Halloween in Cherry Hills Read online

  Halloween in Cherry Hills

  A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery

  Book 7

  Paige Sleuth

  Copyright © 2016 Marla Bradeen (writing as Paige Sleuth)

  All rights reserved.

  Published by Marla Bradeen.

  This book or portions of it (excluding brief quotations) may not be reproduced without prior written permission from the publisher/author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), actual businesses, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. If this ebook copy was not purchased by or for you, please purchase your own copy before reading. Thank you for respecting this author’s work.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  STABBED IN CHERRY HILLS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Halloween is tomorrow,” Katherine Harper said, reaching over to pet her cat Matilda. “That’s less than eight hours away.”

  Matty’s eyelids slipped shut, the room filling with the sound of her purring. The tortoiseshell was curled up in her favorite spot on the couch, her yellow-and-brown body compacted into a tight ball and her white chin facing outward in order to be easily accessible for scratching.

  “So?” Andrew Milhone asked. Tom, Kat’s other cat, was stretched out on his back along Andrew’s legs, thrilled to be on the receiving end of a vigorous belly rub.

  “So, I live in a secure apartment building,” Kat replied.

  Andrew grinned. “Then you’ll be safe from the crazies.”

  Kat rolled her eyes. “My point is, nobody is going to come trick-or-treating here. We’ll be bored out of our minds. It would be more fun to spend Halloween somewhere else, don’t you think?”

  Tom flipped over and rested his chin on his paws, a sure sign the brown-and-black cat had finally gotten enough attention—for now.

  Andrew settled back against the couch. “In that case, I vote for Aruba. They don’t celebrate Halloween there, do they? We can relax on the beach sipping piña coladas while everyone back here in Cherry Hills has to deal with kids on a sugar high.”

  Kat sat up, a flash of exasperation searing through her. “Andrew, I’m trying to have a serious conversation and you’re making jokes.”

  He frowned, the twinkle in his eyes dimming. “Okay, well, where do you want to spend Halloween? Seattle’s only a two-hour drive. We could see what’s happening over there.”

  Kat rubbed Matty’s ears. “I don’t want to go to Seattle. I was thinking of something a little closer to home.”

  “You mean Wenatchee?”

  “Closer. Like, your place.”

  Andrew’s mouth dropped open. “My place?” The words emerged as a squeak.

  “Yes.” Kat stopped petting Matty so she could twist toward Andrew. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve never actually been inside your house.”

  He swallowed. “I realize that.”

  “We always hang out here.” Kat looked around her apartment and grimaced. “This place is so small. Don’t you get tired of it?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well, I do. Besides, I want to see where you live.”

  Andrew stared at her. She stared back. She only looked away when Matty crawled into her lap and nudged her hand with her head. Clearly Matty hadn’t appreciated being ignored while the humans were talking.

  Kat stroked the tortoiseshell, but her mind was still on her conversation with Andrew. She couldn’t see what the problem was. It wasn’t as if she had proposed marriage. She just wanted to see his house.

  The full force of her stubbornness kicked in then. She made a silent vow not to back down until he agreed.

  Andrew shifted positions, creating enough of a disruption that Tom jumped onto the floor and stalked off. The sound of crunching kibble drifted out of the kitchen seconds later.

  Andrew coughed. “You know, my place isn’t really that interesting. It’s old, and I’m not much of a decorator.”

  Kat held up her palms. “So?”

  Matty reached up and swatted Kat’s hand. Kat wasn’t sure if the animal was taking Andrew’s side or if she was simply miffed about being ignored again.

  Andrew raked his fingers through his hair, sending a sandy lock flopping over his forehead. “The roof has a couple leaks. It’s really annoying when you want some peace and quiet and all you can hear is a steady drip-drip-drip.”

  “Luckily, the forecast for tomorrow includes a zero percent chance of rain.”

  He crossed then uncrossed his ankles. “My neighbors can be kind of loud.”

  “Andrew!” Kat slapped her hands on the couch cushions, much to Matty’s dismay. “I don’t care! I don’t care about your neighbors, or your lack of interior design skills, or a few leaks. I wouldn’t even care if you had a bubbling brook running through your living room. I just want to see where you live. Is that so strange? I mean, we’ve been dating for a couple months now, and I’ve never been inside your house. That can’t be normal.”

  His face paled, and she felt a ping of alarm.

  “Is there a reason you don’t want me to see your house?” she asked, her voice growing quieter. She was having trouble getting the words out around the lump developing in her throat. “Are you ashamed your neighbors will see me with you or something?”

  “What?” He straightened. “No.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “It’s—I’m—” He huffed, then stood up to pace around the room.

  Dread pooled in Kat’s stomach. “Just tell me.”

  He must have heard the pleading note in her voice. He pivoted around to face her. “I’m nervous.”

  “Nervous?” She took a moment to absorb that. “Nervous about what? That I’m going to judge you?”

  He stared at her for what felt like half an hour. The anguish written all over his face made Kat’s chest tighten. When he finally did speak, his words tumbled out in a rush.

