He gave her a keen look. “You know what? I think I just discovered your little secret.”
She swallowed away an uncomfortable lump. “You have?”
“Sure. Those cats bring out the best in you.”
She smiled with relief. “Of course they do.”
“So when are you going to tell me how the name Maureen Cranberry came up?”
She thought quick. “I did a long and very thorough Internet search, and discovered that Maureen bought one of those vagina steamers Donna sells on her site. Maureen ended up burning her business and suing Donna for damages and extreme emotional suffering and trauma.”
“Don’t tell me. She lost?”
“She did.”
“Which makes her a great suspect in my book,” Chase grunted. “Great work, Odelia. You’re quickly becoming my favorite ace sleuth.”
She gave him a chipper smile. “Gee, thanks, Detective. That means a lot coming from you.” Little did he know that the real ace sleuth was riding in the bed of the truck, along with three other ace sleuths.
They’d arrived at Donna’s house and Odelia frowned. “Are you sure this is the right way?”
“Yeah. Turns out Maureen Cranberry is one of Donna’s neighbors. And get this. She’s a member of the same neighborhood association Alpin Carré belongs to.” He gestured to the small monitor in the center of the console, where Mrs. Cranberry’s file had been pulled up.
Odelia squinted at the screen. “This is all gibberish, Chase. What am I looking at?”
“She was at the demonstration this morning. The one where Alpin was arrested? Officers took down the names of everyone present and Mrs. Cranberry was one of them.”
Chase pulled the car over onto the shoulder and got out. Across the street, a more modest dwelling than Donna Bruce’s majestic mansion stood, a lone mailbox announcing here lived Maureen Cranberry.
She also got out and watched as Max, Dooley, Harriet and Brutus crossed the road, making their way past the gate and onto private property. Her very own feline army, she thought with a smile.
Chase rang the bell and soon the gate slid open and they walked up the short paved driveway to the front of the house. Mrs. Cranberry opened the door and watched them arrive, her arms folded across her chest, an expression of suspicion on her face. And as they drew nearer, Odelia saw to her surprise that the woman was the spitting image of Donna Bruce. The same athletic body type, the same facial structure, and the exact same long blond hair. She could have been Donna’s sister.
Chase displayed his badge. “Detective Chase Kingsley. Hampton Cove PD. And this is Odelia Poole. Civilian consultant. We’re investigating the murder of one of your neighbors. Donna Bruce.”
The woman’s scowl deepened. “What’s Donna’s death got to do with me, Detective?”
“That’s what we’re here to find out, Mrs. Cranberry. May we come in?”
Reluctantly, the woman stepped aside to allow them inside. To Odelia’s surprise, a large picture portrait of Donna Bruce dominated the foyer, and as they passed into the parlor, the covers of every Donna Magazine that had ever been published had been framed and put up on the walls.
“You’re quite the fan, aren’t you, Mrs. Cranberry?” asked Chase, studying the setup.
“I am,” said the woman stiffly. She led the way into the living room, where a life-sized bust of Donna Bruce took center stage. Oddly enough, even the furniture reminded Odelia of Donna, as the exact same furniture had graced her own house.
Maureen Cranberry wasn’t merely Donna’s double, she’d also copied Donna’s interior design, down to the intricate wood floor medallions, depicting the yin and yang symbols, the heavy velvet curtains, and the pink marble walls. Eerie.
Chase, too, seemed taken aback by this extreme case of hero worship, as he was lost for words for a moment. Odelia decided to step into the breach. “Is it true that you sued Donna Bruce a couple of years ago, Mrs. Cranberry?”
Maureen, who’d taken a seat on one of three high back chairs placed in the salon area of the living room, gestured at the other chairs and nodded. “Yes, that’s quite true.”
Odelia and Chase sat down, the cop taking out his notebook and Odelia asking, “And is it also true that you lost the case?”
“Yes, unfortunately I did.”
“But the incident doesn’t seem to have turned you off Donna?”
For the first time, the woman displayed a thin-lipped smile. “No, it didn’t.”
“So why is that?” asked Chase.
Maureen heaved a little sigh. “Once you’re a fan, it’s hard to shake that faith. Though I must confess I came close when I had my little… incident.”
“With the steamer.”
“With the steamer,” the woman confirmed.
“But you were seen protesting outside Donna’s house this morning,” said Chase. “That’s not the kind of behavior one would expect from a die-hard fan such as yourself.”
“I—I must confess I only joined the protest to take a closer look at Donna’s house and—and perhaps even catch a glimpse of Donna herself.”
Something occurred to Odelia. “How long have you lived here, Mrs. Cranberry?”
The woman smiled. “I moved in about six months after Donna moved in. Yes, I’m a stalker, Miss Poole, though not the dangerous kind, I can assure you.”
“And yet you sued Donna when the contraption you bought from her website malfunctioned, you joined the neighborhood protest against the wall she was building, and…” Chase leaned forward in his chair, tapping his notebook smartly. “… perhaps exacted your own kind of revenge when the lawsuit you filed against your idol was thrown out?”
Maureen shook her head decidedly. “I would never do that. I would never harm Donna. Ask anyone. I was her biggest fan and it pained me to have to file charges against her. I tried to get donna.vip to reimburse me and compensate me for the damage their steamer caused but they simply refused. Filing that suit was the only recourse I had to get my money back.”
“And you insist losing the lawsuit didn’t inspire you to take revenge in some other way?”
“It did not. Like I said, I would never do anything to hurt Donna. She was my role model, and not just mine. A lot of women looked up to her for advice and leadership. She was an amazing person. One of a kind.” She sighed deeply. “She will be sorely missed.”
Chase sat back. “Where were you this morning at seven, Mrs. Cranberry?”
“I was over at Alpin’s house. Alpin Carré? He’s the leader of the neighborhood association and was organizing the protest. We were preparing for the demonstration outside Donna’s house. We met at six as we still had a lot of ground to cover. Banners to prepare and signs to put together. Some of the other women brought cake and Alpin provided coffee and tea. We made a fun time of it. We finally set out to march on Donna’s house at nine.” She shook her head. “If only I’d known Donna had passed away, I would never have come.”
There was a sound from the next room, and Maureen sat up with a start.
“Is anyone else here?” asked Chase, his hand moving to his holster.
“No. I live all by myself,” said Maureen, a trembling hand moving to her lips.
Chase got up and moved over without making a sound, treading carefully. He’d taken out his gun and was aiming it in the direction of the noise. For a moment Odelia wondered if Donna’s killer was now coming after Donna lookalikes as well. She followed at a safe distance, Maureen right behind her, her hand on Odelia’s shoulder, as they slowly made their way to the next room.
“What’s in there?” Odelia whispered.
“The kitchen,” Maureen whispered back. Then she added, “I must have left the door open!”
That bit of information, coupled with the grunt of astonishment from Chase, told Odelia who the intruder was even before she’d reached the door and entered the kitchen.
Three cats sat looking up at them from the kitchen floor, with one cat seated on the kitchen counter, snacking on a very delicious-looking meatloaf: Max. When he finally noticed they were no longer alone, Max looked up, his face covered in crumbs of meatloaf. “Oops,” he said.