Orphaned in Cherry Hills
Page 8
Imogene grabbed the woman’s elbow. “Deirdre, are you okay?”
Deirdre peered at her with wide brown eyes. She looked ready to burst into tears. “I dropped the risotto balls. I’m so sorry.”
Kat saw now that she wore a white top coupled with black slacks, a classic catering uniform. An apron with the top folded down was cinched at her waist, and her brown hair was pulled back in a bun. Several tendrils hung around the sides of her face.
Imogene patted Deirdre’s arm. “Don’t worry about it. Sam can whip up more of those in no time.”
Deirdre bit her lip. “You don’t think he’ll be mad?”
“Of course not.”
Deirdre didn’t look convinced. She pulled at a loose piece of hair, a tear slipping down her cheek.
“I’ll explain how the accident couldn’t be helped, that my terror of a cat is to blame,” Imogene said. A perturbed expression flashed across her face. “How did he escape my office, anyway?”
Another woman jogged into the room, wild brown curls and a loose-fitting floral skirt flouncing around her. “Was that Clover I saw?”
“Frieda!” Imogene folded her arms across her chest. “Did you let Clover out of my office?”
Frieda blinked. “I did not.”
Imogene eyed her suspiciously as she scooped up Clover. The feline struggled for a bit, but when it became clear his human wasn’t about to release him he draped his head over her arm and stared longingly at the toppled risotto balls.
Frieda spread her palms. “It wasn’t me, I swear.” She reached a tentative hand toward Clover. “But since he’s out, you won’t mind if I pet him, will you?”
Frieda didn’t wait for a response before running her hand down Clover’s back. The feline whipped his head around, his ears wilting against his head and a meow of protest escaping past his lips when he saw who it was.
“Ohhh, you’re so cute I could just eat you up,” Frieda cooed, practically rubbing noses with the cat.
Clover’s blue eyes widened in alarm. He peered at Imogene and let out a desperate cry for help.
Imogene took a tiny step backward. “I should put him back in the office before he causes any more damage.”
Frieda gave Clover’s ears a scritch. “Ohhh, you wouldn’t do that, would you now, you sweet little angel you?”
A giggle bubbled up Kat’s throat. She did her best to keep it from escaping, but she wasn’t entirely successful. The demoralized expression on Clover’s face was just too much.
Imogene smirked at Kat. “Kat, this is Frieda Tabernathy, Kenny’s sister. She traveled all the way from Bellingham to celebrate Kenny’s special day.”
“I’m one of Kenny’s sisters,” Frieda corrected, straightening away from Clover and extending a hand toward Kat. Her grip was firm, and Kat could see the muscles in her forearm ripple as they shook hands. “Marigold’s around here somewhere too. The others couldn’t make it.”
“How many sisters does Chief Kenny have?” Kat asked.
“Four,” Frieda replied. “Or four too many, if you ask him.”
Imogene chuckled. “Such a grouch.”
“Marigold and I are the youngest. I’m five years younger than Ken, and Mari was born only fourteen months after me.” Frieda scanned the living area. “Let me find Mari and you can meet her.”
“I’ll catch up with you in a minute.” Imogene adjusted Clover in her arms. “First I have to get this little hellion squared away.”
As though reminded of Clover’s presence, Frieda fell right back into her baby-talking persona. “Auntie Frieda will miss you,” she crooned, planting a kiss atop Clover’s head.
Clover hissed at her through bared teeth. Somehow, Kat didn’t think the feline would miss Auntie Frieda nearly as much.
“Oh, there’s Marigold,” Frieda announced. “Follow me, Kat.”
But they only made it partway through the crowd before a blood-chilling scream echoed through the house. The individual conversations that had been buzzing all around them came to a grinding halt, leaving behind a quiet that felt more deafening than any sound.
Kat froze in her tracks. Turning around, she spotted Imogene standing near the open door of her home office. Clover was nowhere in sight, having apparently escaped his human’s grasp.
But the wily cat’s disappearance didn’t seem to be the cause of Imogene’s alarm. Kat watched as Imogene reached for the doorframe, her knees wobbling as if they were on the verge of buckling.
Springing into action, Kat raced over to her friend, her heart pounding harder with every hurried step. It didn’t take her long to identify the reason for Imogene’s reaction.
In the middle of Imogene’s home office, a man lay on the carpet, his limbs akimbo and a blotch of red pooling around his head. The surprised look preserved in his eyes for all of eternity made it infinitely clear they were too late to save him.
* * *
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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
Book 5: Shot in Cherry Hills
Book 6: Strangled in Cherry Hills
Book 7: Halloween in Cherry Hills
Book 8: Stabbed in Cherry Hills
Book 9: Thanksgiving in Cherry Hills
Book 10: Frozen in Cherry Hills
Book 11: Hit & Run in Cherry Hills
Book 12: Christmas in Cherry Hills
Book 13: Choked in Cherry Hills
Book 14: Dropped Dead in Cherry Hills
Book 15: Valentine’s in Cherry Hills
Book 16: Drowned in Cherry Hills
Book 17: Orphaned in Cherry Hills
Book 18: Fatal Fête in Cherry Hills
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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 paige.sleuth@yahoo.com.