COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) Read Online Free

wonderful family, so you don’t need to feel bad for me.”
                “I assumed both your children were your second husband’s.”
                “Well, they are in his heart. Edie knows about her biological father but Skip is the only father she’s ever known. When she asks me about Eddie, I tell her to imagine Skip, only six inches shorter and a bit skinnier, with the same easy-going personality.”
                Instead of the smile Kate was expecting, Miller’s expression turned serious. He dropped his gaze for a second. When he raised his eyes again, she saw anxiety and determination in them.
                “I have an ulterior motive for this get-together and you’ve just given me the best opening I’m gonna get. I want to hire your husband’s detective agency, but I can’t tell him exactly why.”
                Taken aback, Kate didn’t know what to say.
                “I can tell you because you already know my past, or at least some of it. And I know you’ll keep it confidential. I was hoping you could ask him to do the little assignment I need done, without asking any questions.”
                Kate stared at him, struggling to keep her expression neutral.
                “Take a bite of your food, please,” Miller said. “I’m trying to make this look like a lunch interview between a businessman and a potential employee.”
                She shook her head slightly. What the hell? But she obediently took a bite of her wrap.
                “I know I’m sounding a little crazy but it’ll all make sense in a minute.” Miller kept his voice low. “A month ago, new people moved in down the block from us. Another neighbor threw them a welcome-to-the-neighborhood party. When this one couple arrived, the hostess led them around the room, introducing them to everyone. They got to me and Jill and the man was introduced as the ambassador of a South American country. I didn’t recognize his name but as I shook the man’s hand, I realized I was looking into the eyes of a man I killed thirty-two years ago.”
                Kate choked on a sip of her smoothie. Her heart kicked into overdrive as her brain scrambled to process what Miller was saying.
                “He’d had some plastic surgery but I knew who he was. The problem is I didn’t cover up that fact fast enough. He knew I’d recognized him. He said he hadn’t caught my name. The hostess repeated it, then he said it over to himself, like he was memorizing it.”
                Kate gasped. “My God, Miller!”
                “Yeah, not good. Finally I got my wits about me and said, ‘So is this lovely lady your wife?’ He introduced her. Then I said, ‘You know, when I was a young man I did some wild and crazy things, but now I’m so happy to be married and settled down. No man wants to do anything to jeopardize his wife and family.’”
                “Wasn’t that telling him just how to get to you?” Kate whispered.
                “Yes, but Jill was standing right next to me. She’d been introduced as my wife. I figured that was the best way to convey to him that I was out of that life and wasn’t going to jeopardize what I had by telling anybody about his new identity. There was a threat in there too. That I’d go after his family if he messed with me. I gave him a slight nod and he nodded back. Message received, or so I thought. But since then I’ve had some things happen. I think he’s trying to kill me, but make it look like an accident.”
                Miller glanced at his watch, doing a credible imitation of a busy executive a little annoyed that his companion was taking so long to eat. Kate took another bite of her neglected wrap. It tasted like cardboard. She finally managed to swallow it.
                “What does all this have