Bundle of Trouble (34 page)

I surfaced from behind the couch long enough to grab the phone.

No dial tone.

The cord had fallen out the back. I jammed the cord in place as KelliAnn closed in on Galigani. “I’m
not
going to an institution!” she screamed. “Never again!”

I watched in horror as KelliAnn swung the lamp again and this time hit Galigani square in the chin. He stumbled back and hit the wall dazed. She changed her grip from the cord to the base of the lamp. I dropped the phone and seized the moment to charge her. She raised the lamp above her head ready to smash Galigani just as I tackled her from behind.

She crumpled beneath me, taking the lamp down with her. It broke in several pieces, leaving KelliAnn with an ugly jagged piece in her hand. She rolled me off her quickly and waved the piece near my face.

Galigani regained himself and grabbed KelliAnn’s hair. This pulled her off me long enough for me to retreat to the phone. I dialed 9-1-1.

Even though Galigani had her by the hair, KelliAnn was still swinging and, because she was on the ground, found his weak spot. She was going for his groin but missed and hit his right leg, which was still fresh from surgery. Galigani went down like a rag doll.

The 9-1-1 operator came on the line, although it was difficult to hear because KelliAnn was laughing hysterically. To my terror, she was staring at Galigani’s exposed ankle holster.

Adrenaline shot through my body with a force I’ve never felt before, and with what seemed like supernatural strength, I dove right for KelliAnn.

If she got to Galigani’s gun, I was a dead woman.

Laurie’s face flashed in my mind and I hardly realized I was screaming and crying as I descended onto KelliAnn, smashing her nose with my elbow.

She recoiled, momentarily dazed, her hands covering her bleeding nose. I fumbled for Galigani’s gun but perhaps he mistook me for her, or maybe instinct took over, because he scissored my hand between his ankles.

I drew back, which gave KelliAnn the opportunity to kick me in the ribs. Winded and in excruciating pain, I doubled over.

She took advantage of this and grabbed my head, wrapping her fingers into my hair. This really pissed me off because recently it seemed my hair was falling out left and right.

With a fury only a mother can know, I heaved myself up and rammed my hard head into KelliAnn’s face. As my head connected with her no doubt broken nose, she yelped and released my hair. I quickly pulled her face into my knee. She moaned and fell to the ground.

The room was finally silent, until I heard the voice through the phone.

I lunged to grab it, only to hear sirens down the street. I put the receiver to my ear.

“Help is on the way, ma’am,” the operator said.

I was shaking uncontrollably. “Thanks,” I muttered into the phone.

Galigani stirred. He observed KelliAnn lying at his feet. “You did great, kid. Only next time, try to tackle ’em before they hit me.”

•CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE•

The Sixth Week—Bottom Line

I drove home with mixed emotions. I should have felt elated that I’d finally solved the mystery. At least I could cross that off my to-do list. But I had unresolved feelings.

People were dead, some were behind bars, and others hadn’t slept in weeks.

Maybe it was the hormones or being overtired, or the adrenaline leaving my system; whatever the reason, I broke down and cried.

In the morning I woke up more exhausted than ever. I showered and delighted in shaving my legs. Shaving your legs while pregnant not only feels unsafe but is next to impossible. I fussed in the closet and decided on a gray and white striped wool skirt with a very forgiving elastic waist and a cashmere sweater.

When I got to the shoe part, I tried my best not to cry. I stuffed my feet into open-toed heels, only to find that they were so tight they made my feet look like sausages.

From the back of my closet, I pulled out some open-heeled pumps. Definitely sexy, but the problem was, they were higher than what I normally wore. It had been so long since I’d worn heels, I feared I might break my neck in them.

I had a three-hour window until the next feeding. Time to hustle.

I kissed Jim awake.

He raised a sleepy eyebrow. “Are you wearing a skirt?” “Yeah. I even shaved my legs.”

“Oh my God! What’s going on that I don’t know about?”

“I need you to watch Laurie. I have a very important meeting.”

“Lucky guy.”

“What makes you think it’s with a man?”

“You wouldn’t have shaved your legs for a woman. You’d wear jeans.”

“Ha ha! I have my six-week postpartum checkup this morning.” I winked at him. “But I’m free for lunch.”

 

 

I made my way to Laurel Heights to Dr. Greene’s office. I couldn’t believe that the last time I had been there I was nine months pregnant, suffering from high blood pressure, swollen feet, carpal tunnel, and a compressed bladder.

I took the stairs to her second-floor office. I had never done that in all the months I’d come here, because I supposed I was entitled to get fat if I was pregnant. Now I needed the exercise.

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by Dr. Greene’s cordial staff. No waiting, not like at the pediatrician’s. I was ushered into an examination room and told that Dr. Greene would be right with me.

I sat on the table fully clothed, not knowing if I needed to undress or not.

When Dr. Greene entered the room, she surprised me by wanting to reminisce about Laurie’s birth.

After our brief walk down memory lane, she asked, “How do you feel?”

“Tired all the time.”

She nodded. “That’s normal.”

“My bones hurt.”

She laughed. “That’s normal, too.”

“I can’t stand the thought of going back to work.”

“My dear, you sound fully recovered.”

 

 

I drove straight home. When I arrived, I found Jim vacuuming the house.

“You’re cleaning again?”

He was standing next to the bassinet, holding the vacuum cleaner in one place. “No. Not really. Just trying to keep Laurie quiet.”

“What?”

