“Have it your way, Brutus,” I finally said.
“Always,” he said with a smug smile. “That’s something you will learn soon, Max. You and those other furballs that inhabit this stupid town.”
“Hampton Cove is not a stupid town!”
He merely grinned, and stalked off in the direction of the police station, presumably to find out what I’d found out.
Still shaking from the adrenaline rushing through my veins, I started heading for the Hampton Cove Gazette. Boy, did I have news for Odelia.
Chapter 4
Before going to the office, Odelia decided to pass by her dad’s practice first. She wanted to check on Gran, who’d been feeling a little under the weather lately. She passed into the waiting room. As usual, there were already half a dozen patients patiently waiting to be called into her father’s examination room. Tex Poole had been Hampton Cove’s one and only doctor for over thirty years, and was well-respected and well-liked by all.
She nodded a greeting to the small crowd, and quickly walked up to the reception desk, and was relieved to find the wizened old woman seated behind it, reading glasses perched on the tip of her nose, her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she deftly handled the phone and the appointments book.
“Gran,” she said happily. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” asked the white-haired old lady crustily.
“Well, I heard you were feeling a little under the weather last night.”
The old lady lifted her chin. “Who told you that? That kind of information is strictly confidential. That’s between my physician and me.”
“Well, your physician is my dad,” she said. “So…”
“That doesn’t give him the right to go blabbing about my private affairs,” Gran grumbled. “I’ll have a word with that man.”
Odelia laughed. “He didn’t blab about anything, Gran. Mom told me last night you weren’t feeling well after dinner, so you went to bed early.”
“Nonsense. I’ve never felt better and don’t let anyone tell you different.”
“I’m just glad to see you’re fine.” The last thing she wanted was to get into a fight with the feisty old lady, especially in front of half a dozen townies.
“I just had an upset tummy, that’s all. Nothing to get all worked up about.”
Odelia stared at her. “You don’t think it was my dessert, do you?”
She was the one who’d made dessert last night. Even though she lived alone, she still went home for dinner with her family most nights. It didn’t make much sense to cook for herself when she was just one person. She and Mom took turns cooking, with Gran chipping in from time to time. Last night had been Mom’s turn. She’d made grilled tuna, Odelia providing dessert.
But Gran waved her hand. “Don’t even think about it. That dessert was perfectly fine. I simply love chocolate pudding. Now state your business.”
She smiled. “Just checking up on you, Gran.”
“This is a doctor’s office, young lady, and we’ve got a lot of sick people waiting, so if you’re not sick or dying, please move along. No dillydallying.”
“Sure thing, Gran,” she said with a laugh. “Have a nice day.”
“Oh, I most definitely will,” Gran said, then hollered, “Next!”
She passed into the street feeling better already. The old lady might be feisty, but she was also vulnerable at her age, and she was glad to know she was fine. Next stop was the newspaper, and she’d just walked into her own small office when Max came tripping up.
“It’s about time,” he grumbled. “I thought you’d never show up.”
“And a good day to you too, Max,” she said as she took a seat.
“Oh, boy,” said Max, hopping onto the desk. “Have I got news for you!”
This morning ritual of theirs wasn’t unusual. Max might get most of his information from other cats, whom he met on his nocturnal excursions, but he often made a quick trip around town during the daytime as well, to see if he couldn’t pick up some nice tidbits of news here or there. The police station, especially, often rewarded them both with some great stories fit to print.
She needed to vet them, of course, and run them by the editor, Dan Goory, who’d been running this paper since before Odelia was born, but he trusted her, and never pressed her for her sources, knowing she wouldn’t reveal them anyway. And even if she did, she knew he wouldn’t believe her.
Weird thing about her uncanny knack was that it only seemed to work on cats. She’d tried talking to dogs, but they simply stared at her dumbly, then continued licking their butts or chasing their tails as if she hadn’t spoken.
“Tell me,” she said happily as she took her notebook and sat with pencil poised while Max spilled the latest news straight from the chief of police’s mouth. But when he’d finished his tale, she still hadn’t jotted down a word, too shocked at what he’d told her. “Paulo Frey? Murdered?” she gasped.
“Yep, and found at the bottom of the Writer’s Lodge cesspit. The Medical Examiner is trying to figure out what killed him and Chief Alec is expecting his report sometime this morning. Only trouble is…”
“What?” she asked anxiously as she feverishly started taking notes. She needed to confirm all of this with the chief, but this was one hell of a story.
“I’ve been told not to go near the police station again.”
She looked up, startled. “What? Who told you?”
“Brutus,” he said bitterly. “That big brute that belongs to Chase Kingsley. He’s been throwing his weight around ever since he arrived in town. He says the police station is off-limits to me and my buddies from now on.”
She immediately recognized this for what it was: a clear and present danger to her job. If Max wasn’t allowed to sneak up to Chief Alec’s window and snap up any and all snippets of information, she was out of a very valuable news source. Not that her uncle Alec was secretive, or unwilling to share, but his niece wasn’t the first person he ran to when he had important information to share. Though he’d gotten used to her finding out anyway.
“Listen, Max,” she said earnestly. “Don’t let this cat boss you around. Tell him he’s got no business telling other cats where they can and can’t go.”
“That’s what I told him! But he threatened me with violence if I didn’t do what he said.” He sighed. “I told you. That cat’s a genuine bully.”
“This is an outrage!” she spat, jumping to her feet. “Who does he think he is, bossing others around like that?!”
“He thinks he’s the new cop in town, that’s who he thinks he is.”
“We’ll see about that,” grunted Odelia, and strode out of the office.
“Where are you going, Odelia?” asked Dan from his own office.
“The police station!” she yelled back. “I’ve got a scoop!” She quickly stuck her head into the old man’s office and grinned at him. Then she spoke the words she’d wanted to speak for a very long time. “Stop the presses, Dan. And hold the front page. I’ve got the scoop to end all scoops.”
“Oh? Whaddya got?”
Her eyes glittered with excitement. “A murder.”
“Murder in Hampton Cove!” cried the old editor, his glasses almost falling from his face as he shot up from behind his desk. “No way!”
“Yes, way,” she confirmed. “I’ll be back in a jiffy so hold that front page.”
“I sure will,” he said, a look of sheer happiness on his kindly hobbit face. The news that a murder had taken place might appall regular folk, but then reporters aren’t like regular folk, of course. To them, murder and mayhem are like music to their ears.
Odelia purposefully set foot for the police station, and thought about what Max had said about this Brutus character. It was time that Chase Kingsley taught his cat a few lessons in common courtesy. You didn’t just waltz into town and start bossing people around. That simply wasn’t done!