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as he gripped the milkshake glass. She forced her gaze back up to his face, hopefully before he noticed her staring. “So, um, I have some interesting news for you. Guess who in town has a huge black eye that appeared overnight.”
    “Who?”
    “Harry Opheim.”
    “You mean Dr. Harry, the veterinarian?”
    Kat nodded. “He said he sustained the injury during a wrestling match with a dog, but I’m not sure I buy it.”
    “What were you doing talking to Dr. Harry?”
    “I took Matty in for a checkup this morning,” Kat explained. “And, get this, she went all crazy when Dr. Harry touched her.”
    “She probably doesn’t enjoy going to the vet,” Andrew reasoned.
    “She certainly didn’t want to get into her carrier,” Kat admitted, remembering Matty’s scowl as she hid under the bed. “But still, the way she lashed out I’m pretty sure this was more than just an aversion to doctors. I’m wondering if Matty witnessed Dr. Harry attacking Mrs. Tinsdale yesterday morning.”
    Andrew shook his head. “That’s impossible. Dr. Harry has an alibi for yesterday.”
    Kat’s forehead furrowed. “He does?”
    “Yes. His number was the last to appear in Mrs. Tinsdale’s call history, so I checked out his story right away.”
    “What did he say?” Kat asked.
    “That he never left the office until closing time,” Andrew replied. “I also spoke with Sherry Peterson, his morning receptionist, and she confirms he was there from the time they opened at eight a.m. until she left at one p.m. Mrs. Tinsdale was killed sometime between nine and eleven.”
    “Maybe Dr. Harry snuck out for an early lunch,” Kat proposed.
    “He never broke for lunch,” Andrew countered. “They were so swamped he just wolfed down a granola bar or two whenever he found a spare moment. And the clients who were there before noon all claimed that Dr. Harry was present for their appointments and that they never saw him leaving the building.”
    Kat frowned, not ready to give up the notion of Dr. Harry’s guilt yet. “If he was only gone for a few minutes, they might not have noticed that he left.”
    “It would have taken him at least half an hour to get to your apartment building, involve himself in an altercation with Mrs. Tinsdale, and return to the office,” Andrew said. “And as busy as his practice was on Tuesday, somebody would almost have to have seen him leaving the premises.”
    Kat absorbed that, her spirits deflating. Since she’d left the doctor’s office several hours ago, she’d convinced herself of Dr. Harry’s guilt. Now she was back to square one when it came to gathering leads on who could have killed Mrs. Tinsdale.
    “What did he say about Matty, anyway?” Andrew asked. “Is she okay?”
    “Oh, she’s fine,” Kat said, tamping down the fear that washed over her whenever she was reminded of Dr. Harry’s parasite comments. “If you want to know the truth, I really only took her to the vet so I could hear what Dr. Harry had to say about Mrs. Tinsdale’s relationships with his staff. I figured she had to deal with some of them because of her position on the 4F board.” Unfortunately, after Kat had gotten it into her head that Dr. Harry himself could be guilty, she had abandoned any line of questioning concerning the other Cherry Hills Veterinary employees.
    Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “Kat, you’re not sticking your nose into this case, are you?”
    She drew herself up. “What if I was?”
    “Then I’d have to remind you that a homicide investigation is police business.”
    “I know that. And the last thing I want to do is interfere.”
    Andrew pulled his milkshake closer. “Good.”
    “But I have been . . . looking into things a little,” Kat continued.
    Andrew stared at Kat across the table, the sip of strawberry shake he had sucked up his straw falling back into the glass as his lips parted. “You’ve been looking into things?”
    She nodded.
    Andrew set his palms flat on the table. “Kat, you