Frozen in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  “Allen?” Kat asked.

  “Allen Bolt. He’s the lawyer with the office next to Sadie’s. I worked for him up until a few months ago.” Rachel folded her arms across her chest. “And before you go thinking I messed up, I didn’t. He had money problems and couldn’t afford to keep me any longer.”

  “Cherry Hills is so small it has to be tough for a business owner to make a go of it here,” Maura sympathized.

  “Yeah,” Rachel agreed. “He does all these wills and trusts for rich people, but I guess that doesn’t translate into much of an income.” She sighed. “Bummer for me.”

  “I’m sure you’ll find work soon.” Maura patted Rachel’s knee. “Sadie always told me your talents were wasted as a receptionist anyway.”

  Rachel’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Maura. How can she be gone?”

  The atmosphere grew heavy and, except for the occasional sniffle emitted by Maura and Rachel, the lobby fell silent. Sitting so close to them, Kat couldn’t help but absorb some of their grief as her own.

  It wasn’t until she heard the distant sound of approaching sirens that Kat felt as if she could breathe again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “She was murdered, wasn’t she?” Kat said to Andrew Milhone.

  “That’s going to be for the coroner to determine,” Andrew replied.

  “But you’re here,” she pointed out. “Why would they call a police detective to the scene if Sadie had died accidentally?”

  Andrew pushed his sandy blond hair away from his eyes. “Going back to when you found Sadie Cramer, what prompted you to notice her in the snowbank?”

  Kat pursed her lips. She didn’t like how he had dismissed her question, but neither could she really fault him for wanting to take back control of this conversation. After all, Andrew was here on behalf of the Cherry Hills Police Department, not because he was her boyfriend. She couldn’t expect him to give her the inside scoop just because they were dating.

  “Kat?” Andrew said. “I asked what caused you to notice Sadie outside.”

  “I heard you.” She thought about his question. “There was a cat.” Her pulse accelerated at the memory. She had forgotten all about the runaway cat after the shock of finding Sadie.

  “A cat?” Andrew said.

  “A white cat. He was sitting next to Sadie, but he took off before I could catch him.” Kat crossed the building lobby and peered out the window. “I don’t see him now.” She looked at Andrew. “Did any of your fellow officers notice him?”

  Andrew lifted one shoulder. “None of them mentioned seeing a cat.”

  Kat wasn’t surprised. Not only did a white cat blend in seamlessly with the snow, but the authorities had been called here to handle a dead person. She doubted they would give a cat a second glance even if they did happen to spot him.

  “I hope he’s okay,” Kat murmured.

  “You can look for him as soon as we release the scene,” Andrew said.

  “When will that be?”

  “Sometime before the workday ends.” He smiled at her then, his dimples melting her heart. “You look good in your professional gear, by the way.”

  Kat glanced down at her new outfit, unable to derive much joy from Andrew’s compliment. Standing in the downstairs lobby giving her boyfriend an official police statement was not how she had envisioned her first day at DataRightly unfolding.

  Andrew tapped his pen against the notepad. “So, do you have anything else to add?”

  Kat shook her head. “I’ll call you if I think of anything later.”

  “Do that.” His eyes twinkled. “Or call me later regardless.”

  She grinned. “I just might do that.”

  Andrew surveyed the lobby. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to take a few more statements.”

  “See you later.”

  Andrew walked over to Maura, who was standing on the other side of the lobby. Even from this distance Kat could see Maura’s hands shaking. She wondered if her boss was still upset about seeing her friend’s body outside or if she were simply feeling the effects of having left half of her cigarette unsmoked.

  Kat decided to wait for Maura before heading back upstairs. Not only was there nothing for her to do until Maura showed her what to work on, but she wasn’t in the mood to field any questions from her coworkers about what was going on outside. By now they had to have heard the sirens and seen the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles gathered in the parking lot.

