Trapped in Cherry Hills Read online

  “Maybe.” But Kat didn’t think so. Although she and Janice were more friendly acquaintances than friends, Kat didn’t think Janice was the type of person who would have made other plans without saying something.

  Lucy must have detected the worry in Kat’s tone. She stopped playing with Tom and wedged her hands underneath her thighs where the cat couldn’t reach them. “We could go downstairs and knock on her door,” she suggested.

  Kat rose from the sofa. “Might as well.”

  Lucy lifted Tom up until they were nose-to-nose. In baby talk, she said, “Looks like I’m going to have to say goodbye, Mr. Tommykins.”

  Tom meowed a protest. Lucy dropped a kiss onto his head before setting him on the floor.

  Kat shoved her cell phone into her jeans pocket and grabbed her keys. Neither she nor Lucy said anything as they left the apartment.

  Their building stood three stories tall, with four units on each floor. Janice’s unit was located directly below Kat’s. And since they were only going down one floor, Kat opted to take the stairs rather than wait for the elevator.

  She pushed the stairwell door open. The first niggling twinge of dread tightened her stomach when she heard a dog’s muffled barking coming from somewhere below them. By the time she and Lucy reached the second-floor landing, it was clear the barking was coming from not too far away.

  Kat exited the stairwell, Lucy right behind her. Bubbles, Janice’s Irish setter, let out an excited woof and bounded over to them.

  An uneasy feeling gripped Kat as she petted the sleek, brown dog. Why was he out here alone?

  “Hey, Bubbles,” Lucy murmured, slanting forward so her face was level with the dog’s. “Where’s your mama?”

  Bubbles released a high-pitched sound that knotted Kat’s stomach. The knot only grew tighter when her gaze drifted down the hallway and she saw Janice’s apartment door standing wide open. She crept closer, one hand automatically reaching for her cell phone. She pulled it out and pressed the speed dial number for Andrew, leaving her finger poised over the call button.

  “Hello?” she called out.

  The answering silence was deafening. Even Bubbles had stopped barking, as though he were paralyzed by the suspense.

  Kat steeled herself, then stepped into Janice’s apartment.

  She didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t lying in wait. She stayed alert as she conducted the briefest of walk-throughs, unsure whether she feared finding an injured Janice or a dangerous intruder more. But the place was empty.

  Kat rejoined Lucy in the corridor.

  “Did you see Janice?” Lucy asked.

  Kat shook her head. “I don’t know where she is.” But wherever their neighbor might be, Kat had a feeling she hadn’t traveled there willingly. Janice never would have left Bubbles wandering the hallway by himself.

  Kat depressed the call button and, her heart in her throat, waited for Andrew to answer.

  * * *

  Click here to find the book at your favorite online retailer.

  Books in the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series:

  Book 1: Murder in Cherry Hills

  Book 2: Framed in Cherry Hills

  Book 3: Poisoned in Cherry Hills

  Book 4: Vanished in Cherry Hills

  Book 5: Shot in Cherry Hills

  Book 6: Strangled in Cherry Hills

  Book 7: Halloween in Cherry Hills

  Book 8: Stabbed in Cherry Hills

  Book 9: Thanksgiving in Cherry Hills

  Book 10: Frozen in Cherry Hills

  Book 11: Hit & Run in Cherry Hills

  Book 12: Christmas in Cherry Hills

  Book 13: Choked in Cherry Hills

  Book 14: Dropped Dead in Cherry Hills

  Book 15: Valentine’s in Cherry Hills

  Book 16: Drowned in Cherry Hills

  Book 17: Orphaned in Cherry Hills

  Book 18: Fatal Fête in Cherry Hills

  Book 19: Arson in Cherry Hills

  Book 20: Overdosed in Cherry Hills

  Book 21: Trapped in Cherry Hills

  Book 22: Missing in Cherry Hills

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Paige Sleuth is a pseudonym for mystery author Marla Bradeen. She plots murder during the day and fights for mattress space with her two rescue cats at night. When not attending to her cats’ demands, she writes. She loves to hear from readers, and welcomes emails at [email protected].