Murder in Cherry Hills (A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 1) Read Free Page A

with a cat—would require some adjustments.
    Someone knocked on the front door. “Kat?”
    Kat’s heart rate sped up at the sound of Andrew’s voice. She leapt off the sofa and rushed to answer the door, almost as if she feared he would stalk off if he didn’t get a response within the second.
    “I thought you left already,” Kat said, surprised by how happy she felt that he hadn’t ducked out without a goodbye after all.
    “The crew already headed out, but I told them I had to stay behind to take your statement. Maybe you can give us some leads as to who might have done this.”
    “Oh.” Kat wasn’t sure what he expected her to say. Although they lived next door to each other, she and Mrs. Tinsdale had been more acquaintances than friends. But she had liked the older woman, and if she could help she would.
    Andrew shifted, drawing Kat’s attention to the items he had cradled in his arms. “Now that we’ve finished processing Mrs. Tinsdale’s apartment, I gathered up all the cat things I could find.”
    “Great, thanks.” She swung the door wide and motioned him inside.
    “Can I get you something to drink?” Kat asked as Andrew dumped the cat supplies in one corner of the living room. Matty pried one eye open to watch him.
    “Water would be great.”
    Kat ducked into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water, and returned to the living room. After handing one of the bottles to Andrew, she settled next to Matty again.
    Andrew sat down on the couch opposite them. “What can you tell me about Mrs. Tinsdale’s day-to-day activities?” he asked, twisting the cap off his bottle and taking a huge swallow from it.
    “Not much,” Kat admitted. “I do know she spent quite a bit of time volunteering for Furry Friends Foster Families.”
    Andrew set his water on the coffee table and fished a notebook and pen from his breast pocket. “Furry Friends Foster Families?”
    “It’s a non-profit organization that matches homeless animals with foster families until they’re adopted permanently,” Kat explained. “Placing the animals in a temporary home saves the organization from having to rent and staff a housing facility, and the foster families provide all the food and supplies. The organization really only needs to foot the bill for veterinary expenses.”
    “Makes sense.”
    “Mrs. Tinsdale was on the board or something,” Kat said. “She called it 4F for short. I don’t know much about it other than that.”
    Andrew glanced at her. “Really? That seems like the kind of thing that’s right up your alley.”
    Kat shrugged. “I’ve been too busy looking for work and moving to take on anything else.”
    Andrew’s head bobbed as he wrote something in his notebook. Kat itched to peek at his notes, wondering if he was jotting down observations about her.
    “Did Mrs. Tinsdale get along with the other 4F volunteers?” Andrew asked.
    “She seemed to,” Kat said. “At least, she never said anything bad about anybody there.”
    “Do you know their names?”
    Kat drummed her fingers against the armrest. “Imogene Little, for one. Mrs. Tinsdale mentioned that she was their president and most involved member.”
    When Kat remained silent for a long moment, Andrew said, “Anybody else you remember?”
    “No, sorry.” Kat felt sheepish over how little she could recall, but she and Mrs. Tinsdale had only chatted when passing each other in the hallway or sharing an elevator. Now, she wished she had spent more time talking with the older woman. “I only remember Imogene because she’s lived here forever and I wait on her sometimes at Jessie’s Diner.”
    Andrew’s lips stretched into a smile. “You work at Jessie’s?”
    “Temporarily,” Kat replied. “I needed something to tide me over until I find a job in my field.”
    “What’s your field?”
    “Computers.”
    “Yeah, you were always good with that stuff.” Andrew leaned back and crossed his ankles, his face softening. “Remember when we