Mom Zone Mysteries 02 Staying Home Is a Killer by Sara Rosett

jealous woman. At least, she was jealous of Penny.”
    “What day was this?”
    Tessa thought a moment, then pulled out her checkbook. “It was Monday.”

    “I wonder if Will knows what time she left their house. Do you think he would know what her schedule was?” Abby pulled another piece of Thai chicken pizza onto her plate and studied my timetable for Monday, the day Penny died.
    I hooked my foot around an empty kitchen chair and drew it closer, then propped my feet up on it and blew out a breath. From the time I’d walked in the door from Clarissa’s house, I hadn’t had a spare moment as I fed, bathed, and tucked Livvy into bed. With Mitch night flying, I’d planned to order a pizza, but Abby insisted she’d whip one up and bring it over when she realized I was by myself. “You don’t have to do that. Let’s just order one,” I argued.
    “I don’t mind,” she said. “I like to cook. And it’ll give me something to do since Jeff is studying for his class tonight.”
    I sprinkled more Parmesan cheese on my second slice. Abby was right. Her pizza was better than takeout. “I doubt Will knew Penny was coming out to the base that day.”
    “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
    The phone rang and I picked up the cordless handset, our only phone since Thistlewait still had our other one. “Hello.” Silence. After a moment, I clicked the OFF button. “Hang-up.”
    “Sales call,” said Abby. “I hate those.”
    Abby’s finger traced down over the names of the flight crew. “You know, Jeff said something the other day about Zeke and Rory.” She stared intently at my kitchen cabinets, then shook her head. “I can’t remember exactly what it was, but it was something they were bragging about. In fact, I don’t think they told Jeff what they’d done, just hinted.”
    I chewed slowly. The seasoning on the pizza had just the right blend of teriyaki and ginger. After swallowing, I said, “I tried to ask Rory about Penny, but he stonewalled me. Then I saw him with Aaron at the squad. It looked like Rory was giving Aaron a hard time. There’s definitely something going on there, but is it related to Penny?”
    The phone rang. Again, a dial tone buzzed in my ear. “I’ve got to get an answering machine.” I punched the OFF button. It rang again. We waited through ten rings before silence filled the kitchen. I looked at the list again, trying to focus.
    “Well, maybe you can ask them about it at Jeff’s party tomorrow night.”
    “Yeah,” I said weakly. I’d completely forgotten about Jeff’s birthday. Abby was throwing a party for him on Wednesday night and she’d invited the whole squadron. I retrieved the iced tea pitcher from the counter and topped off our glasses. On the way back to the fridge, I jotted a note on my pad of sticky notes to buy Jeff a gift. “How’s that going?” I asked as I closed the refrigerator and returned to the table.
    “I’ll be cleaning tomorrow afternoon, but I made the lasagna already. I just have to heat it up and toast the garlic bread.”
    “I’m bringing ice and Cokes, right?”
    “Um-hmm.” Abby stretched her arms over her head and said, “I’d better hit the road. I still have to do laundry so I can pack tomorrow.”
    “I think you’re crazy giving a party the day before you leave on a trip.”
    Rex let out a sharp bark from the backyard.
    Abby shrugged as she picked up her plate and carried it to the sink. “It’s just shorts and swimsuits. It won’t be that hard.”
    A gust of freezing wind whipped into the kitchen as I opened the door a crack and let Rex inside. He pranced back and forth from one of us to the other, frisky from being in the cold air. It would be really nice to escape winter for a few days in warm Las Vegas. But then I remembered why Abby and Jeff were taking a short break.
    “How’s everything going?”
    “Fine. I’m not going to get my hopes up. I’m going to do what everyone keeps telling me to do. ‘Take a cruise. Go