Thanks for all the reviews thus far. Keep 'em coming lol

Chapter Four

"So where were you?" Marco asked with a skeptical lift of his dark brown eyebrows.

Lauren turned to look at Michael. "I am sorry, honey. I didn't want you to find out this way. I planned a whole big dinner and was thinking of the right words to tell you …"

Michael grasped Lauren's hand. "What is it, baby?"

Lauren's eyes wet with tears. "Speaking of baby …" She cupped her still taut stomach through the fabric of her white dress.

"Seriously? Lauren, honey …" Michael squeezed her hand. He leaned over and kissed her cheek and then turned to face the cops. "Officers, I think that settles it. You can leave us alone now. Quit badgering a pregnant woman."

"You are a lawyer, Michael, you know it's that not easy. We need proof," Ronan said, almost regretfully.

Lauren shook her head and moved over to her purse. She extracted two small sheets of paper and handed them to Ronan. "I saw a doctor today. These are for prescriptions for my prenatal pills. If you don't believe me call Dr. Olivia Winters."

Marco nodded. "We'll be doing that."

"You two can stop badgering my wife now, officers," Michael said. He then walked with them to the door and shut it pointedly in their faces. He then turned back around and faced Lauren. "I still can't believe it."

"I know. Me either. The flu I've been nursing is really not the flu at all."

"Morning sickness," Michael said. "I should have known."

"Me too, but I thought our baby making years were behind us."

Michael came over to Lauren and pulled her flush against him. "I am happy. Despite all this misery we've been enduring lately, things are looking up."

"Now that Daisy's dead, I feel safe again," Lauren said and rested her head on Michael's strong shoulder. "I just wonder who finished her off."

XoXoXo

"Daniel, how do you know –" Phyllis started and then shook her head. "No, no, don't tell me." She didn't want to have some knowledge that could be used against her son somehow. She didn't really believe he was guilty but she didn't want to ask either.

Daniel moved over to Nick and held out his arms, silently asking for his daughter. Nick passed over Lucy to him and Daniel nuzzled her with his cheek on hers. No words were spoken for a long moment before Phyllis had to ask one important question.

"Daniel, you know Daisy is gone. I am the one who found her actually … It's just … How are you feeling about all of this?"

Daniel sighed. "I'm not … I am not going to stand here and lie to you all and say that I loved her. Or that I miss her. Because that wouldn't be true but I am sad for Lucy. Her mom may have been a whack job supreme but now she has no mother at all."

Nick and Phyllis looked at each other before Nick spoke up. "Well Lucy has us. She has you, Phyllis, me, and a bunch of other people who love her. She will not lack in love."

"She won't," Phyllis agreed.

"I know. Besides, Daisy used Lucy as leverage, as collateral damage," Daniel said. "I am not going to miss her at all."

XoXoXo

Marco and Ronan watched the body removed from the loft and then looked around the room where Daisy had been murdered. "She was shot. Lauren was known to have a gun," Marco said.

Ronan nodded. "Yeah she was but she was at the doctors today."

"She says she was at the doctors," Marco said. "Besides, the ME will tell us exact time of death and we will see for sure if Ms. Baldwin is telling the truth."

"I have a feeling she is," Ronan said.

"Okay say she is innocent; someone else had to do it. Phyllis Somers looks like the most likely culprit. I know you probably don't want to admit it given your 'history' but –"

Ronan shook his head. "Our 'history' has nothing to do with it. She says she just found the body –"

"People lie. Besides, it all makes sense from a criminal's point of view. Phyllis comes here, fights with Daisy, shoots her and then places the call to deflect guilt. She thinks no one would suspect her if she says she was the one to find the body."

"Phyllis is a lot of things but I don't believe she's a killer," Ronan said. "I don't see it. Plus her granddaughter was here. No way would she shoot Daisy in the same house as Lucy."

"I don't know. I don't trust her. I think we need to definitely put her at the top of our suspect list. Like it or not, Malloy, she's our best bet."

Ronan nodded. "Maybe but we wouldn't be doing our job if we didn't investigate other possible suspects. A lot of people seemed to hate Daisy and we will check out all of them for motive and opportunity."

XoXoXo

They had returned home over an hour ago and were thinking about what they had done, the look on Daisy's face when she took her last breath, the way her eyes rolled up in her skull and she choked out her last three words ever, "How could you?"

She was gone, really gone. Their problems had just been reduced by half. No one suspected they were anywhere near Daisy's place the time it happened. They had no known motive. Now it was time to spin this murder in a way that could benefit them in the long run.