Framed in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 2) (6 page)

Andrew cleared his throat. “You know, if you ever want to look for her, I’ll help you.”

His offer was so unexpected and selfless that tears sprang to Kat’s eyes. She blinked them back. She didn’t need to have an emotional breakdown in the office of her oldest friend, where anyone on the police force could interrupt them at any moment.

Fearing what might happen if she opened her mouth to speak, Kat merely nodded.

After getting herself together, Kat left the police station. She couldn’t prevent thoughts of her mother from swirling through her head during the drive home. Andrew’s offer had rekindled her interest in discovering what had happened to the woman who had carried her for nine months. The prospect of finally getting answers filled her with equal parts excitement and terror.

She was still envisioning what a reunion might be like—assuming her mother was still alive—when she arrived at her apartment building. She was so preoccupied by her fantasies that she almost ran right into Hannah McGinty, who was standing outside the front entrance of her building while she studied the guide next to the call box that listed the names of each resident.

“Hannah,” Kat said, stopping short.

Hannah gasped as she spun around. “You startled me.”

Kat approached the teenager. “I live here.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m here.”

Kat’s brow furrowed. “You’re here to see me?”

Hannah’s eyes darted to the door. “Well, I thought you’d be inside, but yeah. I hope it’s okay that I came over. My dad got your address from Ms. Little.”

“Is there a problem?” Kat couldn’t think of any reason for the teenager to seek her out.

“Oh, no.” Hannah twisted her arm around and patted her backpack. “I just found another one of Tom’s toys. I thought you might want it.”

“Oh. Sure, that would be great. Come on in.”

She unlocked the front door and held it open. Hannah clomped inside. Her huge boots looked to be at least two sizes too big for her feet.

“I’m on the third floor,” Kat told her, leading the way to the elevator.

“Okay.”

Kat bounced from foot to foot as they waited for the elevator to arrive. Standing so close to Hannah, her nostrils were assaulted by the girl’s flowery perfume. She wanted to step away, but settled for breathing through her mouth so as not to seem rude.

As the seconds ticked by, Kat struggled to come up with a conversational topic that didn’t relate to why the young woman felt compelled to douse herself with such an overpowering fragrance. “So, um, Hannah,” she finally began. “How’s your summer going?”

“Okay.”

Kat waited for her to elaborate, but within seconds it became clear that wasn’t going to happen. Apparently Hannah found small talk as agonizing as Kat did.

Kat coughed. “Are you looking forward to the start of school?”

Hannah made a face. “Not really.”

“Well, at least you have another month or so of summer left.”

Hannah toed a fossilized wad of chewing gum embedded in the lobby carpet. “I guess.”

Relief rushed through Kat when the elevator doors parted. They boarded, riding up in silence. When the elevator released them, Kat walked briskly toward her unit.

She inserted her key into the lock. “What did you bring Tom?”

“Just this string on a stick.” Hannah shrugged and glanced at her feet. “It’s stupid, but he likes it.”

From the way Hannah blushed, Kat suspected the teenager might have really come over because she missed Tom. Kat couldn’t blame her. After spending two days with the feline, she herself already felt a strong bond with him. She couldn’t imagine how heartbroken Hannah felt over having to give him up after four months.

They both entered the apartment. Matty was in her favorite spot on the sofa. Tom was sprawled out on the carpet below her, but when he saw Hannah he stood up and ambled over. He sat down at her feet and meowed.

Hannah dropped her backpack on the floor and crouched down to pet the cat. “Hey, buddy.”

Kat glanced at Matty, who ignored her, then looked again at Tom, who had rolled onto his back so he could take full advantage of Hannah’s attention. She was amazed by how different the two creatures were. Matty never welcomed her at the door, let alone meowed a greeting.

Kat moved farther into the room. “Did you want something to drink?” she asked Hannah.

“No.” Hannah paused, then added, “Thanks,” as if she’d only belatedly remembered her manners.

