Vanished in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 4) (7 page)

Kat stared at Mrs. Polanski’s outstretched hand for a moment longer. Then she took a deep breath, accepted the phone, and dialed.

“So, you finally got to talk to her, huh?” Andrew asked, taking Kat’s hand as they walked through the parking lot toward the police station.

Kat smiled. “I did. The conversation didn’t go at all like I expected, but it was good.”

He looked at her, his eyes warm. “Yeah?”

“I always figured we’d either have this big, tearful heart-to-heart or she’d tell me she never wanted to hear from me again.” Kat paused, then said, “This wasn’t like either scenario.”

In fact, after Kat had pushed past her initial nervousness, talking to her mother for the first time in three decades almost felt like chatting with a customer at Jessie’s Diner. There were no huge displays of emotion from either party, but just hearing that twinge of excitement in her mother’s voice when Kat had revealed who she was had been enough.

“She wants to meet me,” Kat said.

“She’d be a fool not to,” Andrew replied.

She stopped walking and turned to face him. “I’m not sure I’m ready.”

He took her other hand, not saying anything.

She looked off in the distance, her heart hammering in her chest. She wasn’t sure how to explain her hesitation. She had yearned so badly for a reunion a week ago, back before she had any method of contacting her mother. Now that they’d actually spoken, she was more unsure than ever.

“I mean, I want to meet her,” Kat said, her eyes drifting back to Andrew. “I just need some time to get used to the idea before we actually go through with it.”

Andrew squeezed her fingers. “That’s your right.”

He let go of one of her hands, but maintained his grip on the other as they started walking again. Kat looked up at the sky, watching as two clouds glided past each other. When they separated, the sun appeared, casting its warm rays down upon them.

Kat turned back to Andrew. “We agreed to keep the lines of communication open. We’re going to call each other every week or so, just to catch up. Maybe after we’ve talked for a while I’ll feel more comfortable with the idea of meeting her in person.”

“Whatever you do, I’ll support you.”

Her heart warmed. “I know, and I’m so grateful you feel that way.”

Andrew released her hand to open the door to the police station. “After you.”

Kat stepped inside, her stomach executing a nervous flip as they headed toward Chief Kenny’s office. She wasn’t sure how he would react to the information she had to share.

But Chief Kenny let her talk freely as she told him about Helen Trotter’s confession, interrupting only when he needed clarification on certain points. And although Andrew had accompanied her into the police chief’s office, he merely sat quietly in one corner, observing but not participating.

Kat omitted any mention of Mrs. Polanski and what she’d done to help Maybelle hide from the law. She didn’t think the police chief would look very favorably on her mother’s decision to take on another woman’s identity, even given the circumstances.

Plus, now that the shock of what she’d learned had worn off, Kat felt oddly grateful to Mrs. Polanski for helping her mother out all those years ago. Clearly turning Helen in would have helped Maybelle even more, but Kat could understand—begrudgingly—why that hadn’t been an option.

Kat took a deep breath when she reached the end of her story. “So, that’s it. Now that you know my mother is innocent, you can remove her from your wanted list, right?”

Chief Kenny folded his bulky arms on the desk. If he was surprised by Helen’s guilt, his face didn’t reflect it. “I still want to see her,” he said.

Kat’s heart lurched. “Why? Helen’s confession is enough to prove my mother had nothing to do with that robbery, right?”

“You betcha,” Chief Kenny said, nodding. His head stilled, and his face fell a little. “I wanna apologize for suspecting her all these years.”

Kat stared at him for a moment. As uncomfortable as the police chief had made her at the end of their first meeting, now she felt something bordering on warmth. She knew it took a lot of courage for someone in his position to admit to being wrong.

She swallowed. “If she ever comes back to Cherry Hills, I’ll be sure to let her know.”

Chief Kenny shook his head. “
When
she comes back, Kat, even if it’s just for a short visit, tell her she’ll be welcome with open arms.”

Kat smiled. “I’ll do that.”

She was still smiling when she walked out of the police station.

Thank you for visiting Cherry Hills, home of Kat, Matty, and Tom! If you enjoyed their story, please consider leaving a book review on
Amazon
. 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 Two of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series,
Framed in Cherry Hills
. Thank you!

“Something is wrong,” Imogene Little said, twining her fingers together. “Willow is never late.”

Katherine Harper looked at the clock in Imogene’s home office. “It’s only twelve-fifteen. Maybe she got snagged in traffic.”

Imogene shook her head, her auburn locks flying around her shoulders. “She would have called in that case. She would at least have picked up her phone when I called.”

“Even if she were driving?”

