Hit and Run in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  “When did you borrow my coat?” Nolan asked.

  “At that party Thursday night. One of the girls wanted to go outside for some air, and your coat happened to be more convenient than mine.”

  Nolan frowned. “When did that happen? You only stayed at that party for ten minutes.”

  “That’s because I found the note. After we came back inside, I left to confront Niki.”

  “So you stole that man’s car,” Kat filled in.

  “I actually thought I was taking Nolan’s keys,” Valerie said. “But when I pressed the fob button, another car beeped. I didn’t think I’d be gone long enough for anyone to notice, so I figured, what the heck, I’ll just borrow some other car for an hour.”

  “Hold on a minute.” Nolan slanted away from her. “You were going to kill Nikita with my Highlander?”

  “No, I only wanted to talk to her, to tell her to back off and leave my boyfriend alone.”

  “But something must have happened to make you decide to kill her,” Kat said.

  Valerie’s expression hardened. “Once I started driving I grew angrier and angrier. I kept thinking of all the ways she excelled where I failed, and how Mom was always gushing over her accomplishments but never mine. And if that wasn’t bad enough, now she has to go after my boyfriend.”

  Clover evidently didn’t care to hear any more. He stood up and headed back into Imogene’s home office, presumably to resume his nap.

  Valerie’s eyes trailed the cat, but Kat didn’t think she really saw him. Her gaze was vacant when she spoke again. “I turned down her street and there she was, standing by the curb like this big bull’s-eye. It was almost like the universe wanted me to hit her.”

  Kat shuddered.

  “So I flicked off the headlights and stomped on the gas pedal.” Valerie fell against the couch, wrapping her arms around her middle. For the first time since she’d confessed, she looked sick. “I think I hit something else too.”

  “That would be her mailbox,” Kat said. “Or maybe the recycle bin.”

  “I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, and I couldn’t see all that good.” Valerie drew in a ragged breath. “Anyway, when I was driving off the car started making this knocking noise. I wasn’t sure if it could make the trip back, so I ditched it.”

  “How did you get home after . . . the accident?” Although ‘accident’ was a grossly inadequate term for what had happened, Kat was still having trouble digesting the fact that Valerie had been willing to kill her sister in such a horrible manner.

  “I stole a bike and helmet from a garage somebody left open and rode back,” Valerie said.

  Kat remembered reading about Valerie’s bike-racing accolades. She would probably asphyxiate if she attempted to bike between Cherry Hills and Wenatchee, but the distance wouldn’t be all that great for somebody accustomed to riding competitively.

  “Weren’t you worried somebody would recognize you?” Kat asked.

  “With that helmet on?” Valerie shook her head. “Nobody could see my face through that thing.”

  Several cars could be heard squealing to a stop outside. Kat sagged against the wall, overtaken by a dizzying wave of relief. Andrew must have gotten her message.

  “What’s that?” Valerie ran over to one of the living room windows and peeked through the blinds. “There are cops out there,” she said, her voice shaking.

  “At Nikita’s?” Nolan asked.

  Valerie drew her head back. Her face was as white as a sheet. “Here.”

  Nolan crossed the room to see for himself. “Hey, my car’s blocked in.”

  Valerie’s eyes darted around. “I’ve gotta get out of here.”

  Kat stepped closer to the front door and spread her arms wide. “You’re not going anywhere.”

  She braced herself as Valerie studied her. But instead of charging, Valerie pivoted around and sprinted toward Imogene’s home office. It took Kat a second to realize she was looking for another exit.

  Kat dashed after her. When she made it into the room, Valerie was straddling the armchair, one leg stuck through the nearby window. She steadied herself against the windowsill, but before she could maneuver her other leg outside Clover hopped onto the chair and clamped his jaws around the cuff of her jeans.

  “What the—” Valerie tried to shake him off. “Stop that!”

  Clover hung on tight.

  Valerie looked at Kat, her eyes wild. “Get him off of me!”

  Kat didn’t move. Not only did she refuse to help Valerie escape, but she was stunned by Clover’s behavior. “I’ve never seen him this aggressive before. What did you do?”

  “Nothing!” Valerie tried to jerk her ankle away. “I just pushed him aside, and he went berserk.”

  “You pushed him off of the armchair?” Kat said. “That’s his chair.”

  The doorbell sounded, and Valerie redoubled her efforts to shake off Clover. The cat didn’t budge.

  “Nolan Calabresi, you’re under arrest,” Kat heard Andrew say.

  “Andrew!” she shouted. “In here!”

  He jogged into the room, his brows furrowing when he caught sight of Valerie and Clover engaged in a battle of wills. “What’s going on?”

  “Valerie killed Nikita, not Nolan,” Kat said.

  Andrew frowned, but luckily he must have realized now wasn’t the time for questions. He strode over to the window and yanked Valerie back inside. Kat saw tears streaming down her face as she fell into the armchair.

  “Valerie Stoll, you’re under arrest,” Andrew said.

  Clover, seeming to sense the situation was under control, let go of Valerie’s jeans and ambled over to Kat.

  She crouched down and pet him. “Remind me never to sit in your chair without permission again, boy.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Isn’t it awesome?” Kat said, staring across her living room.

