Orphaned in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  Donna stared at her for a moment before asking, “How’s that?”

  “You dragged me out here!” Brianna flapped her arms. “To this dinky town that I hate! You took me away from all my friends.”

  Brianna’s chin trembled, and in that instant Kat couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, too. In a way, she had also lost her mother that night. Donna was clearly consumed by guilt over what she’d done, going so far as to uproot Brianna in her quest to uphold that final promise she’d made to Carolyn.

  It was a sad state of affairs for everyone involved.

  Julie stood up and jammed her hands on her hips. “At least you still have a mom,” she spat at Brianna.

  “Not for long,” Brianna hissed. “Thanks to you, she’s going to jail. I never should have been friends with you!”

  Before Julie could respond, Brianna burst into tears. She collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor and hugging her knees to her chest as the sobs wracked her body. Her hair fell around her like a red-fringed curtain.

  Donna stood up and rushed to Brianna’s side. “Oh, baby.”

  Kat thought Brianna might push her mother away, but instead she threw her arms around her neck and clung to her as though this might be the last time they ever had the chance to embrace.

  Kat swallowed. For all anyone knew, that could very well be the case.

  After a minute, Donna pulled her head back to peer at Kat, her eyes red and watery. “What’s going to happen now?”

  “It’s not up to me,” Kat said. “But if you’d like, I can call my friend on the Cherry Hills force and he can arrange for you to turn yourself in.”

  Donna unsuccessfully attempted to blink away her tears. “I don’t suppose I have much choice.”

  Brianna let out a wail and burrowed deeper into Donna’s shoulder. “Don’t do it, Mommy.”

  Donna brushed Brianna’s hair away from her face. “I have to, baby. I should have done this years ago.”

  “Yes, you should have,” Julie piped up, her voice harsh.

  Donna hugged Brianna harder, but her eyes were on Julie. “Julie, honey, I owe you a huge apology. It’s time I make things right.”

  “You can’t ever make this right!” Julie screamed.

  The sorrow reflected on Donna’s face indicated she was well aware of that fact. “No, I don’t suppose I can.”

  And, although Kat agreed, she pulled out her cell phone and pressed the speed dial for Andrew.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  In the days following Donna van Dusen’s arrest, Kat thought about contacting Julie but always ended up talking herself out of it. The teenager’s world had been turned upside down, and she undoubtedly needed time and space to process everything. Kat had to respect that.

  It wasn’t until the following Saturday when Julie called, asking if she could come over. Kat readily agreed, then spent the next half hour pacing around the living room, unable to sit still.

  Matty and Tom seemed to sense something was up. They stuck to Kat’s side like burrs, determined to be present in case she needed them. Their loyalty made her want to weep with gratitude. She couldn’t imagine having to give up her cats, as Julie had been forced to do with Voldemort.

  When the doorbell rang, they followed her to answer it.

  “Julie,” Kat said, pleased to see the teenager looked well. “Come in.”

  Julie shuffled through the doorway. Tom sniffed her shoes before deciding she would do and proceeding to weave around her ankles.

  “That’s Tom,” Kat told her. “He loves people.”

  Julie crouched down to pet him. “He’s soft.”

  Kat grinned. “In more ways than one.”

  Matty, on the other hand, had never been a softie. The tortoiseshell didn’t show any interest in their visitor, watching Tom with disdain as he fell all over himself trying to get Julie’s attention.

  Kat leaned her shoulder against the wall. “So, how are you holding up?”

  “Okay, I guess.” Julie didn’t look at her, keeping her eyes on Tom. “I—I wanted to thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Catching Mom’s killer.”

  Kat’s throat tightened. “I’m glad I could help. She deserves justice.”

  “Also, thanks for not treating me like a kid.” She peeked up at Kat, looking almost shy. “Most adults avoid talking about my mom with me.”

  “It’s not an easy subject to discuss.”

  “No, I guess not.”

  They lapsed into silence, Tom’s purring the only sound in the apartment.

  “Have you heard from Brianna?” Kat finally asked.

  “She’s going to go stay with her aunt and uncle in Boston,” Julie told her.

