Orphaned in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  “Did she?”

  “No. But I think she would have if she could.”

  Julie’s only reply was a terse, “Take a right at the light.”

  Kat did as instructed. If Julie didn’t want to rehash the details of Carolyn’s death, Kat would respect her wishes.

  Mackenzie’s house wasn’t far, and pretty soon Kat found herself sweating through another bout of street parking. It didn’t escape her notice that she’d had to parallel park more today than she had in the past fifteen years combined.

  They walked the block back to Mackenzie’s in silence. When they were one house away, Julie skipped ahead, veering left onto a narrow concrete pathway that cut through a patchy lawn. She dashed up the steps and onto the porch, waiting impatiently for Kat to catch up before she rang the bell. A minute later, a slim blonde with the smoothest skin Kat had ever seen on a woman over forty answered the door.

  She gasped. “Julie?”

  Julie gave her a tentative smile. “Hi, Mrs. Treeger.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Despite the shock in her voice, Mrs. Treeger’s expression didn’t change. Her forehead stayed silky smooth, her eyebrows in perfect position. Botox, Kat figured.

  Julie folded her hands in front of her. “I was hoping to say hi to Mackenzie. Is she here?”

  “She is, and I’m sure she’d love to see you, honey. It’s been a while.” Mrs. Treeger stepped aside. “Go on upstairs to her room.”

  Julie slipped past her. “Thanks.”

  Mrs. Treeger shifted her attention to Kat. “Hello,” she said, sticking out a hand. “I presume you drove Julie over here?”

  “I did. I’m Kat.” Kat shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Treeger.”

  “It’s Susan. And please come in. Would you like some tea?”

  “I’m fine.”

  Susan shut the door behind Kat and led them into the den. “Please excuse the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”

  “It’s not a problem,” Kat assured her. Although, she wasn’t sure what Susan was worried about. It wasn’t impressive enough to land on any magazine covers, but with an array of magazines laid out on the coffee table and a vase of flowers centered on the fireplace mantle, the room still looked picture-perfect.

  A black cat lifted his head from the loveseat. His eyes widened when they landed on Kat. Apparently he didn’t like what he saw. He jumped to his feet and scampered off.

  “That’s Pizza,” Susan said, sitting down in the spot the cat had vacated. “Pizza the Second, to be more accurate. He’s afraid of everything.”

  Kat smiled as she lowered herself into the armchair across from Susan. “I won’t take it personally then.”

  “Pizza the First was much more friendly. It’s been almost two years since I lost him now, and I still miss him terribly.”

  “I’m sorry. I have two cats at home, and I know how quickly they become an integral part of your life.”

  “They certainly do.”

  The melancholy in Susan’s voice was the only indication of her grief. Kat wondered exactly how many Botox shots a person had to receive before her facial muscles became completely paralyzed.

  A series of high-pitched giggles floated down the stairs. The sound warmed Kat’s heart. She was glad Julie was enjoying her time with her old friend. Who knew, maybe reconnecting with Mackenzie would encourage the girl to seek out some better influences when they returned to Cherry Hills.

  “So.” Susan crossed her legs. “Are you a friend of Elsa’s?”

  “Elsa?” It took Kat a moment to place the name. “Oh, you mean Julie’s aunt.”

  “Yes. Mackenzie said she’s in her custody now.”

  “No. I mean, yes, Julie lives with Elsa. But I’m not friends with her.”

  “I see.”

  Kat suspected Susan would look curious if she could, so she answered her unspoken question. “I’m friends with one of her teachers. She asked if I would help her out a little. I guess Julie hasn’t really adjusted well since her mother’s death.”

  Susan nodded. “That’s understandable. Carolyn’s passing was a blow to all of us.”

  “Did you know her?”

  “I did. Our daughters went to the same school, and we served together on the PTA.”

  Kat’s heart skipped a beat. She had been wondering how she might learn more about Carolyn’s fellow PTA volunteers, and now a golden opportunity had been dropped right in her lap.

