Choked in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  Sally shook her head. “I live in Kennewick. My sister Zoe wanted to attend this thing, but I couldn’t have her driving up here all by herself.”

  “Is she that bad of a driver?”

  Kat meant the comment as a joke, but Sally didn’t even crack a smile. “More like she’s young and doesn’t have good judgment.”

  “Let me guess. Zoe is here for John Sykes.”

  “Yep.”

  “Did she bid on the evening out he’s offering?”

  Sally shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”

  “What about you?” Kat inquired. “Did you bid on anything tonight?”

  “To be honest, I didn’t look.” Sally’s face brightened when her gaze landed on Sundae. “Hey, is this critter up for auction?”

  “He’s up for adoption. Why, are you looking for a cat?”

  “I don’t know.” Sally poked her fingers through the bars of Sundae’s cage and gave his chin a scratch. “I’ve never thought about it.”

  “If you’re not ready to commit to anything now, I can give you my card so you can reach me when you decide,” Kat offered. “I’m on the Furry Friends Foster Families board.”

  “Okay.”

  Kat pulled one of her business cards out of her pants pocket. “That’s my work info, but I wrote down my cell on the back. Just give me a call if you decide to adopt Sundae—or any of the 4F cats, for that matter.”

  “Thanks.” Sally slipped Kat’s card into her purse. Then she looked at the crowd, her lips turning down. “I guess I should go check on Zoe.” She sounded less than enthusiastic about rejoining the group of gawkers.

  “It was nice meeting you,” Kat said.

  “You, too.”

  Sally passed Imogene on her way across the room.

  “Any luck getting John over here?” Kat asked her friend.

  “Would you believe he’s allergic to cats? He says as long as he stays a few yards away he’s fine.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Yeah, and unfortunately he made a point of detailing all of his symptoms for me.” Imogene crossed her arms over her chest. “I gather he’s the reason none of his fans are over here asking about our cats. They’re all holding out hope they’ll win his prize package and maybe John will want to end things at their place. That would hardly be possible if she had a cat inside.”

  “That would hardly be possible anyway,” Kat pointed out. “You said he was married.”

  Imogene huffed. “I don’t get the impression that would stop a man like him. You see how he’s strutting around like a rooster in the henhouse? And the women are eating it up. Why, I bet that one could sweet-talk a car salesman into buying a bus pass.”

  A laugh bubbled up Kat’s chest. Imogene no longer sounded as though she had a teenage crush on the man. Apparently John’s allergies had cured her of any infatuation.

  They fell silent when John broke away from the crowd and headed in their direction. He smiled at Kat when he got closer. Kat smiled back.

  He walked past her into the short corridor that led to the makeshift coatroom and the bathrooms the hotel had blocked off for 4F’s use tonight. On his way, he sneezed three times in rapid succession.

  “Apparently just walking by cats is enough to trigger his allergies,” Kat commented.

  “I doubt our cats have anything to do with it. Have you gotten a whiff of the air in here?” Imogene wrinkled her nose. “It smells like the carpets were doused in perfume.”

  “I guess I’ve been breathing it in for so long I can no longer smell it.”

  “Count yourself lucky.”

  They made small talk for several minutes. Every once in a while Sundae would meow to remind them he was still there, and they would pause to give him some attention.

  After a while, Imogene looked around. “Where’s Willow? It’s almost time for us to start tallying the bid results.”

  “I haven’t seen her since we finished setting up,” Kat said.

  “I’ll scout the room after I give the crowd a reminder to get their last-minute bids in. Why don’t you see if she stepped out for some fresh air?”

  “Okay.”

  Kat decided to check the restroom first. She hadn’t seen Willow come this way, but with all the hubbub inside they could have easily crossed paths without realizing.

  No one was inside the ladies’ room. Kat planned to poke her head outside next, but she found herself pausing by the door to the wheelchair-accessible family restroom.

  “Anybody in there?” she asked.

  She thought about moving on when she received no response, but something compelled her to stay. She tested the knob, unsure why the hairs on the back of her neck stood up when it turned.

  Holding her breath, she slid the door open a crack. The first thing she spotted were two men’s dress shoes lying flat on the floor. Her eyes traveled up past the socks and black pants, coming to a hard stop when they reached the flashy turquoise dress shirt.

  For one brief moment, Kat managed to convince herself that John Sykes had changed clothes and abandoned his original outfit on the floor. But reality settled in a second later.

  John Sykes hadn’t taken off his shirt. Nope, Kat could clearly see he was too far gone to do much about his clothes even if he wanted to.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Excuse me.”

  Kat eyed the fidgety brunette in front of her. “Yes?”

  “Do you mind letting me through? I need the bathroom.”

  “Sorry, but the bathrooms this way are closed.” Kat pointed across the room. “You’ll have to use the ones in the hotel lobby.”

  The woman frowned. “Those are pretty far away, and my heels are killing me.”

  Kat stood her ground. “Sorry.”

  Kat’s heart skipped a beat when the brunette tried to peer over her shoulder. Although John Sykes’s body wasn’t visible from here, she couldn’t be too careful. It would be pure chaos if anyone figured out that John was dead before the police arrived.

