The Perils of Peaches (Scents of Murder Book 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

numbing gel. She sucked on the chewy-bunny. My eyelids sagged. I couldn’t type tonight. Instead, I decided to shower before collapsing into bed. I put the kettle on for a cup of tea and went to shower.
    The ringing phone called me from my watery retreat. I yanked on my robe, wrapped a towel around my hair, and left a stream from the bathroom to the kitchen.
    I glanced at the caller ID. Barkha’s cell phone.
    “Sorry to call so late again.” The sounds of busy people in a hallway echoed in the background. “I’m at the hospital.”
    “Is it Dr. Bradley?”
    “I’m afraid so,” Barkha said. “He just passed away about fifteen minutes ago. His . . . his organs just . . . shut down.”
    “Oh, that’s horrible.” I shivered at the breeze coming in through the window. “And that means whoever broke into the office could be guilty of murder.”
    Murder in Greenburg. And those closest to a murder victim usually found themselves at the top of the suspect list.
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
    When something big happened, Momma tended to cook big, too. During Sunday dinner, we plowed into the comfort food spread across my parents’ dinner table and on top of the kitchen counter. Everyone except Barkha. She picked at her fried chicken, and barely touched her fried green tomatoes.
    I tried to follow Barkha’s lead, especially since those last few pregnancy pounds still clung to me. Jerry’s place at the table was glaringly empty. The investigation claimed all of his attention at the moment, as it should.
    Daddy led us all in prayer, for Dr. Bradley’s family, for the medical practice and its patients, and for Barkha. When he closed, two tears glistened on her cheeks.
    “I’m sorry.” She dashed her tears away. “Could you please add one more thing to your prayer list? Someone from my past has come back, and I don’t know what to do. I love my family. I really miss them, but my faith and theirs don’t mix.”
    “I know your momma must love you, no matter what. You’re her daughter.” Momma patted Barkha’s hand. “I imagine it must have hurt them, knowing you’ve become a Christian. But you can still honor her.”
    Barkha sighed. “I don’t know how. I try. But to my parents, being Hindu is part of who they are, who they’ve been, like countless of our family before us. I don’t think they understand. I can’t accept those beliefs anymore. To them, when I rejected Hinduism, I rejected them too. And now Tushar is here, trying to remind me of everything I left behind.”
    She’d explained about Tushar earlier. Evidently he’d booked a hotel room in town; it sounded like he was staying in Greenburg until he convinced Barkha to return Atlanta with him.
    “But he doesn’t have that much time off available.” Barkha set her jaw. “If I ever debated about leaving Greenburg, Tushar’s efforts have helped me decide. I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying here.”
    Ben squeezed my hand as he spoke. “We’ll be here for you, Dr. Mukherjee.” Ben still hadn’t brought himself to call her by her first name. “Jerry’s going to do all he can to find out who’s responsible for Dr. Bradley’s death. And we’ve got a town full of people who want you to stay.”
    “I know Jerry will save the day. He’s relentless.” For the first time that day, she smiled at us. I sure wished Jerry had been there to see it.
    He’s her hero. I grinned at the thought until Ben nudged my foot under the table with his own, as if he knew what I’d been thinking. No, I wasn’t matchmaking. But maybe through this investigation, the two of them would grow closer.
    Before we left, I invited Barkha to come for supper on Wednesday. Maybe then she’d share some of her load. Because no one should have to carry her troubles alone.
     
     
    On Monday morning, the offices of Bradley Medical remained closed. I called the main number and the voice mail picked up right away, Eunice’s message stating that Bradley Medical would remain