Read Evelyn David - Sullivan Investigations 02 - Murder Takes the Cake for Free Online Page B

supposed to have arrived to take her to dinner. She was glad she’d eaten the last slice of meatloaf. She’d skipped lunch to hunt for missing caskets, and breakfast, more than twelve hours earlier, had been a small carton of yogurt. Snickers, curled up in a tight ball fast asleep next to her on the sofa, stirred as the loud grumbling noises from Rachel’s stomach echoed in the room.
    “ I’ll give him five more minutes, and then I’m ordering a pizza and deleting Mackenzie Sullivan’s phone number from my cell phone.” Snickers opened one eye, and then snuggled deeper into the cushion. Apparently she’d heard this rant before and wasn’t interested.
    “ A woman of my age acting like a lovesick teenager,” Rachel explained to the dozing cat. “It’s embarrassing is what it is. Mac Sullivan does sort of remind me of Sean Connery, minus the Scottish accent, of course, and Mr. Connery is sex on a stick, who I’d do anytime, anyplace.”
    The cat slowly opened her eyes to stare at the woman rambling on the sofa next to her.
    “Good God, did I say that aloud? I’ve been listening to Sam too much.”
    Snickers yawned.
    “Okay, it’s a little over the top, but I’ve always had a thing for Sean Connery, post-James Bond, of course. He was too slick for me then and I’ve never much liked martinis. A nice chardonnay, on the other hand.…” Rachel ran her fingers through the orange fluffy fur. “You have to admit, Sean Connery was hot in The Hunt for Red October.”
    The cat sniffed and stretched.
    “Oh, don’t look at me like that. That Russian accent would have had you forking over your catnip in a heartbeat.”
    The doorbell rang, halting further discussion of the hotness of Scottish actors. Rachel stood and wiped her sweaty palms on her black pants, then shook her head in embarrassment.
    “Get a grip,” she mumbled, deliberately walking slowly to the door.
    “ I’m sorry I’m late,” were the first words out of the faux-Connery.
    Rachel smiled and opened the door wider. Her grin faded as she realized Mac Sullivan had company. The man really didn ‘t know how to date.
    “ Have you met Bridget O’Herlihy?” Mac took a step back to let the younger woman enter first.
    Rachel was momentarily speechless, and then offered a hand in welcome. “We’ve never met, but I recognize you from the photos on your Dad’s desk. Congratulations on your engagement. I was just talking to your mother today about all the wedding plans.”
    Bridget shook her head. “Yeah, Mom has taken to wedding planning like she’s Martha Stewart on steroids. Of course, if I’m dead, it might cut into the father-daughter dance.”
    Rachel inhaled sharply, and then looked at Mac, who shrugged his shoulders.
    “Why don’t we all sit down for a minute?” the detective suggested.
    “ No kidding, Sherlock,” Rachel muttered. “What the hell is going on?”
    “ You still got the pizza joint on speed dial?” Mac asked calmly, as he picked up the cordless phone on the coffee table.
    “ I’m sorry to interrupt your date,” Bridget said. “I’ve never met any of the women Uncle Mac usually dates, but maybe they weren’t the type that–”
    “ Bridget, don’t make me regret my promise to save your sorry little butt,” Mac growled.
    “ I don’t think dragging me along on your date is exactly Secret Service protection. I thought you’d be able to figure out who’s behind the grand plan to off Bridget O’Herlihy in a couple of hours and then I could go on about my business.”
    “ Well, if you’d agree to stay at your parents, then I wouldn’t have felt the need to babysit.”
    “ Right! So I could spend yet another evening looking at bridal magazines and praying the few remaining brain cells I’ve got don’t die in a sea of white tulle. No thank you. My mother is expecting me tomorrow afternoon at the same time the Lasky clan arrives and that’s when I’m showing up. Not a minute sooner. I can’t take much more of