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up. “I can’t say she didn’t hold up that bank, I can only tell you my perception of Maybelle the last few times I saw her.”
    “You don’t have any theories?” Kat pressed. With Imogene having such a favorable impression of her mother, she was itching to hear her opinion.
    Imogene bit her lip. “Naturally, I’ve thought about it over the years.”
    Kat leaned across Shadow’s carrier. “I’d like to know what you concluded.”
    “Well, I never really came to any definite conclusions,” Imogene hedged. “You have to remember, I didn’t know Maybelle all that well.”
    Kat had to resist her urge to drop to one knee on the floor. “Please.”
    Imogene regarded her for a long moment. Finally, she nodded, seeming to register Kat’s desperation. “I thought, perhaps, that she had robbed that bank for more noble reasons than others in town gave her credit for.”
    “Noble reasons?”
    “Like to get her life in order.” Imogene offered her a sad smile. “She loved you, you know. That I don’t doubt for a second.”
    Kat stuck two fingers between the carrier slats and absently stroked Shadow’s back. She hadn’t realized until then how much she needed to hear that her mother had cared about her, and Imogene’s words caused tears to spring to her eyes.
    Imogene crossed her legs. “But, naturally, she couldn’t care for you while she was still battling her own demons.”
    “The drugs, you mean,” Kat said.
    “Yes. And getting help for that sort of thing isn’t cheap.”
    Kat tried to wrap her brain around what Imogene was saying. “So you think my mother robbed that bank in order to pay for treatment?”
    Imogene shrugged. “Like I said, this is all speculation on my part.”
    “But it makes sense.” And, Kat had to admit, it was a much more palatable theory than the notion of her mother only committing a felony in order to further fund her drug habit.
    “I do know that rehab is not inexpensive,” Imogene continued. “A woman of Maybelle’s means . . . well, she wasn’t the type to have access to such resources under normal circumstances.”
    Kat bobbed her head, feeling herself warming to her friend’s supposition. “Right.”
    “And I believe she was motivated to regain custody of you.” Imogene sighed. “A mother who’s had her child ripped from her arms might feel inclined to do some things she might not do otherwise, things she might typically find morally reprehensible. You understand?”
    “Yes, that makes complete sense.” Although, Kat had to wonder if she’d only embraced Imogene’s theory because it supported her own yearning for her mother to have cared.
    Their conversation was interrupted when Sherry called out, “Katherine Harper? Dr. Harry will meet you in Room B.”
    “Thanks.” Kat gripped Shadow’s carrier as she stood up. “Thank you, Imogene, for sharing what you know. You have no idea what it means to me.”
    Imogene reached out and patted Kat’s hand. “I hope you find her. A girl shouldn’t have to go through life wondering about her mother.”
    Kat firmed her hold on Shadow’s carrier, the truth of Imogene’s words weighing her down as she ducked into the hallway.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    After leaving Cherry Hills Veterinary, Kat couldn’t do much more than mope around her apartment. She kept dwelling on her conversation with Imogene. The thought of her mother needing to rob a bank in order to fund treatment for her drug addiction made her infinitely sad.
    Of course, it was better than what Chief Kenny had hinted at, that her mother had only robbed a bank to support an ongoing addiction.
    Kat had been sitting on her couch wallowing in her thoughts for a good twenty minutes when Matty finally joined her. The tortoiseshell licked Kat’s hand before curling into a ball and burying her face in her front paws.
    Kat smiled. She hoped Shadow was as comfortable as Matty appeared to be. Dr. Harry had told her the poor thing was extremely dehydrated thanks to a