Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(37)
“I feel really sorry for her, but I’m so happy it sounds like she’s going to address the spousal abuse issues. Of course Hank won’t be able to participate in spousal abuse for a long time, but if she felt she deserved to be hit, it seems like she needs some counseling. Can she file a complaint against him for spousal abuse now that he’s been arrested for murder?”
“She could, but what would be the point? It might add a little time to his sentence, but not much, and she probably needs to conserve her strength for her pregnancy. Murder and attempted murder is enough to put him away for a long, long time. He’ll probably have great-grandchildren by the time he ever gets out of prison.”
“I was thinking about what Ricky Anderson said about her – that things weren’t always what they appeared to be. I wonder if he noticed the bruises, and that’s why he said it.”
“I don’t know. I talked to Noelle, Mary’s daughter, and told her that her mother’s killer had been arrested. She was relieved that the criminal investigation part of her mother’s death was out of the way. She told me she and her husband had made a decision to sell the property to a developer who had offered to buy it. He tried to buy the adjacent property that belongs to Susan Yates, but she wouldn’t sell it to him. He told Noelle they were going to build a block wall fence so future owners wouldn’t have to look at her run-down house and property.”
“Did Noelle have anything else to say?”
“Yes. She asked how we were doing with Skyy. I told her Skyy was adapting to our family very well, other than a few incidences involving eyeglasses and toilet paper. Noelle said she hoped we’d keep her. I told her we were definitely not giving her up. Matter of fact, I’ve gotten to like that little bundle of fur. Speaking of which, where is she?”
“Oh, Mike. Other than you arriving at the shack just in the nick of time, that’s the best news I’ve had all day, however, I haven’t seen her for a while, and that makes me nervous.”
“Stay where you are,” Mike said, “I’ll see if I can find her.” He came back a moment later and motioned for Kelly to follow him. He put his finger to his lips, cautioning her not to say anything. She followed him down the hall to their bedroom and there on the floor was Rebel, sound asleep, with Skyy, at about one-quarter of his size, curled up next to him. Rebel sensed they were there, lazily opened one eye, and then closed it as if he was winking at them.
When they got back to the great room, Mike put his arms around Kelly and whispered in her ear, “It’s all good, Kelly. It’s all good.”