Blackmail in Cherry Hills Read online

  Blackmail in Cherry Hills

  A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery

  Book 26

  Paige Sleuth

  Copyright © 2019 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

  LAST SUPPER IN CHERRY HILLS

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m so mad I could spit!”

  Imogene Little stormed into Katherine Harper’s apartment, brushing right by a startled Tom. The brown-and-black cat whipped his furry head around, his huge green eyes tracking Imogene’s path into the living room. He seemed bewildered as to why Imogene—someone typically all too willing to drop everything to fawn over an animal—hadn’t bothered to so much as pat him hello.

  Kat studied her friend. Although Imogene was petite, right now she looked more scary than a two-hundred-pound linebacker. The fifty-seven-year-old’s face flamed bright red, and she quivered with so much rage even her auburn ponytail trembled. Kat had never seen her this angry before.

  “I take it tonight’s town council meeting didn’t go so well,” Kat said, closing her apartment door.

  Imogene whirled around upon reaching the center of Kat’s living room and planted her fists on her hips. “They voted no!”

  Although Kat had already suspected as much given the extent of Imogene’s distress, her heart still sank. “All three of the council members voted against the breeder ban?”

  “Two, but that’s all it took to ensure it didn’t pass.”

  “Who voted no besides Norman van der Veer?” Kat had already known Norman wasn’t in favor of Imogene’s proposed ban against pet store sales of cats and dogs produced by animal breeders. Imogene had written him off as a lost cause from the start, choosing instead to focus on gaining the support of the other two Cherry Hills, Washington town council members.

  Imogene clenched her teeth. “Maya changed her vote.”

  “Maya Pickerling? But she was our biggest supporter. Why would she vote no?”

  Imogene threw her hands into the air. “Who knows?”

  Kat collapsed onto the couch next to her yellow-and-brown tortoiseshell, Matty. The disturbance prompted the feline to lift her head from her paws. She stared at Kat as though she were trying to figure out why her human looked so dejected.

  “Maya was practically gushing when you first presented that ban to the council,” Kat said, struggling to make sense of what she was hearing. “She said it was our responsibility as town citizens to look out for all of our residents, even the four-legged ones. She said this ban would mandate that local pet stores put rescue animals in the spotlight instead of those bred for sale, a key proponent in helping to reduce the number of unwanted animals in Cherry Hills.”

  “You don’t have to tell me what she said,” Imogene replied. “I remember it clearly.”

  Kat flashed back to one of the semimonthly Tuesday night council meetings she had attended six weeks ago. Keave Ohana, the owner of the only pet store in Cherry Hills that currently sold animals originating from breeders, had delivered a particularly lengthy speech voicing his opposition to the breeder ban. Keave had declared that the proposed ban infringed upon his freedom as a small-business owner, stripping him of what he viewed as his citizen’s right to offer his clients options when it came to choosing their companion animal of choice.

  “I wonder if Keave Ohana’s arguments led Maya to reconsider her stance,” Kat said.

  Imogene scowled as she flopped onto the couch opposite Kat. “I doubt Maya would have been swayed by that blowhard.”

  “Well, something must have changed her mind.”

  Tom hopped onto Imogene’s lap, vocalizing his own outrage over the evening’s turn of events with a discordant meow. Or, more likely, the feline was still upset over Imogene’s continued failure to acknowledge his existence.

  But with Tom right in her face, Imogene couldn’t ignore him any longer. Still, Kat could tell her friend’s mind remained on Maya Pickerling. The scowl on her face might have softened somewhat now that Tom had diverted some of her attention, but it didn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.

  “Did Maya offer any explanation as to why she voted no?” Kat asked.

  “Nope.” Imogene gave Tom’s stomach a scratch as he rolled over and stretched his paws above his head. “I was going to ask her, but she ducked out of the council meeting before I had a chance. Mark my words, she was running away from me.”

  “She knew you were upset, and she didn’t want to face you.”

  “Obviously.”

  Matty crawled into Kat’s lap and circled around twice before lying down. Kat ran her hand down the tortoiseshell’s back while she mulled over possible explanations for Maya’s change of heart. Nothing came to her.

  “Have you tried calling her?” Kat asked.

  “Of course. That was the first thing I did after tonight’s meeting adjourned. But Maya turned off her cell phone. It goes straight to voicemail.”

  Kat suspected Maya had left her phone powered off on purpose. As adamant as Imogene had been about getting the breeder ban passed, Maya must have known she wouldn’t let its defeat go without comment.

  Matty gave Kat’s fingers a nip, her way of communicating she had tired of all the attention. Kat pulled her hand away, well aware that Matty’s next warning wouldn’t be as gentle. And if she were foolish enough to ignore Matty’s second bite, she could pretty much expect the tortoiseshell to draw blood if she were forced to deliver a third reprimand.

  Imogene slumped against the back of the sofa. “People passing over perfectly good cats and dogs because they didn’t have the easiest start in life just breaks my heart.”

