Valentine's in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  Sheila nodded, and they lapsed into silence. Kat twined her fingers together. What now?

  She squared her shoulders, deciding to skip the small talk and just go for it. “So, Sheila—”

  A loud knock on the door cut her off. Sheila looked slightly panicked as she straightened away from the wall and rushed over to peer through the peephole. She stood there for so long that Kat started to question whether she planned to open the door. Maybe she didn’t intend to let anyone in while Kat was here.

  Which made perfect sense if Andrew was the person currently standing outside.

  The thought scorched through Kat’s body like a bolt of lightning. Could Andrew really be here, having snuck over for a visit?

  “Hello?” a male voice called out.

  Kat pressed one hand against her racing heart. Not Andrew.

  “That’s Larry, the landlord,” she told Sheila. Except, Sheila had to already know that, given that she’d signed a lease with the man.

  Sheila didn’t acknowledge Kat’s statement, but she did undo the locks and open the door. “Yes?”

  Larry, a burly, bald, middle-aged man, grinned. “Hiya.”

  Kat joined Sheila by the door. “Hi, Larry.”

  “Kat, good, you’re here, too. While I’ve got both your gals’ attention, I’d like to extend a very cordial invitation to our building mixer this evening.”

  “Mixer?” Sheila said.

  “Mixer, meet-and-greet, whatever you wanna call it. Just drinks and snacks in the lobby starting at seven. Nothing fancy.” Larry shook one stubby finger at Kat. “Now, I know what you’re thinking. I didn’t throw a mixer when you moved in. But I wasn’t at full capacity then. Now that I’ve rented out my last unit, I can afford to treat you folks.”

  “That’s nice of you,” Kat said. “Except you still have one vacant unit left, the one next to this one.”

  “Nope. I’m proud to report that as of today, that unit is occupied. The third floor is now officially home to four lovely ladies.” He chuckled. “Sounds like that would be a good premise for a TV show, huh?”

  Sheila apparently didn’t appreciate Larry’s humor. “Since you have money to burn, perhaps you should consider investing in a security system.”

  Larry swayed backward, as though startled by her suggestion. “A security system?”

  Sheila rapped on the door with her knuckles. “Anyone could bust through these flimsy doors, and that includes the building entrance downstairs.”

  Larry flapped his hand. “Eh, that’s your Seattle mindset talking. You’re in Cherry Hills now! We don’t need nothing like that here.”

  “Security is important anywhere.”

  “I’ll give you that.” Larry rubbed his chin. “Tell you what, I’ll look into getting a better lock fitted on the main door. Would that put you at ease?”

  Sheila fingered the chain lock. “Something sturdier than this wouldn’t hurt either.”

  “That’s a leftover from the couple that used to live here,” Larry informed her. “Most of these units don’t have one of those, so consider yourself special.”

  Sheila frowned at the chain lock. “Frankly, I can’t see this thing keeping anybody out. I’d feel much safer if you replaced it with a second deadbolt.”

  “I’ll keep that under consideration.”

  “Good.” Sheila paused. “Are we done here?”

  Larry held up his palms as he backed away. “Don’t let me keep you. The mixer is all I came up for.”

  “Thank you, Larry,” Kat said, smiling to ease some of the sting of Sheila’s dismissal. “I’ll see you later this evening.”

  Larry tipped his head at her before retreating down the hall.

  Sheila held the door open and turned toward Kat. “I presume we’re done, too.”

  Kat hadn’t gotten the answers she had hoped for, but what could she do? Sheila’s hard expression made it clear she was no longer willing to chat.

  Kat stepped into the hallway, then turned back around. “Maybe we can catch up—”

  The door slammed in her face before she could finish the statement.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “I don’t know what’s more pathetic,” Lucy said to Kat, “the fact that we had nothing better to do on a Friday night, or that Larry couldn’t spring for anything alcoholic to drink.”

  “Hey,” Larry said, easing up to them. “I heard that.”

