26 Blackmail in Cherry Hills by Paige Sleuth

Author:Paige Sleuth
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
Tags: animal detective, cat cozy mystery, small town feline adventures, fun comedy amateur sleuth female protagonist, humorous whodunit
Publisher: Marla Bradeen
Published: 2019-03-18T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

The next morning, Kat was too preoccupied with getting ready for another day at the office to give much thought to Maya Pickerling’s blackmail note or Imogene’s disturbing story about Norman van der Veer. Work kept her busy, and by the time her shift ended at five o’clock she was looking forward to kicking back and unwinding at her apartment with Matty and Tom.

That was why she was so surprised to find her car creeping past The Bark and Meow on her drive home from work. Apparently her subconscious hadn’t succeeded in pushing the disturbing town council vote out of her headspace.

Several cars occupied the parking slots in front of the pet store. As furious as Imogene had been yesterday after talking to Keave Ohana, Kat half expected to see her friend on the sidewalk blowing into a bullhorn and waving a picket sign around urging people to boycott the establishment. But Imogene was nowhere in sight. Neither was her SUV.

One of the vehicles, however, did snag Kat’s attention. It was a blue coupe—one that looked very much like the car that had pulled up to the Pickerlings’ house right before Maya had shooed Kat and Imogene out the door.

Kat coasted to a stop by the curb. What would Ian Pickerling be doing at The Bark and Meow? Had Maya broken down and told her husband about the blackmail note? Perhaps Ian figured Keave was the person with the most to lose if the breeder ban passed, and he had stormed down here to confront the business owner.

Except, if Maya had told Ian about being blackmailed, he undoubtedly would have pressed her to reveal what she had to hide. And given how Maya had insisted he could never know about her past, the scenario struck Kat as unlikely.

But that still didn’t explain why Ian was here now. And the blue coupe was parked too close to The Bark and Meow for Kat to presume he might be shopping at the grocery store next door or the home-improvement place on its left.

Making a snap decision, Kat verified the road was clear before executing a U-turn and veering into the shopping center. Regardless of whether Ian knew about Maya’s blackmail note, Kat wanted to talk to him. After all, the blackmailer had to have found out about Maya’s former line of work somehow, and as the person who had known her the longest Ian might be the best lead she had to figure out who else in Cherry Hills might share an old connection with his wife. She would just have to phrase her questions carefully so Ian wouldn’t wonder why she was so interested in the Pickerlings’ past.

She scanned the sales floor as she stepped into the pet store. She didn’t see Ian, but several people near the front of the store were oohing and ahhing over two puppies on display behind a glass cage. The temptation to stop and tell them about the adorable one- and two-year-old dogs currently

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