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  Okay, so Ivy wasn’t giving Kat any indication that she might have killed Xander to usurp his position as second in command. Still, that didn’t mean she was innocent. She could have killed him for another reason—perhaps as a preemptive measure. Given that Xander had been working for Dr. Mark longer than anyone, Ivy might have figured she would be let go first if Dr. Mark ever decided he could no longer afford to keep two veterinary technicians on the payroll.

  “If Dr. Mark does ask Winona for help, he’d better make sure she knows what she’s doing first,” Ivy said. “We don’t need another invoicing debacle like this one.”

  “You know, I work with databases in my day job,” Kat said. “If you want I can take a look at your system to see if I can set up a query to make sure more bills aren’t falling through the cracks.”

  “I’d have to get it authorized by Dr. Mark, but he might like your help. What do you charge?”

  “It would be on the house.”

  Ivy grinned. “In that case I don’t think Dr. Mark will have any objections. Thank you.”

  “You guys help us out at 4F so much I’m happy to return the favor. I don’t want to see Dr. Mark going out of business any more than you do.”

  “I just hope the cops catch whoever killed Xander soon so they can leave Dr. Mark alone for good.”

  “We all do.” Kat looked around. “Where exactly was Xander killed?”

  “I’ll show you.” Ivy led them out of the cat area and pointed to one of the closed doors partway down the corridor. “He was in that room over there. That’s where we keep the controlled substances.”

  Kat gestured toward the back exit. “And that’s the door you found propped open?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s funny, but Winona didn’t recall it being open.”

  Ivy leaned against the wall and folded her arms over her chest. “I guess she didn’t notice. She was probably in shock after seeing Xander like that.”

  “That’s what I thought at first, too, but looking at the layout you have back here I realize it’s impossible to get to the room where Xander was killed without passing by that door. And since Winona wouldn’t have known about Xander’s fate when she first came looking for Dr. Mark, it seems unlikely she would have been in a state of shock at the time.”

  Ivy shifted her feet. “Maybe she wasn’t paying attention.”

  “She would have had to be awfully oblivious not to notice any of the escaped cats and dogs slipping through that door.”

  Ivy didn’t reply. Her gaze fell to the floor, but not before Kat caught the pink tint staining her cheeks.

  Kat’s skin tingled as she recalled the veterinary technician’s almost rabid insistence of Dr. Mark’s innocence in the parking lot the day before. What lengths would Ivy go to in order to protect her boss from a murder conviction?

  “Ivy, did you let those animals out yesterday?” Kat asked.

  Ivy’s eyes briefly met Kat’s, but they skittered away just as quickly. “Why would you ask me that?”

  “Because you and Winona have two conflicting stories. One of you is clearly lying.”

  Ivy toed the floor tiles with her sneaker. Kat waited, hoping the silence would make the vet tech uncomfortable enough that she would crack.

  As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait long. Less than a minute passed before Ivy threw her hands in the air.

  “Okay,” she said, expelling the air from her lungs in a huff. “I admit it. I opened that door. After Winona told me about finding Dr. Mark with that syringe in his hand I knew how it would look. So I staged the scene a little to deflect some suspicion off of him. I wanted the cops to think an outsider had snuck in here and created a distraction to give him cover while he killed Xander.”

  Kat set her hands on her hips. “You realize what you did is illegal. You can be charged for interfering with an active police investigation.”

  “I know, but you saw how they were. They don’t care about catching the real killer. They just want to pin this on Dr. Mark and move on.”

  Kat sighed. “I assure you, Ivy, Andrew cares about the truth. And he told you yesterday that Dr. Mark wasn’t under arrest.”

  Ivy straightened in indignation. “Yes, because I cast doubt on his guilt by making it look like anyone could have walked in here.”

  “Regardless of your intent, this isn’t going to look good for you.”

  “But don’t you see? I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit back and let Dr. Mark go to jail for a murder he didn’t commit.”

