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

chest.
    Kat choked down a cry of relief. She didn’t think she had ever been more thrilled to see anyone in her entire life.
    “Wh—what are you doing here?” Tasha stammered.
    “Arresting you.”
    Deciding to take advantage of the situation, Kat fumbled for Tasha’s now abandoned gun. She somehow managed to pick it up and toss it through the passenger window in spite of how badly her fingers were trembling.
    Andrew didn’t even glance in her direction. Kat wasn’t sure if he already knew about the gun, or if he was too focused on Tasha to notice what she was doing.
    “You need to exit the vehicle,” he said. “Slowly.”
    Tasha’s eyes grew wider, but she dutifully reached for the door lock. Her hands were now shaking as violently as Kat’s were.
    Champ barked and tried to clamber into the front seat. Kat reached behind her and held onto his collar. If Andrew ended up discharging his weapon, she would hate for the Labrador to be injured incidentally.
    Andrew took a step backward as Tasha’s door creaked open. “Move slowly, and keep your hands where I can see them.”
    Tasha did as he instructed. The fight seemed to have left her body. Her shoulders were slumped as she unfolded herself from the vehicle.
    “Okay, now turn around and put your hands on the roof of the car,” Andrew commanded.
    Tasha set her palms on the roof. “How did you know it was me?”
    “I didn’t until I saw you out here holding Kat hostage.” Andrew slipped his firearm into his shoulder holster and exchanged it for a set of handcuffs, which he wasted no time securing around Tasha’s wrists.
    Confident that she was finally safe, Kat threw the passenger door open and leapt out of the car, gulping in deep breaths of air. Champ scrambled after her, barking as he tried to run to the other side of the vehicle. Kat slipped his leash around her wrist and leaned against the sedan, unsure whether she would be able to restrain him otherwise.
    Andrew looked at her over the top of the car. “Backup is on its way.”
    Kat nodded. Seconds later she saw two uniformed officers charging out of the station. They sprinted through the parking lot and across the street in record time.
    Andrew handed over Tasha. “Read her her rights, and I’ll meet you all back inside.”
    “Roger that.”
    Tasha stole one last mournful glance at Champ as the officers led her away, perhaps already sensing she would never see him again. For that one second, Kat actually felt sorry for her.
    Now that the immediate danger had passed, Kat realized exactly how close she’d come to joining Heidi in the morgue. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed against the car.
    “Hey,” Andrew said softly, steadying her with a hand under one elbow. “You’re okay. You’re safe now.”
    Kat looked up at him, feeling a surge of gratitude. “You showed up just in time.”
    He grinned. “Lucky for you, I finally broke for lunch. I’ve been so swamped I didn’t have time to eat earlier.”
    “You have no idea how glad I am right now for your heavy workload.”
    “You can thank Chief for that. I’m taking back everything I said yesterday about him not being a slave driver.”
    Kat laughed. Although she still felt weak, some of her strength was returning.
    “Did you catch anything Tasha said in the car?” she asked.
    “Just enough to get the gist of things.” Andrew looked around before his eyes landed on hers again. “I’ll fill in the blanks when I take your statement. Afterward, why don’t you come to Jessie’s with me? I’ll buy you a milkshake.”
    She glanced at Champ, who hadn’t stopped whimpering since Tasha had disappeared into the police station. He kept pacing back and forth, his eyes fixed on the station entrance.
    Kat’s heart went out to the dog. “I’d love to, but I need to attend to Champ,” she told Andrew. “He’s pretty agitated.”
    “What are you going to do with him?”
    “I’ll call Imogene so we can place him with a foster home.” She