  Luckily, the brunette must have decided that making a run for it wouldn’t be easy in her five-inch stilettos. With a tiny shrug, she rotated around and began hobbling away.

  Kat relaxed a little, but her relief was short-lived. She didn’t know how much longer she could keep turning people away. It seemed as though everyone’s bladder had filled at once, and she prayed Andrew would show up soon to secure the scene.

  Sundae meowed from inside his cage. Hearing his distress call, one of the Burmese cats joined in with his own cries.

  Kat peered at the felines. “You know, you guys could help me out by turning up the cuteness factor whenever you see someone headed in this direction. Then maybe they’ll forget about the restrooms, and you’ll find a forever home in the deal.”

  The cats stared at her as if she’d just requested they be the ones to perform John’s autopsy.

  Imogene scurried over. “Any word on when the police will be getting here?”

  “Andrew said he was five minutes away when I talked to him,” Kat told her.

  Imogene frowned at her watch. “That was ten minutes ago.”

  “I know.” Kat tapped her foot on the floor. She was getting impatient, too.

  “We’re supposed to start announcing the auction winners in five minutes,” Imogene said, eyeing the crowd as though she expected them to become an unruly mob at any hint of a delay.

  “I could call Andrew again and ask what the holdup is.”

  “No, don’t do that. I’m sure he’ll get here as quickly as he can.” Imogene’s gaze darted toward the corridor. “Is Willow still guarding John?”

  “Yes.” At least Kat hadn’t been stuck with that particular duty. As much as she disliked redirecting the masses, keeping people out of the corridor was a much more agreeable task than standing outside the bathroom knowing a dead man lay sprawled on the other side of the door. Just the thought made her shudder.

  Imogene must have noticed her reaction. She patted Kat’s hand and offere
d her a sympathetic smile. “You’re doing great. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I better get back to circulating like nothing’s wrong.” She plastered on a happy face and intercepted a squirming redhead whose bladder looked on the verge of bursting.

  Staring at the woman’s copper-colored tresses, Kat found herself transported back to the scene that had greeted her in the restroom. While on the phone with the police, she had made the mistake of loosening John’s scarf to check his neck for a pulse. The skin at his throat had been as red as the retreating woman’s hair, and the sight had almost caused her to drop her phone.

  The marks had convinced her that someone had deliberately choked the man using his own scarf.

  She rubbed her palms up and down her arms to ward off a sudden chill. What was taking Andrew so long?

  As if he’d heard her silent plea, Detective Andrew Milhone strode into the room at that exact moment. Kat waved her hands in the air, breathing out a sigh of relief when he caught her signaling him and started making his way over.

  He stopped in front of her, his forehead wrinkled in concern. “You okay?”

  “I will be, now that you’re here. I was beginning to think you’d never show up.”

  “There’s no parking outside. I had to find a spot on the street.”

  Given the number of people in attendance tonight, Kat wasn’t surprised.

  “So,” Andrew began, taking in their surroundings, “where is this John Sykes guy?”

  “John Sykes?” A woman standing nearby swiveled around, one hand reaching up to fluff the teased-up mop atop her head. “I’ve been waiting for him to show up again.”

  Kat darted a look at Andrew. With him present, there was no reason not to announce that John Sykes had died. The guests would find out as soon as the police started asking their questions anyway.

  But before Kat could say anything, Andrew set his hand under the woman’s elbow. “Ma’am, I’ll have to ask you to stay clear of this area.”

  “Why?” She stood rooted in place, her chin tilted upward. “I drove almost two hours for a chance to see John. I’m not leaving until I get his autograph.”

  Andrew gripped her elbow more firmly and steered her toward a bank of chairs. “If you’ll just have a seat here, please.”

  The woman darted Kat a perplexed look over her shoulder. Kat shrugged.

  “Attention, folks,” a loud voice bellowed. “I need your attention, please.”

  Kat looked around, her eyes landing on Chief Kenny, the Cherry Hills Police Department chief. The large man stood in the center of the room, his arms raised as he commanded the guests to cease their individual conversations and listen to what he had to say.

  “We have an incident in progress,” Chief Kenny told the crowd, his booming voice carrying fine even without the aid of a microphone. “One of the guests has died.”

  A collective gasp rose through the crowd. Kat could only imagine the inevitable explosion that would result when they learned the dead guest was none other than their idol.

  “I need everybody to stay put,” Chief Kenny said. “Nobody is permitted to leave the premises until we give you the green light.”

  Kat braced herself in anticipation of Chief Kenny’s announcement of the deceased’s name, but he went to join Andrew without another word. Kat could only figure they still had to notify John’s family.

  Reminded that Marta Sykes likely had no idea her husband was dead, Kat’s stomach clenched. She wondered if the police even knew what John’s wife looked like or where to find her.

  Kat checked the side of the room where she had seen Marta earlier. Failing to spot her, she then made a visual sweep of the area. Marta was nowhere in sight.

  “Hey there.”

  Kat swiveled around, coming face-to-face with Eli Giovanni.

  “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, flashing her a blinding smile.

  “It’s okay.” She noticed that Eli’s hair was still damp. No, she corrected herself, it wasn’t wet but smothered in copious amounts of hair gel.

