He glanced at my feet. 'What kind of problems are you having? What can I do you for?'

'Um.' I looked at my feet as well. 'Uh. I just had a baby-'

'Congratulations! When?'

'She's seven weeks old.'

'Wonderful.' He smiled, but it did little to light up his face. 'And your feet are giving you problems?'

'Yeah. Sort of.'

He nodded. 'Take off your shoes.'

I kicked off my Keds and dangled my feet off the table.

He picked up my left foot and squeezed it gently then rotated my foot. My ankle cracked and popped.

'Margaret is heartbroken about Helene,' I said.

He looked at me for a split second. There was surprise on his face, but he quickly adjusted his expression back to blank. 'Yes. They were best friends. Tell me about your feet.'

'They're swollen all the time and none of my shoes fit.'

He nodded. 'That's very common following a pregnancy. Do you have pain?'

I didn't. Not really, but not fitting into your shoes didn't seem like a reason to visit a podiatrist, so I said, 'Yes.'

He dropped my left foot and picked up my right one. He palpated the foot then rotated the ankle. 'Your feet aren't swollen now. Would you say you had a lot of swelling during pregnancy?'

'Yes,' I said.

He seemed so sincere. So caring. So gentle.

For a murderer.

'With Helene gone, Margaret's probably at a loss. It could put a strain on a marriage,' I said.

He dropped my foot as if it had just given him a shock. 'Typically after pregnancy, pain can be caused by the edema, which put pressure on the structures of the feet and nerves. Even after the edema leaves, there may be pain.' He pointed to the print on the wall and started to outline some ligaments. 'I think you could benefit from a pair of orthotics.'

Orthotics?

There was nothing s.e.xy about that. I only wanted to be able to fit into my cute open-toed shoes again.

'Umm, they don't really hurt all that much . . .'

He looked upset.

'Doctor, what do you think happened to Helene the other night? It was all so sudden.'

He paled. 'I don't know.'

'It's strange, though, isn't it? You were with her when she died, weren't you?' I tested.

He took a step back and swallowed. 'Unfortunate set of circ.u.mstances.' He turned his back on me and steadied himself by putting his hands on the small set of drawers. 'Shall we schedule you for the prescription orthotics?'

He waited for my reply with his back to me.

He was as uncomfortable speaking to me as I had been with Inspector McNearny.

'What do you think was the cause of death?'

He whipped around, his face set in stone. 'I'm not the medical examiner. Look, are you here about your feet or something else?'

I let my feet dangle and furrowed my brows. 'What else would I be here about?'

'What are all these questions about? Are you investigating me?'

'Why would I?'

He self-consciously smoothed down his shirt and shifted his eyes around the room. He took a breath. 'Right. Have Joan schedule you for a follow-up.'

CHAPTER TWELVE.

Keeping Up

To Do:

1. Talk to Miss No-Nonsense.

2. Get manicure.

3. Order turkey.

4. When's Paula coming home?

5. Build up milk supply-pump, pump, pump!!!

The following day, I decided to pop in on Sara. She hadn't returned my phone calls and I was starting to get antsy about her.

Was she avoiding me?

I packed Laurie into the car and headed to Jordan Park, which was down the street from California Pacific Hospital, where Laurie was born. This same hospital had also been the initial meeting place for Roo & You members, since they had all given birth to their first children and taken cla.s.ses there, too. Well, all of them except Helene.

And what about these home births?

I had a hard enough time keeping my place clean; now I imagined the mess of a home birth. Blood, placenta, and goo on the baby. Good Lord. Why on earth would anyone want to do that?

Well, now, no reason to be critical. I'm sure people had their reasons-it just simply wasn't for me.

Jordan Park is a beautiful neighborhood but lacks parking like most of San Francisco. I circled around and was surprised to see Margaret in front of her house watering the lawn. I double-parked, rolled down my window, and called to her.

She looked up, startled, then waved at me to wait a moment. She put down the hose, rushed to her garage to turn off the water, then came over to my car.

She was wearing a slip dress that accentuated her slimness, making her look as if the wind could blow her over. In contrast to the whimsical look of the dress, she had on clunky green mules that seemed to ground her. To combat the weather she had on a wool scarf and hat, although I can never understand how people don't freeze with bare arms and legs.

She rested her hands on my car and leaned in. 'Have you found anything out?'