  She really just wanted to go home. But of course that wasn’t an option. What would Maura think about her leaving early on her first day, before she’d had a chance to do much more than fill out some personnel forms?

  Besides, Kat couldn’t leave yet, not before she made more of an effort to hunt down the white cat.

  She stepped closer to the glass and scanned the parking lot, unsurprised when she failed to spot the cat. With all the activity outside he had undoubtedly sauntered off in search of a more quiet place to brave the cold. Either that or he had blended in with the snow again.

  Kat was still staring out the window when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Maura standing behind her.

  “How was the interview?” Kat asked.

  “Okay,” Maura replied, but her face was still too pale and her hands continued to tremble. “Detective Milhone is talking to Rachel now.”

  Kat wondered if Rachel would share with Andrew what she’d told them about Sadie firing her recently. Probably, she guessed. Something that easy for the police to verify would be silly to hide.

  “I came over to tell you you can take off if you want,” Maura said.

  “Now?” Kat looked around for a clock but didn’t see one. “It’s not even noon yet, is it?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t have the energy to go back upstairs.” As if to prove her point, Maura slumped onto the bench they’d occupied earlier. “I don’t even think I have the strength to drive home.”

  Kat felt a flicker of concern. “Would you like me to call somebody for you?”

  Maura shook her head. “I should be okay. I just need to sit here for a while. But you can go.”

  Kat didn’t move, reluctant to let Maura out of her sight. She looked as if she might pass out.

  Maura glanced up, straightening when she saw Kat staring at her. “Well, go on then,” she said, her tone more firm. “I won’t think badly of you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Nobody would expect you to be able to concentrate on programming after this. Come in an hour early tomorrow if you want, and I’ll go over your first assignment then.”

  Kat nodded, knowing there was no point in staying if Maura wasn’t going to show her what to work on. “I’ll just run up and grab my things then.”

  Maura bobbed her head in acknowledgment before her shoulders drooped, her body seeming to cave in on itself.

  Kat kept one eye on Maura as she inched toward the elevator. She took some comfort from the fact that Andrew wasn’t too far away. If Maura did end up fainting, he would help her.

  Upstairs, Kat grabbed her purse and mittens without being stopped by any of her coworkers. They probably hadn’t even noticed her return. Most of them stood in clusters by the windows lining the front of the building as they watched the activity outside.

  Clearly she wasn’t the only DataRightly employee whose productivity was approaching zero for the day.

  She took the elevator back downstairs. As soon as she ducked outside the cold air blasted her in the face. She stopped to pull on her mittens, listening as the breeze carried over snippets of the conversation happening several yards away.

  “. . . blunt force trauma . . .”

  “. . . unlikely that gash was caused from a fall . . .”

  “. . . bashed the side of her skull . . .”

  “. . . homicide . . .”

  Kat shivered. She didn’t need to hear any more. Although she had already suspected foul play thanks to Andrew’s presence on the scene, what she’d
heard confirmed it.

  Sadie Cramer had been murdered.

  She was still dwelling on that when she became aware of a faint rustling behind her.

  She spun around. No one was there, but the rustling continued. It seemed to be coming from the garbage can next to the building entrance.

  Kat considered ignoring it, not wanting to confront a rat. But a familiar furry white head popped over the rim of the receptacle before she could walk away.

  “White cat!” Kat was thrilled to see him, and not just because he wasn’t a rodent. “I’ve been worried about you.”

  His tail swished, giving Kat hope that he remembered her from earlier too.

  “Are you homeless?” she asked. “I can help you if you are.”

  But her word clearly wasn’t enough to convince the cat. When she moved forward, he scooted backward. His hind feet slipped on the edge, and he tumbled into the can.

  Kat peered over the side, watching as the cat scrambled around in a panic. Her heart went out to him, but she didn’t dare try to grab him. As frightened as he was, he would probably lash out.

  After a frantic couple of seconds, the cat pulled himself back onto the rim of the can. This time he didn’t bother to stick around for more conversation. As soon as he found his footing, he vaulted onto the ground and bolted around the side of the building.