  Andrew scooted closer to her on the couch and draped his arm around her shoulders. “It sure is.”

  “How much do you think it’s worth?”

  “You’re asking me?” Andrew snorted. “I’m probably the only person who’s more clueless about art than you.”

  “Well, if Nikita’s full-sized paintings are going for five figures, this one must be worth at least four.” Kat shook her head, finding it hard to believe she had something that valuable inside her dinky apartment. “And her mother just gave it to me.”

  “She was grateful you caught Nikita’s killer.”

  “Except that killer turned out to be her other daughter.” Kat paused, then said, “Do you think Clover recognized Valerie?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The night Nikita died he was looking out Imogene’s window. He might have seen Valerie driving that car. Maybe that’s why he was so determined not to let her escape.”

  “You’re giving this cat too much credit,” Andrew said. “He attacked her because he didn’t appreciate the fact that she had tossed him out of his chair, pure and simple.”

  Kat grinned. “You’re never going to admit that cats can be eyewitnesses to crimes, are you?”

  Andrew tucked a strand of her hair behind one ear. “That’s because they can’t.”

  “Either way, I’m glad the bad guy—or girl—is now in jail.” Kat sighed, her spirits deflating. “Poor Melissa though.”

  When Kat had talked to Nikita’s mother after Valerie’s arrest, Melissa had been struggling to maintain her composure. Kat hadn’t wanted to accept the small painting she’d offered as a thank-you, but Melissa had insisted. Nikita would have wanted her to have it, she’d said.

  The painting was only about twelve-by-twelve inches. Even so, the amount of detail Nikita had packed into the tiny nature scene was stunning. Kat could actually see the veins in the tree leaves and the spiderweb of cracks etched into the bark of the trunk. The piece’s focal point, a cougar crouched behind a cluster of branches, looked almost real.

  Apparently Tom thought the cougar looked a little
too real. He had clambered onto the computer desk as soon as Kat had hung the painting. Since then, his eyes hadn’t left it once, the tip of his tail flicking every few seconds. Twice he’d even stood on his hind legs and stretched toward the painting as though to attack this third cat who had invaded their home.

  Matty, on the other hand, wasn’t nearly as impressed. Although she had looked up from her spot on the couch when Kat had walked through the front door, the moment she’d seen the painting she had yawned and closed her eyes again.

  “You think Matty would be a good painter?” Kat asked, reaching over to ruffle the tortoiseshell’s fur.

  “Matty?” Andrew echoed. “You mean your cat Matty?”

  “The way she dismissed Nikita’s work, I get the sense she thinks she can do better.”

  “That’s pure feline superiority. She believes she’s the best at everything, it doesn’t matter what you’re talking about.”

  “True. But if Nolan Calabresi can find a market for his artwork, I’m sure Matty could find one for hers too.”

  Andrew pursed his lips before bobbing his head. “Okay, I’ll give you that. But she’s rather lazy, don’t you think? She’d probably fall asleep on the job.”

  Kat grinned. “Maybe she and Tom could work in shifts. It could be a joint effort.”

  “I doubt you would want anything those two created hanging in your apartment.”

  Matty lifted her head and glared at Andrew before joining Tom by the desk, united with her brother in solidarity. Clearly she hadn’t appreciated Andrew’s digs at their untapped talent.

  Kat watched as Matty started licking Tom’s ear. “You know, I used to feel sorry for myself because I was an only child. But after seeing how Valerie felt about Nikita, now I’m not so sure it wasn’t for the best.”

  “Not all sisters kill each other,” Andrew said.

  “I know. But there’s a dynamic there I never thought much about. Whenever I used to fantasize about having a sibling I focused on all the benefits, not the jealousy and friction that goes along with it.”

  Andrew shifted positions. “And sometimes neither one of you ends up with too many feelings about the other, positive or negative.”

  Kat twisted to face him better, picking up something in his voice. “Who are you talking about?”

  “Me and my sister.”

  His words sent her reeling. “You have a sister?”

  He nodded. “She’s technically a half-sister, I guess. We have the same father.”

  Kat gaped at him. “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about her?”

  “Like I said, we’re not close. We didn’t grow up together. I didn’t even know she existed until about five years ago.”

  “Still.” She would have thought he might find his reunion with a long-lost sister significant enough to mention sometime during the four months they’d been together.

  She stood up and crossed over to the other side of the room, needing some space. She was hurt that Andrew had kept such a big secret from her. Didn’t he trust her enough to open up about his family?

  “I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” he said, as though he could read her mind. “It just never occurred to me to say anything. I don’t think about her much.”

  His explanation mollified her a little. Maybe she was reading too much into this.

  Her gaze drifted toward Nikita’s painting, her attention drawn to the cougar once more. She studied the markings on his face and the way Nikita had detailed the grooves of his nose. Her eyes traveled lower, stopping by his paws. Nikita had painted just the tiniest tip of a claw protruding from one of his toes. She had missed that earlier.

  She glanced over her shoulder at Andrew. Maybe, like Nikita’s painting, there would always be new things to discover about him if she looked close enough.

