Read Ladies' Circle of Murder (A Lacy Steele Mystery Book 8) for Free Online Page B

Lucy.”
    “Fine, if something happens to me, go with that.”
    “What if Tosh objects?”
    “You can take him,” Riley said.
    “This is a particularly depressing topic. Can we change the subject, please?” Lacy asked.
    “Let’s have lunch with Grandma.”
    “What about Mom?”
    “She’s mysteriously absent. Let’s enjoy that for the gift it is,” Riley said.
    “All right, I’ll meet you at home at noon.”
    By the time lunch arrived, Lacy was starving. The ice cream shop downstairs had been busy baking fresh waffle cones all morning. At one point she put a towel over her vent, but it didn’t matter; the smell was everywhere. When she finally left her desk, she ran down the back stairs and straight outside to avoid temptation. Fresh, waffle cone-less air had never smelled so good.
    The weather was cool, but she walked home nonetheless. She didn’t want to borrow her grandmother’s car any more than she had to, and neither did she want a car of her own. Instead she waited for some magic solution to present itself. Maybe she should buy a bicycle. She had never owned an adult bicycle. Her grandmother still had her childhood bike. Every once in a while she squished herself onto it and rode around the neighborhood, but that would never do for riding to work. No one would take her seriously as a professional if she showed up on a tiny blue bike with a banana seat, horn, and basket. She would look like a circus monkey.
    Riley was already there and eating when she arrived. “How did you get here?” Lacy asked.
    “Grandma picked me up.”
    “Is it wrong that we’re almost thirty and still rely on our grandma so much?” Lacy asked.
    “I don’t think so,” Lucinda said as she bustled about making a plate for Lacy. It was apparent that she had spent the morning cooking, probably to fill the lonely hours without her boyfriend.
    “We’re all without our men this week,” Lacy noted.
    “Newsflash: it’s not the fifties. We’ll survive,” Riley said.
    “It still feels weird. Very Amazonian.”
    “It reminds me of the war when I was a little girl. There were mostly women around, and a lot of them worked in factories. We kids were on our own,” Lucinda said.
    “Grandma, sit with us,” Lacy said. If she didn’t prompt her to eat, her grandmother would spend the whole meal serving them.
    She made a plate for herself and sat. “Where’s Frannie?”
    “I don’t know,” Lacy and Riley answered together.
    “That’s strange,” Lucinda said.
    “Mom’s been acting weird lately,” Riley said. “More neurotic than usual. I think she needs a hobby. Maybe she should come to the knitting club with us, although not really because I need a break from her. Did you set it up?”
    “Yes, and it’s tonight. I texted Jason and got Marcia’s contact number. They’ve been meeting in the basement of the Baptist church. I invited them to meet in the Stakely building. She was pretty excited about that. Plus it will be good for business. Maybe someone will start a yarn store. That would be a great addition to the building.”
    “What? I’m sorry, I fell asleep halfway through that monologue,” Riley said. “The important thing is that I have something tangible to do tonight other than sit around and play connect the dots with my stretch marks.”
    “Should we be worried about Frannie? Where could she be?” Lucinda asked.
    “Grandma, when Mom was in high school, did she ever mention someone named Bob Hoskins?” Lacy asked.
    “Not that I can remember,” Lucinda said.
    “Did she ever date anyone you didn’t approve of? Someone from a rougher crowd?”
    “She never dated anyone but your dad, and we always approved of him,” Lucinda said.
    “You don’t remember her having a crush on anyone else, even in passing?” Lacy pressed.
    Lucinda shook her head. “It was always your dad for her. He was the only boy she ever mentioned. They broke up for a time near the end of high school, but they soon got back