  “But in the process you tampered with a crime scene. With the animals trampling all over everything they could have destroyed any evidence left behind by the killer.”

  “You really think so?” It was clear from the way Ivy had paled that she hadn’t considered that angle.

  “Yes, I do.”

  Tears filled Ivy’s eyes, and she wrung her hands together. “That wasn’t my intent. I swear it.”

  Kat believed her. Ivy’s loyalty to Dr. Mark had made her blind to everything but clearing his name.

  Kat stiffened, something else occurring to her. “But if the killer couldn’t have come in through the back door . . .”

  Ivy grimaced. “He or she was right here in the building the whole time.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Before Kat could dwell on the implications of Ivy’s confession, raised voices coming from the front of the building distracted her. She and Ivy glanced at each other then hurried toward the lobby.

  Winona was behind the computer. A gray-haired elderly woman stood on the other side of the counter, the angry set of her jaw making it abundantly clear she was one unhappy customer.

  “Mrs. Longfield,” Ivy said, stepping forward. “What’s the issue here?”

  “You want to know what the issue is? I’ll tell you what the issue is.” Mrs. Longfield shook her finger at Winona. “This one lost my payment.”

  Winona flushed. “I am so sorry, Mrs. Longfield.”

  “Sorry is not good enough for me, missy. I know how you businesses like to swindle little old ladies like me. Well, that might work for the dotty ones, but I’ll have you know, I happen to have all my faculties present and accounted for.”

  “I can assure you, we’re not trying to swindle anyone,” Ivy said.

  “So you say, and yet I still received that bill in the mail.”

  “That was a mistake,” Winona said. “You never should have gotten that invoice.”

  “So you say now.” Mrs. Longfield waved around a sheet of paper. Kat only caught sight of Ritter Veterinary’s cat silhouette logo before Mrs. Longfield slapped the page onto the counter. “It’s a good thing I saved this proof of payment here or there’s no telling what kind of pushback I would have received from the likes of you.”

  “There have been some recent issues with our database, but we’re working on getting things straightened out,” Ivy said.

  Mrs. Longfield glared at her. “You’d best be doing that sooner rather than later, missy, or I might just take my business elsewhere.”

  “I agree with you one hundred percent,” Ivy said. “In fact, our database expert is here now.”

  Kat jumped when Ivy set one hand on her shoulder. She hadn’t expected to be dragged into a client dispute.

  Mrs. Longfield must have noticed her reaction. “You’re the expert?” she asked Kat.

  Before Kat could reply, Ivy said, “She sure is. And she’s ready and waiting to have a look at our system just as soon as Winona fixes your issue.”

  Mrs. Longfield squinted at Kat with suspicious eyes. “Huh.”

  “Kat here assures me she’ll have the problem identified and resolved in no time,” Ivy rushed on. “And we’d be happy to compensate you for your troubles with a discount on your next bill.”

  Mrs. Longfield’s frown transitioned into a smile. “Well, a discount might persuade me to give you another chance.”

  Ivy beamed. “We appreciate that. We so love seeing little Bijou
whenever you bring him in. He’s quite the character.”

  “He is that, isn’t he? He’s my first dog, you know. I’ve always had cats in the past, but when I walked into the shelter and saw him sitting there with those sad little eyes I couldn’t resist taking him home with me.”

  “I don’t blame you,” Ivy said. “And you couldn’t have chosen a better dog than Bijou. I see a lot of animals working here, and he’s my absolute favorite. You can tell just from looking at him that he’s no ordinary dog. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and Bijou has the sharpest, most intelligent eyes I’ve ever seen on an animal.”

  Kat thought Ivy might be laying it on a bit thick, but Mrs. Longfield evidently didn’t agree. The older woman was practically glowing with pleasure.

  “Who would have thought such a small creature could have such a big personality?” Mrs. Longfield said. “And to think he’d been at the shelter for six weeks before I adopted him. Six weeks!” She shook her head. “Can you believe nobody snatched him up before I did?”

