ôIÆm bored, thatÆs why! No suspects to talk to, no clues to suss out. I feel so useless!ö
ôMe, too,ö said Brutus, giving me a dark look. ôIÆm a cop cat, Max. IÆm the one who should be out there with Chase, hunting down this liver-eating maniac.ö
ôHe didnÆt actually eat the liver,ö said Dooley. ôHe just put it in a tin.ö
ôAll the same, itÆs me who should tag along with the police squad, not you guys.ö
ôWhat can I say?ö I said. ôOdelia likes to have us around. And four cats is too much.ö
ôSays who?ö Harriet demanded heatedly.
ôSays anyone. Imagine a cop with four cats on their trail. ItÆs like the punchline of a joke.ö
ôTom Hanks had Hooch,ö said Brutus. ôAnd Hooch was as big as a dozen cats.ö
ôHooch was a dog, and people are used to seeing cops with dogs,ö I argued.
ôMax is right,ö said Dooley. ôPeople always give Odelia a strange look when she walks in with her two cats.ö
ôOkay, fine,ö said Harriet. ôBut at least we should have a chance to participate. Why not flip a coin? Then one day you can join Odelia, and the next itÆs me and Brutus.ö
ôYeah, itÆs only fair that we get to tag along for a change,ö Brutus grumbled. ôNow you and Dooley are hogging all the attention. ItÆs just not fair.ö
ôBut what about your undercover mission? I thought you were looking forward to infiltrating the Duck Liberation Front?ö
ôNothing doing. As long as Eric BlandineÆs killer hasnÆt been caught, Lita Fiol has suspended all DLF activities. She says she doesnÆt want to have another murder on her conscience.ö
ôSo she thinks itÆs one of her members?ö I asked.
ôLooks like,ö said Harriet. ôThough a fat lot of good thatÆll do us. ThereÆs no way weÆll be able to find out who it is.ö
ôLita was ordered to hand over a list of members,ö I said. ôSo chances are the killer is among them.ö
ôSo?ö
ôSo you can go and visit them one by one and spy on them.ö When both Harriet and Brutus gave me an unhappy grimace, I said, ôItÆs bona fide detective work. In fact itÆs probably more important than what weÆve been doing all day.ö
ôIt was moderately boring,ö said Dooley. ôOdelia and Chase talked to people, and then they talked to some more people, and then some more. In fact all they did all day was talk. And still we didnÆt get anywhere.ö
ôThatÆs also part of being a detective,ö I said. ôTry to find out who was where, when and why. ItÆs boring but essential. As is studying police reports, poring over forensic evidence, and trying to find a connection to all the elements pertaining to the case.ö
ôAnd here I thought being a detective was all about finding the missing clue,ö Brutus grumbled. ôA nice footprint, a fingerprint, or a little-known toxin in the victimÆs blood.ö
ôSee!ö Dooley cried. ôI knew it! He was poisoned!ö
ôNo, he wasnÆt,ö I said. ôHe was stabbed to death.ö
ôOh,ö said Dooley, slumping a little. He cut a glance to Harriet. ôBoring, Harriet.ö
ôI hear you, Dooley,ö said our Persian friend, but she suddenly looked a lot less harried.
Dooley was right, though. Police work can be boring, and most of it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. But itÆs important to put in the work, even though sometimes it feels useless. But as long as you take enough naps, and thereÆs always plenty of kibble to keep you going, itÆs fine by me. I like to discover those human foibles that make them tick, or to listen to them gossip about other people. Or being caught out in a blatant lie.
ItÆs all very human, isnÆt it? But then murder is a very human thing.
Kingman came clambering up the jungle gym, then thought better of it and decided to remain on terra firma. Kingman is a big cat, and even though in the actual jungle big cats like to climb trees and take a nap there, in Hampton Cove big cats stick to the ground.
