A VENEER OF MURDER (Mrs. Fix It Mysteries Book 3) Read Free

tears rolling down her face. The man handed her a tissue from his ambulance.
    “Thank you.”
    Scott strode outside and right to her. He took her in his arms. “I’m sorry, Kate.”
    She sniffed. She’d known that Meghan was dead, but hearing someone else confirm it brought the reality to her doorstep. She buried her face in Scott’s chest. He gave instructions to the EMTs.
    “Let’s go to my office.”
    He held her as they walked across the parking lot. Kate’s heart hurt. They hadn’t been friends long, but she had been developing a sincere affection for Meghan. Now she was gone. Murdered.
    Scott put Kate in his office chair.
    “I’ll get you some tea with sugar,” he said.
    “No sugar.”
    He shook his head. His tone was stern. “You need it, Kate.”
    She didn’t have the strength to argue. She didn’t want to fight. “Okay.”
    She stared at his blotter while waiting for him to return. She couldn’t get the sight of Meghan’s eyes out of her mind. How did Scott deal with dead people when he was a homicide detective in Philadelphia? She’d never get used to it.
    He returned with a paper cup filled with hot tea. She sipped the steaming liquid as he cleared off his desk. Then he leaned on it, staring at her. It was a little unnerving to have this large man hovering over her. Greg hadn’t been that way. He assumed she could take care of herself. He wasn’t cold; he’d just never been this concerned about her.
    “I’m upset, but I won’t shatter.”
    “You’re much stronger than that, I know, but I’m still concerned,” he said.
    Kate rolled the word around in her mind. “Murdered?”
    “Most likely. I will need to ask you some questions, Kate. It can wait until tomorrow if you’d like.”
    She shuddered. “Just give me a few minutes.”
    “Okay, honey.”
    She let the endearment go. Today it felt good for him to have this much concern for her. She’d just found a friend dead. She could use all the warmth she could get. Hugging the cup, she sipped it slowly, beginning to feel human again.
    “Can I get you anything else?” Scott said.
    He hadn’t moved. He was just within her reach, but she didn’t reach out to him. She couldn’t.
    “No, the tea’s fine.” Kate took a deep breath, let it out then composed herself. “I’m ready to answer questions.”
    “We need to go to an interrogation room, so I can record it. You okay with that?”
    Whatever he needed. She wanted to talk while it was all fresh in his mind. “Fine.”
    She followed him to such a room. She’d never seen him so solicitous toward her. He touched her more than usual, and she appreciated the human contact. Finally, he was ready to ask her questions.
    “You were supposed to meet Meghan in the library?”
    Kate thought back over her conversation with Meghan at the reception. She wasn’t specific about the item she had wanted to show her. “Yes. We talked about it at the wedding reception. She had something to show me.”
    “Did she indicate what it was?” Scott said.
    He sat across from her. A microphone hung in between them. He had his cop face on now. Serious. He was studying her as if trying to read her body language. She didn’t take offense. This was his job. His life.
    “She said it had something to do with a book that my husband had taken out of the library and not returned.”
    “Did she tell you what book?”
    Kate shook her head then realized the microphone wouldn’t pick that up. She’d been puzzled and curious about what Meghan had wanted to show her. “No. She didn’t say the title or the subject.”
    “So you don’t have any idea what she wanted to show you?”
    “No, I don’t.”
    Kate set the empty cup down. It no longer was keeping her fingers warm. She figured nothing would right now. The vision of the letter opener in Meghan’s neck wasn’t going to leave her mind anytime soon.
    “You need some more tea?”
    “No, thanks.”
    Scott nodded then went on. “So you met her at the