Diva 02 _ Diva Takes the Cake, The Read Online Free PDF Page B

away, patting her reassuringly.

    I coaxed them into the kitchen, except for Jen, whom I sent upstairs to see her wedding finery so she would be out of hearing range. Nina fetched a bottle of rum from the den while I put on the kettle and explained what had happened.

    My mother cupped a hand over her mouth, her eyes enormous.

    Dad, always practical, said, “Let me get this straight. Craig didn’t tell your sister he’d been married before. And now his ex-wife is dead.”

    I poured boiling water over organic English Breakfast tea in a strainer on a Spode teapot and set it on the table. I added a sugar bowl, a creamer of milk, and coordinating mugs.

    Mom, in her tidy aqua blouse, pearls, and white skirt watched me, motionless and apparently deep in thought. Even Mochie couldn’t distract her as he wound against her legs.

    I set miniature fruit tarts, their glossy glaze shining over strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, on a white serving platter, scattered chocolate-dipped strawberries among them, and set the platter on the kitchen table. I added forks, paper napkins in Hannah’s paler pink color, and more of the cheery pink dessert plates.

    Nina brought the rum and poured some into Wanda’s mug. Wanda reached out a deeply tanned, gnarled hand with blood-red nails and a ring on each finger, including her thumb. She tapped Nina’s wrist so that more rum spilled into her mug. With a wink at Nina, she said, “I’ve had a shock, dear.”

    Mom finally came around. “She was so upset about Craig marrying someone else that she killed herself.”

    It was hard for me to imagine that anyone could love Craig that much. Then again, Hannah had fallen for him and appeared determined to stick by him.

    Dad ran steady hands through his hair. “I suppose Hannah is Craig’s alibi?”

    “No one needs an alibi, Dad.” At least I hoped no one would.

    Nina glanced at me. “They had a spat and Craig took off in the car. Hannah was here in the kitchen with Sophie and me.”

    “Do you think he was gone long enough to . . . to . . .” I didn’t want to come right out and say it.

    Nina sat down and helped herself to a chocolate-covered strawberry. “I’m afraid so.”

    “Now, girls.” Mom’s brow furrowed. “Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe Craig met his ex-wife and told her he loves Hannah and she was distraught.”

    Wanda rose and wandered around the kitchen. “I feel something here. Was the dead woman in your kitchen? I’m getting vibes.”

    Mom closed her eyes, and Dad looked at me with dread. I knew what they were thinking. Mars’s Aunt Faye had left us the house, and his mother was convinced that she could converse with Faye’s spirit in the kitchen. None of the rest of us had ever heard Faye. We’d chosen to keep Mars’s mother’s quirk a secret from Natasha, so I wasn’t about to spill the beans to her mother.

    Wanda peered at the photograph of Aunt Faye that hung on the stone wall surrounding the fireplace. “So this is the house my Natasha wanted so much. There are definitely spirits here.”

    The picture of Aunt Faye swung to a slant, and Wanda stepped back in alarm. “Did you see that?”

    Dad coughed. “It’s a draft.”

    “No, I feel it.” She shifted her shoulders uneasily and looked out the window. “I can’t see Natasha’s house from here. She must be devastated. You know how delicate she is.”

    I knew what a drama queen her daughter was.

    But my mother, who adored Natasha, said, “Poor Natasha. How odd that the woman would have chosen her yard.”

    Handing Wanda the phone, I suggested she let Natasha know she’d arrived.

    Mom blurted, “We’ll have to call off the wedding.”

    “You can’t do that when Natasha put so much effort into the wedding cake,” protested Wanda.

    Everyone seemed to be on different tracks of thought. A stranger had died and touched all of our lives. We should have been worried about her and why she’d chosen to take her life, but we