Murder in Cherry Hills (A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 1) (3 page)

Cherry Hills Veterinary occupied one corner of a small shopping complex six miles from Kat’s apartment building. She had intended to visit the establishment first thing Wednesday morning in the hopes that she could catch Harry Opheim while he was still fresh and more likely to entertain questions concerning Mrs. Tinsdale.

Unfortunately, Matty was having none of it. Kat had already wasted close to half an hour trying to coax the ornery creature into her carrier, a task that was proving more difficult than Kat had ever imagined it could be.

“Here, Matty,” Kat crooned for the hundredth time, reaching under the bed, where Matty had taken to hiding in one corner.

Matty didn’t budge. She didn’t even glance at the treat pinched between Kat’s fingertips.

Kat sighed and rested her back against the wall. As defeated as she felt at the moment, she did have to admire the cat’s determination. She would swear that Matty had somehow figured out her vet plans, and she realized she had no other option but to wait out the feline. When Matty grew hungry enough or couldn’t hold her bladder any longer, Kat would leap into action.

Deciding that acting uninterested would be her best strategy, Kat left the bedroom. She hoped her absence would lull Matty into a false sense of security and encourage her to relocate to what was rapidly becoming her corner of the couch. When that happened, Kat would be ready.

Kat retreated to the living room and flicked on the television, humming softly so as to sound nonthreatening. Just as Kat had hoped, Matty finally poked her nose into the room two television programs later.

When Matty jumped on the couch, Kat pounced.

Matty hissed as Kat’s fingers encircled her body, but the squirming feline didn’t claw or bite. Kat would have almost welcomed some injuries as she stuffed Matty into the carrier. As it was, her pet’s refusal to lash out only exacerbated her guilt over tricking the animal.

“Sorry, baby.” Kat secured the carrier door and poked her fingers through the holes to stroke Matty’s fur. “I’m hoping this won’t take long, but I need an opening with Dr. Harry. You’re the only excuse I have to show up in his office.”

Matty meowed crossly in response.

Twenty minutes later, Kat had located Cherry Hills Veterinary and was walking through the front entrance.

The redheaded receptionist looked up from her computer and smiled. “Hi there. How may I help you?”

“Hi.” Kat lifted up the carrier. “I kind of inherited this cat, and I want to make sure she’s healthy.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No,” Kat admitted, mentally berating herself for not calling ahead of time. She had been so anxious to talk to Dr. Harry she hadn’t stopped to consider that he might be too busy to see her.

“That’s okay,” the receptionist said, tapping on the computer keyboard. “You’re lucky. We’ve been swamped all week, but we’re pretty light today. No emergencies yet, knock on wood. I won’t have any trouble fitting you in.”

Kat breathed out a sigh of relief. “Great.”

“May I have your name?”

“Katherine Harper. And my cat is Matilda.”

The receptionist input something into her computer before gesturing toward a bank of chairs. “Okay, I’ve got you down, Katherine. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll let Dr. Harry know you’re waiting. I’m Sherry if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Sherry.”

Kat turned around, but her steps faltered when she saw another woman already waiting in the lobby. It wasn’t the unassuming blonde herself who made Kat hesitate but the huge Great Dane sitting beside her.

The woman smiled at Kat. “He’s harmless,” she said, stroking the dog’s head.

Kat tried to return her smile. She didn’t mention that she was more worried about Matty’s reaction to the unfamiliar dog than she was about the Great Dane himself. Kat didn’t figure Matty interacted much with other animals, given Mrs. Tinsdale’s attempts to keep her inside.

But Matty simply remained hunched in one corner of her carrier as Kat sat down. Kat wasn’t sure if Matty was too petrified to continue protesting her imprisonment or if she was becoming resigned to this whole situation, and she once again felt a pinch of guilt over her role in Matty’s unpleasant morning.

“Kelly, Dr. Harry’s ready for you in Room A,” Sherry called out.

