Although the Cherry Hills Hotel had donated use of their largest conference room for the silent auction, the space hardly seemed adequate now that the event was in full swing. The turnout tonight was definitely better than what the Furry Friends Foster Families board members had expected, and Kat could only assume John Sykes was responsible. The man must have more fans than she’d imagined possible for a radio host operating out of Southeastern Washington. She hoped the awesome attendance would translate to a profitable evening for 4F.
Funny to think the room had seemed almost too big when they had been setting up, Kat thought. A few of 4F’s adoptable cats occupied one corner of the room, on display in case someone hunting for their next four-legged family member walked by. Although 4F currently had five cats in their care, only three were present tonight. The two absentees were both rather shy, and the board members had agreed that subjecting them to the stress of a crowded room wasn’t worth the added exposure.
Tables had been pushed against the other three sides of the room. The one by the wall opposite the cats held various finger foods and beverages. The auction items were lined up along the other two walls. Submitting a bid was as simple as filling out a form and dropping it into the top of the bidding box in front of each item.
As one of the hosts putting on tonight’s event, Kat knew she should be mingling, but she had made the mistake of wearing a pair of too-high heels that pinched her toes every time she took a step. Plus, she didn’t feel up to braving the mob. She satisfied herself with setting up camp near the cat corner, smiling at those who walked by while she talked nonsense to the animals to help put them at ease.
She heard John Sykes before she saw him. Recognizing the voice from the radio, she turned away from the two Burmese cats she had been petting through the bars of their shared cage.
She didn’t see him at first. He seemed to have been swallowed up by his female fans. Kat recognized several of the women from around town, but most she had never laid eyes on before.
After a moment, a trio of girlfriends separated themselves from the crowd, leaving behind a big enough gap for Kat to get a glimpse of the man who had captured everyone’s attention. Even from half a room away, Kat could tell John Sykes was attractive. With his wavy brown hair, square jaw, and slim build, she figured he was around mid-forties. He wore a turquoise dress shirt sandwiched between black pants and a black scarf. The shirt might look tacky on another man, but it seemed to work on him.
“You ladies are too much,” he said, an amused quirk to his lips as he bestowed smiles upon his adoring audience.
A woman jumped up and down while waving her cell phone in the air. “John, can I get a selfie?”
“Sure thing, darling.”
Several of the women murmured similar requests, their purring loud enough to rival Tom’s when he was in the midst of receiving a particularly satisfying belly rub.
John posed next to a beaming blonde, and Kat noticed he wasn’t very tall. Either that or she wasn’t the only one who had worn impractical heels tonight.
“No pushing now,” John said with a chuckle. “I’m here all night, so I’ve got time for pictures with all of you lovely ladies.”
Listening to him work the room, Kat could see why he had pursued a career in radio. His voice was smooth and commanding, and he spoke with a cadence that was almost hypnotizing.
Imogene Little sidled up to Kat, a bright smile lighting up her face. “Charming, isn’t he?” she said, angling her head toward John.
“He seems to be,” Kat agreed.
Imogene’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at John. “I was delighted when he agreed to auction off a night on the town for our cause. He has to be the most dashing man in the whole Tri-Cities area.”
Kat was tempted to point out there weren’t many celebrities in the Tri-Cities, but she held her tongue.
Imogene had left her auburn hair down tonight. She twirled a lock around one finger, looking more like a smitten teenager than a woman four years shy of sixty. “Look at all the ladies out tonight. Why, I bet the females at this event outnumber the males twenty-to-one.”
Kat scanned the room, tempted to put the ratio at closer to fifty-to-one. The only other men she spotted were standing together near the refreshments table.
“Who are those guys over there?” Kat asked, aiming a finger across the room.
Imogene stood on her tiptoes to raise herself up to a normal person’s height. “I don’t recognize the bald man, but the other one is Eli Giovanni.”
“Eli? You mean John Sykes’s co-host?”
“That’s the one,” Imogene confirmed.
Kat studied the two men a little more closely. Eli’s conversational partner reminded her of a stage magician. He had grown out his black mustache long enough to curl it up at the ends, and he wore a red bow tie and cummerbund to go along with his black suit and white shirt. All that was missing was a top hat to mask his lack of hair and a white rabbit in his arms.
