ôYouÆre lying. I can see it in your eyes, Dennis.ö
ôIÆm not lying! Honestly!ö
ôHow many times?ö
ôOkay, so maybe it happened twice. But only twice!ö
ôLiar!ö
ôThree times!ö
ôHe sounds like an auctioneer, Max,ö said Dooley, very aptly I thought.
ôLiar!ö
ôFive times!ö he cried, his final offer.
ôWhere!ö Carlotta demanded.
ôIn the clubhouse,ö said Dennis.
ôDo you love her?ö
ôNo, of course not! I only love you, honey, you know that!ö
ôYou bastard!ö suddenly a voice sounded from the crowd of onlookers. It was a shortish woman dressed in a nice summer dress, showing a lot of tanned leg. ôYou told me you loved me! That you were going to divorce her and marry me!ö
ôTanya?ö said Carlotta, momentarily lowering her bow. ôIt was you?ö
ôIÆm sorry, Carlotta,ö said Tanya. ôHe told me you were over.ö
The former OlympianÆs expression hardened, and she now aimed at the woman whoÆd just spoken. ôI thought you were my friend!ö she cried.
ôI am your friend!ö Tanya cried. ôPlease donÆt shoot me!ö
ôPut down your weapon!ö Chase boomed, and this time his voice brooked no contest.
Carlotta wavered for a moment, then finally relented and relaxed the bowÆs string, lowering the arrow.
Both her husband and Tanya breathed a sigh of relief.
ôI swear to God itÆs over, Carlotta,ö said Dennis.
ôYou piece of shit!ö Tanya cried, and before anyone could stop her, had run over to Dennis and was pummeling the man with her fists, then kicking him where it hurt.
While Chase got busy releasing Dennis from his loverÆs fury, Odelia confiscated CarlottaÆs bow so she couldnÆt do any harm. And as she led Carlotta away, Chase talked to Dennis for a moment.
ôLook, you have to understand,ö said the guy, as he watched Tanya stalk off on a huff in the direction of the clubhouse. ôFor a man in my position itÆs important to maintain friendly relations with the clubÆs members. And sometimes you take things too far.ö He shrugged as he dusted himself off. ôIs it my fault that IÆm such a friendly guy?ö
ôSounds to me like you were a little too friendly,ö said Chase, giving the man a disapproving look. Then he glanced over to Carlotta. ôWhen did she find out?ö
ôThis morning. Tanya and I have been texting, and Carlotta must have seen a message come in on my phone. Stupid of me, of course. I should have kept a separate phone.ö ChaseÆs implacable and penetrating gaze must have hit its mark, for he amended, ôIÆm sorry. IÆm a big jerk, I know. AndthereÆs absolutely no excuse for my behavior.ö
ôNo, there isnÆt,ö said Chase, still staring the man down.
Dennis now cowered slightly, wilting under that basilisk stare.ôOkay, so I messed up! Show me the man who doesnÆt give in to temptation sometimes!ö
ôJust get lost, Dennis,ö Chase growled, and the man quickly skedaddled. A call now came in on ChaseÆs mobile, and he listened for a moment, then cursed under his breath. When Odelia finally joined him a few moments later, he said, ôTheyÆve found a bow and arrow in Lynnette and Franco SayÆs garden shed. TheyÆve arrested them both.ö
ôYou asked your people to search the shed?ö
Chase nodded.ôLooks like weÆve got more suspects now than we know what to do with, babe.ö He stared hard at Dennis Brook, then seemed to make up his mind and raised his phone to his lips again. ôSend a unit to the Brookwell Archery Club, will you? And take both Carlotta and Dennis Brook into custody on suspicion of the murder of Valina Fawn.ö
Chapter 22
The precinct lockup had rarely seen as much activity as it was seeing today: two couples had been arrested and placed in the station slammer, and now all four of those people had to be interviewed, a task that Chase was prepared to engage in with relish. But since the man couldnÆt very well clone himself, and time was obviously of the essence, Uncle Alec had agreed to share the burden.
