ôWould you be happy if your girlfriend dumped you in such an obscenely rude way?ö
ôNo, I guess I wouldnÆt,ö Chase admitted, casting a quick glance to Odelia.
ôLook, I can understand that for a man in CottonÆs position, a fling doesnÆt mean a thing, but come on, detective. A little respect, please. Especially when heÆd just told me I was the love of his life, and had started murmuring about weddings and honeymoons!ö
ôCotton had proposed marriage?ö
ôNot in so many words,ö Ebony admitted. ôBut the man definitely had marriage on his mind when we last spoke.ö She inclined her head. ôThough he did a lot more than speak, if you see what I mean.ö
ôI think I do,ö said Chase.
ôWhat can I say? The man was enamored with me. Crazy about me. And who wouldnÆt be? I am a very desirable woman, detective. All men want me, in fact I drive them crazy, and Cotton was no exception. Which is why I was shockedùshocked, I tell youùwhen he sent me that text. Out of the blue he suddenly broke up with me!ö
ôAnd so you stormed into his office and gave him a piece of your mind.ö
ôYes, I did. But if youÆre going to conclude from that that I killed him, youÆre very much mistaken. I would never raise a hand at anyone in anger, detective. IÆm a peaceable girl. In fact I abhor violence of any kind.ö And to prove her words, she rested her hands in her lap and assumed the facial expression of a Buddha. A very beautiful Buddha, of course.
ôCan you tell us where you were last night between ten and midnight, Miss Pilay?ö asked Odelia.
A small frown appeared on the modelÆs brow, then instantly was gone as she relaxed those all-important facial muscles. ôI was here, on the phone with the editors for the next edition ofVogue. We were discussing my involvement. It will be my twentieth cover, you see, and weÆre thinking about doing something really special this time.ö She waved a delicate hand as she gestured to a framedVogue cover that hung behind Chase and Odelia.ôMaybe something withà clouds this time. Orà paint, maybe. Blue paintà or pink.ö
ôWeÆre going to need the name of this editor,ö said Chase, cutting through this impromptu brainstorming session. ôSo we can verify your alibi.ö
ôYou were on the phone the whole time?ö asked Odelia.
ôIt was a conference call, with several members of the creative team. It didnÆt run too long, though. A girl needs her beauty sleep. Sleep regenerates collagen, you see.ö She studied OdeliaÆs face. ôI see that you havenÆt had enough sleep. If youÆre not careful it will lead to the collagen in your face to break down, which could lead to premature wrinkles.ö
Odelia inadvertently touched her face, presumably to keep that collagen from breaking down.ôAfter you left the office yesterday, did you come straight here?ö
ôNo, actually I didnÆt. I went for a drive.ö
ôWhere did you go?ö
ôJust driving along, you know, with the top down.ö She smiled. ôNow I know what youÆre thinking, but I did put on sunblock first. In fact I put on sunblock every time I leave the house. And I was wearing sunglasses, of course, to protect my eyes.ö She carefully touched the tips of her fingers to the puffy part underneath the eyes. She seemed to like what she was feeling, for she smiled again. ôYou should try sunblock, detective. I donÆt like the look of those pores. I think your skin might have suffered some damage already.ö
Chase obviously didnÆt bother too much about his pores, for he asked, ôCan you think of anyone who would want to harm Cotton?ö
ôApart from myself, you mean?ö she asked finely. ôActually, I do. The manÆs ex-wife once sent me a very threatening message. I kept it, of course, since a girl in my position has to be extra careful.ö
She didnÆt elucidate what her position was, but she did produce her phone, and brought up the message in question.
ôHere,ö she said, placing her phone on the coffee table, which, not coincidentally, also had a very large coffee table book with her face on the cover.
Chase took the phone and read,ôæStay away from my husband. IÆm warning you.Æö
ôThereÆs another one there,ö said Ebony.
ôæIf you donÆt leave my husband alone, IÆll rearrange your face and make sure no man will ever look at you again.Æö
ôThe odd thing is that when she wrote that, they were already divorced, so technically Cotton was her ex-husband. But clearly she still feels very proprietary about the man.ö
ôWere you the reason Cotton divorced his wife?ö asked Chase as he took a picture of both messages with his own phone.
ôNo, of course not. IÆm not a homewrecker, detective. When I met Cotton he was already divorced.ö
ôSo why did they divorce?ö asked Odelia.
Ebony shrugged a pair of shapely shoulders.ôYouÆd have to ask Cotton.ö
Both Chase and Odelia looked up at this.
ôOh, yes. I know that the man who was killed last night wasnÆt Cotton but some hapless lookalike,ö said Ebony as she flicked an imaginary piece of lint from her kimono.
ôWho told you?ö asked Chase.
ôTobias. He phoned me before you arrived. Turns out it wasnÆt CottonÆs idea to dump me but his so-called advisors. They shipped him off to some rehab clinic and tried to get rid of meùall because some of the Karat shareholders are unhappy with Cotton. All nonsense, if you ask me. Then again, a lot of men are afraid of a woman who wields as much power as I do. Which is exactly what I told Tobias. You see, I know his little secret, and if he and Cotton donÆt tell the truth at the press conference later today, IÆll make sure TobiasÆs affair with the leader of that duck action frontwill be front-page news tomorrow.ö She gracefully rose with a swishing of her kimono. ôAnd now if thereÆs nothing elseàö
Chapter 17
ôI really thought Ebony Pilay would have a cat,ö said Dooley once we were back in the car, en route to our next destination. ôShe seems like the type.ö
ôIs there a cat type?ö I said. ôI wonder.ö
ôOf course,ö said Dooley. ôThereÆs a cat type and a dog type, and Ebony Pilay is definitely the cat type.ö
ôThat James Bond villain who was always stroking his cat, was he the cat type?ö I mused. ôErnst Stavro Blofeld. Always trying to dominate the world by launching rockets at some far-flung destination.ö
Dooley gave me a curious look.ôDo you think Ebony Pilay is actually a James Bond villain in disguise?ö
ôI shouldnÆt wonder,ö I said. ôShe struck me as a very villainy type, to be honest.ö
ôSoà do you think all cat types are villains in disguise?ö
We looked at Odelia. Of course, since we were in the backseat, all we could see was the back of her head, but it suddenly struck me as very villainy indeed. But then she turned and gave us both a dazzling smile, tickled us under our chins, and turned to face the front again.
Dooley and I shared a look of intense relief.ôDefinitely not a villain,ö I said.
ôDefinitely.ö
ôSo maybe Odelia is the exception that proves the rule.ö
ôYou mean sheÆs the only cat person in the world who isnÆt a villain?ö
ôItÆs possible,ö I said. It was a revolutionary thought, of course. Until now IÆd always thought that dog people were all villains, but now I was starting to think the opposite was true. And it stood to reason: dogs are notoriously dumb creatures, whereas cats are clever and, dare I say, even devious, to a certain extent.
Clever, devious, gorgeous, fastidiousà all traits of a supervillain.
In other words: if Odelia hadnÆt taken me in, I might have been BlofeldÆs pet!
It boggled the mind to even contemplate such a horrendous contingency.
We had finally arrived at destinationÆs end, and after taking a few wrong turns, with Chase freely cursing the GPS and Odelia coming to his assistance by using an app on her phone, the Heartfield Clinic loomed up large before us.
ôThis place once belonged to a local sausage king,ö said Odelia, reading from her phone. ôBut after a dozen people died from eating his sausages he went bust and sold the place to a philanthropist who launched the Heartfield Clinic.ö