Chapter 15
IÆd just managed to strengthen the inner cat when Gran came storming into the office, followed by Scarlett and Harriet and Brutus. They all looked a little hot under the collar.
ôWhatÆs all this I hear about you arresting the leading light in duck salvation?ö Gran demanded heatedly.
ôIf youÆre referring to Lita Fiol, sheÆs not under arrest at this moment,ö said Chase, not too bothered by this outburst as evidenced by the leisurely way he was scrolling on his phone. ôShe is, however, a person of interest in our investigation, that much is true.ö
ôA person of interest! SheÆs as white as the driven snow! The girl is a peach!ö
ôSheÆs also the leader of the Duck Liberation Front, and as such the most likely suspect in our case,ö Chase pointed out, looking up from his phone and directing a warning glance at Gran and her cronies.
But if he thought a mere threatening look would silence Gran, he was sorely mistaken. Warning looks only serve to embolden that old lady.ôSheÆs a role model! A paragon of heroism. Setting an example for her generation! If not for her, ducks will continue to be slaughtered by the ravenous bloodlust of the common masses! You should give her a medal, and not that no-good, head butcher Cotton Karat.ö
ôYou do know that this head butcher of yours was himself butchered last night?ö asked Odelia, lifting an eyebrow.
GranÆs mouth opened and closed a few times. ôButchered? What are you talking about?ö
ôCotton Karat, or at least the man who was pretending to be Cotton Karat, was murdered last night. Someone shoved a tube down his throat, forced duck food into his stomach, and then proceeded to cut out his liver. Suffice it to say the man did not survive the treatment.ö
ôDid you say the man who was pretending to be Cotton?ö asked Scarlett, the first to recover from the shock.
ôYeah, turns out Cotton is in a rehab clinic, trying to kick a sex addiction,ö Chase grunted. ôSo the guy they hired to replace him for the time being ended up being the one who was murdered. Though itÆs safe to say that it was actually Cotton they were after.ö
ôSo let me get this straight,ö said Gran. ôThe man the killer thought was Cotton Karat was murdered in a manner very similar to the way ducks are slaughtered?ö
ôThatÆs exactly what happened,ö said Odelia, nodding. ôOnly his liver was subsequently removed and delivered to his office with a message from the Duck Liberation Front, announcing that this was only a first warning. So it looks as if your precious DLF is only getting started and more victims might follow this first one.ö
ôEspecially when they find out they got the wrong guy,ö Chase muttered.
ôI donÆt buy this,ö said Gran. ôMy DLF would never do such a horrible thing.ö
ôNo, weÆre all peace-loving people,ö Scarlett chimed in. ôWe donÆt condone violence.ö
ôAnyway, you can relax about Lita,ö said Odelia. ôTurns out she has a solid alibi for the time of the murder. Which isnÆt to say that someone else in your group isnÆt the murderer.ö
ôSpeaking of which,ö said Chase, ônow might be a good time to take a long, hard look at some of the other members, and find out who might be the person weÆre after.ö And to show them what he meant, he gave the twosome a long, hard look.
ôOh, no!ö said Gran immediately. ôYouÆre not going to get us to spy on our own!ö
ôVesta, maybe Chase has a point,ö said Scarlett. ôIf one of us is a killer, itÆs going to reflect very badly on the rest.ö
ôBut weÆre not police spies!ö
ôI thought that crime prevention was what the neighborhood watch did?ö asked Chase finely.
It was clear that two powerful emotions wrestled in GranÆs bosom: her allegiance to the duck cause on the one hand, and her leadership of the neighborhood watch on the other. Finally, the watch won, and she rolled her eyes. ôOh, all right. If youÆre going to get all heavy-handed on us.ö
ôSo youÆll take a closer look at the DLF membership?ö
ôYes, of course. Having a murderer in our midst probably is not a good thing.ö
ôIÆll say it isnÆt,ö said Harriet, as she gave me a curious look.
ôWhat?ö I asked, after having endured the look for all of five minutes.
ôI thought you were going to call us in when you needed our assistance?ö
ôI would have,ö I said. ôBut itÆs been one of those days. Hectic, if you see what I mean.ö
ôWeÆve been running around like headless ducks,ö Dooley added with a knowing nod.
ôAll right, fine,ö said Brutus. ôApologies accepted. So what do you want us to do?ö
I blinked. It only very rarely happens that Harriet and Brutus put their fate in my paws, and now that it had happened, I was unsure how to proceed. You see, IÆm one of those loner cats who like to do things all by themselves. I mean, I have Dooley assisting me, of course, but thatÆs it. IÆm not management material. I donÆt like to boss cats around.
ôWellàö I said, thinking hard if there was indeed stuff I could delegate. ôUmàö
ôOh, I see,ö said Harriet, her temper flaring up. ôYou donÆt want us around, is that it?ö
ôNo, of course not!ö I cried.
ôMax wants to have all the glory for himself, tootsie roll,ö Brutus grunted, giving me a dangerous look. ôHe wants to be the hero of this investigationùall the credit for himself.ö
ôNo, thatÆs not true!ö I said. ôOkay, look, I was thinking that maybe you can join Gran and Scarlett and infiltrate this duck group. And also, Cotton is holding a press conference this afternoon, and it might be a good idea to spread out and keep tabs on the crowd.ö
ôWay ahead of you, Maxie baby,ö said Brutus. ôAnd for your information: when the credits are finally awarded, I want it on record that we thought of it first, all right?ö
ôAll right,ö I said. ôOf course.ö
ôSo as it stands: weÆre the ones who are going to nab this vicious killer,ö said Harriet. ôNot you and Dooley. Me and Brutus. Capeesh?ö
ôAbsolutely,ö I said.
I must say that when the neighborhood watch finally rolled outùor should I say the Duck Liberation FrontùI was secretly relieved.
No, IÆm definitely not a born leader.
Chapter 16
Ebony Pilay lived in a very nice condo on the top floor of a very nice building. It sported a gym, a heated pool, a spa, and even concierge service, whatever that meant. Miss Pilay herself seemed to live alone, and when we walked into her flat it wasnÆt hard to see why: life-sized pictures of herself adorned the entrance, the main wall of the living room, and even the bedroom. It made me wonder who in their right mind would want to stare at a picture of themselves all the time. And conversely: who in their right mind would date a woman who was so clearly in love with herself?
The supermodel bade our humans to take a seat on a very uncomfortable-looking sofaùbuilt for style, not comfortùand patiently waited until they launched into the interview.
I had to admit she was quite easily as gorgeous in reality as she was in all of those pictures she had used to wallpaper her condo. She had large hazel eyes, the smoothest skin IÆve ever seen, and silky hair that lay close to her head in the finest curls.
She was dressed in a silver kimono and her feet were slippered in the kind of fluffy bathroom slippers they hand out in fancy hotels. In others words: she had the out-of-bed look down pat, though it wouldnÆt surprise me if she hadnÆt been busy getting out of bed for the better part of the morning and had shot an Instagram Story showing her millions of followers how she went about it and had bagged an endorsement deal in the process.
ôWe talked to Tobias Pushman this morning,ö said Chase, taking out his little notebook, ôand he told us how you made quite a scene in Cotton KaratÆs office yesterday.ö
Ebony lifted the corners of her lips fractionally. I think it was her way of smiling.ôAnd can you blame me? The man had just dumped me by text. By text, sergeant!ö
ôDetective,ö Chase corrected her gently. ôYou clearly werenÆt happy about it.ö