  “I heard the police interviewed everybody on the PTA after her murder,” Kat said.

  “They did,” Susan confirmed. “They were grasping.”

  “Or they had reason to believe a member killed Carolyn.”

  Susan shook her head with enough vigor that Kat heard her neck pop. “Uh-uh. No way. Nobody on our PTA would have done something like that.”

  “I wasn’t fingering you,” Kat assured her.

  Susan crossed her arms in a defensive gesture. “Good.”

  Kat figured a subject change was in order. As much as she wanted to delve into the PTA members’ deep, dark secrets, pushing the issue would probably only get her booted from Susan’s house. “Given that the PTA members were all cleared, somebody else has to be responsible. Did Carolyn ever mention any enemies to you?”

  “Carolyn didn’t have enemies. Everybody loved her.”

  “Do you know if she was seeing anyone?”

  “She was not. She’d only lost her husband a few months prior to her death. You don’t just bounce back from that. Why, it took me six months after losing Pizza to adopt another cat. Just think how long it would take a woman to recover from losing her husband.”

  “I heard her husband traveled a lot,” Kat said.

  “Yes. Your point?”

  “I was curious how close they were, since he wasn’t around much.”

  “Some relationships aren’t defined by distance.”

  Kat wasn’t sure what that meant, so she didn’t say anything. Besides, she was having trouble thinking under Susan’s steady gaze. The woman’s lack of expression was unnerving.

  The girls’ laughter rang through the house again. Listening to them, Kat never would have guessed they’d spent the past few years apart.

  She thought about Susan’s statement, thinking she might have an inkling of what she had meant after all. But friends reconnecting after a long time apart was a lot different than a husband and wife who rarely saw each other. She tried to imagine how she would feel about Andrew being on the road all the time. She’d miss him terribly, that was for sure. But would their love eventually start to erode? She didn’t know the answer to that.

  “If you’re thinking Carolyn had a secret lover who killed her in a fit of passion, I can assure you that wasn’t the case,” Susan said. “In fact, Carolyn had her grief group on Saturdays, and she attended with religious regularity. Even if she did have a lover, she wouldn’t have entertained him so soon after sharing stories about her husband.”

  “Unless she connected with a widower there,” Kat considered.

  “You’re grasping at straws.”

  Kat couldn’t deny that. But what was she supposed to do? Wipe Carolyn Conway’s murder from her mind and go on about her life as if she’d never learned about the woman’s tragic fate? She couldn’t do that even if she wanted to.

  Susan stood up when another peal of laughter drifted downstairs. “Those girls will stay up there all night if we let them.”

  Would that be so bad? Kat wanted to ask. She was surprised to find herself reluctant to head back to Cherry Hills. This trip had given her a glimpse of the carefree girl Julie had once been, before she’d lost her mother, father, dog, and friend.

  She sighed as she recalled what Ms. Dearborn had said about broken hearts never completely healing. Maybe it didn’t matter that she would never be able to bring Julie’s mother’s killer to justice. Maybe the damage had already been done.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kat and Julie didn’t spea
k much during the drive back to Cherry Hills. Julie stayed huddled close to the passenger window, her cell phone glued to her face. Kat wasn’t sure whether to blame too many hours in the car, thoughts of her mother’s death, or having to once again say goodbye to her beloved dog and old friend for putting the teenager in a mood. Probably a combination of all three. At any rate, Kat was grateful for the silence. It gave her time to decompress after so much talk of Carolyn Conway’s murder.

  It was close to four o’clock when Kat reached Cherry Hills. She pulled into Julie’s driveway and cut the engine. “We’re here,” she said.

  Julie threw open the door and scrambled out of her seat. “Thanks for the ride. Bye.”

  “Wait.” Kat fumbled with the buckle of her seat belt. “I’ll walk you in.”

  “You don’t have to do that. I’m not a baby.”

  “I want to meet your aunt.”

  Kat also wanted to make sure Julie actually went inside. Since she’d taken her away for the day, she felt it was her duty to return her safely. For all she knew, Julie planned to hide in the bushes until Kat drove off, then sneak down the street to meet up with her friends.

