Read Online Murder in Cherry Hills (A Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 1) by Paige Sleuth - Free Book Online

“Imogene, since you’re writing checks at the moment, I’ve tallied up Harry’s total for last week.”
    Imogene winked at Kat as she resettled in her chair. “All people want from me anymore is money,” she said, but her voice was laced with mirth.
    Greta held up a few pages printed on Cherry Hills Veterinary letterhead. “I have the itemized invoices here for your records.”
    Greta’s hair had fallen into her face as she’d turned her head down to sift through her purse, and now she had to smooth the blond locks back from her eyes. As Kat watched her bend forward to place the invoices on Imogene’s desk, she caught a glimpse of the woman’s profile.
    Kat’s breath caught. From this angle, she had no trouble discerning the single, empty hole located in the fleshy part of Greta’s ear, and the tear that stretched from the tiny piercing all the way to the bottom of her earlobe.

CHAPTER TEN
    Kat drifted through her shift at Jessie’s Diner in a fog, her mind on the events of the past few days. During a lull in business, she’d stepped outside and phoned Greta Opheim, asking her to stop by her apartment at six o’clock under the guise of discussing the Furry Friends Foster Families benefit dinner. Kat’s fingers had been trembling when she’d disconnected the call.
    Kat left Jessie’s after the evening waitstaff took over. She made it home by 5:20 p.m. , her heart beating faster and faster as the clock ticked toward six . When the doorbell finally rang two minutes after the hour, Kat’s heart practically jumped out of her chest.
    Kat approached the front door. She took a deep breath and rubbed her sweaty palms on her jeans before reaching for the doorknob.
    “Hi, Kat,” Greta greeted. “You wanted to talk about the 4F benefit?”
    Kat forced herself to nod. “Come in.”
    Greta stepped over the threshold, and Kat closed the door behind her.
    “Why don’t you have a seat?” Kat said, sweeping her arm toward the living area.
    “This is a nice place you’ve got here,” Greta commented, taking a seat on one sofa.
    Kat moved farther into the living room. “Thanks.” Then, unable to maintain the charade, she turned toward Greta and blurted out, “I know you killed Mrs. Tinsdale.”
    Greta’s face paled. “I—I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
    “Sure you do,” Kat replied. “I know you inflated the charges on the vet invoices you submitted to 4F. Mrs. Tinsdale found out about it, and she threatened to expose you, didn’t she?”
    Greta’s face was as white as a ghost’s now. Her tongue practically touched the floor as her mouth gaped open.
    Kat walked over to the kitchen table and picked up the Cherry Hills Veterinary invoices she had raced home to study during her lunch break at Jessie’s. “These came from Mrs. Tinsdale’s apartment,” she said, waving the invoices in front of her. “She wrote some comments on the back.”
    “Comments?” Greta squeaked.
    Kat flipped the top page over and read the note that Mrs. Tinsdale had penned. “She linked this invoice to a dog named Muffy, who’s currently in foster care courtesy of 4F. She had a question as to why the bill includes charges for both the all-in-one parasite-prevention medicine and individual treatments against heartworm, roundworm, and the like.” Kat looked at Greta. “That seems rather strange to me, too. Wouldn’t a dog only need to be treated for the same parasite once?”
    “In an ideal world, yes,” Greta said, crossing her legs. “But you have to understand that these medications aren’t foolproof. Combining the different options makes it that much more likely that the recipient animal stays healthy.”
    Kat examined Greta. She had delivered the explanation in a strangely mechanical fashion, almost as if she had it memorized.
    “If combining the treatments is so much more effective, why didn’t Dr. Harry suggest that Matty receive both medications when I took her into his office yesterday?” Kat