  “I’m afraid I’ll let you in, and then you’ll leave.”

  “I won’t leave, even if I hate the house. I promise. I’ll even bring an umbrella, just in case it does rain.”

  He blew out a breath. “You’re not getting it. I’m afraid you’ll leave leave.”

  Understanding dawned. “You mean break up with you.”

  He dragged his hand down his face. “Yes.”

  The pressure in Kat’s chest eased. Now that she knew what his problem was, it would be a cinch to banish his concerns. “Andrew, I’m with you for you, not your house.”

  He regarded her for a moment before saying, “Do you remember my uncle Don?”

  Kat thought back to when she and Andrew had been kids in the Cherry Hills foster care system, but she couldn’t recall ever meeting one of Andrew’s uncles. “No.”

  “He lived in Spokane,” Andrew said, his voice hollow. He turned to stare at something across the room. “We were in touch off and on back before you left town after high school.”

  Tom ambled out of the kitchen. He sat down near the edge of the living room, running his tongue over his lips as he always did after a satisfying meal.

  “When I moved into my first solo apartment, no roommates, we happe
ned to be in one of those periods where we were in touch. Uncle Don came over to visit. He brought beer—to celebrate, he said.” Andrew paused, working his jaw. “I should have taken his keys right when he showed up at the door, but I was afraid to ask.”

  Kat stilled, her fingers freezing on Matty’s back as a sick feeling developed in the pit of her stomach. She had a good idea what he was going to say before he voiced the words.

  Andrew turned to stare out the window. “He crashed on his way home that night. He died upon impact.”

  Kat felt her heart snap in two. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

  Andrew looked at her over his shoulder. “What if I told you Uncle Don blames me?”

  Matty lifted her head, her green eyes opened wide. Tom, who had been licking one paw, stopped moving altogether. Andrew’s statement seemed to have shocked the felines as much as it had Kat.

  Andrew took a deep breath. “I’ve dated a couple other girls over the years, and it seems whenever I invite them over, a week later we’ve broken up. It doesn’t matter where I live. It happened in my old apartments, and it happened after I bought the house I live in now.”

  Kat’s throat constricted. “I’m not those girls, Andrew.”

  “I know, but . . .” He lifted one shoulder. “I don’t really believe in ghosts and I realize this sounds ridiculous, but I can’t shake the sense that Uncle Don is still angry at me for letting him die, that he’s punishing me by chasing away anybody who gets too close.”

  “You didn’t let him die,” Kat said. “He was an adult. He should have known better.”

  “We were both adults. I could have stopped him.”

  “Andrew.” Kat started stroking Matty again, using the rhythmic motion to steady herself. “Your uncle alone is responsible for what happened to him. And those other girls, they were fools to break up with you.”

  Andrew’s cheek twisted. “I knew you wouldn’t get it. You’re a skeptic, same as me—most of the time.”

  “Andrew,” she began before the sound of her cell phone cut through the air. She raised her voice to be heard above it. “I wouldn’t leave—”

  “You should answer that,” Andrew interrupted.

  Kat flapped her hand. “Whoever it is can leave a voicemail.”

  “I need a drink.” He spun on his heel and stalked past Tom into the kitchen.

  Kat, Matty, and Tom all watched him. Kat fingered the edge of the couch, torn between going after him and giving him some space.

  Matty settled the matter for her. She leapt onto the coffee table and used her nose to nudge the phone closer.

  Kat sighed as she snatched it up. “Hello?”

  “Kat,” Imogene Little said, sounding almost breathless, “something urgent has come up.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “I’m so glad y’all are here,” Tracy Montgomery said, one hand resting on her abdomen as she reclined against the couch.

  Imogene patted Tracy’s knee. “Helping animals in need is what our organization does.”

  Tracy gripped Imogene’s hand like a lifeline. “I wasn’t sure, since y’all are Furry Friends Foster Families. I thought maybe y’all just helped homeless animals, but Willow said I should call anyway.”

  Willow Wu wrung her hands together. “This is all my fault. I was supposed to be watching Midnight while you were out of town.”

  Kat crossed her legs, studying the trio from the armchair on the other side of Tracy’s living room. Although all three women were petite, their physical similarities ended there.

  On one end of the couch sat Imogene, the president of the Furry Friends Foster Families nonprofit organization. She was dressed as Kat was used to seeing her, in jeans and a simple T-shirt with her auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. The fifty-something woman seemed to be the most put together emotionally, although Kat could tell from the way her foot twitched that Imogene was as worried as everyone else.

  Willow occupied the other end of the sofa. Kat put the 4F secretary in her forties, but her Asian genes gave her the appearance of someone ten years younger. Right now Willow looked immaculate in a gray blouse and matching slacks. Worry lines framed her eyes and mouth, but that was the only indication of her distress. Her straight, jet-black hair looked to have been professionally styled, and her complexion was flawless.