Kat sat down on the couch next to Matty, unsure of what else to say. She had pretty much exhausted her conversational abilities. Thankfully, Hannah didn’t seem to expect much. She looked perfectly content to ignore Kat as she scratched Tom’s stomach. Tom encircled her hands with his front paws and kicked at her palms with his hind feet.

Kat’s heart ached as she watched them. Hannah clearly loved Tom, and, judging from his behavior, Tom felt the same.

Evidently deciding that Hannah and Tom were more fun that Kat, Matty stood up and stretched before jumping off the couch and heading toward the duo. But instead of imploring Hannah for belly rubs as Kat had expected, Matty veered toward her backpack and sniffed at it.

Before Kat could register what was happening, Matty had her paws jammed between two zipper sliders on one of the backpack’s side compartments. She started pulling at the zipper as if she’d spotted a mouse on the other side, her little claws working furiously.

“Matty!” Kat yelled.

Matty looked at her as if to tell her to chill out. Then, clearly realizing she only had a limited amount of time before Kat put a halt to her antics, Matty turned back around and resumed her digging.

Kat jumped up and raced across the room. “Hannah, I am so sorry.” She wrapped her hands around Matty’s body and pulled her away, revealing a ripped plastic baggie that Matty must have excavated. Small green flecks of something that looked like basil had spilled onto the carpet.

Hannah lunged for the baggie and started sweeping the mess up with her fingers.

Kat set Matty aside, squinting at the floor. “What is that? Catnip?”

“Er.” Hannah quickly turned her head down, but not before Kat spotted a flush creeping up her neck.

Awareness seized Kat as fiercely as she’d seized Matty just seconds ago. She sniffed the air, getting another whiff of Hannah’s perfume, except now she understood why the girl wore so much. A fragrance that potent would mask all other odors.

Kat pointed to the flecks on the carpet. “That’s marijuana, isn’t it?”

Hannah froze. She swallowed hard and said, “It’s legal in Washington.” Her voice was barely above a squeak.

Kat arched one eyebrow. “For a fifteen-year-old?”

“I turn sixteen in October,” Hannah retorted.

“You’re still a minor.”

Hannah tilted her chin up, no longer acting embarrassed over being caught. “I’m old enough to do what I want.”

Kat planted her hands on her hips, feeling like an alien in her own body. What did she know about parenting? And she certainly wasn’t familiar enough with Hannah to be acting like her guardian.

But she couldn’t banish her desire to shake some sense into this young woman. Maybe if someone had done the same to her own mother, Kat never would have been passed around between so many foster homes.

Kat grabbed the backpack. Hannah looked too startled to protest as Kat began unzipping every compartment.

“What are you doing?” Hannah asked after Kat had gotten through two pockets.

“Seeing what else you’re hiding.”

“That’s it, I swear.”

Something in Hannah’s voice led Kat to believe her. But she still searched every inch of the backpack. After she’d verified for herself that it didn’t contain anything else noteworthy, she set it back on the floor.

“I told you.” Hannah snatched up her bag and wrapped her arms around it. “You’re as bad as Mr. Logan.”

“Mr. Logan?”

“The Cherry Hills High principal. He never believes us either.”

Her statement triggered a pinprick of guilt in Kat’s gut. “I’m sorry.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped. Kat gathered that Mr. Logan never apologized for his actions.

Her thoughts veered back to Willow, another staff member of Cherry Hills High. She eyed the torn marijuana bag clutched in Hannah’s hand, an uneasy chill working its way up her spine. She recalled Hannah’s sullen reaction when Willow’s name had been brought up in conversation at the McGintys’ house. Could this young girl be filled with so much angst that she would plant drugs in her former teacher’s car? Kat certainly couldn’t dismiss the possibility.

“Hannah,” Kat said, hearing the urgency in her own voice. She waited until Hannah looked at her before continuing. “Did you put that cocaine in Willow Wu’s car?”

Hannah’s eyes widened. “What?”

“You know Willow was arrested for drug possession on Saturday, right?”

“No, I didn’t know that.” Indignation flashed in Hannah’s eyes. “But I had nothing to do with it.”