  Lucy scrunched up her nose. “You know, you could have said you wouldn’t be providing any booze when you invited me to this thing. What kind of party doesn’t have booze?”

  “I said this was a mixer, not a party,” Larry retorted. “And it would’ve been irresponsible of me to get my boarders drunk.”

  Kat grinned. “Just do what I’m doing, Lucy. Close your eyes and pretend that orange juice is a mimosa.”

  Lucy did as instructed, taking a swig from the plastic cup in her hand. When she opened her eyes, she made a face. “Nope, still sober.”

  Kat twisted toward Larry. “Where are the new tenants?” She recognized the three people chatting near the bank of mailboxes as fellow residents, but that still left half the building unaccounted for. “I thought this shindig was for them.”

  “You heard Sheila,” Larry said. “She didn’t sound real enthused.”

  He made the statement matter-of-factly, as though he wasn’t bothered by Sheila’s failure to show up. Kat supposed he couldn’t realistically expect his tenants to drop everything to join a get-together he’d arranged as a last-minute whim.

  “What about that other renter you were telling me about?” Lucy asked. “The one who moved across the hall from me.”

  “Dunno. She wasn’t home when I stopped by earlier.” He winked. “She probably had a hot date, what with this being V Day weekend and all.”

  Lucy scowled. “Don’t remind me.”

  Larry nodded at one of the second-floor residents across the room. “If you gals will excuse me, I’ve gotta go mingle with the others.”

  Kat sipped on her orange juice as she watched Larry cross the room to join the rest of the crowd. When he broke into a huge belly laugh a few seconds later, she had to admit he seemed to be enjoying himself despite the low turnout.

  Lucy slumped against the wall. “I don’t see how Larry can be having so much fun. This is worse than the singles scene.” She peered at Kat. “Which leads me to ask why you’re stuck here on a Friday night. How come you’re not out with Andrew?”

  “He had to work tonight.” Kat paused before adding, “And I was hoping Sheila would show up.”

  Lucy offered Kat a rueful smile. “I still feel bad for telling you about them.”

  “Don’t. I’m sure there’s a valid reason why they were in Andrew’s car. I just haven’t had the chance to find out what it is yet.”

  Lucy ran one fingertip around the lip of her cup. “I wonder where Sheila is right now.”

  “Probably holed up in her apartment.”

  Lucy shook her head. “I saw her leaving earlier.” She stared into her cup, a slight frown on her face. “You don’t think she’s out with Andrew, do you?”

  Kat whipped sideways, orange juice sloshing all over her hand. “What?”

  “I mean, she’s not here, and he’s working . . .” Lucy trailed off, a pink tint staining her cheeks.

  Kat drew in a breath. She hadn’t considered that Andrew might have lied when he’d claimed to be working tonight. What if Lucy was right and he was really with Sheila?

  No, Kat scolded herself. The idea was ludicrous. She trusted him.

  Didn’t she?

  Lucy scoffed. “What am I saying? If Andrew told you he’s working, then he’s working.”

  “Right,” Kat said, but her voice didn’t hold any conviction.

  “I mean, him being at work is something you could verify,” Lucy went on. “It would be a terrible thing to lie about.”

  Kat straightened, her brain buzzing. Lucy was right. It would be easy for her to verify whether A
ndrew was really working. All she would have to do was call the Cherry Hills Police Department’s main line and ask for him. If he was on duty, they would transfer her call. If not, they’d offer to connect her to his voicemail.

  She took a step away from Lucy and dropped her orange juice cup into the garbage can. She wanted to be alone when she made this call. “Would you excuse me? I need to use the bathroom.”

  Lucy downed the rest of her orange juice and released a loud burp before waving Kat off.

  Kat’s heart pounded as she hurried toward the elevator. She felt hopped up, as though she really had been sipping on champagne instead of orange juice.

  Someone touched her shoulder just as she pressed the elevator call button. She whirled around, coming face-to-face with Larry.

  “You’re not leaving, are you?” he said. “The night is still young!”

  “I have to use the bathroom.” She squirmed a little for emphasis.

