Framed in Cherry Hills (Cozy Cat Caper Mystery Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

believe that?” Imogene said, shaking her head. “It’s ludicrous.”
    Dan lifted his face up, his hands balling into fists. “Somebody’s framing her. I know it. This is why I told her she should always lock up her car. She’s too trusting.”
    “But who would want to frame her?” Imogene asked.
    “You tell me.” He hunched forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “You know more about her friends than I do.”
    Imogene snorted. “There’s no way a friend set her up like this.”
    “You probably know more about her enemies than I do too,” Dan amended.
    Imogene straightened, looking indignant. “Willow doesn’t have any enemies.”
    Kat cleared her throat. “Dan, Willow doesn’t have any history of using drugs?”
    “Of course she doesn’t!” Imogene shouted with such ferocity that Kat recoiled. “Willow has never done a drug in her life! She’s a high school teacher, for heaven’s sake. DARE, and all that jazz.”
    Kat held her palms up in surrender. “I’m only trying to get a clear picture of what’s going on. I don’t know her like you do.”
    But her explanation didn’t seem to sit well with Imogene, who narrowed her eyes as she glowered at Kat. “You don’t think she’s guilty, do you?”
    Kat shrugged noncommittally.
    Imogene clearly wasn’t going to let her get away with her position on the fence. She stood in front of Kat and took on the stance of a battle commander with her feet planted two feet apart and her hands on her hips. “You believe Willow is innocent, right?”
    “I’ve never met her,” Kat replied, avoiding the question. “I don’t know anything about her except that she volunteers for 4F.”
    “Exactly.” Imogene looked triumphant. “How could anybody who devotes their free time to helping animals do drugs?”
    Kat didn’t see how the two things were related, but she only said, “Besides, it’s not me you have to convince, it’s the district attorney.”
    Imogene scrunched up her nose. “District attorney?”
    “Or a jury, if this thing goes to court.”
    Imogene’s mouth gaped open. “You think this will go all the way to court?” She whirled toward Dan. “Do you think this is going to trial?”
    Dan’s face looked unnaturally pale as he lifted one shoulder. “I’m trying to take things one step at a time.”
    Imogene nodded. “Right, right. That’s a good idea. What’s the next step?”
    “Finding her a lawyer,” Dan said.
    “What about bail?” Imogene asked.
    “She’ll probably have to wait until Monday for that,” Dan said, collapsing against the couch.
    Imogene’s face darkened. “Why does she have to wait until Monday?”
    “The courts reopen then.”
    Imogene squeezed her lips together. She didn’t look happy about the prospect of Willow spending all weekend in a cell.
    Kat turned toward Dan, remembering that he hadn’t yet answered her question. “Dan, has Willow ever been known to do drugs?”
    He shook his head. “Willow wouldn’t know a bag of cocaine from a bag of flour. Somebody planted that stuff there to frame her, I know it.”
    “Are you sure whoever put the cocaine there meant for her to get caught with it?” Kat asked.
    Imogene scowled. “Of course. Why else would those drugs have been there?”
    “Somebody could have hidden it there intending to recover it later,” Kat proposed. Although the glove compartment struck her as an unlikely hiding spot, she couldn’t completely rule out the possibility. People had been known to do sillier things when under the influence of drugs.
    Like give up their daughters, Kat thought before shaking the notion away.
    “No,” Dan said. “That bag fell right out of the glove box when Willow opened it, is what she told me. Whoever put it there wanted it to be found.”
    Kat considered that. “Maybe they thought they had pushed it back far enough, but it shifted positions while she was driving.”
    Dan scoffed. “Have you ever driven in a car with Willow?”
    “No, today