Poisoned in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 3) by Paige Sleuth

CHAPTER ONE
    “Those two have trouble written all over them,” Imogene Little said, her mouth pinched as she looked across the adoption room set up as part of the Furry Friends Foster Families benefit dinner.
    Katherine Harper’s gaze followed the direction of Imogene’s. Two twenty-something women, a redhead and a blonde, stood arguing in the cat corner. The redhead leaned in the blonde’s face, her cheeks flushed and her arms jerking about. A tabby in the cage behind her had stretched one paw as far as it would go through the bars in order to swat at her swinging ponytail.
    “I hope their antics don’t get us booted from the Cherry Hills Hotel after they were nice enough to donate space for tonight’s event,” Imogene said. “Then they’ll never want to deal with 4F again.”
    Two chihuahuas circled around the women’s feet, yapping as if to referee the disagreement. The dogs weren’t the only creatures who noticed the tension heating up on the other side of the room. Kat would be surprised if anyone in attendance hadn’t gotten wind of it. Several men in the nearby vicinity had even leaned against the walls as if settling in to watch a choreographed performance put on as part of the night’s entertainment.
    “What are they arguing about?” Kat asked, hoping they were in a bidding war over one of the animals present. Between the dozen or so dogs, twenty cats, and one lone rabbit being showcased this evening, the more people who showed an interest in adopting one of the animals, the more of a success tonight’s event would be.
    Imogene groaned, apparently not sharing Kat’s optimism. “Knowing them, a man.”
    Kat turned toward her. “You know them?”
    Imogene nodded. “Lucy Callahan and Heidi Smith have lived here since they were teenagers. Even then they didn’t get along. They both seem to go for the same type, and inevitably somebody’s heart ends up getting broken.”
    Kat frowned at the mention of men. Sneaking a peek at the wall clock, she wondered where her own date was. Hopefully Andrew Milhone hadn’t gotten caught up at work. Being a police detective, he often kept erratic hours.
    Of course, Kat had to remind herself, calling tonight’s outing a ‘date’ wasn’t entirely accurate. Although she had already elevated it to that level in her mind, she wasn’t sure whether Andrew shared her sentiments. For all she knew, in his mind they were just two childhood friends going out to support the homeless animals of Cherry Hills, Washington. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have called to let her know he’d be running late?
    An angry shout redirected Kat’s attention to the problem developing across the room. “Should we intervene?” she asked Imogene.
    “Other than asking them to leave, I’m not sure what we can do. We might have to let them battle it out for a while longer. But help me monitor the situation. The last thing we need is a brouhaha ruining tonight for everybody else.”
    “I’ll keep an eye on them,” Kat assured her friend.
    “Thank you.” Imogene took a step backward. “Well, I suppose I ought to go circulate like a good hostess. I’ll talk to you later.”
    “Okay.”
    As Imogene wandered off, a large Labrador trotted up to Kat and stuck his head up her dress with enough force to send her wobbling in her stiletto heels. Thankfully, she regained her footing in time to keep from flashing the room, using the dog to steady herself.
    “Sorry ’bout that,” a tall, thin brunette said, pulling on the leash attached to the dog’s collar while trying to maintain her hold on a sparkly clutch bag. She gave the leash another tug, but the dog gave no indication that he’d felt it. “I didn’t expect Champ to be such a handful.”
    “It’s okay,” Kat said, stroking Champ’s head. He gazed adoringly up at her with soulful brown eyes.
    “He looked so despondent in his pen I thought I’d just walk him around for a little while to cheer him up. It turns out he’s walking