“Halloween is tomorrow,” Katherine Harper said, reaching over to pet her cat Matilda. “That’s less than eight hours away.”
Matty’s eyelids slipped shut, the room filling with the sound of her purring. The tortoiseshell was curled up in her favorite spot on the couch, her yellow-and-brown body compacted into a tight ball and her white chin facing outward in order to be easily accessible for scratching.
“So?” Andrew Milhone asked. Tom, Kat’s other cat, was stretched out on his back along Andrew’s legs, thrilled to be on the receiving end of a vigorous belly rub.
“So, I live in a secure apartment building,” Kat replied.
Andrew grinned. “Then you’ll be safe from the crazies.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “My point is, nobody is going to come trick-or-treating here. We’ll be bored out of our minds. It would be more fun to spend Halloween somewhere else, don’t you think?”
Tom flipped over and rested his chin on his paws, a sure sign the brown-and-black cat had finally gotten enough attention—for now.
Andrew settled back against the couch. “In that case, I vote for Aruba. They don’t celebrate Halloween there, do they? We can relax on the beach sipping piña coladas while everyone back here in Cherry Hills has to deal with kids on a sugar high.”
Kat sat up, a flash of exasperation searing through her. “Andrew, I’m trying to have a serious conversation and you’re making jokes.”
He frowned, the twinkle in his eyes dimming. “Okay, well, where do you want to spend Halloween? Seattle’s only a two-hour drive. We could see what’s happening over there.”
Kat rubbed Matty’s ears. “I don’t want to go to Seattle. I was thinking of something a little closer to home.”
“You mean Wenatchee?”
“Closer. Like, your place.”
Andrew’s mouth dropped open. “My place?” The words emerged as a squeak.
“Yes.” Kat stopped petting Matty so she could twist toward Andrew. “If you haven’t noticed, I’ve never actually been inside your house.”
He swallowed. “I realize that.”
“We always hang out here.” Kat looked around her apartment and grimaced. “This place is so small. Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Not really.”
“Well, I do. Besides, I want to see where you live.”
Andrew stared at her. She stared back. She only looked away when Matty crawled into her lap and nudged her hand with her head. Clearly Matty hadn’t appreciated being ignored while the humans were talking.
Kat stroked the tortoiseshell, but her mind was still on her conversation with Andrew. She couldn’t see what the problem was. It wasn’t as if she had proposed marriage. She just wanted to see his house.
The full force of her stubbornness kicked in then. She made a silent vow not to back down until he agreed.
Andrew shifted positions, creating enough of a disruption that Tom jumped onto the floor and stalked off. The sound of crunching kibble drifted out of the kitchen seconds later.
Andrew coughed. “You know, my place isn’t really that interesting. It’s old, and I’m not much of a decorator.”
Kat held up her palms. “So?”
Matty reached up and swatted Kat’s hand. Kat wasn’t sure if the animal was taking Andrew’s side or if she was simply miffed about being ignored again.
Andrew raked his fingers through his hair, sending a sandy lock flopping over his forehead. “The roof has a couple leaks. It’s really annoying when you want some peace and quiet and all you can hear is a steady drip-drip-drip.”
“Luckily, the forecast for tomorrow includes a zero percent chance of rain.”
He crossed then uncrossed his ankles. “My neighbors can be kind of loud.”
“Andrew!” Kat slapped her hands on the couch cushions, much to Matty’s dismay. “I don’t care! I don’t care about your neighbors, or your lack of interior design skills, or a few leaks. I wouldn’t even care if you had a bubbling brook running through your living room. I just want to see where you live. Is that so strange? I mean, we’ve been dating for a couple months now, and I’ve never been inside your house. That can’t be normal.”
His face paled, and she felt a ping of alarm.
“Is there a reason you don’t want me to see your house?” she asked, her voice growing quieter. She was having trouble getting the words out around the lump developing in her throat. “Are you ashamed your neighbors will see me with you or something?”
“What?” He straightened. “No.”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s—I’m—” He huffed, then stood up to pace around the room.
Dread pooled in Kat’s stomach. “Just tell me.”
He must have heard the pleading note in her voice. He pivoted around to face her. “I’m nervous.”