“Oh, goody.” The woman with the Great Dane gave Kat a small wave as she stood up and disappeared down a short hallway, her dog trotting by her side.

Kat looked around as she waited. The lobby was clean, which pleased her. She had never been in a veterinary office before, and she had half expected the place to stink of urine or be overtaken by fur and dander. Yet, judging from the lobby, maintaining a sterile environment was as important here as it was in a normal doctor’s office.

Sherry’s voice broke into Kat’s thoughts. “Katherine, Dr. Harry will meet you in Room B. Just go down the hallway to the second door on your left. Feel free to let Matilda out while you’re waiting for Dr. Harry to show up.”

Kat stood up and headed in the direction indicated. “Okay, thank you.”

The tiny exam room was also quite clean and smelled faintly of antiseptic. A small sink was built into the counter that stretched along one wall. A few glass jars containing cotton swabs, gauze pads, and the like sat on the counter next to a display of brochures that explained various pet diseases and treatment options. A metal table extended from the counter to the center of the room. Two chairs on one side of the table faced a rolling stool on the other. Kat presumed the stool was for the doctor.

She closed the door and set the carrier on the table. “You can come out now,” she singsonged, releasing the latch on the carrier door.

When Matty didn’t emerge after several seconds had elapsed, Kat crouched down to get a better look at her. Matty remained pressed against the back side of her carrier. She glared at Kat before wrapping her tail tightly around her body.

Kat sighed. She couldn’t blame Matty for being cross. After giving the cat a brief pat on the head, Kat sat down in one of the chairs, figuring it would be better to leave Matty alone. She would be pestered by the veterinarian himself soon enough.

She didn’t have to wait long before Dr. Harry Opheim entered through a second door located on the opposite side of the room. Today he wore a white, calf-length lab coat over his clothes.

“Hi there,” Dr. Harry said, grinning as he shut the door. “I remember you from Jessie’s Diner. I’m Dr. Harry.”

Kat did a double take when she got a good look at the doctor’s face. The bags under his right eye that she’d written off to fatigue the day before had transitioned into a full-blown black eye overnight.

“I apologize for my appearance,” he said. “I had a little trouble subduing one of my larger patients yesterday. Some of the biggest dogs also turn out to be the biggest babies when it comes to getting their shots.”

Kat stood up. “Oh.”

Dr. Harry pointed to his eye. “This occurred during a skirmish with a distressed mastiff.”

Kat didn’t say anything, shifting uneasily. She wasn’t quite sure whether to believe his explanation. Although Dr. Harry didn’t seem bothered at all by his appearance or concerned with masking his injury, Kat didn’t dismiss the possibility that his nonchalance was forced. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine this strong man overpowering Mrs. Tinsdale yesterday morning—and perhaps suffering a few facial bruises in the process.

“All right then.” Dr. Harry turned his attention to the carrier. “Let’s just take a look at little Matilda here.”

Kat’s mind churned as Dr. Harry stepped toward the table between them. Although she’d initially stopped by to determine what, if anything, Dr. Harry could tell her about Mrs. Tinsdale’s relationships with his staff, this visit was quickly turning into a stealth mission to determine if Dr. Harry himself might have been responsible for the old woman’s fate. That would mandate that Kat inquire about her dead neighbor a little more discreetly than she had originally planned.

Kat swallowed hard. The prospect of questioning a potential killer made her nervous, but, she reminded herself, she’d come here for answers, and she needed to work fast before the vet deemed Matty to be in good health and sent them both on their way.

Kat coughed. “So, Dr. Harry, I actu—”

Her words were interrupted when the door swung open again. Greta Opheim stepped into the room. “The computer’s finally cooperating, so I printed out that information you asked for.” She turned her attention to Kat. “Oh, hi. Jessie’s Diner, right?”

“Yes.” Although Kat was somewhat relieved by a second person’s presence, probing the doctor for information had just become that much more difficult. “I’m Kat.”

“Greta.” She reached out to shake Kat’s hand.