  But Kat hadn’t been lying about wanting to meet Julie’s aunt either. In truth, she couldn’t help but wonder if Elsa might be the person responsible for her sister’s death.

  Julie had mentioned that Elsa had upgraded to a bigger house after taking her in. Although it was rather modest, the house in front of her still looked to be beyond the budget of a single woman who waitressed for a living. Kat should know. She’d worked as a waitress before landing her computer programming job.

  The burning question in Kat’s mind was, where had Elsa gotten the money to afford such a place? Was she really earning enough from those extra shifts Julie had claimed she’d picked up, or was that merely a ruse to cover up the fact that she had benefited handsomely from Carolyn’s death? Julie had mentioned that, besides herself, Elsa was Carolyn’s lone surviving family member. Kat couldn’t rule out the possibility of a hefty inheritance.

  Kat caught up with Julie by the front door. As Julie used her key to let them in, a slate-gray cat slithered through the doorway.

  “Earth!” a woman yelled from inside. “Get back in here!”

  The cat ignored the command, planting his butt on the pavement and peering defiantly back into the house.

  A stocky brunette came running into view. She wore a scowl on her face that disappeared when her eyes landed on Kat.

  “Oh, hello,” she said. “You must be Kat.”

  “Yes,” Kat confirmed. “Are you Elsa?”

  “I am.”

  Kat was surprised to note that, besides looking nothing like her niece, Elsa also didn’t look much older than Kat. After listening to Julie and Brianna talk, she had pictured a woman closer to Ms. Dearborn’s age.

  Elsa lifted up the cat and planted a kiss on his head. “I see you’ve met Earth.”

  “He’s beautiful,” Kat told her.

  “Thank you. I have four, all Russian Blues, all brothers.” Elsa paused, her gaze shifting to Julie as if this were the first time she was noticing her. “Julie, would you like to invite our guest inside?”

  Julie shoved her hands in her jeans pockets. “I guess.”

  Elsa sighed as she draped the cat over one shoulder and swung the door wide.

  Kat entered the house, on alert for expensive-looking art or trinkets. But she didn’t spot anything that might suggest Elsa couldn’t resist showing off some newfound wealth. Instead, the room looked to have been furnished with the cats’ comfort in mind. Two tall cat trees had been positioned by the windows, and several plush beds lined the walls. A variety of stuffed mice and hollow plastic balls with bells inside littered the floor. Excluding the sofa set—which, judging from the amount of cat hair coating the fabric, one could argue was only present for the felines’ benefit—the only nod to the fact that humans might spend time here was the entertainment center in the corner.

  “That’s Fire on the cat tree,” Elsa said, securing the front door. “And Wind is on that pillow over there. You won’t see Water unless he’s hungry. He hangs out in the bedrooms.”

  Fire and Wind sat at attention, their piercing green eyes growing huge at the sight of a stranger in their midst. They looked identical to Earth with their solid gray coats and sleek builds. Kat couldn’t determine how Elsa told them apart.

  She started walking toward them but stopped when one of the cats looked ready to bolt.

  “They’re shy,” Elsa said.

  “I won’t crowd them then,” Kat replied.

  “I hope Julie wasn’t too much trouble.”

  Kat turned around, surprised to note that she and Elsa were alone. When had Julie disappeared?

  Elsa sat down on the couch with Earth. “I know how temperamental she can be.”

  “No, she was great,” Kat told her. “It was nice to have the company.”

  Elsa stroked Earth, who had hooked his paws over her knees, his head held high as if he were king of the world. “That’s good. Sometimes she’s impossible.”

  “I think she’s still sad about her mother.”

  Elsa didn’t say anything, ducking her head down and redoubling her efforts to give Earth the best kitty rubdown he’d ever had.

  Kat smoothed her skirt beneath her as she lowered herself onto the sofa across from Elsa. “She says you don’t talk about her mother much.”

  “That’s right. What would be the point?”

  “Maybe to bond over your shared tragedy.”