  “I have a feeling he’s just as happy to have found you as you are him,” Ivy replied.

  “Well, naturally.” Mrs. Longfield plucked her receipt off the counter. “Now, I must be off to let Bijou out. He might have a big personality, but he has the smallest bladder you’ve ever seen. If I don’t get home soon I’m liable to find an unwelcome surprise on my rug.”

  “Thanks for stopping in,” Winona said. “And sorry about the inconvenience.”

  “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again. Oh, what am I saying. Of course it won’t happen again. That’s why you’ve brought in an expert.” Mrs. Longfield gave Kat a wink before breezing out the door.

  Ivy’s shoulders sagged. “Wow, Xander really left us with a huge mess to clean up. How many upset clients does that make now? Four?”

  “Let’s hope Mrs. Longfield is the last one with a problem.” Winona grinned. “By the way, good thinking about claiming we had a database expert here.”

  “Oh, I didn’t make that up. Kat here really is going to take a look at our system.”

  Winona peered at Kat with the same dubious look Mrs. Longfield had given her several minutes ago. Kat wondered what it was about her that failed to inspire confidence. She lifted one hand to her hair, checking to make sure she’d remembered to brush it before leaving the apartment.

  Ivy clapped her hands together. “Well, I should leave you two alone so you can get to work. Kat, let me know what you find out.”

  “I will,” Kat promised.

  Ivy ducked into the back. Since Winona was sitting in the only available chair, Kat leaned against the reception counter.

  “I guess we might as well get started,” Kat said. “Could you show me the systems Dr. Mark uses to manage operations?”

  “We only have one.” Winona clicked on a desktop icon to open it. “Here. As you can see it’s pretty simple. I can access any animal’s record from here and schedule them for an appointment.”

  “What happens during the appointment?”

  “Dr. Mark or whoever makes a note of any vaccines administered or exams done, and when the client leaves I pull up their bill and let them know what they owe.”

  “And how do you record a payment?”

  “I just log it in here.” Winona navigated to the payment screen.

  “And then you print the client an invoice?”

  Winona nodded.

  “Can I see how that works?” Kat asked.

  Winona pressed a button, and up popped what looked to be a generic, out-of-the-box report with zero embellishment. All it included was Ritter Veterinary’s address and phone number at the top, the date and client name in the center, and the amount paid farther down. It looked exactly like the many invoices Kat had received from Ritter Veterinary on behalf of 4F.

  “Do you happen to know how Xander flagged the overdue invoices he mailed out recently?” Kat asked.

  “Can’t say I do. But he obviously screwed up big time.”

  Kat studied the screen. “Given how many paid invoices he pulled as unpaid, it’s possible he might have overlooked some that really are past due. What I’d like to do is set up a query to identify those invoices. That way we can make sure Dr. Mark is getting all the money he’s owed.” She reached for the mouse. “May I?”

  Winona didn’t move. “I don’t know. Dr. Mark might not like just anyone poking around on his computer.”

  “I can wait until he’s available, if you’d rather I come back later.”

  Winona nodded. “I think that would be best. I haven’t been here very long, and I don’t want to get into trouble with him.”

  The front door opened, and a tall, thin man entered. A cat carrier dangled from his hand, its occupant protesting with such vehemence that Kat was tempted to cover her ears. The feline didn’t even appear to be pausing for breath.

  Winona stood up. “Mr. Novak.”

  “Hello, Winona.” Mr. Novak smiled at Kat as he approached the counter. “I see you hired some temporary help to get you through this trying time.”

  Kat was about to correct him, but Winona spoke before she could. “I suppose you heard about Xander.”

  “Yes. The horror. What a shameful loss. But business must continue, I presume.”

  “What can we do for you?” Winona asked.

  “Meowzers is here for his B12 shot.” Mr. Novak held up the carrier. “And as you can see, he’s eager to get on with things.”

  “Let me go see which rooms are available, and we’ll get you situated straightaway.”