“She wouldn’t stop crying, so I did everything the same as yesterday,” Jim shouted over the noise. “The robe, the baby carrier, all of it. None of it worked. The only other thing I did was vacuum. So I figured I’d try it. Sure enough, as soon as I turned it on, she stopped crying.”

He flicked the vacuum off. Laurie instantly woke up and howled.

“Oh, my God!”

“I know. She’s been like this all morning.”

I scooped Laurie up and did a little bouncy dance with her. She continued to cry. Jim flipped on the vacuum, and after a moment Laurie settled into my chest and snoozed.

Jim and I exchanged glances. “If she keeps this up, we’ll have the cleanest house in the neighborhood,” he said.

I put Laurie down in the bassinet. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the cordless phone flashing. It was ringing, only we couldn’t hear it with the vacuum cleaner on. I flipped off the vacuum. Laurie wailed.

Jim sighed, then leaned over and grabbed the phone. After a short conversation he hung up and said, “Honey, you look beautiful, but can we do dinner instead of lunch? I just got a job interview.”

 

 

I spent the rest of the day aimlessly playing with Laurie. Thoughts of calling my boss, Nora, crowded my head. We couldn’t afford to wait for Jim to land a job. Even if this interview went well, an offer would likely be weeks away. And we needed an income.

As for my little PI business, it would have to go on hold. Sure Galigani had been impressed, but when would another client come along?

I breathed Laurie in as tears streamed down my face. “I don’t want to leave you, little one.”

Laurie turned her face into my shoulder. I cuddled her.

Finally, at five to five, I picked up the phone and dialed Nora.

Nora picked up on the first ring.

“Nora, it’s Kate.”

“Kate? When’s the magic day? Tell me it’s soon. We’re drowning here without you!”

I sighed, imagining my desk piled with paperwork from the last six weeks. “My maternity leave is over tomorrow. How’s Monday sound?”

Today was Thursday and I silently thanked God that at least I’d have the weekend.

“Great! We’ll see you at eight A.M.,” she said, hanging up.

I hung up, annoyed. I had wanted to ask her where I was supposed to use the breast pump. But the words hadn’t come out.

I imagined hauling my breast pump into the ladies’ room. Didn’t the office have any place private?

I thought about the lone little package in the freezer. Two measly ounces of breast milk. All the brochures on breastfeeding by working moms recommend having about thirty-two ounces on hand before starting work.

I pulled out my breast pump and thought about calling Mrs. Avery.

I knew I needed to talk to her, but I’d been putting it off. I supposed I wanted to stretch out my fantasy of being a private investigator for as long as I could.

As soon as I connected all the tubes, bottles, and breasts, the phone rang. I disconnected everything with a sigh and picked up the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Mom said.

“How do you know something is wrong?”

“I can tell by the way you said ‘hello.’”

“Mmm.”

“What is it?”

Hot tears spilled down my cheeks. “I have to go back to work on Monday and I can’t help it, but I feel guilty for having to leave Laurie. I wish I’d never gotten involved with this stupid PI thing. I wasted my whole maternity leave running around, instead of being with her.”

“You were with her the entire time.”

“I’m stupid. I should have solved the thing much sooner, and then at least I could have slept.”

“You’re not stupid, honey. Besides, nobody sleeps with a newborn.”

“I don’t even have enough milk stocked up,” I wailed. “I’m a total failure!”

Mom laughed.

“What’s so funny?” I demanded.

“Kate, if you’re a failure, what about the rest of us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Kate, you accomplish more in a day than most of us do in a week. When you tried to launch your business, you were taking a chance. A murderer is behind bars because of you. Don’t feel guilty about having to leave Laurie for a little while each day when you go to the office. She’s going to be fine. Lots of mothers work.”

“But I want to be with her.” Tears slid down my face.

“And you will. Darling, just because you have to go back to the office right now, it doesn’t make it permanent. Jim’s going to find work soon. And you never know. You might be able to find another client. Building a business takes time. It’s like having a baby. You can’t have the baby in a month, even if you are really
really
good. It takes nine months. Do you understand?”

“I know you’re right, but I can’t help feeling sorry for myself. Am I allowed that?” I asked.

“No. You are not allowed to wallow! You have a beautiful, healthy daughter, a husband who loves you, and at least you have a job to go back to. Some people don’t have any of that, Kate. Feeling sorry for yourself would be selfish and petty, and I know you’re not either of those.”

I wiped the tears from my face. “Moms always know best, huh? I love you.”

“I know you do, and now that you have a daughter of your own, you know how much I love you.”

Laurie let out a wail from the other room. “I gotta go, Mom. The alarm is going off.”

 

 

I drove up the now-familiar driveway to Mrs. Avery’s beautiful house. She surprised me by greeting me in the driveway.

When the car stopped moving, Laurie immediately awoke and began to kick and flail about, protesting. I hopped out of the car, unsnapped the car seat straps, and held her in my arms. She was still fussing as I made my way toward Mrs. Avery. One small pink shoe wiggled off, and I sighed as I looked at it on the ground. Mrs. Avery held her arms open to receive Laurie. I handed her over, and she instantly stopped fussing.

“You have a way with her. She was so excited to see you, she kicked her shoe off,” I said, stooping over and picking it up.

Mrs. Avery took the shoe from me and slipped it back onto Laurie’s foot.

“We found your son’s murderer,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “Inspector McNearny called me this morning.”

“He did?” I asked, surprised. Even though I had put off this moment, I was disappointed not to be the one breaking the news to her. “I’m sorry he beat me to the punch. We had a late night last night.”