Drowned in Cherry Hills Read online

  Drowned in Cherry Hills

  A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery

  Book 16

  Paige Sleuth

  Copyright © 2017 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

  ORPHANED IN CHERRY HILLS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  Katherine Harper pulled into the parking lot of Brawn New You, the gym her boyfriend Andrew Milhone had persuaded her to join last month as a late New Year’s resolution. She had missed her normal aerobics class, thanks to her cat Matty’s decision to aim for Kat’s gym bag when throwing up her most recent hairball. Kat had spent a good twenty minutes emptying out the bag and scrubbing it clean before tossing everything into a canvas tote and heading out.

  She didn’t know what time it was, but her growling stomach suggested it might be close to noon. She couldn’t be sure without checking a clock. Her appetite never failed to flare when she thought about the series of squats, steps, and kicks that made up a typical aerobics class. It was as though her body was already gearing up to compensate for the expenditure of so many calories. It didn’t help that she had to inhale the aroma of fresh doughnuts during her trek from the car to the door. Kat was fairly certain the owner of the doughnut shop next door had set up his ventilation system so the kitchen exhaust pumped directly into the Brawn New You parking lot.

  Judging by the cars in the lot, a decent number of people were exercising this morning. Even so, the number of gymgoers grew smaller with every passing day. Kat could tell by how it became increasingly easy to find a parking slot by the door. She’d read somewhere that it took six weeks for a new activity to become habit. In a few days it would be March, and she would probably have her pick of premium spots.

  The possibility of her becoming Brawn New You’s next casualty lingered in the back of Kat’s mind as she entered the building, signed in at the front desk, and speed-walked down the empty corridor. Although she’d made it to the six-week mark, she still found herself thinking about quitting on an almost daily basis. If it weren’t for the promise of those post-workout doughnuts, she almost assuredly would have already turned in her membership card.

  She was so lost in thought, she rammed right into someone as she turned the corner leading to the locker rooms.

  “Oomph,” she grunted. She blinked a few times before focusing on the tall, leotard-clad brunette who looked equally stunned by their collision. “Sorry, Diana. My mind was elsewhere.” She had to raise her voice to be heard above the high-energy music the owner piped through the building to keep his clients motivated to move.

  Diana rubbed her nose, which was what must have smacked into Kat’s forehead. “It’s all right.”

  Kat examined Diana’s face as she shrugged out of her coat. “Did I hurt you?”

  “Nah. You mostly just gave me a shock.”

  “Are you just getting here?” Kat often saw Diana on Saturday mornings, but, like Kat, she didn’t seem to be locked into a strict schedule.

  “Leaving.” She grinned. “I’m on my way to get one of those doughnuts we’re addicted to.”

  Kat’s stomach grumbled just thinking about it.

  Diana propped her shoulder against the wall and nodded at the door to the women’s locker room, which had a sign reading ‘Closed for Cleaning’ taped to it. “I’m just waiting to get in so I can clean up before taking off.”

  Diana reached down to pick up an orange key that Kat recognized as belonging to one of the Brawn New You lockers. She must have dropped it when Kat had plowed into her. When Diana straightened back up, she tossed her towel over one shoulder.

  The gesture reminded Kat of her own towel that she’d forgotten to pack after cleaning up Matty’s mess, and she groaned. Now she’d have to run home to get it. That would be one more delay before she could head over to the bakery for one of their to-die-for doughnuts oozing sweet strawberry jelly.

  Diana cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”

  “I left my towel at home,” Kat told her. “Matty coughed up a hairball on my gym bag this morning, which is throwing off my routine.”

  Diana giggled, sounding much younger than her thirty-something years. “Your Matty sounds like a trip.”

  Kat’s mouth curved up. “She is.”

  “I wish I could get a cat.”

  “Why don’t you?”

  “With my hectic schedule?” Diana scoffed.

  “Well, Furry Friends Foster Families is always in need of foster parents. If you’re not ready to adopt permanently, the program is very rewarding with only a minimal commitment.”

  “I’ve been meaning to look into that.” Diana bit her lip. “Ellie keeps telling me I should.”

  “Is Ellie here today?” Kat asked.

  Diana bobbed her head. The gesture looked stiff, and some of the light in her eyes had dimmed. Kat knew the two were friends, but maybe they’d had a tiff. She didn’t know Diana well enough to ask.

  Diana took a step back, her dark mood seeming to clear as quickly as it had appeared. “I’m sure somebody here has a towel you can borrow,” she said. “Let’s go find one of the trainers. They must keep extras around.”

  Kat got the hint. Diana didn’t care to talk about Ellie.

  They turned the corner, passing the mirrored rooms used for aerobics and other group classes. The closer they got to the large workout area filled with every exercise machine known to man, the louder the music became. Over the past six weeks, Kat had developed an almost Pavlovian reaction to dance music. It made her instantly crave doughnuts.

  Diana let out a yelp before pitching forward. She managed to break her fall using her hands, but as soon as she sat up, the pinched look on her face gave away the fact that she was in pain.

