Motherhood is Murder(22)

When was the last time I had my nails done?

“What about you?” I asked. “Are you working and on maternity leave or are you—”

“I am an attorney,” Evelyn said.

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Well, I was. Contract law. Not criminal. I haven’t practiced since Kyle was born.” She eyed me. “I’ve worked with a lot of PIs . . .”

I waited for her to continue, semicringing to myself.

If she frowned at Jim’s being an ad consultant, then PIs must be the scum of the earth, but instead of a snide comment, she simply shrugged then sighed.

“Now, I’m a stay-at-home.” She rubbed her belly. “I’m having an at-home birth with Celia—do you know her? She delivered Margaret’s baby.”

I nodded, taking a deep breath. The air was cold and smelled of fish, yet was refreshing at the same time.

Ah, saltwater.

“We met at Helene’s funeral,” I said. “In fact, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you tell me about the fight you overheard between Sara and Helene?”

Some seagulls in our path squawked.

Evelyn shooed the seagulls with her hand. They circumvented us by running away from the water, then as we passed, they ran back toward the tide.

“They were fighting about the extension that Sara’s husband was going to build for her and Bruce. Helene was saying that it wasn’t necessary anymore and they didn’t want it built.”

“And that upset Sara?”

“It really ticked her off. I think Sara and her husband are having some financial problems. She really wanted that contract.” Evelyn laughed, seeming to enjoy the memory and the one-upmanship.

“I take it you and Sara don’t get along?”

Evelyn made a face. “Well, you know, I got kicked out of Roo & You.”

“I gathered that.”

“I shouldn’t have gone on the dinner cruise.” She threw her shoulders back in defiance. “But I already had tickets and it was Kevin’s only night off. He works a lot. From seven in the morning until seven at night. Saturdays, too. It’s a lot. And lately, he’s been preparing for this big IT contract in Asia. He leaves tomorrow and will be gone for about three months.” Her shoulders slumped slightly. “He’s going to miss the birth.”

Suddenly it wasn’t the best job in the world.

The water lapped at our feet. I jumped to move out of the way, but Evelyn let the tide run over her toes.

“I’m alone all day with Kyle,” she continued. “Except when the nanny comes over, but she doesn’t count.”

Did she have any idea how disparaging she sounded? “I really wanted this date night. I couldn’t bring myself to tell Fred what happened with the club.”

Boy, if Jim were leaving for three months and going to miss the birth of our child, I couldn’t imagine that I’d want our last date night to be with a mothers’ group, much less one that I’d gotten kicked out of.

I studied her face. “So what happened? Why’d they boot you?”

Evelyn stopped walking and laughed. “You don’t know?”

I paused beside her and shook my head.

“I would have thought they’d blabbed it to you right away,” she said.

A small boat on the horizon caught my eye. Sadness zinged through me and the enormity of my task weighed on me. A woman had lost her life and here I was trying to piece together the puzzle in search of justice speaking to someone who was only interested in herself.

“I don’t know anything it about it, really.”

“A few weeks ago I was at a playdate with the group. It was at Sara’s house. And my son bit her baby.”

Evelyn began walking again. I followed suit.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal. But they got all upset. So I left. Then when I got home, I received this very polite e-mail from Margaret. She’s got class. Even though she and Helene were conjoined. But anyway Margaret asked me to . . . well, let’s say she ‘suggested’ I voluntarily leave the club.”

As Evelyn was recounting the story, she was getting angrier and angrier, causing her pace to accelerate. I was barely keeping up.

“So,” Evelyn continued. “I responded in a very civil way, asking her to please show me the bylaws of the club where it stated that biting is forbidden and in fact cause for termination of membership. Ha! Bylaws! She doesn’t have any bylaws.”

She shook her head furiously, her ponytail starting to loosen and strands of shorter hair escaping the confines of the hair tie. The loose hair whipped around her face as she spoke. “So then Helene jumps in. Of course, Margaret had cc’d her on the e-mail. Apparently, Sara is overprotective of her baby and was all upset that Kyle bit her.”

Overprotective?

Was she crazy?

Wouldn’t everyone freak out if their baby got bitten by a two-year-old monster? I certainly would.

Wait.

Was Kyle a monster?

Does every two-year-old bite?

My heart stopped. Oh God! What if Laurie was going to be a monster and bite little babies?

Evelyn stopped to repin her hair, sticking her flip-flops into her back pocket. I was glad for the break. Ahead of us, The Cliff House, a San Francisco landmark, sat perched on its rocky bluffs. Seal Rock majestically projected out of the water.