Free Steamed (A Maid in LA Mystery) by Holly Jacobs

When Miles was five, he said no to a donut one morning and I knew, with absolute certainty, that something was wrong.
      I’d taken him to the doctor’s office, and he confirmed he had a double ear infection.  So for now, I’d trust my gut.
      That left Banning’s current girlfriend—a girlfriend who Shaley thought was different than the others.  I needed to find out who she was and check her out. But more than the new girlfriend, there was the other wife.  After all, nothing says murder like a woman scorned.  I’d watched enough murder mysteries to know that.
      And having been a scorned wife…  Well, there had been times I felt like killing Jerry, but I’d never acted on it. 
      He was an awful husband. 
      A questionable human being. 
      But he was a good father.
      Had Tessa Compernalli ever thought about murdering her ex?  And had she’d gone beyond thinking and acted?  And Banning’s new girlfriend? I wasn’t sure who she was, but if the panties and bra at his house weren’t hers, she might have motive.  The file said DOG after all.  Again, that woman scorned thing.
      The two of them were the next step in my investigation.
      I did some Googling and started scribbling in my file.  I didn’t find any articles that linked Banning to a new woman.  I sighed.  I didn’t want to go back to Shaley for the same reason I didn’t press her at the party—she was hurting.  But there was another way.  I knew who might know who Banning was dating.  The question was, how to get Cal to share that information?
      I took a piece of paper and drew a circle and wrote new girlfriend under it, then posted it on my board next to the pictures of Banning’s exes.
      So, Tessa, NG and…
      Finally, there was Tiny.  She wasn’t on my suspect list and I refused to put her picture on my board but she’d be on the cops’ list if they found out about the pictures Banning had taken.  If I couldn’t find the real killer, I’d have to check out her alibi.  Not that I thought she could do it, but to be ready if Cal found out about the pictures and checked into her.
      There was a lot to do.
      I needed to focus.  Tessa was the best suspect left on my list.  I’d start with her, then I’d find out who the new girlfriend was and see if she did it.  Maybe they were her panties, but if not, I’d have to see if I could find out who they did belong to.
      Now, the question was, how to get to Tessa?
      It was three a.m. when it hit me.  I knew how to get to her.
      I was getting ready to leave for the office in the morning, anxious to implement my plan when the phone rang.  Phone calls before work were rarely good things.  “Hello?” I answered with trepidation.
      “Hi, Mom.” 
      It was my youngest, Eli and he sounded happy.  Relief flooded through my body.  “Hi, honey.  How’s vacation?”
      “We’re trying to teach Peri to surf.  She’s worse than you.  You’re awful.”  He laughed.  That was Eli in a nutshell.  He found humor in everything.
      “Hey, I resemble that remark,” I teased.
      “Hunter wanted me to see if you’re getting out at all?  I’m supposed to be discreet, but we both know that I don’t do that well.  And yes, that’s the word he used—discreet.  Are you sure he’s related to me?  A normal teen would say something more like do it on the sly .  But be discreet?”
      “Your brother may be leaving for college next month, but in reality, he’s an old man.”  To be honest, a more accurate explanation was that my oldest got a full dose of the Mac-genes.  They were responsible for my brothers and parents need to excel at everything.  It was why they were all doctors.  It was why they were all top in their respective fields.
      I did not have that gene.  I had the black-sheep-gene.  One that made you follow your own path, even if it led to your utter destruction.  My uncle had it.  I had it.  I was pretty sure that Eli