  A lump developed in Kat’s throat. “I know.”

  “There are so many good rescue animals out there, if people would just give them a chance. And to have to contend with everybody out there still breeding companion animals . . . well, to be quite honest, it infuriates me.”

  Although Kat didn’t feel as strongly about animal breeders as Imogene did, she certainly understood where her friend was coming from. Imogene was almost twenty-five years older than Kat and had been involved with animal rescue a lot longer than she had. In fact, Imogene was so passionate about rescue work she had even founded her own nonprofit organization. Kat herself had served on the Furry Friends Foster Families board for the past year, but she wasn’t delusional enough to believe she had seen even a tiny fraction of the number of abuse and neglect cases that Imogene had.

  She supposed regular heartbreak was one of the hazards of working tirelessly to make a difference.

  Tom peered up at Imogene and meowed. Whether he was commiserating with her on the disappo
inting town council vote or begging her to keep petting him, Kat didn’t know. She did know she would be eternally grateful for Imogene’s role in introducing her to the big cat last August, almost one year ago exactly. Tom was a former 4F charge, and Kat never would have met the personable feline without Imogene.

  Imogene gave Tom one more scritch before sliding him off of her lap. “Well, I suppose there’s only one thing to do.”

  “What’s that?” Kat asked. “Draft a similar proposal and present it to the council for a future vote?”

  “We’ll call that Plan B.”

  “What’s Plan A?”

  Imogene jumped off the couch so quickly she startled Tom. The cat crouched into a ninja stance, his fur standing on end as his puffed-up tail sliced through the air.

  “Plan A is to show up at Maya’s house and demand some answers,” Imogene said.

  Before Kat could reply, Imogene stormed out of the apartment. Kat relocated Matty to an empty couch cushion, gave the animals an apologetic shrug, and raced after her friend.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Imogene drove fast, breezing through several stop signs with barely a tap of the brake pedal. Kat clung to the handle above the passenger door for dear life. She had never seen Imogene behaving so recklessly, and she feared her friend’s anger might get them both killed before they reached Maya Pickerling’s house.

  Fortunately, luck was on their side. Within a matter of minutes Imogene was screeching into the driveway of a beautiful, two-story house. She threw her SUV into park, jumped out of the vehicle, and marched up to the front door, her ponytail swinging with purpose.

  Kat caught up to her just as the door was opening. The slightly overweight, sixtyish blond woman on the other side of the threshold paled when she saw who stood outside her house.

  “Imogene,” she whispered.

  Kat had attended enough of the Cherry Hills town council meetings to recognize Maya Pickerling. Dressed in a shimmery, peach-colored blouse and pressed gray slacks, Maya looked as put-together as ever. And although the two had never talked directly, Kat had heard Maya’s praise of the breeder ban enough times to know the councilwoman had fully supported it—at least, she had until it came down to an actual vote.

  A plump, gray tabby cat joined them in the doorway. With a shiny, healthy coat, eyes the color of gold, and legs that looked too stubby to carry around the potbelly hanging underneath his body, he didn’t appear to be wanting for much. And he seemed friendly enough. He gave both Kat’s and Imogene’s shoes a quick sniff, then greeted them with a deep-throated meow.

  Imogene barely spared the tabby a glance. Her eyes were like lasers pointed directly at Maya. Kat wouldn’t be surprised if Maya melted from the heat.

  “I don’t figure I have to tell you why I’m here,” Imogene said.

  Maya didn’t reply. In fact, she didn’t move at all. Between her deer-in-the-headlights look and her white-knuckled grip on the doorknob, she seemed to be paralyzed in fright.

  “You weren’t answering your cell phone after tonight’s meeting,” Imogene went on.

  Maya swallowed. “I must have forgotten to turn it back on.”

  Imogene’s nostrils flared. “Forgotten my foot. You were avoiding me after your asinine vote. But you can’t avoid me anymore. I want answers, Maya, and I want them now.”

  The tabby cat tilted his head up and looked at his human as if he too were in need of answers. He was probably wondering who these strangers were and why they had shown up to yell at his human.

  “Could we come inside?” Kat suggested. She mustered up a smile, hoping Maya would be more inclined to talk if she thought at least one of her uninvited guests didn’t plan to subject her to a verbal thrashing.

  Maya hesitated a moment before nodding.

  Kat gave the tabby a pat as she scooted by him. Imogene, on the other hand, didn’t stop to acknowledge the animal other than to step over him as she strode into the living room.

  The tabby didn’t seem bothered by his near miss with Imogene’s shoe. Kat wondered if ducking was too much effort for the portly creature. Or maybe he knew Imogene and trusted her not to hurt him. Considering that Imogene hadn’t needed to consult a map to find Maya’s house, Kat figured she had been here before, probably more than once.

  Kat took in her surroundings as she entered the spacious living room. Several plush armchairs and a couple of sofas were arranged in a semicircle around a fireplace. A cat bed lay on the floor next to the most worn-looking armchair, a brown wingback with an almost threadbare seat. Kat could easily picture Maya and the tabby curled up there during the winter, an afghan spread over Maya’s lap and a fire blazing beside them.