So instead I climbed down and left Harriet, Brutus and Dooley to exchange plaintive stories about how boring it is to be a pet detective.
ôHey, buddy,ö I said once IÆd joined my friend. ôHow are things at the General Store?ö
ôNot so good,ö said Kingman. ôWilbur caught another pickpocket today. ItÆs the third one in a week. And the more he catches, the more seem to crawl out of the woodwork.ö
ôA pickpocket? Not a thief?ö
ôNo, an actual pickpocket. They position themselves behind a customer whoÆs squeezing an orange or reading the fine print on a packet of chips, stick their hands in their pockets and come away with their wallets. Or their phones or whatever. According to the cop who came over to make the arrest, itÆs a regular plague. TheyÆre all over town.ö
ôProbably some gang,ö I said. ôThey seem to travel in packs, these pickpockets.ö
ôYeah, but itÆs frustrating. People seem to think itÆs WilburÆs fault.ö
ôI very much doubt that, Kingman.ö
ôNo, but they do. They figure that if theyÆre being robbed, itÆs because Wilbur didnÆt do enough to keep these people out. But thereÆs only so much you can do. You canÆt look at a personÆs face and know theyÆre going to try and rob your customers, can you?ö
ôNo, I guess not,ö I said. His words seem to ring a bell in my head, for some reason, though for the life of me I couldnÆt quite grasp it.
I decided to drop it for now.
It would come to me.
Or not.
Chapter 22
The next morning, we decided to pay another visit to Diedrich Karat, since we had the impression the man had been less than honest with us the first time around.
ôWhy is it that people lie all the time, Max?ö asked Dooley as we entered the manÆs lair.
ôBecause theyÆre afraid that if the police find out the truth, it will make them look guilty,ö I said. ôOr maybe they have some skeletons hidden in their closet they donÆt want anyone to know about.ö
ôSkeletons in their closets?ö asked Dooley, his eyes swiveling to a nearby cupboard. He took a step back, as if expecting the cupboard to open and the skeleton to tumble out.
ôOkay, so Cotton wasnÆt exactly my first pick as my successor,ö the old man admitted. ôBut what could I do? ThereÆs always been a Karat at the helm of the Karat Group.ö
ôWhy doesnÆt CottonÆs brother Jared step up?ö asked Chase.
ôJared is a numbers man. HeÆs not interested in taking the lead. And besides, he doesnÆt have the chops. ItÆs not so easy to lead a company of these dimensions.ö
ôWhatÆs going to happen now?ö asked Odelia.
Diedrich shrugged. He looked as if heÆd shrunk a little overnight. His cheeks were hollow and so were his eyes. HeÆd probably been up half the night thinking about the future of his company. ôMaybe Tobias is right. Maybe we should get an outsider to run the company. A proven leader. Cotton is clearly not up to the task, and neither is Jared.ö
ôWhat about Inari? Cotton seems to want her to take over.ö
ôOut of the question. InariÆs interests lie elsewhere.ö
Just then, Inari walked in. When she saw us, she halted.ôOh, I didnÆt know you had company, Grandpa.ö
ôItÆs all right, sweetheart. ItÆs the police.ö
ôYeah, I know,ö said Inari, giving us a curious look.
ôWe were surprised to find that youÆre interested in taking over the business,ö said Odelia. ôYou didnÆt mention that when we talked to you and your mother yesterday.ö
ôYeah, my dad asked me to say a few words at his big press conference, so we decided to tell them what he thought they wanted to hear.ö
ôIn other words, your dad asked you to lie for him?ö
She darted a quick look to her grandfather, but when he nodded she relented.ôItÆs not really lying. I might take an interest in the company at some point. After all, the movie industry and the luxury goods industry have a lot in common. So our futures might converge at some point.ö
ôRubbish,ö said Diedrich. ôDonÆt listen to your dad with his twisted ideas of the truth, honey. You just do what you want to do, and let us figure out how to get out of this mess.ö