MULTIPLE MOTIVES (The Kate Huntington mystery series Book 1) by Kassandra Lamb Page B

matter?”
    “Where’s Liz?” Kate asked. She had a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face.
    “In bed. What’s the matter?” he demanded again.
    “I’m pregnant.”
    Rob sat down abruptly. He landed on the overstuffed arm of the chair behind him and slid down into its seat. His mind stalled. He stared up at her for a beat, then pulled her down onto the ottoman in front of him.
    Noting that Lou had made himself scarce, he asked, “This is a good thing, right?” Based on the expression on her face, he wasn’t totally sure that it was.
    “It’s the most wonderful thing in the world….”
    “But…?”
    “I was scared enough before, now I’m terrified! Rob, this is a piece of Eddie. The last piece of him left on this planet. And someone is trying to kill me. I have to protect this baby!”
    “How far along are you?” he asked, more to buy time than anything else. His brain was still trying to wrap itself around all this.
    “About two and a half months, I think. My periods have never been all that regular.” Kate blushed a little.
    He felt heat creeping up his own cheeks. There were some things opposite-sex friends didn’t discuss, no matter how close they were.
    “When I missed the last two,” she said, “I just assumed it was due to stress. But then I started noticing other signs, so I bought a test kit on the way home from target practice. It was positive.”
    Rob didn’t need to ask what other signs. His wife had been pregnant twice. Nausea, weight gain, mood swings–although he doubted Kate could differentiate, at this point, between hormonal mood swings and the legitimate emotional roller coaster her life had become lately.
    “Any morning sickness?”
    Kate shook her head. “Just a little nausea occasionally. Mostly I’m ravenous all the time.”
    Rob grinned. “Of course your child would have a hearty appetite.”
    She returned his smile but it didn’t completely make it to her eyes.
    Liz’s worried voice drifted down from the upstairs bedroom. “Rob, is that Kate? Is something wrong?”
    “Come on.” He stood up and pulled Kate to her feet. “Let’s tell Lizzie!”
    “Yes, it’s Kate,” he called up the stairs, “and she has some news.”

CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    Rob was having trouble concentrating on the tasks that he absolutely needed to get done before he and Kate could tackle the files again. His thoughts kept wandering to their investigation. So far, they’d only identified two major suspects. In each case–one involving domestic violence and the other child abuse–he and Kate had contributed to the abuser’s incarceration. He’d given his files for those cases to Liz so she could do computer searches on the two felons.
    Rob had just dragged his mind back to the document he was supposed to be reviewing when his cell phone rang. Sighing, he answered it.
    “Got some info for you.” There was a note of glee in Liz’s voice.
    “You’re enjoying this way too much, hon.”
    A low chuckle. “Okay, first scumbag. Paul Connolly, wife beater. Arrested five years ago. With you and Kate propping up her backbone, wife refused to drop the charges. One year sentence, two years probation.”
    He could hear papers rustling. “Got out after six months for good behavior. I tracked down the wife. She’s remarried now, lives in Massachusetts. Says she hasn’t heard from the ex-con, ex-husband–but no doubt still an S.O.B.–in years. Has no idea where he is.”
    “Hmm, a possibility, but five years is a long time to wait for revenge,” Rob said.
    “Other scumbag’s a better bet. Thomas Hunter, child abuser. Another joke of a sentence. Four years for molesting his five-year-old stepdaughter. Got out after two and a half for good behavior. What is it with this good behavior crap? If these guys knew how to behave, they wouldn’t be in jail!”
    Rob grinned at his wife’s editorial on the legal system, but said nothing. Not a good idea to encourage her too much. “And?”
    “Aaand,