Free SCREWED DOWN MURDER (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 2) by Belle Knudson Page B

wrong.”
    “Still. I upset you.”
    “I upset myself.”
    Finally they arrived at the closed casket of Dudley Stuart. Kate had admired the pictures of him along the way. Jessica was acting as the grieving widow, but Kate didn’t judge her. Many people didn’t know that she’d filed for divorce.
    Dudley’s relatives probably had no idea.
    She gave Jessica a hug when she reached her. “You holding up?”
    “I am. I’ll be happy when it is all over. All of it. Including catching Dudley’s murderer. No matter what I felt or didn’t feel for him, he didn’t deserve to die alone,” Jessica said.
    Kate didn’t know what to say to that. Jessica had already moved on from her marriage before Dudley was killed. Kate wondered what that would feel like.
    “I’m sorry, Jessica.”
    “Thank you for coming,” Jessica said.
    Kate waited in the hallway for Scott. He came out a few minutes later.
    “She is a strong woman,” Kate said.
    “She has a good man with her, even if he can’t be here,” Scott said.
    Kate read something else in his statement. Was he saying that she had a good man too?
    “I’ll get the car.”
    She waited outside. She saw what she thought was Beth’s car. Looking around, she crossed the lot to get a closer look. The dent was still there. The green car had flecks of metal in it. Guess she couldn’t afford to get it fixed yet.
    Why metal flecks? It seemed odd, but Kate had no idea why. She’d backed into something. Pretty hard, given the dent.
    Kate eyed it before looking up to see Scott driving into the lot. She flagged him down, then climbed in.
    “You shopping for a new car?”
    “No, just looking at that green car. It’s Beth’s and she still has the dent in it.”
    “So?”
    “She was getting an estimate for the dent and I wanted to see if the work had been done on it. I have a few spots on my truck that I’d like to take care of. They aren’t priority, but if Bob does a good job, then I’ll use him.”
    “Okay. Let’s grab a bite.”
    “I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m tired. Let’s go to my place. I’ll fix something.”
    “Let’s stop for pizza then. That way you don’t have to cook,” he said.
    “You are sweet.”
    “Remember that,” Scott said.
    “Nothing is going to happen until I’m ready, Scott, and I’m not ready.”
    “I know, Katydid. I know. I just wish I could find out what happened to that husband of yours so you can be mine.”
    “You’re expending a lot of effort for me. What if I’m a letdown?”
    “Oh, I doubt that. I’ve seen you naked.”
    She laughed. “About thirty pounds and two kids ago.”
    “Doesn’t matter. It will look the same to me.”
    As Scott drove her home, Kate realized that all the poles on Main Street were wooden. Not metal.
    “Let’s go to my place and get that pizza delivered. I don’t want to stop. I just want to get out of these shoes.”
    “Okay. I’m in. You have some beer?”
    “I do. In the fridge even.”
    He smiled at her and she liked that smile. More than she should.
     
     

Chapter Nine
    Kate woke refreshed after having spent the evening with Scott. She did enjoy his company, and she had to admit that it was nice having a man in the house again.
    Today was about getting the estimate to Jessica, but first Kate had to pick up a book she’d reserved at the library.
    The book was so she could learn some more repair techniques and expand her business. She was never too old to learn new tricks.
    The Rock Ridge Library was in a building separated from the municipal complex by a parking lot. She parked in front then entered the air-conditioned building. It was hushed, of course, and the thick carpeting extinguished all sounds.
    Kate strode to the circulation desk with her library card. Meghan Tully, the town’s head librarian was behind the counter.
    “Hello, Meghan.”
    The woman had been at least two grades ahead of Kate in high school. She wasn’t at all surprised that Meghan had become a librarian.