  Kat sighed, helpless to do anything but watch him.

  She was waiting to see if he would reappear when the sun reflected off of something inside the garbage can. She leaned closer. Something shiny was half nestled underneath a discarded fast food wrapper.

  She moved the wrapper aside, exposing what looked to be a stapler. The stapler was tipped sideways, a brownish sauce marring its metal surface.

  A cold dread settled in the marrow of Kat’s bones as the implications of what she was looking at penetrated her brain. If the substance on the stapler was what she feared it was, there was a good chance she was looking at the last thing Sadie Cramer had ever seen, right before it was hurled at her head.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Boy, am I glad to see you guys,” Kat said to her two cats, Matty and Tom, as she shut the door to her apartment unit.

  Tom ambled over to her, meowing the whole way. Kat tossed her coat onto the couch to free her hands. When she stooped down to pet the brown-and-black cat, Tom flopped over and stretched his arms above his head so she would have easy access to his stomach.

  Kat could feel the stress of the morning evaporating as she rubbed his tummy. “Is this all you think I’m good for, Tom?”

  Matty jumped off the couch where she had been snoozing and came over to join them. She sat down about two feet away and curled her tail around her paws, patiently waiting for her turn.

  “What do you say I open up a can of wet food for you and Tom?” Kat suggested to the yellow-and-brown tortoiseshell. “That ought to prove these hands of mine are good for something besides belly rubs.”

  Matty’s green eyes lit up as if she actually understood Kat’s words.

  Kat showered the felines with a few more minutes of attention before proceeding to the kitchen. As soon as the cats saw where she was headed, they streaked after her, determined to be present for whatever she had planned next.

  She opened a cabinet and pulled out a can of cat food. Before she even had a chance to hook her finger through the pull tab, Tom started meowing frantically and Matty began weaving between Kat’s legs.

  “Anybody watching would think you didn’t have two bowls full of kibble over there,” Kat said, spooning the wet food into two plastic dishes.

  The cats peered up at her as if to ask how she could seriously think wet and dry food were comparable substances.

  Kat finished dividing up the food. She had to be careful not to step on either feline during her trek to their feeding corner across the kitchen. Matty and Tom apparently thought she might run off with their lunch if they dared to leave her side.

  The cats dove for the bowls the second they touched the floor. Kat shook her head as she watched them gobbling up the salmon morsels.

  “I see you both are perfectly content to ignore me now that you have something more important to focus on,” she said, setting her hands on her hips.

  Matty lifted up her head long enough to shoot Kat a disdainful look. Then she promptly stuck her nose back into the dish.

  The cats were almost done eating when a faint chirping sound echoed throughout the apartment. Tom’s ears pricked, and his pupils dilated. Matty swiveled toward the living room, her eyes gleaming.

  Kat groaned. “Don’t tell me a cricket got in here.”

  The chirping continued. Tom scuttled out of the kitchen in full stealth hunter mode. Matty, who had less of a flair for the dramatic, simply trotted after him.

  Tom headed straight for the sofa. He pressed his nose against the edge of Kat’s coat, then reached up and gave the fabric a pat.

  “It’s in my coat?” Kat wondered if she could toss the garment out the window and retrieve it in the morning, after the cricket had had ample time to wander off on its own.

  Matty pounced on the coat, her tail swishing back and forth as her eyes darted around to see if she’d stirred anything loose.

  The cricket stopped chirping. Kat wasn’t sure whether that made her feel better or worse. Matty could have squished it.

  The cats didn’t move for several seconds, on alert as they waited for their prey to reveal itself again. When enough time had elapsed for Kat to start thinking about searching the coat herself, the chirping started again.

  Tom’s whiskers twitched. He reached his paw out again, batting at one of the pockets. An iPhone tumbled onto the carpet. Its face was lit up, and the chirping doubled in volume.

