Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) Read Online Free Page B

Bay the next day.”
                “I’d very much
like that. I’ve never been in a television studio, and it will be particularly
exciting since I know the star. She must be very hard-working. Mitch wanted to
walk her home, but I overheard her tell him she needed to check in at the
restaurant before she went home. Does she have night care for her daughter as
well as day care in her home?”
                “Yes, although
she told me her ex-husband had taken Francesca for a few days, and she had
given Francesca’s night nurse and day nurse a couple of days off. I imagine she
wants to be rested and calm when she does the show tomorrow, and Francesca can
be a bit of a handful at times. Good night. Sleep well.”
                “I will. I
need to call Mike and tell him how the dinner went. He was concerned, and I
also need to tell him I’m staying over an extra day. See you in the morning.”
                After Kelly
and Rebel walked into her bedroom, she closed the door and picked up her phone.
“Hi, Mike. I know you’re probably getting ready for bed, but I wanted to fill
you in on the party.” She proceeded to tell him all about the menu and the
guests.
                “Sweetheart, I
never doubted you could pull it off. If you lived in a big town, you’d probably
own the best restaurant there. Tell me about Donatella.”
                “I liked her
when I met her last night, and she was just as gracious tonight. I guess the
tragedy of her life is that she has a severely mentally challenged daughter she
shields from the public and the press. Sophie told me she has to work very hard
to make enough money to pay for her daughter’s expenses because her ex-husband
just barely gets by financially. One thing was kind of interesting. Sophie had
said how much everyone loves Donatella, and certainly from what I saw, that’s
true, but I did overhear something strange last night when I was at her
restaurant and was making my way to the ladies restroom.” She told Mike about
the heated exchange she had overheard between Donatella and her sous chef.
                “Kelly, are
you sure he said, ‘ti odio?’  I have a good friend who’s Italian, and if
that’s what you heard, he sure doesn’t like Donatella. It means ‘I hate you’ in
Italian. Could you have misunderstood the words?”
                “I don’t think
so. They sounded pretty clear to me, and he sounded very angry.”
                “Well, no
one’s perfect, and I imagine Donatella isn’t either. Have a wonderful time
tomorrow, and I’ll see you day after tomorrow. How’s Rebel doing?”
                “Getting
spoiled. Sophie’s never had children, and I think her dog, Amelie, is taking a
child’s place in her life. Do you know what she fed the dogs for dinner
tonight?”
                “No, what?”
                “Filet mignon.
Can you believe it? I don’t know if we’ll ever get Rebel to eat plain old dry
dog food out of a bag again.”
                Mike laughed.
“Well, everyone needs to feel a little spoiled once in a while. It won’t hurt
him, and I’m sure he’s loving it.”
                “Oh yeah. I
used to kiddingly get mad at Doc when he fed Rebel a piece of steak as a treat,
but a whole filet mignon? Unbelievable. I guess some people have more money
than they know what to do with, but Sophie could not have been more gracious to
me. Love you, Sheriff. See you soon!”
                “Sleep well,
Kelly, and give Rebel a big belly rub for me.”

CHAPTER 6
     
    “Good morning Kelly, I hope you were
able to sleep after doing so much work yesterday,” Sophie said, looking up from
her morning newspaper as Kelly walked  into the kitchen and poured herself a
cup of coffee.
    “I don’t know when I’ve
slept so well, and you know what was even better, I didn’t have to get