ôDo they only treat sex addicts here?ö asked Chase as he parked his car between a Rolls Royce and a Jaguar.
ôNo, all kinds of addicts,ö said Odelia. ôTheyÆre not choosy.ö
ôI wonder if they also treat meat addiction,ö said Dooley as we hopped from the backseat and gracefully landed on the cobbled ground.
ôMeat isnÆt an addiction, Dooley,ö I said. ôCats need meat. WeÆre carnivores, after all.ö
ôBut Gran said that meat is very bad. In fact she says that meat is murder.ö
ôGran has some strange ideas sometimes,ö I said. ôThough it probably is true that people in general eat too much meat. There are other foods they could eat but donÆt.ö
ôMaybe we should become vegetarians, too,ö said Dooley. ôI mean, poor ducks.ö
ôYeah, poor ducks,ö I said, thinking back to that nice Fred the duck, pining in his stall back at the duck farm. ôAt the very least they could allow them to roam free.ö
ôMaybe Gran and Scarlett should stage a breakout? Free the ducks?ö
ôPlease donÆt mention that to them. They might just go ahead and do it.ö
WeÆd entered the clinic, which was airy and bright and clean inside, with a woman dressed like a nurse behind the reception, who greeted us with a radiant smile.
ôWhat can I do for you?ö she said, and I could see she was already sizing us up: were we addicted to sex, drugs, alcohol or some other more exotic substance? Glue, perhaps?
The moment Chase produced his badge, and so did Odelia, the womanÆs smile diminished somewhat. ôOh,ö she said. Addicted to law and order. Probably incurable.
ôWeÆre here to see Cotton Karat,ö said Chase. ôWe believe heÆs expecting us.ö
ôOf course,ö said the woman, much sobered. Like most people, she didnÆt enjoy coming face to face with the long arm of the law, or even the strong arm of the law. ôPlease take a seat.ö
And so we took a seat.
ôI wonder if Uncle Alec shouldnÆt give us badges, too,ö said Dooley. ôIt would make life a lot easier for us.ö
ôWe donÆt need badges, Dooley,ö I said. ôWeÆre cats, and cats can sneak into any place, no questions asked. ItÆs the humans theyÆre adamant to keep out for some reason.ö
We glanced around, then Dooley said,ôI think itÆs more that they want to keep people in.ö And he was right, of course. Clinics like Heartfield want to keep those addicts in, and prevent them from wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting society. Though as far as I understood, Cotton Karat didnÆt actually suffer any addiction. The sex addiction thing was just a pretext to remove him from circulation for the time being, while the shareholders all calmed down and stopped the stock price from dropping like the proverbial stone.
It took about ten minutes for the staff to track down Cotton, but then we were led outside into the garden, and moments later we were seated on a nice bench next to the fallen business tycoon, looking out across a field of green as far as the eye could see.
ôNice place,ö said Chase.
ôOh, absolutely,ö said Cotton. ôYouÆd almost think youÆre on vacation here, if it wasnÆt for the people screaming the house down in the middle of the night and having to be restrained.ö He sighed. ôTobias told me theyÆre getting me out of hereùand not a moment too soon, I can tell you.ö
ôSo I take it you heard about what happened with Eric Blandine?ö
ôYeah, poor schmuck. What are the chances, right?ö
ôSo you think they were gunning for you?ö
ôOf course. Blandine was just a lowly worker drone as far as I can tell. Who would want to kill him? Whereas I am in charge of a multimillion-dollar company. Of course I was the intended target. I hope Tobias has learned his lesson and is going to tighten my security. If you think IÆm looking forward to having my liver removed youÆre very much mistaken.ö He glowered at no one in particular, arms folded across his chest.
He was a handsome man, this Cotton Karat. Wavy dark hair, refined features, patrician nose, eyes that some people would have described as molten chocolate when they were smoldering as they were now. And of course an athletic body, as evidenced by rolling biceps stretching the pink polo shirt he was wearing.