  Kat laughed. “So it wasn’t a cricket after all, just a ringtone.”

  She walked over and scooped the iPhone off the floor. She had forgotten she had it or she would have handed it over to the police earlier.

  She glanced at the screen, her stomach clenching when she saw the words ‘Son—Home’ lit up. Was this Sadie’s son calling for his mother? That could only mean he hadn’t yet heard about Sadie’s fate.

  Kat stared at the phone, debating over whether or not to answer. On the one hand, Sadie’s son had a right to know about his mother’s demise. On the other hand, he shouldn’t hear the news from a complete stranger.

  Before she could decide what to do, the phone stopped chirping. She exhaled, glad the choice had been taken out of her hands.

  But before she could relax too much, the chirping started up once again. Clearly Sadie’s son wasn’t going to give up.

  Kat steeled herself and punched the button to connect the call. “Hello?”

  “Sadie, it’s about time you picked up,” an angry female voice said.

  “Actu—”

  “Barry told me what you did,” the woman continued, talking over Kat. “How could you? How could you cut Barry out of your will like that?”

  Kat’s mouth gaped open, the accusation rendering her speechless.

  “He’s your own flesh and blood!” the woman went on. “He’s as much your son as Ginger is your daughter. Did he do something to annoy you? If that’s the case, you talk to him! You don’t have your will redone!”

  “Um,” Kat tried again. “This—”

  “I’m sure Barry feels the same way, although he would never say so. ‘It’s Mother’s money, she can do what she wants with it,’ is what he’d say. But the money isn’t the point, is it? It’s the statement you made by cutting him off, like you’d disowned him. That’s really hurtful.”

  Kat cleared her throat. “Um, this isn’t Sadie.”

  “What?” the woman spat.

  “This isn’t Sadie. I just have her phone.”

  There was a brief silence before the woman came back on the line, her angry tone now replaced by one of confusion. “Who is this?”

  “My name is Kat Harper.”

  “Kat Harper? Are you a friend o
f my mother-in-law’s?”

  “No, not really. I didn’t know her.”

  “Didn’t know her?” A pregnant pause elapsed. “What do you mean, didn’t?” Clearly she hadn’t missed Kat’s use of the past tense.

  Kat closed her eyes. “Look, this probably isn’t my place to tell you—”

  “Good grief. She’s dead, isn’t she?” the woman blurted out.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “This is unthinkable.” There was no trace of rancor left in the woman’s tone now. She sounded choked up, and Kat could hear her gasping for air. “Barry. How am I going to tell Barry?”

  “The police haven’t contacted him yet?”

  “Police?” the woman screeched. “Why would they tell us anything?”

  “I just figured . . .” Kat trailed off, not wanting to explain that Sadie had been murdered. “Anyway, I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “I can’t believe Ginger didn’t tell Barry,” the woman said. “Ginger knows, doesn’t she?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “She must. She’s Sadie’s golden child, the one she turns to for everything.”

  Kat didn’t miss the bitter edge to the woman’s voice as she said the last part. “I take it you’re Sadie’s daughter-in-law?”

  “Chloe Cramer,” the woman said. “I married her son Barry. Her disinherited son, I should say.”

  “Do you mind letting Barry know about his mother?”

  “Sure.” Chloe paused, then said, “Sorry to have bothered you.”

  Kat was about to assure her it was okay, but Chloe had already disconnected the call.

  Kat placed Sadie’s iPhone on the coffee table and sank into the sofa. Her mind was reeling.

  Could Barry have killed his mother because she’d cut him out of her will? Kat wondered. If he shared Chloe’s angst over being disinherited, he was certainly a viable suspect.

  Or what about Barry’s sister Ginger, the woman Chloe claimed to be Sadie’s sole heir? Had Ginger decided she couldn’t wait to get her hands on her inheritance once she found out everything was being left to her? Possibly, although Chloe had called her Sadie’s golden child. Would a golden child murder her own mother?