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

if he was left unsupervised.”
    Skip gave Toby, who was lying at their feet, a pointed look. “We can relate to that. So she probably crated him whenever she went out, and maybe at night.”
    “Yeah. So she’d either just gotten home and he was still in his crate, or somebody got in during the night.”
    “Unlikely it was a break-in,” Skip said. “The dog would have barked and woken her up.”
    “Maybe he did and she surprised an intruder.”
    He gave a half shrug. “Possible, but how would a stranger know about her meds, and how would they keep the dog quiet while they went to all that trouble to set it up like a suicide?”
    “Maybe it wasn’t a stranger. Maybe it was somebody she knew, and the dog knew.”
    “Could be. It’s also possible someone used some ruse to get her to let them in, then pretended to be afraid of dogs, so she put the pup in the crate.”
    Kate leaned back against his arm and stared across the living room, imagining each of those scenarios. “I’m assuming there was nothing missing from her apartment, but I should check that out with Judith. If that’s the case, then robbery wasn’t the motive. Why would a robber take the time to set up a fake suicide, and then not take anything?”
    “Judith reopened the case as a homicide then?”
    “No, but she took the case away from the guy who had it. I got the impression they were not on friendly terms.” She told him about the confrontation between Judith and Baxter.
    “Okay, let’s circle back around to my worrying,” Skip said. “I get it that you can handle your emotions, but murderers are another story. By all means, check out this doctor. That should be safe enough, but any poking around beyond that should be done by the agency.”
    Kate noted his gentle tone. He was trying so hard not to be pushy or overprotective. But still she felt resistant to involving him or the agency any more than she already had, and she wasn’t sure why. For now, she opted to use money as the excuse. “I don’t want you paying people to check this out, not until I’m sure it wasn’t a suicide.” That note was hard to dismiss.
    “I’ve been weighing each step I take, though,” she added to reassure him. “Making sure it doesn’t put me in danger.”
    “Okay, but keep in mind, things are slow right now, and we pay our people salaries, so it’s not a big deal to work on this for free. I could assign Manny Ortiz to help you out.”
    That was tempting. Manny had been her bodyguard on several occasions before when things had gotten dicey. He was quite bright, and they had a good rapport. “I’ll keep that in mind, if and when I’ve got something more concrete.”
    Skip hooked a finger under her chin. “Okay, but you be careful.”
    She tried to nod, but he held onto her chin and leaned down. As their lips brushed, warmth spread through her chest, loosened her tight muscles. She opened her mouth slightly, inviting him in. The warmth moved downward, a tingling feeling in its wake.
    “Mommy, Daddy,” Edie yelled. “Dinner’s ready.”
    They jolted apart, thinking she’d come into the room. But they were still alone.
    “Dat’s not what I mean.” Maria’s voice came from the kitchen. “When I say call your parents to dinner, Edie, I mean you go to where dey are and tell dem, in a normal voice.”
    “Sorry, Maria,” Edie said, not sounding the least bit contrite.
    “Go upstairs and tell your brother to wash up and come eat.”
    “Okay.” Edie bounced out of the kitchen and bounded up the steps.
    Kate managed to hold back until the child was out of sight, then she burst out laughing.
    Grinning, Skip pushed himself to a stand and offered her a hand up.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Her office phone rang as Kate was about to go into her first session of the morning. She checked caller ID, and froze at the sight of Esq. at the end of an unfamiliar name. She grabbed the receiver before the call went to voicemail.
    “Kate Huntington.”
    “Mrs. Huntington, my