Overdosed in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  Kat’s stomach dropped when Winona moved and she caught sight of the syringe in her hand. She wouldn’t doubt that syringe contained the same lethal drug concoction that had killed Xander.

  She forced her eyes back up to Winona’s, knowing her fear was etched all over her face. “How did you get in here?”

  “I climbed up the fire escape. You had your window open. All I had to do was pop the screen out.”

  Kat could have kicked herself for being so careless. So much for taking advantage of the gorgeous spring day.

  “And if you’re wondering how I figured out where you live, it was easy,” Winona said. “We have your address on file at the office. I guess you used to be a Ritter Veterinary client.”

  It had actually been Matty’s previous owner who had frequented Ritter Veterinary, but Kat vaguely recalled giving them her own address when she had requested they transfer the tortoiseshell’s records to another local vet.

  Thoughts of Matty reminded her of the animals’ absence. “What did you do to my cats?” she said.

  Winona blinked. “Nothing.”

  “Where are they?”

  “I have no clue.”

  Kat knew she shouldn’t make any sudden moves, but panic drove her to lurch toward the bedroom.

  Winona used her body to barricade the hallway. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Kat set her hands on her hips. “To find my cats.”

  “I swear, I didn’t hurt them. I wouldn’t hurt an innocent animal because of something their owner did. I’m not a monster.”

  “After what you did to Xander I’m not so sure about that.”

  Winona sighed. “I didn’t want to kill Xander. But he figured out what I was doing and threatened to tell Dr. Mark. I couldn’t have that.”

  “You were embezzling.”

  “I was.”

  “Why?”

  “It started off as a one-time thing. Mrs. Longfield came in last month for that little dog’s checkup, and when she settled the bill she paid cash. As she peeled off those twenties all I could think about was how far that money could go to pay down my credit card debt.”

  “So you decided to pocket the money,” Kat said.

  “Yes.”

  “Then you whipped up a fake invoice to give to her, since you didn’t log the transaction in the database.”

  Winona nodded. “The next couple days I kept waiting for someone to say something, but nobody did. So I tried it again.”

  “And you weren’t only stealing from Dr. Mark, but his clients too,” Kat put in. “I saw that charge for pain medication on Maura O’Malley’s invoice. Did you add that, thinking you could get more money out of her?”

  “She paid cash when she brought Stumpy in for his checkup a couple weeks ago, so I thought why not beef up her bill a little this time, just in case.”

  Anger burned in Kat’s chest. “How about because it was unethical?”

  “Oh, I never cheated people who didn’t look as if they could afford it.” Winona actually looked surprised Kat would suggest as much.

  “Dr. Mark couldn’t afford it,” Kat pointed out. “Ivy said he was thinking about layoffs.”

  “I never meant for it to get that far.” Winona sagged against the wall. “And I never thought anybody would go through the database hunting for unpaid transactions.”

  “Xander didn’t mess up when he pulled those invoices from the database. They actually were marked as unpaid.”

  Winona heaved a sigh. “He really should have minded his own business.”

  “Is that how he figured out you were stealing from Dr. Mark?”

  Winona nodded. “But he didn’t know it until after he’d mailed those invoices out. When the first client came in yesterday claiming they’d received an invoice for charges already paid, Xander was standing right there. He figured it was an innocent mistake, that I simply forgot to note the payment in the system that one time. But when the second person came in, I think that’s when he started getting suspicious.”

  Kat felt ill. Had Xander ever suspected his attempt to help Dr. Mark would be the beginning of the end for him? He had undoubtedly thought he was doing a good thing. It had probably never crossed his mind that he might stumble upon a scam his coworker would kill to keep secret.

  “Later that afternoon, when both Ivy and Dr. Mark were busy with clients, Xander asked me to follow him into the back,” Winona continued. “He said he had something to show me. He took me into the room where Dr. Mark keeps the animal drugs. He had copies of those invoices he’d mailed out sitting on the counter along with a spreadsheet he’d created from the system. He told me he was going to show everything to Dr. Mark when they were both out at the Navarros’ ranch. He said it was proof that someone was stealing from the clinic.”

  “And he knew that someone was you,” Kat said.

  “He did. He figured it couldn’t be anyone else. And while he was talking all I could think about was how I couldn’t let him tell Dr. Mark. Then when I spotted that syringe he’d prepared . . .”

  Fear gripped Kat as her eyes moved to the syringe currently in Winona’s hand. Winona must have noticed the direction of her gaze. She firmed her grip around the needle.

  “He struggled a little at first, but I don’t think he suffered much.” Winona spoke quietly, almost as though she were trying to reassure herself. “The drugs seemed to kick in pretty fast. Then, when all was said and done, I made sure to wipe my prints off with my shirt and grab that stuff he had printed for Dr. Mark before I snuck back out to the front.”

  “What did you do with the invoices?”

  “I shredded them. But first I went through them all and made up a second batch of receipts to send the clients, along with an apology about the mix-up. I didn’t need a whole slew of people complaining to Dr. Mark about getting an invoice they’d already paid. That would only alert him to my scam.”

  “Those were the receipts I took?” Kat asked.

