Kat’s mind was whirling when she left Cherry Hills Veterinary.
Although she originally thought finding Sherry’s bracelet where Jeff had been murdered placed her at the scene, now she was considering another option. What if Jeff had stolen the bracelet and had it with him when he died? Maybe he had arranged to meet a buyer in the dog park while he was walking Muffin. Perhaps something had gone wrong with the deal, and the buyer had ended up killing Jeff instead.
She was also starting to regret returning the bracelet. After finding it she had raced over to Cherry Hills Veterinary on impulse. If she had thought through everything she would have realized that turning the bracelet over to Andrew would have been the smarter thing to do. After all, it might help lead him to Jeff’s killer.
She would call him when she got upstairs, she decided, pulling into the parking lot outside her apartment building.
It had started to drizzle. She kept her head down as she stepped out of the car, and her hair was damp by the time she made it to the lobby.
“Hey. It’s Kat, right?”
Kat looked up. Janice stood in front of her, the Irish setter by her side. The dog eyed Kat with a lopsided grin.
“Janice,” Kat said. “Hi.”
“I didn’t know you lived here. I just moved in a little over a week ago.”
“I’m on the third floor.”
“Oh, good.” Janice smiled. “It’s so nice to see a familiar face.”
The Irish setter barked his concurrence.
Kat finger-combed some of the moisture out of her hair. She itched to ask Janice if Jeff had visited her since she’d moved in but didn’t want to arouse her suspicions if she’d had something to do with his death. She would have to find a way to ease into the topic.
“Where are you headed?” Kat asked, hoping she sounded conversational rather than nosy.
“I’m taking Bubbles for a walk.” Janice grimaced. “We had been going to that dog park, but now I don’t know. I don’t feel safe there anymore after what happened.”
The Irish setter looked at her, his tail wagging.
Kat grinned. That was just the opening she had been hoping for.
“I know what you mean.” She leaned her shoulder against the bank of mailboxes built into one wall. “Did you know Jeff?”
Janice shook her head, and the Irish setter barked as if to confirm he’d never met Jeff Parr either.
The front door opened. Kat swiveled around to see who had come in, her insides knotting when she spotted Mr. Peterson.
He halted next to them, his eyes flashing. “What is that ugly mutt doing in the lobby?”
Janice rested her palm on the Irish setter’s head. “This is my dog, Bubbles.”
Mr. Peterson planted his hands on his hips. “Dogs are not allowed to loiter in the common areas. Didn’t Larry tell you that when you signed a lease?”
Kat cleared her throat. “Mr. Peterson, she was only passing through the lobby to take him outside. There’s no rule against that.”
“You don’t fool me. You’re both clearly stationary.” His eyes darted around. “Don’t tell me that fleabag cat of yours is around here too.”
Kat gritted her teeth. “She doesn’t have fleas. And she’s upstairs.”
“Thank goodness for small miracles.”
Janice squinted at him. “Have we met before?”
Mr. Peterson pursed his lips, looking her up and down. “I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
“Huh.” Janice tapped her foot on the floor as she studied him. “I’m sure I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
Mr. Peterson squared his shoulders and brushed by her. “You’re mistaken, young lady.” He stopped walking to pivot around. “And may I suggest you review the rules you agreed to when signing your lease. I pay enough to live here that I shouldn’t have to share the common areas with dogs.”
Janice snapped her fingers. “The dog park. That’s where I’ve seen you before.”
Kat almost wanted to laugh. She couldn’t picture Mr. Peterson going anyplace where there might be dogs unless someone forced him against his will.
Mr. Peterson looked at Bubbles. “I wouldn’t be caught dead seeking out the company of a filthy cur.”
The Irish setter flattened his front legs on the floor and growled.
Janice frowned. “You weren’t there about a week ago?”
“I was not.”
Janice lifted one shoulder. “Well, the guy sure looked like you. Same hair, same build. I remember seeing him carrying this unusual tote bag. It had a picture of a romance novel cover on one side.”
Mr. Peterson’s face reddened. “Why on earth would I carry around something like that?”
The hair on the back of Kat’s neck prickled. She flashed back to when she’d seen that same tote bag in his arms yesterday. She hadn’t realized the picture was a romance novel cover, perhaps because she never would have pegged the crusty curmudgeon as the type to read bodice-rippers.
If Janice were right, Kat could think of only two reasons for Mr. Peterson to lie about being in the dog park. Either he was embarrassed about being spotted with that bag, or Janice’s ability to place him in that park implicated him in Jeff’s death somehow.
The second possibility caused sweat to break out on Kat’s forehead. Although Janice hadn’t seen him on the day Jeff had died, the fact that he’d been there once was suspicious in itself. Not owning his own dog or enjoying their company, the only reason she could think of for him to go to a dog park would be to meet someone else—someone like Jeff.
Kat ran through their encounter yesterday morning. She hadn’t seen where Mr. Peterson had been coming from when she’d raced downstairs after Matty. All she knew was that he had been waiting for the elevator when she emerged from the stairwell. That suggested he’d just returned home from somewhere—somewhere that could have been the dog park.
Mr. Peterson had also been the person who had told Andrew that Jeff was dating someone on the third floor. What if he’d only said that to throw Andrew off of his own trail? What if Jeff had never been in the building at all but Mr. Peterson had claimed otherwise to make the police think Kat might have had a motive to kill him?
“Well, I ought to get going,” Janice said.
Kat snapped back to the present, nearly jumping out of her skin when she spotted Mr. Peterson staring right at her.
Janice tugged on the Irish setter’s leash and headed for the door. “If Bubbles doesn’t get outside soon he’ll leave a mess on the carpet.”
Mr. Peterson tore his gaze away from Kat to sneer at the dog. “If it does I’ll be talking to Larry about getting you evicted.”
Janice paused by the door, her jaw working as though she were debating over whether to respond. A second later she shrugged and ducked outside.
Mr. Peterson spun on his heel and strode over to the elevator. The doors parted right after he pressed the button.
He held them open. “After you,” he said to Kat.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Actually, I think I’ll take the stairs. I need the exercise.” There was no way she would be getting into a confined space with a man she believed might be a murderer.
Mr. Peterson let his arm drop and boarded the elevator. “Suit yourself.”
Fully aware that he was watching her, Kat held her breath as she walked over to the stairwell. She focused on pacing her strides, trying to feign a nonchalance she didn’t feel. She only started breathing again when Mr. Peterson disappeared behind the closed elevator doors.
No longer needing to pretend, she shoved the stairwell door open and raced up the steps. She had to alert Andrew, and the sooner the better.