Imogene nodded. “She has one of those fancy hands-free sets. Something must be wrong. It’s the only possibility.”

Kat wanted to say something to ease Imogene’s concerns until they knew for sure what was going on, but, having never met Willow Wu, she found herself at a loss for words. This Saturday afternoon in July marked the first time she had planned to meet the third member of the Furry Friends Foster Families—or 4F, for short—non-profit organization.

Kat looked uneasily out the window as the steady sound of rain beating against the house filled the room. A storm had been brewing ever since the night before, and this morning’s rain hadn’t let up yet. It was the type of weather conducive to traffic accidents, which made Willow’s absence all the more worrisome. Still, Kat figured the possibility of a car wreck had already crossed Imogene’s mind, and she could see no sense in bringing it up.

Imogene snatched up the cell phone on her desk and punched a few buttons before pressing it to her ear. After a moment she dropped the phone, shaking her head as she slumped into her seat. She didn’t have to say anything for Kat to know that Willow had failed to answer Imogene’s call once again.

A big, white cat sauntered into the room. He paused three feet past the doorway and studied Kat with his sky-blue eyes. He must have decided that she was good for a few strokes because he ambled over and sat down within petting reach.

Kat leaned over and ran one hand down the animal’s back. He felt so soft that she formed the impression she was stroking a cloud.

“That’s Clover,” Imogene said.

“Is he yours?” Kat didn’t remember seeing Clover during a previous visit to Imogene’s house, but she’d only been over once before. She had moved back to her hometown of Cherry Hills, Washington just a few weeks ago, and, although Imogene had lived here when Kat had been growing up, she’d only struck up a friendship with the fifty-something woman recently.

“He’s a foster,” Imogene said. “He doesn’t get along well with other cats. Since I was between animals, I was the only foster parent in a position to take him in.”

“He’s beautiful,” Kat said as Clover pushed his nose into her palm.

Imogene beamed. “Isn’t he, though? I’m tempted to adopt him myself, except that would mandate that I stop fostering other animals.”

“Couldn’t you keep him separated from any fosters you took in?”

Imogene laughed, looking at the white cat fondly. “I don’t think Clover would go for that. He seems to believe he owns the entire house.”

Imogene’s cell phone rang, causing them both to straighten.

“That must be Willow.” Imogene scrambled for the phone. “Hello?”

Having apparently had his fill of attention, Clover wandered over to an armchair on the other side of the room, jumped into the seat, and circled around once before settling down.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry about that, Paul.”

The worry in Imogene’s voice sent a prickle of fear through Kat’s body. She stilled as she listened to Imogene’s half of the phone conversation.

“I don’t know.” Imogene fingered the edge of her desk with her free hand. “She was due here at noon, but she hasn’t shown up yet. I didn’t realize she’d already missed another appointment.” She fell silent for a moment, then bobbed her head. “Yes, of course. I’ll do that. Thank you, and I’ll see you soon.”

Kat leaned forward, trying to keep her dread at bay as Imogene pulled her phone away from her ear. “Who was that?”

“Paul McGinty.” The cell phone slipped out of Imogene’s hand, landing with a thunk on the desk. “Evidently Willow was supposed to stop by his house half an hour ago so he could talk to her about Tom.”

“Who’s Tom?”

“One of our foster cats. The McGintys are currently caring for him until he finds a permanent home.”

“Ah.”

Imogene chewed the edge of her lip. “Wherever Willow is, something dreadful must have happened. She never misses appointments without at least calling.”

Kat glanced out the window, shivering as she watched the rain pelting the glass panes. Although it was still early afternoon, the darkening skies gave the impression that the hour was closer to nighttime.

Imogene jumped out of her chair, seeming to have gotten a fresh burst of energy. “Anyway, I’ve got to head over to Paul’s. He sounded pretty upset that Willow didn’t show when she said she would.”

Kat stood up. “Should I come with you?”

Imogene’s face brightened. “Yes, that would be wonderful. This way you’ll get to experience firsthand some of what we do here at 4F.”

“Sounds good.” Kat grabbed her purse off the floor and followed Imogene out the door.

*  *  *

The complete book is available on
Amazon
.

Books in the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series:

Book 1:
Murder in Cherry Hills

Book 2:
Framed in Cherry Hills

Book 3:
Poisoned in Cherry Hills

Book 4:
Vanished in Cherry Hills

Paige Sleuth is a pseudonym for mystery author
Marla Bradeen
. She plots murder during the day and fights for mattress space with her two rescue cats at night. When not attending to her cats’ demands, she writes. She loves to hear from readers, and welcomes emails at
[email protected]
.