Fatal Impulse: A Widow's Web Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

hated the cat, which he referred to as “it.” The kitty disappeared just as he’d started to fatten up. Although Chad never admitted to it, she suspected he'd gotten rid of the poor thing.
    She took a deep breath, sat up straight in the chair and said, “Yes, as a matter of fact, I think donations to the Buccaneer Bay Animal Shelter instead of flowers would be nice.”
    Martha stifled a cough and looked at Andi, eyebrows arched, but didn’t say anything. Mr. Bolan jotted the final notes in his book, then slapped it closed and pushed his chair back. “Might I suggest that you stop at the masonry shop to pick out a stone? We have some brochures with a variety of options available--”
    The rest of the morning passed in a fog. Being a widow hadn’t even begun to sink in. Andi floated along on auto-pilot. After they finished with the funeral home and the mason’s, they drove to the south edge of town. They pulled into a small concrete parking lot and Andi stared at the squat red brick building with white columns and black shutters. Chad's receptionist’s yellow Subaru sat alone in the lot.
    Martha stepped out of the car. "Did you bring your key?"
    Andi shook her head. "I don't have a key." She examined a sheet of copy paper taped to the front door, then read it out loud. "Office closed until further notice due to an emergency."
    "Then whose car is that?" Martha slammed the car door harder than necessary.
    Andi tugged on the front door and it swung open. "Jennie's. Remember? You met her at the house yesterday."
    “So he trusted her and not you?” Martha rolled her eyes. “I always thought he spent too much time at work.”
    Andi glanced at her mother, but didn't comment.
    Martha followed her daughter into the building. The waiting room, decorated in soothing shades of blue, had an air of relaxed sophistication. Dark blue fabric covered chairs lined the walls. White sponged clouds formed a border along the top of the walls, and a rainbow mural decorated the area blocked off for children. Though Andi had suggested a children’s area, he dismissed it as ridiculous, yet when his receptionist offered to paint the waiting area and surprised him with the clouds and rainbow, he praised it as a brilliant move.
    That hadn't surprised her in the least.
    The two women followed the sound of Jennie’s voice, and found her sitting in Chad’s brown leather chair in his office, on the telephone with a patient. Her long blonde hair cascaded past her shoulders in loose curls, and her slightly smudged mascara was the only visible imperfection in her cosmetic armor.
    Chad’s dental certificate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City hung on the wall directly behind his desk, along with his undergraduate degree from the University of Colorado. A large color photo of him and his fraternity brothers on a ski trip hung on the wall to the right. Several of them had autographed it, and the words “Winter Break 1998” were written in large slanted script in black magic marker at an angle at the top right of the photo. He still talked fondly of his frat brothers, and kept in touch with several of them. They got together for ski trips, and the occasional golf trip. Someone should contact them, but she didn’t even know their names. He referred to them simply as his “brothers.”
    His big oak desk looked as if he'd just left it, with the black flat-screen monitor on one side and papers stacked neatly in the chrome in-tray and out-tray. His small, precise doodles in the margin framed his neat handwriting on the blotter. The only personal item on his desk was the chrome business card holder Andi gave him for a birthday gift a few years ago. The room looked as if he might come walking in the door at any moment, ready to handle his patients.
    Andi and her mother stood in the doorway until Jennie glanced up with red, puffy eyes. She smiled sadly and nodded a greeting, then murmured, “I’m so sorry.”
    Andi nodded again. Her eyes should