ILL-TIMED ENTANGLEMENTS (The Kate Huntington mystery series #2) Read Free Page A

training. Have to work under a licensed PI for a couple years. You remember Skip?”
    “Of course I remember Skip.” He had been Kate’s bodyguard, one of three hired by Rob when they had realized Eddie’s killer was also trying to kill them. Skip Canfield, who was six-five and built like Hulk Hogan, had turned out to have as much brain as brawn and had helped them track down the killer.
    “He has his PI license now. Got it about a year ago. I’m training with him. Helping out on investigations when I’m off duty.” Rose paused for breath. “He and I are talking about starting our own agency. Keep that under your hat though. He doesn’t want his boss to find out yet.”
    “Hot damn, that’s a great idea. Then you won’t have to deal with bureaucracies or supervisors ever again.”
    “Exactly.” Rose’s face broke out again in a brilliant smile.
    Kate knew her young friend did not suffer fools gladly. She’d come close to resigning from the Baltimore County Police Department during the investigation into Eddie’s murder, due to the incompetence of her then superior officer. And her Army career had been aborted when her application to the military police was turned down on the basis of her height.
    Ever since then Rose saw red whenever anyone called her petite. She much preferred Kate’s word,
compact
, to describe her short, sturdy body that was well-endowed in all the right places.
    Kate popped the last bite of her crab cake sandwich into her mouth, then glanced at her watch. “I better get going.”
    “See ya later.” Rose flashed yet another grin.
    As Kate headed home to get nanny and baby organized for their stay at the Franklins, she struggled again with maternal guilt. Samantha adored Edie and vice versa, she reminded herself. Her little girl would be fine.
    And it’ll only be for two days
, thought an unsuspecting Kate.

CHAPTER
TWO
    T he next morning, Kate was zipping along I-83 toward Pennsylvania. Traffic going in her direction was light by comparison to the rolling back-up on the other side, as interstate commuters headed to their jobs in Towson or other parts of the Baltimore area. The outside temperature was already soaring due to a July heat wave.
    Kate hoped to get to Betty’s retirement community in Lancaster by ten, take a short break and be back on the road again by ten-thirty. That should get them to Newark, New Jersey, by a little after lunchtime.
    Kate normally found driving relaxing but only the insane, in her professional opinion, enjoyed driving in New York. She and Betty would take the train from Newark into the city and, with any kind of luck, be checked into their hotel by four that afternoon. Then an early dinner and a good night’s sleep so Betty would be fresh the next day for her meeting.
    As she drove, Kate occupied her mind by imagining different scenarios with the lawyers and how she would handle them. This was a technique she used with clients to rehearse anticipated confrontations. Imagine the worst case scenario and figure out how you will deal with it, so you will go into the situation calm and confident.
    In this case, the tricky part was that Kate had to advocate for Betty without usurping the older woman’s autonomy. Ultimately any decisions were Betty’s to make. But Rob was concerned that the publisher’s lawyers would see his aunt as a sweet little old lady and would try to push her into doing something she didn’t want to do. Kate’s job, in addition to chauffeuring, was to help Betty back them off, if the meeting started to go in an undesirable direction.
    Kate grinned to herself. If Betty was anything like the other Franklin women she knew, the folks in New York were going to discover that this sweet little old lady was not all that easy to push around.
    As she took the exit for US 30, Kate realized her mental rehearsals were moving from prudent preparation to obsessive ruminating. It was time to think about something else. Her adorable daughter,