Eli’s looks were more conventional, and Kat doubted he would have any issues landing a few modeling gigs if he so desired. With a full head of dark hair that still looked wet from a shower and a slim, muscular build outlined by his gray knit shirt, she was surprised more of the guests weren’t vying for his attention. She could easily picture him gracing the cover of a magazine.
“I wonder why the women aren’t swooning over Eli,” she mused aloud. “He’s on the radio every morning just like John, isn’t he?”
“Eli hasn’t been in the business very long,” Imogene replied. “People around here, they’ve been listening to John for years.”
“I see.”
“Although, you do make a good point. You would think as the bachelor of their little duo, their female fans would be more inclined to idolize Eli.”
Kat’s eyebrows crept up her forehead. “John Sykes is married?”
“Yup. In fact, that’s Marta Sykes over there.”
Dressed in a simple black dress that matched her raven hair, Marta was standing off by herself, her attention fixed on a small plate in her hands. She was wafer thin, and she seemed to be picking at her food rather than eating it.
Rich male laughter floated above the crowd, followed by a string of high-pitched giggles. Kat frowned. She couldn’t imagine John’s wife appreciated all the attention her husband was receiving, even if it was part of his job.
Imogene looked around. “Where’s Andrew? I haven’t seen him yet.”
“He’s working.” Kat’s heart sank a little at the reminder that her boyfriend hadn’t been able to get the night off. “You know how it goes with police and regular hours.”
“Like oil and water, huh?”
Kat smiled as she took note of the flush creeping up Imogene’s neck. She itched to ask about Imogene’s own relationship with one of Cherry Hills’ finest but didn’t want to put her friend on the spot. Still, she was pretty sure there might be something more than a platonic friendship between Imogene and the local chief of police.
Imogene clucked her tongue. “I ought to go see if John will hang out over here. If he were standing closer to these cats, I’d bet my last nickel all three of them would find homes tonight.”
“Go work your magic then,” Kat said, shooing her friend away.
Imogene patted her hair into place and disappeared into the crowd.
Kat shifted her attention back to the felines. The cage on the left held the two Burmese brothers. With their thin, tan bodies, dark brown faces and legs, and yellow eyes, Kat could only tell them apart by their sizes and the way the larger brother insisted on subjecting all visitors to a sniff test before allowing them to touch his sibling. Anyone who failed inspection received a little nip on the hand, a gesture that delighted more people than it discouraged.
Sundae was the other cat in attendance. A beautiful tabby with a coat of black, orange, brown, and white markings, he had been named for his coloring, which was similar to how a bowl of vanilla ice cream might look after someone poured hearty amounts of fudge and caramel sauce over it. He noticed Kat looking at him and stuck one of his paws through his cage.
“You’ll find your forever home soon,” Kat told him, touching her finger to his tiny foot. “I just know it.”
Sundae tipped his nose up and meowed, as if to say he was a cat and therefore inherently fabulous.
“Any human who can’t see that is a fool,” Kat agreed.
A thirty-something blonde with large brown eyes and striking cheekbones appeared by Kat’s side. “Mind if I join you?” she asked. “That crowd is stifling.”
Kat coughed, hoping the blonde hadn’t overheard too much of her conversation with Sundae. “I’d love your company. I’m Kat.”
“Sally.”
“Are you from Cherry Hills?” Kat asked. Sally didn’t look familiar, and she wasn’t a woman someone was liable to forget. She had to be close to six feet tall, and she had piled her golden blond hair on top of her head in a way that added at least two more inches to her already impressive height. If she had opted to wear heels instead of flats, she would undoubtedly tower over everyone else in the room.
Sally shook her head. “I live in Kennewick. My sister Zoe wanted to attend this thing, but I couldn’t have her driving up here all by herself.”
“Is she that bad of a driver?”
Kat meant the comment as a joke, but Sally didn’t even crack a smile. “More like she’s young and doesn’t have good judgment.”
“Let me guess. Zoe is here for John Sykes.”
