Kitty Litter Killer Read Online Free Page A

their perception of reality. And that was the big problem here. Angelica and I rarely perceived reality the same way.
    “Sammie says she’s worried about Chris,” I said. “This didn’t start until he began trying to crawl. Unfortunately, Sammie watched a show where a toddler choked to death on something he got off the floor.”
    “Whatever you believe, dear, but this is why she needs a distraction. Have you made a decision?”
    She was referring to the kitten, and I wouldn’t let myself be fooled by her use of the endearment. She used words like weapons, shooting them like friendly fire that kills just as dead as enemy fire. I decided to play with her head.
    “A decision? Um, about what?”
    I heard her delicate sigh. “About the cat, dear. Maxwell said he’s leaving it all up to you. . .” Her voice trailed off.
    Which I don’t understand at all. . . I completed her sentence in my head. “Oh yes. The cat.” I paused just long enough to irritate her. “Yes, I’ve made a decision.”
    “And?” Her tone of voice changed. “This. . .is important. Not just for Sammie.”
    That was an odd statement for her to make. Was that vulnerability I heard in her voice? I felt a niggle of guilt. Playing with her head—anybody’s head—wasn’t nice. And the Lord had been trying to teach me to be nice for a long time now. I had only to look at the Adlers to see the end result of not being kind to someone.
    “I’ve decided that Sammie can have the cat.”
    “Good.” Relief laced the satisfaction in her voice. “She needs to pick which kitten she wants from the litter. She gets first choice.”
    “Why now?” I asked. “They aren’t ready to leave their mother yet.”
    “That’s the way it’s done, dear,” Angelica said. “What time this afternoon after she gets home from school is good? Hayley will be home after we play tennis.”
    Give someone an inch, and they’ll take a mile, as my mother would say. I’d given my mother-in-law just the tiniest bit of leverage by agreeing to the kitten, and now she was taking over, which she’d do in every area of my life if I let her. Just like my mother. But unlike my mother, Angelica doesn’t believe I’m good enough to be a Cunningham, along with my many other failures of character. Unfortunately, I resent that.
    “Patricia?”
    “Tell Hayley around four.”
    Angelica said good-bye and I hung up, wondering how I got into these things. My life was being controlled by two domineering women, not to mention all the demands from my family. I felt like I was losing myself.
    I needed to go back to work. That was all there was to it. Not to the self-storage business. When I left there, we turned the running of daily operations over to our office manager, Shirl. She was doing a great job. We’d even hired help for her.
    But maybe I could get a job in another part of the Cunningham family business. Angelica had nothing to do with any of that. Max and his father had recently begun work on a housing development. Perhaps I could help with that. For the first time since I’d gotten up that morning, I felt a twinge of excitement.

    The trees had shed most of their leaves, helped by the strong wind I felt pushing at my SUV as I drove to the cat breeder’s place.
    I’d texted Max on my cell phone and told him what was going on. Lately we’d developed the habit of text messaging on our phones rather than calling. I enjoyed the new technology. Plus, if he was in a meeting, he could still subtly check his message and even answer me—unlike a ringing phone.
    Sammie and I stopped briefly at the local Gas ’n’ Go to get some juice for her and to satisfy my addiction, an ice-cold, bubbly Mountain Dew from the fountain. After that, I continued on to Hayley Whitmore’s house. In the backseat, Sammie babbled about cats and school. Fortunately, her presence kept Chris entertained.
    “Mommy, look!” Sammie squirmed in the seat and pointed at a farm we were passing.
    A big sign