Free SUICIDAL SUSPICIONS: A Kate Huntington Mystery (The Kate Huntington Mystery Series Book 8) by Kassandra Lamb

Judith.”
    “Yes, and I have some computer research to do after dinner.” She leaned down and retrieved her briefcase and purse. “You’ve been coming home early the past few days. Things that slow at the agency or were you just worried about me?”
    “Yes, and yes.”
    She shook her head and gave him a mock-exasperated look, then changed the subject. “Where are the kids?”
    “Billy’s doing his homework, and Edie is, quote, ‘helping’ Maria with supper, i.e., talking her ear off.”
    Kate tilted her head toward the kitchen and picked up the cadence of her daughter’s voice. She couldn’t make out the words but the tone was strident. No doubt she was regaling Maria with the latest horrible thing that someone had done to one of her friends.
    Edie was an easy-going child in many ways, but she had a keen sense of justice. She would become irate over things that happened to other people, often getting more upset than they did themselves. Kate was convinced she would become a lawyer like Rob, her honorary uncle.
    The kids seemed to be okay for now so she took Skip by the hand and led him to the sofa, their favorite spot to sit and talk.
    Once they were settled, Skip’s arm draped around her shoulders, she turned slightly toward him. “Sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about me.”
    He gave a slight shake of his head. “And how am I supposed to not worry about you. I love you.”
    “Okay, okay, it’s natural to worry about the people we love, but you should know by now that I can handle my emotions. Heck, that’s what I do for a living, teach people how to handle theirs.”
    “Yeah, but this is something new you’re dealing with. And besides, you worry about me. For years, you were downright obsessed about the risk in my job.”
    “True,” she said. “Okay, so you’re right. You can’t just stop worrying. So what can I do to reassure you?”
    “This…,” he waved his hand back and forth between them to indicate he meant the conversation, “…is helping. And the fact that you seem to be in a better place tonight.”
    “I am. I’m not sure that Josie was murdered, but checking into that possibility is making me feel like I’m doing something about her death.”
    A gentle smile played across his lips. He reached over with his free hand and hooked a stray curl behind her ear. “That’s so you.”
    She let out a small chuckle. It was definitely her favorite coping mechanism, to find something to do about the problem, whatever it may be.
    “So how’d the meeting with Judith go?” he asked.
    Kate had promised not to reveal anything about the note so she left that out for now, but she told him about the heat being off in Josie’s apartment. “Can you figure out any sane reason why she would do that?” It was still full-blown winter in early March in Maryland.
    Skip was quiet for a moment. Then he shook his head. “No, but how sane is someone who’s about to commit suicide?”
    “Oh, she would have been quite sane. Maybe not thinking straight but not delusional.”
    Skip nodded slightly. “A killer might turn the heat off, to mess with the signs of what time the death occurred. And maybe to keep the smell down for as long as possible. To delay the discovery of the body.”
    Kate grimaced. She hadn’t thought about the smell. That made sense.
    “I’ve got the name of the doctor who prescribed the clonazepam,” she said. “But I need to research how to contact him.”
    “He isn’t going to be able to tell you much. He’s got confidentiality constraints just like you do.”
    “He can at least admit if someone is his patient, and I’m hoping he’ll tell me how long she’d been seeing him. That might give me a feel for… I don’t know what. But it’s an avenue to explore.”
    Skip nodded again. “Let’s think about the dog and the crate for a minute here. Why would he be in the crate?”
    “He was still a puppy. She complained about him chewing everything he got his teeth into