“What a lovely response!” Dooley cried, his eyes moist.
Even Harriet’s eyes were suspiciously shiny, and Brutus was wiping at his face.
“So nice of Chloe to correct her mistake,” I said in a husky voice. “And so nice to know that there’s still a chance for Mia to find love again.”
“And for you guys to have babies!” said Dooley. “Lots and lots of them!”
Harriet laughed, and so did Brutus.
“Now all you need to do is rub up against each other as much as you can,” said Dooley. “Create plenty of static electricity. And you see that it will happen. Chloe said so.”
“Yes, Chloe said so,” Harriet agreed, and for some reason pressed Dooley to her bosom and gave him a big smacking kiss on the brow. “You’re the best, Dooley. And you, Max.”
But before she could repeat the procedure with me, I respectfully bowed out. Don’t get me wrong. I like Harriet. In fact I love her like a sister, but I don’t enjoy wet kisses planted all over my face, thank you very much.
And I was just scanning the website again to read Chloe’s answer a second time, when something whizzed past my field of vision, and when I looked up, I saw that a mouse was racing past, on its way from the kitchen to the basement, hoisting a very large piece of cheese over its tiny little cranium, and cackling all the way with glee!
Chapter 28
When Odelia arrived home that night, she had the impression that her cats were looking at her a little strangely. She didn’t know why, and when she asked them, they acted surprised, so she decided not to pursue the matter. If there was something wrong, sooner or later they’d tell her.
Before she left the house through the kitchen door, she asked Harriet if everything was all right, and Harriet gave her a wink and said that Chloe’s new answers had proven a big hit with Max and Dooley.
“That’s great,” said Odelia with a smile. She didn’t like it when her cats didn’t get along, and it was nice to see that the wrinkles had all been smoothed out again.
She walked through the opening in the hedge that divided her backyard from her parents’, then into the house through the kitchen. Mom was busily cooking something, but looked a little out of sorts, she thought.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Mom looked up, as if she hadn’t even noticed she’d joined her. “Mh? Oh, nothing.” And as she chopped some onions, she suddenly said, “Do you remember what we were talking about yesterday?”
“You mean the trip to Europe?”
“Yeah, that. Well, I posted a follow-up question, and you’ll never guess what Gabi wrote.”
“I think I can guess,” said Odelia.
“She told me not to be so selfish and think about myself all the time while I have a brother who wants to become the next mayor and isn’t doing a damn thing about it.”
“Sounds familiar,” said Odelia, nodding.
“Almost as if your grandmother wrote that,” said Mom, wiping away a tear.
“Oh, don’t cry, Mom,” said Odelia, who hated to see her mother sad.
“I’m not,” said Mom in a choked voice. “It’s the onions.”
Odelia was going to say something else, but just then her dad walked in, planted a kiss on the top of her head, then gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and said, “The weirdest thing. Vesta didn’t show up for work today, or call. Any idea what could have happened?”
“Gran decided to help me out with an investigation,” said Odelia.
“Oh, not again,” said her father, sounding a little dismayed.
“Yeah, and she even has a new sleuthmate.”
“Who?”
“Scarlett Canyon. The two of them have been interrogating people all day today, and yesterday, too.”
“Scarlett Canyon,” said Dad, looking stunned. “And they haven’t killed each other?”
“Not yet,” said Odelia.
“But… I thought your grandmother hated Scarlett?” said Mom, wiping her hands on her apron.
“I thought so, too, but they’ve been doing amazingly. They interviewed Kirk’s wife today, and got a lot of information out of her, and then they went back to Allison Gray’s place and interviewed the entire staff.”
“I wonder how long it will last,” said Dad. “Not long, I imagine.”
And as if summoned, Gran walked in, and said, “Need any help, Marge?”
“Yes, if you could get the lamb chops out of the fridge for me, and start on those?”
Gran did as she was told, and didn’t even offer a word of protest, which was a rare thing. Odelia, Mom and Dad shared a look of surprise, and as Gran started preparing dinner, along with Mom, with Odelia and Dad lending a hand, Gran was surprisingly docile.
“So I hear you’ve been working together with Scarlett?” asked Mom finally, when she couldn’t restrain herself any longer.
“Yeah, we have. Investigating the murder of Kirk Weaver, the cat whisperer. Nasty business. But also fascinating. Do you want me to make dessert, Marge? It’s no bother.”
“Yes, please,” said Mom, a little stunned at so much obsequiousness.
“And what have you found out so far?” asked Dad.
“Nothing much, except that Kirk was a womanizer of the first water. And the weird thing is that it worked for him, too. He slept with every single female in Allison’s house, Allison and her niece included.”
“Well, someone must have been upset with him,” said Mom. “Or else they wouldn’t have killed him.”
“Yeah, someone hated the guy,” Gran confirmed. “So have you asked Max to help you, Odelia?”
“Not yet. My cats looked a little out of sorts when I got home just now, and I have no idea why.”
“Oh, I know why,” said Mom. “Harriet told me. It’s these mice you’ve got in your basement. They have no idea what to do about them.”
Dad emitted a curt bark of laughter. “Four cats and they don’t know what to do about the mice.”
“No, they don’t. Harriet told me she consulted with Clarice, and she told them to simply eat a couple, but Harriet doesn’t want to go there, and neither do the others. And Max and Dooley asked Jasmine, Allison Gray’s cat, and she told them the same thing: cats eat mice, and if you don’t want to eat them, you’re not a real cat.”
“Oh, poor babies,” said Odelia. “That’s why they looked so forlorn. They probably think that because they don’t want to kill mice they’re not real cats.”
“Well, they’re not,” said Dad, who was slicing tomatoes and taking about five minutes per slice. “Cats eat mice. That’s a fact. And if they don’t, what does that make them?”
“It makes them humane felines,” said Mom, a little heatedly, “and in my book that’s a damn good thing.”
“Okay, fine,” said Dad, and dumped the tomatoes into a bowl, then walked out of the kitchen.
Gran and Odelia shared a look of surprise. “Are you and Dad having a fight?” asked Odelia finally.
“Oh, it’s this whole European trip thing,” said Mom, pressing a hand to her forehead and looking very tired all of a sudden. “Tex doesn’t want to go, since he’s got so much on his plate at the office, and I have a feeling we’ll never get out of Hampton Cove and see the rest of the world. And when I asked Gabi all she told me was this nonsensical stuff about Alec running for mayor.”
“You’re not happy with Gabi’s answer?” asked Gran as she popped an olive into her mouth.
“No, I’m not. I don’t know where Dan got that woman but she’s obviously crazy. She only has one answer for every single question: Alec should run for mayor. Almost as if…” She paused, directed a curious look at her mother, then turned around and started fiddling with the oven.
“And you, Odelia? Did you like the answer Gabi gave you?” asked Gran.
“I liked the first one, but not the latest one. I asked if I should gently prompt Chase to set a date for the wedding, or leave well enough alone, and instead she wrote something about Uncle Alec running for mayor. As if there’s nothing more important in the whole wide world than running for mayor, while we have a perfectly fine mayor already in place, and Uncle Alec loves his job and would never want another.”