Trapped in Cherry Hills

by Paige Sleuth

  Ethel looked around. “I know what you’re thinking. And you’re right. The place is rather drab.”

  “Is this your first time in her house?”

  “Yep. She only moved out here last year. I meant to visit but never got the chance.”

  “Why did she choose Cherry Hills?”

  “She said she found someone she knew out here and wanted to be closer to him.”

  “A love interest?”

  Ethel threw her head back and laughed. “I hardly think that. They may have met late in life, but Don was her one and only.” She took off her readers and tossed them on the end table. “Don was her husband.”

  Kat nodded, even though this was the first time she was hearing his name.

  “No, I don’t know who it was that she knew out here,” Ethel said. “She never did tell me, and I didn’t press it. Frankly, I didn’t care much. I’ve got my own life to live. Besides, my sister was the type of person who told you what she wanted in her own time. There was no sense badgering her.”

  “Whoever it was, it doesn’t look like he visited much.” Kat didn’t see a single masculine touch anywhere.

  “You’ve sure got that right,” Ethel agreed. “My husband at home can’t go through a room without it looking like a tornado hit. But Lenora always was fussy. She didn’t much like people in her stuff. Don was the only one she put up with. She didn’t even like it when Sonny came to visit.”

  “Who’s Sonny?”

  Ethel lowered herself onto one of the sofas. “Sonny is Don’s boy. Handsome thing. He was already grown and in college by the time Don and Lenora met, but that didn’t stop him from popping in to see his pops every now and then.”

  Kat sat down on the opposite sofa. “Did Sonny and Lenora keep in touch after Don died?”

  “Oh, I very much doubt that. Sonny and Lenora didn’t care for each other one iota. No, sirree. Truth be told, he was quite upset when he found out Lenora was going to get everything Don left behind. I think he felt entitled, being Don’s only child and all.” Ethel lifted one shoulder. “After he died I told Lenora, ‘You ought to give Sonny some of that money,’ but she wouldn’t hear nothing of it. It didn’t matter to her that she was sitting pretty on a giant nest egg while Sonny was still struggling to find work even with that fancy college degree he ended up getting.”

  “Where is Sonny now?” Kat asked.

  “Oh, he’s still back in Virginia, I imagine.” Ethel stretched one foot out and rolled her ankle. “I never did talk to him all that much. Lenora was the only thing we had in common. The last time I saw him was at his daddy’s funeral. I told him it was wrong the way Lenora was keeping all of Don’s money for herself, that if it were up to me I’d make sure he got a cut. But it wasn’t up to me, and there wasn’t much either one of us could do about it.”

  Kat smiled. “Well, at least you tried.”

  “That I did.” Ethel inspected the room as though she were taking stock of Lenora’s belongings. “I should shoot him an email, see if he wants any of this stuff. Lord knows I don’t need it or Lenora’s money. And it only seems right he gets back some of what should have been his in the first place.”

  “Maybe he’ll want her gold jewelry,” Kat said.

  “Eh, I doubt there’s anything like that. Lenora wasn’t much of a jewelry person.”

  “Really? I heard otherwise.”

  “Well, like I said, I hadn’t seen her in a while. Could be she changed after Don’s death.” Ethel smacked her lips together, then rose from the sofa. “Might as well go see for ourselves.”

  Kat stood up and followed Ethel down a short hallway. The first door they checked led into an empty bedroom, but the second opened into what had to be Lenora’s room. With only a twin-size bed, a nightstand, a four-drawer dresser, and a television, it didn’t look much more inviting than the living room.

  “Let’s see.” Ethel pursed her lips as she surveyed the room. After a moment she turned toward the dresser. “If she has any jewelry, chances are it’s in here.”

  Ethel yanked open the top drawer. When Kat caught sight of the simple wooden jewelry box nestled inside, her heart skipped a beat.

  “I guess you know your sister well,” Kat said, impressed Ethel had found the box on her first try.

