“Stick with me, kid,” he quipped. “I’m always right.”
“Big man on campus,” she said as she had to hurry to keep up with the long-legged cop.
“So where did you last see your cats?” he asked.
“When we got here this morning, remember? They got out of the car and that’s the last time I saw them.”
“They could literally be anywhere. They could even be roaming the streets of Hampton Cove right now.”
“They could,” she agreed, “but something tells me they never left.”
“Don’t tell me. Female intuition?”
“You may scoff at the notion that women have a very powerful and fine-tuned sense of intuition, but it’s a fact that very often we’re right.”
“I’m not making fun of you, babe. I do believe you when you say your cats are here. No one else I know has such a strong connection to their pets.”
“Thanks,” she said. “That’s a very nice thing to say.”
They’d arrived at the house and now stood where their car had been parked that morning: in the drive in front of the house.
All the lights were out inside, except on the second floor.
“Why don’t we knock on the door and go in?” Chase suggested. “After all, we’re still laboring under the assumption we were buzzed in just now.”
“A false assumption,” she reminded him.
“Yeah, but they don’t know that we know that.”
So they moved up to the house and Chase pounded his fist on the door. Of course there was no response.
“Let’s move to the back,” said Odelia. “Maybe Max and Dooley are still around somewhere.”
They walked around to the back of the house, and in the distance Odelia could see the famous petting zoo. The lights were on in the different sections and she could see a horse staring back at her, and also a donkey.
“You can’t talk to them, can you?” asked Chase.
“No, unfortunately I can only talk to cats.”
“Too bad. They might know where Max and Dooley went.”
And they’d reached the deck when suddenly floodlights bathed the scene in a blinding light. Moments later they were surrounded by a small group of armed men, whom Odelia recognized as part of the house’s security detail.
“Easy, guys,” said Chase, carefully taking out his police badge. “We were invited.”
“Oh, hey, Detective Kingsley,” said the burliest and biggest of the lot. “Going for an evening stroll?”
“Yeah, enjoying the night air,” he said. “So what’s going on here? What’s with all the SUVs that just drove off?”
“Oh, we had a conference of some kind,” said the guy, who appeared to be the more garrulous type. With a gesture of the hand he dismissed his men, who holstered their weapons and returned indoors, to fight off another threat to the safety of the chateau’s inhabitants.
“A conference?” asked Odelia.
“Yeah. Discussing the future of the company now that the top guy is dead.”
“So who’s the new top guy?” asked Chase.
“I’m not sure but I think it’s Leonora Flake,” said the guy. “At least that’s who we’re getting our instructions from now. Her and some skinny dude with a cat.”
“Skinny dude with a cat?” asked Chase.
“Not Chris Cross,” said Odelia, surprised.
“Yeah, Cross. That’s the name I got.”
“Is he in charge now? I thought he was just a private detective, hired by Leonora?”
“Yeah, well, I guess he got promoted.”
“Weird,” said Chase.
“So have you seen any other cats around? “asked Odelia. “My cats in particular? One is large and orange, the other small and gray.”
The guy furrowed his brow. “Um… can’t say that I have, Miss…”
“Poole.”
“Oh, right. I’ve read your articles, Miss Poole. Well-written and well-informed every time. They’re the first thing I read when I get the Gazette.”
“Thanks,” said Odelia. “Always nice to meet a fan. So no cats, huh?”
“Only Pussy, but then she’s the star of the show, isn’t she?” said the guy with a laugh. He turned to Chase. “So did you arrest Gabe Crier?”
“Yeah, we did. And charged him.”
“Yeah, seems like a foregone conclusion that he did it. Martha is still pretty shook up. And now even more, since she got fired.”
“Who’s Martha?” asked Odelia.
“The maid who discovered the body,” said Chase. “She got fired?”
“Yeah, her and all the others. Looks like Leonora is doing a clean sweep. The entire household staff was fired this evening, and sent home. Tomorrow she’ll start hiring new people. At least security hasn’t been given their marching orders yet, but I have a hunch we’re next. New brooms, huh?”
And with these words he wandered back to the house and disappeared inside.
Odelia and Chase stared after the man. “What do you make of that?” asked Odelia. “Leonora in charge, with a pet detective and his cat, and the entire staff fired.”
“Like the guy said. New brooms.”
Odelia thought for a moment. “Maybe that’s why they hired Chris Cross. He claims to be able to talk to pets, just like me. Only I always thought it was just a gimmick. You know, like a sales pitch.”
“Maybe he really can talk to pets, and now he’ll talk to Pussy and together they’ll run the show.”
Odelia glanced around. They still had no clue where Max and Dooley could be, and she was seriously starting to get worried now.
Chase, who could sense her agitation, said, “They’re probably home by now. Strike or no strike, they don’t like to be out and about for too long.”
“No, they don’t,” she agreed. “Maybe it’s time for us to head back.”
And so they strolled back to the front of the house.
Above their heads, and unbeknownst to them, three cats were yelling their little hearts out, pounding the window of Pussy’s room. Unfortunately a cat’s paws are outfitted with soft pink pads, and soft pink pads are not what you want when you try to attract attention by pounding on windows. The upshot was that their efforts produced no effect. And so it was with a desperate eye that Max and Dooley and Pussy saw the two humans who could have saved them from their imprisonment walk away and pass into the night.
Chapter 19
“How can they not have seen us?” asked Dooley with asperity.
“I guess they didn’t,” I said, feeling extremely disappointed in my human. I’d always assumed that Odelia and I shared a sacred bond. The kind of bond whereby she would instinctively know I was in grave danger and she’d come running to offer aid and support no matter the obstacles in her path. But whatever bond we’d once shared was clearly in very bad shape indeed, for even though I’d willed her to look up, she hadn’t done so once. Not a glimpse.
“Maybe they’re simply pretending not to notice us to throw Leonora and Chris Cross and Tank off the scent,” said Dooley, cheering up. “And any moment now they’ll come barging in here with the entire Hampton Cove police force and save us!”
“I don’t think, so, Dooley. They simply didn’t see us.”
“But how is that possible? It’s Odelia. She has to see us. She’s our human.”
“I’m starting to think she no longer is,” I said.
And we would have discussed the topic in depth if the door hadn’t swung open at that exact moment and the same motley crew that had locked us up was upon us once more: Leonora Flake, pushed by her strangely stoic nurse, Chris Cross and his feline sidekick Tank.
“Keep an eye on them, Tank,” said Chris. “Those two are cunning.”
“They don’t look cunning,” said Tank. “In fact they look pretty dumb. Dumb and dumber.” He laughed at his own joke, and so did Chris Cross.
“Will you stop with the inside jokes already?” said Leonora irritably. “So have we decided? Out with the intruders and in with Little Miss Sweet?”
“Yeah, I guess that’s the only way to go,” said Chris. “Max and Dooley clearly know too much now, and the moment we set them loose they’ll run and tell mama. And we can’t do without Pussy, in case we need to show her to the investors or the board at some point.”