, he wanted to cool off before he