Red Velvet Cupcake Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

uncomfortable when Doc spoke again.
    “We planned to get here earlier, but I wanted to stay at the hospital until Warren Dalworth’s visitor left.”
    “It was someone from Minneapolis with some papers for him to sign,” Delores told them. “That didn’t take long, but then Roger came in and Doc needed time to talk to him.”
    “How is Warren doing?” Hannah asked, hoping that there was some good news.
    Doc shook his head and sighed. “Not well. He’s comfortable, but he knows he’s terminal and he can’t last much longer. The hardest part was telling Roger.”
    Hannah shivered slightly. Roger was an only child and his mother had died several years ago. He’d just gotten over one loss in his immediate family and now, today, he’d learned that his father didn’t have long to live. “It must be horrible to get news like that,” she said.
    “It is,” Doc told her. “And delivering that news is almost as difficult as getting it. It’s one of the hardest parts of being a doctor.”
    “Is Roger all right?” Andrea asked.
    “Yes. He took it well. Of course it wasn’t totally unexpected. Warren’s been battling cancer for the past four years. There’s also the fact that Roger and his father have never been that close, but it’s still hard to hear that a parent is dying.”
    Andrea and Hannah exchanged glances. Hannah didn’t want to think about that, and she could tell that Andrea didn’t either.
    “Did Roger go to see his father?” Andrea asked.
    “Yes.” This time Delores answered. “And he told us he’d be staying in Lake Eden indefinitely so that he could see his father every day.”
    This time there was a three-way glance between mother and daughters, and Doc gave a little nod. “I caught that. You’re doing that mother-daughter telepathy thing again. All three of you are worried that if Roger stays in Lake Eden, Doctor Bev will stay, too.”
    “That’s right,” Delores said, giving him a fond look. And then, in her best British upper-class accent she exclaimed, “By George! I think he’s got it!”
    The tension that had settled over them with Doc’s news dissolved as all four of them laughed. They were still smiling when Barbara Donnelly walked up to their table.
    “Hi, everyone,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
    “You’re not late,” Delores told her. “We didn’t get here until five minutes ago. Sit down and have some appetizers. They look lovely.”
    Barbara glanced at the appetizer tray that sat in the center of the table. “Did you do these, Hannah?”
    “No. We only catered the cupcakes. Roger hired a catering company from Minneapolis to do the rest of the food.”
    “Sit here, Barbara.” Andrea pulled out the chair for her husband’s secretary. “But first turn around so that I can see your skirt. It’s just beautiful.”
    “It’s more than beautiful, it’s gorgeous,” Delores corrected her as Barbara turned all the way around. “You look lovely, Barbara.”
    “Thank you.” Barbara smiled as she sat down. “Claire ordered this outfit especially for me. She remembered that I just love monarch butterflies.”
    “The colors are incredible against the black background,” Hannah said, admiring the dozens of embroidered monarch butterflies scattered over the material of the skirt.
    “The buttons on the blouse are the perfect touch,” Delores told her. “They’re monarch butterflies too, aren’t they?”
    “That’s right. And Claire said that each one was hand painted.” Barbara looked pleased to receive so many compliments. “The minute Claire showed me this outfit I knew I just had to have it. And it goes so well with my mother’s amber beads.”
    “It’s perfect for you,” Andrea agreed. “Do you happen to know when Bill and Mike are coming?”
    “They left the office right after I did. They said they were going to run home and get dressed, and they should be here any . . .” Barbara stopped talking and pointed to the doorway.