And so once more we tripped behind Papa Duck, like the good ducklings that we were, and soon were on our way back to the hospital to visit Mama Duck and the real duckling.
Odelia was doing fine, and so was the little one, but it was obvious she couldn’t wait to go home and rest in her familiar surroundings. Even though maternity wards are designed to be hospitable, it’s not the same as being in your own home, of course.
“One more night, the doctors said.” She glanced down at the little one in her arms. “Though if it were up to me I’d be going home right now.” She glanced down at me and Dooley. “And how are you getting on with my fur babies?”
“Oh, they’re fine,” said Chase. “Spent the whole morning cooped up in the office with me.” He took a seat at the edge of the bed. “I have to say their presence is kinda… soothing.”
“Isn’t it?” said Odelia with a smile.
“Though to be honest with you, this investigation is going nowhere fast.”
“You’ll get there in the end,” she assured her hubby.
Chase wasn’t as confident as his wife, but her endorsement bucked him up. “So have you thought about a name yet?” he asked.
She smiled.“I liked that last name we discussed.”
“You sure?”
She studied her baby’s sleepy face. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Okay, then I guess it’s decided. Welcome to the family—”
“Let’s not announce it just yet,” said Odelia quickly.
Chase looked down at us.“No, you’re right. The walls have ears.”
Dooley and I shared a look of concern. I’d never been referred to before as a wall with ears. Then again, maybe she was right. If she told us the name, we’d tell Marge or Gran, and before long, the whole town would know. Clearly they wanted to announce the name themselves, and to the gathered family all at once.
And as the little one slept, and Chase and Odelia watched on with loving pride, Dooley and I curled up at the foot of the bed, and were soon fast asleep ourselves.
It had been a pretty stressful couple of days, and we could use the repose.
Chapter 26
Chase had gone home, and so Dooley and I decided to pay a visit to Kingman. The investigation was clearly stuck, and now that Odelia was in the hospital and her focus was elsewhere, there was no sign that things would get unstuck any time soon. It was a little disconcerting, of course, to have two women murdered in cold blood and no killer coming into the frame of the team tasked with his or her apprehension.
“Hiya, fellas,” said Kingman, who was lying in front of his human’s store as usual. “What’s new?”
“Nothing much,” I said.
“Odelia’s had a baby,” said Dooley. “And she’s already got a name but we’re not supposed to know, because walls have ears. Did you know that walls could have ears, Kingman? Cause I looked very hard and I couldn’t find them.”
“It’s just something people say, Dooley,” said Kingman with a light chuckle. “Walls don’t actually have ears, unless there’s people behind them listening in.”
“I think Odelia was referring to us,” I said. “She clearly doesn’t want anyone to know the name before they’re good and ready to announce it.”
“Did they set up a dedicated Instagram page for the kid?” asked Kingman. “Cause that’s what a lot of parents do these days.”
“Why would a baby need an Instagram page?” I asked. “Aren’t they too young to post stuff?”
“It’s not the baby that’s going to post stuff, silly,” said Kingman. “It’s the proud parents who want to post pictures of their newborn so friends and family can follow their progress.”
“Oh, right,” I said. Frankly my mind hadn’t really been on the baby all that much. It irked me that we couldn’t solve the case, which was definitely a first for me.
“So what’s going to happen with you?” asked Kingman.
Dooley and I stared at our voluminous friend.“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Now that the baby has arrived. You’ll probably have to move out, right?”
“And why would you think that?” I asked, a fresh wave of concern rippling through me.
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? Baby comes, pets have to move out. Seems like a natural thing.”
“Well, for your information, Kingman,” I said, not hiding my annoyance, “it is not.”
“No, we’re staying put,” said Dooley. “Marge promised, and Marge’s word is her bond.”
“Mh,” said Kingman, not hiding his skepticism. “Let’s just wait and see, shall we? Wilbur’s niece had a cat, a very pretty Burmese, I might add, who got the boot when she had the baby. Cat ended up living with relatives until the baby was big enough.”
“Oh, no,” I said. “Not this story again!” Frankly I’d had it with fearmongering.
“They promised, Max!” said Dooley, turning to me. “They solemnly swore!”
“And they’ll keep that promise, Dooley,” I said. “And don’t you believe otherwise.”
“I won’t,” he said, but it was obvious that doubt once again held him in its iron grip.
Just then, a woman came toddling up along the street. She was walking with a dog on a leash, and when we looked closer, we saw that it was none other than… Windex!
The woman entered Wilbur’s shop, but before doing so tied Windex’s leash to a metal bar outside that Wilbur has installed especially for his canine-loving clientele.
“Hey, you,” I said, greeting the tiny doggie like an old friend, which she now was.
“Hey, Max. Hey, Dooley,” said Windex, looking more happy than ever. “Kingman.”
“Windex,” said Kingman. “So how are things at the nursing home?”
“Oh, so you heard about that, did you? Well, pretty great so far. They’re all treating me like royalty back there, and of course the reunion with Eileen was heartwarming. Boy, was she glad to see me. And me to see her again, of course. She actually thought I’d been snatched by dog snatchers and sold to some Middle-Eastern maharajah for big bucks.”
Why a maharajah would pay big bucks for a dog that looks like a bat was frankly beyond me, but then Eileen Dobson was probably one of those pet parents that think their pet baby is the most beautiful and precious pet in all the world. Which, if you get right down to it, is what every pet parent thinks—and by extension every parent, period.
“Odelia had her baby,” I said, filling Windex in on the latest from our home front.
“Oh, that’s so great,” said our canine friend. “Look, I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the park last night, but I’m still settling in, and Eileen wouldn’t have liked me wandering off in the middle of the night.” She grimaced. “I guess she’s afraid I’ll disappear again.”
“Totally understandable,” I said.
“So where are you on the investigation?”
“Nowhere,” I said honestly. “Plenty of suspects but nothing concrete.”
“Too bad,” she said. “Marsella deserves to be happy with Dewey, and as long as he’s a suspect that’s going to hang over them, won’t it?”
“I’d totally forgotten that you know Marsella,” I said.
“Oh, sure. She took such good care of me. And Shelley, too, of course.”
“If Odelia would have kicked us out we had decided we wanted Shelley to adopt us,” Dooley confessed.
“Who’s this Shelley person?” asked Kingman.
“She volunteers at the shelter,” I said. “Very sweet girl.”
“I hope she and Gavin will finally be happy,” said Windex.
“Shelley and Gavin? I didn’t know those two were an item.”
“Oh, absolutely. They’re actually engaged, but don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.”
“Shelley is secretly engaged?” said Dooley excitedly. “That’s so cool!”
“Why keep it a secret?” asked Kingman.
“Shelley’s dad isn’t too fond of Gavin,” Windex revealed. “The Ecclestons are a very wealthy family.”