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

name is Kathy O’Connor. I’m an attorney, and I represent Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Hartin. I–”
    “Ms. O’Connor, I’m sorry to cut you short, but I have a client waiting. My attorney is Robert Franklin. Could you call him please and explain your business to him?”
    A couple beats of silence. “Certainly, Mrs. Huntington. I know Rob Franklin. I’ll give him a call. Have a good day.”
    “Thank you. You, too.” She disconnected, then muttered, “It was a good day, until you called.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Kate shook her head to clear it. She had to get to Carol Foster. The day before, the woman had still been severely depressed. Kate had wanted to hospitalize her, but she’d promised not to hurt herself. They’d settled on her coming in again this morning instead. Fortunately a cancellation in Kate’s schedule had made that feasible.
    Ten minutes into the session, Kate was seeing no signs of improvement. Carol had called her psychiatrist, but he didn’t have an opening to see her until Monday afternoon. He had called in a stronger dose of her current medication.
    Problem was, when people were this depressed, such simple errands as going to the pharmacy sometimes felt beyond them. “Have you picked up the new prescription?” Kate asked.
    Carol dropped her gaze to her lap. “Not yet. I’m gonna get it on my way home.”
    “It will take time for that to kick in.” Kate kept her voice gentle, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. “I’m thinking it might be a good idea for you to go into the hospital. They can keep you safe while they get your meds adjusted.”
    Carol shook her head vehemently. “I hate the hospital. The staff either acts like I’m crazy or I’m a small child. Last time, one nurse kept saying, ‘Now dearie.’ I wanted to slug her.”
    Kate’s mouth went dry. She wasn’t convinced this woman would make it through the weekend. Her mind blanked. She couldn’t think of anything to say.
    “What about that thing you had me sign once?” Carol said. “Promising I’d call you if I felt like hurting myself.”
    “Are you making that promise?”
    Carol looked away. She twisted her hands together. “Yes.”
    Kate didn’t believe her. Terror raged through her system, blood pounding in her ears. She still couldn’t think of what to say, so she opted for the truth. “You’re scaring me, Carol.”
    Carol’s gaze flicked in her direction, then away again. “You don’t have to be worried about me.” Her voice was low, deflated.
    That scared Kate even more. Her hand shook as she reached up to brush hair back from her face. Should she consider an involuntary admission?
    Probably wouldn’t work since the client would just swear to the emergency room doctors that she wasn’t suicidal, and it would blow Carol’s trust in her.
    These times when Carol waxed suicidal had been easier to deal with back before her husband had jumped ship. Yes, it was hard living with someone who had such a severe mental disorder, but still… It wasn’t like his wife wanted to be depressed or that she had any control over the mood swings.
    Carol was staring at her. “Are you okay, Kate? You seem really nervous today.”
    Kate’s throat tightened. A voice in her head said, The client’s not supposed to be worrying about you !
    Since she was doing such a crappy job of hiding her anxiety, she might as well use it. “I told you, you’re scaring me.”
    Carol sighed, then sat up straighter in her chair. “Look, I promise I won’t hurt myself this weekend. I’ve been this low before, and I always pull through. I know I will this time too. I just have to tough it out.”
    “How about we arrange for a friend to come over and stay with you?”
    Carol rolled her eyes. “I don’t want a babysitter. I’ve got several new books on my tablet. I’m gonna curl up and read all weekend, not even try to do anything else.”
    That sounded very depressed, but safe. “Okay, but I do want you to sign an