  Meowzers released another wail of discontent, presumably to urge Winona to hurry up.

  Winona disappeared through the staff door. Mr. Novak gave Kat a nod, then went to sit on the far side of the lobby.

  Kat stood awkwardly behind the counter. Until she talked to Dr. Mark there wasn’t much more she could do here. She wondered if it would be rude to slip out without letting anyone know she was leaving. Maybe she could leave a note.

  She looked around for something to write on. Her heart gave a little jump when her eyes landed on a stack of invoices sitting next to the computer.

  Kat peeked at Mr. Novak. He wasn’t paying her any attention, seeming engrossed in the out-of-date magazine he’d plucked from the rack on the wall. The carrier was on the floor by his feet now. Meowzers showed no signs of easing up on his protests anytime soon.

  Kat picked up a few of the invoices, but before she could study them she heard the whoosh of the staff door swinging open.

  Without thinking, Kat slipped the invoices under her T-shirt and stuffed them into the waistband of her jeans.

  “Ivy’s ready for you and Meowzers,” Winona chirped, her eyes on Mr. Novak. “First door on the left.”

  Mr. Novak tossed his magazine aside and grabbed the carrier off the floor. “Wonderful.” He started toward the examination rooms.

  Winona turned around, prompting every muscle in Kat’s body to tense. She was afraid to move, fearful the invoices would scatter at the slightest disturbance.

  Except, she couldn’t stand here forever or she’d surely faint from nerves.

  “Well,” Kat said, swallowing hard. “I should be heading off.”

  “Thanks for stopping in,” Winona said.

  “You’re welcome.” Now eager to get going, Kat steadied the invoices with a hand to her abdomen and darted around the reception counter.

  “Wait!”

  Kat froze in her tracks. “Yes?” she squeaked, rotating around in slow motion.

  Winona pointed to the counter. “Is that your cat carrier?”

  “Oh, yes.” A nervous giggle escaped from Kat’s mouth. She doubled back and snatched up the carrier.

  Kat could feel Winona’s eyes on her back as she speed-walked through the lobby. She pushed through the door, only daring to breathe again when she was safely in her car.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  During the drive home, Kat berated herself for her behavior at Ritter Veterina
ry. What had ever possessed her to stuff those invoices down her pants? She clearly hadn’t been thinking rationally.

  Still, now that she had them she might as well take a look. She didn’t know what they could tell her, but she hadn’t completely eliminated the possibility of an angry client being responsible for Xander’s murder. Just because Ivy had admitted to opening the back door didn’t mean someone couldn’t have gotten into the staff area through one of the examination rooms or another access point. If any of the invoices had yesterday’s date on them they might give her an indication of who besides Mr. Pedapudi and Dr. Mark’s staff had been inside the building around the time of Xander’s death.

  Kat parked outside of her apartment building and took the elevator up to the third floor. Tom was right there waiting for her on the other side of the door. When he saw she came bearing papers his green eyes expanded to the size of saucers. Tom loved paper. And if he happened upon something that contained information of interest to Kat, he could stay nestled atop the relevant document for hours on end.

  Sure enough, as soon as Kat spread the invoices across the coffee table Tom jumped on the tabletop and started sniffing out the most interesting one. His motions caught the attention of Matty, who had been napping on the couch. The tortoiseshell came over to see what was going on.

  Kat sat cross-legged on the floor beside them. “Let me know if you find anything in there that points to our killer, okay?”

  Tom flicked his tail in assent. Matty didn’t respond, too busy surveying the goods. Although she didn’t love paper as much as Tom, she did feel it was her duty to inspect anything new that found its way inside the apartment walls.

  Kat picked up one of the pages the cats hadn’t gotten to yet and scanned over its contents. That was when she realized this wasn’t an invoice at all but a receipt for payment. The layout was simple, with only Ritter Veterinary’s contact information and logo at the top, a date and the client’s name in the middle, and the amount paid farther down. The date listed was April 29, well before Xander’s murder.