Read Online MULTIPLE MOTIVES (The Kate Huntington mystery series Book 1) by Kassandra Lamb - Free Book Online

her.
    The strategy apparently worked.
    “I’d loved to have you!” Kate said without hesitation.
    ~~~~~~~~
    Kate hadn’t realized just how lonely she was until she’d heard her sister’s voice. Looking forward to Mary’s arrival helped her get through the next day. It started off rough and seemed to grow worse with each session.
    Her three o’clock client was Jim Lincoln. One of his alters, a twelve-year-old boy named Sammy, was currently very depressed. She had been able to extract a promise from Sammy that if he felt the urge to harm himself, he would call her first.
    She held back her sigh of relief until Jim was totally out the door of the outer office.
    At least her last session would probably be an easy one. Cheryl Crofton was doing quite well lately, although Kate reminded herself to watch for signs of white knight syndrome regarding Rob.
    Cheryl arrived a few minutes late and was dressed much more provocatively than usual. Despite the fact that her belly now had a significant bulge to it, she was poured into a snug knit top that revealed considerable cleavage, and maternity Capri pants that accented muscular calves. Again, she was wearing three-inch heels.
    Seeing the appraising look in Kate’s eyes, she grinned and sashayed around the outer office. “You like?”
    “Wow,” Kate said. “That’s quite an outfit. But how do you walk in those heels?” She was concerned that Cheryl was going to fall and hurt the baby if she insisted on continuing to wear such footwear.
    “Aw, I’m used to ’em.” Cheryl snapped the gum in her mouth. Kate had never seen her chew gum before.
    She ushered the client into the office. “You certainly seem to be in a good mood today.”
    “Oh, yeah,” Cheryl said, dropping onto the loveseat. “But I can’t wait to get this brat out of my body, so I can do some serious partying. This not being able to drink really sucks.”
    Kate struggled to keep her alarm from showing. Was that resentment in Cheryl’s voice, under the joking banter?
    So much for this being an easy session.
    As she settled into her own chair, she decided to come back to the issue, after she’d had a few minutes to ponder the woman’s apparent change in attitude toward motherhood.
    “Have you heard any more from Frank?”
    Cheryl’s face morphed into a mask of rage. “No, that lying son of a bitch! Last time he called he said he was gonna send me some money but he hasn’t called since. That was weeks ago. I tried callin’ him and his phone’s been disconnected.”
    This time Kate didn’t bother to hide her shock. “You gave him your address? Cheryl, the idea was to keep him from knowing where you are.”
    “Oh, don’t worry. He knows not to mess with me no more. I told him I had a gun and I’d shoot his sorry ass if he ever came near me again!”
    The session continued along those lines, with Cheryl ranting about what she would do to Frank or any other man who ever messed with her again, and Kate trying to calm her down. Finally Kate said, “Look, these assholes, as you call them, aren’t worth going to jail for.”
    Cheryl narrowed her eyes at her. “I thought you wanted me to stand up for myself?”
    “I do, and if someone’s actually attacking you, by all means protect yourself. But it’s not okay to shoot some shmuck just because he makes a pass at you. You need to stand up for yourself verbally and only use a violent response as a last resort. Otherwise you’re no better than Frank.”
    In a softer voice, she added, “Look, it’s totally understandable that you’re pissed at Frank, and men in general. And it’s a good thing that you’re letting that anger out.” She pointed to Cheryl’s belly. “But I don’t want that baby growing up in foster care because his mom’s in jail.”
    The client gave her a dirty look, then subsided into a pout. Kate managed to hide her surprise at this out-of-character behavior. Cheryl wasn’t highly educated but she was an intelligent