  She hoped so. After all, she planned for him to stick around for a while.

  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 Twelve of the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series, Christmas in Cherry Hills. Thank you!

  CHRISTMAS IN CHERRY HILLS

  “Merry Christmas!” Andrew Milhone said as he lugged a bundle of green into Katherine Harper’s apartment.

  “You bought a tree already?” Kat planted her hands on her hips. “You were supposed to call me to help pick one out.”

  “I know, but when I drove by the lot earlier the pickings were getting slim. I wasn’t sure there would be any left by the time you got off work.”

  Kat’s jaw dropped open. “Christmas is still two days away, and they’re already almost sold out?”

  “What can I say, some people plan ahead better than you do.”

  Kat stuck her tongue out at him.

  Andrew adjusted his hold on the trunk. “So where do you want this thing? It’s starting to get heavy.”

  Kat pointed to the space she had cleared next to the living room window. “You can put it over there.”

  Andrew eyed her. “Some help would be nice.”

  Matty and Tom, Kat’s two cats, evidently thought that was their cue to offer assistance. They both wandered over, turning into a black, brown, and yellow blur as they weaved between Kat’s and Andrew’s legs in an attempt to get close to the tree.

  “You’re going to get stepped on,” Kat warned them.

  The animals weren’t concerned, too enraptured by this new addition to their home. Kat accommodated them by shuffling her feet as she made her way across the living room with her end of the tree.

  “Tip your side up,” Andrew instructed.

  Kat did. When she’d raised the tree top as high as she could, Andrew took over, grabbing hold of the side and securing the base of the trunk to the stand. He verified it was steady, then pulled out a pocket knife to snip the twine wrapped around the branches. Matty and Tom watched in awe as the tree unfolded into its full, glorious splendor.

  “There!” Andrew brushed his sandy hair away from his eyes. “It fits perfectly.”

  The burst of joy that seized Kat then took her by surprise. “I never thought I’d ever be looking forward to celebrating Christmas.”

  Tom didn’t waste any time moving in to inspect the pine needles within reach. Matty sat off to the side, her gray-striped tail swishing across the carpet. She stared up at the tree, then crouched low to the ground before springing toward one of the branches. Tom stopped what he was doing to watch as the yellow-and-brown tortoiseshell pulled herself into the tree, her hind feet scrabbling to find a good foothold.

  Kat laughed. “I can tell you right now, with Matty and Tom here this Christmas is shaping up to be the best one I’ve had in all of my thirty-two years.”

  Andrew slung his arm around Kat’s shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I know this will be my best Christmas ever. I have you.”

  Kat leaned into him, his words making her giddy.

  He chuckled. “Look at us getting into the holiday spirit. Remember when we were a couple of kids grumbling about Christmas while everybody else at school couldn’t wait to see what kind of loot they were going to be getting?”

  “It was different for us. We were in foster care. Christmas isn’t much fun when you’re sitting around with somebody else’s family, opening up generic gifts picked up at the last minute so you don’t feel left out. I can’t tell you how many times Santa brought me a pair of cheap socks patterned in some kind of reindeer theme.”

  Kat smiled as Tom swatted at Matty, who was shielded by the branches surrounding her. Matty retaliated by taking a swing at his head. Neither cat made contact, but it was clear they were having a grand time trying.

  “They’re so cute,” Kat said. “I bought some baubles, but now I’m not sure we shouldn�
��t leave the tree as it is. The cats can enjoy it more this way.”

  Andrew squeezed her shoulder. “It’s your tree. You can do whatever you want.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist as she rotated toward him. “Thank you for buying it and bringing it over. How much do I owe you?”

  He kissed her nose. “Consider it to be a gift.”

  “We agreed not to exchange gifts.”

  “Then consider it to be on loan. You can give it back to me after your mom leaves town.”

  The reminder that Maybelle Harper was currently on her way to Cherry Hills, Washington sent a flurry of butterflies erupting in Kat’s stomach. “I’m nervous about meeting her. What if we don’t get along?”

  Andrew smirked. “Then you’ll be just like every other family.”

  “I’m serious, Andrew.” Kat stepped away from him and flopped onto the couch. “I haven’t seen her in twenty-some-odd years. What if we have nothing in common?” What if she doesn’t like me? was what Kat was really thinking.

  Andrew sat down beside her. “You’ve been talking on the phone, haven’t you?”

  “We hold five-minute conversations about the weather and how our jobs are going every other week. We don’t talk about anything important.”

  Andrew paused, then said, “Have you told her about me?”

  “No,” Kat admitted.

  “Huh.”

  Kat could see the disappointment in his eyes, and it twisted her heart. “It’s not because I don’t want my mother to know we’re dating or anything. But when we’re on the phone we end up chatting about mundane stuff.”

  “You’ve told her about the cats though.”

  “Yes.” Realizing he might think that meant she valued Matty and Tom more than him, she added, “But that’s only because she’s staying with me for three days. I had to know if she was allergic.”

  She held her breath, hoping Andrew didn’t call her on the lie. The truth was, she often filled her mother in on Matty and Tom’s antics just to have something to talk about. Plus, hearing about the cats always made Maybelle laugh.