Free Ultimate Concealer, A Toni Diamond Mystery: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries) by Nancy Warren Page A

said he liked her nose. He said it gave her character. He also once said, when he was irked, that it was her face’s way of warning everyone in her path that she was one nosy woman.
    Right now that nose was tingling. It did that sometimes when she was thinking deeply, having a big idea, trying to sniff out a new recruit or, in this case, a clue as to what had really happened to Grant Forstman.
    “Mom,” her daughter called, ending her reverie. “Come and look at this.”
    Toni walked back into the kitchen. The smell of frying pancakes filled the air with a comforting aroma. Brent was at the stove, an apron covering him from neck to thigh. Linda was frying bacon in a second pan, her much more voluptuous form also clad in an apron.
    Tiffany was sitting at the kitchen table with her laptop. Toni had hauled it with her, reminding her that she needed to keep up with her homework.
    “Look.”
    Toni sat beside her daughter and read the latest news bulletin that was up on the screen. “The details of the murder are already on the Internet?” she asked, continuously surprised at how fast bad news traveled in the digital age. The site was called Vegas News Underground and the post mixed fact with speculation and editorial comment. She doubted Vegas News Underground complied with the highest journalistic standards, but it was all they had to go on.
    Under a flashing slogan that said “Breaking News” was this:
    Casino Boss Found Shot to Death
    The Double Nugget’s owner, Grant Forstman, was found dead this morning at around seven in his office at the casino. Sources say an associate of Forstman found the body, which had been shot at least twice. Forstman, a frequent sight in his casino, was rarely seen without one of his two body guards.
    Police removed security footage and have only said they have a person of interest in custody.
    Our sources say Dwayne Diamond, a second-rate country and western singer who was appearing in the Double Nugget Show Lounge, is that person of interest.
    Forstman leaves behind a widow, his third wife, Loretta Forstman.
    Police have refused to comment on the case, but sources close to the slain man say Diamond and Forstman were seen arguing the night before the murder.
    Keenly aware that Tiffany was watching her read the report, Toni tried to put a positive spin on things. “This is all circumstantial, honey. He was seen arguing with the man. That doesn’t mean he killed him.”
    “Are they going to let him out?” Tiffany asked. “When can I see him?”
    “I don’t know. Luke’s going to find out what he can, and once we have some real facts we can figure out what to do next.” She patted her daughter’s knee. “First let’s eat. These pancakes smell amazing.”
    In spite of her soothing words to Tiffany about waiting, Toni had never been one to wait around for things to happen.
    The scent of a murder investigation would grow cold fast. While she waited for Luke to fill her in on the official facts, she decided to take a leaf out of Las Vegas Underground News’s book and do a little unofficial digging of her own.
    The problem was that her daughter, who usually went to incredible lengths not to be around Toni, was going to want to shadow her as she tried to help Dwayne. She needed to nip that in the bud.
    So, while they ate pancakes that were, indeed, among the best she’d ever eaten, and everyone but her vegetarian daughter munched on bacon, she said to Tiffany, “I’ve got some work to catch up on back at the hotel. When I get back I want you to have completed your math assignment for next week.”
    Her daughter regarded her with suspicion. “How do you know I have a math assignment?”
    “Please. Your generation did not invent email. We had it first.”
    The look her teen sent her was dripping with disdain. “Email? Who uses email anymore?”
    “Your math teacher. Luckily. I contacted all your teachers and said you’d be away for a few days and asked for your homework