ôDo you have any idea who could have done this toà Blandine?ö said Odelia. SheÆd almost said æto youÆ but of course nothing had been done to Cotton. It was the ælowly worker droneÆ whoÆd gotten it in the neck, poor guy. No stock options for him.
ôTake your pick,ö said Cotton, gesticulating angrily. ôUpset shareholders, those crazy duck lovers, angry investorsàö
ôYour ex-wife Dawn?ö Odelia suggested.
Cotton looked up at this.ôDawn? What makes you think that?ö
ôWe talked to Ebony Pilay just now,ö said Chase. ôAnd she said sheÆs received several threatening messages sent by Dawn. Threats that might extend to you, since youÆre the one who divorced her.ö
Cotton smoothed his shirt.ôShe wasnÆt happy with me, thatÆs for sure. But murder? I donÆt know, detective. That seems a little excessive, even for Dawn.ö
ôWhy did you divorce her?ö
ôBecause we were through. Simply speaking, I fell out of love with Dawn. Well, you know how it is. When you meet a person for the first time, youÆre madly in love, and you think sheÆs the only girl in the world. But then you get to know her, and the love light gradually fades, until one day you wake up next to a complete stranger, and wonder what you saw in her in the first place. And also, Dawn really let herself go after we had Inari.ö
ôYour daughter.ö
Cotton nodded.ôYou should have seen her when we met. She was gorgeous. But then she got fat and ugly, and even though I told her on several occasions to get her act togetheràö
ôYou told her she was fat and ugly?ö asked Odelia incredulously.
ôI believe in the power of truth, Mrs. Kingsley,ö said the CEO, unrepentant. ôIf you canÆt handle the truth, you have no business being alive. And Dawn, IÆm afraid to say, didnÆt take it well.ö He lowered the collar of his shirt and showed us a tiny scar. ôThrew a mirror at me.ö He shrugged. ôSo I gave her an ultimatum. Drop thirty pounds or IÆd divorce her. She told me to go and boil my head, so we got divorced.ö
ôI donÆt think I like Cotton Karat very much, Max,ö said Dooley.
ôNo, me neither,ö I said, giving the man a dark look.
ôSo how about Ebony Pilay?ö asked Chase, since Odelia seemed too mad to continue asking questions.
ôWhat about her?ö
ôShe was pretty angry with you.ö
ôNot with me. With my entourage.ö
ôShe didnÆt know it wasnÆt you who dumped her.ö
ôI guess not,ö he said with a frown. ôDo you think she killed that sap Blandine?ö
ôDo you?ö
ôMh. SheÆs got a temper, Ebony has, but murder? I donÆt knowà SheÆs crazy about me, you know. As am I about her.ö
ôDo you think youÆll get back together?ö
Cotton slapped his thighs and heaved a deep sigh.ôI wish. My dad has really tightened the screws. If I ever go near Ebony again heÆs going to kick me out of the company, and IÆm afraid heÆs not kidding this time. I meanàö He gestured around. ôHe practically kidnapped me and put me in this institution! That must be some kind of humanrights violation.ö He gave Chase a hopeful look. ôShould I press charges? Surely people have gone to jail for less?ö
But Chase wasnÆt allowing himself to be drawn into this family dispute. ôEbony seems to think youÆll be an item again.ö
ôWell, she can think again. IÆm not going anywhere near that woman. I mean, I donÆt want to lose everything over a piece of skirt.ö
Suddenly Odelia got up and stomped off. We all watched her leave, and it could have been my imagination but I had the distinct impression smoke was coming from her ears.
ôYouÆre a real piece of work, arenÆt you, Mr. Karat?ö said Chase, shaking his head.
ôIÆm just saying it like it is, detective. YouÆre thinking it, and IÆm saying it.ö
ôOh, no,ö said Chase. ôThis is all you, Cotton.ö