CELEBRITY STATUS (The Kate Huntington mystery series #4) by Kassandra Lamb Read Free Book Online

tell you about what’s happened with Cherise lately?”
                “You mean about the cat?”
                “Yeah. The dead cat is what has me so spooked. Somebody who kills animals is a real sicko, maybe even a full-blown psychopath. I need to get Cherise to give me that waiver.”
                “You might point out to her it’s in her best interest for everyone who’s trying to help her to be able to talk freely to each other.”
                “Yeah, well...” Kate caught herself. She had been about to say that Cherise was a bit of a control freak. Kate wasn’t sure she’d want them talking “freely.” But the in-her-best-interest part of Rob’s strategy might very well work.
                “I’ll try that,” she said out loud.
                “Take care, Kate.”
    * * *
                Skip had spelled out the security plan for the concert. Now he was trying to politely extract himself from his client’s presence. He still had a couple tasks he needed to do related to other cases, before he could go home to his family. But Cherise was not willing to let him go.
                “You always seem to be in such a rush, Skip. What’s so pressing anyway? I am your biggest case right now, am I not?”
                “Well, yes, but that doesn’t mean I can ignore my other clients. And I like to show up at home now and again, so Kate and the kids don’t forget what I look like.”
                Cherise made a small moue of distaste with her mouth. “What do you do with your kids anyway? Children are such strange little creatures.”
                “Not really. They’re just uninhibited, and very exuberant.”
                “Well, I can understand, I guess, wanting to pass on your genes through your progeny,” she said.
                “I could care less about that.” Skip wasn’t about to tell her that one of his children wasn’t even his biological offspring. A quick glance at his watch. It was really getting late. He didn’t want to get caught in rush hour traffic going back to Towson or he’d never get home.
                He pushed himself up off Cherise’s white leather sofa. He hesitated, then decided not to mention his visit to Lansing and the failed attempt to get a restraining order. Reporting on what you hadn’t accomplished didn’t always get a positive response from clients.
                Cherise misread his hesitation as unwillingness to leave. She stood and moved closer to him. “I feel so much safer when you’re here, Skip,” she said in a husky voice.
                He took a small step back, bracing himself in case she tried to hug him. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Cherise, but I’m no better equipped to protect you than Ben or these other guys are. They’re all top notch, or we wouldn’t have hired them. You can rest assured that you’re safe.”
                He was edging toward the door as he spoke. “Gotta go. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow.”
                Skip might not have been so eager to get home if he had known what awaited him. The atmosphere in the house was a bit chilly. Even though Kate was trying to act normally during dinner, he knew his wife well enough to know something was wrong.
                When the kids were finally settled for the night and Maria had retreated to her third-floor apartment, Skip took Kate’s arm as she walked past him. “Come sit with me,” he said, tilting his head toward the sofa. She looked at him, an odd mixture of anger and fear in her eyes. Finally, she followed him to the sofa.
                “What’s the matter?” Skip asked, once they were settled on the sofa, his arm around her stiff shoulders.
                Kate turned her head to look up at him. “What’s the matter is that you’ve