  “How is she emotionally? Has she brought up harming herself again?”

  “I haven’t talked to her, but Dirk thinks she’ll be okay. He said she’s looking forward to Boston. She’s got, like, a million cousins there.”

  Kat nodded, relieved Brianna wouldn’t be alone. The teenager would have a tough road ahead of her, but maybe the change in scenery would do her good. She could only hope so.

  “What about Turtle and Tucker?” Kat asked. “Willow and I can help rehome them if they’re not going with her.”

  “One of her other aunts is taking in the cats.”

  “That’s good.”

  Julie stood up, adjusting the hem of her crop top. “I can’t stay. Aunt Elsa’s waiting for me in the car.”

  “Okay.” Kat smiled. “Thank you for stopping by. I was worried about you.”

  Julie glanced into the apartment corridor, but she made no move to leave. “Maybe someday soon we could try that mentoring thing again.”

  “I’d like that.”

  The elevator at the end of the common hallway chimed, and a second later Elsa stepped into view.

  Julie sighed. “I’m coming.”

  “Wait for me in the car, will you?” Elsa said. “I’d like to talk to Kat for a minute.”

  Julie glanced between Elsa and Kat as though she’d caught them scheming behind her back. Kat shrugged, just as clueless as Julie as to why Elsa wanted to speak with her.

  Tom let out a half whine, half meow, clearly not happy so many humans were around and yet no one was bothering to rub his stomach.

  “That’s Tom,” Kat told Elsa. “He likes to have the spotlight.”

  Elsa smiled. “I love his markings. He’s very pretty.”

  “Thank you.”

  Elsa gave Julie a pointed look. Julie spread her hands and strode down the corridor. Kat held her breath as they waited for the ding of the elevator to signal they were alone. She was anxious to hear what Elsa had to say.

  Once the elevator departed, Elsa turned to face Kat. “I owe you an apology,” she said.

  “Oh?”

  “I was rather short with you that day you came by. Talking about Carolyn is hard for me.”

  Tom arched his back against Kat’s leg. She lifted him up before he could interrupt the conversation.

  Elsa picked at a hangnail. “You know, since you’ve stirred up all this stuff about Carolyn again, I realize how selfish I’ve been. I never meant to be so cold toward Julie. It’s just that she resembles my sister so much it’s almost hard to look at her.”

  “That’s not her fault,” Kat said. “And she misses Carolyn as much as you do.”

  Elsa nodded. “I know. I know she does. That makes it harder in some ways. How can I help her when we’re both hurting?”

  “Maybe you could try grieving together,” Kat said.

  “How can I do that?” Elsa fished a tissue out of her pants pocket as her eyes filled with tears. “I can’t even talk about Carolyn without crying.”

  “I don’t believe she would think any less of you because of that. And you should come clean about how she reminds you of her mother. She might be relieved to know you don’t hate her.”

  Elsa didn’t say anything, but she did appear to consider Kat’s words. Kat to
ok that as a good sign. Perhaps Elsa would be equally receptive to what she had to say next.

  “Elsa,” she began, “you realize Julie really loves Voldemort, don’t you?”

  Elsa dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. “I know.”

  “And Ms. Dearborn offered to give him back whenever Julie wants him.”

  Elsa met Kat’s gaze. “You think I should let her have him.”

  “I do.”

  “Is that really wise?” Elsa twisted the tissue in her hands. “With the cats . . . I’m not sure how they’ll like having a dog around.”

  “You could try it out for a while,” Kat suggested. “You won’t know how any of the animals will react until you get them together, right?”

  “But that dog is so big . . .”

  “Big doesn’t mean aggressive. And you can supervise his interactions with the cats until you trust him enough to be alone with them.”

  Elsa stared at the tissue. “It’s not just the cats. I use them as an excuse, but that dog . . . he reminds me of Carolyn, too.” She heaved a sigh and looked up. “But you’re right. It’s time I try to move on.”

  Kat grinned. “You’re doing a good thing.” Julie was going to be thrilled.

