Mobsters and Lobsters (A Hooked & Cooked Cozy Mystery Series Book 2) by Lyndsey Cole

everything—the truth about her relationship with Lenny; that Lenny was Olivia’s dad; that she had visited Lenny, at his request, earlier in the week; and how she spent the last five years running away from him. “It’s not looking good,” she told Hannah. “Every time Pam scribbled down some notes, it felt like a nail sealing my fate as the prime murder suspect.”
    Hannah squeezed Ruby’s shoulder. “You had to come clean with Pam and there’s no time to dwell on it. Let’s move on. I invited Pearl over for coffee. We need to get her on board with your situation and find out who the short fat guy is. Pearl owes me.” Hannah measured coffee for her coffee machine and got it started.
    Ruby stayed slumped in the chair. “Olivia will be out of school soon so I’ll take her back to our house and stay out of your way. I don’t want her to get wind of any of this Lenny mess. I’ll have to explain it to her someday, but I can’t think about that conversation at the moment.”
    “Before you go, let’s look through all the photos you downloaded from Lenny’s camera. Pam took the camera bag and I forgot to tell her we kept copies of the images.” Hannah grinned. “Oops, my bad.”
    Meg knocked on the partly opened door and the smell of seafood filled the room as she entered. “I brought you some food. With all that police tape around the snack bar, we may as well dig into these lobster rolls so they don’t go to waste.”
    Hannah imagined the taste of the sweet lobster morsels as soon as Meg mentioned it. Her mouth watered. “You always drop in at the right time with something delicious to eat.”
    The three women sat around Hannah’s table. Eating occupied their mouths for several minutes. Hannah placed the last quarter of her lobster roll on her plate, sat back, and sighed. “Oh man. That’s a special treat. How did you know that was exactly what we needed now, Meg?”
    Meg chuckled. “Everyone’s the same. Food distracts us from all the stress and worry in our lives. If I wasn’t always on my feet running all over the place, this,” she patted her own stomach, “would be out here with all the comfort eating I do.” Her arms extended in a circle in front of her lap.
    “Yeah, right. You’ll never have a weight problem. You and your twin brother Michael couldn’t put on weight if you tried. I think you both must have the skinny gene,” Hannah said with envy lacing her voice.
    “Speaking of Michael,” Meg said after she licked her fingers. “He told me some interesting characters have been hanging around his Pub and Pool Hall. He made sure to tell me to mention it to you. Seems he overheard your name pop up in a couple of the conversations.”
    “Oh? They wouldn’t be scruffy mobster creeps by any chance? Four older men driving Cadillacs and one young stud who thinks his only job here on the planet is to drive women crazy?”
    Ruby stood up. “Who could you be describing, Hannah? Is Rocky Amato working his charms on you? I thought I saw you flirting with him earlier.” She laughed as she walked to the door. “I wish I didn’t have to leave this fascinating conversation, but the bus is almost here. Call me later and fill me in.” She waved on her way out.
    Meg watched Hannah. “You seem to know who Michael was referring to. Quite the description, especially about the young stud. Friends of yours?” Meg asked.
    “I know who Michael was talking about, but I wouldn’t even go as far as to say I know them. And they certainly are no friends of mine. You know the woman in Cottage Two? Pearl Martini?”
    Meg nodded. “Can’t miss her with that purple hair and red sports car. And her pig. Is that mob with her?”
    “Mob is right. I’ve heard they actually have ties to the mob, or at least, Pearl’s ex-husband had ties. What were they doing at the pool hall?”
    Meg shrugged. “It’s a great place for creeps like them to hang out without bringing too much attention to themselves. Michael