  Maya picked up the tabby as she followed Kat and Imogene into the house. She had to execute a little swinging motion in order to heft the overweight creature off the floor. The effort elicited a grunt from both human and feline, but the tabby seemed happy to be held when all was said and done.

  “This is Petey,” Maya told Kat.

  “He’s gorgeous,” Kat said.

  “He’s my baby.” Maya kissed the top of Petey’s head. “I missed out on having cats for many years because my son is allergic, but now that he’s off on his own I’m happy to have them back in my life.”

  Imogene planted her hands on her hips. “Petey is a rescue, isn’t he?”

  Maya stiffened. So did Kat. The ice in Imogene’s tone was impossible to miss. So much for easing into their reason for being here. Imogene was obviously too wound up to make small talk.

  “Well?” Imogene demanded. “Is Petey a rescue or not?”

  “He is,” Maya conceded.

  Imogene tilted her chin up. “Then he’s one of the lucky ones. Do you know how many cats are euthanized in shelters every year? Too many. And do you know why? Because there’s not enough demand for them. And do you know how we counteract that?”

  “Imogene,” Maya began.

  Imogene cut her off. “We get them the exposure they need in the places where people go to adopt them. And you know how we do that? We take out the people who view animals as a money-making enterprise. Until cats and dogs stop being senselessly killed in this country . . .”

  Kat stopped listening, having heard this speech many times before. Imogene was one of the most vocal animal rights proponents Kat had ever met. She was certainly the most outspoken one in Cherry Hills and maybe even all of Central Washington. And, as fired up as she was now, Kat figured she could go on for a while.

  Maya perched on the edge of the brown armchair, appearing as if she’d rather be anywhere but here. Petey didn’t seem to share her sentiments though. The look of pure bliss stamped on the tabby’s face as he settled into Maya’s lap and draped his head over her arm stood out in stark contrast to his human’s miserable expression.

  In fact, Maya looked so desolate that Kat couldn’t prevent herself from feeling a little sorry for her, even if Maya was to blame for the breeder ban’s defeat. Kat was curious to hear what she would have to say about tonight’s town council meeting—assuming Imogene ever let her get a word in edgewise.

  “. . . which is why I can’t understand why you changed your vote,” Imogene concluded.

  Alarm seared through Kat when she caught sight of how red Imogene’s face was. It looked as if all of her blood vessels had simultaneously burst. Was it possible to be so angry as to bring on a heart attack? Kat hoped not.

  “Well?” Imogene bent closer to Maya, her eyes narrowed to mere slits. “Don’t you think you owe me an explanation? You were in a position to save lives. All you had to do was back the ban. And you didn’t do it!”

  Maya buried her face in her hands. “Oh, Imogene. I had to vote no.”

  Petey lifted his head to see why Maya had so unceremoniously pulled away his arm pillow. When several tears leaked through Maya’s fingers and landed on his fur, he licked them away before standing up to work on the ones that had yet to fall.

  “Why, Maya?” Imogene barked. “Why?” Unlike Pet
ey, Imogene was clearly immune to Maya’s distress.

  Maya peeled her hands away from her face. She sank lower into the armchair, gripping Petey’s body so he wouldn’t slide off her lap. “I was blackmailed.”

  Kat’s heart stopped. She had suspected something big might be responsible for Maya’s unexpected rejection of the breeder ban, but it had never occurred to her that Maya’s vote might have been bought.

  Maya had ducked her head behind Petey after dropping her bombshell, but now she peeked between the tabby’s ears. She looked as if she were trying to gauge her guests’ reaction to her news.

  “Blackmail?” Imogene screeched.

  Maya nodded, then stopped. “Or maybe extortion is more accurate. Do you still call it blackmail if there’s no money involved?”

  Imogene didn’t answer. She was staring at Maya with her jaw hanging open. Maya might as well have asked her when the next flight to Jupiter was scheduled to depart.

  Maya flapped her hand. “Anyway, I guess that’s not important.”

  “How exactly were you blackmailed?” Kat asked. “Or extorted?” Was that even a word? Kat was finding it hard to think. Her head was spinning.

  “I received the letter this afternoon,” Maya said. “It was dropped in my mailbox. No return address, no postage stamp. Whoever delivered it must have put it there personally.”

  “What did the letter say?” Kat asked.

  “It said I had to vote against the ban or . . .”

  “Or what?” Imogene prodded, her voice much softer than it had been earlier.

  Maya’s cheeks turned a deep crimson color. But was her reaction the result of embarrassment or agony?

  Imogene squatted next to Maya’s chair and set her hand on her arm. “What did this person threaten you with, Maya?”

  Maya drew in a ragged breath. “They said they would expose something about me that I don’t want anyone to know.”

  “And what’s that?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Neither Kat nor I will repeat anything you say, if that’s what you’re worried about.”