  “I’m scared, Kat.” Elsa’s voice was practically a whisper. “What if I can’t move on? What if it turns out I’m not strong enough for this?”

  Kat thought about how she’d said something similar when Willow had first asked her to mentor Julie. Now, she no longer dreaded the thought of helping the teenager find her way in this world. In fact, she was looking forward to it.

  Kat hugged Tom closer, comforted by the feel of him purring against her. “You might find you’re strong enough to handle anything, if you just give yourself the chance.”

  “I hope you’re right.” Elsa didn’t sound convinced, but Kat probably hadn’t either during that initial conversation with Willow.

  “Call if you need help with anything,” Kat told her. “Julie has my number.”

  Elsa nodded and took a step backward. “I’ll do that. Thank you.”

  Tom reached one paw toward her as though to shake her hand goodbye. Elsa’s laugh as she touched a fingertip to his pink paw pad was a little subdued, but genuine nonetheless. It reminded Kat of Julie’s laugh, and for that one brief moment she had no trouble seeing the family resemblance between them.

  She watched as Elsa headed down the hallway. Julie would be waiting for her in the car, the two of them perhaps the only family either of them had left.

  And, just maybe, Kat thought, that family was finally on their way out of the darkness.

  NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Thank you for visiting Cherry Hills, home of Kat, Matty, and Tom! If you enjoyed their story, please consider leaving a book review on your favorite online retailer and/or review site. Also join my readers’ group so you’ll be one of the first to know when their next adventure is published.

  Please keep reading for an excerpt from Book Eighteen of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series, Fatal Fête in Cherry Hills. Thank you!

  FATAL FÊTE IN CHERRY HILLS

  “Kat!” Imogene Little screeched as she flung her front door wide open. “You made it!”

  Katherine Harper tucked her brown hair behind her ears and smiled at her friend. “Sorry I’m late. It’s Matty’s fault. The ornery feline snuck outside as I was leaving, and she absolutely refused to get back in the apartment.”

  “Can you blame her?” Imogene took a step outside and drew in a long, slow breath, the light of the sun reflecting off of her auburn ponytail. Her hair looked glossier than usual, and she’d traded in her typical jeans and a T-shirt for a pair of black dress slacks and a frilly peach blouse. “It’s glorious out here.”

  Kat had to agree. It was the last Saturday of March, and the arrival of spring had brought a welcome warm front to Central Washington. It would turn chilly as soon as the sun set, but right now the temperature was perfect.

  Imogene stood on her tiptoes to peer over Kat’s shoulder. “Where’s Andrew?”

  “Looking for parking. There’s not an empty spot to be found on your block.”

  “I can’t remember a time when I had so many people here. Everybody loves Kenny.”

  Kat didn’t miss how Imogene’s face glowed as she said the words, prompting her to wonder how much effort her friend had put into this event. She was fairly certain Imogene wouldn’t have bothered with such an elaborate birthday bash if she didn’t have a romantic interest in the Cherry Hills police chief. But she didn’t want to embarrass her friend by asking.

  “How’s Clover handling the crowd?” Kat asked. The sheer number of people present today had to be overwhelming for a cat, even one as social as Clover.

  “I shut him in my office,” Imogene replied, pointing toward the converted den off the dining room. “With people coming in and out, I didn’t want to risk him slipping outside unnoticed.”

  “Smart move.”

  Imogene grinned. “In all honesty, I believe he was relieved to get away from Frieda. Apparently she has something of an obsession with cats. Before I thought to isolate him, she kept picking him up and carrying him around. It’s a wonder he didn’t scratch her.”

  “Who’s Frieda?”

  “One of Kenny’s sisters. She’s smitten with Clover. And naturally he wants nothing to do with anybody that interested in him. He barely deigned to let her feed him one of Sam Easton’s cream-less tarts.”

  “Maybe he was holding out for something with real cream in it,” Kat suggested.

  “Then he has a long wait ahead of him.” Imogene motioned Kat inside. “Come and wish Kenny a happy birthday. Andrew can find his own way in when he gets here. Besides, he already got a jump-start on celebrating Kenny’s big day. Kenny’s officers threw him their own celebration down at the station yesterday.”