  Kat’s stomach lurched, and she crouched down beside Diana. “Are you okay?”

  “I slipped and landed on my knee.” Diana had her eyes squeezed shut, but she opened them to probe her right kneecap with her fingertips. “It doesn’t feel broken.”

  “You might want to have a professional look at it. Do you want me to get help?”

  “No. I have some pain pills in my purse. That should take care of it.”

  Kat glanced back the way they’d come. “I’ll go see if the locker room’s open yet.”

  Diana stopped her with a hand on her arm. “No, it’s okay. I’ll do it after we get you a towel.”

  “You sure? It will only take a minute.”

  “Stop worrying. I’m fine.” Diana slowly straightened up before shooting Kat a triumphant grin. “See?”

  Kat wasn’t convinced, but what could she do? Diana obviously didn’t want her help.

  Kat looked up to see
a twenty-something woman with a body to envy headed in their direction. It was Mikaela, the raven-haired personal trainer and aerobics instructor who had signed her in that morning.

  “Mikaela!” Diana said, her face lighting up.

  Mikaela halted next to them. “Hi, guys.”

  “Sorry I missed your aerobics class this morning,” Kat said. “Is another one starting soon?”

  “Nope. But if you want to stick around, I’ve got a spinning class in a couple hours.”

  Kat hoped to be long gone in a couple hours.

  Diana jerked her thumb sideways. “Kat here forgot her towel at home. You have any spares lying around?”

  “Hit up Fred,” Mikaela advised. “He’s always got extras.”

  Diana craned her neck toward the workout area. “You know where I can find him?”

  “Nope, sorry. I’d look for him myself, but I’ve got a one-on-one in two minutes.”

  Diana waved her off. “Go on, then. Thanks for your help.”

  “You betcha.”

  As Mikaela scooted around them, Diana grabbed Kat’s arm. “I didn’t see Fred in the fitness center. Let’s check the pool.”

  Kat let Diana lead her down a short hallway that protruded off the main corridor. Not being much of a swimmer, she had yet to use the gym’s indoor pool. The idea of parading around in a bathing suit around women with bodies like Mikaela’s didn’t appeal much either.

  Diana pushed open the glass door at the end of the corridor. “Fred?” she called out. A second later she let out an ear-piercing scream and dropped Kat’s arm like a hot potato.

  Kat jumped back, startled by Diana’s behavior. Then she saw the reason for Diana’s reaction, and her stomach dropped to her feet.

  A woman was floating facedown in the pool, her long, blond hair fanning around her head as she bobbed near the surface of the water.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Ellie Higgins is dead?” Imogene Little screeched.

  Kat winced and pulled her cell phone away from her ear. She probably shouldn’t have broken the news to Imogene over the phone, but Andrew had instructed everyone at Brawn New You to stay put until he’d had a chance to interview them all, which meant she’d miss today’s Furry Friends Foster Families board meeting. Luckily, Andrew, who was not only Kat’s boyfriend but a police detective on the Cherry Hills force, had been lifting weights in the fitness center when Kat and Diana had discovered Ellie’s body. Now he was busy handling the witness interviews while the rest of the police crew processed the crime scene. It was anybody’s guess as to how long that would take.

  “Goodness gracious,” Imogene muttered. “And you don’t think it was an accident?”

  Kat glanced at Diana, who sat on an empty bench press, her head in her hands. The gym’s music had been turned off for the first time since Kat could remember, and Diana’s sobs were audible.

  Moving away so Diana couldn’t eavesdrop, she whispered into the phone, “I overheard one of the crime scene techs say she had a bump on the back of her head, like she’d been knocked unconscious before she drowned.”

  “Oh, dear. Why would anybody want to kill a sweet girl like Ellie?”

  Imogene’s question sent Kat’s eyes darting around the room. It wasn’t inconceivable to think someone at the gym right now had committed the deed. After all, whoever had attacked Ellie had to be a member, a member’s guest, or an employee. No one else would have been permitted past the front desk.

  “We’re going to have to get into her house.”

  Imogene’s statement drew Kat back to the present. “Whose house?”

  “Ellie’s. Now that she’s gone, we’ll have to find somebody else to foster Thunder.”

  Kat’s heart squeezed. “You’re right.” As the 4F president, naturally Imogene would have their animals’ needs at the forefront of her mind. “Do we have any foster families free to take on another cat?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’ll verify with Willow.”

  Across the room, Andrew motioned her over. Kat held up an index finger to let him know she’d join him in a minute. He nodded before ducking back into the corridor.

  “Imogene,” she said into the phone, “I have to go. Andrew’s ready to interview me. I’ll ask him to let me into Ellie’s house to get Thunder after he’s done here. We can worry about where he’ll go later.”

  “All right.”

  Kat disconnected the call and started walking. She only made it a few feet before Diana grabbed her arm.

  “Where are you going?” Diana asked, her eyes wide.

  “Andrew—Detective Milhone—is ready to take my statement.”