  Ethel chuckled. “Like I said, Lenora was fussy. And not very imaginative, I might add. Top bureau drawer is where she kept her trinkets when we were kids, too.”

  Ethel lifted the lid. A couple dozen gold bracelets and necklaces were laid neatly inside the box.

  “Well, color me surprised.” Ethel whistled as she fingered one of the gold chains. “Looks like Lenora went out and treated herself after Don died. Good for her.”

  “Do you think this was all the jewelry she owned?”

  “I’d say so. I didn’t even know she had this much.”

  Kat figured that meant she could eliminate robbery as the reason for Lenora’s murder. Unfortunately, that didn’t narrow down the suspect list much.

  Ethel pushed the jewelry aside. “Looks like there’s a photograph down here.” She dug it out and held it between them.

  The photo depicted two people, a man and a woman. Kat recognized Lenora right away. Dressed in white, her smile was almost as bright as her dress.

  Ethel leaned against the dresser and sighed. “They were so happy.”

  “Is that Don?” Kat asked, studying the sixtyish man standing beside Lenora.

  “Yup. This was taken on their wedding day. I remember it well. Dashing, isn’t he?”

  Although nobody would mistake him for a GQ model, Don looked almost as radiant as his bride. Balding and slightly overweight, he had one arm draped around Lenora’s shoulders. His other hand held Lenora’s.

  Seeing photographic proof that Lenora had once been happy filled Kat with sadness. If Lenora had still been mourning the loss of her husband and their love when she had moved to Cherry Hills, it might help to explain why she had been so bitter. Maybe she wasn’t really a bad person after all, just a woman so lost in her own grief that she couldn’t see any light left in the world.

  The possibility made Kat even more determined to find out who had killed her.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “Duke, no!”

  The shout came from Kat’s left as she was leaving Lenora’s house. She turned to see Kylie being dragged across Veronica’s front lawn by her rambunctious terrier.

  Kat walked over to them. “Is everything okay?”

  “Duke’s being a pain.” Kylie grimaced as Duke strained against the end of his leash. “He always gets like this when he sees that feral cat who lives around here.”

  Kat peered around. She didn’t see Mustang anywhere, but there were plenty of places for him to take cover.

  “Duke is always trying to get that poor cat to play with him,” Kylie said, pulling on Duke’s leash.

  Duke barked, but Kat didn’t know if it was in agreement or protest.

  “Where is the feral now?” Kat asked.

  “He’s hiding in Ronnie’s bushes there.”

  Kat crouched down to get a better look behind the bushes. She caught a glint of something back there, but she didn’t think it was a cat.

  Duke barked again. Then, before Kat could even register what was happening, he took off in a flash, the leash trailing behind him.

  “Duke!”

  Kylie lunged for her end of the leash, but Duke was too fast for her. He made a beeline for the bushes, crashing into them with all the grace of a cannonball. Sure enough, Mustang rocketed into view. The terrified gray cat took one look at the humans then veered left and sprinted toward Veronica’s backyard.

  Duke tore after the feline. Kylie chased Duke, and Kat brought up the rear. Kat didn’t think she could help much, but it seemed wrong to abandon Kylie when the poor girl was in crisis.

  “Duke!” Kylie yelled.

  To Kat’s surprise, Duke started heading back in their direction. Either he’d had a change of heart or he feared t
he consequences if he continued to disobey his human.

  When he reached Kylie he jumped up and down, yapping and squirming as if his excitement was too great to be contained.

  Kylie bent down and shook her finger at him. “You are a bad dog!”

  Duke woofed, then, just as Kylie was reaching for his leash, he took off again.

  “Ugh!” Kylie ran after him once more.

  Duke must have forgotten about Mustang because this time he confined himself to Veronica’s front lawn. He frolicked to and fro, barking up a storm as Kylie tried to grab his leash. He looked as if he were having so much fun that Kat couldn’t help but laugh.

  A minute of playing ‘keep away from Kylie’ was enough to wear Duke out. He finally stopped running and started sniffing the grass.