  “I know,” Kat said, raising her voice to be heard above the crowd as they moved into the living room. “Andrew saved me a piece of the cake they bought. It was to die for.”

  “Indeed, it certainly did look divine. Kenny smuggled me a slice too, but unfortunately it wasn’t vegan.” Imogene stopped near one side of the room. “I still don’t think he understands the concept, as many times as I’ve explained it to him. No meat, no milk, no eggs. How hard is that to comprehend?”

  Before Kat could reply, Chief Kenny himself headed toward them. A perplexed furrow marred the burly police chief’s brow as he stared at something in his massive hand.

  “Imogene, what in the devil is this?” He thrust his arm toward her. “Feels like a sponge—and a dried-up one at that.”

  “That would be a chickpea pinwheel,” Imogene told him.

  “Chickpea? Is that anything like a game hen?”

  Imogene rolled her eyes. “A chickpea is a garbanzo bean, Kenny.”

  “Is it edible?”

  “Of course.”

  He pinched the pinwheel between his fingers. “Why is it green?”

  “Because there’s spinach in the tortilla holding everything together.”

  Chief Kenny scrunched up his nose.

  “Try it,” Imogene instructed. “You might like it.”

  He didn’t oblige, choosing instead to pinch the pinwheel between two stubby fingers as though it might bite him. “Fat chance of that. Why you couldn’t serve good ol’-fashioned pigs in blankets is beyond me.”

  “Because I don’t support the suffering of animals.”

  “But it’s my birthday.”

  “Yes, and it’s my party. As a matter of fact, I distinctly recall you tossing me out of your office when I asked whether you wanted to be involved with the planning.”

  “I didn’t toss you out.”

  “I believe your exact words were, ‘Get out of my office. I have a budget to balance.’”

  Chief Kenny scowled. “Well, I didn’t reckon you planned to starve us all.”

  “Starve?” Imogene scoffed. “Every surface in the kitchen is covered with food, thank
s to Sam Easton and his catering team. If you don’t want the chickpea pinwheel, go get some fried risotto balls.”

  “What the heck is a risotto?”

  “Rice.”

  Chief Kenny stuck one finger in his mouth in a mock gag.

  Imogene flapped her hand. “Fine. Don’t eat it if you feel that way. And don’t come crying to me next year when you turn fifty-six and nobody is around to celebrate with you.”

  Kat grinned as the two continued bickering like an old married couple. If they weren’t romantically involved yet, she figured it was just a matter of time.

  After a minute, the argument started to peter out. And from the smirk on Imogene’s face, it was clear she had come out ahead.

  “Shoulda known better when you didn’t serve a turkey at Thanksgiving,” he muttered, stalking off in a sulk.

  Imogene made a face at his retreating back before spinning toward Kat. “I should have saved my efforts for somebody more grateful. When is your birthday again?”

  “Not till June. And there’s no need to throw me a party. I’m not really into birthdays.”

  “Nonsense! Everybody is into birthdays.”

  “I’m thirty-two, past the age when they hold any promise.”

  “Why, you sound just like an old maid!” Imogene tsked. “That dour attitude is more appropriate for someone my age.”

  “I hope I’m half as youthful as you are when I’m your age.” Although Imogene was in her fifties, most days she had more energy than Kat.

  A fluffy white ball streaked past them then, knocking Kat against the wall. Next to her, someone screamed and a man spilled his drink. But the ball didn’t slow down, careening around the room like a miniature rocket.

  “Clover!” Imogene yelled, sprinting after the cat.

  Clover didn’t pay her any heed. He veered into the dining area, catching a woman around Kat’s age off guard when he darted between her ankles. She yelped and dropped the tray in her hands. It hit the floor with a clatter, sending dozens of bite-sized finger foods rolling in all different directions.

  “Oh!” The woman lifted both hands to her mouth.

  Clover stopped to see what the commotion was about. Upon spotting the runaway appetizers, he made a quick U-turn and chased after the closest one, batting it into a corner like a soccer player making a goal.