  Tracy sat between them. With her wrinkled blouse and uncombed blond hair, she appeared to have been interrupted in the middle of a nightmare. Kat pegged Tracy as close to her age of thirty-two, but the stress of her situation had aggravated the bags under her eyes, making her look twenty years older.

  Sitting opposite the trio, Kat felt a little like the odd woman out. Tracy and Willow both taught at Cherry Hills High, and Imogene obviously knew Tracy from around town. That left Kat as the only 4F board member just now meeting the distressed math teacher.

  But she wasn’t here to make friends, Kat reminded herself. They were here to deal with Tracy’s crisis.

  Tracy pulled at a loose thread hanging from the bottom of her blouse. “He’s pure black, you know, not a white patch on his body. An all-black cat out there by himself the day before Halloween . . .”

  Imogene squeezed Tracy’s leg. “Could he have snuck over to one of the neighbors’?”

  Tracy shook her head. “He’s afraid of the outdoors. He would never venture outside on his own.” She broke off in a sob, burying her face in her hands.

  Kat’s stomach knotted in commiseration. If Matty or Tom ever went missing, she was pretty sure she would be falling apart too. The fact that Tracy had spent all morning and afternoon traveling from Memphis back to Cherry Hills couldn’t be good for the state of her nerves either. Tracy’s luggage was still piled in one corner of her living room, forgotten in the wake of the tragedy that had greeted her upon her return home.

  Tracy swiped at the tears streaking down her cheeks. “Anybody could have grabbed him. I don’t reckon he would have run. He’s so friendly, and he’s had only good experiences with people. He doesn’t know how evil some folks can be.”

  Imogene shifted her attention to Willow. “When did you last see him?”

  “Last night, when I performed my evening check on him,” Willow said. “I fed him, cleaned out his box, and gave him some attention before I left. That would have been around seven. He was sitting right over there on his kitty perch when I let myself out the front door.”

  Kat glanced at the empty cat perch, a pinch in her chest.

  “This morning when I stopped by before my first class and saw he wasn’t here, I called Tracy right away,” Willow went on. “I thought perhaps he had discovered a new spot, but when I searched the house he was nowhere to be found.”

  “And I checked every possible hidey-hole the minute I got home,” Tracy said. “But he’s gone. Missing.”

  “You’re sure he was here when you left last night?” Imogene asked Willow.

  “Positive. And I know I didn’t leave any windows open.” Willow sat up straighter. “Somebody had to have broken in and taken him. It’s the only explanation.”

  “I have that number lock on my door instead of a key lock,” Tracy said. “Some hooligan could have figured out my code and used it to break in.”

  Imogene patted her shoulder. “We’re going to do our best to find him.”

  “I’m so worried somebody bad took him.” Tracy’s lower lip quivered. “This time of year, you just don’t know what people are thinking.”

  Willow bobbed her head. “Like that witch next door.”

  “Connie’s not a witch,” Tracy said. “She’s just . . . eccentric.”

  Willow rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “Well, she gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “She claims she talks to ghosts,” Tracy told Imogene. “That’s how she earns her living. She has to behave a little kooky so people feel they got their money’s worth and come back for more.”

  “Did Connie know you were going out of town?” Imogene asked.

  “Y
es, but everybody and their brother knew I was out of town. I’ve been so excited about becoming an auntie that my sister’s baby shower is all I’ve talked about this past month.” Tracy glanced at the clock on the wall and her face crumpled. “It’s going on right now, you know. I hope they’re managing okay without me.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” Willow said. “If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

  “You were doing me a favor.” Tracy grabbed a tissue out of the box on the coffee table and blew her nose. “And you weren’t the one who ran your mouth all over town about me going to Tennessee for a week.”

  Kat’s gaze drifted around the room, her heart aching as she took in the toy mice, plastic balls, and plush beds scattered around. The abundance of cat items made Midnight’s absence all the more palpable.

  Imogene set her palm on Tracy’s arm. “Do you have a picture of him?”

  “I have thousands.” Tracy fished a cell phone out of her pants pocket, punched a few buttons, and handed the phone to Imogene. “Here.”

  Kat stood up and moved closer to the couch, looking over Imogene’s shoulder at the photo Tracy had pulled up. In it, a black cat sat on a spiral notebook, his tail tucked around his paws. His head was tilted slightly to the side, his yellow eyes bright and innocent as he peered at the camera.

  Kat wrapped her arms around herself, a chill inching down her spine. For Midnight’s sake, she hoped he hadn’t fallen into the wrong hands.

  Imogene clucked her tongue. “Oh, look at that face.”

  “He’s even cuter in person.” Tracy smiled for the first time since Kat had met her. “And he loves sitting on that grade book of mine, particularly when I’m trying to write in it. He’s my big baby.”

  “He sounds just like a real baby too,” Willow chimed in. “Every time I walked through that door he greeted me with a wail.”

  “He cries when he’s hungry. Or scared.” Tracy’s smile faded as quickly as it had appeared, her gaze sliding toward the cell phone in Imogene’s hands. “Oh, I reckon he’s meowing up a storm right now.”