  “Use mine. It’s closer.”

  Before Kat could protest, Larry set his hand on her back and guided her down the corridor. She dragged her feet at first, then thought better of it. After all, she could phone Andrew just as easily from Larry’s apartment as she could her own.

  Larry pulled out his keys and unlocked the door to unit 1B. He gave her a little shove over the threshold. “Knock yourself out.”

  Kat shuffled inside. “Thanks.”

  “Hey, do me a favor and fetch another carton of OJ from the fridge on your way out, okay? Lucy is sucking that stuff down like there’s no tomorrow.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  Kat headed toward Larry’s bathroom. When she heard the front door click shut, she stopped mid-stride and pulled her cell phone out of her jeans pocket. Her palms were sweaty, and the phone nearly slipped out of her grasp as she initiated the call.

  “Cherry Hills PD.” The male voice that answered sounded familiar, but Kat couldn’t place it. At any rate, it definitely didn’t belong to Andrew.

  “Hi,” Kat chirped, wincing at her shrill tone. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “I’d like to speak with Andrew Milhone.”

  “He’s off at the moment, but I can transfer you to one of the officers on duty or you can leave him a message.”

  Kat groped at the wall as she struggled to process his words. Andrew wasn’t on duty? Had she misunderstood when he’d told her he was working tonight? Or had he, in fact, lied to her?

  “Hello?” the man said. “You still there?”

  Kat squeezed the phone harder. “I’m here. Um, I’ll try back later.” She hung up before he could reply.

  She stumbled into the closest room, needing to sit down to gather her thoughts. Spotting Larry’s desk, she made her way over to it and sank into the plush office chair. Her head felt as though it were spinning. Could Lucy be right? Could Andrew be out with Sheila right now?

  She dropped her elbows on the desk and clutched her skull. When her eyes landed on the words ‘Sheila Smith,’ she nearly fell out of the chair.

  Gripping the edge of the desk, Kat pulled herself forward. The page in front of her appeared to be part of Sheila’s rental application. Sheila had applied for a month-to-month lease, listing a Seattle address as her previous place of residence. Kat’s stomach lurched a little when she saw her monthly rent. Hopefully the figure in front of her didn’t mean that Larry intended to start charging her more when her own lease was due for renewal.

  She pawed through some of the other papers on the desk, unearthing another rental application, this one for a Melody Jones. Kat deduced that she must be the other new third-floor resident. Melody was also renting month-to-month, and she too had moved to Cherry Hills from Seattle. Coincidence? Kat didn’t know. Seattle was a big city. It wasn’t inconceivable that two people yearning to get away from the hustle and bustle might both find themselves in the same small, Central Washington town.

  But something else was niggling at her. Was it her imagination or did the handwriting on the two forms look identical?

  She held the applications up side by side, squinting at the text. She wasn’t an expert, but if she had to guess she would say the same person had filled out both forms. The loops of the ls slanted at the same forty-five-degree angle, and the crosses of each t sported a similar flourish at the end.

  A sound from outside jolted Kat back to the present. She dropped the papers and jumped out of Larry’s chair. She shouldn’t be snooping. Besides, what did she really expect to learn about Andrew’s relationship with Sheila in Larry’s paperwork?

  She hurried out of the room before she could be tempted to nose around any further. It was time to rejoin the party.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Andrew’s still not answering his cell?” Lucy said, her eyes trained on the peephole embedded in her apartment door.

  “Nope.” Kat sighed as she tossed her cell phone on one of the end tables and flopped against Lucy’s sectional sofa.

  Tabitha, Lucy’s pretty tabby cat, lay next to her on the couch. With a front half that was pure white except for the top of her head, and a rear half featuring light and dark brown stripes, Tabitha reminded Kat of an unfinished painting.

  But the most noticeable of Tabitha’s traits at the moment wasn’t her coat. No, right now it was her capacity for inflicting pain.

  “Ack.” Kat had lost track of the number of times the feline’s claws had glided through the fabric of her jeans and punctured her skin while the tabby kneaded her thigh.

