The Cinco de Mayo Murder Read Online Free PDF Page B

girl and I bet she'd be thrilled to wear something so beautiful. Maybe I'll commission you to find something for her during your solo excursions in the next couple of days.”
    “That would be fun. I've never been much of a shopper, but these things are really different. I'm getting a kick out of just looking.”
    We continued for a couple of hours, then returned to thehotel. Joseph's meeting was beginning with a get-together in late afternoon, followed by a dinner. I would be on my own. After she left, I called home.
    Eddie answered. “Mommy,” he said excitedly, “Grandma made roast chicken and those little potatoes with bugs on them and green peas with onions. I even ate the onions, they were so good.” The “bugs” were probably rosemary, one of my mother-in-law's specialties. “And she brought a cake with her.” Not a word about missing his mother. Oh well, better than tears and recriminations.
    “Sounds like you're having a great time.”
    “I am. Are you having a good time, too?” I had heard a little prompting in the background.
    I laughed. “I'm enjoying myself a lot. Let me talk to Daddy now.”
    After our conversation, I talked to Jack's mother, who promised she would leave lots of good food for when I came home. Obviously, there were great advantages to having a mother-in-law in the catering business. I wondered what I would leave for my own future daughter-inlaw besides my good wishes in the years to come.
    I joined Joseph for mass on Monday morning, then said good-bye. I had a map to Scottsdale, a place I had been advised to visit. After breakfast, I looked at the directions and went to the parking lot with my maps and a bottle of water.
    I don't spend many days the way I spent that one. Mel had given me the names of a couple of stores that I could not miss, and Joseph had authorized me to find a gift for her niece. In Scottsdale the shopping district was lined with shops, more than I had ever seen in one place. There were galleries that I sauntered through, looking at paintings and blown glass and sculptures. I saw more jewelry than I knewexisted. After an hour of wandering, I felt almost giddy. Seeing so much made it harder than I had anticipated to make a decision.
    Finally I took Mel's advice and drove across Goldwater Boulevard to the small store she had recommended most. I pressed the doorbell and was given entrance. The interior was small, the owner and his wife friendly and welcoming, as I had found many people to be in this part of the country. When I mentioned Mel's name, they recognized it immediately. She had called several months before to buy some gifts. Suddenly I was treated like nobility.
    I was ushered into the vault, where I found the turquoise pendant that would become a gift for Joseph's niece. I also bought a silver belt buckle for Jack, hoping it wasn't too southwestern for him to wear in the city.
    “What did my friend Melanie order?” I asked finally.
    Husband and wife discussed it. “A card case,” the wife said. “I don't have anything exactly like it, but it looked a little like this.” She took out a shiny silver case with a turquoise on the front. It was beautiful.
    “My mother-in-law is a caterer,” I said. “I think she'd love this for her business cards.” I set it down on the counter and looked at it. I am the penny-pincher in the family, as everyone knows, and I have to think about what I consider unnecessary or extravagant expenditures. Eileen was having a birthday soon. She was attractive and loved fine things. She was also responsible for some of our best eating. “I'll take it,” I said, feeling somewhat breathless. I knew Jack would be pleased when he saw it. I took my credit card out of my bag and laid it on the counter, once again grateful to my husband for getting it for me at a time that I would never have considered carrying one— assuming incorrectly that I would instantly become a spendthrift.
    I stayed and chatted for a while after my