“You don’t like her, do you?” Kat pressed.

Hannah bit her lip, not saying anything.

Kat sighed. “Hannah, I’ve never met Willow, but no matter what your feelings are toward her, framing her for something this serious isn’t right.”

Hannah shoved the shredded baggie into her backpack. “I didn’t do anything!”

Kat searched her for tells, but instead of looking guilty she merely looked outraged at being accused.

“I believe you,” Kat said.

Hannah’s lips parted slightly. “You do?”

“Yes.” Kat paused. “But I’m correct that you don’t like Willow, aren’t I?”

“Nobody likes her,” Hannah declared.

“Nobody?”

“Well, nobody who’s had her in class, anyway.”

Kat absorbed that. “Why, is she a tough teacher?”

Hannah snorted. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it. She wants to fail everybody.”

Kat frowned. “She does?”

“She’s, like, a really harsh grader,” Hannah said, sticking out her tongue. “She makes us write these super hard papers and refuses to give multiple-choice tests. She says essay questions make us think.”

Kat felt a pinch of sympathy. She hadn’t been fond of essay questions in her youth either. “How did you do in her class?”

“I got a C.”

“And you weren’t happy with that?”

“Oh, I was just glad I passed,” Hannah said. “But, I mean, I worked my butt off for it.”

“So her class was challenging,” Kat mused aloud.

“More like impossible. I told Dad that a C in Ms. Wu’s class was like an A in a normal class, but he still got all on my case about it. He grounded me for the first two weeks of summer. It sucked.”

“Hmm.” Kat couldn’t help but think that would instill some resentment in the young woman. Still, she didn’t believe Hannah had framed Willow.

But had someone else in her class?

Kat’s heart beat a little faster. “Hannah, you don’t happen to know of anybody else who perhaps didn’t fare as well in Willow’s class, do you?”

Hannah snorted. “Nobody fared well in Ms. Wu’s class.”

Kat’s eyes drifted to the green flecks dotting her carpet, her senses on high alert. Whoever had sold that marijuana to Hannah quite likely could have access to other drugs. Could they have sold cocaine to one of Hannah’s other classmates, someone who had vowed vengeance against their demanding English teacher?

Kat looked at Hannah again. “Who sold you the marijuana?”

Hannah hugged her backpack closer, as if it were a shield. “Nobody.”

“Who?” Kat pressed. Even if Hannah’s supplier couldn’t lead her to the person who had put that cocaine in Willow’s car, she still wanted to know their identity. A burning anger spread throughout her chest when she thought about someone selling drugs to a fifteen-year-old.

Hannah sighed, her shoulders dropping two inches when she evidently realized that Kat wouldn’t let the issue drop. “Josh gave it to me.”

“Josh?” Kat racked her brain, straightening when the name registered. “You mean Josh Easton?”

Hannah’s face had paled considerably. “You’re not going to get him in trouble, are you? I mean, it’s only pot.”

Kat locked gazes with the teenager. “Is Josh dealing this stuff?”

Hannah adjusted the backpack in her arms. “I don’t think he sells that much. He just needs a little extra income since he wants to buy his own car when he turns sixteen. I mean, he’s working all summer down at Cherry Hills Auto too, but they don’t pay much and he’ll have to quit when school starts.”

Kat’s breath caught. “Josh works as a car mechanic?”

Hannah nodded. “He doesn’t really like it, but, you know, it’s hard to find a job when you’re our age so you just take what you can get.”

“What exactly does he do there?” Kat asked, feeling lightheaded.

Hannah seemed to have relaxed somewhat now that they’d moved off the topic of drugs. “Oil changes, I guess.”

Kat gathered that the teenager really didn’t know what Josh did. For that matter, Kat had no clue what automobile mechanics did either.

But, even given her lack of knowledge concerning the details, she figured Josh had probably changed at least one taillight. At the very least, he’d likely watched someone else changing one and knew how to do it himself.

Kat’s gaze snapped toward the wall clock. “What time does Cherry Hills Auto close?”