  Kylie stomped over to him and snatched his leash off the ground. She hooked the loop around her wrist before lifting Duke up and holding him at eye level. “You are in big trouble, you stinker. No treats for you when we get back home.”

  Duke whimpered, then licked her face.

  Kylie giggled as she planted a kiss on his head. “Oh, you know I can’t stay mad at you.”

  Something caught Kat’s eye in the grass. She stepped closer to get a better look.

  “What is it?” Kylie asked.

  “It looks like a watch.” Kat wondered if that was what she had seen behind the bushes. Maybe Mustang had picked it up somewhere only to drop it when Duke gave chase. Imogene had mentioned the feral’s proclivity for stealing Veronica’s things.

  Except, this looked like a man’s watch, Kat thought as she plucked it off the ground.

  Kylie set Duke down and leaned over Kat’s shoulder. “Hey! That’s Shaun’s. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he was on his way to the Duncans’.”

  Kat handed the watch to Kylie. “How come you’re not at the Duncans’ party?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. The whole thing is so ghoulish. I mean, I didn’t like Lenora, but to rejoice because she’s dead?”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “I was hoping Shaun wouldn’t go either.” Kylie frowned as she looked over at the Duncans’ house. “He’s never one to miss a party, but still.”

  Duke began snuffling in the grass again. Kat wasn’t sure if he was looking for the watch or trying to pick up Mustang’s scent. Or, for all she knew, he was hunting for food.

  “Kylie!”

  Shaun waved from the Duncans’ driveway. Duke’s little tail set to wagging as Shaun started in their direction.

  “How was the party?” Kylie asked when Shaun reached her side.

  “All right.” He snaked his arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. “It would have been better if you were there.”

  “Hey, look what Kat found.” Kylie held up the watch.

  “Oh, wow.” Shaun grabbed it from her. “Where was it?”

  “Right here in the grass. I think that feral cat had it, but Duke scared him into dropping it.”

  Shaun stuffed the watch into his jeans pocket and reached down to tousle Duke’s fur. “Good boy.”

  Duke barked and ran circles around Shaun’s feet, clearly pleased by the praise.

  “Hey now.” Shaun grinned as he worked to disentangle himself from Duke’s leash. “You’re going to trip me if you’re not careful.”

  But Duke didn’t seem to care. He kept yapping and jumping as if Shaun’s reappearance was the most exciting thing to happen to him this year. Kylie giggled, her arm bouncing up and down every time Duke stretched the limits of his leash.

  Kat’s eyes were on the trio, but her brain was elsewhere. Something about that watch was nagging at her. She could swear she had seen it somewhere before, and recently.

  And then it hit her like a punch to the gut. Scattered images from the past twenty-four hours collided in her head. When they settled, they all fell into place like a jigsaw puzzle.

  And at that moment, she knew exactly who had killed Lenora.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “You’re Sonny,” Kat said, staring at Shaun.

  Kylie frowned. “Sonny?” She looked at Shaun. “What’s she talking about?”

  Shaun didn’t reply, but he did hold Kat’s gaze. There was no confusion in his expression, just a silent question as to how she knew.

  “I saw that watch of yours in Lenora’s wedding picture,” Kat told him. “Lenora’s husband—your father—was wearing it.” When Shaun remained silent, she continued. “Ethel told me Lenora’s husband had a son, but she didn’t tell me it was you. She called you Sonny and said you live in Virginia.”

  Shaun worked his jaw as he took in her words. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight. “Sonny is what my dad called me. And I haven’t talked to Ethel since I moved out here.”

  Kat nodded. Ethel had seemed to think Sonny was a name, not a nickname, which Kat supposed was understandable. With Shaun away at college when his father married Lenora, and Lenora not being all that close to her sister anyway, most of Ethel’s knowledge of Shaun had probably come from secondhand stories told by his father.

  Kylie gaped at him. “You’re related to Lenora?”

  Shaun reared back as though offended. “No.”