  Diana stiffened. “They think she was murdered, don’t they?”

  Kat didn’t respond. With the police presence on site, the answer was obvious, even without knowing about the blow to Ellie’s head.

  Diana stood up abruptly, letting go of Kat’s arm in the process. “I need to go.”

  “Go?” Kat stared at Diana. “We can’t leave until the police talk to us.”

  “Andrew already talked to me. I only hung around because he said I had to wait to get into my locker.” Diana’s eyes ping-ponged around the room before landing on Kat. “Do you think he’ll let me in now?”

  “Maybe.”

  Diana wrung her hands together. “I can’t leave without my things.”

  Kat studied Diana, the skin at the back of her neck tingling. “Diana, is there something in your locker you don’t want the police to see?”

  “What? No! I just need . . . to call someone. I left my phone in there.”

  At that exact moment, the muffled sound of a tinny piano tune started up. Kat followed the direction of the jingle to the bench press where Diana had been sitting.

  “Isn’t that your phone?” Kat asked.

  Diana scrambled to grab it, her face flushing crimson. “I forgot I had it. I couldn’t see it there.”

  Given the size of the smartphone, Kat found that hard to believe. The thing shared the same dimensions as a small tugboat.

  Diana turned away from Kat and pressed the phone to her ear. “Mom? . . . You heard already? . . . I can’t believe it either. I was talking to her just yesterday, and now this . . .”

  Kat left Diana to her conversation, resuming her hunt for Andrew. She found him sitting at the check-in desk. He’d changed out of his workout attire and into a crisp, blue button-down shirt and tan slacks. Kat figured it wouldn’t reflect well on the Cherry Hills Police Department if one of their detectives conducted a homicide investigation in a sweat-drenched T-shirt and basketball shorts.

  He grinned at her. “Welcome to my makeshift office.”

  She sat down in the chair someone had dragged to the other side of the counter. “This isn’t very private.”

  “No, but it gives me a good view of the door in case anybody tries to sneak out.”

  “Where’s the staff?”

  “Outside. I asked them not to let anyone new in until I’ve finished talking to everyone who was here when it happened.”

  Kat peered through the glass door. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ellie’s killer had already fled the premises.

  “So,” Andrew said, dropping his elbows onto the desk. The gesture sent a chunk of his sandy blond hair flopping over his forehead. “Tell me what led you to the pool area this morning.”

  “I left my towel at home, and Diana Feather was helping me track down a spare.” Remembering their conversation in the workout room, Kat’s stomach tightened. She made sure no one was within earshot before lowering her voice. “Andrew, I think she’s hiding something.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

  “She intercepted me on my way over here, asking if she thought you’d let her into her locker. She claimed she’d left her phone in there. Except, she had her phone on her.”

  Andrew pursed his lips as he jotted something in his notebook. “She was with you when you found Ellie, correct?”

  “Yes.”

>   “How did she behave then?”

  Kat recalled how Diana had collapsed onto the hard tiles surrounding the pool, moaning Ellie’s name. “She seemed distraught. But she rallied when I asked her to help me pull Ellie from the pool. You know, in case she was still alive.”

  “How well do you know her?”

  “Not very. Ellie introduced us. We only talk in passing.”

  Andrew nodded.

  “She said you interviewed her already,” Kat commented.

  “I did.”

  Kat waited for him to elaborate. When it became clear he wasn’t going to without encouragement, she said, “And?”

  “And, her account of finding the deceased matches what you’ve told me so far.”

  “But what did she say she was doing before we ran into each other?”

  Andrew gave her a level look. “Nothing that concerns you.”

  Kat made a face, but she didn’t press him further. He clearly wasn’t willing to share anything.

  “Now,” Andrew continued, “I need to know who else you saw when you arrived today.”

  “Diana and Mikaela. That’s it.”

  “I mean before you entered the building. You notice any vehicles heading out when you arrived?”

  “No. Why?” Kat paused, the meaning of his questions becoming clear. “You think I passed the killer in the parking lot?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “That would mean Ellie was killed just before Diana and I found her.”

  “That would be correct.”

  Kat pushed aside the nausea inspired by that bit of information and focused on Andrew’s original question. “I didn’t see anybody in the parking lot.” A chill shimmied up her spine. “But Diana was on her way out. The only reason she hadn’t left already was because the locker room was closed for cleaning.”

  Goosebumps broke out on Kat’s arms. The timing of Diana’s exit didn’t leave her with a good feeling. And, from the grim look on Andrew’s face, she didn’t think he appreciated the coincidence either.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Kat could have waited for Andrew inside after he’d finished interviewing her, but she needed some fresh air. The temperature was nice for late February in central Washington State. Most of the winter snow had melted—for now, at least—and the air had a crisp, fresh quality about it. It was in stark contrast to the atmosphere inside the gym, which felt oppressive. Despite how she struggled to get herself here in the first place, Kat was used to leaving Brawn New You feeling energized. Of course, she’d never found a dead body in the pool before either.