'Not much, Margaret. I followed Alan the other day. He came directly home. Didn't stop anywhere. Do you think he's still having the affair?'

'It's strange. I know. He's been coming home on time lately and is seemingly more interested in me and the kids. I'm not buying it, though. He's only doing that because I confronted him. I think he's trying to get me off my guard. I can't trust him, Kate.'

'Are you going to stay with your mom for a while?'

Her face conveyed a sudden sadness. 'Yes, I'm leaving with the kids tomorrow. I haven't told Alan, though.'

Another car rolled down the street and had to maneuver around me.

'Is it okay if I park in your driveway? I'd like to ask Sara a few things.'

Margaret looked annoyed. She crossed her bare arms in front of herself and rubbed them. 'Sara? What do you need to see her about?'

'Well, I'm trying to get to the bottom of what happened to Helene.'

What did she think I wanted to see her about?

'Well, Sara doesn't know anything.'

Another car came down the street. I waved at the driver to go around.

'Okay. Sure, park here.' Margaret motioned for me to pull into her driveway.

I parked and got out of the car, then unhitched Laurie's car seat from the back. She was sound asleep. I tucked a knit blanket securely around her to protect her from the wind that threatened to bl.u.s.ter at any moment.

The exchange between us now felt halted and awkward. 'I'm going to run across the street and meet Sara.'

'Of course.' Margaret reached out and patted my arm. 'Do you need help with the diaper bag and gear and all?'

I smiled, rea.s.suring her all was fine between us. 'No. I got it. Thanks!'

I was a little nervous about meeting with Sara since the last time I'd seen her, at Helene's funeral, she'd given me such an unwelcoming vibe and now wasn't even returning my calls.

She answered the bell on the first ring. She had on a red wool sweater and fitted jeans.

'Oh, hi, Kate.' She looked beyond me then back. 'Are you here alone?'

I held up Laurie's bucket. 'Just me and my monkey.'

She smiled. 'Right. Yes. I got your messages. I'm sorry I haven't called you back. Busy, busy, busy.'

After an awkward moment, she ushered Laurie and me into her enormous living room. A baby play station, complete with swing, rocking chair, colorful b.a.l.l.s, and mirrors, dominated the room. In the center of it all sat a beautiful rosy-cheeked little girl, who graced us with a toothless smile as we entered the room.

'This is Amanda. You can put Laurie on the playmat with her when she wakes up. Amanda loves company.'

At that moment Amanda squeezed a cow on the play station. A high-pitched rendition of 'Old MacDonald' started playing.

I nodded, nestling Laurie's car seat next to my chair as I took a seat by the window. 'Great. I'm sure she'll love all the colors and sounds.'

If they don't wake her immediately.

'Probably too little for it still. Amanda just started playing in it a few weeks ago. She's six months now,' Sara said.

'Is she your first?'

Sara nodded.

'So you joined Roo & You a few months ago after Amanda was born?'

Sara looked up toward the ceiling as if trying to recall the actual date. 'Let's see. I joined, more or less, unofficially before she was born. Because I knew Margaret from across the street, the others were always hanging out at her place. So when I was about six months pregnant and full of baby questions, I started attending the playdates.' She indicated my car through the front window. 'I see that you spoke with Margaret already.'

I turned to look out the window and could plainly see my Chevy parked in Margaret's driveway. 'Yeah. I didn't know you two were neighbors until Evelyn mentioned it the other day.'

At the mention of Evelyn's name, anger flashed across Sara's eyes and she glanced toward Amanda.

After a moment, she said, 'I've lived here about four years. We're a tight group of neighbors. Watch each other's dogs when we vacation and pick up mail. That sort of thing.'

I looked around for signs of a dog but didn't see any. Maybe Sara was only a dog watcher.

'Margaret befriended me immediately when I moved in. Which was great, because coming from the East Coast, I didn't know a lot of people and Howard works a lot. He's a general contractor. It was nice to have a friend right away.'

'She's very nice. I imagine she's been a good friend to have.'

Sara tilted her head and looked across the street thoughtfully. 'Margaret is a good friend. Very trusting. She only sees the best in people. When she's talking to you, it's as if you're the only other person in the world. She has a gift for making you feel special. The problem is she can be taken advantage of it and not know it. It's hard for me to stand by and watch.'

'Taken advantage of how?'