Murder in the Marigolds by Dale Mayer (best young adult book series .txt) 📕

“That’s so very difficult to even think about,” the young woman said.

“I know, but she was a friend. Do you happen to know if she had any bags or anything with her?”

“She had one of those leather businesslike portfolios,” she said. “The kind that holds laptops and paperwork. It was a beautiful bright blue. That’s the only reason I noticed it.”

“Right,” Doreen said, with a smile. “I remember seeing that before.”

“It might still be in the rental, but we haven’t been allowed to see the vehicle. I understand it’s in police possession.”

“Maybe,” Doreen said, “I’ll go talk to the police about it.” And, with that, she turned, walked out, and sent Mack a message, saying that the lawyer had this blue briefcase with her.

Mack called her right away. “What are you doing?” he snapped.

“I’m at the rental vehicle place at the airport. Apparently the rental clerk saw her with this striking blue bag,” she muttered, as she ignored his question and then promptly hung up.

She put the phone in the holder in her car, as she drove back into town. As she did, she saw a new Chinese food restaurant, or at least new to Doreen. She immediately shifted lanes and drove into the parking lot. Robin had been addicted to Chinese food. If she were hungry, she’d have pulled in here for sure.

Doreen walked in to see an almost empty restaurant. At the counter, a young woman smiled at her. “Are you looking for a table or to order takeout?”

“Neither,” Doreen said, but her stomach growled. “I’m looking for information.” The woman’s face fell. Doreen felt terrible immediately. “But having said that …” Her stomach growled again. She gave the young lady a horrified look. “Sounds like I need to order something.”

The waitress handed her a paper menu. “Eat in or takeout?”

“Takeout for me.” She perused the menu, her mouth watering at some of her favorite dishes. As she reviewed her options, she said, “I’m looking to see if a friend of mine stopped in here the other day.” She fished in her purse for her phone and brought up a picture of Robin.

“Sure. She came in and had lunch.” The waitress smiled. “She left behind a blue briefcase laptop bag.”

Doreen’s heart froze. “Do you still have it?”

“Yes, I was hoping she’d come back for it.”

“Not happening. Robin was murdered.”

The young woman cried out in shock. Then disappeared into the back. Doreen grabbed a pen and circled her favorite combo. When the waitress reappeared with the bag, Doreen’s face lit up. She took it from her and handed her the menu. “Can I get this to go, please?”

The waitress disappeared again. When she returned, she looked at the blue bag in Doreen’s hands and frowned. “I don’t know that I should let you have that.”

“You should,” Doreen murmured. “I’ll see that it gets to the authorities.”

“Oh, good. I honestly hoped she’d come back.” The waitress rang up the order, and Doreen paid. All the while she was itching to look into the bag but didn’t want to do that here. Nor did she want to do anything to make the waitress regret handing it over to her.

When the bell rang, the waitress disappeared into the back again and returned with her bag of food.

Doreen smiled. “Thanks.” And left quickly. After she got in her car and drove toward home—the heady smell of Chinese food filling the interior of her car, making her even hungrier—she called Mack. Only she got a busy signal. She left a message, as she was almost at home.

He called her back immediately, even as she parked at her house. And before he had a chance to say anything, she said, “Okay, okay,” as they continued their conversation a bit later. “I just figured, if we could follow her tracks, we might have a better idea where she was that night. By the way, she absolutely adored Chinese food, and, everywhere she went, she would get some. I picked up a dish to try myself.”

He stopped and said, “What are you doing? I specifically told you to stay out of this!”

“I know, but I can’t,” she commented quietly. “You don’t understand. It’s driving me nuts.”

“I do understand,” he said, “but you’re making things worse.”

“By trying to find who did this? No,” she said, “I’m not making things worse at all. It’s what I do, Mack. I have no choice.”

“No choice, my foo—”

“And besides,” she interrupted, “I’ve got the bag.”

“Don’t you move,” he growled. “I’m already in the truck on my way.”

“Oh, good,” she said. “Are you trying to get here before I have a chance to open it up?”

“Don’t you dare,” he said, his voice soft.

She winced, as she recognized how serious he was. “Fine,” she said. “I won’t look inside.” She slammed her phone down, but then her gaze caught sight of the Chinese food in the take-out bag, and she grinned.

“Food,” she crowed. She grabbed a plate and served herself half of it. She was just hungry enough to eat the whole thing but didn’t want to scarf it all in one shot, only to feel bad afterward. But she was really hungry. Maybe that was a good sign because, as the day wore on, she was coming out of the dumps. As she sat outside with her food at the new table and chairs set, Mugs was parked right beside her, his gaze on every forkful, just in case. Goliath was on the footstool of the nearby rocker, not caring, and Thaddeus was intently studying a piece of celery on the side of her plate, as she heard Mack’s truck drive up. She groaned and looked down at her plate.

“Why is it that I didn’t connect the fact that he was coming now to the reality that I left him half of the food? He’s just going to eat it, and I won’t have leftovers.”

He came through the kitchen superfast, took one look at her, and nodded in approval. “You actually bought yourself some