  Lucy glanced over from her post by the door. “Is she torturing you? It’s been a while since I’ve trimmed her nails.”

  “It’s all right.” Despite Kat’s suffering, Tabitha looked so content she couldn’t bring herself to move the little tabby. “You see anything yet?”

  Lucy turned back to the peephole. “Nope.”

  “Well, you don’t have to keep watch. Even if Sheila is out with Andrew, it’s not like he’s going to escort her back here.”

  “I know I don’t have to keep watch, but this is the most excitement I’ve had in months. Who knows, maybe I’ll even catch a glimpse of the mysterious Melody.”

  Kat ruffled Tabitha’s fur. “Is spying on the neighbors what she does every Friday night, Tabs?”

  Tabitha replied by turning up the volume on her purrs.

  Lucy turned her head long enough to stick her tongue out. “Yes, but it’s usually only you I get to spy on.”

  “I didn’t realize my life was so exciting.”

  “Hey, I can’t get a date myself, so I have to live vicariously.” Lucy did a 180-degree turn and slumped against the door. “Do you think Larry was right about this Melody person having a hot date tonight?”

  Kat shrugged. “How would I know? I’ve never met her.”

  “Well, I’m telling you, if this new girl only moved to town this morning and already has a date, I’m heading for the nearest convent tomorrow. Just the fact that she has plans tonight and I don’t is depressing enough.”

  “Before you lose all hope, we don’t even know if she’s out. She might not have answered the door for Larry because she was napping. Or maybe she didn’t feel like talking to anyone after driving all the way over here from Seattle. You know how exhausting it is to move. That could be the real reason she didn’t show up at the mixer.”

  “That’s true.” Lucy twirled a lock of red hair around one finger. “How would we find out if she’s home?”

  “Knock?” Kat proposed.

  Lucy let go of her hair and snapped her fingers. “Or, we could duck into the hallway and listen for any sounds coming from her unit. The insulation is so bad in this building, if she’s there we’re bound to hear something.”

  “That seems like an invasion of privacy.”

  “Not any more than watching for Sheila.”

  Kat clamped her mouth shut, unable to dispute that.

  “Besides,” Lucy added, “it’s not like we’re eavesdropping on conversations and peeping through windows. We’re just listening
for water running through her pipes or whatever.”

  “I don’t know.” Kat gave Tabitha one last stroke before standing up. “If she is home, she obviously didn’t care to come down to meet us. Maybe we should respect that.”

  Lucy tilted her head. “What did you say Melody’s last name was again?”

  “Jones.”

  “And the other lady is Sheila Smith?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Seems kind of strange, don’t you think?”

  “What does?” Kat asked.

  “A Jones and a Smith moving in next door to each other on the same day.”

  “Given that those are the two most common surnames in America, it doesn’t seem all that strange. What struck me as more odd was the fact that the handwriting on both of their rental applications looked identical. It’s like one person filled out both forms.”

  Lucy tapped her chin. “Think they know each other?”

  “I have no clue. I’m having a hard enough time figuring out how Sheila knows Andrew.”

  “Seems weird that he’s not answering his phone.”

  The unease that had been stirring in Kat’s stomach all evening intensified. “I know.”

  “You know what we ought to do?” Lucy said.

  “What’s that?”

  “We should look up our new neighbors on Facebook.”

  Without waiting for a response, Lucy strode across the room and grabbed her iPhone off the coffee table. She thumbed the screen as she made her way over to Kat’s vacated seat on the couch. Tabitha’s amber eyes lit up when she saw a fresh victim to subject to her sadistic massage.

  Kat slanted across the sectional sofa to see the screen over Lucy’s shoulder. “There must be hundreds of Sheila Smiths out there. How will we know which one is the right one?”

  Lucy tapped on the Facebook app. “We’ll search and see.”

  As expected, Lucy’s search returned a long list of results. Kat tried to look at the profile pictures as Lucy scrolled through them, but from this angle it was difficult to make out much.

  “Find anything?” Kat asked.