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

Edwina Elizabeth Rosa Huntington–named after her dead father and the two women who had helped catch his killer–was always a good topic for inner contemplation.
    Better not go there this morning, however, or she would be turning around and heading back home, abandoning Betty to her fate.
    At the thought of Edie, Kate felt a slight tugging sensation in her breasts. She had just finished weaning the baby to a bottle and formula the previous weekend, in anticipation of her return to work. Guilt poked at her heart. Was she a bad mother? Going back to work when her child was still so little, weaning her because she couldn’t face the idea of pumping breast milk every day at lunchtime. And now gallivanting off to Pennsylvania.
    You’re a great mom, love. Our baby girl is just fine,
her late husband’s voice echoed in her head.
    Kate smiled.
    About two weeks after her husband’s death, she had started having imaginary conversations with him. At first she would talk to him and then decide what he would probably say in return, scripting both sides of the conversation herself. But after awhile, Eddie’s soft baritone had started responding on its own. Or at least it seemed that way.
    She was fairly sure the conversations were just a product of her lively imagination, but every now and then Eddie would say something that took her totally by surprise. These little internal chats had helped her cope with the loss of her husband–a devastating blow that, at first, she had not believed she would survive.
    She had never told anyone, not even Rob or Liz, about these conversations. She knew even they would think she was crazy. And she never intended to tell anyone either. These special moments with the love of her life were too precious to share.
    Kate was now off the highway and entering Lancaster. She shifted mental gears again and started searching for Abbeyville Road. A half mile down that road she spotted the sign, nestled in a clump of evergreen bushes–
The Villages of Lancaster, A 55+ Adult Community.
    Driving along the entrance lane, the word
tranquil
came to mind. The property was beautifully landscaped. Kate passed a white, one-story building on the left, labeled as the administration building by a discreet wooden sign. Then on either side of the lane were several taller look-alike buildings–red brick, with a large ground-to-roof section of glass in the middle of the slightly peaked front. According to Rob’s directions, the three-story recreation center would be on the left around the next curve, and across from that building would be the road leading to Betty’s building.
    When Kate turned onto that road, she found her way blocked by a police car, parked crosswise with lights flashing. She stopped, as a young uniformed officer got out of the car and approached her.
    Lowering her window, she asked, “What’s going on, Officer?”
    The officer ignored her question. “Road’s closed, ma’am.”
    “What’s going on?” Kate asked again. It couldn’t be a simple medical emergency. They wouldn’t close off the whole road for that.
    “I’m not at liberty to say, ma’am.”
    “Officer, I’m here to pick up one of the residents to take her to a very important meeting. And I’ve just driven for two hours to get here.” Kate tried to keep the whine out of her voice. She hated the thought of having to drive home, and then do this all again another day, because of something that undoubtedly had nothing to do with Betty.
    “Who is it you’re here to see, ma’am?” the officer asked.
    When she gave him the name of Elizabeth Franklin, his demeanor suddenly changed. “I’ll move my car. Take the second left and ask for Detective Lindstrom.”
    With a growing sense of dread, Kate followed his instructions, passing a strip of woods on her right and a parking lot and another building on her left. As she turned into the second parking lot, she was immensely relieved to see Betty standing in front of her building,