ôTime you went to police academy and made things official,ö the Chief told his niece as he got ready to enter one of the interview rooms.
Odelia smiled at the big man.ôOr you could simply allow me to sit in on your interviews.ö
ôNo can do, IÆm afraid. As much as it pains me to say, youÆre not a cop, honey.ö He took a deep breath. ôWish me luck.ö
ôMaybe we should all go to police academy,ö said Dooley as we settled in to watch the interviews through the one-way mirror police stations the world over implement. ôThat way we could all wear our badges proudly and interview suspects whenever we want.ö
ôI donÆt think they allow cats at police academy, Dooley,ö I said. ôAnd besides, we could talk to suspects until weÆre blue in the face and it still wouldnÆt do us any good.ö Most humans, you see, stubbornly refuse to talk to cats for some reason. Only Odelia, Marge and Gran can understand us, though even they ignore us sometimes, when they donÆt like what we have to say.
Picture the scene if you wilclass="underline" on the left Chase was settling in to grill Franco Say, and on the right, Uncle Alec was shifting his bulk on his chair and making himself comfortable in front of Dennis Brook. Both men looked uneasy at the prospect of being interrogated, not as witnesses this time, but as full-blown suspects in a murder inquiry.
ôSo tell me, Franco,ö said Chase, opening proceedings, ôwhat that bow and those arrows were doing in your garden shed.ö
The man shrugged.ôJust some old junk we had lying around. IÆve been meaning to clean out the place for ages, only never got around to it, thatÆs all.ö
ôSo whoÆs the shooter in your family? You or Lynnette?ö
The man turned shifty-eyed.ôIs this a trick question? Do I need a lawyer?ö
ôOh, for crying out loud, Franco. Just answer the damn question, will you?ö
ôLynnetteÆs,ö said the man quietly. ôShe used to be a member at Brookwell but gave up years ago. Said it wreaked havoc on her wrists and so she stopped.ö
ôAnd how about you? Were you ever a member?ö
ôNah, not me. Though I did join her for a couple of club activities. Brunches and barbecues. Never found the whole shooting thing appealing. Never saw the point.ö
Dooley laughed at this.ôHe didnÆt see the point, Max. The point of the arrow!ö
ôVery funny, Dooley,ö I said, then strained my ears to follow the conversation.
ôSo letÆs talk about your infidelity for a moment,ö said Chase. ôYou and Marcia, huh?ö
Franco shrugged as he stared down at the table.ôNot my finest hour, I must admit.ö
ôHow did you hook up? Through Valina Fawn?ö
Franco looked up.ôWhat do you mean? The woman is my neighbor, for GodÆs sakes. I see her every day. And you gotta admit, detective, sheÆs one hell of a woman.ö
ôSheÆs also your neighborÆs wife.ö
ôYeah, I know, but she didnÆt seem to mind.ö
ôLynnette isnÆt so understanding, though, is she?ö
ôYou know what LynnetteÆs problem is? SheÆs tooà perfect! ThatÆs right. With Lynnette everything has to be just so, and that goes for everything in her life, including me. And frankly I just couldnÆt take it anymore, detective. And with Marcia thereÆs no pressure involved. She just likes me forà me. She doesnÆt want to change me, or make me look a certain way. With her itÆs just fun. Easy and fun. And my God, man, after twenty years of Lynnette fun and easy was like a breath of fresh air. Like being released from prison.ö
ôOkay, so I was having an affair,ö said Dennis Brook. ôBig deal. A man in my position, Chief, has certain responsibilities. People expect things from you when you run a club like Brookwell. They expect you to be sociable. A mixer, if you see what I mean. I was doing it for the club, for usùfor CarlottaÆs future and the future of the kids.ö
ôSo you cheated on your wife for her sake and for your kidsÆ sake?ö asked Uncle Alec, studying the man with a look of incredulity.
ôAbsolutely! Marriage is all about give and take, Chief. And engaging in close relations with certain female members of the club gave me the opportunity to give something of myself to the community Carlotta and I have built. And look what we got back in return: a thriving club, filled with happy members.ö