“Nervous?” She took a moment to absorb that. “Nervous about what? That I’m going to judge you?”
He stared at her for what felt like half an hour. The anguish written all over his face made Kat’s chest tighten. When he finally did speak, his words tumbled out in a rush.
“I’m afraid I’ll let you in, and then you’ll leave.”
“I won’t leave, even if I hate the house. I promise. I’ll even bring an umbrella, just in case it does rain.”
He blew out a breath. “You’re not getting it. I’m afraid you’ll leave leave.”
Understanding dawned. “You mean break up with you.”
He dragged his hand down his face. “Yes.”
The pressure in Kat’s chest eased. Now that she knew what his problem was, it would be a cinch to banish his concerns. “Andrew, I’m with you for you, not your house.”
He regarded her for a moment before saying, “Do you remember my uncle Don?”
Kat thought back to when she and Andrew had been kids in the Cherry Hills foster care system, but she couldn’t recall ever meeting one of Andrew’s uncles. “No.”
“He lived in Spokane,” Andrew said, his voice hollow. He turned to stare at something across the room. “We were in touch off and on back before you left town after high school.”
Tom ambled out of the kitchen. He sat down near the edge of the living room, running his tongue over his lips as he always did after a satisfying meal.
“When I moved into my first solo apartment, no roommates, we happened to be in one of those periods where we were in touch. Uncle Don came over to visit. He brought beer—to celebrate, he said.” Andrew paused, working his jaw. “I should have taken his keys right when he showed up at the door, but I was afraid to ask.”
Kat stilled, her fingers freezing on Matty’s back as a sick feeling developed in the pit of her stomach. She had a good idea what he was going to say before he voiced the words.
Andrew turned to stare out the window. “He crashed on his way home that night. He died upon impact.”
Kat felt her heart snap in two. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”
Andrew looked at her over his shoulder. “What if I told you Uncle Don blames me?”
Matty lifted her head, her green eyes opened wide. Tom, who had been licking one paw, stopped moving altogether. Andrew’s statement seemed to have shocked the felines as much as it had Kat.
Andrew took a deep breath. “I’ve dated a couple other girls over the years, and it seems whenever I invite them over, a week later we’ve broken up. It doesn’t matter where I live. It happened in my old apartments, and it happened after I bought the house I live in now.”
Kat’s throat constricted. “I’m not those girls, Andrew.”
“I know, but . . .” He lifted one shoulder. “I don’t really believe in ghosts and I realize this sounds ridiculous, but I can’t shake the sense that Uncle Don is still angry at me for letting him die, that he’s punishing me by chasing away anybody who gets too close.”
“You didn’t let him die,” Kat said. “He was an adult. He should have known better.”
“We were both adults. I could have stopped him.”
“Andrew.” Kat started stroking Matty again, using the rhythmic motion to steady herself. “Your uncle alone is responsible for what happened to him. And those other girls, they were fools to break up with you.”
Andrew’s cheek twisted. “I knew you wouldn’t get it. You’re a skeptic, same as me—most of the time.”
“Andrew,” she began before the sound of her cell phone cut through the air. She raised her voice to be heard above it. “I wouldn’t leave—”
“You should answer that,” Andrew interrupted.
Kat flapped her hand. “Whoever it is can leave a voicemail.”
“I need a drink.” He spun on his heel and stalked past Tom into the kitchen.
Kat, Matty, and Tom all watched him. Kat fingered the edge of the couch, torn between going after him and giving him some space.
Matty settled the matter for her. She leapt onto the coffee table and used her nose to nudge the phone closer.
Kat sighed as she snatched it up. “Hello?”
“Kat,” Imogene Little said, sounding almost breathless, “something urgent has come up.”
* * *
Click here to find the book at your favorite online retailer.
Books in the Cozy Cat Caper Mystery series:
Book 1: Murder in Cherry Hills
Book 2: Framed in Cherry Hills
Book 3: Poisoned in Cherry Hills
Book 4: Vanished in Cherry Hills
Book 5: Shot in Cherry Hills
Book 6: Strangled in Cherry Hills
Book 7: Halloween in Cherry Hills
Book 8: Stabbed in Cherry Hills