“Greta helps me out with administrative duties when she’s not otherwise occupied,” Dr. Harry said. He turned toward his wife. “I was just getting ready to examine Kat’s cat.” He chuckled, presumably over the alliteration. “Greta, since you’re here, if you’ll hold onto the carrier I’ll get our newest little patient out in the open where we can meet her.”

“Okay.” Greta grabbed the sides of the carrier and braced her legs.

Dr. Harry slipped his hand inside the opening. “You ready for us, Matilda?”

As Greta steadied the carrier, Dr. Harry worked on persuading Matty to come out. The tension that Kat had observed between the couple yesterday didn’t seem to be present now. Kat didn’t know if they were simply acting professional for her benefit or if she had merely caught them in the middle of a fleeting disagreement yesterday.

A loud commotion diverted Kat’s attention from her musings. Her stomach lurched when she saw that Matty was now thrashing inside the carrier, the structure rocking from her efforts despite Greta’s hold on it. Matty couldn’t seem to make up her mind as to whether hissing or howling would be the more effective way to communicate her displeasure.

Kat’s protective instincts kicked in, and she took an automatic step forward. But Dr. Harry backed away from the table before she could interfere.

“My gosh,” he said. “Your cat certainly doesn’t want to cooperate today.”

Kat felt another pang of guilt for using Matty as a prop in her investigation. “Maybe I should ease her out myself.”

Dr. Harry nodded. “It might help if we left you alone for a moment.” He set one hand on Greta’s back and guided her to the door. “Perhaps she’ll respond better with fewer people in the room. Why don’t you work on her, and once you’ve succeeded prop the door open so I know you’re ready.”

“Okay,” Kat agreed.

Matty calmed down after the Opheims left. Still, it took Kat a good ten minutes to convince the cat that it was safe to come out. After she shut the carrier and set it in one corner so Matty couldn’t crawl back inside, she pried the doctor’s door open a crack.

Dr. Harry returned two minutes later. He smiled at Matty, who had curled up in the sink. She flattened her ears back against her head in response.

“Are you going to let me have a look at you now, little Matilda?” Dr. Harry crooned, approaching the cat slowly.

“I’m really sorry about her behavior,” Kat said. She looked at Dr. Harry’s black eye again, willing to give more merit to his mastiff story now than she had been twenty minutes ago.

“Not a problem. Happens all the time.” Dr. Harry reached for Matty, clamping his hands around her rib cage and lifting her gently from the sink. He set her down on a flat, plastic scale. “All animals react differently to stress.”

Kat took a deep breath, sensing an opening. “Her stress might have something to do with the fact that her previous owner just died—and violently, I might add.”

Dr. Harry glanced at her. “You’re referring to Hilda Tinsdale.”

“Yes.”

Dr. Harry didn’t say anything as he relocated the cat to the examination table. Matty let out a low, constant, growl, but she allowed the doctor to move her. Once she was on solid ground again, Dr. Harry slowly caressed the cat. He started with her head and proceeded past her neck and down her torso. Kat presumed he was checking for lumps or physical abnormalities.

Kat cleared her throat. “I think Matty—Matilda—witnessed the whole thing.”

“Well, that would certainly help to explain her supremely agitated state,” Dr. Harry replied, folding back one of Matty’s ears and peering inside.

Kat shifted her weight to her other foot. “Did you work with Mrs. Tinsdale often?”

He pulled a stethoscope out of his coat pocket. “Not directly, no. Greta handles all the finances for us.”

Kat absorbed that, unsure how she would go about verifying his claim. If he
had
killed Mrs. Tinsdale, he would understandably want to downplay the nature of their relationship.

Before Kat could think of something else to say to get Dr. Harry to open up, he released the stethoscope’s metal bit that he had been holding to Matty’s chest, unhooked the ear pieces, and slipped the device back in his coat pocket. “Well, Matilda looks to be in good health.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Kat felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She hadn’t realized until then how worried she was that he might find something wrong.

“Do you know if she’s current on her vaccinations?” Dr. Harry asked.