  “Yes. I didn’t have time to mail them out before Mr. Pedapudi came in and started making a scene. And then the police wouldn’t let anyone back into the building until late. But I couldn’t mail them then. Ivy would wonder why they were so important.” She paused. “I thought you knew they were fake when you took them.”

  “I really didn’t.”

  But, of course, Kat knew now, and that was all that mattered.

  “I’m sorry,” Winona said, and she actually sounded as though she meant it. “But I can’t go to jail.”

  Kat swallowed down the panic building inside of her. “The police know what you did.”

  Winona’s eyes widened before they narrowed. “You’re just saying that.”

  “No, I’m not. That’s where I was before I came home. I was at the station talking to Andrew, Detective Milhone, about what you’d done.”

  Winona didn’t respond. She just stood there, her facial muscles twitching. She seemed to be struggling with whether or not to believe Kat.

  “It’s true,” Kat said. “He’s out looking for you right now. And if you hurt me I can guarantee he won’t be happy.”

  A noise on the far side of the apartment caused them both to pivot sideways. But it was only Matty climbing through the window. The tortoiseshell must have taken advantage of the missing screen and wandered onto the fire escape landing. Matty did love her sunbaths.

  Except, Matty’s return couldn’t account for the pounding Kat heard outside the window. Or was that her heart thumping? No, it was definitely coming from outside.

  “What’s that?” Winona’s voice was strangled.

  Kat inched toward the window, keeping one eye on Winona. She fully expected Winona to stop her, but she was too curious to see for herself what was happening outside.

  She made it within five feet of the window before Winona said, “Stay right there.”

  Kat halted. She didn’t need to go any farther. From here she had a clear view of a mop of sandy blond hair bobbing closer as its owner scaled the
metal fire stairs. She knew that hair, and the sight of it released a flood of emotion so strong that every cell in her body started trembling.

  “Kat!” Andrew’s eyes locked with hers as his face came into view. He scrambled over the windowsill, gun in hand. “You okay?”

  She shook her head. Tears pricked the back of her eyelids, and terror clogged up her throat, making speech impossible.

  Andrew swung his gun sideways. “Drop the needle.”

  Winona didn’t move. Andrew’s presence seemed to have immobilized her. Kat could commiserate. She felt paralyzed herself.

  “I said drop the needle,” Andrew repeated.

  Winona looked at the syringe, then at Andrew. Kat’s stomach clenched. She prayed Winona wasn’t thinking of attacking him. He might have the better weapon, but all it would take was one jab and Andrew might be too far gone to save.

  A loud meow pierced the silence. The sound cut straight to Kat’s heart. There was no mistaking the owner of that meow.

  Sure enough, there was Tom, making his way through the window as casually as if he lounged outside every day.

  He paused on the windowsill to survey the activity. When he spotted Winona his tail wagged with interest. He must not have realized she wasn’t invited, because he trotted over to greet her just as he would for any welcome guest.

  Winona wasn’t watching Tom, her attention on Andrew and the gun in his hand. When Tom rubbed against her ankles, she gasped and the syringe fell to the carpet without a sound.

  Kat tried to follow what happened next, but everything unfolded so rapidly her head spun. One of the uniformed officers she’d seen at Ritter Veterinary the day before somehow materialized in the living room. He must have come through the window when Kat had her eyes trained on Winona. Both he and Andrew rushed Winona, startling Matty and Tom and sending the animals scrambling in opposite directions. Then someone was reading Winona her rights, and someone else was calling in backup, and someone else was yowling with a fierceness that could wake the dead.

  Kat didn’t think she inhaled once until Winona was handcuffed. It was only when the uniformed officer began leading Winona to the door that Kat felt she could finally breathe again.

  It was over.

  “I’ll meet you back at the station,” the officer said to Andrew.

  Andrew gave him a nod. He waited until the door closed and they were alone before turning to Kat and gathering her in his arms.

  “You okay?” he asked, pulling back just far enough to see her face.

  The concern in his eyes and the softness of his voice broke the dam inside of her. Hot tears cascaded down her cheeks. The tidal wave of relief that crashed through Kat then was so strong her knees almost buckled. If Andrew hadn’t been there to keep her upright she surely would have crumpled to the carpet.

  “I—I’m fine,” she sobbed.

  He stroked her hair with one hand. “You don’t look fine.”

  She pressed her face against his chest, gulping down air as she struggled to catch her breath. “How did you know I needed you?”

  “You’re not going to believe this.”

  “Tell me.”

  “Matty tracked me down at Winona’s apartment.”

  Kat pulled back to see if he was joking, but of course the situation was too dire for that.

  “How is that possible?” she asked. “Matty doesn’t know where Winona lives. I don’t even know where Winona lives.”

  “It must have been dumb luck that she happened by Winona’s building just as I’d arrived. And when I saw she didn’t have her harness on I knew something had to be wrong. You would never let her outside unsupervised.”

  Kat looked at Matty. The tortoiseshell had returned to the living room now that things had calmed down. She climbed to the topmost level of the cat tree and laid down to groom herself as if this were just an ordinary day. Their eyes locked, and Kat swore the feline winked before resuming her bath.