“Yep.”
“Did she bid on the evening out he’s offering?”
Sally shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”
“What about you?” Kat inquired. “Did you bid on anything tonight?”
“To be honest, I didn’t look.” Sally’s face brightened when her gaze landed on Sundae. “Hey, is this critter up for auction?”
“He’s up for adoption. Why, are you looking for a cat?”
“I don’t know.” Sally poked her fingers through the bars of Sundae’s cage and gave his chin a scratch. “I’ve never thought about it.”
“If you’re not ready to commit to anything now, I can give you my card so you can reach me when you decide,” Kat offered. “I’m on the Furry Friends Foster Families board.”
“Okay.”
Kat pulled one of her business cards out of her pants pocket. “That’s my work info, but I wrote down my cell on the back. Just give me a call if you decide to adopt Sundae—or any of the 4F cats, for that matter.”
“Thanks.” Sally slipped Kat’s card into her purse. Then she looked at the crowd, her lips turning down. “I guess I should go check on Zoe.” She sounded less than enthusiastic about rejoining the group of gawkers.
“It was nice meeting you,” Kat said.
“You, too.”
Sally passed Imogene on her way across the room.
“Any luck getting John over here?” Kat asked her friend.
“Would you believe he’s allergic to cats? He says as long as he stays a few yards away he’s fine.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yeah, and unfortunately he made a point of detailing all of his symptoms for me.” Imogene crossed her arms over her chest. “I gather he’s the reason none of his fans are over here asking about our cats. They’re all holding out hope they’ll win his prize package and maybe John will want to end things at their place. That would hardly be possible if she had a cat inside.”
“That would hardly be possible anyway,” Kat pointed out. “You said he was married.”
Imogene huffed. “I don’t get the impression that would stop a man like him. You see how he’s strutting around like a rooster in the henhouse? And the women are eating it up. Why, I bet that one could sweet-talk a car salesman into buying a bus pass.”
A laugh bubbled up Kat’s chest. Imogene no longer sounded as though she had a teenage crush on the man. Apparently John’s allergies had cured her of any infatuation.
They fell silent when John broke away from the crowd and headed in their direction. He smiled at Kat when he got closer. Kat smiled back.
He walked past her into the short corridor that led to the makeshift coatroom and the bathrooms the hotel had blocked off for 4F’s use tonight. On his way, he sneezed three times in rapid succession.
“Apparently just walking by cats is enough to trigger his allergies,” Kat commented.
“I doubt our cats have anything to do with it. Have you gotten a whiff of the air in here?” Imogene wrinkled her nose. “It smells like the carpets were doused in perfume.”
“I guess I’ve been breathing it in for so long I can no longer smell it.”
“Count yourself lucky.”
They made small talk for several minutes. Every once in a while Sundae would meow to remind them he was still there, and they would pause to give him some attention.
After a while, Imogene looked around. “Where’s Willow? It’s almost time for us to start tallying the bid results.”
“I haven’t seen her since we finished setting up,” Kat said.
“I’ll scout the room after I give the crowd a reminder to get their last-minute bids in. Why don’t you see if she stepped out for some fresh air?”
“Okay.”
Kat decided to check the restroom first. She hadn’t seen Willow come this way, but with all the hubbub inside they could have easily crossed paths without realizing.
No one was inside the ladies’ room. Kat planned to poke her head outside next, but she found herself pausing by the door to the wheelchair-accessible family restroom.
“Anybody in there?” she asked.
She thought about moving on when she received no response, but something compelled her to stay. She tested the knob, unsure why the hairs on the back of her neck stood up when it turned.
Holding her breath, she slid the door open a crack. The first thing she spotted were two men’s dress shoes lying flat on the floor. Her eyes traveled up past the socks and black pants, coming to a hard stop when they reached the flashy turquoise dress shirt.
For one brief moment, Kat managed to convince herself that John Sykes had changed clothes and abandoned his original outfit on the floor. But reality settled in a second later.
John Sykes hadn’t taken off his shirt. Nope, Kat could clearly see he was too far gone to do much about his clothes even if he wanted to.