  “Then why did she say . . .”

  “My dad married Lenora. That hardly means we’re related. She disliked me from the start, and the feeling was mutual.”

  “But . . .” Kylie bit her lip, but after a moment she regrouped. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? All those times we ran into Lenora you never said a word.”

  “Because she was a mean, spiteful woman and I refused to let her worm her way into my life. It was bad enough she would accost us when we were out walking Duke. I wasn’t about to go home and have her take over our private conversations too.” Shaun refocused on Kat. “When did you talk to Ethel anyway?”

  “Just now,” Kat replied. “She’s at Lenora’s.”

  Shaun spun toward Lenora’s house. “Ethel is here?”

  “Who’s Ethel?” Kylie asked.

  “Lenora’s sister,” Kat said. “I take it she’s expecting to inherit, but she said she doesn’t need the money and anything Lenora owned should really go to her stepson anyway. In fact, that’s what you’re counting on, isn’t it, Shaun? That Ethel will finally make things right by giving you everything your father left Lenora?”

  Shaun folded his arms across his chest. “I could care less what Ethel does with Lenora’s money. That’s her business.”

  “Exactly how wealthy was your father when he died?” Kat pressed.

  “Wealthy enough.”

  “Is that why you killed Lenora, because you were upset that she inherited everything?”

  Kylie gasped. “Shaun didn’t kill Lenora. Tell her, honey.”

  Shaun didn’t seem to hear her. “I killed her because she was a thorn in my side that refused to go away.”

  Kylie stumbled backward, a strangled sound emerging from her throat. Duke barked and set his paws on her knee. This wasn’t his jubilant bark from earlier. This was a bark that mirrored his human’s distress.

  “It wasn’t planned,” Shaun said, his eyes still on Kat. “When I first saw her skulking around Ronnie’s place I figured I’d call the cops and have her busted for trespassing. You know, sic the cops on her for once and give her a taste of her own medicine.”

  “But you didn’t call the cops,” Kat said.

  Shaun shook his head. “In the end, I thought she’d probably be gone by the time they showed up. So I decided to go see what she was up to myself.”

  “What was she up to?”

  “She told me she was watching that trap you guys had assembled back there. She said she intended to catch that cat herself and kill him.”

  A bolt of anger almost knocked Kat off her feet. At that particular moment, she couldn’t say she felt bad about what had happened to Lenora. It was clear Lenora hadn’t felt any compunction about sentencing an innocent animal to death, so why should Kat concern herself with Len
ora’s own fate?

  Shaun must have registered her reaction. “I told you she was mean,” he said. “She didn’t care about anyone or anything except herself. You have no idea how much pleasure she took in tormenting me.”

  “I don’t understand.” Kylie stared at Shaun as if this were the first time she were really seeing him. “How did she torment you? Wait, are you the reason she was always complaining about Duke and my music?”

  “Nah, she had the same beef with everyone. But I am the reason she relocated to Cherry Hills. After Dad died I had no reason to stay in Virginia, so I came here. Somehow Lenora found out where I was and moved out here too.”

  “Why would she do that if you two hated each other so much?” Kylie asked.

  “She did it because we hated each other. She despised the thought of me living the rest of my life in peace, so she tracked me down with the goal of making my life miserable.”

  Kat had been wondering what had brought Lenora to Cherry Hills, Washington. Now she knew.

  “Why did she dislike you so much?” Kat asked.

  “Because Dad loved me more than her. She couldn’t stand the thought of being second best to me when he was alive, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it unless she was willing to leave him. And there was no way she would do that.”

  “Because of the money?”

  “I doubt the money had anything to do with it. Believe it or not, she loved him, in her own weird way.”

  “If your father loved you so much more than Lenora, why did he leave everything to her?”

  “That wasn’t intentional. He just never got around to making a will, so she got everything by default.”

  Kat supposed that made sense. She didn’t know anything about estate law, but it stood to reason the spouse might inherit before any children, especially ones that were fully grown.