  “You’re right,” Kat said, facing Andrew again. “I am having a hard time believing it.”

  Andrew chuckled. “If it helps, Winona only lives one block from here. And I’m guessing Matty got out the same way Winona got in—using the fire escape.”

  “I don’t know.” Kat bit her lip as she peered out the window. “Those stairs might be easy for a person to scale, but a cat?”

  “You’re forgetting that Matty is a very unusual cat.”

  Kat smiled. The adrenaline rush was finally starting to recede, giving way to a warmth that enveloped her from head to toe. “I don’t think I could ever forget that.”

  Not one to be ignored, Tom came over to them and meowed.

  “Don’t worry, Tommy boy.” Andrew let go of Kat so he could bend over to give the chatty feline a scratch. “I haven’t forgotten your role in getting Winona to drop that needle.”

  Tom meowed again, more urgently this time.

  “What?” Andrew said. “You want a medal or something?”

  Kat laughed as she swiped the remaining tears from her cheeks. “I don’t think it’s recognition he wants. That’s his ‘feed me’ meow.”

  “Well, then, go feed the poor thing. He is a hero.”

  Kat scooped up Tom and hugged him close, relishing the calming feel of his purr against her body. “What do you think, Tom? Think you should get whitefish pâté for lunch and dinner today?”

  Tom’s eyelids slipped shut, and he pressed his head against Kat’s chin. She was pretty sure he approved.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Sunday evening, Andrew plucked a can of cat food out of Kat’s kitchen cabinet and studied the label. “Tuna and egg. This isn’t their normal flavor, is it?”

  “Let me see that.” The corners of Kat’s mouth dipped down as she took the unfamiliar can from his hand. “No, this isn’t their usual. I must have grabbed it by accident when I was talking to Mr. Pedapudi at the store the other day.”

  Andrew leaned against the counter and crossed his ankles. “Think Tom will like it?”

  “I don’t see any mention of shrimp, so I’m hopeful.”

  From his spot on the floor, Tom meowed.

  Andrew smirked. “I think he’s telling you he’s hungry.”

  “He’s always hungry. And I’m two minutes late getting his dinner dished out. In Tom’s mind that’s grounds for a formal complaint.”

  “Matty doesn’t look too happy either, although she’s not saying anything.”

  “She might not be saying anything, but she is giving me the stink eye.”

  Matty was sitting next to Tom. Both felines had their eyes trained on the can in Kat’s hands. When Kat popped the top they sprang into action, dancing figure eights between her legs. While they weaved around her ankles Tom kept up a constant chorus of meows in case his human needed the extra encouragement.

  Kat spooned the food into two plastic dishes and set them on the floor. Then she held her breath as she awaited Tom’s verdict.

  Tom sniffed at the tuna. Instead of taking a bite he spun around to look at Matty. Matty didn’t pay him any attention. The tortoiseshell wasn’t picky about food, and she was greedily gobbling down her share.

  Tom looked at his bowl again, as if he might have missed something the first time. The second time he glanced at Matty, Kat had to laugh.

  “He thinks I feed her better food,” she said to Andrew.

  “After she saved you she deserves only the best.”

  As though reminded of yesterday’s harrowing ordeal, Andrew wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest. She leaned into him, relishing how safe she felt in his arms.

  Tom, however, wasn’t going to make any allowances for his human, near brush with death or not. With his nose turned up, he began pawing at the linoleum around his food dish. It was the same gesture he used to cover up his litter box deposits.

  Andrew chuckled. “I think he’s making it pretty clear what he thinks of this new food.”

  “Looks like I can add egg to his list of forbidde
n ingredients,” Kat commented.

  “I would say that’s a safe assumption.”

  Kat’s cell phone rang. She gave Andrew’s arm a squeeze before extracting herself from his embrace and heading for the living room to answer it.

  “Hi, Maura,” she said.

  “Hey, Kat. I was wondering how you’re doing after yesterday.”

  “Okay.” Kat smiled as Andrew joined her, his arms snaking around her waist again. “I even got some work done for Billy Bob’s Sporting Goods last night.” Losing herself in work had been a welcome alternative to dwelling over the memory of Winona wielding that syringe in her living room. “I think the program is pretty close to being done.”

  Maura exhaled. “Oh, Kat, that’s wonderful news.”

  Kat frowned. The way Maura had released her breath reminded her of a nicotine addict expelling smoke from their lungs. And, now that she thought about it, Maura had been quite pleasant lately, much like her old self. She hoped her boss hadn’t started lighting up again.

  Kat shook her head. Maura was an adult. Smoking was a battle she would have to fight on her own. And she wasn’t hurting anyone but herself. Kat should stay out of it.

  After all, she couldn’t save the world. All she could do was her part to make it a little nicer place to live.

  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 21 of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series, Trapped in Cherry Hills. Thank you!

  TRAPPED IN CHERRY HILLS

  “Have you ever trapped a feral cat before?” Imogene Little asked, glancing at Katherine Harper in the passenger seat.

  Kat shook her head. “Can’t say I have.”

  “I’m a bit rusty myself. But when Veronica asked for my help getting a crafty tom fixed I couldn’t say no.”