Nursing a Grudge is Murder (A Maternal Instincts Mystery) by Diana Orgain Read Free Book Online

him.”
    “Everybody is taller than me,” Galigani grunted.
    Melanie laughed, then yelped. “Ouch. Don’t make me laugh, it hurts my lip.”
    Galigani tilted his head in a sympathetic manner. “Sorry.”
    Ross asked, “Was the man Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American—?”
    “He was white, his hair was sort of dark, but not very dark, and a bit curly…oh I don’t know. I was so shocked, I guess his hair could have been any color.”
    After a moment Galigani asked, “Did you have a key to the apartment? Was the door locked?”
    Melanie frowned. “I have a key. I used it, but now that you mention it, I don’t think the door was bolted.”
    Ross glanced around the room at the windows. “Any sign of forced entry?”
    Melanie shook her head. “I don’t know. There aren’t any broken windows if that’s what you mean.”
    “Does this place have a back door?” Ross asked.
    “No,” Jill said.
    “Was Perry in the habit of locking his front door?” I asked.
    “Of course!” Melanie said. “I mean, this isn’t the worst neighborhood in the city, but it is San Francisco. You have to lock your doors! Anyway, he would have locked it because of Whiskers. Where is he anyway?”
    Jill tapped nervously against one of the side table. “Well, it’s terrible luck, isn’t it? First Perry’s…awful accident…” Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away. “Now poor Melanie gets battered. We can just thank God that she isn’t seriously hurt.”
    Galigani studied Melanie a moment. “Did your brother share anything disturbing with you, like strange phone calls, or maybe he thought he was being followed…”
    “No,” Melanie said. “Not to me, anyway.” She looked at Jill expectantly.
    Jill wiped at her eyes and shook her head. “No.”
    “So you were the only one getting calls?” Galigani asked.
    “Calls?” Ross asked.
    Jill turned toward me, but before she could answer, Ross asked, “Who were the calls from?”
    Jill shrugged helplessly. “I think they were from Brent Miles. One was for sure. A sort of threatening call where he asked me to recant a bad review I gave his restaurant,
Philosophie
.
    Ross made a note in his book as if the information meant nothing to him, but Melanie took a sharp inhale of breath.
    “Oh my God. He threatened you? What did he say?” she asked.
    Jill waved her hands frantically as if she thought we were all on the wrong track. “No, no. I mean, he threatened my future as a critic, not my life.”
    Melanie looked dumbstruck.
    Galigani and I exchanged a look.
    Then after a moment Melanie pointed to Jill and said the thing I’d feared she say. “My brother is dead is because of you.”

Chapter Six
    “Whoa,” Galigani said. “We’re moving way too fast here. We’re still trying to figure things out. We need to—”
    Melanie began to sob loudly. “I'm sorry, Jill, I didn’t mean to blame you.”
    Jill clutched at Melanie’s hands and pulled her into an embrace. “No, no. Don’t apologize. I get it.”
    “I didn’t know you were in danger!” Melanie said.
    “No, no. I’m not,” Jill said. “Please don’t worry.”
    Galigani exchanged a concerned glance with me.
    Ross said. “I’m going to take a look around the premises. We may need to cordon off the area.”
    Galigani nodded.
    “Block off the apartment?” Melanie asked. “What about Whiskers?”
    Jill pressed a hand to her temple. “Whiskers is the least of our worries.”
    Melanie shook her head. “No, he’s just a kitten,” she turned toward Ross. “We can’t lock him out of the house!”
    Galigani put an arm out toward Melanie. “Don’t worry, we’ll notify the SPCA with the cat description and your information, so you can be reunited.”
    Although it seemed like the chances of that were slim, Melanie appeared mollified, because she nodded and wandered over to the window to peek out. Ross left the room to examine the back of the apartment. I jutted my chin at Galigani, then