Grave Doubts (A Paranormal Mystery Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

married Brad. After Brad, there was Amy. Now, there was only
work.
    Lee got up and took the mug to the
sink to give her time to think. She put it under the faucet and turned on the
water to rinse it out. When the old pipes stuttered, something inside her
snapped, and she slammed the flat of her hand against the curved spout with a
strangled curse. Amy remained silent as Lee's anguish filled the room. Lee held
her breath, staring into the old, ceramic sink, wincing at the tears that
threatened to explode. A full thirty seconds passed before she exhaled.
    “Okay,” she whispered. “The dog
stays until Saturday. That’s all.”
    “Thanks, Mom,” Amy agreed, jumping
up to give her mom a hug from behind. “I know it’s been a tough day. You need
to get some rest.” She kissed her mom on the cheek.”I’ve got to get going. I’m
meeting Maddie for dinner.”
    Amy left the kitchen, running up
the stairs with the dog right behind her. Lee continued to stare into the sink,
focused on the small water bubbles that gathered around the strainer. The phone
rang three times before she actually heard it. Forgetting she’d unhooked the
phone in the kitchen the night Diane had died, she reached for that one first
only to slam it down before hurrying into the hallway. She just caught Patrick
before he hung up.
    “Hey,” he said. “Sorry about
before. I didn’t even wish you a Happy Birthday.”
    Patrick couldn’t stand conflict. He
was almost always the one to apologize first, sometimes showing up in awkward
places in order to do it. He’d once appeared at her office in the middle of an
important meeting, intent on assuaging his guilt over a disagreement. She had
to let him off the hook now, or he’d be on her doorstep when she got home from Robin’s
that night.
    “Don’t worry about it,” Lee said. “I
shouldn’t have snapped. I’m just really tired.”
    “No problem, and I’ll take good
care of the typewriter. And I hope you have a nice dinner. You deserve a break.
Then get some rest.”
    “Okay,” she smiled. “That’s just
what Amy said. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
    She hung up just as Amy came down
the stairs.
    “I'll call you when I get back to
Corvallis.”
    Lee perked up and turned to find
Amy with a box of folded clothes in her arms.
    “I’m going over to Robin's for
dinner.”
    “Good idea. I left a little
something for you upstairs,” she said shyly. “I’m sorry I won’t be here
tonight, Mom. I mean, for your birthday and all.”
    Lee smiled, hoping to camouflage
her disappointment. “That’s okay. We’ll do something next weekend.”
    Amy brightened up. “Absolutely. I’ll
call you when I get to campus, so turn the answering machine back on.” Amy
leaned down to give the dog a kiss on the nose, letting her dark curls flop
into her eyes. “I left the dog food in the kitchen.” She grabbed her purse off
the hall table and turned to her mother. “I love you, you know.”
    “I know,” Lee replied, blinking back
tears suddenly.  Her throat seemed perpetually tight these days, and she
swallowed to relieve the pressure. Amy opened the front door and stepped onto
the porch.
    “You have your inhaler?” Lee
stopped her, already knowing the answer.
    “Yesssss, Mom,” Amy replied,
twisting the corner of her mouth.
    “Well, don't get used to the idea
of leaving this dog here.”
    Amy smiled. “I won’t. By the way,
there are a couple of bags of clothes upstairs for the thrift store.”
    Lee just nodded as Amy ran down the
steps and started across the lawn.
    “Hey,” Lee stopped her again. “You
originally said there were two reasons why this dog flunked out of security dog
school. You only gave me one.”
    Amy turned back, the hood framing
her face. “It seems she was a bit hard to call off, as they say.”
    An impish smile appeared, deepening
Amy’s dimples. For a fleeting moment, she looked exactly like her Uncle Patrick.
Then she dashed for the street, the jingling chime of