“Not before you tell me who told you about the commissioner.”
“I—I can’t!” she cried.
He shook her again. “Was it your father? Did he tell you?”
“Of course not! I—everyone knows the story. It’s all over town!”
He stared at her at this, aghast. “All over town?”
“Yes! It’s not a secret, if that’s what you think.”
He was still staring at her, his face ashen now. She wriggled out of his arms, and this time he let go, looking absolutely shell-shocked.
“And let me tell you that I, for one, don’t believe a word of it,” she said. “That whole story about the mayor’s wife? I think you made that up. I think you’re a brute and you went too far that day and you molested that woman.”
He blinked, finally coming out of his stupor when her words hit him. Surprised, she watched as a look of torment came over his face. “We’re done here, Miss Poole,” he said in a voice so quiet she had to strain her ears to pick up the words. “We’re done here,” he repeated, then started to walk away from her, his back straight, his shoulders stiff and his demeanor unreadable.
And as she watched him walk away, she realized what she’d done. The only two people in town he’d entrusted with his secret were her father and her uncle. In Chase’s mind one of them must have betrayed his confidence. How else could she have known? And now he would confront either or both of these men, and would probably never trust them again. She’d really done it this time. Maybe he’d even resign and leave Hampton Cove because of her. Chase Kingsley was obviously a proud man, and might simply walk away.
“Chase!” she called out, and hurried after him. “Chase! Come back!”
She caught up with him just as he reached his car, a pickup like hers, but more dilapidated. He whirled around. “What?” he asked, his jaw working.
“I, um…” She didn’t know what to say for a moment. How could she explain that she got all of her information from her cat? That was simply ludicrous. But how else could she have known? In his mind her father had broken his trust, or her uncle. She needed to tell him the truth, no matter how improbable it might sound. Or… “I’ll tell you where I heard the story.”
“I know. All over town,” he gritted out.
“No! No, I’m the only one that knows. And… and Beah.”
He stared at her, his face inscrutable, and folded his massive arms across his chest, leaning against the truck. He wasn’t giving her an inch. “Go on.”
“I… I worked for the New York Post for six months, as an intern, right after I finished college. I didn’t like it out there, though, and pretty quickly returned to Hampton Cove, where Dan had always promised me a spot on his paper. He was getting on in years, and couldn’t do it all by himself anymore. The work maybe wasn’t as exciting as working for one of the big papers, but it was good enough for me. But while I was interning at the Post I became really close to another intern. Beah Heaves and I became friends, and even after I returned here we kept in touch. We, um, we exchange information. When she needs help on a story about the Hamptons, or I need something on New York, we help each other out.”
“So?” he grunted, his eyes remaining steadily on hers.
“Well, I called her this morning, asking about you, and she told me the story about the harassment, and…” She hesitated, licking her lips. “She also told me that a crazy rumor had done the rounds that you were set up. That the harassment charge was simply a way to make you go away.”
His frown deepened. “If this reporter friend of yours knew about this, why didn’t she pursue the story? Why was this never printed in the Post?”
She lifted an ineffectual hand. “Isn’t it obvious? Because nobody believed the rumors. They figured you started them yourself, to get off the hook.”
He shifted, giving her a slight nod. “And what do you believe?”
She cast around helplessly. To be honest, she hadn’t made up her mind.
She didn’t have to, for his jaw worked when he growled, “I see.”
And then he abruptly turned and yanked open the door of his car and slid behind the wheel. When he turned back to her, his face was a mask of determination. “Just make sure that when you print your story you make sure to get a quote from the commissioner this time. Get him on record.”
“Why?” she asked, surprised.
“Because the scumbag has never come out openly and accused me of a crime.” He gave her a grim-faced look. “Just ask him the question straight to his face, and see how he responds. I’m sure a big-shot reporter like yourself will have no trouble recognizing a blatant lie when you see it.”
With these words, he started up the truck and the engine roared to life. Before she had a chance to respond, he was racing away, wheels spinning and leaving her in a cloud of dust and wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
For some reason, she was starting to believe that Chase Kingsley just might be telling the truth after all, which meant she’d been wrong all along.
Chapter 15
Dooley and I rode in the back in silence for a while, as Odelia seemed to ponder Chase’s words. She now had two cases on her plate: a nasty murder case, and the mystery of the new policeman, and seemed adamant to solve them both. Dooley had stretched himself out on the backseat and was already snoring softly, while I was gazing at the back of Odelia’s head, wondering what else we could do for her. It was obvious the recent meeting with Chase hadn’t gone well, and judging from her silence it had made a great impact.
I wondered why this was. Why would some idiot cop cause her so much distress? She’d gone toe-to-toe with other people before—these things happen when you’re a tough-as-nails reporter—and she’d shrugged off those incidents in a heartbeat. This time the confrontation had left an indelible impression, and I thought I knew why this was. The same reason Harriet had fallen so unexpectedly for Brutus: this new cop was an alpha male. The kind of male human that made a powerful impact on the female of the species.
I’d seen it before and I now recognized the signs: Odelia was developing feelings for this cop, even though she probably didn’t know it herself.
Why else would she care whether Chase Kingsley was innocent in this whole harassment business or not? If he were simply some Mr. Nobody she would have dismissed him out of hand, but now she was almost as eager to solve his mystery as she was to solve the Paulo Frey murder.
And then I got an idea. I know, it sometimes happens, even to cats. I don’t know where these sudden moments of illumination come from, but I’m grateful they do. And no, I’m not saying I’m the smartest cat around, because I’m not, but I do have my moments of sudden brilliance, if I say so myself.
“Hey,” I said, deftly hopping into the passenger seat. “I’ve got an idea.”
“Mh?” asked Odelia without looking up. She was still deep in thought as she steered her pickup expertly down the winding road back into town.
“You want to find out if Chase is innocent, right?”
This time she did look up, and gave me a sideways glance. “Yes? So?”
“Well, if the commissioner and the mayor’s wife are having a torrid affair, it’s bound to have spilled over from his office to other places as well, right?”
“Probably,” she agreed.
“I mean, if the flames of passion are that high, they won’t be able to confine themselves to doing it in his office, right?”
She laughed at his. “I don’t know if this is an appropriate conversation for a young cat like yourself, Max.”
I puffed up my chest. “Young cat? Haven’t you ever heard of cat years? I’m not a spring chicken, honey. I’m a grown-up. I can handle this stuff.”
“All right,” she said with a slight smile. “So what’s your big idea?”