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

assignments.”
    “Mo-o-ther,” her daughter moaned, putting her head in her hands. She was so busy being mortified that her mom had butted into her world that she didn’t even question where Toni was going.
    “I hate calculus. I don’t even understand it.”
    Brent forked a pancake onto his plate and said, “I’m a CPA. I aced math.” He shot Toni a look that was full of understanding. “I can help.”
    “Thanks.”
    Now all she had to do was fob her own mother off, but fortunately, Linda had a date with the three Chers. Not even a murder investigation was going to derail her from giving makeovers and hopefully selling some Lady Bianca products.

Chapter Eight
    “Her capacity for family affection is extraordinary. When her third husband died, her hair turned quite gold from grief.”
    — Oscar Wilde
    Murder hadn’t affected business at the Double Nugget, Toni noted as she walked into the casino from one of the big glass doors on the street. The one-armed bandits were still holding out greedy hands for more money from gamblers who hoped luck would be on their side. She walked past a line of five-cent machines and tried to imagine wanting to spend hours plugging nickels into a machine.
    She walked aimlessly, picking up the atmosphere, noting some sort of chemical smell coming off the carpets that she assumed was disinfectant. At mid-day on a Saturday there wasn’t much action at the craps tables. A small group filled out a couple of tables in the blackjack pits, while a dealer stood looking bored.
    A group of guys who looked like they hadn’t been to bed in a couple of days hung around the roulette wheel. They had the red-eyed look of the sleep deprived as they placed bets more, she thought, to be part of the group than that they had much interest in the outcome.
    She took particular note of the employees and while she caught sight of a few with their heads together clearly gossiping, she could not have said there was an air of grief among the workers.
    Naturally, the road signs pointing to restaurants and bars and the show lounge didn’t offer a clue as to where Grant Forstman’s office might be located. She skirted the edge of the casino and found a set of stairs that looked as though they didn’t go anywhere interesting. On a hunch, she ran lightly up them. When she got to the top, a slight huffiness in her breath reminded her that she hadn’t been to the gym in a few days.
    She knew she was in the right area for the administration offices not only because there was a sign directing her to Human Resources/Hiring, but also because there was a small flurry of activity down at the end of a corridor. A young cop in uniform stood outside the open door of what must be Forstman’s office.
    Well, she’d come this far. Toni usually went through life pushing forward until someone stopped her. It worked well in sales. She tried not to let her own insecurities stop her and instead worked on the belief that every woman would be happier, better off and definitely better looking if she let Lady Bianca into her life. She waited to hear a definitive No before she gave up.
    Sleuthing, she’d discovered, was the same. You asked questions and pushed against barriers until you got answers or someone stopped you in your tracks. In her limited experience, both were equally valuable.
    Stopping only to freshen her lip gloss and give her appearance a quick once over in her pocket mirror, she began walking purposefully down the hall. As she got closer to the crime scene she knew she had the full attention of the young doorkeeper cop. She kept her attention on how long it took her to walk to the end of the corridor and how many offices she had to pass to get there.
    Four offices, as it turned out.
    From the open door she could see that Forstman’s office was a large one. A big desk in some shiny dark wood faced the door. He would see anyone who came in right away then and he’d see them coming from a long way away if the door