Read Online Vanished in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 4) by Paige Sleuth - Free Book Online

been. Thirty years of silence is long enough. If it helps your search or eases your conscience, go ahead and tell. You have my blessing.”
    The two women regarded each other for a long moment. Then Kat nodded once and let herself out.

CHAPTER TEN
    Kat considered stopping by Cherry Hills Police Department headquarters after leaving Helen’s house. But, as anxious as she was to clear her mother’s name, she felt too emotionally drained to deal with the authorities. She could talk to Chief Kenny later, after she had more time to process Helen’s bombshell.
    Instead, she drove straight home and spent the next few hours alternating between bouts of crying and angry cleaning fits. She thought Helen’s confession would offer some relief, but she didn’t feel any better than she had before. After all, knowing Maybelle hadn’t robbed that bank didn’t actually bring her back. She had still managed to vanish into thin air, and who knew if Kat would ever get to meet her.
    She somehow made it through her evening waitressing shift at Jessie’s Diner. By the time she made it home, she was exhausted from engaging in so much small talk. Usually she enjoyed chatting with the restaurant patrons, but today her heart wasn’t in it.
    Yet, despite being so weary, Kat soon discovered she couldn’t sleep. She tossed and turned, pausing occasionally to stroke Tom, who didn’t seem bothered by her restlessness. He merely adjusted positions whenever Kat started up with another thrashing bout.
    No matter what she did, she couldn’t get comfortable. She couldn’t stop her mind from going back over every second of her visit to Helen’s. Occasionally she would attempt to mold their conversation into something more satisfying by tacking on a made-up ending, one where Helen handed over an address and phone number for Maybelle and broke down sobbing for Kat’s forgiveness.
    Kat sighed, shaking the fantasy from her head for the hundredth time. Tom rolled over and pressed his back against her thigh. She rested her hand on his warm body, something inside her uncoiling. There really wasn’t anything as comforting as a cat.
    She must have finally drifted off. When her doorbell jolted her awake, the morning sun was already shining through the window.
    Wrapping a bathrobe around her pajamas and smoothing out her hair using her fingers, Kat padded to the front door. She peered through the peephole, stiffening when she spotted Mrs. Polanski’s face looming in front of her. She wasn’t in the mood to entertain Helen Trotter’s sister after Helen’s confession the day before.
    Kat drew herself up and opened the door. “Hi, Mrs. Polanski. What are you doing here?”
    “Jess gave me your address, and one of your neighbors let me into the building. I thought it would be better to talk to you in person than to call.” Mrs. Polanski smiled, but it was a more subdued version of the beaming grin that normally usurped her entire face. “Helen told me about your visit yesterday.”
    Kat’s grip tightened around the doorknob. She didn’t know what to say to that.
    Mrs. Polanski shifted her weight to her other foot. “May I come in?”
    Kat considered telling her that she really needed to be alone right now, but relented when she saw the earnest look on Mrs. Polanski’s face. Nodding, she swung the door open and stepped aside.
    Tom’s eyes lit up when he spotted their guest. He meowed a greeting, rushed over, and flopped onto the floor in front of them, holding his front legs above his head in order to expose his stomach.
    Mrs. Polanski laughed as she reached down and scratched the big cat’s belly. “Well, aren’t you a friendly fella.”
    “That’s Tom,” Kat told her, closing the door.
    Kat couldn’t help but relax a little as she watched Tom basking in Mrs. Polanski’s attention. She could always trust Tom to cut the tension of an awkward situation.
    After petting Tom for a minute, Mrs. Polanski straightened, her amused look fading into