  “I thought you might like to chat, considering how we’re not allowed to leave and we have no clue how long this will take.” He extended his hand. “I’m Eli.”

  “Kat.” She noticed he had a firm handshake. Even after they let go she could feel the lingering sensation of his fingers clasping hers.

  Eli nodded toward Chief Kenny giving orders to several people on the other side of the room. “Any idea what’s going on?”

  Kat’s heart skipped a beat. “Um, no.” Her palms grew clammy at the lie, and she tucked her hands behind her back, hoping Eli didn’t notice.

  “Whatever it is, I hope they get it resolved soon. I’ve got a bottle of wine and a Jacuzzi tub waiting for me upstairs in my room.”

  Kat didn’t say anything. Once Eli found out his partner was dead, he might not find that bath and wine so relaxing after all.

  Sundae stuck one of his paws through the bars of his cage. He reached toward Eli with a demanding meow.

  Eli grinned. “Hey, look at this little guy.”

  “That’s Sundae,” Kat told him, grateful to be discussing something other than the police presence. “He’s up for adoption if you’re interested.”

  “Nah. I’m a fan of cats, but I can’t swing the responsibility right now.” Eli cupped his palm near his mouth and leaned closer. “Keep this to yourself, but I expect to be working some extended hours in the near future.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yep.” Eli shoved his hands in his pants pockets and rocked back on his heels. “If things go according to plan, I should be getting my own show soon.”

  Kat studied him. Did Eli have an inkling of what had happened to his co-host? It wasn’t beyond reason to think he might have overheard one of the authorities commenting on John’s fate a little too loudly. And he sounded pretty confident about getting his own show. Was that because John’s death meant an automatic promotion, or had Eli’s new opportunity already been in the works?

  And exactly how badly did Eli want to get out from under his co-host’s shadow, enough to kill the man?

  “You here to see John?” Eli asked.

  The mention of John’s name caused Kat to nearly topple over in her heels. “Um, no. I helped to put this event together. I’m the Furry Friends Foster Families treasurer.”

  “Treasurer, huh?”

  “Among other things. There are only three of us on the board, so we kind of fill all roles.”

  Eli pursed his lips. “How come you didn’t approach me about auctioning off something?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You asked John to donate an evening of his time for your cause, but you never asked me. I’m on the radio as much as he is.”

  “Imogene Little, our president, is actually the person who contacted John.” Kat regretted the confession as soon as it left her lips. Although his tone was friendly, she sensed Eli was peeved, as if he viewed 4F’s failure to approach him as a snub. “It was probably just an oversight on her part. I’m sure she would welcome your participation in future fundraising efforts.”

  “Fair enough. You can tell this Imogene person I’m always up for donating a date night to a good cause. But she might want to wait a few weeks, until my own show is established. People bid more on the leading man than the two-bit sidekick.”

  Eli chuckled, but Kat detected something sinister there. How much did anyone really know about this man? she wondered. The friendly persona he put on for the sake of his radio listeners might be miles away from his true personality.

  “Excuse me, sir?”

  Kat exhaled when she spotted Andrew heading toward them. She hadn’t realized until then how tense this conversation had made her.

  “You looking for me?” Eli asked Andrew.

  Andrew flashed his badge. “I’d like to ask you some questions. If you would follow me, please.”

  “What’s this all about?”

  Andrew started toward the other side of the room, moti
oning for Eli to accompany him. “I’ll brief you in private.”

  Eli didn’t follow right away. “We’ll have to continue this conversation later,” he said to Kat.

  She tracked Eli as he trailed after Andrew, on alert for any indication he might have killed his partner. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for exactly—maybe a tear in his shirt or a limp sustained when John had fought back—but she didn’t see anything that set off alarm bells.

  Sundae whined. Kat reached through the bars to pet him.

  “Don’t worry, buddy,” she said. “If he’s involved, Andrew will get to the bottom of it.”

  She hoped she was right.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  It was after midnight before the police finished interviewing everyone. Rather than making a group announcement, they had chosen to break the news about John’s death individually. Kat felt horrible watching the guests—mostly heartbroken women—filing out of the hotel one by one after giving Andrew their statements. This was definitely not how any of them had envisioned the night ending.

  Except, Kat thought, for one person—whoever had taken John Sykes’s life.

  “Hey,” Andrew said, joining Kat by the cat corner.

  “Hi.” Her heart beat a little faster at the sight of him. “Any leads?”

  He smirked. “You know I can’t share case info with you.”

  She did know that. She also knew he hadn’t made any arrests, which meant John’s killer was still loose. She hoped the guilty party hadn’t left the auction room before the police had arrived. John couldn’t have been in that bathroom for very long before Kat found him, but it would only take someone a couple of seconds to slip through the exit located on the far end of the corridor. And, unfortunately, the Cherry Hills Hotel hadn’t sprung for security cameras outside of the main lobby.

  “It took you longer than I expected to talk to everybody,” Kat commented, fishing for information.

  “We needed to break the news to Sykes’s wife before we could start our witness interviews,” Andrew explained. “It took us a while to track her down.”