The Borrowed and Blue Murders (The Zoe Hayes Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page A

the confusion going on inside her house? The place was still crawling with police and forensic people. The body had been removed, but blood stained the back deck and yellow tape surrounded the yard. Molly watched me, waiting. From Sam’s arms, her eyes were level with mine.
    I took a breath, deciding to be blunt. “Well, actually—”
    “It’s so warm out, we figured it was a good day for you to take me to the zoo.”
    The zoo?
    “The zoo?” Molly frowned, peering into Sam’s face, perplexed. “But it’s a school day.” To her, the idea of going to the zoo on a school day was clearly preposterous.
    She turned to me. I closed my mouth, trying not to look surprised at Sam’s invitation.
    “It was a school day,” Sam acknowledged. “But it’s Friday. No school tomorrow. And it’s not a normal Friday, either. First of all, it’s finally nice outside. And, second, your uncle’s visiting and needs a young lady to escort him around town.”
    Molly looked from him to me, from me to him. My daughter was no fool, and she wanted to know what was up. I made myself smile. “Molls, it’s okay. You can go if you want.”
    “Something happened, didn’t it? On our street.”
    “Everybody’s okay, Molls. We’ll tell you all about it later.”
    “What happened?” She wouldn’t be put off. “Where’s Luke?”
    “Luke’s fine. He’s home with Nick.”
    “And Uncle Tony?”
    “Tony’s fine, too. We’re all okay, but—” Oh dear. How to say it? “But somebody got hurt. A woman—”
    “The police are taking care of it,” Sam interrupted. “But while we’re standing here yakking, time’s wasting. What do you say, Molly? Let’s go. We’ve only got a couple hours till they close.”
    “You mean you want to go right now? This minute?”
    “Yes, ma’am. This very one.” Sam set her down and helped her remove the book bag from her shoulders.
    “But, Mom, I have a project. It’s due on Monday.”
    “No problem. You have all weekend. I’ll help you.”
    “Mom?” Molly was still suspicious. “Luke’s really okay?”
    “Yes. I told you. He’s with Nick and Tony.”
    “Wait—Nick? Why’s Nick home so early? Because of the woman? So she’s dead? Why didn’t you tell me she was dead? Who was she?” Molly’s mind worked quickly, putting facts together. Too comfortable with murder, too familiar with Nick’s work.
    “Molly.” I knelt to look her in the eye. “Nick came home early because Tony and Sam are visiting, not because of the woman.” I omitted the part about her being dead. It wasn’t a lie.
    And, apparently, my answer satisfied Molly. “So it’s okay if I take Uncle Sam to the zoo?”
    “It’s absolutely okay. Have fun.”
    “And you’ll help me with my project?”
    “I will.”
    Nodding, she gave me a quick kiss and took Sam’s hand. “Do they have elephants at this zoo, Molly? Because I know lots of elephant jokes.”
    “Elephant jokes?” Molly glanced at me. “What’s that?”
    “Here’s one. What weighs five thousand pounds and wears slippers?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Cinderelephant.” Sam laughed out loud, wheezing, winking at me as they started across the street. “Get it?”
    “Yeah, I guess.” Molly was unimpressed, but I was certain she’d hear a hundred more before they got home, maybe even before they got to the zoo.
    They walked off toward his Lexus, and I stood alone at the curb, holding a loaded book bag.

EIGHT
    B Y THE TIME I got to talk to Susan, it was almost ten. By then, everyone in Philadelphia had heard about the murder. It had been a feature on the six o’clock news. People had been calling ever since, but we hadn’t answered, letting the voice mails pile up. Molly, wearing a zoo T-shirt and holding a new stuffed elephant, had finally gone to bed. I’d fed Luke, so he was set and happy for another four hours, and the brothers had stopped hovering over me long enough to eat. Dinner was pizza in the living room with a couple of cold