  “The last thing Julie wants is to bond with me.”

  Kat was surprised to detect a hint of remorse in her tone. Elsa was definitely not turning out to be like she had expected.

  Elsa’s head fell back against the sofa. “Julie and I have a strained relationship, to say the least. She resents having to live here, and I . . . well, I’m not good with children.”

  “I’m not sure she wants to be treated like a child.”

  “Of course she doesn’t. She’s sixteen. She thinks she has all the answers.”

  “Except for the one that matters.”

  “What do you mean?” Elsa asked.

  “She doesn’t know who killed her mother.”

  Elsa stiffened. Earth must have felt it. He twisted his head around and meowed at her.

  “Were you close to your sister?” Kat asked.

  Elsa looked at Kat, the coldness of her gaze causing her to flinch. “I don’t discuss my sister.”

  “Why not?” Because you killed her? Kat silently wondered.

  “Because talking about her isn’t going to change anything.” Elsa shoved Earth aside and stood up. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to start on dinner.”

  Kat itched to push the issue, but Elsa’s posture made it clear she would be wasting her breath. She was so tense her shoulders almost touched her ears.

  Her reaction only fueled Kat’s suspicions that she might have been the one to kill Carolyn. Was it guilt that made her unwilling to discuss her sister? Perhaps after Julie’s father had died, she’d realized the only thing standing between her and Carolyn’s money was Carolyn herself. She could have driven over to Seattle that Saturday and showed up on Carolyn’s doorstep under the guise of wanting to engage in some sisterly bonding. Carolyn wouldn’t have hesitated to let her inside, never thinking twice as she turned her back to work on those bake sale cookies. Then Elsa would only need to grab one of the knives out of the block, plunge it into Carolyn’s chest, and return to her life in Cherry Hills while she waited for her inheritance check to show up.

  “Where did that come from?”

  Elsa’s sharp voice caused Kat to jump. Had she actually voiced her theory out loud?

  But Elsa wasn’t looking at Kat. Her dark eyes were fixed on something across the room.

  Kat turned her head, spotting Julie standing near the edge of the hallway, one of the cats twining between her legs. Julie had slipped a purple cardigan over her
tank top. Ironic, Kat thought, that she had waited until they were out of the cold before covering up her bare arms.

  “What?” Julie said to Elsa, the challenge clear in her voice.

  “You know what I’m talking about,” Elsa spat. “Take it off.”

  Julie cinched her sweater tighter. “No.”

  The two glared at each other. Caught in the middle of their silent standoff, Kat felt distinctly uncomfortable.

  Elsa was the first to relent. Without a word, she spun on her heel and stormed into the kitchen, leaving Kat alone with Julie and a head full of questions.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The tension drained from Julie’s body as soon as her aunt disappeared. She released her death grip on the cardigan, allowing it to gape open.

  Kat nodded at it. “Did you borrow that from Elsa?”

  Julie looked at her. “What?”

  “Did you borrow that sweater from your aunt?”

  “No way.” The curl of Julie’s lip indicated her disgust over the suggestion. Then her face softened. “It was my mom’s. Aunt Elsa doesn’t like to look at it.”

  “Ah.” Evidently Elsa’s refusal to discuss Carolyn extended to banning Julie from memorializing her, too.

  Julie rolled one of the buttons between her thumb and forefinger as though it were a talisman. “I usually keep it in my dresser, but after our trip I had this urge to take it out. I just felt like . . . I don’t know. Like I wanted to be close to her.”

  Kat swallowed past the lump in her throat. “Well, I think it’s lovely.”

  “Mom used to wear this all the time, but this is the first time I’ve put it on since I moved in with Aunt Elsa.”

  “I’m sorry our trip made you nostalgic for your mom.”

  Julie shrugged. “It’s okay. At least you let me talk about her. That’s more than some people.”

  From the way her eyes moved toward the kitchen, Kat gathered she was referring to Elsa. She wished she could assure the teenager that her aunt meant well, but she wasn’t sure she believed it herself.